Country: Australia | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

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Showing 75 entries for country: Australia

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Rodney McRae

Aesop’s Fables

McRae’s illustrations interpret Aesop’s fables through a range of international art forms and visual references. He is inspired by folk art and design, as well as some of the earliest known European artworks, such as the Lascaux cave paintings, Australian Indigenous, Mayan and Aztec art, Indian art, and contemporary Japanese woodblocks which enhance the reader’s interpretations of the fables. McRae also uses collage from torn paper, scraperboard, charcoal and watercolours. (...)

YEAR: 1990

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aesop Aesop’s Fables Fable Greek mythology Jupiter Mercury Venus

Jenny Blackford

Andromeda is a feminist reimagining of the story of Andromeda and the sea monster. It fleshes out the personality of the princess, who, whilst mindful of the obligations of her royal role, longs for freedom from its obligations. She has an unaccountable sense of needing something, ‘something she had been missing for such a long time’ (130). Since the onset of puberty Andromeda has suffered overwhelming fits of rage. Her maturation is symbolically tied to the sea monster, who be(...)

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Andromeda Barbarians Medusa Monsters Perseus

Alison Forbes, Neville Smith

Animal Talk and Other Stories for Boys and Girls: “A Horse with Wings”

“A Horse with Wings” tells of how a young boy named Charles wants a pony, but when he kicks his football through the window on the back verandah, he saves his parents the trouble of punishing him by putting himself to bed without any supper. As he drifts off to sleep, a winged horse visits him, Pegasus, who assumes the authoritative voice of an adult, advising that “People do not believe the stories about the ancient Greek gods nowadays, which is rather a shame, because many of(...)

YEAR: 1955

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Greek mythology Myths Pegasus Pegasus as symbol of wisdom

Jennifer Cook

Ariadne: The Maiden and the Minotaur

Cook’s story opens with sixteen-year-old Ariadne abandoned on Naxos, furious that she fell for Theseus, who has taken up with her sister Phaedra and sailed home to Athens. As in the traditional version of the myth, Ariadne falls in love with Theseus when he arrives on Crete as one of the Athenian tributes, destined for death in the labyrinth. But in this story, the Minotaur is not a monstrous beast, but instead a small child afflicted with a club foot, a hare-lip, and other deformities. Ch(...)

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ariadne Crete Dionysus Hecate / Hekate Labyrinth Minos Minotaur Pasiphae Plague Theseus

Vashti Farrer, Naomi C. Lewis

Atalanta: the Fastest Runner in the World

Atalanta: The Fastest Runner in the World is a picture book for primary-school children that retells the story of Atalanta. It is published under an educational imprint, through Pearson Education, called Chatterbox, in a series of stories called Traditional Fiction, and thus marketed around the world. Other stories in the series include Rumpelstiltskin, and How Maui Stole Fire from the Gods.This short retelling of the Atalanta myth is written in simple language for young readers. The openin(...)

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aphrodite Atalanta Delphic Oracle Hippomenes Meleager Prophecy

Bernard Beckett

This novel is the middle volume of a trilogy together with Genesis and Lullaby. It is set in what reminds one of a mediaeval walled city, under the rule of a powerful and oppressive church, but with some modern technology (such as cars). In this two class society the group of the “people of the night” are suppressed, as they allegedly lack a soul. They only enter the city at night, do manual labour and look for scraps of food to eat.In this novel, the teenagers Tristan and Grace, bad(...)

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Augustine (of Hippo) Bible Grace Plato Plato’s Republic Theory of Forms Theory of Ideas Tristan

Charlie Carter

Battle Boy (Series, Book 3): Destroy Troy

Destroy Troy is the third book in Carter’s Battle Boy series, which aims to engage reluctant readers (particularly boys) with an exciting adventure told in simple, easy to read language. Battle Boy Agent 005 (BB005) is the secret identity of 11-year old Napoleon Augustus Smythe. His mission is to spy on the past, travelling back in time to witness major historical conflicts. Napoleon reports to Professor Juanita Perdu, who furnishes him with high tech gadgets, such as the SimulSkin, a set (...)

