Bulfinch’s Mythology is an annotated and linked version of Thomas Bulfinch’s nineteenth century work about mythology and folklore. Like the original text, it is divided into three sections. “The age of fable, or stories of gods and heroes” focuses on stories coming out of the ancient religions of Greece, Rome, and Norway. “The age of chivalry, or legends of King Arthur,” and “Legends of Charlemagne, or romance of the middle ages” comprise the rest of the work.
Bulfinch’s aim was to make the legends accessible, as he explains in his preface: “Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in polite conversation.”
Bob Fisher has created a site which expands on Bulfinch’s aim, making the work accessible to today’s reader. His contribution involves not only transferring the well‐written text to the Internet in its entirety, but also linking key terms to explanatory text and graphics. Thus, clicking on “Cupid” in the chapter retelling the Cupid and Psyche myth in “The age of fable, or stories of gods and heroes” brings up an outside page offering several representations of the god of love in art, as well as more information about him and a list of stories in which he plays a key role.
The vivid paintings and line drawings presented throughout “Bulfinch’s mythology,” which are consistently credited and labeled, add to the power of the text. The Web author also makes Bulfinch’s commentaries about how classical authors have recounted these stories more meaningful, since browsers may link to more information about these authors and their works. Biographical information about Thomas Bulfinch is also accessible from the site.
The online version of “The age of fable, or stories of gods and heroes” is especially useful in that the Greek and Roman names of the gods and goddesses usually appear side by side. Readers should have an easier time keeping track of the sometimes confusing cast of characters.
“The age of chivalry, or legends of King Arthur” and “Legends of Charlemagne, or romance of the middle ages” are still under construction, with some unfinished links and illustrations.
Each of the three sections is separately searchable; and the search mechanism is more than adequate. Searchers need to click on the “Search” button after typing in a word or an exact phrase; clicking on the “enter” key does not work. Clicking on “off‐site search facilities” brings up a list of other well‐established sites which may be useful.
Fisher has obviously put a great deal of time and effort into constructing this site, and it is well organized, thorough, and easily navigated. A listing of updates lets viewers see how the pages have been assembled. The pages are available in frame and non‐frame versions, to speed up accessibility for viewers with less powerful browsers.
I have only two minor concerns about “Bulfinch’s mythology.” The section about gods and goddesses repeatedly mentions a production of a musical version of the Medea tale, and this can grow annoying. Also, a mention of any book available for purchase brings up the option to buy it from Barnes & Noble, and this rampant commercialism may strike some visitors as being out of place.
Anyone interested in ancient tales should give Bulfinch’s Mythology a look.
