The Everything Classical Mythology Book

by Conner, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9781440502408
• ISBN10: 1440502404
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-10
• Publisher: Everything

Summary

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 the Chimera With an easy reference chart of the gods and goddesses and their interrelations, this action-packed book helps you bring classical mythology to life!

Author Biography

Nancy Conner, PhD (Ithaca, NY) is a freelance writer, academic, and novelist. As a professor at Brown University, Auburn University, and Phillips Academy, she taught a wide range of classes in early literature and mythology, including the popular course Monsters and Heroes. Nancy has written books for the Missing Manuals series and 4 Everyone series, as well as custom corporate publications for the Dummies series. Connor also has two fantasy novels coming out, one in 2010 and the other in 2011.

Table of Contents

The Top Ten Most Intriguing Myths	p. x
Introduction	p. xi
What Are Myths For?	p. 1
What Is a Myth?	p. 2
The Sacred Myth	p. 4
Answering the Unknown	p. 6
Establishing Order	p. 8
Emotion Overload	p. 10
The Ideal	p. 11
Storytelling	p. 13
Classical Myth-Makers	p. 17
Homer: The Blind Bard	p. 18
Hesiod: Morals Can Be Fun	p. 19
Aeschylus: Tragic Justice	p. 21
Sophocles: The Greatest Tragedian?	p. 23
Euripides: The Dramatist as Philosopher	p. 24
Virgil: Rome's National Poet	p. 26
Ovid: The More Things Changeà	p. 27
Other Storytellers You Should Know	p. 29
Out of Chaos: Creation	p. 31
In the Beginning Was Chaos	p. 32
Giving Personality to Nature	p. 33
And Then There Was Man	p. 35
Prometheus and the Gift of Fire	p. 35
Welcoming the Woman	p. 36
Sun, Moon, and Dawn	p. 37
The World and Humanity's Place in It	p. 39
The Children of Mother Earth	p. 41
Children of Pontus	p. 42
The Hundred-Handed Ones	p. 44
One-Eyed Wonders	p. 44
Titanic Offspring	p. 45
Uranus Overthrown	p. 46
Cronus Crowned as Ruler	p. 47
Zeus's Childhood	p. 48
The Battle with the Titans	p. 49
Zeus Takes Charge	p. 50
Introducing the Olympians	p. 53
The Original Six	p. 54
A Dozen Distinguished Deities	p. 55
Mount Olympus	p. 59
Law and Order, Olympian Style	p. 60
Mutiny on Mount Olympus	p. 61
War with the Giants	p. 63
The Scariest Monster of All	p. 64
Zeus and Hera: A Marriage Made in Heaven	p. 67
The Seventh Lover	p. 68
A Grand Wedding	p. 70
The Children of Zeus and Hera	p. 71
Zeus's Love Affairs	p. 72
The Wrath of Hera	p. 77
A Lover's Spat	p. 78
Poseidon: Sovereign of the Sea	p. 79
The Power of Poseidon	p. 80
That City Is Mine!	p. 80
Wanted: One Queen	p. 82
Poseidon's Lovers	p. 84
Poseidon and the Trojans	p. 87
Poseidon Could Be a Nice Guy, Too (Well, Sometimes)	p. 88
The Dark Prince	p. 91
A Private God	p. 92
The Abduction of Persephone	p. 92
The House of Hades	p. 93
The Main Regions of the Underworld	p. 95
The Judges and the Judged	p. 97
Escaping Death	p. 98
Chasing the Secrets of the Underworld	p. 102
Demeter and Hestia: Home Is Where the Heart Is	p. 103
Demeter	p. 104
Demeter's Love Affairs	p. 105