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Antenor Cassandra Odysseus/ Ulysses Polyxena Priam Trojan Horse (wooden) Trojan War Troy Virgil’s Aeneid Wooden Horse

Ursula Dubosarsky

Black Sails, White Sails

The foreword of Ursula Dubosarsky’s Black Sails, White Sails tells the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, of how Theseus slays the Minotaur that was menacing his people, the Athenians. Theseus persuades his father, Aegeus, to let him kill the monster, but forgets to let his father know of his success by hoisting the white sails on his ship and dropping his black sails. When Aegeus sights Theseus’ ship approaching, black sails raised, Aegeus assumes the worst, that his son has fa(...)

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aegeus Archaeology Ariadne History Minos (King) Minotaur Theseus

Geoffrey McSkimming

Cairo Jim (Series, Book 10): Cairo Jim and the Chaos from Crete

Cairo Jim is a young archaeologist who is already an established member of the fictional Old Relics Society at the commencement of the series. He is always seen wearing a pith helmet and his desert sun-spectacles. Cairo Jim and the Chaos from Crete is located in mid-to-late 20th-century Knossos, in Crete. It is a whimsical adventure in which the hero and his companions (a talking macaw named Doris and a telepathic wonder-camel named Brenda) travel to the Palace of Knossos after learning tha(...)

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Antiquity sites Archaeology Daedalus Greek mythology Knossos Labyrinth Minoan civilization Minos (King) Minotaur Poseidon Talaus Theseus Zeus

Geoffrey McSkimming

Cairo Jim (Series, Book 14): Cairo Jim at the Crossroads of Orpheus

Cairo Jim is a young archaeologist who is already an established member of the fictional Old Relics Society at the commencement of the series. He is always seen wearing a pith helmet and his desert sun-spectacles.Cairo Jim at the Crossroads of Orpheus is located in mid-to-late 20th-century Pompeii. It is a whimsical adventure in which the hero and his companions (a talking macaw named Doris and a telepathic wonder-camel named Brenda) work with an archaeo-botanist Bette Noire to rediscover l(...)

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Agrigento Antiquity sites Archaeology Gods Greek mythology Mythology Orpheus Pompeii Roman mythology Romans Gods Telamon

Geoffrey McSkimming

Cairo Jim (Series, Book 4): Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods

Cairo Jim is a young archaeologist who is already an established member of the fictional Old Relics Society at the commencement of the series. He is always seen wearing a pith helmet and his desert sun-spectacles. Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods is located in mid-to-late 20th-century Greece, moving from Athens to Delphi to Samothrace (Samothraki). It is a whimsical adventure in which the hero and his companions (a talking macaw named Doris and a telepathic wonder-camel named Brend(...)

YEAR: 1996

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Antiquity sites Archaeology Athens Centaurs Chronos Delphi Gods Greek mythology Heracles / Herakles Hercules Nike Sphinx Titans

Kerry Greenwood

Danger – Do Not Enter

When Mr. Mosel, an old silversmith dies, his dilapidated house is condemned, and the kids at the school are threatened with expulsion if they go near the dangerous, junk-filled property. The jocks dare each other to explore, and when one of them gets injured, rumours begin to circulate that the house is haunted by the old man’s ghost. Penelope’s friend Ben is determined to investigate the paranormal activity. He suspects that Argent, an unhappy girl in their class who lives in the ho(...)

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Antigone Creon Polyneices Sophocles Thomas the Rhymer

John Maxwell Coetzee

Diary of a Bad Year

Diary of a Bad Year is an experimental novel (historical fiction) in which non-fiction and fiction are juxtaposed within the same novel. Each page is divided into two or three parts. The novel takes the form of a series of essays that the protagonist is writing for a collection, tentatively called Strong Opinions. These essays take up the first part of the page. Beneath this, are diary entries, both by the central character, and by his young typist, recounting the developing relationship between(...)

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Adeimantus Eurydice Orpheus Persephone Plato Pluto Socrates Thrasymachus

Jane Abbott

Set in Kincasey, a small regional town in Victoria (Australia), this unusual novel, which starts with a prologue written as a newspaper article about a road tragedy, tackles the theme of reincarnation through the stories of a group of young people who all know each other. Some of them have known each other more than once. Using Ancient Greek myth as the base, but subverting it as well, the story is told from different points of view, swirling around the figures of Caitlin and Michael, who are th(...)

