Antik Yunan ve Roma Hikâyeleri: Homeros'tan Okumalar

by Emilie Kip Baker, Onur Aydın (Translator)

"İnsanoğlunun dünyadaki ilk günlerinde, her şeyin güzel ve yeni olduğu zamanlarda hiçbir yerde ne hastalık, ne acı, ne de keder vardı. İnsanlar uzun ve erdemli yaşamlar sürerlerdi; her yerde dünyada benzeri görülmemiş bir mutluluk hüküm sürüyordu."

Bu kitap Emilie Kip Baker'in titiz çalışmaları sonucu hazırladığı, Antik Yunan ve Roma dönemlerine ait pek çoğu iyi bilinen ama bir kısmı da az bilinen fakat sürekli atıfta bulunulan öykülerden oluşan bir derleme kitabıdır. Baker, Pandora'dan Afrodit'e; Apollon'dan Hades'e; Zeus'tan Herkül'e, Tanrılarla insanların bir arada yaşadığı dönemi anlamak için oldukça iyi ve yetkin bir kaynak sunuyor okuruna. Bu öykülerin büyük bir kısmı modern edebiyatı da modern kültürü de etkilemiştir. Bu nedenle de okunmayı hak etmektedirler.
(Tanıtım Bülteninden)

Genres: Mythology, History, Classics, Audiobook, Short Stories

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

Emilie Kip Baker was married to Franklin T. Baker, founder of the Department of the Teaching of English at Columbia Teachers College.

Reviews

[Swati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grasped most of my knowledge on Greek/Roman Mythology watching ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’, two of my favourite TV shows, during my teenage years. And since then, this subject has always piqued my interest.

Of course, I learned very little from the shows, and so finally I decided to invest time in reading books in this genre. This was my first book and I feel it is a good starting point. It uses simple, easy-to-understand language, short chapters, accompanied by an elaborate appendix.

In the future, if I come across a book that I prefer over this one, then I will edit my comment and add it here.

[Steven Walle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good collection of stories of e Greek and Roman Gods and how they interacted with the people of old. I enjoyed it very much.
Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Diamond

[Erdem Bahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

okuduğum en sağlam mitoloji kitabı

[Sena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bu kitabı resmen 1 senedir okuyordum... Benim gibi Yunan Mitolojisine ilgisi olanlara öneririm. İçi tanrıların tanrıçaların ve kahramanların küçük hikayeleriyle dolu. Arada açıp bazı bölümleri tekrardan okuması çok güzeldi ya da sevdiğim kısımları başkalarına da okuyabildim. Böyle işte. Keşke içinde bir de soyağacı olsaydı ama sanmıyorum bunu herhangi birinin çıkarabileceğini hahah.

[Laila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I've come across this book before I read Atlas Shrugged and The Odyssey--it would make more sense. Alas, now I am acquainted with Greek and Roman mythologies.

[Carol Spears · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read recently that is a re-telling of these stories and this one was pretty good!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book of stories, some of which I've heard before, where I've been able to enjoy reliving the petty problems of the Greek and Roman gods. This is filled with morals, ignorance, greed, anger, love, and pretty much any feeling that can and will invoke a reaction that far supersedes the original action. I particularly like these types of stories because they are so fantastical in their deaths. Baker tells, in a short few sentences, that the God/Goddess is angry and then the whole rest of the story is the diabolical plot of how to creatively murder or torture the victim.

Nicely done. Worth the read.

[Serena ♡]

Maybe finally after reading this my mythology-obsessed friends will respect my ignorant ass

[Yunus Dkila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of art thou.

[Sara Hadaoui · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love this book it is informative,fun and so organised

[Elly · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've listened to the audiobook before bed 2 or 3 times now (it's free on youtube hehe), and i love it every time! the narration is very beautiful and very relaxing, and i find the stories so incredibly comforting (partly because i know them so well, but also because it reminds me of studying it in class).

the author also managed to create a perfect balance in their story-telling: many different aspects of greek/roman mythology are explored, but each story is still described in a fair amount of detail. this means that whilst a broad scope of legend is covered, there's enough regarding each individual one to get a proper understanding. i doubt this will be my last time listening-- see ya again in a few months! ;)

some thoughts i noted down:

1. thinking about all of the young girls (and occasionally young boys) taken by the gods against their will, yet probably having to pretend otherwise, who were then deserted in some new, unknown place once the gods' fun was over... is so incredibly sad... what about them? what about their lives, families, friends, dreams, hopes? they would’ve had to start their lives again, with nobody they knew? they probably wouldn’t have even been used to the wildlife/nature around them? did their families ever stop searching? did they assume something terrible must've happened?

not only that, but when these girls are taken, even if it’s described as them enjoying it, or them being proud to have been chosen by a god, being showered in gifts, etc, the reality is that they truly could NOT have acted differently. for instance, would anyone be brave enough to refuse / reject / act negatively, or even rudely, towards zeus? or would you pretend you were honoured + grateful + in awe, in the hope that he will be kind to you? in the hope that things may turn out somewhat okay?

