author
Hans Holten-Bechtolsheim
A Danish scholar and teacher, he is remembered for bringing Greek mythology to general readers in a clear, thoughtful way. His work blends classical learning with an interest in the big human questions myths try to answer.
1 Audiobook
Græsk Mythologi
by Hans Holten-Bechtolsheim
About the author
Hans Holten-Bechtolsheim was a Danish author best known for Græsk Mythologi, a book that introduces readers to the stories, gods, heroes, and ideas of ancient Greece. The version preserved by Project Gutenberg presents the work as an early-20th-century study of Greek mythology written for a broad audience.
Available genealogical records identify him more fully as Hans Gustav Nicolaj Holten von Mauchenheim-Bechtolsheim, born on March 20, 1875, in Bregninge Sogn, Svendborg Amt, Denmark, and died on September 11, 1941, in Sorø. Those same records describe him as a lecturer at Sorø Academy, which fits the scholarly tone of his writing.
What makes his work appealing today is its mix of learning and accessibility. Rather than treating myth as a dry list of names, he approaches it as a way people once tried to explain nature, existence, and the relationship between humans and the divine.