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Afterlife Fate Heracles / Herakles Hercules Pandora Prometheus Pyramus Thisbe

Myke Bartlett

Fire in the Sea

Fire in the Sea is a fantasy-adventure novel for young adults, set in the Western Australian city of Perth. Sixteen year old Sadie, grieving after the death of her parents in a car accident, is at the beach with cousins, when she witnesses a man being attacked by strange creatures that have come out of the sea, and leave him for dead. Assisting him, she is rewarded by receiving an inheritance that includes a mysterious amulet. The amulet is the key to an ancient mystery, sought after by a priest(...)

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Atlantis Immortality Minotaur Reincarnation Slavery

Bertie Beetle, John Santry

Gilbert the Guinea Pig and Other Tales

The Sunflower tells of the nymph Clytie and her unrequited love for Apollo. Giving in to despair, she stays rooted to the ground, her face bound to follow the sun, the god Apollo. The Golden Touch depicts a version of the King Midas story. When Midas begs the “golden touch” from the god, Bacchus, his clothing, food and his little daughter all turn to gold. After he goes to the river to wash off the curse, there is a permanent residue of gold dust on the river bed. (...)

YEAR: 1943

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Apollo Bacchus Clytie Gods Greek mythology Midas Midas’ Touch

Jonathan M. Shiff

H2O: Just Add Water

A popular series for tween and teen viewers, H2O: Just Add Water was screened internationally for four years (from 2006 to 2010). It begins when teenage girls from Australia’s Gold Coast, Rikki, Cleo, and Emma, swim at the full moon in a pool hidden inside a mysterious volcanic island. When they return to land they discover they have been transformed. If a drop of water touches them, they transform into mermaids. Most episodes revolve around the sit-com challenges of their newfound identit(...)

YEAR: 2006

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Mermaids Moon Sirens

Ryan Madison

Hercules’ First Six Tasks: Short Stories Teens to Young Adult

In this installment we have a part of Hercules’ adventures mixed with other historical figures such as Alexander the great. There is no decisive chronological development for the narrative. Hercules receives different tasks from Zeus and on the way he meets all kind of people, such as the mysterious King Phillip, the king of his home-land; he also meets Helen and Alexander, and Oedipus’ family.(...)

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Alcmene Alexander Antigone Augean Stables Deianeira Erymanthian Boar Eurystheus Hades Helen Helios Hera Heracles / Herakles Hercules Hippolyta Hydra Iolaos Nemean lion Oedipus Omphale Sphinx Stymphalian Birds Thespius Zeus

Ian Trevaskis

Hopscotch (Series, Book 1): Medusa Stone

Hopscotch: Medusa Stone is the story of Australian teens, Jake and Hannah, who travel from a sleepy seaside town, “Pelican Bay,” to the world of Ancient Greek mythology, when they play a game of hopscotch, using directions from a mysterious parchment, and a magical stone (the "Medusa Stone" of the title). They find themselves in the power of a games-maker, Costas the Giant, who commands them to retrieve items from the Ancient Greek heroes - Odysseus, Perseus, and Hercules. (...)

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Athena/ Athene Cerberus Greek mythology Heracles / Herakles Hercules Medusa Mythology Odysseus/ Ulysses Polyphemus Theseus Trojan Horse (wooden)

Matthew Reilly

Hover Car Racer

Hover Car Racer is set in a futuristic Earth where hover technology has revolutionised the transport industry. It follows the story of Jason Chaser, a fourteen-year-old hover car racer, along with his autistic younger brother The Bug, and documents their year at the International Race School over eight parts. During a regional competition, Jason impresses a recruiter for the International Race School, despite driving with a damaged car. He is offered a place and accepts, forming a team with(...)

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Apollodorus Apollonius of Rhodes Argonauts Arion (Hercules’ horse) Clashing Rocks Dido Golden Fleece Jason Labyrinth The Library Virgil Virgil’s Aeneid Voyage of the Argo

Bernard Beckett

This novel is the third and last volume of a trilogy with Genesis and August. It is set in a world like ours, but more advanced in regards to stem cell research. People have stem cell banks and it is possible to use these to re-grow organs in order to prolong healthy lives. Only the brain cannot be regrown in this way.18-year-old Theo had an accident in which his body has remained intact, but all his brain function has been permanently destroyed. Scientist Dr. Huxley sees this as the u(...)

