The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold

Description

The Greek Myths contains some of the most thrilling, romantic, and unforgettable stories in all human history. From Achilles rampant on the fields of Troy, to the gods at sport on Mount Olympus; from Icarus flying too close to the sun, to the superhuman feats of Heracles, Theseus, and the wily Odysseus, these timeless tales exert an eternal fascination and inspiration that have endured for millennia and influenced cultures from ancient to modern. Beginning at the dawn of human civilization, when the Titan Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and offered mankind hope, the reader is immediately immersed in the majestic, magical, and mythical world of the Greek gods and heroes. As the tales unfold, renowned classicist Robin Waterfield, joined by his wife, writer Kathryn Waterfield, creates a sweeping panorama of the romance, intrigues, heroism, humour, sensuality, and brutality of the Greek myths and legends. The terrible curse that plagued the royal houses of Mycenae and Thebes, Jason and the golden fleece, Perseus and the dread Gorgon, the wooden horse and the sack of Troy - these amazing stories have influenced art and literature from the Iron Age to the present day. And far from being just a treasure trove of amazing tales, The Greek Myths is a catalogue of Greek myth in art through the ages, and a notable work of literature in its own right.

Robin Waterfield is an internationally acclaimed scholar and author, whose publications range from abstruse academic articles to children's fiction. He has worked as a lecturer, editor and publisher before taking up writing full time. He has about forty books to his credit, with most of his later work cantering on academic works aimed at intelligent lay readers. His most recent books are Xenophon's Retreat: Greece, Persia and the End of the Golden Age (Faber; Harvard) and Why Socrates Died (Faber; Norton; McLeland & Stewart). Kathryn Waterfield (Dunathan) is a writer specializing in Greek history. Formerly with the University of South Florida and the Tampa Museum of Art, she now makes her home with husband, classicist Robin Waterfield, in the remote southern Peloponnese in Greece. The Greek Myths is the Waterfields' first collaboration.