Portland Public Library

The mythology book, [contributors, Philip Wilkinson, consultant and 8 others]

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The mythology book

bibliography

1002292053

[contributors, Philip Wilkinson, consultant and 8 others]

Big ideas simply explained

"Take a step into the fascinating realm of gods and goddesses, mythical warriors, and legendary kings and queens. Explore the creation stories of world's great cultures, let yourself be gripped by the classic hero narratives like the legend of King Arthur or the adventures of the Monkey King, or shed a tear over heart-rending tragedies such as the devastating tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Mythology Book retells and explains more than 80 classic stories. They include myths that have formed the foundations of many of the world's great religions and inspired artists from Homer and Virgil to Richard Wagner and James Joyce. Delve into each story to discover the meanings behind the myths, getting to the heart of the significance to the cultures they originated in. Divided into seven major sections, The Mythology Book examines myths from every continent and every significant period in history, from ancient Egypt to the Celts, and from the Maya of Mexico and Central America to Aboriginal Australians and the Maori of New Zealand. An eye-catching visual approach includes graphics and feature boxes that summarize the sources, settings, and key characters, set out the main plot points, and place the stories in historical context." -- Dust jacket

Ancient Greece ; Gaia first gave birth to her equal, Ouranos: Origin of the universe ; Rhea swaddled up a stone and passed it to Kronos to swallow: The birth of Zeus ; Zeus in his first youth battered the earthborn Titans: The war of the gods and Titans ; No wind beats roughly here, no snow nor rain: Mount Olympus ; He bound cunning Prometheus in inescapable fetters: Prometheus helps mankind ; Her impulse introduced sorrow and mischief to the lives of men: Pandora's box ; Zeus had many women, both mortal and immortal: The many affairs of Zeus ; Mighty Hades who dwells in houses beneath the earth: Hades and the Underworld ; He slipped a pomegranate, sweet as honey, into her hand: The abduction of Persephone ; The raving ladies streamed out of their homes: The cult of Dionysus ; Turning 'round, he caught a glimpse of his wife and she had to return below: Orpheus and Eurydice ; A bringer of dreams: Hermes's first day ; Athena presents the olive tree, Poseidon the wave: The founding of Athens ; I will give infallible counsel to all who seek it: Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi ; One loved; the other fled the name of love: Apollo and Daphne ; Life and death are balanced on the edge of a razor: The Trojan War ; This pair of tyrants. They murdered my father: Orestes avenges Agamemnon ; Tell me oh muse, the hero's story: The quest of Odysseus ; After the labors had been accomplished, he would be immortal: The labors of Herakles ; He had the face of a bull, but the rest of him was human: Theseus and the Minotaur ; Disdaining his father's warnings, the exhilarated Icarus soared ever higher: Daedalus and Icarus ; Watching the Gorgon's head in the polished shield, he beheaded her: Perseus and Medusa ; Hate is a bottomless cup, I will pour and pour: Jason and Medea ; Unfortunate Oedipus, of all men, least to be envied!: The fate of Oedipus ; She wants Adonis more than she does heaven itself: Aphrodite and Adonis ; Whatever I touch, may it be transformed into tawny gold: King Midas ; In a single day and night the island of Atlantis disappeared beneath the waves: The legend of Atlantis -- Ancient Rome ; I sing of arms and the man: Aeneas, founder of Rome ; A desire seized Romulus and Remus to build a city: The founding of Rome ; The father of gods spurts red flames through the clouds: Numa outwits Jupiter ; Conceive of Vesta as naught but the living flame: Vesta and Priapus ; The fates will leave me my voice, and by my voice I shall be known: The sibyl of Cumae ; I love you as I love my own soul: Cupid and Psyche ; I am on fire with love for my own self: Narcissus and Echo ; She yet spins her thread, as a spider: Arachne and Minerva ; I pay the due penalty in blood: Cybele and Attis ; Mithras is the lord of generation: Mithras and the bull ; He carved a statue out of snow-white ivory: Pygmalion ; For lying with me, take control of the hinge: Carna and Janus ; No wood nymph could tend a garden more skilfully than she: Pomona and Vertumnus ; Even death shall not part us: Pyramus and Thisbe ; Those whom the gods care for are gods: Philemon and Baucis -- Northern Europe ; From Ymir's flesh the