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Catharsis Mimesis Rene (Renatus) Theatre Theodore

Mikiko Ponczeck, Tom Taylor

M.I.D.A.S. is a graphic short story about Andy, a man who has become radioactive after being struck by a bomb blast. He lives in a bio-hazard suit, designed to protect others from his radioactivity. Occasionally he assists a bomb-disposal squad called M.I.D.A.S. He is isolated from others, lonely, and dealing with an inner anger that may be a side-effect of his radioactivity. Everything he touches turns to BOOM. He is called by Captain Turk to defuse a suitcase bomb. Seeing it is organic, he tak(...)

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Midas Midas’ Touch

David Maher

An educational graphic novel, which opens in an ancient cave, a "long-dead place, a moment frozen in time." A droplet from a stalactite prompts a reaction, a sword appears, and then stone crumbles and "a hundred forked tongues dart from desiccated jaws." Medusa reawakens. She takes the sword, and moves towards a set of stairs that have appeared: "the time has come to set things right. The action switches to a modern Australian English class, in which a teacher is explain(...)

YEAR: 2008

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Cerberus Charybdis Cleopatra Cyclops / Cyclopes Graeae Sisters Hero with a Thousand Faces Hero’s journey Julius Caesar Katabasis Medusa Orpheus Perseus Quest Tiresias

Nadia Wheatley

Melting Point is the story of Xenia Hadzithakis, a seventeen-year-old Greek Australian girl living in Sydney, Australia. Xenia is a rebel, in constant conflict with her traditional Yaya over her style of dress, her forthright behaviour, even the fact that she is studying Latin at school rather than ancient or modern Greek. After a terrible argument with her grandmother, she finds solace in the classroom translating Ovid’s version of the story of Icarus’ flight and fall from Book Eigh(...)

YEAR: 1994

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Crete Daedalus Greek language Icarus Latin Oral and literary storytelling Ovid Ovid Metamorphoses Reception Relevance of Classical Studies Translation

Pamela Allen

Mr Archimedes’ Bath

A humorous picture book about the principle of water displacement discovered by the Greek mathematician, Archimedes. In this book, ‘Mr Archimedes’ shares his bath with three animals: a goat, a wombat, and a kangaroo. Trial and error in the bath (in which each animal is ‘blamed’ in turn for taking up too much room) show the principles of displacement in action. Finally, Mr Archimedes shouts ‘Eureka!’ and explains to the animals that they are all making the wate(...)

YEAR: 1980

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archimedes Archimedes’ Principle of Water Displacement

Percival Richard Cole

Myths and Legends of Many Lands

Greek Myths:I. “The Fall of Phaeton” is the story of how the sun departed from its course “scorching the surface of the earth, bringing misery to mankind”. Phaeton, Apollo’s son was “not as wise as he was handsome”. “Vain and ambitious” he defied his father and drove Apollo’s chariot of the sun with its four noble steeds from Apollo’s palace to the ocean. The horses, uncomfortable with their driver, went off the track and wre(...)

YEAR: 1933

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Acrisius Andromeda Apollo Argus Ceres Cyane Danae Demeter Dictys Gorgon Hermes Medusa Mercury Pallas Perseus Phaeton Pluto Proserpine Zeus

Ken Catran

In this “boys’ own”-style time-slip novel, contemporary New Zealand teenager Neo (Neil) Torrens experiences the final days of the Trojan War as the hero Neoptolemus from ancient myth. It is a coming of age novel, in which 14 year old Neo’s experiences as a soldier in Bronze Age Troy help his modern persona mature. The parts of Catran’s novel set in antiquity take place in the time between the Iliad and Odyssey, after Achilles’ death and just before and during (...)

YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY: Australia New Zealand

TAGS: Achilles Agamemnon Diomedes Neoptolemus Odysseus/ Ulysses Polyxena Priam Trojan War

Margot McGovern

When seventeen-year-old orphan Kit Learmonth tries to commit suicide by slashing her wrists in the swimming pool of her prestigious boarding school, her uncle takes her back to her childhood home to recuperate. Before her parents drowned in an accident at sea when she was ten, Kit grew up on an idyllic island owned for generations by her wealthy, infamous family. Though its official name is Learmonth Island, everyone refers to it as Neverland. In Kit’s mind, it is a place of magic and adve(...)

