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A Book of Myths
This book, all 395 pages of it, features 34 fascinating stories of both famous and not-so-well-known mythical entities – Pygmalion, Adonis, Lorelei, Beowulf, Echo and Narcissus, Prometheus and Pandora, Niobe, and Roland the Paladin, among others. Some of the stories come with beautiful drawings by Helen Stratton, illustrating the antics and exploits of the main character.
Why a book filled with stories that has already been told and retold in other published compilations? It is worth noting that this collection dates back to 1915, a time when such types of compilations are not yet in abundance.
Aside from that, the author, Jeanie Lang, stressed in her preface that the stories "are not presented to the student of folklore as a fresh contribution to his knowledge." Instead, the book is said to be more apt for those who "frequently come across names which possess for them no meaning and who care to read some old stories, through which runs the same humanity that their own hearts know."
"For although the old worship has passed away, it is almost impossible for us to open a book that does not contain some mention of the gods of long ago," she explained in the next line.
Indeed, the entities featured in this book have been used as references in modern writings of a different genre. As such, this volume proves to be a trusty reading companion for the reader seeking to unveil the story behind the name.
The stories are told beautifully in great detail and are supplemented by verses from famed poets (Shakespeare, Byron, and Milton, among others), which added depth to the stories and their characters.
Why a book filled with stories that has already been told and retold in other published compilations? It is worth noting that this collection dates back to 1915, a time when such types of compilations are not yet in abundance.
Aside from that, the author, Jeanie Lang, stressed in her preface that the stories "are not presented to the student of folklore as a fresh contribution to his knowledge." Instead, the book is said to be more apt for those who "frequently come across names which possess for them no meaning and who care to read some old stories, through which runs the same humanity that their own hearts know."
"For although the old worship has passed away, it is almost impossible for us to open a book that does not contain some mention of the gods of long ago," she explained in the next line.
Indeed, the entities featured in this book have been used as references in modern writings of a different genre. As such, this volume proves to be a trusty reading companion for the reader seeking to unveil the story behind the name.
The stories are told beautifully in great detail and are supplemented by verses from famed poets (Shakespeare, Byron, and Milton, among others), which added depth to the stories and their characters.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1915
368 people are currently reading
926 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 15, 2018
*Prometheus and Pandora (Women were invented to unleash evil on men! Gee, I wonder what women could possibly have against men after putting up with this sort of crap for multiple millenia)
*Pygmalion (Misogynist makes a statue and falls in love with it! Does someone wanna write a modern-day version of this with a dating sim?)
****Phaeton (Dear parents: do not make an unbreakable promise to grant your idiot teenager "anything" unless you are prepared for him to ask for anything. Dear teenagers: there are much better ways to prove your paternity than suicide. Like, I don't know, maybe asking your father who is a god to personally confirm it?)
*Endymion (Goddess steals man's life so she can spend the rest of eternity creeping on him in his sleep)
(Seriously, this is supposed to be a collection of myths from all cultures; enough with all the Greek already!)
*****Orpheus (When the gods grant you a boon, maybe don't do the one thing they explicitly told you not to do)
**Apollo and Daphne (Yet another creeper god can't understand the meaning of "no", woman literally turns into a tree to get away from him)
**Psyche (Aphrodite throws a tantrum because her daughter-in-law is prettier than she is)
***The Calydonian Hunt (King makes honest mistake, goddess way overreacts because of course she does, woman solves problem while every man in the kingdom is still busy waving their dicks around)
(8 stories into the collection and still absolutely nothing other than Greek)
****Atalanta (Hundreds of men would literally rather die than take "no" for an answer)
*Arachne (Pettiness, thy name is "Athena")
***Idas and Marpessa ("Let her decide"? That's rich, Zeus, considering all the chances that you've ever given a woman to say no to you)
*Arethusa (Yet another woman agrees to be transformed, this time into a fountain, to get away from a stalker, who eventually catches her anyway)
(Greek, Greek, Greekity Greekity Greek...)
*Perseus the Hero (Girl is transformed into a monster, beheaded, and passed around as a trophy over some vague accusation of "wickedness". Depending on which version you're reading, said "wickedness" might very well have been the gall to be raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple.)
