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Showing 161 entries for tag: Gods

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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


Werewere Liking

A New Earth. African Ritual Theatre [Une Nouvelle Terre. Théâtre-Rituel]

The entry is based on the English translation of the play by Siga Asanga, Jeanne N. Dingome, Innocent Futcha and Nalova P. Lyonga under the title: African Ritual Theatre. The Power of Um and A New Earth, San Francisco: International Scholars Publication, 1996, 61–89. This play is a sequel to the 1979 version of the same title, reviewed in this database.It is a play written in three movements. The first movement opens in an imaginary village with a man, Nguimbus, arguing with his wife,(...)

african

YEAR: 1980

COUNTRY: Ivory Coast


Elisabeth Belomo

Abobo Ndene and Otene Nka'a

Long, long time ago, AboboNdene, the spider, and OteneNka’a, the monitor lizard, were close friends; so intimate that they shared everything: their happiness, worries and sorrows. They both believed in the same ideologies as they openly rebuked inhumane inclinations.One day, on their way back home from the farm, they engaged in a debate on the origins of good and evil. Before they realised it, they were on opposing sides: while Abobo held God responsible for good and evil, Otene attributed(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Jane Bingham , Robin Lawrie, Anne Millard

Alexander the Great

This title introduces young readers to biography and history, with elements of geography and politics, in a title that also encourages developing literacy through the use of fairly complex vocabulary and delivery in a relatively lengthy volume. The format is birth to death, following the traditions of biography. A map of Alexander's empire opens the work and orientates the reader, and this is followed by ten chapters on Alexander's life, in which text and image are interspersed; most pag(...)

literary

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Jamila Gavin, David Parkins

Alexander the Great. Man, Myth, or Monster?

Alexander the Great. Man, Myth, or Monster? introduces young readers to ancient history via biography. The birth to death format follows the traditions of biography, while the narrative also moves forward and backwards in parts, with the narrator recalling previous events or anticipating events that will occur later. The story is punctuated by mythic tales which are introduced as if being told to soldiers in the story. These embedded myths are well chosen to reflect what is happening in the main(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


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


Enoch Tanyi

Anansi

Anansi is a myth of the people of Asante on the coast of Ghana. This myth is centered on the character and ingenuity of Anansi, who succeeded through tricks to bring stories from the gods to his people and gave them wisdom. It is believed that Anansi is a mystical figure, who acts on behalf of Nyame, his father, and the Sky Father (God). He has the ability to bring rain and to stop wild fires. In some sectors of the Asante clan, Anansi is believed to be responsible for creating the sun, the star(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Ghana


Colin King, Stephanie Turnbull

Ancient Greeks

This short book starts by introducing "An ancient land", before moving to specific sections, each covering a double spread, on: Life in Greece; Clothes and fashion; What people ate; A trip to market; Feasts and fun; Gods and goddesses; Talking to the gods; Heroes and monsters; The Olympic Games; Greek plays; Mighty warriors; Into battle; and Great Greeks. Each section comprises short sentences in a large font accompanied (...)

literary

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Annick Ndo Medjoto

Angon Nana and Abomo Nguele

Long ago, in a certain corner of South Cameroon, was born a boy of extraordinary handsomeness, named Angon Nana. He was so handsome that upon seeing him people were cured of their psychological problems. Unfortunately, Nana’s parents died while he was still young and he became unbearably sad. He wept day and night for several years. One day, amid his tears, he felt a strange presence around him. As he turned around, a girl Abomo was looking down at him smiling. She dried his tears. As(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


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


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


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


Ralph Hardy

Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog

Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog by Ralph Hardy is a novel aimed at primary school children (8–12). It retells the story of Homer’s The Odyssey through the eyes of Argos – a loyal dog, bred from both wolf and bear (p. 4). Argos follows his master’s trail by asking the birds and other animals if they have heard news of him. He sends out the seagulls to search for information about Odysseus, and soon learns that he was sailing toward the island of Ithak(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Jan Bajtlik

Ariadne’s Thread: Myths and Labyrinths [Nić Ariadny. Mity i Labirynty]

Bajtlik’s mythical catalogue consist of numerous depictions of the labyrinth in various configurations, each alluding to classical motifs and mythological stories. In the Introduction we read that ancient Greece was one of the most fascinating countries in the world whose culture and history influenced Europe and are admired to this day (Bajtlik, 2018: 5). Labyrinths drawn and described by Batjlik ought to lead the reader through this tradition, and teach them about ancient stories and cus(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Poland


René Goscinny , Albert Uderzo

Asterix at the Olympic Games [Astérix: Astérix aux Jeux olympiques] (Astérix, 12)

"In 50 BC, Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well… not entirely. One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders." The Gauls are aided by a magic potion which gives them superhuman strength, and is brewed by the druid Panoramix (Getafix in English). In late spring, the inhabitants of the village learn that the neighbouring Roman camp of Aquarium is preparing to send its champion – Claudius Cornedurus (corne d'urus, Gluteus Maximus in (...)

literary

YEAR: 1968

COUNTRY: France


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


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


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


David S. Goyer, Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder , Zack Snyder, Chris Terrio

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Superman (superhero from the planet Krypton is also known as Clark Kent) and General Zod (Superman’s adversary, also from Krypton) fight in the sky, causing death and destruction as the high-rise buildings of Metropolis collapse around them. This is witnessed by Bruce Wayne (whose alter ego is Batman) who saves a little girl from the collapsing Wayne Financial Building 18 months later, Kryptonite is found in the Indian Ocean. Millionaire businessman and opponent of Superman, Lex Luthor, ha(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Patrick Branwell Brontë

Branwell's Blackwood's Magazine. The Glass Town Magazine (with contributions from his sister Charlotte Brontë)

The British authors, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, whose novels included Jane Eyre (1847), Wuthering Heights (1847), and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), began their careers by writing elaborate juvenilia alongside their brother, Branwell. Together the sibling Brontë children created an imaginary society in West Africa – The Glass Town Federation, a union of four kingdoms and a federal capital – the Great Glass Town. They wrote extensively about that society, creati(...)

literary

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: Canada


Richard Woff

Bright-Eyed Athena in the Stories of Ancient Greece

In the women’s quarters of a house in ancient Athens, a young woman learns the art of spinning from older women as they create intricate tapestries while narrating inter-related stories about deities, creatures, heroines and heroes. The stories bear especially upon Athena, the goddess whose cult the women serve as creators of the Panathenaic robe. The young woman – herself to be an initiate in the Mysteries of Athena – listens spellbound to the stories which include Athena&rsqu(...)

literary

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Geoffrey McSkimming

Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods (Cairo Jim, 4)

Cairo Jim is a young archaeologist who is already an established member of the fictional Old Relics Society at the commencement of the series. He is always seen wearing a pith helmet and his desert sun-spectacles. Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods is located in mid-to-late 20th-century Greece, moving from Athens to Delphi to Samothrace (Samothraki). It is a whimsical adventure in which the hero and his companions (a talking macaw named Doris and a telepathic wonder-camel named Brend(...)

literary

YEAR: 1996

COUNTRY: Australia


Geoffrey McSkimming

Cairo Jim at the Crossroads of Orpheus (Cairo Jim, 14)

Cairo Jim is a young archaeologist who is already an established member of the fictional Old Relics Society at the commencement of the series. He is always seen wearing a pith helmet and his desert sun-spectacles.Cairo Jim at the Crossroads of Orpheus is located in mid-to-late 20th-century Pompeii. It is a whimsical adventure in which the hero and his companions (a talking macaw named Doris and a telepathic wonder-camel named Brenda) work with an archaeo-botanist Bette Noire to rediscover l(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: Australia


Constance M. Burge, Daniel Cerone, Joel J. Feigenbaum, Brad Kern, Curtis Kheel , Aaron Spelling, Krista Vernoff, E. Duke Vincent, ​Jonathan West

