I read philosophy, and so often is Homer referenced as giving extraordinary accounts of Greek Mythology, and it seems that he might as well be the standard for the gospel. Do his books delve deep into the lore of the gods? If one were to learn about Greek Mythology, would reading Homer alone be sufficient?
I must admit that I read his Odyssey as a teenager, but remember almost nothing of it except the central plot.
Great question. Homer is definitely the place to start, but fuller understanding requires the Greek dramatists, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, who were commenting on, and extending, Homer. (Euripides, in particular, was quite incisive in his deconstriction of the events surrounding the Trojan War. The Trojan Women is still generally considered the greatest anti-war play of all time, without any notable successor until Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children.)
The Bibliotheca of Apollodorus (aka pseudo-Apollodorus)
The Metamorphosis of Ovid (aka P. Ovidius Naso)
Ovid is especially important in a literary sense per his influence, most notably of Shakespeare.
