The blurb describes this book from Phaidon as ‘sumptuous’. It’s not wrong. From the deep orange and bright gold of its cover to the weight of its paper and, more importantly, the quality of its illustrations, Flying Too Close to the Sun, is a delight to browse. But there is far more to it than this, which makes it more than yet another glossy coffee table art book.

Twenty five of the most celebrated Greek and Roman myths are organised from the divinities (and monsters) of creation to the utterly human plaything of the gods themselves, Oedipus. Some, possibly all, will be familiar but the fascination is in seeing and comparing the ways in which artists from antiquity to the present have chosen to depict them.

Mat Collishaw Narcissus 1990 – print on resin coated paper

19.3 x 29.2 cm. Tate London. Picture credit courtesy of the artist and Blain Southern. (p 133)

Interestingly, the compilers of this book have chosen not to organise the illustrations of over 200 artworks chronologically. Within the compass of each myth you might see Velasquez beside Hirst (Arachne) or John Armstrong beside Canova (Icarus). We are not allowed to assume that there is a development over history in our appreciation of myth, although I began to be intrigued by what the unusual focus of a particular period might say about that period’s preoccupations. In the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first, there seems to be a marked emphasis on Narcissus.

This is a book to be dipped into, but it is also one which you will find absorbs you for far longer than you initially intended. Its scope is relatively limited (twenty five western European myths) but encompasses the whole span of human art. And, if your recollection of the relationships of gods, heroes, monsters and wars has faded a little, there is a very helpful appendix. The short texts that accompany each illustration reveal the fascinating and sometimes unexpected links between the artwork and the myth.

Holding this book (seat yourself comfortably, this is not a light volume in any sense of the word), you may be reminded, as I was, of the joy of turning actual pages and eventually closing real, glowing, covers. By the way, look closely at the detail of the sun’s image on the front, it’s worth it.

Flying Too Close To The Sun pub Phaidon   £39.95