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Andromache Charybdis Hector Homer Iliad Mermaids Metamorphosis Monsters Odysseus/ Ulysses Odyssey Ovid Ovid Metamorphoses Plato Plato's cave Sappho Scylla Selkies Sirens Virgil

Gary Crew, Marc McBride

A young boy, Joachim, is fascinated by his elderly neighbour, Old Ridley, and his mysterious house.With its spiralling turrets and wild, overgrown garden, the building seems enchanted. Joachim rarely sees the reclusive old inventor, but rumours abound as to what he is up to. ‘Some said that he had created light, others that he could see in the dark; some said that he could fly, others that he could make himself disappear. It was even whispered that he was working on the secret (...)

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Eos Tithonus

Dub Leffler

Once There Was a Boy

Once There Was a Boy is a picture book focused on the theme of reconciliation. A young black boy lives alone on an island in a sub-tropical or tropical sea. On the island is a boat shaped like a pelican; it is not clear where it has come from, or if it has brought the boy. One day, a young white girl arrives on the island. The boy welcomes her and gives her food and shelter. She eats a great deal of the fruit on the island, which are sapotes, or chocolate-pudding fruit, then asks to sleep in the(...)

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Eve Fruit Pandora

Sandra Jobson

Once Upon a Vase

Contents: Illustrations IntroductionThe First Story. The Story of Peleus and ThetisThe Second Story. The Trojan WarThe Third Story. The Revenge of HephaistosThe Fourth Story. Theseus and the MinotaurThe Fifth Story. Perseus and the GorgonsThe Sixth Story. The Battle of the Pygmies and the CranesThe colophon states that “Ergotimus made my vase and Kleitas painted me. Sandra Jobson has retold my story and redrawn my illustrations in my book”: “Ergotimus m’epoisen (...)

YEAR: 1970

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Agamemnon Akristos Ancient Greek Costume Ancient Greek Wedding Traditions Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Aruphritnite Athena/ Athene Centaur Children’s Game Chiton Doris Eris Etruscan Vases Eurytion Fates Graiai Helen Hephaistos Hera Hermes Hippodameia Leto Maia Menelaos Nereus Nerieds Oinomanus Okeanos Paris Peleus Peploi Perith Poseidon Pottery Pottery and Decoration Practices Priam The Dating of Ancient Greek Vases The Pygmies and the Cranes The Use of Colours in Vase Decoration Tunic

Luke Jurevicius, Nathan Jurevicius

Orpheus and the Underworld (I Love You to Bits)

In the animation’s opening scene, teenage Orpheus sits on a beanbag, strumming his lyre and singing. It is simultaneously an interior and external space, featuring a TV and overhead lighting as well as trees and wildlife. A host of strange creatures are gathered around him, enchanted by his music. Orpheus and Eurydice are a young emo couple, depicted with elongated heads and sad, tired eyes. He has red hair, a five o’clock shadow, and wears jeans, hoodie and headphones. Eurydice&rsqu(...)

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Cerberus Charon Eurydice Hades Katabasis Orpheus Persephone Sisyphus Styx Tantalus Tartarus Underworld

Barry Jonsberg

Pandora Jones (Series, Book 1): Admission

According to the Prologue, in Admission, "it took slightly under eight hours for Melbourne to die." Pandora Jones awakens in an infirmary with hazy recollections of how she came to be there. She has horrific visions and dreams of her family and everyone else around her dying. The "Doctor" informs her that she is one of the lucky survivors of a pandemic that has almost wiped out humanity. There are only a few surviving "arks" left around the world and she is in one o(...)

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Bellerophon Cassandra Pandora

Barry Jonsberg

Pandora Jones (Series, Book 2): Deception

Deception is a retelling of the Pandora myth, though it only becomes apparent at the end of the book. The story continues from where Book One (Admission) finished, with the students being returned to "The School," after their rescue mission. The students are full of questions: if they are the last remaining people alive, why were they sent outside for others to kill them? Why did they want to kill them if there are so few people left? Suspicious of "The School," Pandora again(...)