Charmed (Series, S05E22–23): Oh My Goddess. Part One and Part Two

Oh My Goddess is the fifth Charmed episode to feature characters drawn from Greek mythology, following Hell Hath No Fury, featuring the Furies (S04E03) and Muse to My Ears, featuring the Muses (S04E09), Siren Song (S05E04), featuring a Siren, and Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun (S05E19) featuring a satyr and nymphs. The double episode, which ends season five, includes three Titans as characters, one of which is named Cronus, and also has the three Charmed Ones turned into goddesses of Love, War (...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: United States of America


Sulari Gentill

Chasing Odysseus (The Hero Trilogy, 1)

This is the first book in the author’s Hero trilogy. The story of Chasing Odysseus starts in the final days of the Trojan War. Its heroes are three teenaged brothers (Machaon, Cadmus and Lycon) and their younger sister (Hero). Their adoptive father, Agelaus, is a leader of the Herdsmen, a fiercely independent community, allied to the Trojans, who live on the slopes of Mt Ida. The Herdsmen, traditional protectors of the Trojan people, have been secretly supplying the Trojans with food (...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Australia


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


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


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


Joan Holub, Dani Jones

Do Not Open! The Story of Pandora’s Box

This is a retelling of Pandora’s myth for kids as a picture book. The pronunciation of the names is also explained by breaking them to syllables. Before the story begins, at the left page containing the publication data, opposite the first page of the story, we have a short note from the author: "Dear kids, long ago, Greeks wrote stories called myths. These stories helped them to understand things that were happening in the world around them. Myths also taught lessons about right and (...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joan Holub, Leslie Patricelli

Don't Get Lost, Odysseus!

In Don’t Get Lost, Odysseus, Odysseus is a pre-school-aged child living in the modern world. The first page introduces the character with a single word – his name, while the facing page introduces his main fascination, 'Adventure', which is illustrated by the entrance to a children's play area.Odysseus and his mother are approaching a mall; she wants to go to a shop, he wants to go home. Once they are in a shop, Odysseus' attention switches to wishing to go to an enti(...)

literary

COUNTRY: United States of America


Josée Masse, Marilyn Singer

Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths

Echo Echo is an anthology of fourteen palindromic poems retelling the standard heroic and moral tales from the corpus of myth, including Pandora’s Box, Midas and the Golden Touch, Daedalus and Icarus, Theseus and the Minotaur, Perseus and Medusa, Bellerophon and Pegasus, Demeter and Persephone, Orpheus and Eurydice, Arachne, and Atalanta, alongside less regularly retold stories drawn from Ovid, including Pygmalion and Galatea, and Echo and Narcissus. The first poem in the collection, entit(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Daurette Bidja

Ejengi, the Provider of Light and Water

In the beginning was the powerful Komba. He was the god of the Baka people. He lived in the darkest part of the forest with his wife and children. Komba’s powers came from two principal sources: first, from his sacred calabash in which his drinking water was kept. Nobody had the right to look at it, talk less of touching it. Second, he had a torch that could only be used by him. He also had a garden full of succulent fruits that were consumed by him alone. This god of the Baka was so greed(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Graham Annable, Gregory Benton, R.O. Blechman, Vera Brosgol, Graham Chaffee, Eleanor Davis, Chris Duffy, Ulises Farinas, Tom Gauld, Sophie Goldstein, Charise Harper, Jaime Hernandez, John Kerschbaum, James Kochalka, Braden Lamb, Roger Langridge, Simone Lia, Jennifer L. Meyer, Corinne Mucha, Mark Newgarden, George O'Connor, Shelli Paroline, Israel Sanchez, Robert Sikoryak, Ricardo Siri, Maris Wicks, Keny Widjaja

Fable Comics

Fable Comics is a fun and diverse collection of comics retelling fables in a lively, modern style. As many author/illustrators were involved, the fables have many different visual styles; many are rendered in a simplistic or impressionistic style, others are highly illustrated. The majority are told in a humorous tone. Most of the fables are from Aesop, while some are from other traditions. The origin of the story is given as a note at the beginning of each story, e.g. "From Aesop", &q(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States of America


Desire Meha

Foose and Mbumbi

Long ago in the village of Bamendjinda, there existed only one god, Mbumbi. He looked after the village and everything the people undertook to do was successful. No one died before old age. Then came a time when children could no longer reach twenty before dying. These sudden deaths came as a result of drought, plagues, illness and wars that hit the land. The fertile soils suddenly became very arid, barren and unproductive, and famine hit the land as a result of that. Everyone became so worried,(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Daniel Orowole Olorunfemi Fagunwa

Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter’ Saga [Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmalẹ̀]

The novel opens with the narrator’s encounter with Akara-ogun, the great hunter of the village. Worried that he may die at any moment and that the world might forget him, the hunter asks the narrator to pick up his pen and write down his hunting story. He opens up by talking about his immediate family and his name, Akara-ogun (Compound-of-Spells). Because he has wronged God by getting married to a witch, a spirit is sent to kill him but it spares him and asks him to kill his witch wife. No(...)

african

YEAR: 1938

COUNTRY: Nigeria


Bertie Beetle, John Santry

Gilbert the Guinea Pig and Other Tales

The Sunflower tells of the nymph Clytie and her unrequited love for Apollo. Giving in to despair, she stays rooted to the ground, her face bound to follow the sun, the god Apollo. The Golden Touch depicts a version of the King Midas story. When Midas begs the “golden touch” from the god, Bacchus, his clothing, food and his little daughter all turn to gold. After he goes to the river to wash off the curse, there is a permanent residue of gold dust on the river bed. (...)

literary

YEAR: 1943

COUNTRY: Australia


Mathieu Djele

God and His People

Once upon a time, God used to live, chat, and eat with his people. He lived together with human beings. All things were decided by him [God] before they were done by them [the people]. One day God wanted to make a visit around the world. But before leaving his people he told them not to bury anyone who dies in his absence. They should not dare to perform any burial. God left for his tour in the planting season. Not long after, when all crops were planted, a man who had been sick for years, died.(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Stella Caldwell

Gods, Heroes and Monsters: Discover the Wonders of the Ancient Greek Myths

This book explains the core Greek myths. Its cover features a sepia-toned image of the Minotaur and Theseus. It has a frame narrative, in which "Selene Nicolaides," the daughter of a museum director, explains that she found a mysterious box belonging to her father, one which held objects of value from the Ancient Greeks, objects that had been smuggled out of Ancient Greece. Knowing they must be returned, she arranged for them to be sent to the Athens Museum; they appear in the pages of(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Carole Hénaff, Hugh Lupton, Daniel Morden

Greek Myths: Three Heroic Tales

Greek Myths: Three Heroic Tales is a highly illustrated retelling of the myths of Demeter and Persephone, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Orpheus and Eurydice. There is at least one illustration on almost every facing pair of pages with the illustrations setting the events in antiquity. Each myth is divided into chapters in the manner of a novel.Demeter and Persephone begins by prompting the reader to imagine a tri-part world, Olympus above, the world of mortals, and the realm of the dead below. P(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


George O'Connor

Hades: Lord of the Dead (Olympians, 4)

Hades is the fourth instalment in the Olympians series. The graphic novel, told in a style akin to a modern super-hero comic, introduces the Greek Underworld and tells the myth of Persephone. The story opens in darkness, with words announcing that this is what happens when you die. The narrative follows Hermes, who goes on to the banks of the Styx. With the use of a perspective familiar from first-person computer games, the reader can see "their" shadow in the water; their greeny-white(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

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


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


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


Tom Kindley

Heroes of the Night Sky. The Greek Myths Behind the Constellations

This is a collection of myths told for teenagers, with emphasis on stylised illustration, constellation name aetiologies, and some moral lessons. The myths included are:Ursa Major (The Great Bear)PegasusAndromedaHerculesLyre (The Lyre)Corona Borealis (Northern Crown)Orion and ScorpiusCorvus (The Crow)Centaurus (The Centaur)Ophiucus (The Serpent Bearer)(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Ba Venyuseh

