Mythology

Hercules, with all the attributes of a classical hero (i.e., virgin birth, danger in childhood, trip(s) to fantastic places, descent to the underworld, thaumaturgy, closeness to a deity, philanthropic orientation, and final death followed by deification) is the subject of Professor Kirby's story developed in the first person to inform and delight all of us interested in this classical hero who represents the universal aspirations of the mortal human race and foreshadows the euhemeristic attributes of Christ.

Designed for students unfamiliar with the classical world, The Clay-footed SuperHeroes provides a very accessible introduction to the SuperHeroes of classical mythology including such luminaries as Jason, Theseus, Heracles, Odysseus, and Aeneas. Student and general reader alike will enjoy Williams' wry sense of humor and her appreciation for the improbable. This book is an excellent text of manageable size and complexity for students beginning their study of literature, the humanities, or Latin and Greek. General readers will be pleased to acquire the foundation necessary to understand these stories which have so influenced art and literature through the ages.

The longing stretch toward the infinite . . . the reluctant embrace of the temporal . . . this is the eternal lot of mankind; this is The Epic of Gilgamesh. Born in the cradle of civilization over 4,000 years ago, literature's first chronicle of man's search for meaning continues to intrigue us with its universal themes

The longing stretch toward the infinite . . . the reluctant embrace of the temporal. This is the eternal lot of mankind. This is The Epic of Gilgamesh. Our revised 2nd edition of mankind's first epic features a lucid historical and cultural introduction by Dr. Robert D. Biggs, a new interpretive essay on the themes of Gilgamesh by Dr. James G. Keenan and their echoes in other literature, and the ancient world as well as original illustrations.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the world's oldest known epics—it predates Homer by several centuries and is recognized as seminal to the cultural history of the Ancient Near East. Interpretation and decipherment of the story of Gilgamesh—fragmentary and contradictory as its several variants are—has been a monumental scholarly task, spanning more than a century . . . until Jeffrey Tigay teased out the epic's evolution. In this volume, Tigay traces the development of the composition of The Gilgamesh Epic over nearly two millennia and through the several languages in which it has been transmitted. The result is a study both comprehensive in breadth and impressive in methodology. The author breaks from his scholarly predecessors in relying on documented textual evidence rather than on critical analysis and hypotheses.

Ancient myths about watery chaos uniquely transcend time and culture to speak to the universal human condition as expression to the hopes, aspirations and fears that have defined—for ancient thinkers as well as modern scientists—what it means to be human in a chaotic world.

The Early Middle Ages of Western Europe, from AD 400 to 1000, was a boiling cauldron which bubbled over and impacted every corner of the world. Organized both by chronology and by geography, this lively book, with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek, dives fearlessly into that confused and confusing period, tracing the history of each century, beginning in North Africa and then proceeding around the Mediterranean Sea to Spain, Britain, France,Germany and the Low Countries, ending in Italy.

Helen's face launched a thousand ships, to say nothing of countless books, dramas, poems, paintings, and operas. She is arguably the most notorious woman in Western culture. What makes her so engaging, so consequential? Like an ancient wall layered with millennia of graffiti, Helen preserves the human record. Her story and our story are not to be plied apart. She is woman as we have idealized, worshipped, slandered, celebrated, constructed and deconstructed her. Helen, for better or for worse, in all her metamorphoses, represents the complex, intact fossil record of woman in Western culture. The story of Helen is the story of woman.

A very accessible introduction to classical mythology, The Original Dysfunctional Family: Basic Classical Mythology for the New Millennium presents the key stories of the twelve Olympians as well as those of the two gods associated with the fruits of the harvest, Demeter and Dionysus. The Greek version of each Olympian is presented first followed by the Roman adaptation. Chock-full of information, this book provides a sound foundation for the beginning student's further studies in culture, literature, and history. The general reader will find Williams' style engaging.

Roman historians and authors recount the tales of many Roman youth who had influence—for better or for worse—upon their society and therefore upon subsequent history. Ascanius, Camilla, Cloelia, Alexander the boy Emperor, and many more are highlighted in 24 entertaining chapters.