Here is the perfect introduction to The Iliad and The Odyssey, two of the cornerstones of Western literature. All of the glories of Homer's world--from the mysterious Wooden Horse to Helen, whose beauty launched a thousand ships, to the fearsome one-eyed Cyclops--are here, refashioned into one seamless tale of adventure by three-time Newbery Honor winner Padraic Colum. Beautifully enhanced by Barry Moser's twelve bold, evocative color plates, this handsome book will stir the imagination of young and old alike.
Travel back to a mythical time when Achilles, aided by the gods, waged war against the Trojans. And join Odysseus on his journey through murky waters, facing obstacles like the terrifying Scylla and whirring Charybdis, the beautiful enchantress Circe, and the land of the raging Cyclôpes. Using narrative threads fromThe IliadandThe Odyssey,Padraic Colum weaves a stunning adventure with all the drama and power that Homer intended.
The story of Helen and the judgement of Paris, of the gathering Heroes and the seige of Troy; of Achilles and his vulnerable heel, reared by the Centaur on wild honey and the marrow of lions; of Odysseus, the last of the Heroes, his plan for the wooden Horse and his many adventures on his long journey home to Greece. Also contains a beautiful introduction by best-selling author Michelle Paver, and additional endmatter including an author profile, who's who, activities, glossary and more.
Set sail with Odysseus as he fights to find his way back home after the brutal Trojan War. On his ten year journey, he endures harrowing ordeals, battles monsters and learns what it means to be a hero. Award-winning professional storytellers Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden’s gripping retelling breathes new life into Homer’s classic The Odyssey.
The Iliad dealing with the final stages of the Trojan War and The Odyssey with return and aftermath were central to the Classical Greeks' self identity and world view. Epic poems attributed to Homer, they underpinned ideas about heroism, masculinity and identity; about glory, sacrifice and the pity of war; about what makes life worth living. From Achilles, Patroclus and Agamemnon in the Greek camp, Hektor, Paris and Helen in Troy's citadel, the drama of the battlefield and the gods looking on, to Odysseus' adventures and vengeful return - Jan Parker here offers the ideal companion to exploring key events, characters and major themes. A book-by-book synopsis and commentary discuss the heroes' relationships, values and psychology and the narratives' shimmering presentation of war, its victims and the challenges of return and reintegration. Essays set the epics in their historical context and trace the key terms; the 'Journey Home from War' continues with 'Afterstories' of both heroes and their women. Whether you've always wanted to go deeper into these extraordinary works or are coming to them for the first time, The Iliad and the Odyssey: The Trojan War, Tragedy and Aftermath will help you understand and enjoy Homer's monumentally important work.
When NPR contributor Scott Huler made one more attempt to get through James Joyce’s Ulysses, he had no idea it would launch an obsession with the book’s inspiration: the ancient Greek epic The Odyssey and the lonely homebound journey of its Everyman hero, Odysseus. No-Man’s Lands is Huler’s funny and touching exploration of the life lessons embedded within The Odyssey, a legendary tale of wandering and longing that could be read as a veritable guidebook for middle-aged men everywhere. At age forty-four, with his first child on the way, Huler felt an instant bond with Odysseus, who fought for some twenty years against formidable difficulties to return home to his beloved wife and son. In reading The Odyssey, Huler saw the chance to experience a great vicarious adventure as well as the opportunity to assess the man he had become and embrace the imminent arrival of both middle age and parenthood. But Huler realized that it wasn’t enough to simply read the words on the page—he needed to live Odysseus’s odyssey, to visit the exotic destinations that make Homer’s story so timeless. And so an ambitious pilgrimage was born . . . traveling the entire length of Odysseus’s two-decade journey. In six months. Huler doggedly retraced Odysseus’s every step, from the ancient ruins of Troy to his ultimate destination in Ithaca. On the way, he discovers the Cyclops’s Sicilian cave, visits the land of the dead in Italy, ponders the lotus from a Tunisian resort, and paddles a rented kayak between Scylla and Charybdis and lives to tell the tale. He writes of how and why the lessons of The Odyssey—the perils of ambition, the emptiness of glory, the value of love and family—continue to resonate so deeply with readers thousands of years later. And as he finally closes in on Odysseus’s final destination, he learns to fully appreciate what Homer has been saying all along: the greatest adventures of all are the ones that bring us home to those we love. Part travelogue, part memoir, and part critical reading of the greatest adventure epic ever written, No-Man’s Lands is an extraordinary description of two journeys—one ancient, one contemporary—and reveals what The Odyssey can teach us about being better bosses, better teachers, better parents, and better people.
With the Trojan War over, Odysseus heads home, and the real challenge now begins in this historical adventure by the author of The Oracles of Troy. The armies of Troy have been defeated, and the city lies in ruins. His oath fulfilled, Odysseus can at last sail for Ithaca and the long-awaited reunion with his family. But the gods, who were once his allies, have turned against him. Exiled with the warrior Eperitus, he is thrust into a world of seductive demi-gods and man-eating monsters. As they struggle from one supernatural encounter to another, never knowing what the next landfall will bring, their chances of ever returning home grow fainter. Tensions reach breaking point between Odysseus and his crew. Even the faithful Eperitus’s loyalties are divided. Eventually only one hope remains. For Odysseus to see his wife and son again, he must tread the paths of the dead and descend into the pits of Hell itself . . . Praise for The Voyage of Odysseus: “From one adventure to another the pace never lets up. Like Homer’s original, Glyn Iliffe’s series is destined to become a classic!” —Steven McKay, author of the Warrior Druid of Britain series
Achilles and Ajax are dead and the hope of the Greeks has died with them, leaving the army restless for their homes and threatening rebellion. Then a series of oracles appears, utterances from the gods that must be fulfilled if Troy is to be defeated and the war brought to an end. Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks, knows that only one man has the courage and intelligence to complete the tasks set by the Olympians: Odysseus, king of Ithaca. From an island haunted by a vengeful madman to a forsaken tomb and its deadly guardian, from the palace of a hostile king to the sacred heart of Troy itself, Odysseus and his friend Eperitus must follow the trail toward the greatest deception of all time. The Trojan horse. Glyn Iliffe previously published three books in the series with Pan Macmillan and achieved worldwide sales in excess of 80,000 copies. Mereo Books will now publish the fourth book in the series which will be released in late 2014.