How Jumneh Came Into Existence

In the beginning, a God called Mphih lived in the celestial realms with his three children – Yondoh, Tih and Jumneh. However, these children quarreled often and made his home too rancorous and tense for his liking. So as soon as Yondoh, Tih and Jumneh came of age, he decided to separate them. He divided the world into three parts and asked each child to choose its part. Yondo chose the trees and Tih chose the streams. Jumneh also wanted the stream and would not settle for any other thing. (...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Nson Ngambi

How the Earth (Land) Came to Be

In the beginning, the earth was just a vast body of water. Three gods lived in the sky: Mabea the Noble, Mabea the Labourer and Mabea the Silent. As time went by, Mabea the Noble and Mabea the Laborer created an axe which was used to build canoes in which they could sail the waters, but they did not have wood with which to build the canoes. Since the three gods were curious to know if there existed a piece of land beyond the water, Mabea the Silent was asked by the other two to go to the earth a(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Egbe Ifie

Iseregwe

This myth is found in: Marriage with Gods and Goddesses (in Classical and African Myths) by Egbe Ifie, published in Ibadan by End-Time Publishing House in 1999 (pp.1–4), ISBN: 978-2163-01-5. This is only a brief summary of the story. The full text of the myth and others can be read in the book cited above.The myth of Iseregwe is about a couple who lives in a distant village and has two beautiful daughters: Omokatifi and Iseregwe. The older one, in spite of her pompous and un(...)

african

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: Nigeria


Blair Drawson, Sheldon Oberman

Island of the Minotaur. Greek Myths of Ancient Crete

This is an interesting take on the myth of the Minotaur which places it within a wide context by telling a selection of myths that build up to the Minotaur's demise. This creates a multi-generational story which arcs from the days of Cronos until Phaedra's departure from Crete as the last queen of Knossos. The myths of Medea and Ariadne are told in contrast to each other. The work begins and ends with historicising interpretations of the myths, relating the myths' connections to Mino(...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: Canada United Kingdom


Deirdre Barry, Richard Morss

I’m a Monster (Series, 52 Episodes)

2D animation series for children of pre-school age (4-8 years), about monsters from various parts of the world. In each episode of the series (duration: 2 minutes) we meet another character who presents himself to the audience (with the voice of an actor) and tells some fun facts about himself.* Most of presented characters are well-known – they come from mythology of different cultures, from literature, movies etc. The material is rich, colorful and original. In twelve episodes of th(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: Ireland


Desire Guifo

Jengu

A Jengu is a water spirit which is believed to appear to people in different forms – sometimes as a beautiful black girl or a mermaid with long hair and a gap-toothed smile. The people who lived in the Southern costal parts of Cameroon (e.g. Douala, Batanga) have worshipped this spirit for centuries. Although Christianity and western culture have had a significant impact here, belief in Jengu has remained strong. Its worshippers believe that Jengu brings good fortune, healing to various ai(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Soliey Mbezenyuy

Kilankenyuy, the Giver of Children

Kilankenyuy in Lamnso literarily means “the stone of God.” It is also the name that the Nso people give to the God who gives children.Many years ago, the benevolence of the gods in giving humans wonderful, resourceful and creative children was already known by humans. So they were expected to regularly offer sacrifices to Kilankenyuy, the stone of God, for different reasons, especially for the gift of creative and successful children. The early fathers were quite conscious of this ve(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Alex Frith , ​Simona Sanfilippo

King Midas and the Gold

King Midas and the Gold is a children's storybook written with deliberately simple language for those learning to read. It is part of a series that contains many examples of traditional myths and simplified versions of classical literature.The Midas myth is told in an extremely simplified form as the paramount focus is telling a story with very basic vocabulary. There is more emphasis on Midas' kindness than his foolishness or greed. The text states 'he was kind', accompanying a (...)

literary

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Katie Daynes, Marie-Eve Tremblay

Lift-the-Flap Questions and Answers about Art

This beautifully-illustrated book immerses young people in the world of art. It belongs to an extensive series which introduces children to a variety of subjects. Young people are introduced to art via a question and answer format focused on the sorts of questions that people might have about art and the sorts of questions that can be asked to explore art beyond the surface – in that sense the book is about helping young people to engage with art rather than simply presenting them with art(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Musi Seth Pie

Mamagieh

In the days of the forefathers, the Bafanji people had too many problems. Besides tribal wars, they were also faced with the problem of famine and unjustifiable deaths. One day, a man left his family at home and went hunting into the forest but never came back. His wife waited for a week and didn’t see him. So she went into the forest in search of him. After searching for hours everywhere in vain, she sat on a stone crying, and soon fell asleep. When she got up, she noticed that she w(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Joe Infurnari , Boaz Yakin

Marathon

Marathon tells the story of the Battle of Marathon, which was fought in Greece in 490 BCE. The book's focus is placed on the traditions around extraordinary running feats relating to the battle, with the runner, Eucles, acting as protagonist.The book opens in the years before the Battle of Marathon, when Athens was ruled by the tyrant, Hippias, son of Peisistratus. Eucles, at this time, is a child slave. After Eucles being noticed for his speed, Hippias takes him on as his messenger, but war(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America


Ollie Cuthbertson, Gary Smailes

Marathon (EDGE: Battle Books, 4)

This is a choose-your-own-adventure story in which the basic premise is established and the reader then makes choices that determine the development and out-come of the story. In Marathon the reader plays as Miltiades the general. Based on the choices made, the reader will then receive a ranking on their performance as general, poor, ok, good, or great, and the outcome of the battle will be either death, partial victory, or complete victory. The reader will be prompted to consider many aspects o(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Peter Tamukong

Mijini

Once upon a time, The Akum people were living together with Mijini in Widikum.Mijini was the greatest deity and the sole protector of the Akum people.This did not, however, prevent friction with other groups in Widikum.The prevailing tension forced them to leave Widikum.But on leaving,They left behind their major deity.As they were approaching this land,Mijini suddenly joined them.The people started offering sacrifices to Mijini. (Narrator turns round to see whether everybody is attent(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Will Kostakis

Monuments (Monuments, 1)

Monuments is the first in an urban fantasy young adult fiction duology inspired by adventure video games such as The Legend of Zelda.  Connor Giannopoulos stumbles upon a secret room beneath his school, sealed shut by a puzzle. A girl named Sally is also there, trying to solve the puzzle. The secret cavern contains a "Monument" named Darroch: an ancient god that helped to shape the world. Sally claims she is Darroch's Guardian, entrusted to protect him from the Hounds; descend(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Australia


Thiago de Moraes

Myth Atlas: maps and monsters, heroes and gods from twelve mythological worlds

With its high quality production values, including lavish, detailed illustrations, a hardback cover and generous 33 cm tall pages, de Moraes’ Myth Atlas has the dimensions and desirability of a coffee table book. The title page "The Worlds of Myth" uses a map of the world to introduce and geographically locate the twelve cultures which are showcased in the text: the Native North Americans, the Aztecs, the Irish, the South American Yanomami, the Yoruba of Western Africa, the (...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Hadjia Bitamzui

Myth of the Creation of the Giziga People of Muturwa

At the beginning of time haiggibuilmuluung (the house of the gods or the sky) and the earth were touching each other. Trees and all the vegetation were very tall and even touching haiggibuilmuluung. At this time no living thing existed. Bouilmulvung (the god) was very angry that his house was being invaded by trees. He was afraid that this encroachment by the vegetation may one day drive him out of his habitation. Then he, Bouilmulvung, told the Earth “your trees are usurping my habitat to(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Bernard Kos Mbulu

Myth of the Origin of Dja and Mpomo Rivers

A long time ago, far back into the beginning of life on earth, when men could barely distinguish between good and evil after they had been sent out of the celestial home to live on earth, God started feeling lonely without his children, the humans. Every morning, he peeped through his window to check their evolution and look after them. One day, Ziem, the God of the Land, was strolling around his terrace and admiring satisfactorily the progress of his children on earth. On that day, he had (...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Soliey Mbezenyuy

