"In his new thematic overview of ancient Greek culture, the classicist Furley notes that his subjects never 'thought of writing just for themselves, as a meditation or perhaps a kind of self-expression or therapy.' Since so many scholars today write only for themselves, Myths, Muses and Mortals comes as a double delight: free of academic jargon, to be sure, but also underpinned by frequent and ample citations from major poems, plays, philosophical tracts, and other writings of the ancient Greek world. Divided into chapters on love, social status, sailing, warfare, and more, the volume is an ideal primer for the fledgling Hellenophile."

New Criterion

"Say the words 'Ancient Greece' and you might think of the poet Homer but not, perhaps, its everyday people. Now their inner lives are uncovered in a new book. . . . Here [Furley] tells . . . what made the Ancient Greeks tick."

Sunday Post, Scotland

“An engaging book which approaches the ancient Greek world from an interesting and fresh point of view.”

Jan Haywood, University of Leicester, coauthor of "Homer’s 'Iliad' and the Trojan War"

"Myths, Muses and Mortals is a unique book. It explores all aspects of life in ancient Greece through a wide range of Greek texts from Homer and Herodotus to curse tablets and political inscriptions. Furley writes masterfully and brings the past to life again."

Jonas Grethlein, professor of classics, Heidelberg University

"Furley writes with the authority of the distinguished scholar that he is but also with the irresistible enthusiasm of a writer completely in love with his subject. I challenge anyone to read this book without being totally won over to Furley’s view that the ancient Greeks are curious, unique and utterly fascinating."

Anthony A. Barrett, emeritus professor of classics, University of British Columbia