Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths

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Simon and Schuster, Jan 3, 2012 - History - 348 pages
From acclaimed writer and scholar Philip Freeman, a contemporary retelling of classic Greek and Roman mythology.

The myths of Greece and Rome have never died out; in fact they are as popular today as ever. For thousands of years, these myths have been the basis for plays, operas, paintings, and movies. Freeman’s version of the myths will appeal to the many people who are unsure about some mythological references, and to everyone who enjoys reading stories about errant gods, fantastic creatures, and human heroes. Whether it is Zeus’s wandering eye, Theseus’s battle with the half-human, half-bull Minotaur, or the tribulations of lovers, such as Pyramus and Thisbe or Hero and Leander, these tales never fail to entertain. They are by turns sublimely beautiful and deeply disturbing; they provide valuable insights into the Greek and Roman imagination. They speak to fundamental aspects of human nature—our hopes, fears, desires—that have not changed.

Freeman’s version is contemporary and accessible. It reflects no school of critical interpretation, just a wish to share these stories in a version that is faithful to the originals. (Sometimes variations in the myths have been combined; sometimes one version has been chosen in preference to the others.)
 

Contents

Creation
1
Gods
13
Goddesses
68
HESTIA
80
Heroes
87
Lovers
116
Hercules
136
Oedipus
161
Rome
287
THE HORATII BROTHERS
290
ONEEYED HORATIUS
292
CLOELIA
293
LUCRETIA 294
294
Genealogies
297
Greek and Roman Gods
303
Glossary
305

Argonauts
175
Troy
201
Mycenae
230
Odysseus
240
Aeneas
267

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About the author (2012)

Philip Freeman is Qualley Professor of Classics at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and a former professor of classics at Washington University in St. Louis. He was selected as a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton for January 2012. He earned the first joint Ph.D. in classics and Celtic studies from Harvard University, and has been a visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School, the American Academy in Rome, and the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. The author of several previous books including Alexander the Great, St. Patrick of Ireland and Julius Caesar, he lives with his family in Decorah, Iowa. Visit him at PhilipFreemanBooks.com.

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