Myth of the Origin of Lake Wasibel

A long time ago in the days of the forefathers, the chief priests from all the communities in Banso gathered at the king’s palace to offer their usual annual sacrifices to the gods. After some rituals and incarnations had been performed, the Gods revealed to them to perform subsequent rituals in the motionless waters in Wasibel. The chief priests and notables were confused, because there was no such water in Wasibel. They offered more sacrifices to the gods for them to reveal the exact loc(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Ndjidda Yamboui

Myth of the Origin of Suffering in Mindif

A long time ago, Motoforno’s village was a blessed village, it was compared to paradise because of the abundance of food, and especially huge quantities of usehé (meat) piled up in the form of a mountain. Everybody could eat of that meat including those from the neighboring villages. Hitherto, the gods had dished out instructions that no one should prepare and consume the meat with Mandan (salt). This restriction bothered Motoforno’s wife who would always ask her husband quest(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Eleanor Zofoa

Myth of the Origin of the Babungo People

So many years ago, Babungo was only a dense forest with a lake in the middle, and no signs of human settlement. The lake, which was later named Lake Forghai, gurgled and roared for a few minutes and after roaring, people (two brothers, their uncle, their wives and grandfather), as well as a white goat, came out of it. The entire area was strange to them but, even so, they really needed a place to settle. Before they came out of the lake, the Gods of the lake told them to take the goat along, and(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Mohamadou Houlaï

Myth of the Origin of the Logone River

In the long distant time in the past, the Sao people who live in a very vast territory had all the riches that God bestowed upon them. These included fertile lands, beautiful women and physically strong men. God had an agreement with their leader, where He promised not to refuse any of their requests for additional bounties. These people were unusually very tall and well-built such that they could reach the sky, the house of God, just by stretching up their hand. In the local language it is said(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Chad


Saïdou Kitikil

Myth of the Sacred Fish, “Mubala”, among the Giziga People

Mubala is a sacred fish in the Giziga land, which appears in several colours and it is revered among the Giziga people in the north of Cameroon. The myth states that at the beginning of time, when the Giziga people were migrating from Sudan toward Cameroon (specifically Maroua, where they are presently settled), they had no leader to guide them. They were moving away in search of fertile land for agriculture, water body for fishing and forest for hunting. One day when they arrived at a lake at t(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


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


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


Eleanor Zofoa

Nä’Si

So many years ago, there was a certain queen in Babungo called Nä’Si who liked eating sugar cane very much. In fact, it was said that she was always eating sugar cane and people could swear on their lives that they never met her not eating sugar cane. Whenever she was going to the farm she would get enough sugar cane to take her to the farm and back. While the other queens and women in the community farmed other crops like beans, corn and cocoyam, she would do same but would always ad(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Pierre Nyobe

Ngok Lituba and the Tree of Rejuvenation

“Ngok Lituba” is a pierced rock of eight hundred meters high situated at Nyanon, a village near Edea, Cameroon. It is in the forest, close to where part of the Sanaga River flows.In the beginning, the living God, Nyambe, created all the forces. He created geniuses, spirits and the first human couple. In creating the forest, he also created that stone Ngok Lituba. This pierced stone has a tunnel. Nyambe was living in joy with his people in the tunnel. The first children were born from(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Musi Seth Pie

Nongu

Many years ago, the entire community of Bafanji used to fetch potable water from Ndawi*. One day, a child was drowned in Ndawi and the river was desecrated. The Gods of Ndawi were not happy. All those who went there to fetch water after the tragedy died mysteriously around the banks of the river. It was a pregnant woman who went to Ndawi naked and in tears, begging the Gods of Ndawi to have mercy on them. The Gods were weakened by the spirit of the unborn child in the woman’s womb, and req(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Clyde W. Ford

Obatala

The full text of this myth is found in: The Hero with an African Face: Mythic Wisdom of Traditional Africa by Clyde W. Ford, in the United States and Canada by Bantam Books, 1999, pp. 148–155). This is only a brief summary of the story. The full text of the myth and others can be read in the book cited above.In the beginning, a single god-head called Orisa-nla goes downhill when it is smashed into pieces with a rolling stone pushed down by his servant, Atunda. The pieces of the almighty go(...)

african

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: United States of America


Simon Spence

Odysseus

This is a retelling of Homer's Odyssey with myths based on the Epic Cycle used for additional material. The narrative order of the Odyssey is rejected in favour of a chronological approach. Most of the gods are helpful in this retelling. The "sea-god" alone persecutes Odysseus, and as Odysseus is not shown to be responsible for what incurred the sea-god's wrath, Odysseus appears a highly sympathetic figure. The story includes violence, but extreme violence and sex are avoided t(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Coffee Powered Machine

Okhlos

Okhlos' protagonist is an unnamed philosopher, enraged with the gods' indifference towards mortals and their well-being. The breaking point comes with the destruction of the School of Athens (obviously based on Raphael’s famous frescoes) - one of the Olympians crashes it with his foot, leaving almost no survivors. The only one left alive, the philosopher, says "enough!" and mobilizes the Athenians to overthrow Olympus' cruel regime and start a new life with freedom th(...)

electronic

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Argentina


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


Elisabeth Belomo

Origin of EVU (Evil Spirit) and AWU (Death) Amongst the Beti-Fang, Cameroon

A long time ago, Zamba (God)*, the creator and father of humanity lived on earth among humans with a human appearance. He had a very beautiful wife (Mingon**) and a daughter. People in those days were pleased to live on earth. This pleasure was due to the fact that neither death nor hunger existed, because Zamba was always there to intervene. If a person was about to die, Zamba would revitalize him/her; he would equally go to places forbidden to men every morning in order to bring them food. Peo(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Raissa Tiola

Origin of Seh Lechuere

There lived a happy man called Negoue, with his family in a village called Tikato. He was very generous and kind. In fact, he was loved by everyone. He was a farmer, with very productive farms and the Gods also blessed him with many wives and children.One day, a spirit appeared to him at night and told him, “Don't feel frightened; I want to warn you of the evils that will befall this village in a few days; I advise you to leave this place together with your family and settle elsewhere.(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


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


Chris Columbus , Rick Riordan, Chris Titley

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Series): The Lightning Thief

The film opens with a meeting between Poseidon and Zeus on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Zeus reveals that his lightning bolt has been stolen and believes Poseidon’s son to be the thief. It must be returned within fourteen days in time for the summer solstice or Zeus will declare war. During a school trip to a museum, Percy Jackson is attacked by his English teacher Mrs Dodds, who transforms into a Fury and demands that Percy return the lightning bolt. Percy&rsquo(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: United States of America


Simon Spence

Persephone

The Early Greek Myths series of children’s books presents myths for very young readers. The books tell the myths in simple language. Each double page includes a full-page illustration on the left page and a page of text on the right. Stephen Fry provides a forward to Persephone. He explains that myths tell us the stories of inspirational characters and of the way things came to be. Persephone is "one of the most delightful" myths, relating "how young Persephone got lost and (...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Ireland


Renée Grimaud (Grimaud Ayanoglou), Daniel Maja

Pillars of Hercules. Atlas of Greek Mythology [Les colonnes d'Hercule. Atlas de la mythologie grecque]

The publication is addressed to a young audience. It is an atlas focusing on ancient and mythological sites in the Mediterranean Basin associated with Greek civilization. The atlas contains maps of ancient locations and complete descriptions of places related to mythological stories and characters. Grimaud divides the book into seven chapters, including maps by Catherine Zacharopoulou and illustrations by Daniel Maja. There is also a Glossary and an Index of geographical names.The(...)

literary

YEAR: 1992

COUNTRY: France


Thetis Authentics Ltd.

