Taken in by a goatherd and a shepherd respectively, and raised near the town of Mytilene, they grow to maturity unaware of one another's existence - until the mischievous god of love, Eros, creates in them a sudden overpowering desire for one another. A masterpiece among early Greek romances, attracting both high praise and moral disapproval, this work has proved an enduringly fertile source of inspiration for musicians, writers and artists from Henry Fielding to Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Maurice Ravel. Longus transforms familiar themes from the romance genre - including pirates, dreams, and the supernatural - into a virtuoso love story that is rich in insight, humorous and ironical in its treatment of human sexual experience.

    The story’s focus is not on drama but on a bitter truth: both armies want nothing more than to stop fighting and go home. Achilles—the electrifying hero who is Homer’s brilliant creation—quarrels with his commander, Agamemnon, but eventually returns to the field to avenge a comrade’s death. Few warriors, in life or literature, have challenged their commanding officer and the rationale of the war they fought as fiercely as did Homer’s Achilles.Homer’s Iliad addresses the central questions defining the war experience of every age. Is a warrior ever justified in challenging his commander? Must he sacrifice his life for someone else’s cause? Giving his life for his country, does a man betray his family? Can death ever be compensated by glory? How is a catastrophic war ever allowed to start—and why, if all parties wish it over, can it not be ended?As she did in The Endurance and The Bounty, Caroline Alexander has taken apart a story we think we know and put it back together in a way that reveals what Homer really meant us to glean from his masterpiece. Written with the authority of a scholar and the vigor of a bestselling narrative historian, The War That Killed Achilles is a superb and utterly timely presentation of one of the timeless stories of our civilization.

            The stories are divided into three sections: The Age of Fable or Stories of Gods and Heroes (first published in 1855); The Age of Chivalry (1858), which contains King Arthur and His Knights, The Mabinogeon, and The Knights of English History; and Legends of Charlemagne or Romance of the Middle Ages (1863). For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil, and for the sagas of the north, from Mallet's Northern Antiquities. He provides lively versions of the myths of Zeus and Hera, Venus and Adonis, Daphne and Apollo, and their cohorts on Mount Olympus; the love story of Pygmalion and Galatea; the legends of the Trojan War and the epic wanderings of Ulysses and Aeneas; the joys of Valhalla and the furies of Thor; and the tales of Beowulf and Robin Hood. The tales are eminently readable. As Bulfinch wrote, "Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. . . . Our book is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement."Thomas Bulfinch, in his day job, was a clerk in the Merchant's Bank of Boston, an undemanding position that afforded him ample leisure time in which to pursue his other interests. In addition to serving as secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, he thoroughly researched the myths and legends and copiously cross-referenced them with literature and art. As such, the myths are an indispensable guide to the cultural values of the nineteenth century; however, it is the vigor of the stories themselves that returns generation after generation to Bulfinch.

    But the Fates have different plans in mind for Hailey. Only a few weeks into the school year a student vanishes. Everyone believes them lost in the palace, but when more students begin disappearing one by one, Hailey realises someone, or something, is taking the students and that everyone living in the Academy is in serious danger. *** Scroll up and click ‘buy now’ to join teenage demigod Hailey for high school in a magical palace where adventure, monsters, and vengeful gods await. _________________________________________________________________________________ Here's what readers are saying about this middle grade adventure series: “Funny fast paced good light read. Recommended to my kids can't wait to read the next one.” Heather, Goodreads ★★★★★“Sarah A Vogler leads us through a mind-boggling maze of Greek mythology, Gods and some serious villains. I’m in awe of such an entrancing story and can not wait to dive under the waters and beneath the pages of Hailey’s continued adventure.” Kellie, Goodreads ★★★★★“This story and the whole series is really good. I agree it is a great way to introduce kids to reading and encourage an early love of mythology and history. If any age enjoyed Harry Potter read this series you will enjoy it as well.” Vickie, Goodreads ★★★★★“What an incredible book!! I was swept away in this wonderfully written book. With the impulsivity you would expect from high school freshmen, we watch friendships grow and individuals learn who they are. It was a very unique spin on mythology with plenty of adventure. I think fans of Rick Riordan will greatly enjoy this book but it also has a bit of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel to it as well.’ Amy, Goodreads ★★★★★“A very fun read with lots of action and daring. I liked that a part of the message was facing one sphere no matter what.” Ciayrra, Goodreads ★★★★★

