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Showing 12 entries for tag: Tale vs reality

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Sònia González, Jaime Moreno Delgado

100 Myths. Gods, Heroes and Legendary Creatures [100 Mitos. Dioses, Héroes y Criaturas Legendarias]

100 Mitos is a compilation of 100 classical myths and legends for children. The book is divided into three parts called Gods and Titans (Dioses y titanes), Heroes, Demi-gods and Humans (Héroes, semidioses y humanos), and Legendary Creatures (Criaturas legendarias). In Dioses y Titanes, the stories included relate to the following characters, places and events: Aphrodite (Afrodita); Apollo (Apolo), Ares; Artemis (Ártemis); Asclepius (Asclepio); Athena (Atenea); Atlas; Charon (C(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Spain


Jetdogs Studios , Zoom Out Games

12 Labours of Hercules

The first 12 labours of Hercules game begins by introducing the main characters, Hercules and Megara, who live happily together with their servants. However, Hades abducts Megara, causing Hercules to set out to search for and rescue her. With the help of characters such as Medusa, Cerberus and Chiron, whom he rescues along the way, he fights the Hydra, saves Prometheus from his golden chains and rescues Megara from the Underworld.The second game begins in Thebes with Hercules having the idea of (...)

electronic

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Online


Heather Alexander , Meredith Hamilton

A Child’s Introduction to Greek Mythology

The book is divided into an introductory section of character profiles and short stories – ‘Who’s Who and What’s What’, taking up almost half the book, and a second section of full-length mythology retellings. Who’s Who and What’s WhatIntroduction – Why Greek mythology is still being told; why we have different versions; the story of Cronus and Uranus; the war between the Titans and Olympians; a chart showing Titan marriage pairings.Titan Chil(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America


Henry Lion Oldie

A Hero Must Be Alone [Герой должен быть один (Geroi dolzhen byt' odin)]

This is a heroic fantasy fiction based on the myth of Hercules, aimed at young adults, in novel format. The plot of the original myth is thoroughly transformed in order to emphasize topics and motives relevant to contemporary youth culture. At the beginning of the book, we learn that Zeus has a special plan for his newly-conceived child from Alcmene and that this plan is a matter of serious disagreement in the family of gods (or “the Family”, as it is called throughout whole Ach(...)

literary

YEAR: 1996

COUNTRY: Russia


Renée Grimaud (Grimaud Ayanoglou), Daniel Maja

Alphabeta. The Greek Alphabet through Its Legends [Alphabêta. L'alphabet grec par ses légendes]

In the beginning, the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet are introduced with their French names and pronunciation. Selected mythological stories are presented in the alphabetical order of their titles. Each two-page layout contains a short tale and a full-page illustration in a blue colour scheme and introduces another character by their name, which begins with a particular Greek letter. The characters described are: Alpha – Argos, Beta – Bellerophon, Gamma – (...)

literary

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: France


Michael Townsend

Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Greek Mythology

This book contains nine mythological tales written in comic form. First there is a brief introduction of various creatures of Greek mythology, such as the Cyclops, centaurs, Satyrs, Nymphs, Pegasus but also made-for-laugh ones such as a fairy goat or Mer-Donkey. There is an emphasis on the natural world of ancient Greece, where there was no technology, and on monsters, heroes and gods. The Olympian gods are mentioned, with the exclusion of Hephaestus and Ares, although Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Amphitrite the Bubbly (Goddess Girls, 17)

In this installment, we meet a new character, Amphitrite, a mermaid who is not a regular student at MOA academy. Amphitrite is a mermaid who dreams about living on land. In this combination of mythology and “the little mermaid”, Amphitrite does not forsake her marine home for life on land, but learns to combine both. The story alternates between her narrative and Poseidon’s, and the connecting theme is identity – who you really are. Amphitrite’s sister, Thetis,(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kendare Blake

Antigoddess (Goddess War, 1)

Like several other recent novels for young adults, including Aimee Carter’s The Goddess Test (2011) and Bree Despain’s Into the Dark series, Kendare Blake’s Antigoddess explores the premise that ancient gods have survived into the modern age. Ranging across both urban and natural landscapes of the United States, the novel is focalised through Athena, who is accompanied by her brother, Hermes. The pair resemble modern teenagers: Hermes wears jeans and a tight t-sh(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Aphrodite the Diva (Goddess Girls, 6)

General summary for the series see under Athena the Brain.In this installment we follow Aphrodite’s plan to up her grade in Hero-ology class. She goes to Egypt where she encounters Isis. Aphrodite and the Greek go encounter the Egyptian goddesses and compete with them. Aphrodite needs to find her own voice and what makes her special. The book also reiterates themes from the Trojan war.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Aphrodite the Fair (Goddess Girls, 15)

In this installment, Ares’ sister, Eris, goddess of discord, suddenly appears at his birthday party. The self-confident Ares, the envy of many other godboys, is in fact scared of his older sister who bullied him since childhood. When Eris crashes his surprise birthday party, Ares is terrified: “panic filled him. He had to get rid of his sister before she ruined everything for him here at MOA.” (p. 19). In a retelling of the judgement of Paris, Eris causes strife between the stu(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty [Αφροδίτη η θεά της ομορφιάς (Afrodítī ī theá tīs omorfiás)]

Mandilaras and Kapatsoulia recount Aphrodite’s life, starting with her birth from the sea in Cyprus and ending with her veneration in Greek temples and legacy for sculptors and painters. Aphrodite emerged from the sea in a large seashell. She was beautiful and everyone fell in love with her. Zephyrus travelled with Aphrodite, first to the island of Cythera – where he spent a night with her – and afterwards to the west part of Cyprus. In Cyprus, the Hours made Aphrodite bea(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Greece


George O'Connor

Aphrodite. Goddess of Love (Olympians, 6)

Aphrodite is the sixth instalment of the tremendous Olympians series. It is narrated by the Charites and begins in a time before time, with the ancient Greek creation myths – Gaea and Ouranos, unfocused Eros, and the rise of the Titans leading to Kronos' castration. "The seat of Eros' power in Ouranos" is depicted falling into the sea in a mass of pink foam. The foam churns while more of the creation story plays out. The Olympians, humans, and animals all develop and(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

Apollo and Artemis [Απόλλωνας και Άρτεμη (Apóllōnas kai Ártemī)]

The book starts by showing two gods as small children in a pram. We read that the boy grew up to become a patron of the arts and music, while the girl lived in the forests and hunted. Readers are asked to guess the two siblings’ names. Next, we read about pregnant Leto trying to find a place to give birth, running away from Hera’s frustration with Zeus’ infidelity. Leto takes refuge in a small island, and gives birth, first to Artemis and then to Apollo. It now becomes cle(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Greece


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Apollo and the Battle of the Birds (Heroes in Training, 6)

This is the sixth book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). The group is searching for the mysterious aegis and on the way they will battle the ferocious Stymphalian birds and meet Ares. The group also helps the villagers to overcome a deadly drought. Meanwhile Ares, who was raised by Titans, takes time to adapt to his new found family.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Apollo's Mystic Message (Hopeless Heroes, 5)

This is book 5 in the Hopeless Heroes series. This is series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. At the end of the previous book, Tim Baker was told by his mother's boyfriend (and his school teacher), Larry Green, that there is a vase at the British Museum which depicts an image of a modern boy holding a vase. At first, Tim is reluctant to believe it i(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


George O'Connor

Apollo. The Brilliant One (Olympians, 8)

The Muses narrate this collection, taking turns to tell different myths about Apollo:The birth of Apollo and Artemis.Apollo establishes the oracle at Delphi.Daphne.Marsyas.Hyacinth.Asklepios.A thoughtful Author's Note on Apollo follows. Profile summaries of Apollo, Asklepios, and the Muses are included along with eight points for follow-up discussion and a bibliography and recommended reading list that includes explicit reference to works used in the creation of the graphic novel (Hesiod, Ae(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Marios Aristopoulos, Jesse McGibney, Maciej Paprocki, Lee Vermeulen

Apotheon

Apotheon features the story of Nikandreos, a warrior from the village of Dion, and his journey to save his village and the Earth from the wrath of Zeus. The story begins with the ransack of Dion by invaders. Nikandreos saves his village alongside surviving soldiers and then heads to the temple, where Hera congratulates him for defeating the invaders and recruits him as her champion to take down Zeus, in revenge for her husband’s affairs with other gods and humans. He agrees to this task an(...)

electronic

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Canada


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Arachne Golden Gloves (Hopeless Heroes, 3)

This is book 3 in the Hopeless Heroes series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. Tim Baker, the school-child hero of the book is doing the housework since his mother is busy with her jobs. He catches a spider, and is very interested in it. Yet his mother is afraid of it. Tim decides not to kill the animal but rather set it free outside. H(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Ares and the Spear of Fear (Heroes in Training, 7)

This is the seventh book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). Demeter, Hestia and Hades have gone missing and the rest of the group need to find them as well as a magical spear which is guarded by the Amazons. Lastly they meet another Olympian, Athena. Hera finally gets her own magical object, only to lose it.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


George O'Connor

Ares. Bringer of War (Olympians, 7)

Ares: Bringer of War presents the figure of Ares through a retelling of the myths of the Trojan War with Ares as a major focus point. The book closes with an author's note on adapting Homer's Iliad and his preference for a version of the Trojan War which includes the gods. Profile summaries of Ares, Eris, and Achilles follow, along with eight points for discussion, a Bibliography and Further Reading recommendations.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joe Caramagna, Travel Foreman, Derek Fridolfs, Len O'Grady, Michael Avon Oeming

Ares. God of War

Part 1. Ares opens with a repeat of the cover image in which a Mohican-haired Ares looks down reflectively amidst a battlefield strewn with bodies. The opening text quotes Zeus in Homer's Iliad declaring Ares the most hateful of the gods. A second scene of devastation accompanies Ares' account of how the other gods called on him long ago to halt Hades' attack on Olympus. He recalls that even as Hades' hellish demons swarmed about them Hercules discouraged Zeus' appeal to(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Artemis the Loyal (Goddess Girls, 7)

General summary for the series see under Athena the Brain.In this installment, fairness and accepting others are the main themes. Artemis is angered that she cannot participate in the Olympics, since girls are not allowed. She needs to overcome the prejudice against the participation of girls in sport, decided long ago by Zeus and thus break a very long tradition. She even needs to face her own brother who does not encourage her, as well as the rest of the godboys. We also get a different v(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America


Justine Fontes, Ron Fontes, Thomas Yeates

Atalanta. The Race Against Destiny

The myth of Atalanta is retold here to familiarise young people with her myths and with ancient Greek culture more broadly. Atalanta is exposed as an infant, reared by a bear, then taken to live with hunters. She learns from the Delphic oracle that she will 'lose [her]self' if she marries. She takes part in the Calydonian boar hunt, challenges potential suitors to race her for her hand in marriage, and experiences metamorphosis once she finally marries. Chapter Headings:AbandonedFou(...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: United States of America


Steve Barlow, Steve Skidmore, Andrew Tunney

Athena (EDGE: I HERO: Legends, 5)

In this choose-your-own-path book, the reader is Athena. Athena is punished by the gods because she helped Odysseus evade Hera’s traps. Hera and Poseidon would like to avenge these acts by punishing Athena and stripping her of her divine powers. Athena now becomes a mortal and must face challenges before she can confront Zeus and plead for her innocence. On her way to Mt. Olympus, Athena encounters mysterious creatures and faces real danger. She is chased by the fierce hunter Orion and his(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Athena [Αθηνά (Athīná)]

This comic book is about the goddess Athena. On the inside of the front cover, we read about Athena’s temples on the Acropolis, her motherless status, and her many adjectives, which, we note, derive from Homer. Also, we learn about festivals honouring Athena. The book closes with Pericles praising Athena’s virtues. The story starts with young and beautiful Athena’s presentation to the world. She stands in Zeus’ hand as he sits on a throne surrounded by other O(...)

literary

YEAR: 1965

COUNTRY: Greece


George O'Connor

Athena. Grey-Eyed Goddess (Olympians, 2)

These tales of Athena are narrated by the Moirae, the Fates. They are all-seeing and know what happened in the earliest times, and even what happened inside Zeus' head. They know who Athena is, and here they tell stories of her birth, followed by three stories of Athena establishing her identity: young Pallas, monster Pallas, Perseus and Medusa, and finally a story of fully-established Athena – the myth of Arachne.The Fate Klotho narrates at first. She recaps the myth of the triumph of(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Imogen Greenberg , Isabel Greenberg

Athena: The Story of a Goddess

This a humorous, illustrated, modern re-telling of the myths of Athena for a younger audience using elements of graphic novel storytelling. Some of the myths told are directly connected to Athena, but this expands into a re-telling of the myths around the Trojan War. This is preceded by a short introduction of each of the main characters of the book, both gods and heroes. The individual myths are not separated by headings, but flow into each other, almost like a biography of Athena. The myths co(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


David Hair, Catherine Mayo

Athena’s Champion (Olympus, 1)

Athena’s Champion begins Hair and Mayo’s Olympus trilogy, which follows the early stages in Odysseus’ story. This novel details his discovery of his true parentage and divine lineage, and awakening to the world of the Gods as Odysseus is selected as Athena’s champion. As her champion, he is required to fight for her on earth alongside – and eventually against – Theseus, another of her celebrated servants. Odysseus begins the story as he attends a coming-of-age(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Brett Bean , Lucy Coats

Beast Keeper (Beasts of Olympus, 1)

This is the first book in the "Beasts of Olympus" series. Pandemonius (or Demon as he is most commonly referred to in the series) is the 11 years old half-mortal son of the god Pan and the mortal Carys. His father was absent during most of Demon's life, but one day Pan arrives at Demon's home and quite forcibly (and despite Demon's mother's pleading) takes Demon from his home to Olympus. At first Demon fears he will be sacrificed to the gods, but Pan reveals to Demon th(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aleksei Bitskoff, Maz Evans

Beyond the Odyssey (Who Let the Dogs Out, 3)

Beyond the Odyssey is the third book in the Who Let The Gods Out series by Maz Evans, and picks up the story of Elliot and his immortal companions a short time after the end of Simply The Quest. Elliot and the gods are still living at Home Farm, but Hermes remains in a coma and Elliot's mother's illness is getting worse. On top of all that, the school has a sent another "very scary letter’", saying that they are going to conduct a welfare visit to see how everything (...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Alan Lee, Rosemary Sutcliff

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of The Iliad

Published posthumously in the year following her death, Sutcliff’s Black Ships Before Troy purports to be a retelling of the Iliad, but in fact begins much earlier than Homer’s poem, with the story of the Golden Apple and the Judgment of Paris, and concludes with the Wooden Horse and the Fall of Troy. There are nineteen chapters, followed by a Pronunciation Guide and Bibliography. "The Golden Apple" describes the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and Paris’ decision (...)

literary

YEAR: 1993

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Iwona Czarkowska, Maria Molenda

Bolek and Lolek in the World of Greek Myths [Bolek i Lolek w świecie mitów greckich]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Bolek and Lolek are two little boys who, known as characters from a famous Polish cartoon series initiated by Władysław Nehrebecki (1923–1978), are featured in an illustrated book for children. They get a birthday gift from(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: Poland


