Sagen des klassischen Altertums

by Gustav Schwab

Die schönsten Sagen des klassischen Altertums von Gustav Schwab ist bis heute das einzige deutschsprachige Standardwerk zur griechischen Mythologie. Die umfangreiche Nacherzählung überlieferter Mythen ging aufgrund der lebendigen Schilderung sowie der ausführlichen und detaillierten Darstellung in den literaturwissenschaftlichen Kanon ein.
Entstehung: Während seiner Tätigkeit beim Metzler Verlag in Stuttgart beschäftigte sich Schwab ab 1827 intensiv mit der Herausgabe griechischer und römischer Werke der Antike. Seine Kenntnis der griechischen Mythologie erweiterte der engagierte Literaturliebhaber durch das Sammeln und Auswerten sämtlicher antiker Quellentexte, die ihm zugänglich waren. Als Lehrer sah er seine Aufgabe in der Vermittlung antiker Mythen an seine Schüler. Dieses Bestreben ließ ihn das aufwändige Projekt einer vollständigen Erfassung aller überlieferten Sagen des Altertums beginnen, wobei er Wert darauf legte, in seiner Nacherzählung möglichst nah am Originaltext zu bleiben. 1838 erschien der erste der insgesamt drei Bände.
Inhalt: In einer nie da gewesenen Ausführlichkeit erzählt Schwab sämtliche erhaltenen Mythen des griechischen und römischen Altertums nach. Dabei bezieht er beispielsweise die Ilias sowie die Odyssee (beide entst. 2. Hälfte des 8. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.) von R Homer ein, beschreibt jedoch die gesamte Sage des Trojanischen Kriegs, von denen die beiden antiken Werke jeweils nur einen Ausschnitt darstellen. Neben diesem wohl bekanntesten Mythos um den Trojanischen Krieg zählen die Argonautensage, die Heraklessage und die Sage von Ödipus, die Schwab in seinem Werk nacherzählt, zu den verbreitetsten und meistzitierten Sagen der griechischen Antike. Da der Autor Wert auf eine umfassende Darstellung legt, erwähnt er auch viele weniger bekannte Sagen.
Struktur: Das Werk ist in drei Bücher gegliedert, die jedoch in einem Zusammenhang stehen. Das erste Buch widmet sich den Sagen, die vor dem Trojanischen Krieg stattgefunden haben. Hierzu zählen die Prometheussage, die Argonautensage und der Mythos um den Vatermörder Ödipus, der unwissentlich seine eigene Mutter heiratet. Das zweite Buch behandelt ausführlich die Sage um Troja bis zum Niedergang der Stadt und den Sieg der Griechen. Im dritten Buch wird schließlich geschildert, was den griechischen Helden während der Rückkehr aus Troja widerfährt. Hierzu gehört vor allem die bewegte Rückreise des Odysseus, die so genannte Odyssee. Auch die sagenhafte Gründung Roms fällt in diesen Zeitrahmen und wird von Schwab beschrieben.
Wirkung: Das Werk bildet mehr als 160 Jahre nach ihrem ersten Erscheinen immer noch die Grundlage für das allgemeine Verständnis der griechischen Mythologie. Die drei Bände sind zum festen Bestandteil der Literaturgeschichte und Altertumswissenschaft geworden und prägen bis heute die Vorstellung von der antiken Welt Griechenlands. J. D.

Genres: Mythology, Classics, History, Nonfiction, Greek Mythology, German Literature, Religion

956 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1837

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third in a series of six reviews focusing on books about Greek mythology. The books included in this comparative evaluation are:

Bulfinch's Mythology (Modern Library Paperback Edition, 2004)
Mythology by Edith Hamilton (originally published in 1942; Back Bay Books edition of 1998)
The Greek Myths by Robert Graves (Penguin Books combined edition, 1992)
Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece by Gustav Schwab (Pantheon Books, copyright 1946)
Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis (Harper Collins, 2005)
Myths of the Ancient Greeks by Richard P. Martin (New American Library, 2003)

As Goodreads is not really set up to handle comparative reviews smoothly, the discussion is split across the six book reviews. I've tried to evaluate each book on its own particular merits, and also give some idea of how it stacks up relative to the others. I based the comparative evaluation on three main general criteria - readability, accuracy, and scope (breadth and depth of coverage); I also looked at how each book handled two particular examples -- the life of Hercules and the story of Philomela and Procne. More details about the comparison can be found in the introduction to the first review:

Bulfinch evaluation

Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece is a translation of Gustav Schwab's Sagen des Klassischen Altertums, a book that has been the canonical source for Greek legends for several generations of Germans. I have a previous history with Schwab's original version in German: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... but my comments in this review are based on the excellent 1946 translation by Olga Marx and Ernst Morwitz.

Gustav Schwab's original version was first published in Stuttgart in 1837, so it predates Bulfinch by a couple of decades, Edith Hamilton by roughly a century. It's remarkably good -- Schwab's goal was to write a book which could serve as a reference on Greek mythology at a level that would make them accessible to the "common reader". He accomplished his goal - the book was an immediate success in Germany, and Germans still regard it as a canonical reference, almost two centuries later.

The style of Schwab's text is clear, authoritative, and straightforward (mercifully, Schwab avoids the kind of syntactical brambles so beloved of many of his contemporaries). The translation preserves all the virtues of the original and actually forces me to break out the word 'awesome', because I think it represents an improvement in many places. It almost achieves King James status, by which I mean that the language often seems so right as to be inevitable, and anything else doesn't sound as authoritative (in the same way that all other translations of the Bible sound "wrong" after you've read the King James version).

Although it runs to 750 pages and the illustrations are nothing to write home about, it's a clear, useful, beautifully comprehensive reference. Not my first choice among the six on the list, but it's very good nonetheless. Schwab's particular genius was an ability to synthesize material from different sources brilliantly, frequently enriching a story whose main outlines he takes from one primary source with episodes taken from other sources. He does this so seamlessly that it feels like you're reading the canonical version.

With respect to the two 'test stories' that I sued for the comparative evaluation of all six books on the list, Schwab's treatment of the life and adventures of Hercules is exemplary. It was a minor disappointment to find no mention of the story of Philomela and Procne.

Relative to the other books on the list, Schwab devotes more space to The Trojan War and its aftermath (rougly 400 of 700 or so pages). Note that he is not giving a direct translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey - it's more like an intelligent, well-written precis. If you already know the originals pretty well, then the last half of Gods and Heroes may not be all that interesting for you.

This is a fine book.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

My very first book, the one that changed my life. This is the reason way i studyied ancient Greek and Latin for 4 years.
You know how you often get asked a silly question like ''If you had one book to take on a deserted island'', well, i'd choose this one. I don't even travel without it- it's my childhoof blanket, my teddy bear.
And one day, if i have children, they will too fall asleep listening to the stories from Olimpus, and about Trojan war.

