Now, supposing that all these books were accessible to the general
reader, it would still be in many instances impossible for him, without
considerable labour, to find therein much of the information contained
in this Dictionary, for some of the best of them have no index, but
this book is an index to them all.
The proper pronunciation of the names being important, the accent is
always marked; and the illustrative quotations from the poets have
been specially selected with the intention of assisting the reader in
finding out the number of syllables in a name, and by this means fixing
the pronunciation.
It will be seen that the compiler has not confined himself to Greek and
Roman Mythology, but has included the more important of the Egyptian,
Scandinavian, and Hindoo deities, references to which often occur in
modern literature.
The limited space at command has made it necessary to be as concise
as possible, but every name connected with Mythology, of any note at
all, has, it is hoped, been included, and care has been taken to avoid
repetitions as much as possible. Where two or three names occur in
connection with one fable, the tale is told once, and reference is made
to it under the name of the other deities concerned therein.
There are a few names inserted which, though not strictly mythological,
are mentioned because it frequently happens that in the history of
ancient heroes there is something fabulous in the tales told concerning
them.
As to some of the gods and heroes, the _Handy Classical Dictionary_
and _Plutarch’s Lives_ (part of this Series of Handy Books) may be
consulted with advantage for fuller information; and it is hoped that
the popularity of those two books will be at least equalled by the
_Dictionary of Mythology_.
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