Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Nikos Kazantzakis

Alexander the Great / In the Time of Alexander the Great [Μέγας Αλέξανδρος / Στα χρόνια του Μεγαλέξανδρου (Mégas Aléxandros / Sta chrónia tou Megaléxandrou)]

The novel covers Alexander the Great’s life, beginning with his famous taming of the wild horse Bucephalas at fifteen and ending with his death in Babylon in 323 BCE. The novel focuses primarily on Alexander’s twin ambitions, to unite Greece and to conquer Asia and how he made them a reality. He shared these aspirations with his father Philip II of Macedon, who is an important character in the early part of the book. This covers Alexander’s early life at his father’s cour(...)

literary

YEAR: 1940

COUNTRY: Greece

TAGS: Achilles Alexander the Great Aristotle Athens Callisthenes Darius III Demosthenes Greece Hellenism Heracles Hercules Homer Kleos (Glory / Good reputation) Macedonia Olympias Persian Empire Philip II of Macedonia Zeus

Joe Lillington, Iris Volant

Ancient Warriors

Ancient Warriors is divided as follows: overview of specific armies; short biographies of military leaders; overviews of battles throughout history. The book covers the Bronze Age until the 14th Century CE and features armies such as the Mayans (pp. 12–13), the Romans (pp. 24–28), the Huns (pp. 34–35), the Vikings (pp. 42–43), and the Samurai (pp. 50–51). These armies are arranged chronologically and are described along with their respective military leaders such as(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Alexander the Great Ancient Warfare Egypt Graeco-Persian Wars Greek History Greeks Legionaries Persian Empire Punic Wars Roman Army Roman Empire Roman History

Cynthia Voigt

The Runner (Tillerman Cycle, 4)

The Runner is a prequel to the other Tillerman books (reviewed elsewhere in this survey). Set in 1967–1968, the novel focuses on Samuel ‘Bullet’ Tillerman in his final year at high school before signing up to go and fight in the Vietnam War. His siblings have already left the family home, leaving Bullet alone to deal with his abusive father and downtrodden mother, Abigail. At his recently desegregated school, Bullet, himself bigoted against black people, largely ignores ra(...)

literary

YEAR: 1985

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Alexander the Great Aristotle Cyrus the Great Daedalus Fall of Rome Persian Empire Sisyphus Trojan War

Cynthia Voigt

The Tillerman Cycle (Series)

The Tillerman Cycle follows the lives of four siblings – Dicey, James, Maybeth and Sammy Tillerman – abandoned by their parents and in search of a new home. Over the course of seven novels, spanning nearly a decade in the children’s lives, Voigt explores themes of family, home, resilience, and the relationship between individuals and society. Brief summaries of the novels are included below; for more detailed summaries, see the individual entries elsewhere in the OMC survey.Hom(...)

literary

YEAR: 1981

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Aeolus Alexander the Great Ancient Greek Dance Apollo Aristotle Circe Cyrus the Great Daedalus Dryades Fall of Rome Hippocratic Oath Homer Horace Icarus Lotus Eaters / Lotophagoi Nemesis Odysseus / Ulysses Odyssey Orion Penelope Persian Empire Phaethon Pleiades Polyphemus Scylla Sisyphus Trojan War Venus