[Matt]

Eigentlich wollt ich hier die ganzn Sagen von’n Göttern und Helden zusammenfassn, aber der Platz reicht hinten und vorne nich dafür. Desshalb gibt’s an an dieser Stelle immer nur die letzte Geschichte, die wo ich gelesn hab. Den Rest bis dahin könnt’r lesen, wenn’r hier draufklicken tut:
HIER
__________

Ich musste mal ’ne Weile Pause machn bei’m Lesen von diesen Buch, aber jetzt geht’s weiter mit der Geschichte von Pentheus.

Und zwar war das so, dass der Bakchos oder Dionysos – der hatte nämlich wohl zwei Namen – und war auch’n Sohn von dem Zeus, und außerdem noch der Enkel von’m Kadmos aus Theben, dass der also der Gott von’ne Fruchtbarkeit war und außerdem noch der Erfinder von’n Weinen, also nicht Flennen, sondern Wein, wie zum Trinken. Der Dionysos war unterwegs in’ner Welt und lernte er die Leute am Wein ihre Freude haben, und bestimmt auch an’n anderen Dingen, wofür er der als Gott zuständig war. Und wenn einer dann so am Gottesdienst teilnahm, dann war er Freund von dem Dionysos, aber wenn nich – Junge! – da war der Dionysos dann aber gar nich gut drauf zu sprechen! Jedenfalls kommt er dann ma wieder nach Theben zurück und da war inzwischen der Pentheus am Ruder (auch’n Enkel von’m Kadmos), und der war nich für Gottverehrung und das alles und den Dionysos, der ja nun auch noch mit ihm verwandt war, den konnte er so gar nich verknusen.

Und jetz kommt der Dionysos mit seinen ganzen Gefolge nach Theben und waren’se alle am Singen und Tanzen und dann kommen ihnen die Thebener – oder wie die heißen – entgegen und dann feiern’se ordentlich und Trinken natürlich auch Wein und alles andere. Und wie der Pentheus das mitbekommt wird’er richtich stinkich und sacht’er „Wahnsinnige! Ihr sollt das lassen! Seid ihr doch Krieger und nich Weiber. Und das mit’n Göttern is alles Lug und Trug.“, und so weiter und dann sacht er zu sein Dienern, dass die doch bitte jetz mal den Anführer, also Dionysos, gefangn nehmen sollen und ihm bringen. Und der Opa Kadmos kriech das mit und schüttelt er nur so sein’n Kopp, aber das nützt auch nichts denn der Pentheus war ja jetz ers’ma in Rage geratn. Und wie die Diener zurückkommen sagn’se, dass’se den Dionysos beziehungsweise Bakchos nich erwischen konnten, aber dafür jemand anders, der wohl zum Bakchos dazugehören tät. Und zwar ist das der Akötes, und der erzählt dem Pentheus ers’ma ’ne ganz lange Geschichte, wo’er herkommt und so weiter und wo er’n Schiffbruch erleiden tat und so. Davon will ich auch gar nich viel sagn, nur dass am Ende der Akötes dem Dionysos sein ergebener Diener wird. Dem Pentheus war das alles aber Wurscht und sacht’r seinen Dienern, dass die den Akötes inne Unterwelt schicken sollen. Und wie’se den Akötes innen Kerker schmeißen, kommt das so’ne unsichtbare Hand und die holt ihn dann da wieder raus.

Der Pentheus lässt dann auch alle andern, die an der Feier von dem Bakchos dabei warn, übrigens auch dem Pentheus seine Mutter und der ihre Schwestern, die lässt der Pentheus dann auch in’n städischen Kerker verbringn aber auch die kommen dann schnell wieder raus und rennen’se dann so durch’n Wald. Aber der Bakchos – und das ist jetz doch ziemlich komisch – der stellt sich selbst vor den König, und lässt er sich gefangnnehmen und wird dann auch eingekerkert und kommt dann auch direkt wieder raus, durch so’n göttliches Wunder. Und wie dann die Diener dem Pentheus erzählen, was da alles Tolles passiert bei diesn Fans vom Gott, und wie da Wasser und Wein und Milch und Honich fließn, und soll’er doch selbst ma guckn gehen, da wird der Pentheus immer wütender und dann schickt er schwer bewaffnete Ritter los und Reiter und was nich alles, nur um diese „Weiber“ Herr zu werden. Und der Bakchos kommt dann noch mal zum Pentheus und versprach er dem, dass’er für Ruhe sorgen würde, aber nur wenn der Pentheus Kleider von’n Frauen tragen tät. Und zwar deswegen, damit die „Weiber“ ihn nich erkennen täten, sonst würdn’se ihn nämlich kaputtreißen! Komischerweise macht der Pentheus das sogar, und folgt er dem Bakchos zu den anderen, aber der Bakchos hat dem Pentheus son Wahnsinn verpasst, dass der Pentheus alles doppelt sieht, aber die Frauen sah er nicht. Und dann setzt der Bakchos den Pentheus auf die Spitze von som Tannenbaum und sacht er zu seinen Priestrinnen „Mädels guckt ma, da is derjenige, der mir nich folgt. Jetzt macht ihn kaputt!“ Und die Weiber waren auch alle mit Wahnsinn geschlagen, und sogar seine eigene Mutter hat den Pentheus da nicht mehr erkannt. Und dann holen’se ihn schließlich runter vom Baum und dachten, es wär’n Löwe. Und dann reißen’se ihm die Arme und Beine alle Glieder ab udn schließlich auch seinen Kopp.

Und als Moral der Geschichte heißt es dann, dass man bloß nich seinen Gott verächten sollte, wenn man nicht so enden will wie der Pentheus. Mir hat das Ganze nich besonder gefallen. Am Anfang war zu viel Gelaber und am Ende war’s mir zu brutal. Und außerdem gab’s nich Gut und Böse, sondern eigentlich nur Böse.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Gustav Schwab's Die schönsten Sagen des klassischen Altertums, his exquisite and extensive compilation of Greek mythology tales in German translation as a child (when my father read them aloud to my brother, my sister and me), and still greatly enjoy them today (having recently downloaded and reread them on my Kindle). Perhaps a bit dated in feel and scope, and definitely presenting a writing style that is indeed a bit convoluted and rather old-fashioned, Gustav Schwab still manages to continuously hold and retain my interest and has actually much rekindled my interest in Greek (and to a point Roman) mythology and my wish to learn ancient Greek so that I can, perhaps, sometime in the future manage to read in particular Hesiod's Theogony in the original (although I really do now wonder and question whether my father might have in fact rather simplified some of the stories a bit when he was reading them aloud to us, as I do not recall the individual tales being all that complicated). Definitely much recommended, although for reading in the original, fluency in German (and familiarity with advanced grammar structures like the passive and the subjunctive) is an absolute must (there are though, numerous decent and readable translations of this collection in English, with Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece being the most popular and readily available).