Laura Ruby

Bone Gap

Bone Gap is set in the small American town of the same name in the 21st Century and follows two protagonists: Finn, a teenage boy who does not know that he has prosopagnosia (more colloquially known as “face-blindness”, a disability that prevents him from recognising faces), and Roza, a beautiful young Polish woman who mysteriously turns up in Finn’s barn. Finn is the only witness of her subsequent abduction, but nobody believes him. As Roza fights to escape from her captor, Fi(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Ewa Nowacka

Bull Apis Greets Cat Pusia [Byk Apis pozdrawia kotkę Pusię] (The Wings of Time [Skrzydła czasu], 1)

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.This is the first book in the series Skrzydła czasu [The Wings of Time]. Paweł, through an accident with a television game brought by his father, is transported with his cat Pusia to ancient Egypt. Confused and terrified, th(...)

literary

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: Poland


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Circe's Beastly Feast (Hopeless Heroes, 7)

This is book 7 in the "Hopeless Heroes" series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. At the end of the previous book, Tim Baker went to ancient Greece perhaps for the final time (since his mother plans to sell the ancient vase) and to his horror, discovered that Hercules' family has no recollection of him at all. Furthermore, (...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Beverley Cross, Desmond Davis, Ray Harryhausen, Charles H. Schneer

Clash of the Titans

The film loosely follows ancient versions of the myth of Perseus and Medusa. The film opens with king Acrisius of Argos throwing his daughter Danaë and her infant son Perseus into the sea in a casket. After the credits, the scene cuts to the gods on Olympus, where Zeus swears to punish Acrisius and has Poseidon release a monster, a titan called the Kraken to destroy Argos. It is revealed that Perseus is the child of Zeus.Danaë and Perseus drift safely to the island of Seriphos, where P(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1981

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


William F. Russell

Classic Myths to Read Aloud

This book is divided into two sections by reader age: the first part contains stories meant for children of over five years and the second part is for children of eight and over. The "ages eight and over" section is primarily made up of stories from the epics of Homer and Virgil. Each story begins with a note from the author, an "approximate reading time" and a pronunciation guide to names and some of the more old-fashioned words. Each story ends with an “A Few Words Mo(...)

literary

YEAR: 1989

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Clotho the Fate (Goddess Girls, 25)

Clotho, an eleven years old goddess girl, is one of the fates, who is responsible for spinning the Thread of Fate. Together with her sisters, 12 years old Lachesis and 13 years old Atropos, they predict the destiny of mortal new-borns. They work closely as a team each night and they travel from one place to another for their nightly routine, like nomads. While her sisters like this setting, Clotho secretly yearns for a permanent home and some companionship. According to Zeus’ rules, the si(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Crius and the Night of Fright (Heroes in Training, 9)

This is the ninth book in the Heroes in Training series (see  entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). Once again the group of Olympians needs to battle Cronus’ solders while trying to find Artemis, Apollo’s twin. Artemis is held under a special sleeping spell and the Olympians need to free her from her keeper and escape from his company of special warriors. Zeus will discover his great power and the responsibility that comes with it. He must learn (...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Cronus and the Threads of Dread (Heroes in Training, 8)

This is the eighth book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). The group is caught in a great battle against a giant spider and then Athena finally regains her cleverness. Then the group continues towards Cronus’ temple in the sky, where Zeus finds out an awful truth about Cronus and himself.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe, 1)

One day, one of the wise men of Arcadia is tempted to make a bargain with the "demon" who rules Arcadia. In return for granting his wish he agrees to give to him in marriage one of his unborn twin girls upon her 17th birthday. The girl, Nyx, is trained to kill her future husband and deliver Arcadia even at the price of her own life. Once she is in her husband's mysterious castle, she needs to carefully navigate her way to overcome her husband. And even though she falls in love with(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Justine Fontes, Ron Fontes, Steve Kurth , Barbara Schulz

Demeter and Persephone. Spring Held Hostage

The myth of Demeter and Persephone is retold here to familiarise young people with the myth and with ancient Greek culture more broadly. The myth provides an aeitiology for the seasons. Persephone is abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld. Persephone's mother, the goddess Demeter, searches for her. Demeter mourns her daughter when it transpires that she has been taken to the Underworld, causing harvests to fail and plants to die. A compromise is reached in which Persephone splits her time (...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: United States of America


Elisa S. Amore, Kiera Legend

Demigods Academy: Year One (Demigods Academy, 1)

Melany Richmond is an outsider. She is an 18-year-old orphan girl, with blue hair, piercings and tattoos. Her appearance is disapproved of by the Demos family (especially their snotty and spoiled 18-year-old daughter, Callie), a rich, posh Greek family from Pecunia. Melany and her adoptive mother, Sophia, live on the grounds of the Demos’ estate, where Sophia is the family’s housekeeper. Melany has been living there for five years but does not feel like she truly belongs there.In the(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United States of America


Adèle Geras

Dido

Drawing on the narrative of the first four books of Virgil’s Aeneid, Dido expands and extends the tragic story of the Queen of Carthage, who falls in love with Aeneas and kills herself after he sails away. It is told through the eyes of multiple characters – the young handmaiden Elissa, who becomes nursemaid to Aeneas’ son Ascanius, Cubby, a strong, somewhat simple servant, Iopas the bard, and Anna, Dido’s younger sister. With the exception of Anna, these characters are i(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Andrei Valentinovich Shmal'ko

Diomedes, the Son of Tydeus. Book 1: I Won’t Return [Диомед, сын Тидея. Книга I: Я не вернусь (Diomed, syn Tideia. Kniga I: Ia ne vernus’)]

This is a heroic fantasy fiction based on the myth of Diomedes, aimed at young adults, in novel format. The plot of the novel is reframing and reinterpretation of the myths of Seven against Thebes and Epigones, as well as other events from the life of Diomedes before the Trojan War. Diomedes, the son of Tydeus the Unforgiven, was born in exile. His father owes his unfortunate nickname and his status of exile to kindred killing performed by him in the state of madness. Diomedes himself exper(...)

literary

YEAR: 2000

COUNTRY: Russia


Andrei Valentinovich Shmal'ko

Diomedes, the Son of Tydeus. Book 2: Someone Else Will Return [Диомед, сын Тидея. Книга II: Вернусь не я (Diomed, syn Tideia. Kniga II: Vernus’ ne ia)]

This is a heroic fantasy fiction based on the myth of Diomedes, aimed at young adults, in novel format. The plot of the novel is reframing and reinterpretation of Iliad and Odyssey. The second part of Valentinov’s novel on Diomedes is dedicated to the exploits of the hero during the Trojan War and subsequent events.Diomedes has enough knowledge and experience to understand that the beginning of war between the West and the East on Troad plain would be suicidal: if Trojans call for help fro(...)

literary

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: Russia


George O'Connor

Dionysos. The New God (Olympians, 12)

Dionysos opens not with “the new god”, but with the quieter, lesser-known deity, Hestia. The reader is returned to the beginning of the series (Vol. 1 Zeus. King of the Gods), which introduced the creation of the universe and the Olympians. Hestia tells this story, and that of the war with the Titans, this time from her own perspective. She then explains a little about herself; her disinterest in temples and the usual offerings and her content to be found in the hearths of people&rsq(...)

literary

YEAR: 2022

COUNTRY: United States of America


Craig Phillips, Tracey West

Dionysus and the Land of Beasts (Heroes in Training, 14)

This is the fourteenth book in the Heroes in Training series (see Zeus and the Tunderbolt of Doom). In this installment, the Pythia tells the Olympians they must find the last Olympian. They head to the “Land of Grapes” and meet the rock band “Dion and the Goat Guys”. The lead singer is Dionysus who turns out to be an Olympian as well. Meanwhile Apollo gets his own magical object, when his Lyre turns golden and whatever he sings about materializes. In the end the group mu(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


Imogen Greenberg , Isabel Greenberg

Discover… The Ancient Greeks

Discover...  began in 2016. It is part of a series offering a light-hearted introduction to a range of ancient cultures, including The Roman Empire, The Ancient Aztecs, and The Ancient Egyptians.Discover... The Ancient Greeks opens with the stated intention of exploring who the ancient Greeks really were. The book is divided into 2-page sub-sections, each discussing a different aspect of ancient Greek culture.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


Brett Bean , Lucy Coats

Dragon Healer (Beasts of Olympus, 4)

This is the fourth book in the "Beasts of Olympus" series. Pandemonius (or Demon as he is most commonly refer to in the series) is the 11 year old half-mortal son of the god Pan and the mortal Carys. Demon is the official Beast Keeper of the Olympic gods and it is his responsibility to take care of the various beasts. In this story, Demon first encounters Hephaestus' fire-breathing brass bulls which were hurt by the hero Jason. Hephaestus helps him cure them. Then suddenly a girl c(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Echo the Copycat (Goddess Girls, 19)

In this installment, we meet Echo, the forest nymph (Oreiad nymph). We get a chance to be introduced to a different character from the usual goddesses from MOA. Echo loses her tree in a lightning-bolt accident, and blames Zeus by mistake. Her trip to MOA will teach her about friendship, copying and being true to one’s self. Echo finally finds out where she belongs and where she wants to be. Home is truly where your heart is.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Janusz Towpik, Jadwiga Żylińska

Expedition for the Golden Fleece [Wyprawa po złote runo]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.The story begins when Iolcos, an ancient Thessalian city, was ruled by the usurper King Pelias. Pelias deprived his brother Aeson of the throne, but he didn’t know that Aeson’s lawful successor – Jason – w(...)

literary

YEAR: 1974

COUNTRY: Poland


Passport Games Studio , Cecilia Hyland, Eric Hyland

Fleecing Olympus

Fleecing Olympus is a 3–6 player table top game consisting of character cards, playing cards, and gems. The aim of the game is to be the player with the most gems in their hand when the playing cards run out. At the beginning of each round, the players are dealt one of nine possible character cards at random. Each character card represents an ancient Greek god or goddess who the player will henceforth be known as throughout the game. The character cards, which consist of Zeus, Hera, Aphrod(...)

electronic

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Irena Parandowska, Józef Wilkoń

From the World of Myths [Ze świata mitów]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Selection of seventeen widely known Greek myths from various sources including Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey: Pandora, Flood Myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha, Daedalus, Talos and Icarus, Persephone, Eos and Orion, Perseus, Sis(...)

literary

YEAR: 1967

COUNTRY: Poland


Kate McMullan , Denis Zilber

Get to Work, Hercules! (Myth-O-Mania, 7)

This is the seventh book in the Myth-O-Mania series, which offer alternative versions of the Greek myths, narrated by Hades. Hades, who is a self-professed shy and serious god, promises to tell the whole truth about the Greek myth; he claims that his brother Zeus, is a myth-o-maniac (that is, a liar) and that he fabricated the myths and wrote his version so that he and his children will appear noble and praiseworthy. Hades’ versions offer the “true” story of the myths.In this b(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United Kingdom United States of America


Kate McMullan , Denis Zilber

Go for the Gold, Atalanta! (Myth-O-Mania, 8)

This is the eights book in the Myth-O-Mania series, which offer alternative versions of the Greek myths, narrated by Hades. Hades, who is a self-professed shy and serious god, promises to tell the whole truth about the Greek myth; he claims that his brother Zeus, is a myth-o-maniac (that is, a liar) and that he fabricated the myths and wrote his version so that he and his children will appear noble and praiseworthy. Hades’ versions offer the “true” story of the myths.In this bo(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United Kingdom United States of America


SIE Santa Monica Studio

God of War III

The story revolves around Kratos, a Spartan warrior, who sets on his quest to defeat the Olympian gods – in revenge for their actions against him in the previous installments. (see the God of War and God of War II entries for more info)The game opens with Kratos’s famous words that ended God of War II: “Zeus! Your son has returned. I bring the destruction of Olympus!” The warrior marches to Olympus atop Gaia, along with her fellow Titans saved with the power of the Fates,(...)

electronic

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Tera Lynn Childs

Goddess Boot Camp (Oh. My. Gods., 2)

In the second book of the Oh. My. Gods. series, Phoebe Castro must try to find a way to control her newfound powers. Phoebe is an 18-year-old American girl from California who moved with her mother to the Greek island of Serfopoula. There Phoebe attends a special school, for Greek gods' descendants. After struggling to find her place in the school and coming to terms with her mother's remarriage to the school headmaster, Damian Petrolas, this book focuses on Phoebe's struggles to bal(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aimée Carter

Goddess Interrupted (The Goddess Test, 2)

In this second volume of the Goddess Test trilogy Kate and Henry, the god of the underworld, are a couple. During spring and summer she is allowed to live in the upper world. Because of her attempt to kill Kate in the first volume, Hera is punished and banished to Tartarus, the most terrible part of the underworld. After having finished her visit to earth, Kate goes again down to the underworld accompanied by Hermes. Back at the mansion of Hades, the marriage ceremony takes place and Kate is cro(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Canada United States of America


Yung In Chae, Alida Massari

Goddess Power: A Kids' Book of Greek and Roman Mythology: 10 Empowering Tales of Legendary Women

The book focuses on Titaness, Goddesses and their adapted related myths. Before the actual myth, we have a short “identity card” for the goddess, including the pronunciation of her name, family,, symbols, strength and a few sentences of introduction on the goddess’ origin or role. The stories are as follows: Gaia and the creation of the world and the Titans, Rhea and Cronus and the birth of the gods, Hera and the myths of Io, Echo, Narcissus, Heracles. Artemis: her birth, Actae(...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: United States of America


Rebecca Guay, Burleigh Mutén

Goddesses: A World of Myth and Magic

As its title suggests, this book offers brief informational entries on various goddesses from different cultures around the world: Africa, Asia, Europe, Near East, North America, South and Central America, Oceania and Polynesia. The information is alphabetically organized, with accompanying original illustrations. For each goddess we have her name, spelling guide, origin, and one passage which describes her role and attributes. It is also mentioned whether the goddess is still worshiped today (f(...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: United States of America


Giovanni Caselli, Michael Gibson

Gods, Men and Monsters from the Greek Myths

This is a collection of a select number of Greek myths retold for older children, with accompanying line drawings and bright colour illustrations of varied sizes depicting key scenes. The stories focus on detailed characterisation, particularly in the hero myths, and often bring up lesser known versions. The book opens with labelled line drawings of the major gods and a map of Greece. A section at the back explains the line drawing symbols that appear at the start of each chapter, e.g. a fennel (...)

literary

YEAR: 1977

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Charles Bataille, Sylvie Baussier

Greek Gods & Heroes: 40 Inspiring Icons [Dieux: 40 dieux et héros grecs]

This is a collection of profiles of Greek gods, heroes, antiheroes and monsters aimed at children. Each character occupies a double spread featuring the character’s picture labelled with some of their main attributes, as well as a short intro, family tree box and other boxes with further stories. These boxes have regular themed headings; for example, "Descendants", "Lovers" and "Conflict" are recurring ones. At the bottom of the profile is a summary line for t(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: France


