The Penguin Book of Classical MythsThe figures and events of classical myths underpin our culture and the constellations named after them fill the night sky. Whether it’s the raging Minotaur trapped in the Cretan labyrinth or the twelve labours of Hercules, Aphrodite’s birth from the waves or Zeus visiting Danae as a shower of gold, the mythology of Greece and Rome is full of unforgettable stories. All the stories of the Greek tragedies – Oedipus, Medea, Antigone – are there; all the events of the Trojan wars and of Odysseus and Aeneas’ epic journeys; the founding of Athens and of Rome... |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 61
... eyes, frightful grins, lolling tongues and fearsome tusks, but again by the later fifth century they have become humanized, and Medusa's face is that of a beautiful woman. Second, these works of ancient art can show us, broadly speaking ...
... eye is caught by a particularly beautiful mortal woman, so he comes down to earth to have his way with her. Whether we should call these sexual unions love affairs, or seduction, or rapes is not always clear – though they do often seem ...
... eyes as a philanderer, whose vaunted love for his wife Penelope, waiting faithfully at home for him for twenty years, must be a sham. But no: his fidelity to Penelope was true in all but a superficial sense, as was his longing to be ...
... eyes gaze piercingly out of his golden helmet, bright rays beam brilliantly from his temples, and the shining hair of his head graciously frames his far-away face. A rich, fine-spun garment gleams on his body and flutters in the winds ...
... eye and a single tooth which they share among themselves, passing them around as necessary. The Gorgons were fearsome ... eyes, frightful grins and lolling tongues, and give the Gorgons an odd, striding gait. Medusa would be killed by ...
Contents
The Gods | |
The First Humans | |
The Quest for the Golden Fleece | |
Theseus Athens and Crete | |
The Theban Saga | |
The Trojan | |
Odysseus and His Odyssey | |
The House of Pelops | |
Dangerous Women | |
Aeneas and the Destiny of Rome | |
The Foundation of Rome | |