[Ivana Books Are Magic · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in ancient Greek and/or Roman literature, this book is simply a must read. I read it in a Croatian translation. I don't speak any German and probably never will. There is an English translation available as well, as far as I understood. The reason why this book was on my reading list for so long is because I misplaced the other volume of this book and it took me months to finally find it. I own a lot of books and I'm not terribly organized when it comes to arranging my books (or even keeping track of them). Anyhow, when I finally found the other volume the other day, I stayed up reading until 5 am and finished it within the next day. I do love Greek myths.

Schwab's collection of myths and tales was published from 1838 to 1840 and became quite an influential text. It is a rather lengthily work, composed primarily of Greek myths. From what I read, the tales and the myths collected are authentic. These myths and tales were collected and composed from different sources ( some of them are 'later' versions of original stories) so within the same book you will sometimes find different versions of ancient myths and stories.

What I personally enjoyed the most about this book were those tales and legends of antiquity I was not familiar with. There were not a lot of those, because I have already read a lot of antique works. Still, I enjoyed the rest of the book as well. I was quite struck with how similar some of these stories were to stories found in ancient Indian epic works such as Mahabharata. Naturally, this is something I was aware of before, but the similarly in some of these stories still impressed me. It is amazing to see how similar the gods in Greek mythology are to those in Indian mythology and Hinduism. Now, when it comes to tales focusing on epic poems and tragedies such as Iliad, Odysseus and Aeneid (or those featuring characters from tragedies such as Electra) and so on, I prefer the epic poems and tragedies to these tales. However, it was still fascinating to read this 'prose' version of the epic poems and tragedies. It was fascinating to compare the difference and to wonder who made those differences and how these tales changed over the years. Ancient Greek literature and philosophy is such a fascinating field, isn't it?

This is the kind of book I would recommend primarily to people who are interested in classical or mythological works. Some of the tales are quite violent, so this is probably not a good choice for very young children. It is also probably not the best choice for people who aren't interested in classical works. I have personally enjoyed reading it a lot. I can never get tired of Greek gods and myths.

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Finally! This chunky book tormented me for months.
When I bought this book from Barnes, I expected more short stories about the actual Gods and their myths and abilities. Unfortunately, this seemed to focus more on mortals with Gods showing up. It started off great for me but then a lot of these stories dragged on. ESPECIALLY Tales of Troy. That section was 272 pages. It was endless descriptions of the war. Descriptions of who stabbed who. I practically blacked out. It didn’t touch the actual horse until the last few pages.
This book was wrapped in plastic in the store but I wish I was able to peak in before I purchased. I hoped for more beautiful pics (like the end pages) but it was just a few white and black sketches.
The positive? The book looks great on my shelf. I’m happy that I finished it! People might expect I have it just for decoration but NO! I finished this damn book. Just don’t ask me for a summary. Thanks.

[Ingrida Lisauskiene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Va čia tai sėdau, beveik du mėnesius išbuvau Graikijos mitologijos pasaulyje. Geriau žinojau N.Kuno knygą "Senovės Graikijos legendos ir mitai", kurią vos ne mintinai žinojau nuo mokyklos laikų. Ši vokiečių mokslininko išleista knyga yra antras lobis mitologijos gerbėjams, tik veikėjų vardų tai nebus įmanoma atsiminti iki galo- jų daug. Kaip tie graikai visus atsimindavo- nežinau.

[Maarten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informatief, maar erg gedateerd en heeft een ernstig gebrek aan context. Hierdoor is het niet meer dan een eenvoudige introductie.

[NafizaIsAddictive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pantheon has always done a wonderful job of publishing comprehensive and engaging volumes with their series of folklore works and Schwab's work carries on the tradition perfectly.

There's not much I really can say considering the stories represented here are age-old and known throughout countless generations. Rather I'll praise the thorough job done in compiling all the stories. There's no need to jump from book to book anymore when studying the different tales or history making it wonderful for a reference as well as entertainment. The language it's presented in isn't stuffy like so many anthologies of mythology tend to be making a classic subject very approachable.

[Sherrymoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it as kid, 11 years, old, i can remember how i was devouring it with big enthusiasm. While my classmates chosed to talk about theire hobbies as presentation in front of the class, i talked about the
"Ten heroic deeds of Heracless". Was big fun for me.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abridged retelling of the most important Greek myths and legends. Rather outdated (the original, German, edition is from 1837!)

[Scythe Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessantes Buch, mir jedoch stellenwese etwas zu sehr auf Stammbaumkunde fokussiert. Um beispielsweise den trojanischen Krieg verstehen zu können, braucht man beispielsweise nicht die Information, das Ilos der Sohn von Tros, der Sohn von Erichthonios, der Sohn von Dardanos, der Sohn von Zeus und einer hier namenlosen Nymphe, ist und x Jahre vor dem Konflikt den Grundstein für die Stadt Troja gelegt hat. Das ist jedoch nicht die einzige Szene, in der eingebaut wird, wer jetzt wessen Kind ist- in manchen Fällen ist das zwar gerechtfertigt, aber beispielsweise im oberen Fall ist für mich schwer nachvollziehbar, warum Gustav Schwab so einen großen Fokus auf einen Haufen Charaktere legt, die letztendlich doch nicht im Buch auftauchen.

[Prerazmišljavanje - Katarina Kostić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zvezda manje zbog nedostatka pogovora ili nekakvog istoričarskog uvoda, zvezda manje zbog nametanja aksiomatičnosti herojstva kao pozitivnog (heroj je tek sin boga, nije nužno dobra osoba), zvezda manje zbog neravnomernog detaljisanja, zvezda više zbog konteksta, i ostade na tri.

Da se doterati do pet jednim dobrim parom predgovor—pogovor.

[Kannonhall · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy Greek Mythology this is definitely the book for you. Now I will have to admit, I did not read this book completely in one month, but that is what I loved about it. You can pick up this book and always find a new adventure to read. By the time you read them all you will be excited just to start all over again. "Gods and Heroes" consists of many collected stories of the great legends of Greek Mythology. Each story is an escape from reality. Whether you are on a long voyage home from the fall of Troy, or becoming King of the Gods you are always captivated with these ancient adventures. Prior to reading this book I would say that I had a pretty decent amount of background knowledge pertaining to Greek Mythology. After completing this book I realized that there were so many stories that I was not aware about. For example, the story of Europa. Europa was a Phoenician princess and was fancied by Zeus. He fancied her so much that he appeared to her as a beautiful white bull. Europa got on to Zeus (the bull) and he whisked her away to the island of Create. What went on with Zeus and Europa? You will have to read the story to find out. I will tell you that the continent of Europe was named after her. Stories such as this are interesting and intense. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed adventure and mythology. I like this book because of the action combined with the historical settings. I also enjoyed this book because you can take your time to enjoy the individual stories. I did not like that the stories are not clearly divided into chapters it made it difficult to find individual stories.

