Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Atalanta: the Fastest Runner in the World

TAGS: Alcibiades Ancient Temples Ancient Warfare Architecture Aspasia Athena Athens Atlantis Circe Deimos Delphic Oracle Greek Gods Greek History Greek Medicine Hermes Herodotus Hippocrates Labyrinth Leonidas Medusa Minotaur Odyssey Pericles Pheidias / Phidias Plato Pythagoras Socrates Sparta Spartans Sphinx Theseus

Vashti Farrer, Naomi C. Lewis

Atalanta: The Fastest Runner in the World is a picture book for primary-school children that retells the story of Atalanta. It is published under an educational imprint, through Pearson Education, called Chatterbox, in a series of stories called Traditional Fiction, and thus marketed around the world. Other stories in the series include Rumpelstiltskin, and How Maui Stole Fire from the Gods.This short retelling of the Atalanta myth is written in simple language for young readers. The openin(...)

Barbie (Series): Mermaidia / Fairytopia. Mermaidia

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aphrodite Atalanta Delphic Oracle Hippomenes Meleager Prophecy

William Lau, Walter P. Martishius

Being a sequel to Fairytopia (2005, Barbie™), Mermaidia is a story in which Barbie, as the fairy Elina travels to the realm of the mermaids to rescue her merman friend Nalu, who was kidnapped by the evil fairy Laverna. Laverna pressures Nalu to reveal the location of a special berry, by threatening that she would poison the waters of Mermaidia. With the help of Nori, a mermaid in love with Nalu, Elina tries to save Nalu before Laverna’s servants retrieve the magical fruit allowing he(...)

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: Canada United States of America

TAGS: Delphic Oracle Metamorphosis Nereid(s) Nymphs Sea Nymphs Sirens

Rocco Negri, Ian Serraillier

Heracles the Strong

Heracles, the son of a mortal woman and the god, Zeus, was hated by Hera. She inflicted him with madness and he committed a terrible crime. As penance, he served King Eurystheus and was set twelve difficult and dangerous labours to perform.(...)

YEAR: 1970

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

TAGS: Achelous Admetus Alcestis Alcmene Alpheus Amazons Amphitryon Apollo Ares Argonauts Artemis' Hind Athena Athens Atlas Augean Stables Centaur(s) Cerberus Charon Chiron / Cheiron Cithaeron (Mount) Creon Deianeira Delphic Oracle Elysian Fields / Elysium Erymanthus Eurystheus Eurytos Garden of Hesperides Geryon Golden Fleece Hades Hera Heracles Hercules Hippolyta's Belt Hydra Hyllus Iolaus Iole Iphicles Ladon Lerna Megara Minos Minyans Mycenae Nemean Lion Nereus Nessus Nymphs Orthrus Persephone Pholus Phyleus Pillars of Hercules Poseidon Prometheus Pygmies Stymphalian Birds Stymphalian Lake Styx Tantalus Thebes Theseus Tiresias Titans Twelve Labours of Heracles Zeus

Edouard Cour

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(...)

Hercules: The Complete Myths of a Legendary Hero

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: France Philippines

TAGS: Alcides Delphic Oracle Eurystheus Hera Heracles Olympus Twelve Labours of Heracles Zeus

Georges Moroz

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.(...)

YEAR: 1997

Hercules: The Man, the Myth, the Hero

TAGS: Alcmene Amphitryon Atlas Creon Deianeira Delphic Oracle Eurystheus Hebe Hera Heracles Hercules Megara Nessus Omphale Poseidon Thebes Twelve Labours of Heracles Zeus

Mark Hess, Kathryn Lasky

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(...)