John Green, Drew Silver

Greek Gods and Goddesses

This is a colouring book that contains 22 images of the Greek gods and goddesses. Opposite of each image, there is an information text on the deity. The images are a full-page, black and white illustrations with the name of the god/goddess and a caption describing the scene. For example: "Kronos attacking Ouranos", or "Pan playing his syrinx by the side of the stream". The illustrations are not childlike or cute, but the gods depicted in a beautified way. The images and (...)

literary

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: United States of America


Robert Graves

Greek Gods and Heroes

This is a dryly humorous children's anthology of myth by Robert Graves, better known for his earlier mythography work The Greek Myths. It tells key Greek myths, with a focus on the personalities of the key gods who it introduces in the opening chapter. There are no illustrations. The stories included are:The Palace of Olympus (introduction to the different gods),Other Gods and Goddesses,Demeter's Lost Daughter,The Titans,The Underworld of Tartarus,The Birth of Hermes,Orpheus,Deucalion(...)

literary

YEAR: 1960

COUNTRY: United States of America


Baby Professor Series

Greek Mythology for Kids: From the Gods to the Titans

This book opens with a short introductory paragraph which says that the Olympians ruled after overthrowing the Titans and then each page is dedicated to a different deity, featuring a photo of the god or titan’s statue on one page and a short biographical text on the corresponding page. The gods featured in this book are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes and Ares (thereby excluding Dionysus, Demeter and Artemis), and the Titans are Oceanus, Prometheus, Atlas a(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Charlie Keith

Greek Mythology for Kids: Tales of Gods

This book is a self-published adaptation of stories for the Greek mythology aimed at children. The tone of the stories is light hearted and the introduction presents the book as follows: “This is a story about gods and the things they ate. Or maybe it’s a story about things and the gods they ate. It gets confusing after a while.” The introduction presents the ancient Greeks as a people who feared the gods, as the gods controlled natural elements, thus hinting at the origin of m(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Online


Brandon Terrell

Greek Mythology's Twelve Labors of Hercules: A Choose Your Path Book

This is a “choose your own path” book, in which the reader takes on the role of the hero and makes decisions and choices of action and plot development at each stage to create an interactive adventure, following instructions within the book in order to proceed. Within the framework of the story, the reader/hero of the book – referred to in the second person as “you” – while attempting to avoid a bully in the school library, hears strange noises coming from a b(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Peter Komak

Greek Mythology: The Complete Guide to Greek Gods & Goddesses, Monsters, Heroes, and the Best Mythological Tales!

As the name of the book suggests, it offers brief and adapted myths from Greek mythology. The book offers encyclopaedia-like lists of numerous deities and mythological chatterers. All receive a brief paragraph for minor or marginal deities (for example Ananke, Dione, Argus Panoptes and more) and longer descriptions for major deities, such as the Olympic gods or several Titans. The book covers the following themes/myths: What is Greek mythology?; Primordial deities (like Aether and Chaos, the dei(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Mirosław Rutkowski

Greek Myths for Children. Gods [Mity greckie dla dzieci. Bogowie]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of "Artes Liberales", Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp., section by Anna Górska, pp. 326–331.First part of a book cycle. Includes an introduction describing the origin of the world. Each chapter contains stories about different gods and mythical characters. Author begins w(...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: Poland


Elżbieta Lubomirska, Elżbieta Olczak

Greek Myths for Fun [Mity greckie na wesoło]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.The book is a collaborative work: Elżbieta Olczak wrote the text, and Elżbieta Lubomirska prepared the illustrations and the book’s design. The most important Greek gods and the myths about them are presented pleasantly and(...)

literary

YEAR: 2005

COUNTRY: Poland


Heather Amery, Linda Edwards

Greek Myths for Young Children

This is a highly illustrated volume of myths retold for children. Contents:About the Greek MythsThe Gift of FirePandora's BoxPersephone and the SeasonsThe Story of ArachneThe Many Tasks of Heracles (Intro, plus 12 Labours)Echo and NarcissusDaedalus and IcarusBellerophon and the Flying HorseJason and the Golden Fleece (Intro, Argo Sets Sail, The Harpies, The Clashing Rocks, Fire-Breathing Bulls and Dragon's Teeth, The Golden Fleece).King MidasThe Adventures of Perseus (Intro, Medusa,(...)

literary

YEAR: 2000

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Anita Rejch

Greek Myths. Fairytales of the Ancients [Mity greckie. Baśnie starożytnych]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp., section by Barbara Krcha, pp. 294–295. The book is a collection of the most popular Greek myths adapted for children between 10 and 12 years old and written in an accessible language. The author compares mythical eve(...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: Poland


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Hades and the Helm of Darkness (Heroes in Training, 3)

This is the third book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). The saved Olympians continue their journey following the Oracle’s directions. They now head to the underworld where they encounter the Titans Oceanus, Mnemosyne and the Furies. They are even almost captured by Thanatos. In the process they will discover who the real lord of the underworld is and Zeus gets another step close to understanding his own i(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Hades' Pet Hellhound (Hopeless Heroes, 9)

This is book 9 in the "Hopeless Heroes" series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. At the end of the previous book, Tim Baker was caught in a fight over the magical vase with his class bully, Leo. The two were then transported to ancient Greece. While each tried to control the vase (Leo wanting to proceed, Tim wishing to return (...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Barbara Dee

Halfway Normal

Norah Levy has spent the past two years in treatment for leukemia, and is now able to return to school. But many things have changed, especially her friendship structures. Norah is self-conscious about her status as ‘Cancer Kid,’ and struggles to navigate the emotional labyrinth of well-meaning and occasionally jealous friends and teachers. She becomes friends with Griffin, a slightly older boy in her advanced maths class, who likes her doodles of mythological monsters, and draws ima(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kate McMullan

Have a Hot Time, Hades! (Myth-O-Mania, 1)

Have a Hot Time, Hades comprises seventeen chapters plus a prologue and epilogue, from the perspective of Hades, detailing his birth and the genesis of his conflict with Zeus. The prologue introduces Hades as the ruler of the Underworld and shows his distrust in myths and his readiness to set the record straight as they are all biased against him and he knows best.Chapter One, Hothead Dad, narrates the genesis of the Olympians from Mama Gaia who gave birth to Cronus, the Titan. Cronus in tu(...)

literary

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: United States of America


Tony Ross , Francesca Simon

Helping Hercules

Helping Hercules tells the story of a young girl named Susan who does not want to help or do chores at home. She finds a magic coin that takes her back to Ancient Greece where she becomes entangled in scenarios from Greek mythology – she has to help Hercules clean out Augean stables, help Orpheus get Eurydice back from Hades, help Paris choose between the goddesses, help Bellerophon capture Pegasus to find the chimera, fight Medusa, deal with Midas, and help Hercules get the apples from th(...)

literary

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Hephaestus and the Island of Terror (Heroes in Training, 10)

This is the tenth book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 10)). The Olympians are headed to Lemnos to find Artemis’ bows and arrows. On the deserted island they encounter another Olympian, Hephaestus, who presents himself as the ruler of the island due to his many mechanical inventions. Hephaestus is haughty and a braggart, and quickly challenges Zeus for the leadership of the Olympians. The Olympians must fight the islan(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


George O'Connor

Hephaistos. God of Fire (Olympians, 11)

Hephaistos, an attractive graphic novel focusing on myths connected to Hephaestus, opens with hammering reverberating around mountain tops. Hephaestus is revealed, working with his hammer, but the narrator goes on to tell a story of Prometheus. The giant elemental Titans are shown and then compared to Prometheus, a small human-like child of the Titans, but with the gift of foresight and prophecy. Living under the Titans he knows what it is to feel helpless. He chooses to live amongst the humans;(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United States of America


George O'Connor

Hera. The Goddess and her Glory (Olympians, 3)

Hera begins with a recap of the triumph of Zeus and the other Olympians over Kronos (from Zeus. King of the Gods). New aspects of the battle are shown, including Hera's participation in the fighting and her ability to command Zeus haughtily to assist her when she does not wish to put her full effort in ("Honestly, I almost broke a nail", she complains). Aspects of Zeus' seduction of Hera, seen in Athena. Grey-Eyed Goddess, are shown with Hera's perspective now supplementing(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America


Anna Gkoutzouri

Heracles [Ηρακλής (Īraklī́s)]

Heracles is part of the "My First Greek Myths" board book series by Anna Gkoutzouri. The book features interactive levers that allow you to push, pull, and slide palimpsestic images revealing various characters from the Heracles myth. These reveals also allow for playful plot developments. There are four, thick double-page spreads in total in the book. In the cover image, Heracles is flanked in a characteristic lion’s mane, bearing a sword and fiery torch. He approaches what is p(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Greece


Janusz Towpik, Jadwiga Żylińska

Heracles’ Story [Opowieść o Heraklesie]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.This story is an adaptation of the Heracles’ myth covering selected stories from ancient sources. Among them, the story of the Twelve Labours and a few other stories were originally interpreted by Żylińska. For instance, th(...)

literary

YEAR: 1973

COUNTRY: Poland


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Hera’s Terrible Trap! (Hopeless Heroes, 2)

This is book 2 in the Hopeless Heroes series. This is series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. In the first book of the series, Tim Baker, our hero, discovered the mythological Hercules was trapped in an old vase Tim had at home. He also discovered that it was Hera, who locked Hercules there since she was jealous of his beautiful mother. In this book, Ti(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Ron (Ronald) Clements, Alan Menken, John Musker, David Zippel

Hercules

Hercules tells the story of a young, incredibly strong man who learns that Zeus is his father. To get back to Olympus, he has to prove himself by finding out what it means to be a true hero, eventually by defeating Hades, the main villain of the story, who is bent on taking over the world. Although it is based on the Greek myth, it promotes mainly typically American, rather than ancient, values.(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: United States of America


Bernard Evslin

Hercules

This is a retelling of the myth of Hercules, aimed at young adults in novel format. The book starts with a list of characters of humans/ non humans and a short explanation of each.(...)

literary

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: United States of America


Geraldine McCaughrean

Hercules

The book narrates the life of Hercules, from his early youth to his tragic death and following deification (or rather becoming a constellation). Due to the subject matter and the mentions of murder and tragic deaths the book is more suitable for older children. (...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Robert Burleigh , Raul Colón

Hercules

This is a picture book retelling of the myth of Hercules’ descent into Hades and capture of Cerberus, aimed at children. The book starts with a list of characters, both humans and non-humans, and a short explanation of each. The book concentrates on the last and most dangerous labor of Hercules, namely his descent into Hades and abduction of Cerberus, but the author uses the opportunity to retell the rest of Hercules’ labours for his young readers as well. The overall framework (...)

literary

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: United States of America


Shannon Eric Denton

Hercules

This is a retelling of the myth of Hercules’ 12 labours, aimed at children learning to read. The book is one of six books that form Short Tales Greek Myths series, which is aimed for children reading. The series is described in the editor’s website as “easy-to-read books to children in the hopes that they will acquire a love of reading that will last a lifetime”. So, the main purpose of the book is the educational one: to help small children in learning to read. This(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


John Bankston

Hercules

This book is part of a series of eight on different Greek deities. It tells the story of Hercules, half-man, half-god who with his god-given strength was able to overcome great obstacles. However, he was not able to overcome the greatest internal obstacle of his own anger. Starting with the episode of Hercules’ cattle being stolen, Bankston launches into a discussion of myth and the place of the myth of Hercules in the ancient world. Each chapter contains selections of the myths with other(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Steve Barlow, Steve Skidmore, Andrew Tunney

Hercules (EDGE: I HERO: Legends, 3)

In this choose-your-own-path book, the reader is Hercules. Hercules joins the voyage of the Argo and needs to help Jason to make decision and later find his lost friend, Hylas, while facing various adventures and overcoming obstacles.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Edouard Cour

Hercules (Series, Book 1–3) [Héraklès, série, Tome 1–3]

On the back cover of all three volumes, the author quotes the alleged reply of the Oracle of Delphi to Alcides of Argolis: "Alcides, son of Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods, everybody will have now to call you Herakles, because you’ll be the Glory of Hera, Zeus’ spouse. In her name, you will live and prove the value of a God. You will be victorious in the trials of Eurystheus, King of Mycenae. Then, you’ll become immortal and Olympus will be your home."The three v(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: France Philippines


Anika Fajardo, Nadine Takvorian

Hercules and His 12 Labors: An Interactive Mythological Adventure

This book is a "choose your own adventure" book, inviting the reader to relive the twelve labors of Hercules from a first person perspective, written in the second person, of the persona of the demi-god Hercules. There are three story paths, including a total of thirty junctions at which choices can be made for the reader’s preference. The eighteen optional endings give the reader the possibility to take ownership of the Hercules story and really feel the action themselves. For e(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


Craig Phillips, Tracey West

Hercules and the Nine-Headed Hydra (Heroes in Training, 16)

This is the sixteenth book in the Heroes in Training series. In this installment, after vanquishing Cronus and his army of Titans and Cronies, Zeus and his fellow Olympians begin to rule Greece.Zeus discovers that being the ruler is not as glamorous as he thought. He mostly sits in his palace (together with Hera, Athena and Hermes), listening to the villagers’ complaints and judging local disputes. He misses the adventures he used to have in the past and complains that he has the most bori(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United States of America


Gary Margrove

Hercules Son of God (Deceit of the Gods, 5)

This book is written as the fourth in a series of five as an exposition of the deadly threats facing our planet in the face of the Anunnaki (“relatives of Anu, ruler of the planet Nibiru”) and their attempts to take over the Earth. The author asserts that he has written this book as a service to the public, educating all as to the apocalyptic dangers that lie ahead. The writing, using second person narrative addressed to the reader, is peppered with URLs to extra reading material, bo(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Worldwide


Tony Bradman , Steve May

Hercules the Hero

In five illustrated chapters, Bradman tells the story of Hercules the Hero. In Chapter One, Trouble with a goddess, we learn of Hercules’ unusual powers and Hera’s enmity towards him. In Chapter Two, Some interesting little jobs, Hercules tackles the Nemean Lion and the Hydra. In Chapter Three, A few busy weeks, Hercules captures the Deer with the Golden Horns and the Brutal Board and cleanses the Augean stables. He shoots down the Bronze Birds of Stymphalos, wrestles with the Great (...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Michael Souza, Jeremy Tugeau

Hercules: A Greek Myth

The book is an ELT (English language teaching) resource from a Korean company. On the company website, it is stated that: “e-future Classic Readers is a collection of classic stories carefully retold for English language learners. Each story has been specially written to preserve the voice of the original author while still keeping the stories accessible through controlled grammar and vocabulary leveling.” (see here, accessed: August 14, 2019). The book is accompanied by a downloadab(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Republic of Korea


Bob Dewar, Matthew Fitt

Hercules: Bampots and Heroes

Hercules: Bambots and Heroes is a comedic account of the twelve labours of Hercules by Matthew Fitt written in Scots, one of the two indigenous languages to Scotland recognised by the UN. While Scottish Gaelic developed in the highlands, Scots originated in the lowlands of Scotland. Although Scots is still commonly used throughout the lowlands it is often blended with English by native speakers. The book itself is a product of Itchy Coo, an imprint of Black & White publishing founded in 2002(...)