Pinax. Gods and Heroes [Πίναξ. Θεοί και Ήρωες (Pínaks. Theoí kai Īrōes)] (Series): Athena [Αθηνά (Athīna)]

The Thetis Authentics puzzles are reproductions of sections of scenes from ancient vases, each recreated on a flat ceramic plaque (pinax) which has then been broken into 9–12 sherds. In this archaeologist role-play game, the challenge is to reassemble the vase scene using the sherds. The Thetis website describes the puzzles as "archaeologically inspired" and as "museum quality ancient ceramic replicas". These descriptions are based on the unusual nature of the reproduct(...)

electronic

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Greece


Thetis Authentics Ltd.

Pinax. Gods and Heroes [Πίναξ. Θεοί και Ήρωες (Pínaks. Theoí kai Īrōes)] (Series): Theseus [Θησέας (Thīséas)]

For details summarising the game series, please see Pinax. Gods and Heroes. Athena [πίναξ. θεοί και Ηρωες. Αθηνά] entry in this database.This particular puzzle should have shown Theseus fighting the Minotaur, but the wrong puzzle was included in the box so that instead it features an incomplete puzzle of Odysseus blinding the Cyclops (the manufacturers have been contacted for comment). Ther(...)

electronic

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Greece


Beyana Ngarbaï

Ping the Precious Monkey

From the beginning of time, when the women of the Pala clan in the western part of Chad were pregnant, there was only one way for them to give birth - their wombs had to be opened with a knife to remove the baby, and they would inevitably die in the process. One day a pregnant woman, realizing that she would soon go through the same fatal process, escaped to the forest and sat under a big tree, lamenting her situation to the forest. Then, the forest god appeared to her in the form of a mo(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Chad


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


Naoko Takeuchi

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon / Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon [美少女戦士セーラームーン (Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn)]. Arc 3: The Infinity Arc

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon follows 14-year-old Usagi Tsukino, a klutz and crybaby who receives the power to transform into a magical warrior named Sailor Moon, Soldier of Love and Justice. Transforming not only changes her clothes, but grants her access to supernatural powers to fight enemies. The story is set in Tokyo, Japan. There are five primary arcs to the series, plus several short stories that accompany the core narrative. The arcs reflect the primary antagonists and themes the protagonis(...)

literary

YEAR: 1991

COUNTRY: Japan


Will Kostakis

Rebel Gods (Monuments, 2)

Rebel Gods continues on from Monuments. Connor, Sally, and Locky have not noticed any signs that the newly-freed Rebel Gods are interfering with humanity, but they are still on guard. Over a dinner Connor doesn't need to eat, because he is now a god, he discovers his mother Eleni has started dating again after her divorce. Connor joins Sally and explores a mysterious tunnel, which leads to Locky's basement bedroom. The trio explore a buried vault hidden on another school campus. They cra(...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: Australia


Pierce Brown , Rik Hoskin , Eli Powell

Red Rising: Sons of Ares

Red Rising: Sons of Ares is the graphic novel prequel to the novels of the hugely popular Red Rising science-fiction series. The series imagines a rigidly hierarchical interplanetary society which takes much of its form from ancient Greek myths of the ages of humans and from ancient Roman culture. While the main series witnesses an uprising by the Sons of Ares, a terrorist group who fight against oppression, Red Rising: Sons of Ares takes readers back to the origins of the rebellion.The sto(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United States of America


Vicky Arrowsmith, Leonie Pratt

Roman Things to Make and Do

This is an activity book which offers 18 Roman-themed activities for children: standing soldier paperchain, racing chariot painting, Roman sword, soldier’s shield, city collage, gladiator fight, senate picture, scroll, sticker pages, emperor’s wreath, Pop-up Roman god card (Neptune, Diana and Jupiter) coins and money bags, printed mosaics, catapult, cuffs and bangles, Roman feast picture, actor’s masks, how to wear a toga. There are short information bubbles for each activity.(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Gabriel Okey Okonkwo, Nonso Ekene Okonkwo

Sacrifice of Hope: Part I and II

The movie Sacrifice of Hope is a sequel of the Nigerian movie Sacrifice of Tears. This sequel of the movie Sacrifice of Tears begins with Ifeoma’s father (Mazi Uche) crying and cursing at Amadioha, the god of Buchi for afflicting strange illnesses and happenings on the land and especially on his wife Ebele (Ifeoma’s mother). He cries in confusion and decides to seek answers from a renowned chief priest Agogho in Omabra village, a faraway land. His daughter Ifeoma cries and tries(...)

african

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Nigeria


Gabriel Okey Okonkwo, Nonso Ekene Okonkwo

Sacrifice of Tears: Part I and II

This movie is a prequel of the movie Sacrifice of Hope I & II. Part I starts with tears in Buchi as Mazi Uche shouts at his wife Ebele for not being able to bear him a child after so many years of marriage like his fellow elders. He then threatens to introduce another wife to the family. Ebele, goes and prays to Amadioha, the god of Buchi and hopes he listens to her this time as she attempts to avoid the inclusion of another wife.The next scene opens in the Okuoha village where the Igwe just(...)

african

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Nigeria


Stanisław Stabryła

School Dictionary. Greek and Roman Mythology [Słownik szkolny. Mitologia grecka i rzymska]

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.In this dictionary, alphabetically ordered entries take school children on a journey through Greek and Roman mythology. Accessibly written descriptions, mainly of gods and heroes, present adaptions of the most important myths and(...)

literary

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: Poland


Nonso Ekene Okonkwo

Scorpion God & Ikenga (the Greatest Warrior) Part 1 & 2

Ikenga was the most powerful and greatest warrior in the entire Igbo Kingdom. He was immensely favoured by Amadioha (The god of gods) to whom Ikenga owed his greatness and reputation. In battle, Ikenga fought mortals and immortals alike, challenged gods, and feared no deity. It was common knowledge that Ikenga’s back had never touched the earth, in any fight. His name and praises were on every lip and his wrestling titles were countless. Ikenga was equally an amiable family man who provide(...)

african

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: Nigeria


Verna Aardema, Nancy L. Clouse

Sebgugugu the Glutton: A Bantu Tale from Rwanda

Sebgugugu is a poor man who lives in a hut with his wife, Unanana, and their two sons, Zitu and Zabala. All they own is one cow named Gitale, on whose milk the sons feed. One fateful day Unanana leaves to tend her garden in the forest. A bird comes around their hut and Sebgugugu is convinced that its chirping is a message from Imana, the God of Rwanda. He tells his wife that if he kills the cow, they will have a hundred more. But she is not convinced and warns him not to do anything foolish. He (...)

african

YEAR: 1993

COUNTRY: United States of America


Stanisław Stabryła

Small Lexicon of Greek and Roman Mythology [Mały leksykon mitologii greckiej i rzymskiej]

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 lexicon includes over 1,000 entries ranging from proper names and characters to beasts and myths from Greek and Roman mythology. Stabryła touches upon famous legends like those about Hercules or Oedipus but does not forget t(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: Poland


Peter Bull Art Studio , Sarah Kahn

Spot the Mummy in the Museum

Each volume in the Spot the... series presents children with an environment to explore. Greco-Roman culture forms a prominent part of the environment in this edition, which is set in a museum. Each double-page spread in the books in this series depicts a scene from the specified environment which children search to find the themed object; in this case they search for the mummy in each room of the museum. Each double-page also picks out approximately five objects that are specific to that scene f(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Carrie Beck, Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, George Lucas, Justin Ridge

Star Wars Rebels (Series)

Star Wars Rebels is a 2D animated series that adds to the main Star Wars saga storyline while introducing new characters and plots. The series is set in between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Star Wars: Rogue One (2016), approximately fifteen years after the foundation of the Galactic Empire (for more background on the Star Wars universe, please see the entry for Star Wars. The Clone Wars). The story follows Ezra Bridger, a "Force sensitive" (i.e. supernaturally talented) te(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America