[Armin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich war so ungefähr elf Jahre jung als Karl May damit begann eine ernsthafte Rolle in meiner Lektüre-Bio zu spielen, etwa drei Jahre lang überschattete der Mayster so gut wie alle vorherigen Einflüsse und Lese-Erlebnisse. Im Verlauf meines Studiums und im Vorlauf zu den Klassikern der Antike habe ich aber stets zuallererst zu Kurt Eigls Upgrade von Gustav Schwab gegriffen, bei dem tatsächlich ein paar ganz entscheidende Nuancen fehlen. Dieses mal kommt er im Vorlauf auf die Vertiefung durch
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
zu Ehren. Hauptgrund für den Abzug ist der Umgang mit der auf knapp drei Seiten geschrumpften Aeneis. Alle von Homer nie gelieferten Fakten zur Schlacht um Troia werden dem Hauptereignis zugeschlagen, dagegen bleibt auf der Reise ins nächste gelobte Land sogar der Aufenthalt in Karthago und die tragische Geschichte mit Dido auf der Strecke.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eines meiner größten Leseprojekte dieses Jahres ist mit Sicherheit diese Mythen-Zusammenfassung von Gustav Schwab in der hübschen Aufmachung von Gondrom gewesen. Zu lesen gibt es neben den bekanntesten Götter- und Heldenmythen auch (und vor allem) zusammenfassende und doch textnahe Prosaerzählungen der epischen Dichtungen Ilias und Odyssee Homers und Vergils Aeneis. Wer beginnen möchte, sich mit dem klassisch altertümlichen Mythos auseinanderzusetzen, erhält hier einen kompakten, leicht bekömmlichen (wenn auch leicht antiquierten) Einstieg in die großen Sagenkreise und Dichtungen der Antike.
Dazu gefällt mir das gut ausgearbeitete Götter- und Heldenregister am Schluss, das dem Buch zusätzlich noch eine Referenzfunktion gibt. Für die 10€, die ich dafür bezahlt habe, also ein lohnenswertes Schnäppchen.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to read and reread this book over and over again as a kid. It's a bit outdated now, in terms of language -- a little too archaic, even for 2600 year old stories. But the approach is commendable: a a retelling of some of the best-known or most alluded-to ancient Greek myths, clustered according to theme or protagonist.

This version doesn't go very deep, but it doesn't intend to. It's a nice overview, and it gets the job done adequately.

It is definitely comprehensive but also amazingly discreet - don't expect anything below the belt and stories/legends like that of Hylas are missing.

[id!l · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this, idk i felt that the writing kept me interested and ive learnt a lot about greek mythology and heroes.

It has taken me a while to get through this and there are... a lot of stories, i didn't read them all but a good portion, and i've taken it day by day but i loved it.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this quite a heavy read, since this originally was an older book, the language reflects that, so it's not as easy for modern readers. Probably wouldn't recommend trying to read it from cover to cover like I did, it might be better to look up different stories here and there, cause they are all pretty short (at least the substories or whatever you can call them) and fascinating too. They don't focus as much on the gods as I expected however.
It has simple old-fashioned illustrations sprinkled through, I liked the painting adorning the endpapers more though.
It's a nice addition to my B&N leatherbound collection, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it unless you are really into stories about Troy and such.

[Vanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gledajući, ja san pročitala ovo ča san rabila, ali skroz nisan pročitala ono la san stila koliko su me priče razočarale.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lektira:
-Sizif- ⭐⭐⭐
-Orfej i Euridika- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Piram i Tizba- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
-Heraklo(100-103)- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
-Edip- ⭐⭐⭐
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Moji izbori:
-Heraklo- ⭐⭐, jako me je razočara
-Trojanski rat- dnf 24%
- Odisejeva potraga- nisan ni počela koliko san bila uvjerena da ni to ne bude dobro

[T N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much, much more enjoyable then Tales of Norse Mythology. The stories that were told didn't feel as much as a lecture as the that book. Of course, I think that more of a normal textbook style of book isn't bad, but man this was much more enjoyable. If you have already read the Illiad and the Odyssey then much of this book will already be vary familiar to you, but there was a lot of it that was nice to have be told again. Overall, great read.

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

116-Greek gods and heroes-Gustav Schwab-Methdology-1840
Barack
2017/04/ 15
2020/05/0 7

- hero, it would give him the biggest threat is not the enemy in front of him, but his family and friends behind.

"Greek Mythology", first published in Germany in 1840. It collects various legends about gods and heroes of the ancient Greek nation, and vividly depicts the social life of the ancient Greeks.

Gustav Schwab was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1792 and died in 1850. Studied at the University of Tubingen. He used to be Schiller's teacher. His main literary contribution is to discover and sort out ancient cultural heritage. Representative works: "Greek Mythology" and so on.

Part of the catalog
1. Prometheus
2. The century of mankind
3. Pila and Deucalion
4. Zeus and Io
5. Phaeton
6. Europa
7. Cadmus
8. Pentos
9. Perseus
10. Creusa and Ion

Although we would not really believe that the Trojan War was just for the fight for Helen, not for the benefit. But there is such a legend that when the Trojan War reached its tenth year , the Greeks were tired of the war and complained that it was not worth fighting for a woman for so long . But when they saw Helen's beauty with their own eyes, they changed their minds, thinking that the war would be okay for another 10 years. Visible , man's wisdom, degree and extent of a woman's beauty as inversely proportional, and proportional to the degree of courage and a woman's beauty .

" He (Prometheus) knew that the seeds of the gods were hidden in the soil, so he picked up some of the soil, moistened it with river water, and squeezed it in this way, making it the god-the ruler of the world. Image. In order to give life to the human form made of mud, he ingests good and evil from the hearts of various animals and seals them in the human chest. Among the gods, he has a friend, the goddess of wisdom, Athena; She was amazed at the creation of the son of Titan, for blowing soul and divine breath to this creature with only half life. "

There are also legends in China that Nuwa used clay to create people. It seems that the myths of various countries tend to think that people are made of clay. This is probably a concept that farming civilization is more likely to produce, because people's supplies all come from the soil, and they are buried in the soil after death.

" His (Prometheus) wit drove him to deceive the gods. He slaughtered a bull on behalf of his creation and asked the gods to take the part they liked. After he finished killing, he divided it into two piles. He put meat, viscera and fat on one pile, covered with cowhide, and a cow belly on top; on the other pile, he put bare bones, cleverly covered with cow suet. But this pile is relatively large. Some! The all-knowing and all-powerful Zeus saw through his deception and said: "Son of Iapertos, prominent king, my good friend, how unfair your distribution is! ”” ”

What I have been unable to understand is that since the gods are so powerful, why do we need human sacrifices? They can kill humans easily , so why not kill livestock themselves ? People kind of tribute to them are not easy things can get it? And they have the most beautiful food, so why should they enjoy the livestock of the world?