*Niobe (Oh look, yet another mortal who should know full well what kind of monsters she worships yet still manages to be too stupid to know when to keep her mouth shut, and yet another couple of petty gods who are perfectly willing to murder children in cold blood all because their mother had the sheer gall to be too proud of them.)
***Hyacinthus (Suuuuuuuuuuure, let's just go ahead and call them "friends". Not like anybody's actually going to notice that Zephyr is a jealous lover competing with Apollo for the affections of his boy-toy...)
****King Midas of the Golden Touch (The gods troll an idiot and it's hilarious)
(Still twiddling thumbs and waiting for some non-Greek representation over here...)
*****Ceyx and Halcyone (No snarky comments for this one; I actually really liked it)
**Aristæus the Bee-Keeper (Start chasing after a woman you've never met before while screaming out declarations of undying love; gee, I wonder why she might possibly be running away from you)
*Proserpine (Young girl is kidnapped by much older man, develops Stockholm Syndrome; her mother has to literally freeze the Earth to get anyone to even consider giving her justice)
**Latona and the Rustics (Zeus bangs woman with or without her consent, Hera punishes her, Zeus doesn't lift a finger to help her until she's been outcast and miserable for several months running)
(Suddenly it's getting incredibly easy to see why Christianity got so popular if this is what the Greeks and Romans had to put up with)
***Echo and Narcissus (Seriously... he's just not that into you)
***Icarus (Stupid teenager thinks he's invincible, promptly gets proven otherwise)
**Clytie (Wow, someone keeps chasing after you and won't take "no" for an answer even after you've made it clear again and again that you're not interested? How do YOU like it, Apollo?)
***The Cranes of Ibycus (Mob justice results in two people being executed with no trial because they noticed a flock of birds)
(Oh look, it's... yet more Greek.)
*Syrinx (Yet another entitled god chases yet another terrified woman who makes yet another transformation just to get away from him, only for him to make yet another violation of her post-transformation body)
***The Death of Adonis (Those magic arrows are not toys! Be careful with them!)
***Pan (Less of a myth than an essay)
(Oh look, finally some non-Greek! Only took them until more than halfway through the book.)
****Lorelei (I only knew this one as a song by Blackmore's Night)
***Freya, Queen of the Northern Gods (Odin gets trolled and sometimes takes it surprisingly well. Sometimes.)
****The Death of Baldur (Pretty sure that Loki is some kind of sociopath, given some of the things he's done just for shits 'n giggles)
***Beowulf (Danes move into a rural country house and are really inconsiderate neighbors; the guy next door thinks a murderous rampage would be a better solution than just politely knocking on the door and asking them to quiet down; he loses a limb for his troubles and runs crying home to Mommy)
*Roland the Paladin (Whole city massacred for defending themselves because medieval Christians were huge assholes; arrogant kid won't call for help because of his pride until it's way too late and ends up getting all of his people killed)
****The Children of Lîr (Get rid of a man's four beloved children but then leave a means for them to tell him exactly what you did; that'll totally make him shower all of his love on you, right? Logic! Also, knocking off a star for the inappropriate shoehorning in of Christianity, which I'm getting nearly as sick of as I am of Greek mythology.)
***Deirdrê (Engage yourself to a newborn, then get mad when she falls in love with someone else. Because that always works out so well.)
There are a grand total of 34 myths in this book that claims to provide a general coverage of Western mythology.
1 of them is German.
2 of them are Norse.
1 of them is Danish.
1 of them is French.
2 of them are Celtic.
27 of them are Greek.
Look, as much as I loathe the overwhelming majority of Greek mythology, I'm enough of a realist not to expect that any generalized collection of myths be completely free from stories of Greek origin. But to see them hogging a full 79% of the collection, while other cultures get a measly one or two stories to their name, is just a bit much. "A Book of Myths"? The authors should have called it "A Book of Greek Myths", and at least been honest about what they were peddling.