    This entertaining collection — excellently retold for young audiences by Bob Blaisdell — invites children to relive the memorable experiences of familiar characters from Greek mythology.Taken directly from the writings of Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, and other ancient storytellers, the myths recount the stirring and imaginative tales of Pandora's box, Prometheus, the dreaded Cyclops, the labors of the mighty Hercules, the captivating stories of Narcissus and Echo, Aphrodite and Eros, Daedalus and Icarus, Hades and Persephone, and many more.Set in large, easy-to-read type and enhanced by six full-page black-and-white illustrations, these enduring fables from the fountainhead of Western civilization will thrill and delight new generations of adventure-seekers.

    Did they bring their treasure to North America, as some legends say? This definitive work about the Templars and their presumed hidden knowledge addresses many such fascinating questions, with rare photos from the Rosslyn Chapel Museum (Scotland) included.

    Aesop was reputedly a tongue-tied slave who miraculously received the power of speech; from his legendary storytelling came the collections of prose and verse fables scattered throughout Greek and Roman literature. First published in English by Caxton in 1484, the fables and their morals continue to charm modern readers: who does not know the story of the tortoise and the hare, or the boy who cried wolf?

    Amrapali craved peace; Upagupta’s bearing exuded contentment. Amrapali depended on the adulation of her audience; Upagupta spurned the attentions of the rich and famous. Their stories were different, but the Buddha’s wise teachings linked their lives – and the lessons to be learned from them.

    Into his story comes a cast of fascinating characters—among them Hector, Helen, Penthiselaia the Amazon Queen, and the centaur Chiron; and finally John Keats, whose writings form the basis of a meditation on the nature of identity and shared experience. Achilles is an affirmation of the story's enduring power to reach across centuries and cultures to the core of our imagination.

    The Metamorphoses of Ovid stands with the works of Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Milton as a classic of world poetry; Hughes translated twenty-four of its stories with great power and directness. The result is the liveliest twentieth-century version of the classic, at once a delight for the Latinist and an appealing introduction to Ovid for the general reader.

    Every Indian has grown up conditioned to the view that the Pandavas were virtuous and wronged; and the Kauravas were manipulative and evil. On a visit to Malanada Temple, Kerala, national bestselling author of ASURA, Anand Neelakantan, discovered the temple deity to be none other than Duryodhanan, the ostensible 'villain' of the Mahabharata. This astonishing discovery prompted him to delve deep into the narrative of the defeated Crown Prince of Hastinapura, and the Kaurava clan. Ajaya challenges established views and compels us to think again. The book is all about the power of perception. It retells with compelling credibility, the epic events from Duryodhan's (given name: Suryodhana), point of view. While Jaya is the story of the Pandavas, told from the perspective of the victors of Kurukshetra; Ajaya is the narrative of the 'unconquerable' Kauravas, who were decimated to the last man. At the heart of India's most powerful empire, a revolution is brewing. Bhishma, the noble patriarch of Hastinapura, is struggling to maintain the unity of his empire. On the throne sits Dhritarashtra, the blind King, and his foreign-born Queen – Gandhari. In the shadow of the throne stands Kunti, the Dowager-Queen, burning with ambition to see her firstborn become the ruler, acknowledged by all. Amidst the chaos, Prince Suyodhana, heir of Hastinapura, stands tall, determined to claim his birthright and act according to his conscience. He is the maker of his own destiny – or so he believes. While in the corridors of the Hastinapura palace, a foreign Prince plots to destroy India. About the Author : Anand Neelakantan says: Ajaya is an attempt to revisit our mythologies with a modern view and see what the same events look like when observed from the side of the defeated. Were these people branded villains because they were far ahead of their times? There are many books about the Pandavas, about Karna, Draupadi, Kuniti and the other dramatis personae of the Mahabharata. But who speaks for Duryodhana? Growing up in a Kerala village with more temples than necessary, it was small wonder that mythology fascinated Anand early on. Ironically, he was drawn to the anti-heroes. But life called and he went on to become an engineer; joined the Indian Oil Corporation; moved to Bangalore; married Aparna; and welcomed a daughter and a son. But the voices of yore refused to be silenced in his head and he felt impelled to narrate the stories of the vanquished and the dammed; to give life to those silent heroes we have long overlooked in our uncritical acceptance of the conventional renderings of our epics. Ajaya follows the outstanding success of his #1 bestseller, Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished.