" This woman (Pandora) is holding a gift in both hands-a huge closed box. She just walked to Epimetheus when she suddenly opened the lid, and a large group of disasters flew out. , Quickly spread to the ground. But there is the only beautiful thing hidden deep in the bottom of the box: hope! Because of the warning of the Father of the gods, before it flew out, Pandora put down the lid and closed the box permanently. Now count Unclear different forms of misery fill the earth, the air, and the sea. Diseases linger among mankind day and night, secretly and quietly; because Zeus did not give them a voice. Various fevers attack the earth, and death, In the past, I staggered into the world so slowly, but now I move forward with flying steps. "

Myths and religious stories are often allegorical . Although the story is simple, it reveals some truths in life. People were tempted by beauty and other things and opened Pandora's box, which also caused endless disasters. Only "hope" can redeem mankind.

" The suffering of this prisoner (Prometheus) was judged to be permanent, or at least thirty thousand years. He roared loudly and called out the wind, the river, the void where nothing can hide, and the earth of the mother of all things, for His pain testified, but his spirit was still very strong. "No matter who, as long as he learns to recognize the unshakable power of destiny," he said, "he must endure the pain awarded by the goddess of fate. "Zeus' threats also failed to persuade him to explain his unlucky prophecy that a new marriage will corrupt and destroy the king of the gods. Zeus will do what he says. He sends a eagle to peck every day. He eats prisoner’s liver, but no matter how much he eats, the liver regenerates. This pain will continue until someone voluntarily comes out and suffers for him. "

Prometheus offends powerful gods for the sake of weak humans . To do so is really worth of it? Gods can punish him, but humans cannot protect him. Even Hercules, who later liberated Prometheus, was also the son of Zeus, not purely human.

" The first-age human beings created by the gods were golden humans. At this time, Cronus (that is, Saturn) ruled the kingdom of heaven. They lived carefree, without labor and sorrow, almost like gods. . They will not age. Their hands and feet still have the power of youth. Their limbs are soft and disease-free, and they enjoy feasts and happiness throughout their lives. The gods also love them and give them rich harvests and magnificent livestock. Be theirs When the time of death comes, they will fall into undisturbed long sleep; but when they are alive, they have many wishful things. The earth automatically grows very rich fruits for them. Their needs are met, and everyone is in peace and happiness. Live happily. When the goddess of fate judges them to leave the earth, they become benevolent protectors, walking around in the clouds, giving gifts, presiding justice, and punishing sins. "

" Subsequently, the gods created second-age humans, silver humans; this is different from the first race in appearance and spirit. Their children and grandchildren have maintained their childhood for hundreds of years, and they will not be mature and are under the care of their mothers. And spoiling. In the end, when such a child grows up to adulthood, he is left with only a short life. Because they can't control their feelings, their presumptuous actions make this new humanity fall into disaster. They are rude and arrogant, and each other Violation, no longer offering proper sacrifices to the altar of the gods to show respect. Zeus was very angry that they lacked respect for the gods, so he wiped out this race from the earth. But because this silver race is not entirely There is no morality, so there must be some kind of honor. When they terminate human life, they can still roam the earth as demons. "

" Now the heavenly Father Zeus has created a Tertiary race, bronze humans. This is completely different from humans in the Silver Age. They are cruel and rough, accustomed to war, and always kill each other. They damage the fruits of the fields and eat and drink. The flesh and blood of animals; their stubborn will is as hard as a diamond. From their broad shoulders grow irresistible giant arms. They wear bronze armor, live in bronze houses, and operate with bronze tools because they There was no iron at that time. But although they were tall and terrible and kept fighting with each other, they couldn't resist death. When they left the clear and bright land, they descended into the dark night of the underworld. "

" When this race is completely Simie, the son of Zeus Cronos created Quaternary race, they rely on the land to produce life. These new humans are more noble than ever before in human and public positive. But they are ancient The heroes of the so-called demigods. But in the end they also fell into vendettas and wars. Some were outside the city of Thebai for the land war of King Oedipus, and some took ships to the Troy wilderness for the beautiful Helen . In battles and disasters, they ended their survival on the ground. Zeus assigned them to the bright island of Bliss in the dark ocean. Here they lead a peaceful and happy life after death. Three times a year, the rich earth gives them Their sweet fruit harvest. "The 4th era is the era of heroes.

"The ancient poet Hesiod talked about the legend of the human century. He ended with this sigh: "Ah, if I am not born in the fifth age of the present human being, let me die earlier or be born later. ! Because now is the century of black iron. Humans at this time are totally sinful. They work day and night and worry about them. The gods make them have deeper and deeper troubles, but the biggest troubles are brought to themselves by themselves. Fathers do not love sons; sons do not love fathers. Guests hate their host, and friends hate their friends. Even the brothers are not as sincere as in ancient times, and the white hair of their parents is not respected. Old people have to listen to shameful words and endure blows. Ah, ruthless humans! Have you forgotten the referee given by the gods and dare to live up to the upbringing grace of senior parents? Powerful people are everywhere, and people destroy their neighboring cities. Covenant-keeping, good, and just people are not rewarded, while evil and hard-hearted blasphemers are honored. Kindness and elegance are no longer respected. The wicked are allowed to hurt goodness, tell lies, and bet on false spells. This is why these people are so unhappy. Discord and malicious jealousy pursued them, and made their eyebrows furrowed. Until this time, the goddesses of the highest kind and dignity who have often come to the earth are now sadly covering their beautiful limbs with white robes and returning to the eternal gods. There is nothing left for mankind but misery, and this misery is invisible! " "

Here, the history of mankind is divided into five discrete ages: the golden age, the silver age, the bronze age, the heroic age, and the current age of black iron. In Christian mythology, people think that mankind has been destroyed many times. In Greek mythology, they also believed that humans were repeatedly created and destroyed.

" Zeus returned to Mount Olympus , the gods sat and deliberation, decided to destroy all the shameful human race. He was about to castigate the whole earth with lightning, but immediate stop, because I am afraid that Congress is calamity day and, and burned The pivot of the universe. So he put down the thunder and lightning that Cookrops had cast for him, determined to land with heavy rain and flood mankind with floods. "

In the myths and legends of most peoples , there was a period of flooding in prehistoric times. Is this the memory of human ancestors from the ice age? And most legends also tend to think that deities live on mountains or in the sky.