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


Terry Denton

Story Maze. The Eye of Ulam (Story Maze, 2)

The second in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. Nico is competing in the World Surfing Championships against a surfer named Hercules when help is requested by their Duryllium friend Icon, who is in the midst of a battle with his brother Vidor over the throne of their kingdom. They find and save Icon, who has been blinded and left for dead on the battlefield and take him to a gingerbread cot(...)

literary

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: Australia


Terry Denton

Story Maze. The Golden Udder (Story Maze, 4)

The fourth in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. This time they continue their attempt to help Ulysses to win the Queen of Fresia with The Golden Udder. However, when they attempt to retrieve the Udder, they discover it has been stolen by Amycus (along with Nico’s surfboard) and lost in a bet to Limousin, a surfing champion. They begin a quest to retrieve it. Their time-travel device M(...)

literary

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: Australia


Terry Denton

Story Maze. The Ultimate Wave (Story Maze, 1)

The Ultimate Wave is a comic adventure story, told in graphic novel format. It is the story of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey, described by the Narrator as humans from the planet Ithaca (although the characters are drawn as a monkey, a duck, and a rhinoceros and are referred to as such repeatedly). These three love to surf, a note to Australian surfing culture, and meet Icon, a “pencil-headed mutant” from another dimension and a place called Duryllium. The story is told by a Narrator chara(...)

literary

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: Australia


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


Cosmas Njume Njume

The Bakossi Animal Dance

Before the Bakossi people found themselves on the land which they presently occupy, Mwankum had been living on it. When the people knew about his presence, they acknowledged him as their god because they believe he alone knows their origin. They started worshipping him as the protector and defender of their ancestral land. He communicates and acts through his servants, who are initiates. He, however, acknowledges the presence of a bigger god, who reigns above him. He is a lover and keeper of pea(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Rose Nanje Mande

The Bakundu Creation Myth

In the beginning, Obase (God) created Kongwe Mountain. Since he was alone, he created the great Botu tree, which he planted on the Kongwe Mountain to produce all the species of things on earth. The branches of the great Botu tree brought forth the various creatures that exist in the world today. One of the branches brought forth the human race, another cats, another dogs, the cows, the water bodies, the rocks and every other thing that exists.The branch that brought forth humans further forked i(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Robert Ba Ndangho Fomunyang

The Bali Creation Myth

In the beginning, Nikob (God) created the world and left it empty for a relatively long period of time. One day, he spread seeds of trees everywhere on earth. The trees grew so fast into different types and sizes. Among the so many types of trees Nikob created, there were some that were special. There were not only colossal and strange, with big as well as small roots but they were also rare to find. Nikob lived in these huge trees throughout and regularly studied the atmospheric temperature unt(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Delphine Dumont

The Battle of Marathon. The Decisive End of the First Greco-Persian War

This short educational book uses a combination of short text sections and inset text boxes to communicate the events and context of the Battle of Marathon to teenagers and young adults. The publisher asserts that this style makes the information easier to absorb and remember, serving as a sort of short course in the subject. The sections included are as follows:The Battle of Marathon: Key Information.Political and Social Context:Expansion of the Persian EmpireThe Ionian RevoltThe Aegean Strategy(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: France


John Wyndham

The Beginning

Narrated in blank verse, a style appropriate for legends, as  the author claims, the myth relates the life of origin of Ífè*, originally told by the highest authorities of the Yoruba land to a stranger. At the beginning there was Arámfè the God of Thunder and Father of the Gods, who reigned in the realm of heaven. He summoned his sons and narrated to them how he created all the bounties in heaven and gave them eternal peace. His sons questioned him about their ab(...)

african

YEAR: 1921

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Shlomo Abbas, Danny Kerman

The Best of Mythology Tales for Children [מיטב סיפורי המיתולוגיה לילדים (Meitav Sipurei Hamitologia l’Yeladim)]

This book is a collection of several stories from Greek Mythology, including illustrations. The stories are specially adapted to young children. This volume is a part of the "exemplary literature" (“sifrut mofet”) series, which aims to reveal, to the young Israeli reader, various stories from the pinnacle of local and world literature. This series also aims to encourage reading in children from the third to the fifth class. Thus the stories are specifically adapted a(...)

literary

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: Israel


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


Catherine Mayo

The Bow: Win or Lose?

The Bow: Win or Lose? takes place in Ancient Greece. It is the second of Mayo’s novels set in this period, the first book being Murder at Mykenai. A teenage Odysseus is helping to protect his father’s kingdom. After the death of his grandfather, Arkeisios (in the city of Argos), Odysseus travels with Eurybates (his father’s squire) to find his grandfathers hidden wealth. Odysseus is disguised as servant to Eurybates, who is dressed as an Egyptian priest. He finds gold hidden in(...)

literary

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Australia


Yann Le Bras, Jean Paul Mongin

The Death of Socrates [La mort du divin Socrate]

The Plato and Co. publications explore the lives and works of ancient and modern philosophers in highly illustrated slim volumes. This contribution to the series addresses the trial and subsequent death of Socrates following Plato's account and in doing so presents a number of Socrates' ideas as a narrative of this period of his life. The Death of Socrates opens with an enquiry, apparently from the narrator, to the Delphic Oracle as to who is the wisest man in Greece. The oracle ans(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: France


Patricia Miles

The Gods in Winter

The Gods in Winter draws on the retelling of the myth featured in Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which recounts Persephone’s abduction by Hades and the establishment of the seasonal cycle. While searching for her beloved daughter, Demeter disguises herself and takes on the role of nursemaid to the child of the royal family of Eleusis. Miles’ text alludes to these events taking place in 1970s England, witnessed by the Brambles, an ordinary, middle class family with a scientist father, teach(...)

literary

YEAR: 1978

COUNTRY: United States of America


Aloys Nkong Kima

The Gods’ Plum Tree

There was a woman in Bioleh whose name was Nkeng. She was commonly called Anyinkeng because she was a mother to twin children. She was married to a man called Kang, and the names of their twins were Ngenyi and Asonganyi. Anyinkeng had a younger sister who came to babysit the twins at birth. At that time, the Nweh people were living eternally on earth. There was no form of illness nor death in the village.In the village, there was a special plum tree reserved only for the Gods of the tribe. It wa(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Philippe Béha, Glen Huser

The Golden Touch. A Retelling of the Legend of King Midas

The Golden Touch. A Retelling of the Legend of King Midas is a book and CD version of an opera staged in Canada in which over 200 school children performed alongside a Chroma Musika cast accompanied by The Orchestre Symphonique Pop Montréal, with narration from UK comedian Terry Jones. The opera was composed by Greek national Giannis Georgantelis, and was run as a community project under the auspices of the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, and the city of Laval. This w(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Canada United Kingdom


Patrick Branwell Brontë

The History of the Young Men

This work opens with an extensive Introduction which details the early lives of the Brontë children and the evolution of their creative writing. There is also a section of Notes on the Text, which provides a manuscript history and images of the original. Branwell's introduction provides the history of the acquisition of the toy soldiers who formed the basis of the stories. He adds, "this history is a statement of what Myself, Charlotte Emily and Ann really pretended did happen"(...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: Australia


Ash

The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia, 5)

The Horse and His Boy is set in the ‘Golden Age’ of Narnia, when the children from the The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, were Narnia’s Kings and Queens. In The Horse and His Boy, the reader is introduced to Shasta, a boy who lives in Calormen and is the presumed son of Arsheesh. Shasta is fascinated with Narnia and has always wanted to go there. All the people in Calormen have dark skin and many wear turbans including his father, but Shasta is(...)

literary

YEAR: 1954

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


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


Pauline Baynes, Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis

The Last Battle (The Chronicles of Narnia, 7)

The Last Battle is the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. It serves as a culmination of all the events of the series. The reader is introduced to Shift, a bully of a gorilla who convinces Puzzle the donkey to wear a lion’s skin and pretend to be Aslan, the Golden ‘father’ of Narnia. King Tirian, with his unicorn, Jewel, hears news of Aslan’s return. Much death and destruction occurs in Narnia, supposedly at Aslan’s command. Calormene men who(...)

