On Unbelievable Tales

Book excerpt: On Unbelievable Tales is an early effort to rationalize oft-told tales of the heroes and monstrous creatures of Greek mythology. Palaephatus, a contemporary of Aristotle, sought to reinforce belief in the historicity of ancient heroes by tracing the evolution of "actual" events into legendary and mythological accounts. This dual-language edition features introduction with in-depth examination of the work and history of Palaephatus, the first available English translation, notes on the ancient sources for over 40 tales, and notes and Greek text from the Teubner 1902 edition.