YEAR: 1997

Horrible Histories (Series)

TAGS: Apollo Atlas Augean Stables Centaur(s) Cerberus Ceryneian Hind Cretan Bull Deianeira Delphic Oracle Diomedes (of Thrace) Diomedes’ Mares Eurystheus Geryon Hades Hera Heracles Hercules Hippolyta's Belt Hydra Lydia Megara Minyans Nemean Lion Nessus Olympus Omphale Palaemon Stymphalian Birds Thebes Twelve Labours of Heracles Zeus

Dominic Brigstocke, Steve Connelly, William Terence Deary, Chloë Thomas

A sketch show based on the books of the same name by Terry Deary, focussing on many aspects of history not just the Classical areas. Each episode includes parodic songs teaching children about aspects of history, with both live-action and animated sections often working in conjecture to form the full picture of the sketch. Each sketch is accompanied by the narrative character Rattus Rattus who is used as an accuracy marker for the jokes within the series. The show takes a non-linear format (...)

TAGS: Achilles Aeschylus Aesop Aesop’s Fables Alexander the Great Antoninus Pius Aphrodite Archimedes Ares Aristotle Artemis Asclepius Athena Athens Avaricum Caesar Caesarion Caligula Cato the Elder Cerberus Claudius (Emperor) Cleopatra VII Constantine Cronus / Kronos Delphic Oracle Diana Diogenes Egypt Gallic Wars Gladiators Graeco-Persian Wars Greek History Hadrian Hannibal Hector Helen Hippocrates Janus Jupiter Marathon Mark Antony Mars Menelaus Mercury Minerva Mithras Neptune Nero Octavian Olympic Games Ouranos / Uranus Paris (Trojan Prince) Plato Pliny the Elder Pluto / Plouton Praetorian Guard Punic Wars Pyrrhus of Epirus Pythagoras Roman Baths Roman History Saturn Scipio Africanus Socrates Sparta Syracuse Theagenes of Thasos Thebes Tiberius Trojan Horse Trojan War Venus Vercingetorix Vesuvius Xerxes Zeus

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

Bob Lentz, Kate McMullan , Denis Zilber

Keep a Lid on It, Pandora! (Myth-O-Mania, 6)

Keep a Lid on it, Pandora! Tells the story of Pandora’s box and Prometheus stealing fire with a contemporary twist, narrated by Hades, and is part of a series of Greek myths told from Hades’ point of view. Hades claims that Zeus edited all the original myths in order to make himself look more powerful. He goes on to give a different explanation for the myth of Pandora’s Vase, specifically that he and Zeus had made a bet on whether Pandora would open it or not. Since Zeus b(...)

YEAR: 2012

Monsteropolis [Strachopolis]

TAGS: Athens Caucasus Mountains Chaos Cronus / Kronos Cyclops / Cyclopes Delphic Oracle Epimetheus Gaia / Gaea Hades Harpies Hecatoncheires / Hundred-Handed Hephaestus Hestia Hypnos Olympus Ouranos / Uranus Pandora Pandora’s Box Parnassus (Mount) Poseidon Prometheus Rhea Sibyl Styx Titans Underworld Zephyrus Zeus

Nikola Kucharska, Dorota Wieczorek

The title city is a place in which people live together with all kinds of monsters. While many of them have been integrated into society, the others have to hide away refusing to comply with existing conditions. The protagonist of the novel, Kostek and his sister, Niezapominajka [Forget-Me-Not], grow up among these creatures. The siblings, as it turns out, are the long-lost children of Baltazar Brylski, one of the most famous so-called “fearslayers” – usually superhero-like mon(...)

Olimpioniki [Олимпионики (Olimpioniki)]

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Chimera / Chimaera Delphic Oracle Divination Pythia

Zinovy Gerdt , Sándor Kallós , Fyodor Khitruk

This is an educational movie describing the history of the Olympic Games in the form of short funny stories. It was filmed during the 1980 Olympics held in the USSR.The movie is animated, however its last part includes found footage – documentary photo and video materials from modern Olympic Games, finishing with the Moscow Olympics. The animated material is based on ancient vase painting, sculptures, and architecture that is included extensively in the film. It talks about the origin(...)

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

YEAR: 1982

COUNTRY: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

TAGS: Apollo Ares Coroebus of Elis Delphic Oracle Iphitos of Elis Milo of Croton Nero Olive Tree Olympic Games Orsippus from Megara Peisidoros Phayllos of Croton Pherenice Titans Zeus

Albert Zipper

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(...)

