Greek and Roman Mythology - Where to start from?

Time ago, I happened to overhear the names Zeus, Aphrodite, Homer, Achilles and Aeneas ... stories such as the rise of the Titans, the Wanderings of Odysseus, the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur and the 12 labours of Hercules or Herakles ... wonderful places such as Troy, Mount Olympus, the city of Mycenae and Marathon ... horrible monsters like Hydra, Medusa, Cerberus and Cyclops ...

The list goes on forever, having heard of every story, of every god, of every living creature in different contexts and situations. Nevertheless, I found out all of them had something in common, a unique leitmotif that spanned across all these contents: they all belonged to the world commonly known as Greek and Roman Mythology.

Now that I had found the "category" that gathered all these tales and allegories ... it became time to start delving into it. As to my surprise, I found no articles, recipes or even paths or clues from where to start my journey, just a lot of content shuffled in different places prepared to become pieces of my puzzle.

After having read many books and articles, having listened to audio tacks, and watched a bunch of videos and documentaries for some years now, I thought I could give a help to Classical Myth beginners. In proper words: "be the Virgil that guides Dante through the Inferno and Purgatory".

At least ... I'll just give it a try.

The first five books you MUST read to start your journey into Greek mythology

1- Theogony - by Hesiod
The genesis of the world, origin and genealogy of every god: Uranus, Gaia, The Titans (Cronos ...), The Olympians (Zeus ...) and all the creatures that appear in Greek myth

2- The Iliad - by Homer
The epic and tragic story of Achilles and the siege of Troy.
Agamemnon, Menelaus, Paris, Helen and Priam are some of its characters.
Every tale that was written under the Classical Myth umbrella is somehow related to the gods, humans and places invented by Homer in his 2 most celebrated creations: Iliad and Odyssey

3- The Odyssey - by Homer
The wandering of Odysseus (Ulysses) in his journey back home (Ithaca) after Troy was finally taken.
Her faithful wife, Penelope, and her rejected suitors.

4- The Aeneid - by Virgil
The wandering of Aeneas, prince of Troy, and his god-guided journey to Italy, and the foundation of Rome.
Dido's suicide. the Amazons ... all took place in this epic poem.

5- Metamorphoses - by Ovid
A big number of small tales that involve Gods, humans and transformations (morphs) into animals.

Prose or Verse ?

All five-book-recommendations were originally written in old-language-verse.
Nevertheless, you'll be able to easily find different adaptations and translations of these texts into modern prose English.
What version to read ? It depends on your likings, but never forget that prose is easier reading.