Gods and heroes : the story of Greek mythology

The travelling storyteller combined many talents: scholar, educator, linguist, poet and musician. He showed learning, curiosity and judgement, but most of all he could not resist a good story. True to their original telling and stripped of the sanitization of later centuries, these powerful tales make compelling reading. The traveller's tales are shaped by the landscape, character, tradition and weather of the stops along his journey: standing below the snow-streaked, cloud-capped massif of Olympus, he feels the awe and majesty of the gods. In the wilderness of Thessaly, menaced by bears.;Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Map; PART ONE -- THE HEAVENLY ONES; 1 The Ancient Ones; 2 The Struggle; 3 Walking the Country of the Gods; 4 The Summit; 5 The Hour of the Women; 6 Mysteries; PART TWO -- HEROES IN THE LANDS OF THE GODS; 7 Life and Death; 8 Foundations; 9 Homeland; 10 The Hero of the Gods; 11 The Voyagers; 12 The Tale of Troy; 13 Wandering Men; Index. The Travelling Storyteller Combined Many Talents: Scholar, Educator, Linguist, Poet And Musician. He Showed Learning, Curiosity And Judgement, But Most Of All He Could Not Resist A Good Story. True To Their Original Telling And Stripped Of The Sanitization Of Later Centuries, These Powerful Tales Make Compelling Reading. The Traveller's Tales Are Shaped By The Landscape, Character, Tradition And Weather Of The Stops Along His Journey: Standing Below The Snow-streaked, Cloud-capped Massif Of Olympus, He Feels The Awe And Majesty Of The Gods. In The Wilderness Of Thessaly, Menaced By Bears And Wolves, He Recognises The Cruel, Barbarian Anger Of Achilles And The Ferocious Extravagance Of Hercules. In Soft Eleusis, Strong Wine At The Day's End Brings Him To The Mysteries Of Dionysus And The Bacchic Frenzy. The Mycenaean Ruins Impress On Him The Workings Of The Hand Of Fate: The Frailty Of Empire, The Waste Of The Ten Year's Trojan War, The Horror Of Agamemnon's Domestic Grief. Under The Illumination Of The Startling Greek Light The Storyteller Interprets For His Listeners The Sense They Have Of Themselves. His Stories Of Myth And Legend Are The Oldest Speculations Of The First Deep-thinking People Of Europe. They Are Also The First And Longest-lasting Entertainments Of The European Imagination. Presents the stories and legends of Ancient Greece in the form in which they were originally told. In the age of Homer the story-tellers spread the myths of gods and heroes throughout an unlettered people in a primitive land. Gods and Heroes presents the stories and legends of Ancient Greece in the form in which they were originally told. Shorn of the accretions and bowdlerizing of later centuries, these powerful tales make compelling reading. Gods and Heroes presents the stories and legends of Ancient Greece in the form in which they were originally told. These stories are among the first and longest-lasting entertainments of the human imagination