" They ( Ducathion and Pila ) knelt before the semi-destroyed altar of the goddess of justice Themis, and prayed to the immortal goddess: "Tell us, goddess, how we can recreate the extinct human race. Ah, help the world be born again! "Leave from my altar," a voice replied. "Cover your head, untie your clothes, and throw your mother's bones behind you." They meditated on the mysterious words for a long time. Pilar was the first to break through the silence. "Forgive me, great goddess," she said, "if I tremble and disobey you; because I hesitated, I don’t want to throw my mother’s bones. Offend her ghost! "But Deucalion's heart suddenly brightened, as if a ray of light flashed. He comforted his wife with soothing words. "Unless my understanding is wrong, the god's command will never tell us to do something wrong," He said, "The earth is our mother, and her bones are stones. Pila, it is the stone that is going to throw behind us! " "

The gods seem to always dislike making their predictions too obvious. Often the method implied pointed out , need those puzzle to be their own imagination. Does this imply that the ancient priests deliberately gave ambiguous predictions to prevent mistakes in their predictions, so as to ensure that both positive and negative could be explained?

" Hera, the mother of the gods, has known her husband's unfaithfulness for a long time. Because he often carried her on his back, indiscriminately in love with the daughters of demigods and mortals. She never restrained her anger and jealousy, she always harbored tenacity. Her suspicion monitors every movement of Zeus on the ground. Now she is looking at the place where her husband is hiding her pleasure. She is surprised to see that the place is also clouded with clouds on sunny days. It is not rising from the river, nor Not from the ground, nor for other natural reasons. She immediately became suspicious. She searched Olympus and found no Zeus. "If I am not mistaken," she said angrily, "my husband Must be doing a serious sin against me again. " "

The source of a man's effort begins with Zeus, the father of the gods , and the source of women's jealousy and sensitivity begins with Hera, the mother of the gods. If the wife is weak, she can only endure it in silence. And if the wife and the husband are equally strong, then the two continue to carry out this kind of reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance rest.

" On the bank of the Nile, she (Io) knelt on her front feet, held her head up, and looked up at Zeus in the sky in silent complaints. He saw her, aroused pity, and immediately went to Hera, embraced her, and begged her. Have mercy on this poor girl. He explained that she did not entice him to become unrighteous, and swears by the river in the lower realm (because gods often swear that way) that he will never give up his love for her in the future. When he is begging her Hera also heard the scream of the heifer from the clear sky. She softened her heart and allowed Zeus to restore Ios to its original form. "

A loving but powerful husband. Like a jealous wife who has the same power . The two were afraid of each other . When the husband is greedy for other young and beautiful women. This will be the beginning of the latter's tragic fate. Because she could not refuse the former, and once their personal affair was discovered by the lover's wife, the lover could not protect the poor woman .

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very big book and parts that I had to skip but overall I have to say this was incredible. As a child growing up in the 80s I had grown up watching Jason and the Argonauts and clash of the Titans and hearing about Achilles and Troy but never really having read the Iliad or the Odyssey. This book literally talks about every single Greek story or reference that you would have heard of in your life. It's also abundantly clear that so much of our language and some of the stories we talk about in the western world today have been influenced by the stories that were created a couple of millennia ago through these Greek myths and these types of legends. So if you heard of any of these but don't know the origin of them then it's worth reading this book: Prometheus, Perseus, Icarus, Jason and the Argonauts, Hercules, which in Greek is actually supposed to be heracles, Medea, the labours of Herakles, the clearing of the augean stables, bellerophon, theseus, the amazons, the Oedipus complex, Antigone, Orpheus and Eurydice, the battle of Troy, Helen, Paris, agamemnon, Ajax, Achilles, Hector, the wooden horse, Odysseus, the sirens, Scylla and Charybdis etc. The book does follow pretty much chronologically through some of the key characters that first came down onto earth covering the Titans and the Greek gods and the demigods etc etc the second half of the book is pretty much covered by the battle of Troy which was a lot longer than I thought it originally was, and then the adventures of Odysseus.

Anyway here are some of the best bits from the book:

The fact that the Greek people were destined to be the nation of philosophers and the creator of western culture was certainly connected with its wealth of heroic legends and the overwhelming amount of its mythical speculation about the world's, gods and men.

Even Aristotle the master of pure reason once said: the friend of wisdom is also a friend of the myth.

To punish Prometheus for his knavery, Zeus denied mortals the last thing they needed to perfect their civilization: fire! But Prometheus improvised a way to provide even this. He broke a stalk of pithy fennel, approached the chariot of the sun as it spun through the heavens and held the stork to its blaze until it smoldered. With this Tinder he descended to earth, and soon the first pile of brushwood was flaming to the Sky. Pain pasted the soul of Zeus the thunderer when he saw fire rising among men and casting its radiance far and wide. Zeus was straight with every word. Every day he sent an eagle to feed on his Prometheus’ liver which however much it was devoured always grew back again. This torture was to last until one who came of his own free will, would consent to suffer in Prometheus’ stead.

You're destined to be the mortal wife of Zeus, the unconquerable. And your name shall be immortal, for from this time on the continent which received you shall be called Europe.

On this island the woman only a year ago had killed their husbands and indeed all the men in the land, because they had bought concubines from thrace and Aphrodite had roused their wives to jealousy and rage. The island of lemnos.

Amysus the King of the wild bebrycians had its tables and country house. This sovereign had imposed in difficult rule on all strangers: that no one was to leave his territory without first having boxed with him. This shows you how far back boxing has been a sport with mankind.

instead of calling medea's rage, the recital of these horrors only served to fan it to hotter flame. Like an avenging fury she ran out to deal the fatal blow to her husband and herself. Night had fallen and she hurried to the room where her sons lay asleep. Steel yourself my heart she muttered to herself on the way. Why do you shudder from doing the awful, the needful deed? Forget these are your children, that you have borne them. Forget it for this hour only and then you can mourn them all your days. You're doing them a welcome service. If you do not kill your children they will die at the hands of their foes. Sunny: this was clearly the story from which the name Madea has become so famous as the woman who killed her own children.

Son he cried, where are you? Unsheathe your sword: use it against your father. Server my neck from my body and heal the frenzy with which your godless mother has stricken me. Do not delay! Have pity on me a hero crying like a girl. This was Hercules speaking. Then he turned to those around him, stretched out his arms in agony and moaned: do you still recognize these though the strength has been taken from them? They are the same that slew the terrors of the Shepherd, then nemean lion , that strangled the Hydra, that helped put an end to the great Boar, and carried Cerberus out of hades. I spared no wild beast of the forest, no hosts of Giants could overwhelm me: but now I am destroyed by a woman's hand. My son, kill me and punish your mother.

The Oracle of Delphi hoping to hear the sun God give the lie to what he had been told. Phoebus Apollo did not deign to reply to this question. Instead he revealed a new and far more terrible misfortune than the one oedipus feared. You will slay your father said the Oracle and you will marry your own mother and leave loathsome descendants behind in the world.

Creon kept his promise. He gave Oedipus the Kingdom of phoebes and married him to jocasta: who was his mother. Through the years she bought him four children: first the twin boys Eteocles and Polyneices, and then two daughters the elder of whom was Antigone and the younger ismene. But these four were not only his children but also his sisters and brothers.