literary

YEAR: 1956

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Mary Renault

The Lion in the Gateway. The Heroic Battles of the Greeks and Persians at Marathon, Salamis, and Thermopylae

Ch. I. The Arrow of Ormuz. The Lion opens with a description of the mountainous Greek landscape. We hear of boys guarding flocks from wolves and the presence of many more dangers from pirates and raiders. Many Greeks seek land through colonisation, with many going east to settle Ionia. The ancient Greek disposition is described – an independent spirit that rejects kings in favour of oligarchies and democracies, inquiring minds which ask questions and seek answers about all manner of things(...)

literary

YEAR: 1964

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Nick Cave

The Lyre of Orpheus

Attention: age restriction 18+With a discordant, seesawing melody and four-line verses organised into an ABCB rhyming scheme, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds perform a grim and grisly retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in The Lyre of Orpheus. Orpheus is a depressive figure, sitting ‘gloomy in his garden shed’ when by chance he arranges ‘a lump of wood, and a piece of wire’ into a musical instrument. But while his rudimentary lyre sounds beautiful to him, it is abho(...)

music

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Russell Punter

The Minotaur

This book is a retelling of the traditional myth of Theseus and the Minotaur (for which see e.g. Diodorus of Sicily, Library, book 4; Plutarch, Theseus; Apollodorus, Epitome, 1.7; Apollodorus, Library, 3; Ovid, Metamorphoses, 8.155–182). It opens with Aegeus receiving a letter from Minos, and closes with Theseus back in Athens having completed his mission but having lost his father in the process. The primary function of this retelling of ancient myth. is to provide children with read(...)

literary

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Thomas Essa Ngoukou

The Mysterious Staff of Ngat

This myth is a sequel to the myth of Ngan-Medza, already in the DB. The tale of Ngan-Medza is the story of how the Bantou people of the Central Region of Cameroon crossed the river Yom (now called River Sanaga) on the back of a snake that served as a bridge. They fled from the Muslim onslaught led by Ousman Dan Fodio, who wanted to convert the animist Bantou people to Islam. According to the myth, this crossing, ordered by the Bantou ancestors, took place over several years. Each(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Alfred Ngoisa Lyonga

The Myth of Efasa-Moto

Efasa-Moto is the folkloric god of the Bakweri people at the foot of the Fako Mountain. He controls the entire “hill” from the North East Coast to the West Coast on the border with Balondo land in the Meme Division. Efasa-Moto is the male counterpart of the Liengu la Mwanja or the legendary “mammy water” or jengu (water goddess). After an agreement between the two, Efasa-Moto chose to live in the mountain while Liengu la Mwanja remained in the sea. Efasa- Moto and Liengu (...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Mado Pauline Tcheutchoua

The Myth of “Nkentatet” (ŋĸØ’ta’tét)

Nkentatet (ŋĸØ’ta’tét) is a sacred worship place located in the Bamendjou-Bamenka-Bansoa* border where three great rivers meet and form a waterfall at a confluence. The Nkentatet (ŋĸØ’ta’tét) sacred place is also the name of this small river. The myth goes thus: in the distant past, Nkentatet (ŋĸØ’ta’tét) was surrounded by Baobab trees and rocks, all in a small isolated forest. When God decided to create the Bamendjou-(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Gillian Cross, Neil Packer

The Odyssey

Gillian Cross' Odyssey is an abridged retelling of Homer's Odyssey, set in Greek antiquity. It is a retelling of ancient myth with an emphasis on striking visualisation. Chapter headings:The WarTravelling into DisasterThe Giant in the CaveAeolus and CirceGhosts and MonstersStranded on Calypso's IslandNausicaaOdysseus the BeggarA Husband for PenelopeHomer's Odyssey is retold, rearranged into more chronological order. The introduction explains the Trojan War briefly by way of (...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Jan Lewis, Saviour Pirotta

The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths

This is a very popular collection of ten retellings of ancient myths, attractively laid-out and well-written for a young audience. There is an illustrated Table of Contents at the start, which enables pre-literate children to participate in choosing the story that will be read, as well as teaching them how to use a ToC.Each story begins with an elaborate fronts-piece full of details from the story, and each story concludes with a small image that contains a key element of the myth. Both elements(...)

literary

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Joseph Njong

The Origin of Black and White (Red) Races

The form of the notation reflects the rhythm of the performance. Capital letters indicate when the storyteller’s voice was high; italics indicate when the voice was low. In the beginning, God was alone.He had no company.He liked to see people.He liked to see people dance, run, play, and converse and do many things. [Aside by the storyteller] If we are living today... it is because God needed our company. [The storyteller wipes saliva that is dripping at the extreme right sid(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Lawrence Teneng

The Origin of Eternal Death

Long, long time ago,People used to die and come back to life.Life by then was eternal. There was resurrection after death, Old people died and came back young. (The audience interrupts),“What do you mean by dying and coming back young?”(Narrator continues), “Have you ever seen a snake, and what happens to it? At old age, it sheds the old layer and becomes young.” The period of death, was the period for the old to shed off their old coats and become young ag(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Edmund Sama Titanji

The Origin of the Voma Cult in Bali Nyonga

A long time ago, in the land of Bali Nyonga, situated in the North-West Region of Cameroon, lamentations echoed throughout the village. The community was struck with unusual happenings: mothers lost their babies, wives lost their husbands, people went to the farms and never returned, the land was barren and so produced little or no crops, the villagers cried out to their fon for help because they could not stand the suffering they were undergoing. The Fon sent his ‘Nchindas*’ to go r(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Philip Loh Dzadjih

The Origin of “Efiehnstemseh,” the Great Cave of Drums in Kedjom

Long long time ago, in Kedjom Ketinguh an extraordinarily beautiful girl, Shembom, was born to the Fon (or King). He named her Shembom, meaning the work of the Gods. As Shembom grew up, she became even more and more beautiful. Even as a girl, many families started competing for her hand in marriage. Her parents, however, rejected these offers. They wanted their daughter to grow up and choose a husband for herself among the most handsome men in the village. Eventually, two Gods fell in love with (...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Werewere Liking

The Power of Um [La Puissance de Um]

Ntep Iliga dies in the presence of his wife, Ngond Libii Ntep Iliga (which means slave woman of Ntep Iliga). She sets the stage for mourning while singing funeral songs and addressing a calabash of wine whose contents she likens to her own life: “[s]tatic, but coiled up, ready to overflow from the calabash like you… boiling with rage, enclosed in a much too small container” (28). She calls in her eldest son Ntep Ntep, informs him that his father is dead at last, and asks him t(...)

african

YEAR: 1979

COUNTRY: Ivory Coast


Laura Paoletti , Ali Smith

The Story of Antigone [La Storia di Antigone]

Ali Smith’s The Story of Antigone follows the familiar plot of the play by Sophocles. Prior to the beginning of the play, Antigone’s brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, are leading the opposing sides in the Theban civil war. The two brothers kill each other at the same time and Creon declares that Eteocles was the rightful king of Thebes and will be honoured and that Polyneices is a rebel and will be denied holy rites of burial. After the death of her brother, Antigone goes against th(...)

literary

COUNTRY: Italy


Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief (Queen's Thief, 1)

Set in a fictional world reminiscent of the ancient Mediterranean, the novel follows the titular thief, Eugenides and his reluctant companions in their adventure hunting a legendary treasure. Their journey takes place in the regions closely resembling ancient Greece. The story begins in the coastal kingdom of Sounis, where Eugenides is imprisoned after he was caught bragging about a recent theft. The magus of Sounis, an advisor of the king, releases him on the condition that he aid him in his qu(...)