literary

YEAR: 2005

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Józef Ciembroniewicz

Hercules: Fights Between the Olympian Gods. A Story for Young People [Herkules: walki olimpijskich bogów. Opowieść dla młodzieży]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.This is an adaptation of Hercules’ myth covering the most important related stories. Among them are Hera’s dislike of Hercules and the story explaining why the Twelve Labours were imposed on the hero. In the first sto(...)

literary

YEAR: 1919

COUNTRY: Poland


Lee Smyth

Hercules: Gods Versus Titans (Warriors, 3)

This is a reimagined tale of Greek mythology. The story follows the Greek Tydeus (Ty) and his grandfather, the blind poet Homer of Athens, as they accompany Hercules on his adventures. The story is narrated through their respective points of view, as a series of first person narrations. The trio meets when Hercules helps Homer during an earthquake in an unknown city. Then suddenly the (imaginary) king Naxos arrives. He blames Hercules for the devastation caused by the earthquake and proclaims th(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Georges Moroz

Hercules: The Complete Myths of a Legendary Hero

The book narrates the life of Hercules from his birth, his madness, the twelve labours, his war campaigns (the war against Troy, for example) and finally his death and apotheosis. The book is in novel form.(...)

literary

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jeff Albrecht, Gary Kwapisz, John Whitman

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Hera continually finds way to combat Hercules, and he is forced to confront different challenges and enemies thrown his way. The book has three “scrolls” (chapters) that tell of different encounters. Each story is the novelization of a made-for-TV movie or movie-length episodes from the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The first scroll is Hercules and the Amazon Women in which Hercules saves the men of a village from “creatures” that are actually women from the(...)

literary

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S00 – Season Zero)

Title of the Works: Hercules: the Legendary Journeys – Hercules and the Amazon WomenHercules: the Legendary Journeys – Hercules and the Lost KingdomHercules: the Legendary Journeys – Hercules and the Circle of FireHercules: the Legendary Journeys – Hercules in the UnderworldHercules: the Legendary Journeys – Hercules in the Maze of the MinotaurThe Hercules: The Legendary Journeys franchise, starring Kevin Sorbo in the titular role, is b(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S00E01): Hercules and the Amazon Women

The narrative of Hercules and the Amazon Women is loosely based on Hercules’ labour to get the belt of the Amazon Queen Hippolyta. The film opens with Hercules and his companion Iolaus walking through the woods where they encounter a young girl who then transforms into the Hydra. In adherence with general mythological tradition, the pair defeat the beast by using fire to burn the stumps of the monster’s head(s), preventing new ones from sprouting. Once the Hydra is slain, a peac(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S00E02): Hercules and the Lost Kingdom

This film’s narrative finds little direct precedent within ancient mythology but draws upon several identifiable themes/tropes for inspiration. After successfully saving a village from a giant, Hercules is approached by a messenger who asks for the hero’s help: his people have been forced out of their home-town, the “lost kingdom” of Troy. Zeus reveals that Hera caused the disappearance of Troy and, in order to find it, Hercules requires the “true compass”. &n(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S00E03): Hercules and the Circle of Fire

This film takes inspiration from several mythological themes, such as Prometheus providing fire for mankind and the wounding of Chiron (with Hydra blood) by Hercules, and combines these into a largely unique narrative. The film opens with Hercules, plagued with premonitions that the world will be covered in ice, on a quest to defeat a witch who has (apparently) been sapping the life force of the local men. Hercules follows a young man into the witch’s cave but becomes suspicious that (...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S00E04): Hercules in the Underworld

This narrative is based loosely on a combination of several known mythological tales: the rape of Deianeira by Nessus, the labour of Hercules capturing Cerberus in the underworld, the death of Hercules and Orpheus’ catabasis. The film begins in an undisclosed village where the ground opens up to create an eerie fissure from out of which a strange green light and mist emerge, destroying all who come into contact with it. Meanwhile, in Hercules’ own village, the hero is forced out of &(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S00E05): Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur

This final pilot-movie is essentially a collection of clips from the previous four films loosely grouped together by an overarching narrative which appropriates the figure of the Minotaur into the adventures of Hercules. Hercules has now retired from “heroism” and is focused on settling down with his family for an ordinary life. Upon witnessing his sons fighting, Hercules explains that fighting should only be done to help other people, telling them the story of Eryx the boxer (from H(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S01E01–13)

The Hercules: The Legendary Journeys franchise, starring Kevin Sorbo in the titular role, began in 1994 with a collection of five feature-length, television-movie, pilot-episodes, the popularity of which then ensured the franchises’ continuation via an established television series. The series ran for a total six seasons (1995-1999) and picked up the narrative from the where the films had concluded. The series became even more popular than the films and several spin-offs ensued, inclu(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S02E01–24)

The second season of Hercules: the Legendary Journeys utilizes the same basic structure as the first season (see relevant entry) but builds upon the momentum of the franchises’ popularity to expand the number of episodes to almost double that of the first season (13 and 22, respectively). Each episode is self-contained and depicts Hercules and his companion, Iolaus, embarking upon a quest to defeat a villain/bad-guy and/or to resolve an issue of injustice that plagues a town/village. (...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S03E01–22)

Season three of HTLJ, consisting of twenty-two episodes, maintains the successful format of the prior two seasons: a series of self-contained narrative episodes that derive inspiration from tropes associated with both the ancient world and fantasy genres. Examples of the former include episode 2 (Doomsday) in which Hercules assists the inventor Daedalus with his grief over the death of his son Icarus (who famously died when the pair tried to escape Crete – see, e.g., Ovid Met. 8); epi(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1996

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S04E01–22)

Season four of HTLJ, consisting of twenty-two episodes, does little to change the successful format of the serial established by the prior seasons: i.e., the season’s arc presents a series of self-contained narrative episodes that derive inspiration from tropes associated with both the ancient world and fantasy genres. Indeed, certain episodes in this season tread over familiar narrative territory: for example, episode 11 (Medea culpa) includes another example of a dragon slaying quest (he(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S05E01–22)

The fifth and penultimate season of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys maintains the same structure as the earlier seasons with 22 stand-alone episodes depicting Hercules’ battle against ‘evil’ (in all of its various guises) and, in his role as champion of the people, his righting of the wrongs performed against the innocent. Certain tropes established in seasons three and four are now cemented as recurrent features: in particular, the modern, metatheatrical take on the clip(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Series, S06E01–08)

This final, sixth, season of HTLJ has a much shorter run than any prior season with only 8 episodes. With the ancient evil Dahak having been defeated at the end of season 5, these final episodes focused on returning to the original formula of the show (see below and analysis) in order to wrap up the narrative arc of the serial (this is hinted at by the title of the final episode: Full circle). Promotional material for the show referred to this season as "the last Legendary Journey&rdqu(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Mark Hess, Kathryn Lasky

Hercules: The Man, the Myth, the Hero

This of Hercules begins with his birth as "Palaemon" and Hera's initial attempt on his life by sending the two serpents to his cradle. After accidentally killing his teacher, Palaemon's mother sends him away. Although he thinks of himself as a monster, Palaemon goes on to make quite a name for himself as a strong warrior, not a monster, and was very happy until Hera tricks him into killing his family. This is when he becomes "Hercules", Hera's glory, and is sent t(...)

literary

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: United States of America


Steve Kurth , Barbara Schulz, Paul D. Storrie

Hercules: The Twelve Labors

This is a graphic novel retelling of the myth of Hercules from his youth to after the labours. It includes glossary, index and further reading. There are only 4 panels devoted to Hercules’ youth and then we are told that as a grown man Hercules was told by the oracle of Delphi (which was manipulated by Hera) to serve King Eurystheus. Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of the murders he committed, this being a children’s story. All the 12 labours are then portrayed and we also meet p(...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: United States of America


Linda Cavallini, Alex Frith

Hercules: The World's Strongest Man

This book is a retelling of the story of Hercules aimed to encourage reading; the story was developed at the University of Roehampton with the consultation of Alison Kelly, Senior Lecturer. The story follows Hercules after he has killed his family and is performing his 12 labours until the gods forgive him. At the end, the story of how Hera tried to kill Hercules as an infant and how he joined the Argonauts is briefly summarized.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Ryan Madison

Hercules’ First Six Tasks: Short Stories Teens to Young Adult

In this installment we have a part of Hercules’ adventures mixed with other historical figures such as Alexander the Great. There is no decisive chronological development for the narrative. Hercules receives different tasks from Zeus and on the way he meets all kind of people, such as the mysterious King Phillip, the king of his home-land; he also meets Helen and Alexander, and Oedipus’ family.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Australia


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Here Comes Hercules! (Hopeless Heroes, 1)

This is book 1 in the Hopeless Heroes series. This is series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. In this book we meet our protagonist, Tim Baker. We are initially informed that Tim’s mother works long hours to provide for her family, so he needs to help with the housework. While cleaning, Tim accidentally breaks a large Greek vase, decorated with a s(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Tracey West, Suzanne Williams

Hermes and the Horse with Wings (Heroes in Training, 13)

This is the thirteenth book in the Heroes in Training series (see for example Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom) and the first by a new author, Tracey West. The Olympians encounter a new member, Hermes and need to try and get along with him. Meanwhile, they also help Bellepheron in his fight against the monstrous Chimera. Although until now they were more concerned in saving themselves, the Olympians now start to grow into their roles as defenders of Greece, especially as their reputation grows. (...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


George O'Connor

Hermes: Tales of the Trickster (Olympians, 10)

This enjoyable graphic novel is the most humorous one of the Olympians series to date. The novel takes as its frame the myth of the killing of Argus Panoptes. A traveller and his dog arrive at the field that the giant, Argus, guards, where he keeps his many eyes on a lone white cow. The traveller begins to tell the giant stories:The first is the story of the dogs' complaint. Hermes arranged for dogs to make their complaint to Zeus about being under human bondage. But they "voided their (...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Bernard Evslin, William Hofmann

Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths

This is an anthology book for children which presents the key figures and stories from classical mythology. The retellings are adapted only loosely from their ancient sources, much more loosely than other children’s anthologies of a similar time (e.g. Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire, D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, 1962; James Reeves, Heroes and Monsters: Legends of Ancient Greece, 1969). The chapters are lightly illustrated, with most chapter titles accompanied by a line drawing, bu(...)

literary

YEAR: 1967

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Hestia the Invisible (Goddess Girls, 18)

In this installment, we meet Hestia, the goddess girl of the hearth. Hestia is extremely shy and tries to avoid speaking in class, for example. She even added hoods to her chitons so she can hide her face, calling this “her invisibility strategy” (p. 23). Hestia is extremely private. At school, “keeping her hooded head down and avoiding eye contact with anyone, she managed to ward off conversation.” (p. 29). The humans on earth have a contest to find an “MOA st(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Julia Bereciartu, Vita Murrow

High-Five to the Hero

High-Five to the Hero was written after the success of Murrow’s first published collection of subverted fairy tales, Power to the Princess, in which she addresses gendered stereotypes of femininity for young girls. Likewise, this book is collection of retold myths, fairy tales and folklore that subvert traditional representations of gender and sex, but here she disrupts traditional representations of masculinity. Murrow writes well known male literary characters, traditional champions of c(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Kate McMullan , Denis Zilber

Hit the Road, Helen! (Myth-O-Mania, 9)

This is the ninth book in the Myth-O-Mania series. In this series, Hades is the narrator who promises to tell the whole truth about the Greek myth; he claims that his brother, Zeus, is a myth-o-maniac (that is, a liar) and that he fabricated the myths and wrote his version so that he and his children will appear noble and praiseworthy. In this book, Hades tells the story of Helen of Troy. Hades claims that in his version, Zeus put the blame for the Trojan War on Helen. Yet Hades claims, tha(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Franciszek Kobryńczuk

How the Beautiful Chelone Changed into a Turtle [O pięknej Chelone w żółwia zamienionej]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue (accessed: June 11, 2021), Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Zeus and Hera are about to marry; Hermes is ordered to invite gods, animals and people from all over the world for the wedding. During his journey, Hermes also finds the tiny hut of a nymph named Chelone(...)

literary

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: Poland


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire (Heroes in Training, 4)

This is the fourth book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). In this installment the Olympians must fight the Titan Hyperion and retrieve the mysterious Olympic torch. Under Hyperion’s rule, the sun is burning even brighter than normal and scorching everything and everyone in northern Greece. The Olympians themselves are forced to play a sizzling “game” of “Dodge the Sunbursts” as(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Mordicai Gerstein

I am Pan!

This is a graphic novel adaption of myths relating to Pan, and told in the first person by Pan “himself”. The colourful, whimsical illustrations take up most of the page, and the necessary information is given either as captions or speech balloons. The book follows Pan’s birth and his later adventures. The narrated myths are: Pan’s birth, his escapades in Olympus, his residence in Arcadia,  his invention of Panic, his falling in love with the moon and other nymphs, h(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kalliope Kyrdi, Evi Pini

Icarus Tells Stories about Statues in the National Archaeological Museum [Ο Ίκαρος αφηγείται ιστορίες για αγάλματα στο Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο (O Íkaros afīgeítai istoríes gia agálmata sto Ethnikó Archaiologikó Mouseío)]

A talking animal, a duck called Icarus, takes us through the galleries with sculpture at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Icarus shows us statues of males, females, and animals (as we notice also on the front cover), prompting us to pay attention to their style, meaning, and material.The value of experiential learning is emphasised in the introduction (page 3), so that teachers and parents can prepare for the museum visit. Throughout the book, Evi Pini and Kalliopi Kyrdi address bot(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: Greece


Simona Bursi, Linda Cavallini, Susanna Davidson, Alex Frith , Anne Millard, Matteo Pincelli, Russell Punter, Lesley Sims , Louie Stowell

Illustrated Stories From the Greek Myths

Illustrated Stories From the Greek Myths is a highly illustrated collection of short stories for children or young teens.Contents:The Wooden Horse: Russell Punter (Author) and Matteo Pincelli (Illustrator),The Minotaur: Russell Punter (Author) and Linda Cavallini (Illustrator),Bellerophon and Pegasus: Susanna Davidson (Author) and Simona Bursi (Illustrator),The Twelve Tasks of Heracles: Alex Frith (Author) and Matteo Pincelli (Illustrator),Perseus and the Gorgon: Lesley Sims (Author) a(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Iris the Colorful (Goddess Girls, 14)

In this installment, we meet Iris. Iris’ wishes make Zeus acknowledge her and her abilities, so she can be crowned as the goddess of rainbows. Meanwhile, the academy is facing a potential disaster when the titan Typhon is freed form Tartarus by his mother Gaia and comes to wreak havoc and destroy the Academy. Iris’ resourcefulness, together with the four wind brothers, rescues the day. At the same time, Iris faces a dilemma when she and her best friend, Antheia, like the same boy.In (...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


David Antram, John Malam, David Salariya

Jason and the Argonauts

In this straight-forward retelling of the myth of the Argonauts, the story begins with the prophecy by the oracle who proclaims that Pelias, king of the city-state of Iolcus, should pay attention to his family, because they will deprive him of power. So Pelias decides to kill everyone, showing mercy only to his brother Aeson, whom he throws into the dungeon. When he arrives to kill Jason, his brother's son, he is tricked by Alcimede the boy's mother, into believing that the young man had(...)

