Book picks similar to
The Homeric Hymn to Hermes by Julia Haig Gaisser
classics
mythology
greek
poetry
Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters
Zhuangzi
It is said that he was a contemporary of Mencius, an official in the Lacquer Garden of Meng in Honan Province around the 4th century b.c. Chuang Tsu was to Lao Tsu as Saint Paul was to Jesus and Plato to Socrates.While the other philosophers were busying themselves with the practical matters of government and rules of conduct, Chuang Tsu transcended the whang cheng, the illusory dust of the world—thus anticipating Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on a state of emptiness or ego transcendence. With humor, imagery, and fantasy, he captures the depth of Chinese thinking. The seven “Inner Chapters” presented in this translation are accepted by scholars as being definitely the work of Chuang Tsu. Another twenty-six chapters are of questionable origin; they are interpretations of his teaching and may have been added by later commentators. This is an updated version of the translation of Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters that was originally published in 1974. Like the original Chinese, this version uses gender-neutral language wherever possible. This edition includes many new photographs by Jane English and an introduction by Tai Ji master Chungliang Al Huang, who has been highly successful in bringing to the West the wisdom of the East.
The Odes of Horace
Horatius
These marvelously constructed poems, with their unswerving clarity of vision and extraordinary range of tone and emotion, have deeply affected the poetry of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Herbert, Marvell, Dryden, Pope, Samuel Johnson, Wordsworth, Frost, Auden, Larkin, and many others, in English and in other languages. David Carne-Ross has said of this translation that "Ferry has found an English into which Horace's lyrics will pass with no apparent strain". Grateful readers will appreciate the lucidity and inventiveness of these elegant and judicious versions.
Jason and the Argonauts
Menelaos Stephanides - 1992
Designed exclusively for adults and young readers. The reader will re-live all the magic of Greek mythology on a journey of the imagination which will take him deep into an era separated from our own by more than three millenia. This series of books received the 1989 Pier Paolo Vergerio prizes of the University of Padua for its outstanding text and illustrations.
The Icelandic Sagas I
Magnus Magnusson - 1999
Illustrations by Simon Noyes. Endpaper maps by Reg Piggott.Contains "Auðun's Tale", "Grænlendinga Saga", "Eirík's Saga", "The Tale of Thorstein Stangarhögg (Staff-Struck)", "Egil's Saga", "Hrafnkel's Saga", "Eyrbyggja Saga", "Vopnfirðinga Saga", "Bandamanna Saga", "Gunnlaug's Saga", "The Tale of Thiðrandi and Thórhall" and "Njál's Saga".
The Land of Strong Men
A.M. Chisholm - 1919
Excerpt and one of them, Gavin, was reputed to be the strongest man in the neighborhood. The daughter, a long-limbed slip of a girl who rode like a cow-puncher, was about the boy's age. Though Godfrey French had a ranch it was worked scarcely at all. The boys did not like work, and apparently did not have to. Godfrey French was reputed to have money. His ranch was a hang-out for what were known as "remittance men," young Englishmen who received more or less regular allowances from home--or perhaps to keep away from home. There were rumors of gambling and hard drinking at French's ranch. "Well, I'll take you home," the boy said. "You can ride my pony. He's on a rope a mile from here. But I'll have to hang up this buck, or the coyotes will chew him." He found two small saplings close together, bent them down, trimmed them and lashed their tops. Over these he placed the tied legs of the buck. With a little search he found a long dry pole. With this he had a tripod. As he hoisted with the pole the spring
Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Creation Epic
Timothy J. Stephany - 2013
With formidable powers the gods set into motion the universe, and made mankind to perform their work upon the earth, to shape the natural world and raise their glorious temples. Hear the song of Marduk the Champion, the mighty slayer of the creature Tiamat, and a tale of how one man came to survive the Great Flood, brought by the gods to wipe out humankind forever, in two tales which underlie those which achieved such greatness and magnificence in the pages of the Book of Genesis.
Men and Gods: Myths and Legends of the Ancient Greeks
Rex Warner - 1950
These tales cover the range of Greek mythology, including the creation story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, the heroic adventures of Perseus, the fall of Icarus, Cupid and Psyche's tale of love, and the tragic history of Oedipus and Thebes. Men and Gods is an essential and delightful book with which to discover some of the key stories of world literature.
Plutarch's Lives: Volume I
Plutarch
In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus and Theseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many more powerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome. The present translation, originally published in 1683 in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes and preface are also included in this edition. Publisher: Modern Library 2001 Author: Plutarch Translated by: John Dryden Volume: 1 Format: 816 pages, paperback ISBN: 9780375756764Theseus, Romulus, Lycurgus, Numa, Solon, Poplicola, Themistocles, Camillus, Pericles, Fabius, Alcibiadas, Coriolanes, Timoleon, Aemilius Paulus, Pelopidas, Marcellus, Aristides, Marcus Cato, Philopoemen, Flaminius, Pyrrhus, Caius Marius, Lysander, Sylla, Cimon, Lucullus, Nicias, Crassus
The Odes
Pindar
Pindar's Epinician Odes - choral songs extolling victories in the Games at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and Korinth - cover the whole spectrum of the Greek moral order, from earthly competition to fate and mythology. But in C. M. Bowra's clear translation his one central image stands out - the successful athlete transformed and transfigured by the power of the gods.