There are so many stories that could have gone in here. Norse mythology is wildly entertaining, and has gods that are actually sympathetic besides. There are any number of wonderful fairy tales that originate in Japan, or from various Native American cultures. There are myths from China, Egypt, and the ancient Central American and South American cultures of which most modern-day readers are barely aware. Even if the authors did want to stick with myths that originated exclusively in Europe, that still leaves Norse mythology, Celtic mythology, Slavic fairy tales, the Arthurian legends... but it seems that our culture just can't let go of its perpetual fixation with the fucking Olympians.
*Pygmalion (Misogynist makes a statue and falls in love with it! Does someone wanna write a modern-day version of this with a dating sim?)
****Phaeton (Dear parents: do not make an unbreakable promise to grant your idiot teenager "anything" unless you are prepared for him to ask for anything. Dear teenagers: there are much better ways to prove your paternity than suicide. Like, I don't know, maybe asking your father who is a god to personally confirm it?)
*Endymion (Goddess steals man's life so she can spend the rest of eternity creeping on him in his sleep)
(Seriously, this is supposed to be a collection of myths from all cultures; enough with all the Greek already!)
*****Orpheus (When the gods grant you a boon, maybe don't do the one thing they explicitly told you not to do)
**Apollo and Daphne (Yet another creeper god can't understand the meaning of "no", woman literally turns into a tree to get away from him)
**Psyche (Aphrodite throws a tantrum because her daughter-in-law is prettier than she is)
***The Calydonian Hunt (King makes honest mistake, goddess way overreacts because of course she does, woman solves problem while every man in the kingdom is still busy waving their dicks around)
(8 stories into the collection and still absolutely nothing other than Greek)
****Atalanta (Hundreds of men would literally rather die than take "no" for an answer)
*Arachne (Pettiness, thy name is "Athena")
***Idas and Marpessa ("Let her decide"? That's rich, Zeus, considering all the chances that you've ever given a woman to say no to you)
*Arethusa (Yet another woman agrees to be transformed, this time into a fountain, to get away from a stalker, who eventually catches her anyway)
(Greek, Greek, Greekity Greekity Greek...)
*Perseus the Hero (Girl is transformed into a monster, beheaded, and passed around as a trophy over some vague accusation of "wickedness". Depending on which version you're reading, said "wickedness" might very well have been the gall to be raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple.)
*Niobe (Oh look, yet another mortal who should know full well what kind of monsters she worships yet still manages to be too stupid to know when to keep her mouth shut, and yet another couple of petty gods who are perfectly willing to murder children in cold blood all because their mother had the sheer gall to be too proud of them.)
***Hyacinthus (Suuuuuuuuuuure, let's just go ahead and call them "friends". Not like anybody's actually going to notice that Zephyr is a jealous lover competing with Apollo for the affections of his boy-toy...)
****King Midas of the Golden Touch (The gods troll an idiot and it's hilarious)
(Still twiddling thumbs and waiting for some non-Greek representation over here...)
*****Ceyx and Halcyone (No snarky comments for this one; I actually really liked it)
**Aristæus the Bee-Keeper (Start chasing after a woman you've never met before while screaming out declarations of undying love; gee, I wonder why she might possibly be running away from you)
*Proserpine (Young girl is kidnapped by much older man, develops Stockholm Syndrome; her mother has to literally freeze the Earth to get anyone to even consider giving her justice)
**Latona and the Rustics (Zeus bangs woman with or without her consent, Hera punishes her, Zeus doesn't lift a finger to help her until she's been outcast and miserable for several months running)
(Suddenly it's getting incredibly easy to see why Christianity got so popular if this is what the Greeks and Romans had to put up with)
***Echo and Narcissus (Seriously... he's just not that into you)
***Icarus (Stupid teenager thinks he's invincible, promptly gets proven otherwise)
**Clytie (Wow, someone keeps chasing after you and won't take "no" for an answer even after you've made it clear again and again that you're not interested? How do YOU like it, Apollo?)
***The Cranes of Ibycus (Mob justice results in two people being executed with no trial because they noticed a flock of birds)
(Oh look, it's... yet more Greek.)
