Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Simon Spence

Early Greek Myths (Series, Book 7): Persephone

The Early Greek Myths series of children’s books presents myths for very young readers. The books tell the myths in simple language. Each double page includes a full-page illustration on the left page and a page of text on the right. Stephen Fry provides a forward to Persephone. He explains that myths tell us the stories of inspirational characters and of the way things came to be. Persephone is "one of the most delightful" myths, relating "how young Persephone got lost and (...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Ireland

TAGS: Afterlife Cerberus Ceres Demeter Eleusinian Mysteries Gods Greek art Greek history Greek mythology Hades Hades' Throne Heracles / Herakles Hercules Hermes Hermes' winged boots Katabasis Mythology Persephone Pluto Proserpina Reception of classical antiquity Sisyphus Styx Underworld – souls of the dead Zeus

Justine Fontes, Ron Fontes, Steve Kurth , Barbara Schulz

Graphic Myths and Legends (Series): Demeter and Persephone. Spring Held Hostage

The myth of Demeter and Persephone is retold here to familiarise young people with the myth and with ancient Greek culture more broadly. The myth provides an aeitiology for the seasons. Persephone is abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld. Persephone's mother, the goddess Demeter, searches for her. Demeter mourns her daughter when it transpires that she has been taken to the Underworld, causing harvests to fail and plants to die. A compromise is reached in which Persephone splits her time (...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Aetiology Afterlife Aphrodite Apollo Architecture Athena/ Athene Bacchus Cerberus Charon Demeter Dionysus Divination Eleusinian Mysteries Erinyes Furies Gods Greek mythology Hades Hades' Throne Hecate / Hekate Hera Hermes Hermes' winged boots Katabasis Medusa Minos Minos (King) Mythology Persephone Reception of classical antiquity Underworld Witches Zeus Zeus' Throne

Carole Hénaff, Hugh Lupton, Daniel Morden

Greek Myths: Three Heroic Tales

Greek Myths: Three Heroic Tales is a highly illustrated retelling of the myths of Demeter and Persephone, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Orpheus and Eurydice. There is at least one illustration on almost every facing pair of pages with the illustrations setting the events in antiquity. Each myth is divided into chapters in the manner of a novel.Demeter and Persephone begins by prompting the reader to imagine a tri-part world, Olympus above, the world of mortals, and the realm of the dead below. P(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Afterlife Architecture Ariadne Athena/ Athene Athens Classical studies Crete Daedalus Demeter Dionysus Eleusinian Mysteries Fate Gods Greek music Greek mythology Hades Hades' Throne Hermes Icarus Immortality Katabasis Labyrinth Maze Minos Minotaur Mythology Nymphs Olympus Orpheus Pasiphae Persephone Pluto Proserpina Reception of classical antiquity Theseus Underworld Zeus Zeus' Throne

George O'Connor

Olympians (Series, Book 4): Hades: Lord of the Dead

Hades is the fourth instalment in the Olympians series. The graphic novel, told in a style akin to a modern super-hero comic, introduces the Greek Underworld and tells the myth of Persephone. The story opens in darkness, with words announcing that this is what happens when you die. The narrative follows Hermes, who goes on to the banks of the Styx. With the use of a perspective familiar from first-person computer games, the reader can see "their" shadow in the water; their greeny-white(...)

literary

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Afterlife Apollo Ares Athena/ Athene Ceres Demeter Eleusinian Mysteries Erinyes Furies Gods Greek history Greek mythology Greek philosophy Hades Hades' Throne Hecate / Hekate Hermes Hermes' winged boots Immortality Katabasis Medusa Moirai Olympus Persephone Pluto Proserpina Reincarnation Sisyphus Underworld Witches Zeus

Witold Makowiecki, Robert Pawlicki

The Adventures of Melikles the Greek [Przygody Meliklesa Greka]

The Mediterranean basin during the last years of the reign of the pharaoh Apries (ca 570 BC). Melikles, a 16-year old Greek from Miletus, is kidnapped by Phoenician corsairs and sold as a slave in Carthage. Kallias, a sailor from Syracuse, buys the boy with the help of Nehurabhed, a Median high priest. Nehurabhed heads for Egypt as an envoy to negotiate peace in the conflict between Greeks and Egyptians and brings Melikles with him. Unfortunately, Phoenicians who also interfere in Egyptian polit(...)

