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The Top Ten Most Intriguing Myths x
Introduction xi
1 What Are Myths For? 1
What Is a Myth? 2
The Sacred Myth 4
Answering the Unknown 6
Establishing Order 8
Emotion Overload 10
The Ideal 11
Storytelling 13
2 Classical Myth-Makers 17
Homer: The Blind Bard 18
Hesiod: Morals Can Be Fun 19
Aeschylus: Tragic Justice 21
Sophocles: The Greatest Tragedian? 23
Euripides: The Dramatist as Philosopher 24
Virgil: Rome's National Poet 26
Ovid: The More Things Change… 27
Other Storytellers You Should Know 29
3 Out of Chaos: Creation 31
In the Beginning Was Chaos 32
Giving Personality to Nature 33
And Then There Was Man 35
Prometheus and the Gift of Fire 35
Welcoming the Woman 36
Sun, Moon, and Dawn 37
The World and Humanity's Place in It 39
4 The Children of Mother Earth 41
Children of Pontus 42
The Hundred-Handed Ones 44
One-Eyed Wonders 44
Titanic Offspring 45
Uranus Overthrown 46
Cronus Crowned as Ruler 47
Zeus's Childhood 48
The Battle with the Titans 49
Zeus Takes Charge 50
5 Introducing the Olympians 53
The Original Six 54
A Dozen Distinguished Deities 55
Mount Olympus 59
Law and Order, Olympian Style 60
Mutiny on Mount Olympus 61
War with the Giants 63
The Scariest Monster of All 64
6 Zeus and Hera: A Marriage Made in Heaven 67
The Seventh Lover 68
A Grand Wedding 70
The Children of Zeus and Hera 71
Zeus's Love Affairs 72
The Wrath of Hera 77
A Lover's Spat 78
7 Poseidon: Sovereign of the Sea 79
The Power of Poseidon 80
That City Is Mine! 80
Wanted: One Queen 82
Poseidon's Lovers 84
Poseidon and the Trojans 87
Poseidon Could Be aNice Guy, Too (Well, Sometimes) 88
8 The Dark Prince 91
A Private God 92
The Abduction of Persephone 92
The House of Hades 93
The Main Regions of the Underworld 95
The Judges and the Judged 97
Escaping Death 98
Chasing the Secrets of the Underworld 102
9 Demeter and Hestia: Home Is Where the Heart Is 103
Demeter 104
Demeter's Love Affairs 105
Wandering the Countryside 107
Still a Mystery: Eleusinian Rites 109
Hestia Honored 109
Hestia's Unsuitable Suitors 110
The Vestal Virgins 111
10 Ares and the Art of War 115
A Detestable Deity 116
The God of War in Love 117
Amazon Warriors 120
Sibling Rivalry: Ares Versus Athena 122
Tried for Murder 123
Ares Imprisoned 124
11 Athena: The Peaceful Warrior 127
The Birth of Athena 128
Almighty Athena 128
Athenian Cults 129
Athena the Inventor 131
A Hero's Best Friend 131
Athena's Other Stories 134
12 Artemis: The Thrill of the Hunt 137
Lady of the Wild 138
An Overprotective Daughter 139
Artemis Takes Offense 140
The Eternal Virgin 143
The Many Deaths of Orion 144
Wild but Loyal 145
13 Apollo: A (Mostly) Civilized God 147
Tall, Dark, and Handsome 148
God of Music 148
The Playboy 149
Unlucky in Love 151
Tragic Love 154
A Mortal's Slave 155
Delphi: Pythian Games and a Tricky Oracle 157
14 Hermes: Swift as the Wind 159
A Child's First Prank 160
Take a Message 162
Reconciling with Hera 164
More Than a Messenger 164
Bad-Boy Attraction 166
A God of Many Myths 168
15 Erotic Aphrodite and Hardworking Hephaestus 169
The Queen of Hearts 170
A Master Craftsman 171
Beauty and the Beast 173
A Goddess in Love 174
Love's Helping Hand 177
16 Partying with Dionysus 179
The Twice-Born God 180
Dionysus Driven Mad 181
The Rites of Dionysus 182
Dionysus Takes a Wife 183
Madness Unleashed 183
The Golden Touch 186
Joining the Olympians 187
17 The Lesser Gods 189
The Muses: Goddesses of the Arts 190
The Charites: Beauty, Grace, and Friendship 191
The Satyrs: Lusty Appetites 191
The Nymphs: Beautiful Spirits of Nature 192
Pan: God of Woods and Pastures 193
Hecate: Titaness with an Attitude 194
Triton: Son of Poseidon 196
Lesser, but Not Least 197
18 Monster Madness 199
Chimaera: Fire-Breathing and Merciless 200
Scylla: Beauty Transformed to Terror 201
The Minotaur: Monster in a Maze 202
The Sphinx: Riddle Me This 204
Cacus Versus Heracles 205
Centaurs: Equine Depravity 206
More Mythological Monsters 206
19 The Leading Men of Classical Mythology 209
What Made a Hero? 210
Heracles 211
Perseus 215
Jason 217
Theseus 220
Achilles 223
Odysseus 224
Other Heroes You Should Know 229
20 The Trojan War 231
Causes of the War 232
Enter the Olympians 234
Heroes of the War 235
The Tenth Year 237
The Fall of Troy 238
The Gods Are Not Pleased 240
21 When in Rome… 243
Greek Versus Roman 244
Aeneas's Journey to Italy 244
Origins of the Roman People 247
Peace Disrupted 247
Founding Rome 249
The Age of Kings 251
22 The Gods and Goddesses Live On 255
Myths in Everyday Life 256
Myths in Literature 259
Myths in Art 262
Myths in Music 264
Myths in Movies 264
Myths in Popular Culture 265
Appendix A Cast of Characters 267
Appendix B Family Tree of the Greek Gods 282
Appendix C Resources 284
Index 286
Anonymous
Posted January 7, 2011
great for ay young ready who is into percy jackson (i do not own percy jackson in any way
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Overview
Romance, betrayal, passion, tragedy, violence, and scandal.No, it's not the latest reality TV search for love--it's classical mythology. For years, people have turned to the ancient Greek and Roman myths for entertaining reading, unbelievable storylines, unique characters, and unparalleled drama. This guide explains the great stories and how they still influence literature, entertainment, and everyday life. From heroes and heroines to monsters and villains, this entertaining guide covers it all. Inside, you will learn how: The Greeks defeated the Titans; Odysseus tricked the Cyclops; Hercules accomplished the twelve labors; Peruses slew Medusa; The Greeks bested the Trojans; Hades abducted Persephone; Bellerophon killed