Year: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Marian Cholerek

Bolek and Lolek in Europe [Bolek i Lolek w Europie] (Series, S01E02): In the Kingdom of Poseidon [W królestwie Posejdona]

At the beginning of each episode of the series, Bolek and Lolek study a wall map. This time they decide to travel to Greece. They fly in their own small plane and arrive in Athens, where they visit the Athenian Acropolis. They meet a strange man who somehow seems to be destroying the columns of the Parthenon, but he turns out to be doing the opposite as he works as a renovator. He explains to the boys which factors destroy the ruins the most, and recommends that they should visit the Greek islan(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Apollo Athens Poseidon Pythia

Paul Zindel

Harry and Hortense at Hormone High

Harry and Hortense at Hormone High is the story of Jason Rohr, a teenage schizophrenic who believes that he is the reincarnation of the Greek "god" Icarus. He is convinced he can save the world from apathy and decadence, beginning with the students and staff at his new high school. Jason’s charisma and evangelical enthusiasm impress Harry Hickey, an aspiring writer and the story’s narrator, and his girlfriend Hortense McCoy, who has a passion for psychology. They too long f(...)

literary

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Daedalus Hero(es) Icarus

Bernard Evslin

Hercules

This is a retelling of the myth of Hercules, aimed at young adults in novel format. The book starts with a list of characters of humans/ non humans and a short explanation of each.(...)

literary

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Alcmene Amphitryon Atlas Augean Stables Chiron / Cheiron Deianeira Echidna Eurystheus Geryon Hades Hera Heracles Hercules Hestia Hydra Iole Iphicles Nemean Lion Nereus Nessus Thebes Tiresias Typhon / Typhoeus / Typhaon Zeus

Stanisław Dülz

Olympics with Bolek and Lolek [Olimpiada Bolka i Lolka] (Series S01E12): The Games [Igrzyska]

Bolek and Lolek watch a TV transmission of the ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame and have to wait until the next day to watch the pole vault. Before going to bed Bolek confesses that he dreams of participating in the Games, Lolek, however, would prefer to be in Olympia and watch the ancient games. Then he falls asleep and an image of a swirling spiral signals the beginning of his dream. A Mediterranean landscape with pine trees, cypresses, olive trees and a front of an ancient temple indica(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Morpheus Olympia Olympic Games

Rolan Bykov, Vladimir Zheleznikov

Scarecrow [Чучело (Chuchelo)]

The main character of the film is Lena Bessoltseva, a 6th grade pupil who comes from Moscow to a small Russian town to her grandfather Nikolai Nikolaevich. She lives with him and attends school in the town. Lena is a very open, sincere and honest person. She has a funny, clumsy look. She has long braids, a big mouth and a smile. She is very thin. Her classmates laugh at her and call her a scarecrow, “grinning like a Cheshire cat” [“Рот до ушей, хоть завязочки пришей!&rdquo(...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

TAGS: Antigone Heracles Hercules Hydra Venus

Margaret Mahy

The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance

In The Changeover, 14-year old Laura Chant is the child of divorced parents who are finding new partners. Babysitting her 3-year old brother, Jacko, she goes into the shop of Carmody Braque, an antique dealer who is a lemure, an Ancient Roman vampire. The lemure stamps his image on Jacko’s hand, and takes possession of him, draining him of his life-blood. To defeat the lemure and save her brother, Laura seeks the help of a boy at school whom she knows is interested in her, 17-year-old Sore(...)

literary

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Charon Eleusinian Mysteries Katabasis Lemures Orpheus Persephone Underworld

Rosemary Sutcliff

The Hundredth Feather

In this short story set in a Roman province (likely Britain), Andros, a mosaic-maker, has been hired by a merchant named Cornelius Kaeso to install a mosaic depicting the goddess Juno and her peacock in his dining room. To make the ‘eyes’ on the peacock’s tail, Andros has fashioned 100 pieces from the fragments of a glass vessel that had been accidentally broken by a household slave. As he works on the mosaic, Andros reflects on the aspirations he had to craft mosaics for the w(...)

literary

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Roman Art Roman Britain Roman Empire Roman History