Pure Pagan: Seven Centuries of Greek Poems and Fragments
Burton Raffel - 2004
But the works of numerous other great and prolific poets–Alkaios, Meleager, and Simonides, to name a few–are rarely translated into English , and are largely unknown to modern readers. In Pure Pagan, award-winning translator Burton Raffel brings these and many other wise and witty ancient Greek writers to an English-speaking audience for the first time, in full poetic flower. Their humorous and philosophical ruminations create a vivid portrait of everyday life in ancient Greece –and they are phenomenally lovely as well.In short, sharp bursts of song, these two-thousand-year-old poems speak about the timeless matters of everyday life:Wine (Wine is the medicine / To call for, the best medicine / To drink deep, deep)History (Not us: no. / It began with our fathers, / I’ve heard). Movers and shakers (If a man shakes loose stones / To make a wall with / Stones may fall on his head / Instead)Old age (Old age is a debt we like to be owed / Not one we like to collect)Frankness (Speak / As you please / And hear what can never / Please).
There are also wonderful epigrams (Take what you have while you have it: you’ll lose it soon enough. / A single summer turns a kid into a shaggy goat) and epitaphs (Here I lie, beneath this stone, the famous woman who untied her belt for only one man).The entrancing beauty, humor, and piercing clarity of these poems will draw readers into the Greeks’ journeys to foreign lands, their bacchanalian parties and ferocious battles, as well as into the more intimate settings of their kitchens and bedrooms. The poetry of Pure Pagan reveals the ancient Greeks’ dreams, their sense of humor, sorrows, triumphs, and their most deeply held values, fleshing out our understanding of and appreciation for this fascinating civilization and its artistic legacy.
There Will Come Soft Rains
Sara Teasdale - 1920
The inspiration for Ray Bradbury's story.From Sara Teasdale's "Flame and Shadow" collection.
Pericles
William Shakespeare - 1608
He marries another princess, but she dies giving birth to their daughter. The adventures continue from one disaster to another until the grown-up daughter pulls her father out of despair and the play moves toward a gloriously happy ending.
A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society and Culture
Sarah B. Pomeroy - 2003
A small people inhabiting a country poor in resources and divided into hundreds of quarreling states created one of the most remarkable civilizations. Comprehensive and balanced, A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture is a new and shorter version of the authors' highly successful Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History (OUP, 1998). Four leading authorities on the classical world offer a lively and up-to-date account of Greek civilization and history in all its complexity and variety, covering the entire period from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Era, and integrating the most recent research in archaeology, comparative anthropology, and social history. They show how the early Greeks borrowed from their neighbors but eventually developed a distinctive culture all their own, one that was marked by astonishing creativity, versatility, and resilience. The authors go on to trace the complex and surprising evolution of Greek civilization to its eventual dissolution as it merged with a variety of other cultures. Using physical evidence from archaeology, the written testimony of literary texts and inscriptions, and anthropological models based on comparative studies, this compact volume provides an account of the Greek world that is thoughtful and sophisticated yet accessible to students and general readers with little or no knowledge of Greece.Ideal for courses in Greek Civilization and Ancient Greece, A Brief History of Ancient Greece offers:- A more streamlined treatment of political and military history than Ancient Greece- Emphasis on social and domestic life, art and architecture, literature, and philosophy- Expanded coverage of women and family life, religion, and athletics- A new section on male homosexuality in ancient Greece- A revised art program featuring more than 100 illustrations and 17 original maps- Numerous document boxes that include primary source material
The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
R.K. Narayan - 1972
K. Narayan in the Introduction to this new interpretation, 'is aware of the story of The Ramayana. Everyone of whatever age, outlook, education or station in life knows the essential part of the epic and adores the main figures in it - Rama and Sita. Every child is told the story at bedtime . . . The Ramayana pervades our cultural life.' Although the Sanskrit original was composed by Valmiki, probably around the fourth century BC, poets have produced countless variant versions in different languages. Here, drawing his inspiration from the work of an eleventh-century Tamil poet called Kamban, Narayan has used the talents of a master novelist to recreate the excitement and joy he has found in the original. It can be enjoyed and appreciated, he suggests, for its psychological insight, its spiritual depth and its practical wisdom - or just as a thrilling tale of abduction, battle and courtship played out in a universe thronged with heroes, deities and demons.
Dante's Inferno: Translations by Twenty Contemporary Poets
Daniel Halpern - 1994
No other version has so vividly expressed the horror, cruelty, beauty, and outrageous imaginative flight of Dante's original vision.