本书编撰的宗旨是:内容系统完整,形式生动活泼,熔故事叙述、文学鉴赏和文化解读为一炉。
本书分为15个单元,各单元的基本课文为希腊罗马神话故事和相关的经典文学作品,课文后附有较简单的阅读理解题和难度较大的文学或文化鉴赏题,书中的补充阅读材料可根据学生情况或教学要求灵活运用,在人名、地名表中除了配有简要解释外,考虑到古希腊罗马语言与现代英语的差异,特别标出了词的读音。
本书的内容具有层次性,对于不同的教学对象可取用难易程度不同的内容。
本书可用作大学本科英语专业教材或非英语专业的文学、文化课程教材,也可以供有一定英语知识、对西方文化及其神话传说感兴趣的广大读者阅读和欣赏。

Unit One Introduction
Why Study Greco_Roman Mythology?
What Is Mythology?
How to Approach Mythology?
Greek Mythology
Unit Two Creation Myths
Account from Bilbo's World
Account from Hesiod's Theogony
The Pelasgian Creation Myth
The Homeric and Orphic Creation Myths
Account from Metamorphoses by Ovid
Unit Three Five Ages of Man:Human Alienation From the Divine
The Five Ages of Mankind
Alienation of the Human and the Divine
Prometheus and mankind
Pandora'box
The Deucalion flood/deluge
Unit Four Titanic and Olympian Genealogy
……
Unit Five Olympian Gods
Unit Six Olympian Goddesses
Unit Seven Greek Heroes(1)
Unit Eight Greek Heroes(2)
Unit Nine Trojan War Saga:The Iliad
Unit Ten Trojan War Saga:The Odyssey
Unit Eleven Roman Mythology
Unit Twelve Toman Hero:the Aeneid
Unit Thirteen Greek Tragedy:Medea(1)
Unit Fourteen Greek Tragedy:Medea(2)
Unit Fifteen Myth and Art
Supplementary Reading
Glossary:Names and Places
Bibliography