literary

YEAR: 1996

COUNTRY: United States of America


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


Sama Ambe

The Water God “Atutu” Marries the Most Beautiful Princess

The form of the notation reflects the rhythm of the performance. Capital letters indicate when the storyteller’s voice was high; italics indicate when the voice was low.I. The Princess and the SuitorsLong time agoThere lived a beautiful princess, SHE WAS TOO BEAUTIFUL. She was known for turning down All suitors.She was always refusing these suitors,And looking for the most handsome and richest men on earth.The story went round the village,People came from distant placesBut n(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Gabriel Sira

The Wife of God

About a thousand years ago, the god of creation, Boumvouboum, together with his wife and the entire community, sent one of their daughters to the earth to find out how humans were reproducing their progenies. They had just noticed an exponential growth in the human population given that before then, humans were few and their lack of belief led to frequent deaths. So they chose to send their daughter to be born into the family of a very young couple. As a result, this couple gave birth to two chi(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Colm Lawton , Simon Spence

Theseus

Theseus is part of a series of storybook myths aimed at very young readers. Each two-page spread combines a full-page illustration and a page of text. The text is presented in an informal style, in a Comic Sans-like font, while the illustrations present the characters as wide-eyed and childlike. The story begins with an introduction to Theseus, including the information that ion that he grew up without his father. We learn that Theseus eventually became strong enough to lift the rock that covere(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Philippe Béha, Glen Huser

Time for Flowers, Time for Snow. A Retelling of the Legend of Demeter and Persephone

Time for Flowers, Time for Snow is a book and CD version of an opera staged in Canada in which 180+ school children performed accompanied by The Orchestre Symphonique Pop Montréal with narration from UK comedian Terry Jones. The opera was composed by Greek national Giannis Georgantelis, and was run as a community project under the auspices of the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, the cities of Montreal and Laval, the Embassy of Greece to Canada, and the Embassy of Canada to (...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Canada United Kingdom


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


Susanna Davidson, Giuliano Ferri

Usborne Illustrated Stories from Aesop

Fables attributed to Aesop were collated in antiquity by Demetrius of Phaleron, c. 300 BCE (Diogenes Laertius, 5.80), and passed on through various retellings in antiquity and the medieval, early modern, and modern periods. This publication features retellings of many of the available Aesop's Fables, divided into categories based on themes: Pride, Trickery, Greed, Quarrels, Friendship, Cunning, and Retorts. This arrangement encourages the reader to be conscious of the messages within the sto(...)

literary

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America


Mume Fua Zofoa

Weei Nyui Fesha

Many years ago, during the reign of King Fuan Forting, there was a very humble and beautiful queen in the palace called Nah. She was an exemplary queen to her co-queens and a model for so many subsequent queens. She was respectful and, though she was privileged as the first queen of the land, she was often humble and considerate towards the other queens. The king loved her so much because she had a good heart. One day, she slept and did not wake up. The king was so worried. Thus, he summoned the(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


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


Andrew Thomson, Kathryn Waterfield , Robin Waterfield

Who Was Alexander the Great?

Introduction: Who Was Alexander the Great? begins the work with a novelistic retelling of Alexander's taming of Bucephalus, written in the present tense. King Philip says that Alexander needs a kingdom bigger than Macedon and Alexander goes on to conquer the known world in just 13 years, "No wonder he becomes known as Alexander the Great!" (p. 6). The Son of his Father. A map of Greece and Macedon can be seen at the beginning of chapter 1. It is explained that Alexander was bo(...)

literary

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: United States of America


Joseph Akono Ateba

Why Awae People Marked their Children

In the distant past among the Ewondo people, the myth goes that the wife of God gave birth to a child and the child fell from the sky to the earth. God and His wife came down to look for the child. Before their arrival, they sent a message to the chief priest of the Awae land to announce that their time of arrival would be at mid-night the message also instructed everyone who had a baby aged between 0 - 3 days old to put a mark on the child’s forehead with a sharp object, in order to diffe(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Farkou

Why God and Animals Live away from Humans

Long ago, humans and animals all lived in unity under the earth with Kaang, their supreme god and creator. None of them lacked anything. After some time, Kaang began to plan a world on the surface of the earth where he would move all his creatures. He started by creating a beautiful huge tree whose branches spread across the land. After that, he created other beautiful things and all was ready. Then he made a tunnel into the earth right down to where the humans and animals were. He first took a (...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Mofor Nchinda

Why The God Gave The Man The Cutlass and Woman The Hoe

In the beginning,God created this world.Immediately after creation,He thought everything was over.So he left and went up to live in the sky.He stayed there, stayed thereUntil his absence was noticed on earth.Chaos started.Nothing was going on well;People were quarrelling;People were fighting;Adultery was everywhere;Idleness was everywhere;There was total confusion.People wanted to know how they originated.They started complaining;Cursing themselves and the creator.God heard their worries; God he(...)

oral

COUNTRY: Cameroon


Dennis Nolan, Jane Hyatt Yolen

Wings

Wings can be classified as a picture book, in that Yolen’s written story is accompanied by Nolan’s full page watercolour paintings. But the sophistication of both textual and visual messages makes the work suitable for a mature readership. It tells the story of the craftsman Daedalus. It opens with him living as a celebrated inventor in Athens, before his role in the death of his nephew Talos forces him to go into exile. Making his way to Crete, he is welcomed by the unscrupulous Kin(...)

literary

YEAR: 1990

COUNTRY: United States of America


Margaux Carpentier, Isabel Otter

Wonders of the World. An Interactive Tour of Marvels and Monuments

Wonders of the World is a highly illustrated and well-designed lift-the-flap publication. The book is divided into two main parts. The first presents the seven wonders of the ancient world, the second the wonders of what is referred to as the "modern world", although some of these entries were also built in antiquity. A double-page at the end presents seven natural wonders. Each wonder has a page of its own with one or two flaps and information distributed across an average of fiv(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


Andrew Dettmann, Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Daniel Truly

Young Hercules

The Young Hercules franchise (cf. the 1998 serial of the same name, starring Ryan Gosling) is a spin-off/prequel to the Hercules: the Legendary Journeys franchise. The Young Hercules film also serves as a prequel to the Young Hercules serial (see here) and thus seeks to establish the main characters who appear in this latter production (i.e. Hercules, Iolaus, Jason, Ares, Discord and Cheiron). The narrative of the Young Hercules film is a re-telling of Jason and the Argonauts’ voyage to ob(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert

Young Hercules (Series)

The Young Hercules franchise (cf. the 1998 direct-to-video film of the same name, starring Ian Bohen) is intended as a spin-off/prequel to the Hercules: the Legendary Journeys franchise (henceforth, HTLJ) and its spin-off, Xena: Warrior Princess (XWP). The Young Hercules television serial follows on from the film’s conclusion, exploring Hercules’ adventures as a teenager during his time at the academy of the centaur Cheiron (a sort of training/finishing school for warriors and heroes(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: New Zealand United States of America


John Dougherty , Georgien Overwater

Zeus on the Loose

In this chapter-book with illustrations, a boy named Alex accidentally summons Zeus, king of the gods, into his life, when he makes a ‘temple (out of loo rolls and a cornflakes box),’ as a class project.  In the style of comic intrusion fantasy, Zeus causes mayhem.  He demands sacrifices from Alex as his ‘high priest’ in the form of midnight bacon sandwiche. He borrows Alex’s mother’s best night dress when he spills coffee on his robes, transforming (...)

literary

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: United Kingdom


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


John Mackey, Sabrina Malcolm

Zeustian Logic

This is a YA novel in which tales of Classical myth (in connection with astronomy) help a New Zealand teenager come to terms with his father’s death. Zeustian Logic is about a family trying to deal with their grief, after the death of their father and husband. The novel is set in Wellington, New Zealand. Its protagonist is 14-year-old schoolboy and hobby astronomer Tuttle Theodorus, whose father Jamie has died in a mountaineering accident on Mount Everest. Jamie was a famous mountaineer an(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: New Zealand