literary

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

Jason and the Argonauts [Ο Ιάσονας και η Αργοναυτική Εκστρατεία (O Iásonas kai ī Argonaftikī́ Ekstrateía)]

Mandilaras’ narrative starts with Jason’s childhood on Mount Pelion and ends with the hero’s adventures in Colchis. Aeson, Jason’s father, entrusted the child Jason to the centaur Chiron. When he turned twenty Jason headed for Iolcus to dethrone Pelias, his uncle. At a river crossing, Jason assisted an elderly woman, who was the goddess Hera in disguise. Jason lost one sandal in the river. King Pelias was terrified when he saw Jason. He remembered an oracle that he w(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Greece


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Jason's Wild Winds (Hopeless Heroes, 6)

This is book 6 in the "Hopeless Heroes" series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. At the end of the previous book, Tim Baker was prepared to sacrifice himself so that the evil Hera would not harm his friends. For this deed he was named a hero by Athena who helped him return to his home.In this story we find Tim puzzled over a s(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Bruce Coville

Juliet Dove, Queen of Love

Juliet Dove, Queen of Love is book 5 in the Magic Shop series of middle-grade chapter books. In this series, children in an American town named Venus Harbour have their lives transformed by visiting a mysterious ‘magic shop’ run by a man named Mr Elives (i.e. ‘mystery lives’). In this volume, Juliet is a shy teenager who is conscious she’s never had a boyfriend, and who uses her sharp tongue to push others away. In Chapter One, ‘Killer Strikes Again,’ ru(...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: United States of America


Nicolas Duffaut, Hélène Montardre

Little Stories from Mythology [Petites histoires de la mythologie] (Series)

Five of the volumes of the series tell stories connected to Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey: The Beautiful Helen, Achilles the Warrior, In the Belly of the Trojan Horse, Odysseus and the Cyclops, The Monsters of the Odyssey; five describe Olympian gods: Zeus, King of the Gods, The Abduction of Persephone, Hephaistos and the Love of Aphrodite, Apollo, the Dolphin God*, and Hermes, the God of a Thousand Gifts; eight volumes feature demi-gods, heroes and their stories: Prometheus, th(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: France


Shari Green

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess

In this Canadian verse novel for older children, Macy McMillan is eleven years old and profoundly deaf. She lives with her single mother, and has recently changed schools. Her mother is remarrying, to a man with twin six-year old daughters, and they will all move in together after the wedding. Macy is unhappy about being uprooted, and struggling with feelings of being misunderstood by her mother, and isolated at school. Macy’s mother sends her next door to help their frail elderly nei(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Canada


Athina Bali

Match and Learn the Greek Gods

This book contains colourful stickers and illustrations. Each page shows a description of a Greek god for whom the child needs to find the corresponding sticker. Furthermore, there are several stories in the book containing moral lessons on teamwork, winning and losing, respecting nature etc.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Medusa the Mean (Goddess Girls, 8)

General summary for the series see under Athena the Brain.In this installment, Medusa, the mean girl of previous volumes, is the unlikely heroine. As the only mortal in school, she feels insecure and is desperate to fit in, and we are shown that, despite her spiteful behaviour, she has feelings too. Medusa hates her mortality and wishes to be like the other immortal students “How she longed to be like them!” (p. 7). All she really wants to is to truly feel like she fits in, as A(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Medusa the Rich (Goddess Girls, 16)

In this installment of the Goddess Girls series, Medusa learns the hard way that all that glitters is not gold. Medusa, who needs to be careful not to hurt mortals with her stone gaze, deliberately asks for the golden touch. Medusa is the main heroine of the story and she accompanies Dionysus to his visit to King Midas; then she agrees to take the golden touch from the king, thinking it would resolve her financial problems. In this retelling of the myth, Midas is reluctant to have a golden touch(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Blue , Overly Sarcastic Productions , Red

Miscellaneous Myths (Series): Perseus

The series Miscellaneous Myths is devoted to various motifs, characters and tales from world mythologies. Red states at the beginning of the first video in the series, Perseus, that she decided to "focus primarily on Greek mythology, because it’s one of the mythologies that’s been more influential to popular culture in the past millennia or so". The aforementioned video about Perseus can serve as a perfect example of the style and characteristics of the series. In the (...)

ephemeral

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Online


Anita Ganeri , David West

Monster Fight Club: Gods and Goddesses

Monster Fight Club is a series of books written in collaboration by Anita Ganeri and David West. In this series, heroes, monsters, mythical beasts, legendary figures from around the world are pitted against one another, much as in a Dungeons and Dragons battle, or computer game. Readers are presented with some context, some facts and some figures about each pair of contestants, before they enter the ring for combat. A double-page narrative, with images of the fighting figures, sums up how the fi(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America


David Pike

Monsters of the Greek Myths (Greek Mythology Stories for Kids, 1)

The book offers three stories that involve mythological monsters: Amara and the Charming Gold Prisoner; Simon and the Fate of the Labyrinth and Dione, and the cure of the Chimera.After each story, there is an explanation of the featured mythological monster: Medusa, Minotaur and Chimera.The stories incorporate fictional characters into the ancient myths to form complete new stories (as in the first and third ones) and use the mythological characters in a new setting.The language of the stories i(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kendare Blake

Mortal Gods (Goddess War, 2)

As this novel is the second in the series, it is a continuation of many of the plots developed in the first book Antigoddess, a summary of which can be found here. Picking up three months after the events of Antigoddess, Cassandra Weaver is still grieving the loss of her boyfriend, Aidan Baxter (Apollo) and is determined to avenge his death by killing Aphrodite and the remainder of the Olympians with her newly discovered, god-destroying powers.The novel begins with Athena and Demeter discus(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kevin O’Malley

Mount Olympus Basketball

Mount Olympus Basketball presents a basketball game between two teams: the Gods (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Hades) and the Mortals (Hercules, Achilles, Jason, Theseus, Odysseus). Narrated by two sports announcers, Fred and Chet, the game shows the gods and mortals tricking and outwitting one another. The book is full of puns and allusions to the myths. Jason is supported by a troupe of cheerleaders, the "Dancing Argonauts" (p. 4). Zeus fouls Hercules while persuading the referee, Eu(...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: United States of America


Mirosław Rutkowski

Mythology [Mitologia]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of "Artes Liberales", Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp., section by Anna Górska, pp. 326–331.Intended for middle and high school students learning mythology. First part of the book presents well-known myths, such as the origin of the world, Jason and the Argonauts, or(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: Poland


Jan Parandowski

Mythology. Beliefs and Legends of the Greeks and Romans [Mitologia. Wierzenia i podania Greków i Rzymian]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Description of the most important Greek and Roman myths. This is a significant, or even the most important book responsible for increasing basic awareness of ancient culture in Poland for a number of reasons. First, the author op(...)

literary

YEAR: 1924

COUNTRY: Poland


Sandra Lawrence , Emma Trithart

Myths and Legends

Sandra Lawrence's Myths and Legends is relatively unusual amongst children's myth books in that it places more emphasis on comparative mythology than on story-telling. The book's five sections are arranged to stress features shared in common across myths, such as journeys, creation, trees, tricksters, and solar chariots. Some myths are told in summary form to demonstrate the story types that are being introduced (King Arthur: The Once and Future King and Theseus: The Highly-Strung He(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Carissa Weiser, Jason Weiser

Myths and Legends

Myths and legends is a podcast series on the “folklore that has shaped our world”. It was awarded the First Top Podcast prize in the Top Mythology Podcasts of 2020 by Feedspot (accessed: April 3, 2020). In Myths and legends legendary and folkloric traditions from all over the world and throughout different times are presented to wide audiences in informative and engaging audio episodes.Classical mythology holds a significant place in this selection. In fact, among the current 177 epi(...)

radio

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


José Daniel Cabrera Peña, Neil Smith

Myths and Legends: Jason and the Argonauts

The book describes the quest of Jason and the Argonauts in great detail, accompanied by original paintings by the illustrator as well as maps and photos from other sources. The main story is narrated in the middle, yet there are excerpts in several chapters which illuminate other key points of the story, such as the Golden Fleece, the list of Argonauts, Jason in movies etc. This is not a fiction but rather a narration of the myth aimed at older readership. The book includes an introduction on th(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United Kingdom United States of America


Grzegorz Kasdepke

Myths for Children [Mity dla dzieci]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp. The text of the book is based on Najpiękniejsze mity dla dzieci, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Wilga, 2004, 56 pp.The magical and amazing world of ancient gods and heroes shown in an accessible way in simple and amusing langua(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: Poland


Grzegorz Kasdepke

Myths for Children – Zeus & Co [Mity dla dzieci – Zeus & spółka]

The magical and amazing world of ancient gods and heroes shown in an accessible way in amusing and straightforward language. Each story focuses on a different god or hero. This is a collection of well-known myths adapted for children and told in a simple, funny and clear way. The stories are very interesting and present the most important mythological characters. The book includes original illustrations.The selection includes the myth of the origin of the world, Cronus’ golden age and(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Poland


Riccardo Francaviglia

Myths in Sicily: Thunderbolts 2 [I miti in Sicilia: I fulmini, 2]

This book (the second of a 2-book series) explores the Greek myths that are found in Sicily. The myths narrated in this volume are: the abduction of Persephone and the creation of the seasons; Arethusa and Alpheus; stories about Heracles: his birth and the creation of the Milky way when he bites Hera’s breast, his struggle with Erice and his tasks to bring the golden apples and Cerberus; the birth of Hephaestus; the escape of Daedalus and Icarus.The focus is on the Sicilian connections to (...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Italy


Wanda Markowska

Myths of the Greeks and Romans [Mity Greków i Rzymian]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.The book includes stories of ancient gods and heroes. We find there the most important myths about the origins of the world, as well as the most popular ones, e.g. about Prometheus, Daedalus and Icarus, Sisyphus, or Romulus and R(...)

literary

YEAR: 1968

COUNTRY: Poland


Alicja Wach-Brzezińska

Myths of the Greeks and Romans [Mity Greków i Rzymian]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp. An anthology of ancient classical myths retold for older adolescents and related to the motif of love in all its manifestations: romantic, conjugal, brotherly, and as well as a passion for art, warfare, hunting, great wealt(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: Poland


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Nyx the Mysterious (Goddess Girls, 22)

In this installment, we meet Nyx, the goddess of the night. 12 years old Nyx is a loner. She lives alone in Hades, from where she ascends to the heaven to cover the world with a unique night-cape. Nyx is invited to MOA by Athena and Artemis as an “unsung hero”. She wishes to take this opportunity to educate the students and Zeus on the importance of night for relaxing and rejuvenating. She wishes to prove to them it is not frightening or alarming. She loves her job and is proud of it(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Odysseus' Trojan Trick (Hopeless Heroes, 8)

This is book 8 in the "Hopeless Heroes" series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. At the end of the previous book, Tim Baker went to ancient Greece to try and say farewell to his friends, since his mother decided to sell the ancient vase, and found out that, due to one of Hera's machinations, they have no memories of him. A(...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Henry Lion Oldie

Odysseus, the Son of Laertes. Book 1: The Man of Nomos [Одиссей сын Лаэрта. Книга I: Человек Номоса (Odissei syn Laerta. Kniga I: Chelovek Nomosa)]

This is a heroic fantasy fiction based on the myth of Odysseus, aimed at young adults, in novel format. The novel belongs to the Achaean Cycle [Ахейский цикл] of Oldie. The first book – The Man of Nomos – describes the childhood of Odysseus, and explains, how he became “the man of Nomos” – a kind of a person whose greatest value is preservation of his world rather than heroic self-sacrifice. A strange boy, able to see phantoms, ghosts and gods, s(...)

literary

YEAR: 2000

COUNTRY: Russia


Henry Lion Oldie

Odysseus, the Son of Laertes. Book 2: The Man of Kosmos [Одиссей сын Лаэрта. Книга II: Человек Космоса (Odissei syn Laerta. Kniga II: Chelovek Kosmosa)]

This is a heroic fantasy fiction based on the myth of Odysseus, aimed at young adults, in novel format. This book, together with the first book of the same novel, belongs to Oldie’s Achaean cycle [Ахейский цикл]. The plot of the novel is reframing and reinterpretation of Iliad and Odyssey. The Nomos of Odysseus and his friends Mentor and Diomedes breaks out into Cosmos – or, strictly speaking, into The Caldron of Cronus. The famous problem of classical epic – the abso(...)

literary

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: Russia


Tera Lynn Childs

Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods., 1)

Phoebe Castro is an American 18-year-old from South California. Phoebe is a cross-country runner and running makes her feel alive. It also makes her feel closer to her deceased father, who passed away six years ago. She plans to finish another year of high school and then attend the University of Southern California with her two best friends, Nola and Cesca. Phoebe's father was of Greek origin, and her mother, Valerie, a therapist, has gone on a family visit in Greece. However, upon her retu(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


George O'Connor

Olympians (Series)

Olympians is a series of graphic novels that takes one deity per volume as the focus, retelling numerous myths related to that god.Volume 1. Zeus. King of the Gods. Featuring creation myths and the war between the Titans and Olympians. Narrator unspecified.Volume 2. Athena. Grey-Eyed Goddess. Featuring the myth of Athena's conception and birth; Pallas; the attack of the Giants; Medusa and Perseus; Arachne. Narrated by the Moirae (The Fates). Volume 3. Hera. The Goddess and her Glory. Fe(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Sandra Jobson

Once Upon a Vase

Contents: Illustrations IntroductionThe First Story. The Story of Peleus and ThetisThe Second Story. The Trojan WarThe Third Story. The Revenge of HephaistosThe Fourth Story. Theseus and the MinotaurThe Fifth Story. Perseus and the GorgonsThe Sixth Story. The Battle of the Pygmies and the CranesThe colophon states that “Ergotimus made my vase and Kleitas painted me. Sandra Jobson has retold my story and redrawn my illustrations in my book”: “Ergotimus m’epoisen (...)

literary

YEAR: 1970

COUNTRY: Australia


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Pallas the Pal (Goddess Girls, 21)

In this installment, two stories occur simultaneously. Pallas, Athena’s best friend from Earth, arrives for a visit and sword-dancing in the Immortal Market Place. The other story revolves around the unexpected birth of Athena’s new baby sister, Hebe. While Athena is worried about her father’s affection, Pallas is worried because she accidently broke her father’s sword during her routine. She thinks, “too bad her dad didn’t have a goddessgirl like Athena for a(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Weng Chen (Jade), Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora Gets Angry (Mythic Misadventures, 5)

The fifth instalment in a series of books takes the classic story of Pandora's box and gives it a young, adventurous, partly contemporary twist – Pandora is Prometheus' thirteen-year-old daughter. In this book, Pandora and her friends encounter a new set of powers in Persia as they cross the desert on camels, but are obstructed by mysterious sandstorms and frightening strangers on the way. This time they are assisted by a cute Persian boy who helps Pandy and her friends search for (...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America