Wandering the Countryside	p. 107
Still a Mystery: Eleusinian Rites	p. 109
Hestia Honored	p. 109
Hestia's Unsuitable Suitors	p. 110
The Vestal Virgins	p. 111
Ares and the Art of War	p. 115
A Detestable Deity	p. 116
The God of War in Love	p. 117
Amazon Warriors	p. 120
Sibling Rivalry: Ares Versus Athena	p. 122
Tried for Murder	p. 123
Ares Imprisoned	p. 124
Athena: The Peaceful Warrior	p. 127
The Birth of Athena	p. 128
Almighty Athena	p. 128
Athenian Cults	p. 129
Athena the Inventor	p. 131
A Hero's Best Friend	p. 131
Athena's Other Stories	p. 134
Artemis: The Thrill of the Hunt	p. 137
Lady of the Wild	p. 138
An Overprotective Daughter	p. 139
Artemis Takes Offense	p. 140
The Eternal Virgin	p. 143
The Many Deaths of Orion	p. 144
Wild but Loyal	p. 145
Apollo: A (Mostly) Civilized God	p. 147
Tall, Dark, and Handsome	p. 148
God of Music	p. 148
The Playboy	p. 149
Unlucky in Love	p. 151
Tragic Love	p. 154
A Mortal's Slave	p. 155
Delphi: Pythian Games and a Tricky Oracle	p. 157
Hermes: Swift as the Wind	p. 159
A Child's First Prank	p. 160
Take a Message	p. 162
Reconciling with Hera	p. 164
More Than a Messenger	p. 164
Bad-Boy Attraction	p. 166
A God of Many Myths	p. 168
Erotic Aphrodite and Hardworking Hephaestus	p. 169
The Queen of Hearts	p. 170
A Master Craftsman	p. 171
Beauty and the Beast	p. 173
A Goddess in Love	p. 174
Love's Helping Hand	p. 177
Partying with Dionysus	p. 179
The Twice-Born God	p. 180
Dionysus Driven Mad	p. 181
The Rites of Dionysus	p. 182
Dionysus Takes a Wife	p. 183
Madness Unleashed	p. 183
The Golden Touch	p. 186
Joining the Olympians	p. 187
The Lesser Gods	p. 189
The Muses: Goddesses of the Arts	p. 190
The Charites: Beauty, Grace, and Friendship	p. 191
The Satyrs: Lusty Appetites	p. 191
The Nymphs: Beautiful Spirits of Nature	p. 192
Pan: God of Woods and Pastures	p. 193
Hecate: Titaness with an Attitude	p. 194
Triton: Son of Poseidon	p. 196
Lesser, but Not Least	p. 197
Monster Madness	p. 199
Chimaera: Fire-Breathing and Merciless	p. 200
Scylla: Beauty Transformed to Terror	p. 201
The Minotaur: Monster in a Maze	p. 202
The Sphinx: Riddle Me This	p. 204
Cacus Versus Heracles	p. 205
Centaurs: Equine Depravity	p. 206
More Mythological Monsters	p. 206
The Leading Men of Classical Mythology	p. 209
What Made a Hero?	p. 210
Heracles	p. 211
Perseus	p. 215
Jason	p. 217
Theseus	p. 220
Achilles	p. 223
Odysseus	p. 224
Other Heroes You Should Know	p. 229
The Trojan War	p. 231
Causes of the War	p. 232
Enter the Olympians	p. 234
Heroes of the War	p. 235
The Tenth Year	p. 237
The Fall of Troy	p. 238
The Gods Are Not Pleased	p. 240
When in Romeà	p. 243
Greek Versus Roman	p. 244
Aeneas's Journey to Italy	p. 244
Origins of the Roman People	p. 247
Peace Disrupted	p. 247
Founding Rome	p. 249
The Age of Kings	p. 251
The Gods and Goddesses Live On	p. 255
Myths in Everyday Life	p. 256
Myths in Literature	p. 259
Myths in Art	p. 262
Myths in Music	p. 264
Myths in Movies	p. 264
Myths in Popular Culture	p. 265
Cast of Characters	p. 267
Family Tree of the Greek Gods	p. 282
Resources	p. 284
Index	p. 286
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