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 Hades Heracles Hercules Hermes Katabasis Persephone Pluto / Plouton Proserpina Sisyphus Styx Underworld 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 Bacchus Cerberus Charon Demeter Dionysus / Dionysos Divination Eleusinian Mysteries Erinyes Furies Gods Hades Hecate Hera Hermes Katabasis Medusa Minos Persephone Underworld Zeus

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 Athens Crete Daedalus Demeter Dionysus / Dionysos Eleusinian Mysteries Fate Gods Greek Music Hades Hermes Icarus Immortality Katabasis Labyrinth Maze Minos Minotaur Nymphs Olympus Orpheus Pasiphae Persephone Pluto / Plouton Proserpina Theseus Underworld Zeus

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 Ceres Demeter Eleusinian Mysteries Erinyes Furies Gods Greek History Greek Philosophy Hades Hecate Hermes Immortality Katabasis Medusa Metempsychosis Moirai Olympus Persephone Pluto / Plouton Proserpina Sisyphus Underworld Zeus

Witold Makowiecki, Robert Pawlicki

The Adventures of Melikles the Greek [Przygody Meliklesa Greka]

Based on: Katarzyna Marciniak, Elżbieta Olechowska, Joanna Kłos, Michał Kucharski (eds.), Polish Literature for Children & Young Adults Inspired by Classical Antiquity: A Catalogue, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, Warsaw: University of Warsaw, 2013, 444 pp., online: http://omc.obta.al.uw.edu.pl/omc_catalogue.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 an(...)

literary

YEAR: 1947

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Ancient Slavery Ancient Warfare Cyrene Egypt Egyptians Eleusinian Mysteries Greece Greek Colonies Greek History Medes Miletus Phoenicia Sparta Spartans Syracuse

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 Lemures 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

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

YEAR: 1964

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Alexander the Great Ancient Slavery Architecture Ares Artemis Athena Athens Bible Divination Eleusinian Mysteries Gods Graeco-Persian Wars Greek History Greek Philosophy Olympic Games Sparta

Yan Marchand, Donatien Mary

The Mysteries of Heraclitus [Les Mystères d'Héraclite]

Young Heraclitus falls in love with Népias, the daughter of the wealthiest citizen of Ephesus. To gain favour with her father, Mélancontes, the young man, begins to actively participate in the life of the city: religious ceremonies and Assembly meetings. Being a descendant of Athenian kings, under whose direction are held the Mysteries of Demeter Eleusinia, Heraclitus departs for the ceremony of initiation, where he is to join the cult and realize that his soul is immortal. After d(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: France

TAGS: Ancient Religious Practices Ancient Temples Artemis Demeter Eleusinian Mysteries Eleusis Ephesus Greek Philosophy Greek Religion Heraclitus (of Ephesus) Immortality Mysteries

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 Antaeus / Antaios Atlas Augean Stables Chiron / Cheiron Copreus Deianeira Delphi Dodona Eleusinian Mysteries Eurystheus Fate Geryon Gorgon(s) Hades Hera Heracles Hercules Hermes Hestia Hydra Iole Iphicles Medusa Megara Meleager Nemean Lion Nereus Nessus Omphale Oracles Prophecy Pythia Thebes Typhon / Typhoeus / Typhaon 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

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Canada United Kingdom

TAGS: Afterlife Architecture Cerberus Charon Crete Daedalus Demeter Eleusinian Mysteries Gods Greek Music Hades Hermes Immortality Katabasis Olympus Persephone Pluto / Plouton Proserpina Underworld Zeus