Weng Chen (Jade), Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora Gets Heart (Mythic Misadventures, 4)

This is the fourth instalment in a series of books called Mythic Misadventures that takes the classic story of Pandora's box and gives it a young, adventurous, partly contemporary twist – Pandora is Prometheus' thirteen-year-old daughter. In this book, the group must travel to the past in order to find Lust, hidden in a golden apple. But they must be careful not to change history since this apple is the one that starts the story of Paris, Troy, and Helen of Sparta. Since they (...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Weng Chen (Jade), Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora Gets Jealous (Mythic Misadventures, 1)

This is the first instalment in a series of books called "Mythic Misadventures" that takes the classic story of Pandora's box and gives it a young, adventurous, partly contemporary twist - Pandora is Prometheus' thirteen-year-old daughter. In Pandora Gets Jealous, she brings the box Zeus had given her father to school for her annual school project. When she accidentally unleashes all the evils inside, she is tasked with recapturing them all before the entire world is ruine(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


Weng Chen (Jade), Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora Gets Lazy (Mythic Misadventures, 3)

This is the third instalment in a series of books called "Mythic Misadventures" that takes the classic story of Pandora's box and gives it a young, adventurous, partly contemporary twist – Pandora is Prometheus' thirteen-year-old daughter. In the third instalment, Pandora and her friends go to remove Laziness from her uncle, Atlas, who has put down his burden of holding the heavens, threatening the world with destruction. After Hera kidnaps her beloved dog Dido, Pandora f(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United States of America


Weng Chen (Jade), Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora Gets Vain (Mythic Misadventures, 2)

This is the second installment in a series of books called "Mythic Misadventures" that takes the classic story of Pandora's box and gives it a young, adventurous, partly contemporary twist – Pandora is Prometheus- thirteen-year-old daughter. Carrying on from Pandora Gets Jealous, the young protagonists Pandora (Pandy), Alcie and Iole travel to Alexandra to find the second evil, vanity, to be put back into Pandora's Box. Like male Greek heroes before them, such as Her(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


David M. Graham

Pandora Revisited

This fantasy novel for young readers is set in the present day. Diana, 14 years old, and her brother Jason, 9 years old, travel with their parents from the USA to Greece to the funeral of their great grandmother and the reading of her will. Diana, led by a mysterious fish, finds a box in a sea-cave and opens it. What had been placed inside the box and now have broken loose are all the ancient monsters that had pursued the humanity in ancient times. This is told to the siblings and Dmitri, their (...)

literary

YEAR: 2005

COUNTRY: United States of America


Thorsten Opper, Nick Saunders

Pandora’s Box

This comic book narrates the tale of Pandora. The illustration are colourful and can cover a page or at times there are several smaller pictures per page. There are titles caption which offers a shot narrative and the characters speak to each other. It opens with a brief explanation on the Olympian gods and the stealing of fire by Prometheus. The creation of Pandora follows, as the punishment of humankind is explained and then her life with Epimetheus and her opening of the box. The end continue(...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Christos Kondeatis, Sara Maitland

Pandora’s Box: A 3-Dimensional Celebration of Greek Mythology

"Open this box…and enter a world of marvels" invites the blurb of Maitland and Kondeatis’ Pandora’s Box. Fastened with a golden ribbon, the book/box opens to reveal hidden compartments, pop up pages, and other interactive elements alongside a textual commentary of the myths, culture and history of the ancient Greek world. It includes a labelled portrait of the major Olympians with their symbols and accoutrements and a map of Odysseus’ wanderings. On one page lo(...)

literary

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

Paris and Beautiful Helen [Ο Πάρις και η ωραία Ελένη (O Páris kai i ōraía Elénī)]

The story starts with pregnant Hecuba, Queen of Troy, having a bad dream. The seer Aesacus advises Hecuba to kill her child. If she does not Troy will be destroyed. Priam asks a herdsman to abandon the newborn child in the mountains. The herdsman leaves the baby under an olive tree. When he returns in a week’s time he sees the infant playing with a bear and decides to raise the child as his own. He names the child Paris. The years go by and Paris becomes handsome and good with words. When (...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Greece


Russ Daff

Perseus and Andromeda (Mini Myth, 2)

This is the second book in Russ Daff’s Mini Myth series, which retells myths in comic form for children. The first book introduced Perseus and his quest to slay Medusa. This book continues the adventures of Perseus. At the end of the previous book, Perseus was rewarded by Zeus with Pegasus, the flying horse. In this book, Perseus arrives at Joppa and saves Princess Andromeda. Andromeda’s mother vainly boasts that her daughter is more beautiful than the sea nymphs. The nymphs are angr(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Perseus and the Monstrous Medusa (Heroes in Training, 12)

This is the twelfth book in the Heroes in Training series (see for example Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom). The Olympians are divided into smaller groups in their search for hairy snakes. This quest gives them their chance to get to know each other more and also encounter a new mysterious boy, Perseus. The sudden appearance of Perseus shakes the delicate balance in the team, as most team members do not trust him. This quest also brings to the surface old tensions. When Hephaestus offers t(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kate McMullan , Denis Zilber

Phone Home, Persephone! (Myth-O-Mania, 2)

This is the second book in the Myth-O-Mania series, which offer alternative versions of the Greek myths, narrated by Hades. Hades, who is a self-professed shy and serious god, promises to tell the whole truth about the Greek myth; he claims that his brother Zeus, is a myth-o-maniac (that is, a liar) and that he fabricated the myths and wrote his version so that he and his children will appear noble and praiseworthy. Hades’ versions offer the “true” story of the myths.This book (...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Leslie Patricelli

Play Nice, Hercules!

The main character, 'Hercules', is a pre-school-aged child in the modern era. His father tells him to 'Play nice', but he answers that he is 'not nice. [He] is strong'. Hercules knocks over a toy monster and scatters toy soldiers. He then knocks down blocks that his little sister is playing with. Hercules is remorseful about making his sister cry. He rebuilds the pyramid of blocks. An image then suggests that his sister is about to knock them over; the story ends with the(...)

literary

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Leslie Patricelli

Please Share, Aphrodite!

Little Aphrodite won an apple, yet she refuses to share it with her friends. At the front page, under the title, we see a picture of Aphrodite standing on an ionic column, kissing the apple in a nice reference to the original Greek myth. Aphrodite is literally putting herself up on a pedestal. This serves as a hint to the following story. The first two pages have one word and one picture each: Aphrodite. Apple. This symbolizes the importance of the apple (for Aphrodite). It gets the same room as(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Poseidon and the Sea of Fury (Heroes in Training, 2)

This is the second book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). Zeus travels with Poseidon and Hera in a search for the rest of the captured Olympians. The group needs to get comfortable with one another and learn how to work together. Hera and Poseidon still do not trust Zeus completely and hide a secret from him. On their way to retrieve a trident, they encounter dangers at sea including the sirens and sea serpents.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America


George O'Connor

Poseidon. Earth Shaker (Olympians, 5)

Poseidon. Earth Shaker has Poseidon himself as its narrator and it tells stories of the god’s offspring and of his contest to be the patron of Athens. As a first generation Olympian, Poseidon was part of the overthrow of Cronos, and the graphic novel opens with the brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades looking down into the great chasm into which Cronos has been hurled. The division of the realms takes place, and "of course" (p. 4), Poseidon receives the seas as his domain. There ar(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

Poseidon. The sea god [Ποσειδώνας. Ο Θεός της θάλασσας (Poseidṓnas. O theós tīs thálassas)]

Poseidon, we are told, lives in the depths of the sea and always carries a trident. When he gets angry, he can upset the sea and cause earthquakes. We turn the page, and we are offered biographical information. Poseidon was Cronus’ and Rhea’s son. Cronus swallowed five of his children, so that they could not challenge his leadership of the Titans. Sorrowful Rhea, when she had a sixth baby, she gave a stone to Cronus to devour. So, we are told, Zeus grew up and became strong and overt(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Greece


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Problem with Pythagoras (Hopeless Heroes, 4)

This is book 4 in the Hopeless Heroes series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. Our hero, Tim Baker, faces two difficult problems. The first – a failing math test. The other – his mother's new boyfriend who happens to be a teacher from his school, Larry Green. Tim is dumbfounded and is not sure how to react to this awkwar(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Jim Whiting

Profiles in Greek and Roman Mythology: Hercules

This book narrates the various stories connected with Hercules: his birth, labours and other adventures, including his slavery at Omphale’s palace and the Trojan War. The book also include further information (titled F.Y.I. sections) about Zeus’ affairs, Hades, Sophocles, the Argonaut and a brief Greek history. The text is accompanied by various photos of museum artifacts and paintings as well as a map. At the end there are notes, further reading (including academic research) and an (...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jendela Tryst

Rupture. Origin of Love Book 3

The final installment of the Origin of Love trilogy brings the story to its fitting end. Psyche needs to face new challenges after trying to discover the identity of her husband and chasing him away. She, as well as Cupid, need to fight for their love and resolve their own trust issues. Psyche needs to confront Aphrodite who is angry about her son’s actions and prove she is worthy of Cupid and the gods.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jendela Tryst

Scorched. Origin of Love Book 2

In the second installment of the trilogy, Psyche wanders in Eros’ magical palace and her relationship with Eros deepens, until her curiosity results in tragic consequences. Psyche is frightened yet intrigues by her new fantastic surroundings. She tries to discover where she is and more importantly, who is she married to. As she falls more in love with her husband, so does her curiosity deepen to know who he really is.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aleksei Bitskoff, Maz Evans

Simply the Quest (Who Let the Gods Out?, 2)

Simply The Quest picks up the story of Elliot and his mortal and immortal companions, a few months after the end of Who Let The Gods Out. In this instalment, the English boy Elliot Hooper’s troubles seem to haunt him still. Thanatos reawakens and wishes to get the Earth stone Elliot managed to take a hold off last time. Elliot’s mother is still sick, his history teacher is still out to get him and a mysterious incident on Christmas Eve has left the gods on house arrest. The Olym(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Lisa Jane Gillespie , Emi Ordas

Sticker Greek Myths

Each 1 or 2-page section of Sticker Greek Myths presents a scene of figures within an ancient environment, accompanied by approximately fifty words of explanatory text. The child reader/viewer is invited to use stickers that are specific to that section to build-up the scene. The stickers typically feature clothing and accessories such as weapons and ropes, and scene-specific items such as Heracles' lion-skin cloak and the Chimera's heads.1. Mount Olympus: This section introduces th(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Aniela Orzechowska

Stories about Greek Demi-gods and Heroes [Opowiadania o półbogach i bohaterach greckich]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Presentation of five most popular and significant ancient myths featuring Prometheus, Perseus, Heracles (Hercules)*, Theseus, and Jason. The structure and language of each short story is easily comprehensible and not too sophisti(...)

literary

YEAR: 1911

COUNTRY: Austro-Hungarian Empire Congress Poland Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria


Gary Baseman, John Harris

Strong Stuff: Herakles and his Labors

This is an irreverent retelling of Herakles’ labours, recounted in John Harris’ informal, contemporary prose and vividly illustrated by Gary Baseman’s loud, graphic paintings. The hero’s brawn is used as a literary metaphor: the cover credits Harris for his "fierce words" and Baseman for "powerful art". The Introduction, entitled "Our Story Begins", contextualises the time (Long, long ago) and place (Greece and far beyond), and briefly outlin(...)

literary

YEAR: 2005

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jendela Tryst

Struck. Origin of Love Book 1

This book is the first in a trilogy unveiling the love story between Cupid and Psyche. In her trilogy, the author uses the mythological love-story as her basis, but adapts it for a modern teenage audience. Her Eros, and especially Psyche, are not cardboard characters, but have complex relations with one another and with their surroundings, especially their families. The Olympian gods may be mighty, but they also share very human feelings and concerns. In this book we meet Psyche and learn of her(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Albert Zipper

Tales from Greek and Roman Mythology for Young People [Opowiadania z mitologii Greków i Rzymian dla użytku młodzieży]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.This collection includes Greek and Roman myths about the beginning of the world, gods, their characters and relations, heroes and their deeds. The book presents many theological aspects – in the introduction, the author exp(...)

literary

YEAR: 1886

COUNTRY: Austro-Hungarian Empire Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria


Enid Blyton, Anne Johnstone, Janet Johnstone

Tales of Long Ago

This is a collection of short stories "retold by Enid Blyton" for children. Half are drawn from Greek mythology, half from Arabian Nights.Tales from Ancient Greece:Pandora and the Whispering BoxPhaeton and the Sun-HorsesProserpina and the King of the UnderworldThe Maiden and the Laurel TreeThe Watchman with a Hundred EyesThe Story of Echo and NarcissusThe King with the Golden TouchThe Story of Orpheus and EurydiceClytie, the Sunflower MaidenThe Story of Baucis and PhilemonThe Statue th(...)

literary

YEAR: 1965

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Nathaniel Hawthorne

Tanglewood Tales for Girls and Boys

Tanglewood Tales is the sequel to Hawthorne’s first volume of Greek myths for children, A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. In the Introduction to this book, a precocious young storyteller Eustace Bright returns to Tanglewood Manor to visit Nathaniel Hawthorne, and they discuss the success of their recent publication, which, according to the fiction, Eustace composed and Hawthorne edited. Now Eustace presents his friend with a second collection of six stories. Although this volume does not f(...)

literary

YEAR: 1853

COUNTRY: United States of America


Natallia Bashava , Siarheĭ Kavalioŭ , Kanstantsin Veranitsyn

Taras on Parnassus [Тарас на Парнасе (Taras na Parnase)]

This play is a presentation of the classic Belarusian poem Taras on Parnassus.To meet the needs of the production, the dramatist integrates the events of Taras’ family life into the plot of the classic poem Taras on Parnassus (Taras, a forester, got lost in the woods while hunting and found himself at Mount Parnassus, where he met the pantheon of ancient gods). The daughter of Taras and Paraska is getting married, but her father does not approve of her fiancé. According to the idea (...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Belarus


William Terence Deary, Dave Smith, Michael Tickner

Terry Deary's Best Ever Greek Legends / Top Ten Greek Legends

This is a collection of humorous retellings of myths for children designed to introduce them to Greek mythology and to ancient culture more broadly. Many of the stories are told from unusual perspectives and they are delivered in a variety of literary forms and fonts.Contents:Introduction.Legend 1: Zeus. Hera's Tale. The myth of Io told with Hera narrating events from her perspective.Fantastic Facts 1: 10 Best Victims. Summaries of myths of: Semele, Aphrodite, Echo, Nemesis, Europa, Danae, T(...)

literary

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Estudio Haus , Blake Hoena

The 12 Labors of Hercules: A Graphic Retelling

This is a graphic novel retelling of the myth of Hercules. It opens with Hercules as a grown man, ordered to serve king Eurystheus, and it ends with Hercules being turned into a constellation of stars. In addition, the novel contains notes titled "ancient facts" and a glossary, a further reading section, websites and an index. The reason behind the labours is briefly stated at the beginning: "in her jealousy, Hera drove Hercules mad with rage. In his madness, Hercules (...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Stanisław Srokowski