*Syrinx (Yet another entitled god chases yet another terrified woman who makes yet another transformation just to get away from him, only for him to make yet another violation of her post-transformation body)
***The Death of Adonis (Those magic arrows are not toys! Be careful with them!)
***Pan (Less of a myth than an essay)
(Oh look, finally some non-Greek! Only took them until more than halfway through the book.)
****Lorelei (I only knew this one as a song by Blackmore's Night)
***Freya, Queen of the Northern Gods (Odin gets trolled and sometimes takes it surprisingly well. Sometimes.)
****The Death of Baldur (Pretty sure that Loki is some kind of sociopath, given some of the things he's done just for shits 'n giggles)
***Beowulf (Danes move into a rural country house and are really inconsiderate neighbors; the guy next door thinks a murderous rampage would be a better solution than just politely knocking on the door and asking them to quiet down; he loses a limb for his troubles and runs crying home to Mommy)
*Roland the Paladin (Whole city massacred for defending themselves because medieval Christians were huge assholes; arrogant kid won't call for help because of his pride until it's way too late and ends up getting all of his people killed)
****The Children of Lîr (Get rid of a man's four beloved children but then leave a means for them to tell him exactly what you did; that'll totally make him shower all of his love on you, right? Logic! Also, knocking off a star for the inappropriate shoehorning in of Christianity, which I'm getting nearly as sick of as I am of Greek mythology.)
***Deirdrê (Engage yourself to a newborn, then get mad when she falls in love with someone else. Because that always works out so well.)
There are a grand total of 34 myths in this book that claims to provide a general coverage of Western mythology.
1 of them is German.
2 of them are Norse.
1 of them is Danish.
1 of them is French.
2 of them are Celtic.
27 of them are Greek.
Look, as much as I loathe the overwhelming majority of Greek mythology, I'm enough of a realist not to expect that any generalized collection of myths be completely free from stories of Greek origin. But to see them hogging a full 79% of the collection, while other cultures get a measly one or two stories to their name, is just a bit much. "A Book of Myths"? The authors should have called it "A Book of Greek Myths", and at least been honest about what they were peddling.
There are so many stories that could have gone in here. Norse mythology is wildly entertaining, and has gods that are actually sympathetic besides. There are any number of wonderful fairy tales that originate in Japan, or from various Native American cultures. There are myths from China, Egypt, and the ancient Central American and South American cultures of which most modern-day readers are barely aware. Even if the authors did want to stick with myths that originated exclusively in Europe, that still leaves Norse mythology, Celtic mythology, Slavic fairy tales, the Arthurian legends... but it seems that our culture just can't let go of its perpetual fixation with the fucking Olympians.
April 17, 2015
A Book of Myths
Author: Jean Lang
Publisher: Thomas Nelson & Sons
Published In: New York
Pgs: 244
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Man stretches out his hands in the endeavour to understand. Through the human, we reach for the divine. The old peoples of earth made gods of their heroes and endowed them with virtues and vices of their worshippers. The gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Norsemen, their stories are here.
Genre:
Culture
Fiction
Gods and Goddesses
Magic
Mythology
Poetry
Short stories
Society
Why this book:
I love the myths of the ancient world.
______________________________________________________________________________
Favorite Character:
Perseus, son of Zeus, slayer of the Medusa, freer of Atlas, champion of Andromeda, slayer of the Kraken
Least Favorite Character:
Whichever jealous, vindictive, rapey, stalkery god or goddess who happens to appear in whatever myth happens to come up next.
The Feel:
There is still a feeling of wonder in these old stories.
Favorite Scene:
When Phaeton’s pride drives him to suicide, but his father Apollo allowing it to happen is so...I don’t have the word. With the vengefulness of the ancient gods in these tales, I’m surprised that we don’t have a tale of Apollo seeking vengeance on the ones who teased Phaeton that his father wasn’t a god and that they didn’t believe him.
Perseus vs. the Kraken. Perseus vs. the Medusa.
