Greek art is dominated by the deeds of gods and heroes. In the 6th century b.c. the Etruscans acquired a taste for them, and from the second century onward they were accepted as part of the repertoire of Roman representational art, rising to new popularity when the artist of the Renaissance re-discovered the creations of antiquity.  This book draws on the Classical collections of the British museum - unsurpassed by any in the world -to illustrate the main deeds of the Olympian gods and other deities and legendary figures, adn describes some of the variations in story, costume and caracterization.