Greek Mythology: A Traveler's Guide from Mount Olympus to TroyA hands-on traveler's guide to the enthralling tales of Greek mythology, organized around the cities and landscapes where the events are set The Greek myths have a universal appeal, beyond the time and physical place in which they were created. But many are firmly rooted in specific landscapes: the city of Thebes and mountain range Cithaeron dominate the tale of Oedipus; the city of Mycenae broods over the fates of Agamemnon and Electra; while Knossos boasts the scene of Theseus’ slaying of the Minotaur. Drawing on a wide range of classical sources, newly translated by the author, and illustrated with specially commissioned drawings, this book is both a useful read for those visiting the sites and a fascinating imaginative journey for the armchair traveler. The itinerary includes twenty-two locations, from Mount Olympus to Homer’s Hades, recounting the myths and history associated with each site and highlighting features that visitors can still see today.Scholarly text, supported by quotes from primary sources and contemporary research, as well as the enticing stories of gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, enrich the reader’s literal or simply literary experience of these sites, whose significance still resonates today. |
Contents
Eleusis the Mysteries of Demeter Persephone | |
Sacred Island of Leto Artemis Apollo | |
Seat of Apollos Oracle Haunt of Dionysus | |
Artemis the Cult of the Mother Goddess | |
Garden of Aphrodite | |
Where Nestor Ruled Hermes Hid the Cattle of Apollo | |
Corinth False Promises of Love | |
Land of Hera Home of Heroes | |
Prize of Athene Kingdom of Theseus | |
King Minos the Labyrinth | |
A Boar Hunt Golden Apples | |
Sparta the Haunts of Helen | |
Mycenae the Curse on Agamemnons Family | |
A City Contested by Gods | |
Pelops the Games | |
City of Dionysus Oedipus Heracles | |
Tiryns the Labours of Heracles | |
Centaurs Weddings the Voyage for | |
Ithaca the Wanderings of Odysseus | |
Ephyra the Gateway to the Underworld | |
Acknowledgments | |
Common terms and phrases
Achilles Acropolis Aegeus Agamemnon Agora altar Aphrodite Apollo Argos arrows Artemis Athenian Athens Atreus Attica battle beautiful boar Bronze Age built Calydon cave Centaurs century BC chariot citadel Corinth Crete Cronus DATES & REMAINS daughter dead death defeat Delos Delphi Demeter Dion Dionysus earth Eleusis Ephesus Eurystheus father fifthcentury BC Games gave goddess gods golden Greece Greek Hades Haides Helen Hephaestus Hera Heracles Hermes hero Hesiod History & Today Homer honour horses Hymn IMPORTANT DATES Iolcus island Ithaca Ithaki Jason killed king Knossos Leto Medea Menelaus Minos mother Mount Olympus mountains Museum Mycenae Mycenaean myth mythology nearby Odysseus Oedipus Olympia once oracle Orestes Orpheus palace Paphos Pausanias Pelias Pelops Persephone Perseus Persians Poseidon Pylos returned River Roman sacred sacrifice sailed sanctuary ship Sisyphus Sparta statue Sunium Temple of Athene theatre Thebes Theseus tholos Thyestes Tiryns took trees Trojan Troy Troy’s walls wife Zeus