Hmm Moments:
The myth of Atalanta is all death and, then, a cheat for the “hero”, pfft, to claim the maiden. She ends up with, not the worthy who fought alongside her and appreciated her as she was, but with her cousin who sought Aphrodite's aid and cheated in the race between her and Death. Of course, her greed was a factor in her loss, which considering how many had raced her and lost on their way to Death’s embrace doesn’t exactly paint her in a favorable light either. Beginning in the death of her bear brothers and mother and ending in the tale of Aphrodite’s three apples, the moral of this almost comes down to women are screwed. Looking at the intervening years since this ancient tale was first told, that’s been right for way too long. Still and all, this is a horrible tale.
It is amazing how rapey and stalky a lot of the myths are in retrospect.
In the Myth of Niobe, they talk about how proud she was of her children and that this was still going on today. And this made me think of all those stories of Zeus fathering children left and right...and all those children of unwed mothers whose families saw a way to legitimize the children...sort of.
So many tragedies. Why aren’t there any happy myths? Dying and being placed among the stars as a constellation as consolation...meh.
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Too many to count.
Casting call:
Liam Neeson was incredible as Zeus. Sean Bean was incredible as Zeus. Charles Keating was incredible as Zeus. Anthony Quinn was incredible as Zeus. Laurence Olivier was incredible as Zeus. Great actors in an amazing role. Whoever gets cast as the King of the Gods the next time had better be able to carry this off. And amazingly Liam Neeson played Zeus and got killed instead of it being Sean Bean.
______________________________________________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
Well.
Author Assessment:
This is not Bullfinch. But it is another flavoring on the stories. I liked it.
Editorial Assessment:
I wonder at the stories that were included and those that were ignored. No Thor. Barely any Loki. No King Arthur.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it
Disposition of Book:
e-Book
Would recommend to:
genre fans ______________________________________________________________________________
Author: Jean Lang
Publisher: Thomas Nelson & Sons
Published In: New York
Pgs: 244
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Man stretches out his hands in the endeavour to understand. Through the human, we reach for the divine. The old peoples of earth made gods of their heroes and endowed them with virtues and vices of their worshippers. The gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Norsemen, their stories are here.
Genre:
Culture
Fiction
Gods and Goddesses
Magic
Mythology
Poetry
Short stories
Society
Why this book:
I love the myths of the ancient world.
______________________________________________________________________________
Favorite Character:
Perseus, son of Zeus, slayer of the Medusa, freer of Atlas, champion of Andromeda, slayer of the Kraken
Least Favorite Character:
Whichever jealous, vindictive, rapey, stalkery god or goddess who happens to appear in whatever myth happens to come up next.
The Feel:
There is still a feeling of wonder in these old stories.
Favorite Scene:
When Phaeton’s pride drives him to suicide, but his father Apollo allowing it to happen is so...I don’t have the word. With the vengefulness of the ancient gods in these tales, I’m surprised that we don’t have a tale of Apollo seeking vengeance on the ones who teased Phaeton that his father wasn’t a god and that they didn’t believe him.
Perseus vs. the Kraken. Perseus vs. the Medusa.
Hmm Moments:
The myth of Atalanta is all death and, then, a cheat for the “hero”, pfft, to claim the maiden. She ends up with, not the worthy who fought alongside her and appreciated her as she was, but with her cousin who sought Aphrodite's aid and cheated in the race between her and Death. Of course, her greed was a factor in her loss, which considering how many had raced her and lost on their way to Death’s embrace doesn’t exactly paint her in a favorable light either. Beginning in the death of her bear brothers and mother and ending in the tale of Aphrodite’s three apples, the moral of this almost comes down to women are screwed. Looking at the intervening years since this ancient tale was first told, that’s been right for way too long. Still and all, this is a horrible tale.
It is amazing how rapey and stalky a lot of the myths are in retrospect.
In the Myth of Niobe, they talk about how proud she was of her children and that this was still going on today. And this made me think of all those stories of Zeus fathering children left and right...and all those children of unwed mothers whose families saw a way to legitimize the children...sort of.
So many tragedies. Why aren’t there any happy myths? Dying and being placed among the stars as a constellation as consolation...meh.
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Too many to count.