whilst some of the gods seem to genuinely believe that it is 'love' they are experiencing (despite it being the total opposite), some are absolutely evil: they chase and chase and chase girls who are clearly terrified + desperate, and they don't care at all because they want what they want, and believe they are entitled to it. even when the girls are so anguished + devoid of hope that they beg to be transformed into something non-human (like a tree), the male gods still persist. and it's horrifying to hear of them either attempting to transform also, or taking advantage of the girl's new form to ensure she can't ever get away...

for instance, after daphne transforms into a tree to escape apollo's advances, he first attempts to kiss and caress the tree itself, but when the wood shrinks away, still repulsed + terrified, he instead takes her leaves to create his famous laurel (which he always wears in his hair), and takes her wood to make his bow + lyre (both of which stay with him always). even after a kind of 'death', daphne's body itself is used for apollo's own enjoyment + gain-- she cannot even voice her feelings anymore, nor pull away from his touch. it makes me feel sick to my stomach + i hate when people try to portray it as a "love story". it is not love; it is a metaphorical rape/abuse.

2. in one variation of the myth, it is said that hebe was dropped as olympus' cupbearer due to her making a single mistake, and it feels absolutely insane for a goddess herself to have to be so unreasonably perfect whilst serving others?!

3. a very touching quote regarding ceres' + the search for her daughter: sometimes she was so weary that she sank down by the roadside and let the night dew drench her aching limbs. sometimes she rested under the trees when a storm broke over her head, but even here the rain beat down upon her, and the wind blew its cold breath in her face.

this whole story is extremely sad, but shows the resilience + determination of a mother so well. it is also said that many passing strangers gave food and offered help/sympathy, even though they believed she was an ordinary mortal. many were kind, making this story not just one of motherly love, but also of the empathy that can be found amongst strangers.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Tales About The Gods Of Ancient Greece and Rome

I loved the way these stories were linked and smoothly flowed from one to the next. I also greatly enjoyed the mixture of illustrations and artwork.

My only complaint is the author's complete disregard for the names of Greece's Gods by only using Rome's equivalents. Even though this is perhaps a minor quibble, I feel if you are going to talk about Greek Gods then use their greek names. Zeus was never acknowledged as Jupiter by a native Greek. Only the Romans used this association. Even the list of Gods used by the Romans vary. Romans and Greeks had some Gods who had no equivalent in either ones pantheon.

Other than this complaint, this is an excellent book.

[Smokin Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very good book if you´re interested in mythology. The elaborate appendix in the end is half the fun. There she refers to poems and sources and alternative versions. Very good book indeed.

[Megan Henwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books was good. I felt that it put into more everyday language the stories. I listened to the librivox audiobook on YouTube by Kevin Green. His voice was very soothing.

[Leon March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emilie Kip Baker wrote her "Stories of Old Greece and Rome" almost 110 years ago now, working from an educational standpoint she keeps the chapters on the individual mythical figures concise yet manages to retain her linguistic grace. The addition of artistic depictions and insertion of famous poems help to imagine the fantastic mindset of the old epicists.
The book is written from the Roman perspective with the preference for Roman names, which also means that large parts of Greek epic tales like the Iliad are only mentioned as a footnote. There are a few exclusively Roman tales or tales told in alternative form by Roman authors. I recommend this book as a complementary read to the full Greek myths. The appendix lists source materials, ancient and contemporary poets inspired by the old tales as well as a name index.

[Kristina Stangl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book if you’re looking for an introduction and general overview into the world of Greek mythology. It’s a fairly straightforward and easy to follow read, that highlights the major players associated in Ancient Greek mythology (including their Roman counterparts), along with their origin stories.

If you’re a fan of legends and mythology, then I suggest adding this book to your collection. Highly recommend.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved theses retelling it always interests me when I find a retelling of a much loved ancient tales stories are always slightly different, in one way or another. However it seemed a little odd that the author just used the Roman names for the gods when the story was a Greek one? I expected a mixture of use with the title of the book being Stories of Old Greece and Rome. 3.5 stars

[Christa Eker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, apart from keeping name-checking from Roman to Greek.

Not a patch on Stephen Fry's engaging text, but not sure it's really fair to compare considering the age of this book.

Well worth a read.

[seyfettin anmac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories with a poorly written style.

[Chris Linehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a solid mythology book. I'm not sure anything about it stood out from anything else that I read. It was well organized and covered the basics.

[KadathVoyager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of a lot of ancient Greek and Roman myths. I wonder if Lovecraft read this one?

[Orkhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

sehr informatives Buch :D

[Gayathri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a comfort read.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

I immensely enjoyed listening to this audiobook the last few months and like hearing the stories with a more Roman twist

[cia sunshine ☭ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook on YouTube to go to bed one day after work. It did the job because it was relaxing, but it was also interesting, so I ended up re-listening to it. 🤣

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Greek gods were jerks.

[T.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

well i listened to the audiobook but i don't see it in the list of other editions

[Cissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories about Old Greece and Rome are always at least interesting to me, but I expected more stories about Rome.