earth was made: Creation of the universe ; The ash of Yggdrasil is the noblest of trees: Odin and the World Tree ; The first war in the world: War of the gods ; They mixed honey with the blood and it turned into mead: The Mead of Poetry ; Thor might smite as hard as he desired and the hammer would not fail: The treasures of the gods ; Am I wrong in thinking that this little fellow is Thor?: The adventures of Thor and Loki in Jötunheim ; The unluckiest deed ever done among gods and men: The death of Baldur ; Brother will fight brother and be his slayer: The twilight of the gods ; When the worm comes to the water, smite him in the heart: Sigurd the dragon slayer ; Wonderful the magic sampo, plenty does it bring to northland: The Kalevala ; The Dagda was eighty years in the kingship of Ireland: A complex god ; As soon as he touched the earth, he was a heap of ashes: The voyage of Bran ; One will be long forgetting Cúchulainn: The cattle raid of Cooley ; He has the name of being the strongest and bravest man in Ireland: Finn MacCool and the Giant's Causeway ; So they took the blossoms and produced from them a maiden: Blodeuwedd ; Who so pulleth out this sword is the rightwise king born of all England: The legend of King ArthurAsia ; From the great heaven the goddess set her mind on the great below: The descent of Inanna ; Command and bring about annihilation and re-creation: Marduk and Tiamat ; Who can rival his kingly standing?: The epic of Gilgamesh ; Two spirits, one good, the other evil, in thought, word, and deed: Ahura Mazda and Ahriman ; Brahma opened his eyes and realized he was alone: Brahma creates the cosmos ; Siva placed the elephant's head on the torso and revived the boy: The birth of Ganesha ; O king, it is wrong to gamble oneself!: The game of dice ; Rama is virtuous and the foremost among all righteous men: The Ramayana ; I am the lady, ruler of the worlds: Durga slays the buffalo demon ; O! Meenakshi! Fish-eyed goddess! Grant me bliss!: The fish-eyed goddess finds a husband ; Your are to be the king over all the world: The origins of the Baiga ; Yang became the heavens, Yin became the earth: Pangu and the creation of the world ; The ten suns all rose at once, scorching the sheaves of grain: Yi shoots the sun ; I'll roam the corners of the oceans and go to the edge of the sky: The adventures of the Monkey King ; Having finished making the lands, they went on to make its spirits: Izanagi and Izanami ; All manner of calamities arose everywhere: Susanoo and Amaterasu ; Your rice of the Skyworld is good: Fire and rice ; There was a man called Dan'gun Wanggeom who created a city and founded a nation: The legendary foundation of Korea ; Hae Mosu made the sun shine and its rays caressed Yuwha's body: Jumong -- The Americas ; The earth is a giant island floating in a sea of water: Cherokee creation ; It will not be well if they omit it: Spider Woman ; Begin a Deerskin Dance for it because everything will come out well from that: The Woge settle a dispute ; She was the shade of the whale: The raven and the whale ; And the sun belongs to one an the moon to the other: The Hero Twins ; So then the sun went into the sky: The legend of the five suns ; In the beginning, and before this world was created, there was a being called Viracocha: Viracocha the Creator ; The canoe was a wonder: The first canoe ; The creator of the world has always existed: The sky makes the sun and earth -- Ancient Egypt and Africa ; I was alone with the Primeval Ocean: The creation and the first gods ; Hail to you, Ra, perfect each day!: The night barque of Ra ; Isis lived in the form of a woman, who had the knowledge of words of power: Ra's secret name ; He will not die! Osiris will live a life forever: Osiris and the underworld ; If they built fires, evil would come: San creation myth ; I will give you something called cattle: En-kai and the cattle ; Tie the calabash behind you and then you will be able to climb the tree: Ananse the spider ; The life-force of the earth is water: The Dogon cosmos ; The queen wants to kill you: Eshu the trickster -- Oceania ; Come and hear our stories, see our land: The Dreaming ; Spear me slowly. I still have more to teach you: The killing of Luma-Luma ; The world of myth is never far off: The Déma ; Master of everything that is: Ta'aroa gives birth to the gods ; Death obtained power over mankind: Tane and Hine-titama ; but the redoubtable Maui was not to be discouraged: Maui of a thousand tricks ; What would you say to our driving the birds to Easter Island?: Makemake and Haua ; When I utter his name, he hears in the heavens: Mapusia and the Work of the Gods ; I do not forget the guiding stars: Aluluei and the art of navigation