    Hesiod's straightforward account of family conflict among the gods is the best and earliest evidence of what the ancient Greeks believed about the beginning of the world. Includes Hesiod's "Works and Days", lines 1-201, and material from the Library of Apollodorus.

    late 7th and early 6th centuries B.C.E.), whose work is said to have filled nine papyrus rolls in the great library at Alexandria some 500 years after her death. The surviving texts consist of a lamentably small and fragmented body of lyric poetry--among them, poems of invocation, desire, spite, celebration, resignation, and remembrance--that nevertheless enables us to hear the living voice of the poet Plato called the tenth Muse.Stanley Lombardo's translations give us a virtuoso embodiment of Sappho's voice, whose telltale charm, authority, immediacy, directness, intensity, and sudden changes of tone are among the hallmarks of his masterly translation.Pamela Gordon introduces us to the world of Sappho, discusses questions surrounding the transmission of her manuscripts, offers advice on reading these texts, and concludes with an enlightening discussion of same-sex desire in Sappho.

    Far from being meek and mild, they were violent, ruthless and fundamentally intolerant. Unlike the polytheistic world, in which the addition of one new religion made no fundamental difference to the old ones, this new ideology stated not only that it was the way, the truth and the light but that, by extension, every single other way was wrong and had to be destroyed. From the 1st century to the 6th, those who didn't fall into step with its beliefs were pursued in every possible way: social, legal, financial and physical. Their altars were upturned and their temples demolished, their statues hacked to pieces and their priests killed. It was an annihilation.Authoritative, vividly written and utterly compelling, this is a remarkable debut from a brilliant young historian.

    Not only is the influence of Greek drama palpable in everything from Shakespeare to modern television, the insights contained in Greek tragedy have shaped our perceptions of the nature of human life. Poets, philosophers, and politicians have long borrowed and adapted the ideas and language of Greek drama to help them make sense of their own times.This exciting curated anthology features a cross section of the most popular--and most widely taught--plays in the Greek canon. Fresh translations into contemporary English breathe new life into the texts while capturing, as faithfully as possible, their original meaning.This outstanding collection also offers short biographies of the playwrights, enlightening and clarifying introductions to the plays, and helpful annotations at the bottom of each page. Appendices by prominent classicists on such topics as "Greek Drama and Politics," "The Theater of Dionysus," and "Plato and Aristotle on Tragedy" give the reader a rich contextual background. A detailed time line of the dramas, as well as a list of adaptations of Greek drama to literature, stage, and film from the time of Seneca to the present, helps chart the history of Greek tragedy and illustrate its influence on our culture from the Roman Empire to the present day.With a veritable who's who of today's most renowned and distinguished classical translators, The Greek Plays is certain to be the definitive text for years to come.Praise for The Greek Plays"Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm deftly have gathered strong new translations from Frank Nisetich, Sarah Ruden, Rachel Kitzinger, Emily Wilson, as well as from Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm themselves. There is a freshness and pungency in these new translations that should last a long time. I admire also the introductions to the plays and the biographies and annotations provided. Closing essays by five distinguished classicists--the brilliant Daniel Mendelsohn and the equally skilled David Rosenbloom, Joshua Billings, Mary-Kay Gamel, and Gregory Hays--all enlightened me. This seems to me a helpful light into our gathering darkness."--Harold Bloom