literary

YEAR: 1947

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Apries Cyrene Die for the freedom Egypt Egyptians Eleusinian Mysteries Everyday life Greece Greek colonies Greek history Greek soldiers Medes Miletus Phoenicia Sailing in the sea Sailors Slavery Sparta Spartans Syracuse Warfare

Margaret Mahy

The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance

In The Changeover, 14-year old Laura Chant is the child of divorced parents who are finding new partners. Babysitting her 3-year old brother, Jacko, she goes into the shop of Carmody Braque, an antique dealer who is a lemure, an Ancient Roman vampire. The lemure stamps his image on Jacko’s hand, and takes possession of him, draining him of his life-blood. To defeat the lemure and save her brother, Laura seeks the help of a boy at school whom she knows is interested in her, 17-year-old Sore(...)

literary

YEAR: 1984

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Charon Eleusinian Mysteries Katabasis Lemure Orpheus Persephone Underworld

Ursula Dubosarsky

The Golden Day

The Golden Day tells the story of a group of eleven schoolgirls from a private school in Sydney who are shocked when their teacher disappears on a school outing. ‘Today we will visit the gardens and think about death,’ says their teacher, Miss Renshaw, and she takes the girls to the beach, and into a cave, where she disappears. Beginning in 1967 and concluding in 1975, during Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the story includes reflection on the nature of war, persona(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Agamemnon Eleusinian Mysteries Greek history Pan Thucydides Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War

Mary Renault

The Lion in the Gateway. The Heroic Battles of the Greeks and Persians at Marathon, Salamis, and Thermopylae

Ch. I. The Arrow of Ormuz. The Lion opens with a description of the mountainous Greek landscape. We hear of boys guarding flocks from wolves and the presence of many more dangers from pirates and raiders. Many Greeks seek land through colonisation, with many going east to settle Ionia. The ancient Greek disposition is described – an independent spirit that rejects kings in favour of oligarchies and democracies, inquiring minds which ask questions and seek answers about all manner of things(...)

literary

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Alexander the Great Architecture Ares Artemis Athena/ Athene Athens Bible Divination Eleusinian Mysteries Gods Graeco-Persian wars Greek history Greek philosophy Olympic Games Reception of classical antiquity Slavery Sparta

Robert Newman

The Twelve Labors of Hercules

This is a retelling of the myth of Hercules, aimed at teenage children, in novel format. At the end of the book there is an alphabetic list of characters of humans/ non-humans and a short explanation of each.The story begins with Hercules’ birth and Hera tricking Zeus to bless Eurystheus instead of Hercules with the reign over Mycenae. Having realized that he was trapped, Zeus promises that nevertheless “Hercules will perform deeds so glorious that his name will be remembered forever(...)

literary

YEAR: 1972

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Alcmene Amphitryon Anteus Atlas Augean Stables Chiron Copreus Deianeira Delphi Dodona Eleusinian Mysteries Eurystheus Fate Geryon Golden Apples Gorgon Hades Hera Heracles / Herakles Hercules Hermes Hestia Hydra Iole Iphicles Jealousy of gods Medusa Megara Meleager Nemean lion Nereus Nessus Omphale Oracles Prophecy Pythoness Thebes Typhon Underworld Zeus

Philippe Béha, Glen Huser

Time for Flowers, Time for Snow. A Retelling of the Legend of Demeter and Persephone

Time for Flowers, Time for Snow is a book and CD version of an opera staged in Canada in which 180+ school children performed accompanied by The Orchestre Symphonique Pop Montréal with narration from UK comedian Terry Jones. The opera was composed by Greek national Giannis Georgantelis, and was run as a community project under the auspices of the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, the cities of Montreal and Laval, the Embassy of Greece to Canada, and the Embassy of Canada to (...)

literary

COUNTRY: Canada United Kingdom

TAGS: Afterlife Architecture Cerberus Charon Classical studies Crete Daedalus Demeter Eleusinian Mysteries Gods Greek music Greek mythology Hades Hades' Throne Hermes Immortality Katabasis Mythology Olympus Persephone Pluto Proserpina Reception of classical antiquity Underworld Zeus