Stories Of Gods And Heroes

Activities are designed to teach the objectives in many state and federal mandates. Primary objectives focus on teaching: Understanding plot, theme, characterization, style, and how they all relate.

Meet the Original Superheroes. Before there was Batman, Wonder Woman, or Black Panther...there was Indra, Hindu king of gods, who battled a fearsome snake to save the world from drought. Athena, the powerful Greek goddess of wisdom who could decide the fate of battles before they even began. Okuninushi, the Japanese hero who defeated eighty brothers to become king and then traded it all for a chance at immortality. Featuring more than 70 characters from 23 cultures around the world, this A-to-Z encyclopedia of mythology is a who's who of powerful gods and goddesses, warriors and kings, enchanted creatures and earthshaking giants whose stories have been passed down since the beginning of time—and are now given fresh life for a new generation of young readers. Plus, You'll Learn All About: Dragons: The Hydra, St. George's Dragon, and the Australian Rainbow Snake Giants: Grendel, Balor of the Evuil Eye, Polyphemus, and the Purusha with the thousand heads Monsters: Manticore, Sphinx, Minotaur, Thunderbird, and Echidne, mother of the Nemean lion that nearly killed Heracles Underworlds: Travel to Hades, Valhalla, and the Elysian Fields

The travelling storyteller combined many talents: scholar, educator, linguist, poet and musician. He showed learning, curiosity and judgement, but most of all he could not resist a good story. True to their original telling and stripped of the sanitization of later centuries, these powerful tales make compelling reading. The traveller's tales are shaped by the landscape, character, tradition and weather of the stops along his journey: standing below the snow-streaked, cloud-capped massif of Olympus, he feels the awe and majesty of the gods. In the wilderness of Thessaly, menaced by bears and wolves, he recognises the cruel, barbarian anger of Achilles and the ferocious extravagance of Hercules. In soft Eleusis, strong wine at the day's end brings him to the Mysteries of Dionysus and the Bacchic frenzy. The Mycenaean ruins impress on him the workings of the hand of fate: the frailty of empire, the waste of the ten year's Trojan war, the horror of Agamemnon's domestic grief. Under the illumination of the startling Greek light the storyteller interprets for his listeners the sense they have of themselves. His stories of myth and legend are the oldest speculations of the first deep-thinking people of Europe. They are also the first and longest-lasting entertainments of the European imagination.

Includes bibliographic references and index.

An introduction to some of the most prominent beings in the ancient Greek pantheon.

An accessible anthology of the greatest ancient Greek myths and legends for readers of all ages by the celebrated classicist and historical novelist. According to the myths, gods and goddesses of ancient Greece lived on Mount Olympus and ruled the world of mortals. Famous heroes shaped the course of history, beautiful women drew the gazes of gods and men alike, and the gods were both fickle in their favors and breathtakingly generous to those they smiled upon. From Midas’s tragic gift to the exploits of Hercules and the curse of Pandora, Robert Graves brings the legends of ancient Greece to life in a way that’s sure to appeal to everyone; from children to adults, and from casual readers to serious scholars. “Directly told, with no attempt to oversimplify them, a good deal of the symbolism and the association with the pattern of ancient Greece survives.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review).

A highly readable and beautifully illustrated re-telling of the most famous stories from Greek mythology. The Greek Myths contains some of the most thrilling, romantic, and unforgettable stories in all human history. From Achilles rampant on the fields of Troy, to the gods at sport on Mount Olympus; from Icarus flying too close to the sun, to the superhuman feats of Heracles, Theseus, and the wily Odysseus, these timeless tales exert an eternal fascination and inspiration that have endured for millennia and influenced cultures from ancient to modern. Beginning at the dawn of human civilization, when the Titan Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and offered mankind hope, the reader is immediately immersed in the majestic, magical, and mythical world of the Greek gods and heroes. As the tales unfold, renowned classicist Robin Waterfield, joined by his wife, writer Kathryn Waterfield, creates a sweeping panorama of the romance, intrigues, heroism, humour, sensuality, and brutality of the Greek myths and legends. The terrible curse that plagued the royal houses of Mycenae and Thebes, Jason and the golden fleece, Perseus and the dread Gorgon, the wooden horse and the sack of Troy--these amazing stories have influenced art and literature from the Iron Age to the present day. And far from being just a treasure trove of amazing tales, The Greek Myths is a catalogue of Greek myth in art through the ages, and a notable work of literature in its own right.