Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

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

TAGS: Arachne Daedalus Dionysus / Dionysos Hades Hera Heracles Hercules Icarus Medusa Midas Olympians Pandora Persephone Perseus Pygmalion Pyramus Thisbe Zeus

Jane Abbott

Elegy

Set in Kincasey, a small regional town in Victoria (Australia), this unusual novel, which starts with a prologue written as a newspaper article about a road tragedy, tackles the theme of reincarnation through the stories of a group of young people who all know each other. Some of them have known each other more than once. Using Ancient Greek myth as the base, but subverting it as well, the story is told from different points of view, swirling around the figures of Caitlin and Michael, who are th(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Afterlife Fate Heracles Hercules Pandora Prometheus Pyramus Thisbe

Séverin Millet, Michel Piquemal

Fabulous Mythological Tales [Récits fabuleux de la mythologie]

The book begins with two short introductions (each signed separately by the author, clearly a reprint of the introductions published in the two-volume first edition) explaining why the author decided not to rely on various mythologies but rather go back directly to sources, i.e. to ancient authors who transmitted mythological stories. As a result, Michel Piquemal produced a collection of myths divided in two parts (volumes in the 2006 editions): Des héros et des monstres [Heroes and Monst(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: France

TAGS: Amphitryon Arachne Ariadne Atalanta Bellerophon Daphne Demeter Europa Heracles Hydra Icarus Io Leda Midas Narcissus Oedipus Orpheus Pandora Paris (Trojan Prince) Pegasus Penelope Perseus Phaethon Prometheus Psyche Pygmalion Pyramus Sisyphus Theseus Thisbe Zeus

Astrid Lindgren

Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter [Ronja rövardotter]

An adventure-fantasy story for young readers reflecting the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe. Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren takes place in an imaginary wood in Sweden known as Matt’s Forest where there are harpies, goblinfolk, Unearthly ones and gray dwarves. The protagonist, Ronia, is born in a robber’s stronghold and soon learns how to traverse Matt’s Mountain and avoid the hell-harpies (who would tear up their victims or enslave them). On the night of (...)

literary

YEAR: 1981

COUNTRY: Sweden

TAGS: Chloe Daphnis Harpies Metamorphoses (Ovid's) Ovid Pyramus Sirens Thisbe

Don Bolognese, Roger Lancelyn Green

Tales the Muses Told

This is a fairy tale style retelling of Greek myths for children, which displays Lancelyn Green's high level of knowledge of ancient source material. He often brings in lesser-known myths or obscure variant versions, such as Daphne's father being called Amyclas. The sections are divided into "Tales of Flowers", "Tales of Trees", "Tales of Birds and Bees", "Tales of the Stars" and "Great Lovers and True Friends". It is lightly illustrated (...)

literary

YEAR: 1965

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Admetus Adonis Alcestis Apollo Baucis Callisto Clytie Daphne Erigone Hero(es) Hyacinth Leander Melampus Narcissus Orion Philemon Pyramus Thisbe Zeus

Julio Fuentes, Rosa Navarro Durán

The Great Book of Mythology [El Gran Libro de la Mitología]

El Gran Libro de la Mitología is a beautifully presented compilation of selected Greek and Roman myths and legends. The book is divided into 27 short chapters and in each chapter, a myth is paraphrased, with key characters and the critical events highlighted. Where applicable, Navarro draws attention to the influence of the myths on the Spanish arts and literature. Included in the compilation are the myths concerning the following major events and characters: Apolo y Dafane (Apollo a(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Spain

TAGS: Acis Actaeon Anaximander Andromeda Apollo Ariadne Daedalus Daphne Echo Europa Eurydice Galatea Ganymede Greek Philosophy Heracles Icarus Jason Judgement of Paris Labyrinth Medea Midas Narcissus Orpheus Pandora Pericles Persephone Perseus Phaethon Philomela Phoenix (Bird) Plato Polyphemus Procne Prometheus Pygmalion Pyramus Sisyphus Socrates Tantalus Theseus Thisbe Tiresias

Anthony Horowitz , Tim Stevens

The Kingfisher Book of Myths and Legends

This is a collection of myths and legends from around the world, with a large Greek section near the beginning, told with a heavy dose of cynical humour. The Greek myths in particular seem to be aimed at an audience which has probably encountered the basics of the myth already at a younger age. Their focus is generally on human characters, with enough introductory information about the gods to understand their presence in the earlier chapters. The chapters are lightly illustrated with line drawi(...)

literary

YEAR: 1985

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Achilles Actaeon Arachne Ariadne Athena Demeter Hades Heracles Medusa Narcissus Odysseus / Ulysses Oedipus Orpheus Pan Pandora Persephone Perseus Pyramus Syrinx Theseus