The Book of Greek and Roman Folktales, Legends, and Myths

Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Contents -- List of Illustrations and Tables -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- The Kinds of Ancient Story -- The Present Book -- Chapter 1: Kings and Princesses -- 1. Cupid and Psyche -- 2. The Treasury of Rhampsinitos -- 3. The Pharaoh and the Courtesan -- Chapter 2: Gods and Ghosts -- Divine Epiphanies -- 4. The Muses Appear to Hesiod -- 5. The Muses Appear to Archilochos -- 6. Thamyris Competes against the Muses -- 7. Stesichoros's Palinode -- 8. Asklepios Heals Pandaros -- 9. Asklepios Reveals Secrets of the Gods -- 10. Athena Saves the Lindians -- 11. The Altar of the Vulture God -- 12. A Fortune in Water -- 13. The Rescue of Simonides -- Lower Mythology -- 14. Narcissus -- 15. Rhoikos and the Nymph -- 16. "The Great God Pan Is Dead!"--17. Bogies -- Shape-Changers -- 18. The Werewolf -- 19. The Empousa -- Ghosts -- 20. Philinnion -- 21. The Last Princess at Troy -- 22. The Grateful Dead Man -- 23. Murder at the Inn -- 24. Letter from the Middle of the Earth -- 25. The Haunted House -- 26. The Haunted Baths -- 27. The Haunted Battlefield -- 28. The Hero of Temesa -- 29. Periander's Wife -- Early Wonder-Workers -- 30. Abaris the Hyperborean -- 31. Aristeas of Prokonnesos -- 32. Hermotimos of Klazomenai -- 33. Epimenides of Crete -- 34. Pherekydes of Syros -- 35. Pythagoras -- Transmigration of Souls -- 36. Pythagoras Remembers an Earlier Life -- 37. Pythagoras Discerns a Friend's Soul in a Dog -- 38. Empedokles Recalls His Earlier Lives -- 39. The Woman Who Remembers Too Much -- Magicians and Witches -- 40. Pases the Magician -- 41. Attack by Star-Stroke -- 42. A Woman Dies from Spells -- 43. The Soul-Drawing Wand -- 44. Apollonios Cures a Plague -- 45. The Magician's Apprentice -- 46. Evil Landladies -- Divination and Seers -- 47. The Language of Birds The first anthology ever to present the entire range of ancient Greek and Roman stories--from myths and fairy tales to jokes. Captured centaurs and satyrs, talking animals, people who suddenly change sex, men who give birth, the temporarily insane and the permanently thick-witted, delicate sensualists, incompetent seers, a woman who remembers too much, a man who cannot laugh--these are just some of the colorful characters who feature in the unforgettable stories that ancient Greeks and Romans told in their daily lives. Together they created an incredibly rich body of popular oral stories that include, but range well beyond, mythology--from heroic legends, fairy tales, and fables to ghost stories, urban legends, and jokes. This unique anthology presents the largest collection of these tales ever assembled. Featuring nearly four hundred stories in authoritative and highly readable translations, this is the first book to offer a representative selection of the entire range of traditional classical storytelling. Set mostly in the world of humans, not gods, these stories focus on figures such as lovers, tricksters, philosophers, merchants, rulers, athletes, artists, and soldiers. The narratives range from the well-known--for example, Cupid and Psyche, Diogenes and his lantern, and the tortoise and the hare--to lesser-known tales that deserve wider attention. Entertaining and fascinating, they offer a unique window into the fantasies, anxieties, humor, and passions of the people who told them. Complete with beautiful illustrations by Glynnis Fawkes, a comprehensive introduction, notes, and more, this one-of-a-kind anthology will delight general readers as well as students of classics, fairy tales, and folklore. Edited, Translated, And Introduced By William Hansen ; With Illustrations By Glynnis Fawkes. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.