Casting call:
Liam Neeson was incredible as Zeus. Sean Bean was incredible as Zeus. Charles Keating was incredible as Zeus. Anthony Quinn was incredible as Zeus. Laurence Olivier was incredible as Zeus. Great actors in an amazing role. Whoever gets cast as the King of the Gods the next time had better be able to carry this off. And amazingly Liam Neeson played Zeus and got killed instead of it being Sean Bean.
______________________________________________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
Well.
Author Assessment:
This is not Bullfinch. But it is another flavoring on the stories. I liked it.
Editorial Assessment:
I wonder at the stories that were included and those that were ignored. No Thor. Barely any Loki. No King Arthur.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it
Disposition of Book:
e-Book
Would recommend to:
genre fans ______________________________________________________________________________
September 3, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
"A Book of Myths" (Greek Mythology) by Jean Lang
Originally rated on Storygraph, 4 stars
"A Book of Myths" is the (near) complete collection and retelling of the tales of Greek Mythology by Jean Lang, written somewhere in between the 1930s and the 1990s. This book, alongside its PDF and EPub Formats and other formats, such as its physical book form and e-book form are in the public domain.
MY THOUGHTS:
This book was of the essence because our class is currently tackling Greek Mythology and its stories. This book felt a little off and a little shortened but reading all of the tales, not condensed but expounded throughout the course of 126 long pages, this book was alright.
The story where Medusa gets beheaded by Perseus is, in my opinion, the single greatest story and the greatest scene of the book. This book is like fine wine, I still can remember the stories of Greek Mythology in this book, though should considering nearly only two weeks have past since I read this book.
"A Book of Myths" (Greek Mythology) by Jean Lang
Originally rated on Storygraph, 4 stars
"A Book of Myths" is the (near) complete collection and retelling of the tales of Greek Mythology by Jean Lang, written somewhere in between the 1930s and the 1990s. This book, alongside its PDF and EPub Formats and other formats, such as its physical book form and e-book form are in the public domain.
MY THOUGHTS:
This book was of the essence because our class is currently tackling Greek Mythology and its stories. This book felt a little off and a little shortened but reading all of the tales, not condensed but expounded throughout the course of 126 long pages, this book was alright.
The story where Medusa gets beheaded by Perseus is, in my opinion, the single greatest story and the greatest scene of the book. This book is like fine wine, I still can remember the stories of Greek Mythology in this book, though should considering nearly only two weeks have past since I read this book.
June 12, 2024
Decided to return to my love of myths and legends and giving this edition a read. Jean Lang's Myths from around the World weaves the stories lovers of mythology adore poetically. If you are a fan of mythology and classical poetry, this is a lot of fun.
August 11, 2019
Couldn't get into it
August 21, 2020
i cant read, hot to read it?
December 23, 2021
Pure fictiom
A quick read with lots of interesting stories. A fine collection of creative writing any reader can rank as I did.
A quick read with lots of interesting stories. A fine collection of creative writing any reader can rank as I did.
January 3, 2023
Loved it, learned a lot and found the format really good but I couldn't read the 3 last ones properly cause I'm just not into that type of tales. But fascinating read nonetheless
January 12, 2016
A classic containing classics, reissued by the Gutenberg project. Originally this work was compiled and retold by Jeanie Lang. In this retelling there are quotes by Shakespeare, Fiona Macleod and others. But this is a retelling. I found the reading to be informative and different from other retellings that i have heard. The range goes from many well known Greek Myths, Norse mythology , Chivalry and some Irish mythology.
THe Greek mythology covers Daedalus and Icarus, several stories on Pan, a couple on Dionysus and maybe a few on Hercules. It was nice to reread them. It is also nice to read the original story. Now a days they are into changing up the stories so much that you might not recognize it from the original.
From the Norse mythos I learned that Freya stole the necklace Brisingaman from Odin's Statue and then Odin asked the dwarves to make a statue to talk so it would reveal the thief. Freya granted some unmentioned favors in order to get them to destroy it. Freya is portrayed as the wife of Odin. I have never learned it that way. I learned that Freya was a daughter of the Vanir. SHe claimed half the slain warriors, but she was not from Asgard. Also I learned that she slept with the dwarves. Who knows! In the tale of Beowulf which is faithfully retold. We learn of so many plot details that we realize that with cinematic portrayals are just wrong. We also learn about the death of Baldur and Loki is always the trickster eternal.