The Adventures of Heracles [Przygody Heraklesa]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue (accessed: June 11, 2021), Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.The book begins with Heracles’ birth, and then goes on about Alcmene tricking Hera into giving her son immortality and Heracles killing two snakes in his cradle. Raised among the shepherds, he beco(...)

literary

YEAR: 1996

COUNTRY: Poland


Robert Baxter, I. M. Richardson

The Adventures of Hercules

This is a picture book for an older audience. On each page we have a labour of Hercules with a water-color like illustration, thus we have a narration and illustrations of all 12 labours. The language is aimed at young adults rather than small children. The illustration are also not naïve but in a more adult style. The story follows Hercules from his infantry and the killing of the snakes, then we arrive at his adulthood (killing a lion, helping the king of Thebes, and killing his family) a(...)

literary

YEAR: 1983

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jose Alfonso Ocampo Ruiz , Martin Powell

The Adventures of Hercules

In five comic book chapters, Martin Powell tells the story of Hercules and his adventures through the medium of a comic. With a page-length section ‘About Hercules’ prefacing the comic, the story is focussed on the retelling of Hercules’ adventures by a sixth-century Ithacan man to his grandchildren. The first chapter, entitled ‘Son of Zeus,’ details the vanquishing of the seemingly invulnerable Nemean Lion by Hercules and then the subsequent second labour, the(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United States of America


Stephen Cartwright, Claudia Zeff

The Amazing Adventures of Hercules

This illustrated storybook is written with deliberately simple language for those learning to read. It belongs to a series that contains many examples of traditional myths and simplified versions of classic literature. The books tells the story of Hercules' youth and the famous Twelve Labours, divided into chapters as follows:Chapter 1. The Jealous Goddess. Chapter 2. The Tasks Begin. Chapter 3. A Stag and a Boar. Chapter 4. Rivers and Birds. Chapter 5. Bulls and Hor(...)

literary

YEAR: 1982

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, 4)

The fourth book in the Percy Jackson series finds Percy visiting another prospective school. His time here is interrupted by the appearance of two empousai disguised as cheerleaders. The ensuing battle ends with the school on fire and Percy escaping with Rachel Dare, the mortal he met the previous year at the Hoover Dam. Percy is unable to dwell on the serendipitous nature of her appearance as both Annabeth and the police arrive, with the former suggesting they should return to Camp Half-bl(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


Yulian Kalisher, Nikolai Karetnikov , Yunna Morits

The Birth of Heracles [Рождение Геракла (Rozhdenie Gerakla)]

This is a stop-motion animation, it starts with the depiction of stars and constellations and a poem about the greatness of ancient Greeks who had exceptional astronomical knowledge. Story of Heracles is shown as a fable about stars. The movie centers on the conflict between Hera and Alcmene. Hera as a ruthless and almighty goddess wants to start a war between humans and gods. For this purpose she sends monsters to Earth (Hydra, Cerberus, the Nemean lion). At that time Alcmene gives birth t(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1982

COUNTRY: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)


Wojciech Grajkowski , Piotr Socha

The Book of Bees [Pszczoły]

Pszczoły is a large format non-fiction illustrated book. Each spread is dedicated to different topic concerning bees: their biology, production of honey, human-bees relations during history, modern beekeeping etc. Among general topics, the reader may find some connected to antiquity, presenting ancient Egypt, Greek mythology, and ancient history (Alexander the Great and Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of the emperor Nero). Also there are two newspaper-like spreads, containing briefly described f(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Poland


P. J. (Tricia) Hoover

The Curse of Hera (Camp Hercules, 1)

Logan, a teenage boy, is unknowingly registered by his mother for Camp Hercules, a mythology-themed summer camp. Logan actually wanted to go to a football camp and he resents the idea of spending the summer in what he considers a dorky camp. He initially admits that he knows nothing about mythology and is not interested in it. He is joined by Daniel, a mythology-obsessed friend with whom he has almost lost touch, not having seen him since they were young. Upon arriving at Camp, the boys tea(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Harold Robert Millar, Edith Nesbit

The Enchanted Castle

The Enchanted Castle is the story of three children, Gerald, Jimmy, and Kathleen who while exploring in their school holidays discover a hidden entrance to the gardens of Yalding Manor. These elaborate gardens include a statue of Diana and Hermes and a Temple of Phoebus, which convince the children that the grounds are enchanted. They find a fairy-tale sleeping princess, who is the housekeeper’s niece, in the middle of the maze in the rose garden. The princess joins them in their game of p(...)

literary

YEAR: 1907

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Samuel Mills

The Fire Bringer

This is a retelling of the Prometheus myth told in a novel format, using a framework of a didactic opportunity in which Prometheus teaches his pupils about the origin of humanity while the gods are preparing to transition from their Greek to Roman personas. Peppered between Prometheus’ lessons are moments where Zeus sets his sites on Chastia, a young girl, and attempts to charm her by taking on different forms and capturing her. Each time Prometheus, in the guise of something else, stops h(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United States of America


William Terence Deary

The Fire Thief (Fire Thief Trilogy, 1)

The Fire Thief opens in Ancient Greece, at "The Dawn of Time" (or, as the first footnote concedes, "Yes, all right, maybe not the very dawn. Not the first hour of the first day." (p. 5)). As a punishment for giving fire to mortals, Prometheus has been chained to the side of a rocky mountains, and is tormented by Zeus’ cruel eagle. Known as the Fury, each day the bird visits the immortal Titan to devour his liver, which then grows back during the night. But Heracles(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

The Girls Games (Goddess Girls, Super Special)

In this special issue, the four goddess girls, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis and Persephone, decide to establish an all-girls Olympic Games, after girls were excluded from the regular Olympic Games. This story also shows that small ripples can make a big wave. Now even the god boys are interested in the games, as Persephone wonders, “Since when had the boys started caring so much? … Not long ago they hadn’t even wanted the girls to have their own Games!” (pp. 205–206)(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aimée Carter

The Goddess Inheritance (The Goddess Test, 3)

After Aphrodite betrayed her in the second volume of the Goddess Test series, Kate has to remain captive held by Cronus and Hera and gives birth to her son Milo in the fortress of Tartarus. Cronus offers her several times to rule the Underworld at his side, because he considers this solution as the only one allowing Kate to keep the baby with her. Kate is very much against this proposal, but she wants to prevent Cronus from attacking the Pantheon. Shortly afterwards Kate is rescued by the Olympi(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Canada United States of America


Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg

The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus

The book offers adapted information on the Greek creation myth and the Olympian gods for children, as well as Hades and Eros, accompanied by lavish page-long colourful illustrations. The information about the gods contains their names and attributes. The gods and goddesses included are Zeus, Hera, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Eros, Ares, Poseidon, Athena, Hermes, Artemis, Apollo, Hades, Demeter and Persephone, Dionysus, Hestia. The book also adds the story of Gaia and Uranus as well as Rhea and Cronus(...)

literary

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aleksander Wojciech Mikołajczak

The Greece of Gods and Heroes [Grecja bogów i herosów]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp. A compilation of Greek myths, abundantly illustrated (photographs of mythology-inspired art, ancient and modern). In the beginning there was Chaos, from which Gaia, Tartarus and Eros emerged. Gaia gave birth to and married (...)

literary

YEAR: 2000

COUNTRY: Poland


Avraham Regelson

The Horse’s Spring: Stories form the Greek Myth [Ein Hasus: sipurim mehamitos hyevani, עין הסוס – סיפורים מהמיתוס היווני]

A collection of mythological stories in poetic language for children. The book contains the following tales: the nine muses; Eurynome who created the world; Gaia and Uranus, and their offsprings; Rhea and Cronus; the Olympian gods; Hera throws Hephaestus; Prometheus and Epimetheus; Pandora’s box; Prometheus tricks Zeus; Prometheus steals the fire; Zeus and Leto; Zeus and Asteria; birth of Apollo; stories about Apollo; Zeus and Mia; Hermes; Zeus and Semele; Dionysus; Silanus and Dionysus; T(...)

literary

YEAR: 1966

COUNTRY: Israel


Gillian Cross, Neil Packer

The Iliad

Gillian Cross' The Iliad opens with events prior to the Trojan War, starting with the three goddesses arguing over the apple. The text then moves on to a retelling of Homer's Iliad itself, before concluding with an "Afterwards" chapter relating Achilles' death, the quarrel over his armour, the wooden horse, Cassandra's insight (Virgil, Aeneid, 2.246), the fall of Troy, Diomedes' and Odysseus' post-Troy journeys, and Agamemnon's murder (see esp. Aeschylus, Ag(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Eric Freeberg, Kathleen Olmstead

The Iliad

This retelling of Homer's epic tale begins with a prologue that describes the judgement of Paris and how that led to the generals of ancient Greece marching on Troy. We are introduced to each of the gods of Olympus and told that we will learn of a great warrior Achilles, and his rage. The prologue ends with a picture page depicting the key characters in the narrative. The narrative begins with a clash between Achilles and Agamemnon which leads to Achilles withdrawing from battle and seeking (...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Celina Elmi, Valentina Orlando

The Iliad: Homer for Fun [L'Iliade – Omero per gioco]

As is it noted on the book’s cover, “this series of abridged books certainly doesn’t intend to replace the originals of the classics they represent, but rather aims to render them accessible and attractive for young people (and… also not-so-young)”. This is a perfect summary of the series, which incorporates the mythical stories with the help of visually attractive and highly colorful illustrations on each page; the text is written on top of these paintings which c(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Italy


Anne Ursu

The Immortal Fire (The Cronus Chronicles, 3)

As the third and final book in Ursu’s trilogy The Cronus Chronicles begins, Charlotte Mielswetski is recovering from the injuries that she sustained following her battle against Philonecron (a primary antagonist across the previous two novels) and his grandfather, Poseidon – the Greek God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. In an attempt to avenge his demotion from the Underworld, and the loss of his immortality, Philonecron targets both Charlotte and her cousin Zee for preventing h(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United States of America


Salva Espin, Clayton Henry, Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente

The Incredible Hercules: Love and War

The series explores the adventures of Hercules and his companion, the teenage Amadeus Cho, the seventh smartest person in the world. The setting is semi sci-fi in which Atlantis is the main city. It is part of the Marvel universe. In the current issue Hercules and Amadeus are fighting a fierce gang of deadly amazons who declare war on Atlantis and kidnap Amadeus Cho.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jim Whiting

The Life and Times of Herodotus

Ch. 1. A Historic First, and the First History opens with an image of the Battle of Salamis accompanying a novelistic account of the Athenian army rushing to return to Athens following, as the reader discovers, the Battle of Marathon. Without knowing it, the Athenians are "competing in history's first marathon" (p. 9). The Persians left once they saw the Athenians at their city. "Centuries later, a legend would arise" about a messenger running from the battlefie(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: United States of America


Alice Low , Arvis Stewart

The Macmillan Book of Greek Gods and Heroes

This is a collection of short, abbreviated retellings of Greek myth with bright and sometimes gory illustrations for children. It is divided into sections such as "Triumphs of the Gods", "The Heroes" and "Constellations".Academic Barry R. Katz’s afterword adds that myths "tell us how the Greeks understood the world before science, as we know it, existed" (p.179). He also discusses the difference between Greek and Roman myth, saying it is thanks to th(...)

literary

YEAR: 1985

COUNTRY: United States of America


Steve Brezenoff, Neil Evans

The Medusa Doll (Michael Dahl Presents: Scary Stories, 2)

This book is part of the "scary stories" series curated by children fiction author, Michael Dahl. In this short, action-packed installment by Steve Brezenoff, the reader is introduced to the aptly-named hero, Jason Argo. He has a passion for collecting figurines of Olympian Gods. His friend, Wilky Augustine, gives him a magnificent figurine of Zeus at his twelfth birthday party. Jason is thrilled to add the "most powerful and most famous" (p. 8) Greek God to his collection.&n(...)

literary

YEAR: 2021

COUNTRY: United States of America


Philip Craig Russell, Charles Smith

The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Myth

This is a poetry anthology and superhero style comic book, with poems about Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Cerberus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Athena, Medusa, Hera and Dionysus. The Mighty 12 refers to the twelve Olympian gods. The illustrations typically occupy a double spread for each god, with the main illustration appearing on one page, and the poem on the other page set over a colourful background with further illustrations.The lines of poetry are written in all caps, wi(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


Grzegorz Kasdepke, Witold Vargas

The Most Beautiful Myths for Children [Najpiękniejsze mity dla dzieci]

A previous version of the entry was published in: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Ten myths are preceded by a short preface, in which child readers learn that classical Greek culture lasted 3500 years and ended 1500 years ago. Yet, it has not been forgotten as it still l(...)

literary

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Poland


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

The Olympic Games [Οι Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες (Oi Olympiakoí Agṓnes)]

In this book, Mandilaras and Kapatsoulia chart the history of the Olympic Games. The origins of the Games are to be found in myth. According to the book, Heracles liked the location near the rivers Alpheus and Cladeus, and he decided to honour his father there. Hence, Heracles built an altar to Zeus and organised games at that place. We read that according to another version of the myth, the first Games were organised by Heracles Idaios, one of the Kouretes that kept company to infant Zeus. Yet (...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Greece


Oren Sherman, Joan D. Vinge

The Random House Book of Greek Myths

This is an anthology book for children which presents the key figures and stories from classical mythology. The retellings are generally fairly standard versions of the myths, with some unusual details included from ancient versions, such as Medea’s resolution to kill her children (although this is not carried out). This is a rare version in which Pandora has a jar not a box. The chapters are lightly illustrated with intense, bold and dark colour illustrations drawing influence from Greek (...)

literary

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aleksei Simukov, Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaia

The Return from Olympus [Возвращение с Олимпа (Vozvrashchenie s Olimpa)]

Heracles in company of Zeus’ Eagle returns to Earth for one night. In the sanctuary, they see a statue of Heracles and black figure frescoes presenting his labours (“all twelve of them”). Looking at the frescoes Heracles and the Eagle retell some of the labours. The apples of Hesperides and the liberation of Prometheus are presented as short stories within the main plot. While reminiscing about the past, the heroes discuss whether Heracles acted by the will of the gods or (...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1969

COUNTRY: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)


Tom Galt, John Mackey

The Rise of the Thunderer

This book focuses on mythological stories related to the creation of the world and man. The stories are adapted for younger readers, although the poetic language suggests a more mature readership. The stories narrate the creation of earth, Gaia and Uranus, the Titans, reign of Cronus, the rise of the Olympians, reign of Zeus and tales around Prometheus. At the end of the book there are scholarly notes regarding the sources for each story and the author’s explanations. The stories are accom(...)

literary

YEAR: 1954

COUNTRY: United States of America


Robert (Bob) Blaisdell, Althea (Thea) Kliros

The Story of Hercules (in Easy-to-Read Type)

Hercules narrates his story, beginning with his birth as the mortal son of a god. He talks of how he was a child prodigy in warfare but failed at learning music. After killing the teacher that belittles him about failing at music, Hercules goes out into the world to learn what he can. After Hera challenges Zeus to prove Hercules is worthy of being immortal, Hercules jumps at the opportunity and completes twelve labours.  (...)

