Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Ursula Dubosarsky

The foreword of Ursula Dubosarsky’s Black Sails, White Sails tells the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, of how Theseus slays the Minotaur that was menacing his people, the Athenians. Theseus persuades his father, Aegeus, to let him kill the monster, but forgets to let his father know of his success by hoisting the white sails on his ship and dropping his black sails. When Aegeus sights Theseus’ ship approaching, black sails raised, Aegeus assumes the worst, that his son has fa(...)

literary

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aegeus Archaeology Ariadne Minos Minotaur Theseus

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

TAGS: Archaeology Athens Centaur(s) Chronos Delphi Gods Heracles Hercules Nike Sphinx Titans

Geoffrey McSkimming

Cairo Jim and the Chaos from Crete (Cairo Jim, 10)

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 Chaos from Crete is located in mid-to-late 20th-century Knossos, in Crete. It is a whimsical adventure in which the hero and his companions (a talking macaw named Doris and a telepathic wonder-camel named Brenda) travel to the Palace of Knossos after learning tha(...)

literary

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archaeology Daedalus Knossos Labyrinth Minoan Civilization Minos Minotaur Poseidon Talos (Automaton) Theseus Zeus

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

TAGS: Agrigento Archaeology Gods Orpheus Pompeii Roman Gods Telamon

Jan Parandowski

From the Ancient World [Z antycznego świata]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp. This is a collection of short, varied essays introducing young readers to the fascinating world of Antiquity. Topics are very diverse, ranging from archaeology, Greek art, culture, architecture, history, and the Roman Empir(...)

literary

YEAR: 1958

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Alexander the Great Ancient Greece Aqueducts Archaeology Architecture Athens Caesar Cicero Colosseum Democracy Gladiator Games Greek History Homer Latin (Language) Roman Baths Roman Empire Roman History Roman Republic Rome

Ahn Do , Chris Wahl

Golden Unicorn (Rise of the Mythix, 1)

Billionaire William James is the ‘Soul Collector,’ enabled by ‘Lucifer’s Ring,’ to capture the souls of unusual or interesting people and frame them in his art collection. He also collects rare mythological artefacts, such as the Holy Grail, which his resident archaeologist, Stanley Solomon, finds for him. Stanley is trapped in his employ, because the Soul Collector has captured his wife.But when he finds a rare manuscript, he reads in it the prophecies of a soothsa(...)

literary

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archaeology Demeter Griffins / Gryphons Hades Minotaur Persephone

Ahn Do , Chris Wahl

Mighty Minotaur (Rise of the Mythix, 2)

The sequel to Rise of the Mythix (I): Golden Unicorn, this volume continues the adventures of Kelly Swift (the "unicorn" of the title), who with the archaeologist Stanley Solomon tries to outwit the evil billionaire William James who dominates society and has the power to suck the souls out of his victims and imprison them in paintings in his mansion. In the previous volume, William James has trapped Kelly’s mother. Kelly and Stanley are now on the run, while William’s forc(...)

literary

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archaeology Minotaur Unicorn (hippos monokeras)

Heinrich Joachim Friedrich Karl Hans Stoll

The Dream of Troy [Der Traum von Troja]

The novel tells the story of the life and work of Heinrich Schliemann, whose entire life was dedicated to the realisation of his childhood dream – discovering the city of Troy and proving that Homer was not just a storyteller but also a reliable source of historical truth. The novel is divided into seven books of three chapters and ends with a concluding epilogue.Book one, Der Traum eines Dorfjungen [The dream of a village boy], depicts Heinrich’s childhood at the Ankershagen vicarag(...)

literary

YEAR: 1956

COUNTRY: Germany

TAGS: Agamemnon Archaeology Athens Crete Helen Homer Iliad Ithaca Mycenae Odysseus / Ulysses Odyssey Orchomenus Priam Tiryns Trojan War Troy

Robert Byrd, Laura Amy Schlitz

The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy

Schlitz’ book gives an account of the life of Heinrich Schliemann, the infamous figure who discovered – and also destroyed – the ancient city of Troy. It reveals how Schliemann made his fortune, and how he remade the story of his life. Schlitz challenges the veracity of Schliemann’s own biography, and explores the psychology of a man who loved stories so much that "he wanted them to be true" (p. 2). One of nine children, and the eldest surviving son, Schlie(...)

literary

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Archaeology Bronze Age Homer Iliad Mycenae Odyssey Troy

Małgorzata Karkowska , Monika Warneńska

We’ll Meet on Atlantis [Spotkamy się na Atlantydzie]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue (accessed: June 11, 2021), Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp., section by Helena Płotek, pp. 406–407.The story begins when the young protagonist Alekos Dragumis is travelling to Greece by train. He is the son of a deceased Greek father and a Polish moth(...)

literary

YEAR: 1988

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Achilles Acropolis Archaeology Architecture Ariadne's Thread Athens Atlantis Faras Greece Greek Art Greek History Homer Nike Zeus