THE survey on chivalry tells us the story of Roland, the nephew of Chralemagne. Charlgmagne disowned his sister after she married a poor knight. Upon the knights death the family is in dire poverty. Roland gets caught stealing from the kings larder and once his identity is revealed he is admitted to court and given position under Charlegmagne. He fight loyally against the Saracen who are invading France, but thanks to treachery in the court he is ultimately slain. Not after he puts up a valiant fight.
THe Celtic myths tell about the children of Lir and how a wicked stepmother turns them into swans for about 900 years. they are released from the spell only with the ringing of a Christian Bell. THe other tale tells of how Deirdere a magical woman was reserved for Conchobar the king. instead oiof marrying him she runs off with someone else. THe end is tragic.
Thanks you Gutenberg for rereleasing this work andd making it available for free. Read this work you cannot go wrong
THe Greek mythology covers Daedalus and Icarus, several stories on Pan, a couple on Dionysus and maybe a few on Hercules. It was nice to reread them. It is also nice to read the original story. Now a days they are into changing up the stories so much that you might not recognize it from the original.
From the Norse mythos I learned that Freya stole the necklace Brisingaman from Odin's Statue and then Odin asked the dwarves to make a statue to talk so it would reveal the thief. Freya granted some unmentioned favors in order to get them to destroy it. Freya is portrayed as the wife of Odin. I have never learned it that way. I learned that Freya was a daughter of the Vanir. SHe claimed half the slain warriors, but she was not from Asgard. Also I learned that she slept with the dwarves. Who knows! In the tale of Beowulf which is faithfully retold. We learn of so many plot details that we realize that with cinematic portrayals are just wrong. We also learn about the death of Baldur and Loki is always the trickster eternal.
THE survey on chivalry tells us the story of Roland, the nephew of Chralemagne. Charlgmagne disowned his sister after she married a poor knight. Upon the knights death the family is in dire poverty. Roland gets caught stealing from the kings larder and once his identity is revealed he is admitted to court and given position under Charlegmagne. He fight loyally against the Saracen who are invading France, but thanks to treachery in the court he is ultimately slain. Not after he puts up a valiant fight.
THe Celtic myths tell about the children of Lir and how a wicked stepmother turns them into swans for about 900 years. they are released from the spell only with the ringing of a Christian Bell. THe other tale tells of how Deirdere a magical woman was reserved for Conchobar the king. instead oiof marrying him she runs off with someone else. THe end is tragic.
Thanks you Gutenberg for rereleasing this work andd making it available for free. Read this work you cannot go wrong
November 11, 2013
When Icarus was compared to the young people in the beginning of the history of aeroplanes, I fell in love.
I liked a lot of the poems inserted to the various myths. They spiced the stories. The language of the prose is beautiful, you can tell the author truly loved these myths.
I liked a lot of the poems inserted to the various myths. They spiced the stories. The language of the prose is beautiful, you can tell the author truly loved these myths.
February 28, 2014
I learned a lot. Some of the stories were a bit dry, but for the most part I was sucked into the various stories. My issue was with the switching between the Roman and Greek names for the gods. If you were in a Greek myth, there were Roman names thrown in and vice versa. Made it a bit confusing.
October 26, 2015
I got this for free on amazon a while ago, maybe like a couple of years (or one year, I forget) and I thought it would be cool but it wasn't as interesting as I thought. I love myths and all that but I don't know, maybe it was the writing?...
2/5
2/5
December 3, 2013
Nom. Learned quite a bit.
April 28, 2015
Boooooo
This book sucks so so so so so so much that i can't even balloon boooooooo boo boo boo boo boo boo
This book sucks so so so so so so much that i can't even balloon boooooooo boo boo boo boo boo boo
October 21, 2020
Really good. Mythology from all over Europe. Greek, Roman, Irish, British, German, French.. and a Slavic country whose name escapes me.
July 18, 2016
This book is so good it tells myth from Rome and Greece to Germany
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