literary

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: United States of America


Roger Lancelyn Green, Betty Middleton-Sandford

The Tale of Troy

Roger Lancelyn Green’s The Tale of Troy stresses that the origins of the Trojan War go right back to the beginning of Zeus’ reign, when Prometheus prophesised that the sea nymph Thetis would give birth to a son who would grow up to be greater than his father. In order to preserve his power, Zeus changed his mind about being Thetis’ consort, and instead arranged for her to be married to the minor hero Peleus. All the Olympians attended the celebration, except for Eris, the godde(...)

literary

YEAR: 1958

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Marco Cannella, Deborah Lerme Goodman

The Throne of Zeus (Choose Your Own Adventure, 40)

This is a choose-your-adventure book in which the reader decides which path to follow. The overall setting is as follows: the reader is the child of archaeologists parents, who are currently on an excavation in Athens. The parents believe they have found the throne of Zeus yet they need evidence so that their excavation is not cancelled. The reader, addressed as "You," is told to "stay with your grandmother who advises you to talk to Zeus." Then the adventure begins. The godd(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Stanisław Srokowski

The Trojan War [Wojna Trojańska]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.The book is an abridged and simplified version of Homer’s Iliad; it retells the whole Trojan War in twenty-four chapters imitating the composition of the original epic. It is written in prose; a map of Ancient Greece shows (...)

literary

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: Poland


Evi Pini, Elisa Vavouri

The Trojan War. The Beginning of History [Τρωικός Πόλεμος. Η αρχή της ιστορίας (Trōikós Pólemos. Ī archī́ tīs istorías)]

Evi Pini explains how the Trojan War started. The text is in the form of a fairy tale, as implied by the standard phrase “once upon a time” (my translation) at the very beginning. The book begins with Eris and ends with Iphigeneia’s last-minute rescue from being sacrificed to Artemis. Neither fighting nor bloodshed is presented. Instead, we have an account of human and divine passions and emotions, as well as a description of logistical preparations for going to war.&nbs(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Greece


Natalia Kapatsoulia, Filippos Mandilaras

The Twelve Gods of Olympus [Οι 12 θεοί του Ολύμπου (Oi 12 theoí tou Olýmpou)]

The text and illustrations in the book offer a humorous overview of how the Olympian gods came to establish themselves. The book’s opening page presents snow-laden and surprisingly barren-from-trees Mount Olympus, with a bird, perhaps a blackbird but painted red-brown here, and a goat in hiking boots looking at the text and directing readers’ attention to it. The text summarises the book, telling us where the gods lived and how they became conquerors of the world by combating (...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: Greece


Anna Gkoutzouri

The Twelve Gods of Olympus [Οι δώδεκα Θεοί του Ολύμπου (Oi dṓdeka theoí tou Olýmpou)]

The Twelve Gods of Olympus is a board book, a part of Anna Gkoutzouri's charming "My First Greek Myths" series. The book introduces three of the Gods per page and mentions what they were rulers of. Zeus is introduced as the overriding leader of the twelve gods of Olympus. Hera is introduced as his wife. Ares the war god – their son – appears when a lever on the right-hand side of the page is pulled, running after Hera who is waving a white handkerchief in farewell from (...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Greece


Robert Newman

The Twelve Labors of Hercules

This is a retelling of the myth of Hercules, aimed at teenage children, in novel format. At the end of the book there is an alphabetic list of characters of humans/non-humans and a short explanation of each.The story begins with Hercules’ birth and Hera tricking Zeus to bless Eurystheus instead of Hercules with the reign over Mycenae. Having realized that he was trapped, Zeus promises that nevertheless “Hercules will perform deeds so glorious that his name will be remembered forever.(...)

literary

YEAR: 1972

COUNTRY: United States of America


Sarah Coghill

The Twelve Labors of Hercules

Sarah Coghill relates the twelve tasks of Hercules in a simple, unembellished format. She takes the twelve labors and, in twelve chapters, details the challenges which Hercules faces in accomplishing his tasks. Without stinting on detail, Coghill methodically works through the tasks, providing information on relevant details of Hercules adventures as she goes.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011


Piatro Vasiuchenka

The Twelve Labours of Heracles [Дванаццаць подзвігаў Геракла (Dvanatstsats' podzvigaŭ Herakla: raman-burlesk)]

The Belarusian author reveals Heracles as a teenager in his impulsive, naive and maximalist nature, yet endowed with extraordinary physical strength. His labours are a journey of self-discovery as his understanding of virtue and justice develop. The novel is divided into chapters corresponding to the Labours of Heracles and has additional prologue (Tripod of Apollo) and epilogue (Return to Delphi). The plot begins with the rebirth of Alcides (Heracles’s original name given him by his mothe(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Belarus Russia


Nicolas Duffaut, Hélène Montardre

The Twelve Labours of Hercules [Les douze travaux d’Hercule]

Hercules drinks to excess at a feast and temporarily loses his reason. Without realizing what he is doing, he takes his bow and shoots his wife Megara and his three children, and then he falls asleep on the floor. When he wakes up, he is terrified and cannot understand what happened. Somebody explains that it was a madness sent by Hera as her revenge for Zeus’ infidelity with Alcmene, Hercules’ mother. The devastated Hercules travels to Delphi to seek advice from the Oracle. The answ(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: France


Marcia Dorothy Williams

The Twelve Tasks of Heracles & Arion and the Dolphins

The main body of this short book is taken up with the labours of Heracles. Williams starts off with his origins as the child of Alcmene and Zeus, and the jealousy of Zeus’s wife, Hera, at her husband’s infidelity. Williams tells how, having failed to kill the baby Heracles by sending snakes to his cot, she turns the adult Heracles mad so that he kills his many children by an unnamed wife. After his wife sends him away due to his actions, he consults with a priestess who tells him tha(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Petra Brown, Simona Bursi, Anna Milbourne, Louie Stowell, Elena Temporin

The Usborne Book of Greek Myths

This is a collection of a large number of the best-known Greek myths with a mixture of bright, colourful illustrations and smaller line drawings with faint colouration in panels to the side. The latter include short paragraphs giving additional information about the characters depicted. The book ends with a section of more overtly educational material; a guide to the Greek myths, a character guide, maps, a glossary, index and a guide to Greek and Roman names,Featured Stories:The Birth of the God(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


John Malam, Peter Rutherford , David Salariya

The Wooden Horse of Troy

The book presents a variant of the myth of Troy. The story of the building of the city walls by Poseidon, Apollo, and Aeacus is followed by the story of the judgment of Paris and its consequences, direct: the reward for giving the first place to Aphrodite, and indirect: the Trojan War. The author describes the fight between the Trojans and the Greeks, the secret help of the gods, the disputes between the warriors in each of the camps (e. g. Agamemnon's quarrel with Achilles, Ajax vs. (...)

literary

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Nick Roberts, Stella Tarakson

Time's Up Tim! (Hopeless Heroes, 10)

This is the final book (10) in the "Hopeless Heroes" series. This is a series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. At the end of the previous book, Tim Baker discovered that Hera escaped from the magical vase in which she was trapped. Furthermore, it appears that many public buildings in London have become Greek temples and are built in a Greek st(...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Christina Balit, Donna Jo Napoli

Treasury of Greek Mythology

The book is divided into mini chapters in the form of character profiles. These are:Gaia – How creation took place and how Gaia chose Uranus as her husband.Uranus – How Uranus became angered at his children and imprisoned them all. How Gaia asked her children to attack Uranus. Cronus – How Cronus married Rhea and ate his own children. How Rhea tricked him.Zeus – How Zeus overthrew his father, recruited his siblings for the war against the Titans and fought the monste(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jan Parandowski

Trojan War [Wojna trojańska]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp.Trojan War is an adaptation of the Iliad. In chapter one, Helen’s Rape, Parandowski explains the causes of the Trojan War. Chapter two tells the story of Achilles’ wrath, from which theme the action in the Iliad (...)

literary

YEAR: 1927

COUNTRY: Poland


Piotr Fąfrowicz, Zofia Stanecka

Troy. A Story of the City's Fall [Troja. Historia upadku miasta]

The story is a brief description of the Trojan War written for children aged 6–7 who are learning how to read. The classical story begins and ends with a pacifist message saying that every war, even if it generates stories about heroic deeds, is a dreadful event that causes tears and leaves towns in ruins.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Poland


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Typhon and the Winds of Destruction (Heroes in Training, 5)

This is the fifth book in the Heroes in Training series (see entry about Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)). In this installment, the Olympians are searching for magic seeds, these seeds will help revive the earth after a difficult drought. Like Jack, they climb a giant bean stalk, at the top of which they need to defeat the frightening wind-throwing giant Typhon and rescue another Olympian, this time Apollo. Apollo is a singer who sings rhyming songs about (...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Kendare Blake

Ungodly (Goddess War, 3)

As this novel is the third in the Goddess War series, it is the culmination of several plotlines developed over the course of the first and second books in this trilogy. Summaries for the previous two novels can be found here:Goddess War (Series, Book 1): AntigoddessGoddess War (Series, Book 2): Mortal GodsUngodly begins a month after the events of Mortal Gods in which the key characters, Cassandra and Calypso, Athena, and Odysseus, as well Hermes, Henry, and Andie are all separated from on(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Uranus and the Bubbles of Trouble (Heroes in Training, 11)

This is the eleventh book in the Heroes in Training series (see for example Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom). The Olympians are stranded on an island in the Aegean Sea, where they witness a mighty battle between Cronus and Uranus. The father-son conflict between Uranus and Cronus reflects Cronus’ fight with his own children, the Olympians. Uranus reveals a prophecy that one day Cronus’ child will overpower him and rule everything. Along the way they meet another Olympian, the beauti(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Marilee Heyer, Doris Orgel

We Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, Hera

This book provides first-person stories narrated by Athena, Aphrodite and Hera. Each of the goddesses tells of her birth, childhood and later years. The book contains an introduction on the ancient Greek gods, and the life of mortal girls and women in ancient Greece. In the end there is an epilogue, in which the reader is welcomed to a banquet of the gods, followed by a presentation of the goddesses in ancient art, sources for the myths (both ancient and modern) and an index. The narrated m(...)

literary

YEAR: 2000

COUNTRY: United States of America


Anthony ("Tony") Robinson, Del Thorpe

Weird World of Wonders: Greeks

This work is a humorous introduction to the history and culture of ancient Greece. There is significant focus on classical Greece, although there is also some material on the career of Alexander the Great, followed by brief sections on the Hellenistic world and the coming of Rome. In keeping with book's title and the rest of the series of which it is a part, the representation of ancient culture focuses on things that appear eccentric, funny, cruel, or disgusting by modern Western standards.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Kelsey Oseid

What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky

What We See in the Stars is an informative work which uses attractive illustrations and clear language to communicate about the science of space, the history of space science (including ancient science), and the mythology connected to that science. The work is explicit at the start about its mission to teach science and mythology. It begins by explaining that knowledge of the stars was initially important for agriculture and navigation, and that modern star-gazing is a way to connect with "(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom United States of America


Aleksei Bitskoff, Maz Evans

Who Let the Gods Out? (Who Let the Gods Out?, 1)

Who Let the Gods Out? is the story of an ordinary boy, Elliot Hooper, who discovers that all of the Greek myths are true and that he is the only person who can save the world. Elliot has a secret: his mother, Josie, is unwell. She has trouble remembering things and is often confused. Sometimes she goes missing and Elliot finds her doing strange things, like planting vegetables in the middle of the night. And on top of it all, Virgo, the youngest member of the Zodiac Council, crash lands in the c(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States of America


G. Brian Karas

Young Zeus

This book follows the life of young Zeus, from his birth to his triumph over the Titans. During these events, Zeus remains a young boy (hence, the title) although we do not know his exact age. He grows up on Crete and then his enchanted she-goat nurse, Amaltheia, shares with him the fate of his brothers and sisters whom Cronus swallowed. Zeus decides to rescue them and he consults with his mother Rhea who comes to visit him. Zeus succeeds in making Cronus throw up and saving his siblings and the(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Victor Juhasz, Helen L. Wilbur

Z is for Zeus: A Greek Mythology Alphabet

This book offers adapted lexical information on ancient Greek myths arranged alphabetically. Each letter refers to one entry, for example, A is for Ancient Greece, F is for the Fates, N is for Narcissus and Echo. The text appears on the side and most of the space is given to the colourful and whimsical illustrations. The book also includes a glossary of the gods, goddesses, and their symbols.The entries include:A for ancient Greece,B – beauties and beasts,C – Chaos,D – Delphi,E(...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United States of America


Craig Phillips, Tracey West

Zeus and the Dreadful Dragon (Heroes in Training, 15)

This is the fifteenth book in the Heroes in Training series (see Zeus and the thunderbolt of doom). In this installment, we finally arrive at the great battle between the 10 year olds Olympians and king Cronus and his army of Cronies.At the beginning of the story, the Olympians are on their way to mount Olympus, fearing the coming battle. Ron, the mortal hero, and Pegasus help them scan the land and locate the enemy’s army. Zeus, the leader of the group, does not have any tangible plan yet(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Craig Phillips, Suzanne Williams

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training, 1)

This is the first book in the Heroes in Training series. The premise is that Zeus is an orphaned ten-year old boy who was raised by a nymph, a goat and a bee on the island of Crete. He also tries to avoid strange thunderbolts which keep follow him; one in particular becomes almost his pet, and is a weapon which he can manipulate at will. His world is ruled by the ruthless Titan, Cronus, who swallowed the other Olympians so they would not challenge his rule.One day he is kidnapped by the mer(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America


Nicolas Duffaut, Hélène Montardre

Zeus, King of the Gods [Zeus le roi des dieux]

In the mountains on the island of Crete, in a secret clearing, nymphs live, sing, dance, and play undisturbed. A young boy called Zeus plays and runs in the hills trying to catch Amalthea, a goat with horns full of ambrosia. Zeus grows up and asks nymphs about his parents. At first, they speak only about his mother Rhea, but later they tell him about his father, Kronos, who, trying to prevent a prophecy, devours his children. Zeus was saved by Rhea, who gave birth to him on Crete and, to save hi(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: France


George O'Connor

Zeus. King of the Gods (Olympians, 1)

Zeus – King of the Gods is the first instalment of the Olympians series. The series comprises stylish looking graphic-novels created in the superhero comic-book tradition. Each volume is dedicated to retelling myths about individual Greek gods, with the gods appearing in each other's volumes much as superheroes overlap in the DC or Marvel universes. While the title of this volume is Zeus – King of the Gods, the volume also establishes the Olympians universe by retelling Greek cre(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Robert Squier, Teri Temple

Zeus: King of the Gods, God of Sky and Storms

This colourfully-illustrated book introduces the god Zeus. The story outlines the creation of the world by Gaia and Uranus, the creation of the Titans, Cronus devouring his children except Zeus, Zeus' rearing by Amalthaea, Zeus' revenge on his father, the fight with Typhon, Zeus' affairs (Metis, Europa, Leda, Leto, Hera), the stealing of fire by Prometheus and his punishment, and a family tree of the gods and their Roman names. At the end of the book, there is a short "further i(...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: United States of America