The most inflexible blade is the first to crack.

In those days the Greeks were sometimes called danai, a word derived from danaus, an early King of Egypt who had settled in argos on their peloponnesus , and sometimes they were called argives, after the most important region in Greece : argolis or the land of the argives. they also went by the name of Achaeans, because in the olden times Greece had been called achaea. it was not until later that they were called Greeks from graicus, son of thessalus, and hellenes after Helen son of Deucalion and Pyrrha - from which we get the word pyrrhic victory.

Nothing in the world, he called out to him resentfully, is worse than a wavering will.

But suddenly invisible to all the rest athene stood behind him and revealed herself to him by catching at a lock of his Brown hair. Curb Your anger she whispered. Do not draw your sword. But you may fume with words to your hearts content. If you pay me I pledge you a threefold gift. Cursed be anger, whether it's spring in gods or men, for first it is sweet as honey to the heart, but then it grows Acrid as smoke.

But penthesilea fought so fiercely that the argives retreated before her thrusts. Drunk with success she called to them: today you dogs you shall atone for the suffering you have inflicted on priam And the Trojans. She was fighting against the Greeks. Beasts and birds shall feed on your rotting flesh. Not one of you shall ever see his wife and children again and no burial mound will be heaped above your bones. Where is diomedes? Where is ajax? And where is Achilles? The best in your host do not dare measure their strength against mine! And why? Because they know that I should make corpses out of them. Sunny: she was a brave brave lady to call out Achilles like that when almost the entire Trojan army and the Trojan Warriors were in fear of him alone.

But phoebus in grim resentment shrouded himself in cloud, fitted an arrow and shot Achilles in his vulnerable heel. a stinging pain darted from his foot to the heart of Achilles and he toppled like a tower from under which men have dug the foundation. Lying on the ground he glared angrily in all directions and shouted: who was it that shot that arrow at me from far away? Oh if only he faced me in open combat, I should drag out his entrails and spill his cursed blood until his spirit fled to the underworld. But cowards always kill the brave from ambush. Let him hear that! If he even be a God. For Alas! I fear it was Apollo. My mother once told me that I should die from the shaft of phoebus and I fear that now her words have become true.

So spoke Ajax and his excitement grew as he talked. But Odysseus replied with a mocking smile: why so many words Ajax? You call me weak and cowardly and forget that only wisdom is true strength. It is wisdom that teaches the sailor to ride through a stormy sea, its wisdom that tames wild beasts, Panthers and Lions and compels ox to serve man. And that is why both in times of need an in the council of man of sense it is worth more than a foolish giant who is nothing but bodily strength.

Impulsively Ajax stretched out his arms to his son, took him and caressed him saying: child surpass your father in happiness, but resemble him in all else: then everything will be well with you. And I call on you: furys: as you see me her the Slayer of myself so let all those others fall, done death by their own by their dearest King. Come show no mercy! Satisfy your hunger ! But you O sun God shining through the Heights of the Sky, when your chariot circles over salamis my native land , slow your journey and bring my old father and my poor mother news of my bitter fateful stop farewell sweet light! Farewell salamis! Farewell Athens and the home of my ancestors with your rivers and Springs! and farewell region of Troy where I have lived so many years and now come death and may your eyes hold pity for me ! With these words he ran on his sword and fell as if struck by lightning. The suicide of Ajax.

Do not grieve that I'm dead dear son for now I am in the company of the gods. Do not give yourself up to mourning. Do as I did while I lived. Always be first in battle, but in council do not hesitate to yield to the wisdom of the men older than yourself. Strive for glory, enjoy the light of the earth and do not let misfortune rest too heavily on your spirit. My early death has taught me how near the doors of hades is to every mortal. For men are like the Flowers in spring: they bloom and they fade. And now tell agamemnon to sacrifice the most precious and noblest of all the spoils that my heart may rejoice in the fall of Troy and nothing be lacking to my content on the Heights of Olympus.

Odysseus: he presented to have come from the far off land decrease with half of his property. The other half, so he said, he had left there for his sons. He had slain a man who tried to Rob him so he spun out his tail and had been forced to flee from his native land. When he had finished his story, Pallas athene, smiled and passed her caressingly over his face. And suddenly she changed into a tall beautiful woman. Really! She said to him. Even among the gods themselves it would take a cunning knave to outdo you! Even in your very own realm you will not cease dissembling. The craftiness of idysseus. Sunny: it's very clear that the story of Odysseus which follows on from the Iliad and the story of the fall of Troy shows Odysseus to be a very crafty and conniving individual . I wonder how much of the world's craftiness and conniving you see everywhere in the world has been influenced by the craftiness of this one particular character and the adventures that he had after the Iliad.

[Lukas Ceciliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está muy bueno, la iliada y la odisea son puro peak

El joven pelida dandole backshots a patroclo? Aquiles goat💔

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the inside front page of my copy of this book, I have just rediscovered the following inscription:

Fur Daithi Mac Giolla tSeanain
fur gute Leistungen in der deutschen Sprache
mit den besten Wuenschen

Dr. Karl-Gustav Gerold
Kultur-Attache der Deutschen Botschaft

Dublin, 2. Febr. 1972

Doctor Gerold's spidery inscription triggered a sudden, vivid recollection of a cold, wet February day in Dublin (is there any other kind?). My classmate Seamus Higgins and I had the day off class, but we weren't free to roam at will. Instead, we made our way to the German Embassy, where we were guests of honour (with a third student, Willie O'Brien, from one of the snooty Dublin city prep schools) at an award ceremony, the three of us having scored highest in the country in the previous year's Inter Cert German exam. The book was a handsome prize (though my German wasn't actually good enough to read it for another five years, when I spent a year in Berlin). But it wasn't the best part of the very formal, slightly awkward ceremony, at which we had to make fractured small talk with the cultural attache and the ambassador, while trying to manoeuver the delicate hors d'oeuvres and alcohol-free sparkling grape juice. I had only just turned 15, and found the whole occasion a bit of an ordeal. But it all became much more tolerable when the ambassador broke the big news, that there was a second part to the award, namely a fully paid 4-week trip to Germany for the following September (including tickets to the Munich Olympics).

It was the beginning of a highly enjoyable, and lucrative, relationship with the German government, who subsequently paid for not just that month's initial visit, but also bankrolled the first year of my Master's degree at the Technical University in Berlin.

Those were the good times.

What's that? You were expecting a book review? That will be over here, where the English translation is listed, as soon as I get it written:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

{end shameless boasting about childhood accomplishments}

[Brian Koser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and structured. The language is archaic which makes for a dry read, but it's fine in small doses.

---

- When Polynices reunites with his father Oedipus after betraying him, he says, "I confess—I accuse myself—I forgot my father." Stephen King Dark Tower allusion or no?

