The first book to capture a complete picture of the most important of Greek gods in one reliable volume for almost seventy years, this masterly and comprehensive study brings a new-millennium examination of the fascinating god Zeus.Broad in scope, the book looks at myth, art, cult, philosophy, drama, theology and European painting amongst much more, and allows us to take seriously what it was to worship and respect the greatest of Greek gods, and to live through the aftershock of t...

European Paganism provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of ancient pagan religions throughout the European continent.Before there where Christians, the peoples of Europe were pagans. Were they bloodthirsty savages hanging human offerings from trees? Were they happy ecologists, valuing the unpolluted rivers and mountains? In European Paganism Ken Dowden outlines and analyses the diverse aspects of pagan ritual and culture from human sacrifice to pilgrima...

A remarkable number of Greek myths concern the plight of virgins – slaughtered, sacrificed, hanged, transformed into birds, cows, dear, bears, trees, and punished in Hades.Death and the Maiden, first published in 1989, contextualises this mythology in terms of geography, history and culture, and offers a comprehensive theory firmly grounded in an ubiquitous ritual: pubescent girls’ rites of passage. By means of comparative anthropology, it is argued that many local ceremonies are e...

In an innovative sequence of topics, Ken Dowden explores the uses Greeks made of myth and the uses to which we can put myth in recovering the richness of their culture. Most aspects of Greek life and history - including war, religion and sexuality - which are discernable through myth, as well as most modern approaches, are given a context in a book which is designed to be useful, accessible and stimulating.

A Companion to Greek Mythology presents a series of essays that explore the phenomenon of Greek myth from its origins in shared Indo-European story patterns and the Greeks’ contacts with their Eastern Mediterranean neighbours through its development as a shared language and thought-system for the Greco-Roman world.Features essays from a prestigious international team of literary expertsIncludes coverage of Greek myth’s intersection with history, philosophy ...

Light and darkness played an important role beyond the division of time in ancient Greek myth and religion; the contributors to Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion consider its function on both the individual and social level as manifested in modes of thought and behavior and expressed in language, beliefs, ritual, and iconography. The book is divided into five parts: color semantics, appearance and concealment, eye sight/insight, being and beyond, and cult. Each subdivis...

Ancient Greek myths shaped and were shaped by one of the most important culture in the history of the world. Even today, stories such as Oedipus, Narcissus, Odysseus and the Golden Fleece reverberate through our popular culture. This is the ideal introduction to Greek myth. The opening chapter is a detailed background to Greek culture and mythology. From then on , the book explores eleven well-known Greek myths, retelling them in modern English, and teasing out their meanings and cultural ...

The only work of its kind to survive from classical antiquity, the Library of Apollodorus is a unique guide to Greek mythology, from the origins of the universe to the Trojan War. Apollodorus' Library has been used as a source book by classicists from the time of its compilation in the 1st-2nd century BC to the present, influencing writers from antiquity to Robert Graves. It provides a complete history of Greek myth, telling the story of each of the great families of hero...

Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from the Queen of Britain: the rascal-Fool Pocket.This trio of cunning plotters—the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago—have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of sprits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio's beautiful daughter, Portia.But their invitation is, of course...

"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky can actually fly." — The New York Times Book ReviewRachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy after a fateful morning on their Chicago rooftop.Forced to move to a new city, with her strict African American grandmother as her guardian, Rachel is thrust for the first time into a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty...

The #1 New York Times bestselling series!Red Queen, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, is a sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal, perfect for fans of Lauren Robert's Powerless and George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver-blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping b...

The second book in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch)“Stephen King’s superb stay-up-all-night thriller is a sly tale of literary obsession that recalls the themes of his classic 1987 novel Misery” (The Washington Post)—the #1 New York Times bestseller about the power of storytelling, starring the same trio of unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King introduce...