The Adventures of Perseus

YEAR: 1886

COUNTRY: Austro-Hungarian Empire Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria

TAGS: Aeneas Aphrodite Apollo Ares Argonauts Artemis Asclepius Athena Bellerophon Cadmus Cronus / Kronos Daedalus Delphic Oracle Demeter Dionysus / Dionysos Dioscuri Divination Eos Gaia / Gaea Hebe Helios Hephaestus Hera Heracles Hermes Hestia Iris Janus Jupiter Mars Muses Odysseus / Ulysses Oedipus Olympia Orpheus Ouranos / Uranus Persephone Perseus Phaethon Pluto / Plouton Plutus / Ploutos Poseidon Selene Theseus Trojan War Typhon / Typhoeus / Typhaon Vesta Zeus

Mark Bergin, Peter Hepplewhite, David Salariya

The story begins at the birth of Perseus, from the prophecy of the death of King Acrisius of Argos by the hand of his daughter Danae’s son. Zeus falls on Danae in the form of a golden shower, and their son Perseus is born. Acrisius puts his daughter and grandson into a wooden chest and throws them into the sea. The unfortunate pair are rescued by Zeus, Poseidon, and the fisherman Dictys. The King of Seriphos, Polydectes, brother of Dictys, falls in love with Perseus's mother. He (...)

The Labors of Hercules [Les travaux d'Hercule]

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Acrisius / Akrisios Agenor Apollo Athena Atlas Danae Delphic Oracle Gorgon(s) Graeae / Graiai Hermes Medusa Perseus Polydectes Poseidon Titans Zeus

Jeanne Bloch

Les Travaux d’Hercule is an adaptation for children published as no. 50 of Les livres roses pour le jeunesse (Pink Books for Youth) Collection Stead of Librairie Larousse. The Collection Stead is a series fascicles, prepared especially for children, and includes fables, myths, legends, fairytales and various stories, also based on literature for grownups (e.g. Shakespeare’s The Tempest and As You Like It or Scott’s Ivanhoe). The collection was published in English, then in Fren(...)

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, 1)

YEAR: 1911

COUNTRY: France

TAGS: Alcmene Amazons Amphitryon Atlas Augeas Cacus Centaur(s) Cerberus Delphic Oracle Eurystheus Geryon Helios Heracles Hercules Hippolyta Iolaus Iphicles Pluto / Plouton Pythia

Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is the twelve-year-old protagonist of the series and narrates the events of the book. Percy is dyslexic and has ADHD, and his behaviour leads to his expulsion from a number of schools. His life changes dramatically after his maths teacher transforms into a fury during a school trip demanding Percy return something that has been stolen. This leads to Percy discovering that he is a demigod and that the gods, heroes and monsters of Ancient Greece are in fact real and that they inhabit(...)

YEAR: 2005

The Matrix (The Matrix, 1)

TAGS: Ares Athena Centaur(s) Cerberus Charon Chimera / Chimaera Cronus / Kronos Delphic Oracle Dionysus / Dionysos Echidna Furies Hades Iris Katabasis Lotus Eaters / Lotophagoi Medusa Minotaur Monsters Nereid(s) Olympus Pan Perseus Poseidon Procrustes Satyr(s) Underworld Zeus

The Wachowskis

Thomas Anderson, a programmer by day and a computer hacker by night is given a chance to see his ‘reality’ for what it is, a computer simulation. When alone at his computer one evening, Thomas Anderson (Neo as he is known by the hacker community), falls asleep at his computer only to be awakened by a message typed on his screen that reads “Wake up Neo” sent by the elusive ‘hacker’ Morpheus who Neo is searching for. Morpheus then sends Neo instructions tha(...)

YEAR: 1999

The Twelve Labours of Hercules

TAGS: Christianity Delphic Oracle Lethe (River) Metamorphoses (Ovid's) Morpheus Plato Underworld

Christina Balit, James Riordan

A picture book retelling of the story of Hercules’ life and the twelve labors he performed, aimed at younger readers and readers interested in visual storytelling. Text is accompanied by opulent pictures.(...)