---
A Short Play
Setting: The Trojan War

Apollo: I, Apollo, God of the Sun and Healing, will fire my arrows into the Greek ranks and bring upon them a plague!
Hypnos: I, Hypnos, God of Dreams, will send a false prophecy in a dream to deceive the Greeks into a premature attack!
Ares: Guys
Athena: I, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Handicraft, will warn Odysseus that your dream is false!
Aprodite: I, Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, will save Paris from death and transport him in a mist back to Troy!
Ares: Guys wait
Zeus: I, Zeus, God of the Sky and Law, will save Sarpedon from the spear of Tlepolemus!
Ares: Guys I'm the God of War
Scamander: I, Scamander, God of the River Scamander, will fight Achilles!
Ares: Guys I really think that I ought
Hera: I, Hera, the Goddess of Motherhood and Childbirth, will aid the Greeks in battle!
Ares: Guys come on
Achilles: I, Achilles, not a God, have killed Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons!
Ares: Wait, that was my daughter! You can't
Zeus: Stand down, Ares! This is war!
Ares: :(

[LuisJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well worth reading although the section on the Trojan War is around 267 pages which is a good 35% of the book (more if you don't count the Introduction in the total page count) and it's really something that could (and should) have been told in less than half of that. It descends into pages upon pages of battles which don't turn the tide of the war at all and the heroes spend most of their time defending the bodies of fallen comrades while their enemies try to steal the armour and weapons from those said bodies. In fact, the war is said to have lasted about 20 years and you can really believe it with the way that they waste so much time.
Personally, I was looking for something more akin to the Adventures of Hercules and this is not it; but it's not supposed to be and it is good for what it is.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich kann mich errinnern, wie wir in der Schule damals davon lesen mussten.Damals wollte ich wie gewohnt eine Kurzfassung aus dem Internet heraus googeln.Aber dann las ich die ersten vier fünf Seiten, und ich hatte danach eine neue Leidenschaft entdeckt-Griechische Sagen.
Was mir aber auch ebenfalls aufgefallen war, ist dass einige Geschichten im Buch verblüffende Ähnlichkeiten mit einigen Geschichten aus dem Koran haben.Vielleicht war das auch ein Grund dafür, warum ich alles leidenschaftlich durchlas.
Für gewöhnlich stelle ich hier keine Bücher , die wir in der Schule durchgenommen hatten, aber dieses Buch hat es verdient.

[Köksal KÖK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alman Halk Efsaneleri


İÇİNDEKİLER, İÇİNDEKİ BAŞLIKLAR (HİKAYELER EFSANELER);

-SİEGFRİED.
-GÜZEL MAGELONE, Beautiful Magelone.
-Anne Heinrich, Zavallı Heinrich.
-BRİTANYA DÜŞESİ HİRLANDA.
-GENOVEVA.
-GRİSELDİS, Decamerone.
-Robert LE Diable, Şeytan Robert
-ŞİLDA' LILAR
-HEYMONUN DÖRT ÇOCUĞU
-İMPARATOR OKTAVİANUS, Octavianus.
-GÜZEL MELUSİNE, BEAUTİFUL MELUSİNE (Şahmaren-ŞEHMERAN HİKAYESİ).
-BAVYERA VE AVUSTURYA DÜKÜ ERNST- Ernest, Duke OF Bavaria.
-DOKTOR FAUSTUS, Doktor Faustus, ŞEYTANLA SÖZLEŞME.
-FORTUNAT VE OĞULLARI, Fortunate Son.

[VVivacious · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a good book for beginners. This is an English translation of a German compilation of Greek myths by Gustav Schwab.

I tried to read this book once previously but I was missing out on so much context that I lost interest somewhere in the middle of the twelve labours of Heracles. When I first read this book my only knowledge of Greek mythology came from The Song of Achilles, The Iliad and The Odyssey. And, I really thought that would be enough but it's really not if you want this book to be interesting.

I feel like having a working knowledge of the Greek origin story and the basics about who the Olympians, the Titans and the Giants are, makes this book a more interesting read because otherwise, you spend so much time figuring out who these people are that you start losing interest in the actual story.

What really helped me in this regard was reading the 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' series and 'The Heroes of Olympus' series. Those books cover so many salient points about Greek mythology that you don't even realize how much you have imbued. But additionally, Rick Riordan took out two books that are about Greek mythology just narrated by Percy Jackson namely, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes. The first one is an invaluable asset. You can read it even if you haven't read the series but you might have more context for Percy's humour if you are familiar with his character. If that isn't a hindrance I believe Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is a great starting point for delving into Greek mythology because it gives you background knowledge on the world these heroes inhabit. Most of Greek Mythology is about the heroes but without understanding who the gods are it becomes harder to understand why they do what they do.

This time around armed with the knowledge of the Greek Gods, it was so much easier to start reading this book and stay interested in it. It is a very dense read, sentences sometimes encapsulate entire scenes so even two pages of this book can contain a lot of information which might be a bit harder to process especially if you aren't familiar with the gods at all.

But, having said that this is also a very thorough recounting of these stories. Having read 'The Iliad' I could see how faithfully the author presents that story within the pages of this book. You really don't need to read 'The Iliad' if you have read the story of the Trojan War from this book because it is extremely detailed regarding the events of 'The Iliad'. Also, 'The Iliad' is an incomplete story but this book offers up the entire story of the Trojan War so technically you would know more as well. Of course, I can't play down how the cultural and historical significance of 'The Iliad', so I totally think you should read it if you want to but if you just want the story then this book does such a good job of relaying that story that you could easily claim to have read 'The Iliad'.

This was my first time coming across the story of Orestes and Pylades and it was so good. It might have become my favourite part of this book, especially since Part II of this book covers the events of 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' both of which I'm familiar with. So, to have this interesting story sandwiched between those two epics was a nice change of pace.

This book is divided into two parts, the first part covers the stories of famous Greek heroes, like Heracles, Theseus, Jason, Perseus, Bellerophon, Oedipus, Meleagor and some others less well-known. But, part two covers the Trojan War and its aftermath. The first part of this book is roughly 300 pages and the remainder of this book is just the Trojan War and its aftermath. I wanted to read more about the Trojan War and I also wanted to see how the story was covered by a different author, so this was not an issue for me. But, it might get kind of boring to read part two if you are intimately familiar with 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey', so be aware of that.

The Odyssey is not a particular favourite of mine and I can't put a finger on why. So, reading the last bit of this book was bound to be tedious considering my indifference but despite all that, the story featuring 'The Odyssey' is very well written and once I started reading it I flew through it all.

Having read this book, I'm really grateful for how much it has expanded my knowledge of Greek myths and overall, even though I don't think this book is great for someone new to Greek mythology, it is definitely a great resource to read if you are familiar with Greek myths but want to further that knowledge. It is a dense read but at the same time, I can vouch for the fact that it is extremely detailed and well-written.