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Cassandra Pandora

Barry Jonsberg

Pandora Jones (Series, Book 3): Reckoning

Reckoning is the third book in the Pandora Jones Trilogy and it draws on both Pandora and Cassandra in the characterisation of the main protagonist, Pandora Jones. Pandora regains consciousness in "The School" infirmary where she is told that she has unleashed an air-borne virus that will wipe out humanity within three months. (It was designed to put humanity out of its misery.) The children at "The School" had all been abducted and bought there because of their special skill(...)

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Cassandra Pandora

Joan Lindsay

Picnic at Hanging Rock

The narrative of Picnic at Hanging Rock begins on St Valentine’s Day, 1900, as the pupils of Mrs Appleyard’s College for Young Ladies, set in rural Victoria, Australia, a few miles out of the village in Macedon, exchange anonymous romantic cards and read romantic poetry. Mrs Appleyard, the tyrannical headmistress, loveless and unloveable, receives no cards. The monolithic College, "an architectural anachronism in the Australian bush – a hopeless misfit in time and place,&q(...)

YEAR: 1967

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Greek mythology Pan Venus

Joshua Campbell, Jason Haigh-Elllery, Gary Russel

Prisoner Zero (Series, Season 1, 26 Episodes)

Prisoner Zero is an animated science-fiction series for children (target audience: 8-12 years). Its premise is that the titular Zero has been imprisoned and had his memories stolen by evil regime known as the Imperium in order to allow them to utilize the Bioweve to enslave the minds of its citizens. This said, it is not Zero who is the star of the show but rather the teenagers Tag and Gem who accompany Zero on his adventures. The story arc of the first season centres upon the pair’s attem(...)

YEAR: 2016

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Alchemy Centurion Greek language Imperium / Empire Latin Legate Midas Midas’ Touch Oracles Praetor Tartarus

Matt Ottley

Requiem for a Beast: A Work for Image, Word and Music

In Requiem for a Beast, an unnamed Australian teenager is preparing to take part in an outback cattle muster. As he rides his horse towards the cattle, he sees an unusually large Brahmin bull. This bull has evaded muster for many years, and the boy challenges it. He chases it into a ravine, where it falls and fatally injures itself. The boy is forced to slaughter it, in order to put it out of its misery. As he is in this situation, he experiences several flashbacks to important moments in h(...)

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ariadne Labyrinth Minotaur Theseus

Ahn Do , Chris Wahl

Rise of the Mythix (Series, Book 1): Golden Unicorn

Billionaire William James is the ‘Soul Collector,’ enabled by ‘Lucifer’s Ring,’ to capture the souls of unusual or interesting people and frame them in his art collection. He also collects rare mythological artefacts, such as the Holy Grail, which his resident archaeologist, Stanley Solomon, finds for him. Stanley is trapped in his employ, because the Soul Collector has captured his wife.But when he finds a rare manuscript, he reads in it the prophecies of a soothsa(...)

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archaeology Demeter Griffins Hades Minotaur Persephone

Ahn Do , Chris Wahl

Rise of the Mythix (Series, Book 2): Mighty Minotaur

The sequel to Rise of the Mythix (I): Golden Unicorn, this volume continues the adventures of Kelly Swift (the "unicorn" of the title), who with the archaeologist Stanley Solomon tries to outwit the evil billionaire William James who dominates society and has the power to suck the souls out of his victims and imprison them in paintings in his mansion. In the previous volume, William James has trapped Kelly’s mother. Kelly and Stanley are now on the run, while William’s forc(...)

YEAR: 2020

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archaeology Minotaur Unicorn

Bob Graham

Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten

In Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten, a modern recasting of the Persephone myth, Rose Summers (Persephone) moves into a small, colourful house with her family (her mother, and her sisters, Faith and Blossom). Next door is a large, grey mansion, which the "sun never touched," in which monstrously large plants "bristle" over the fence. The children in the street tell stories about the inhabitant, Mr Wintergarten (Hades), who is "mean," and "horrible." "If your(...)

YEAR: 1992

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Cerberus Hades Katabasis Persephone Seasons

Ron Brooks, Margaret Wild

Rosie and Tortoise

Rosie is a young hare eagerly waiting for her baby brother to be born. But when Bobby is born, he is tiny and weak. Rosie is scared, and avoids holding him or playing with him. As he grows (from being as heavy as an onion, to a potato, to a turnip, to ‘it won’t be long before he weighs as much as a cauliflower!’), Rosie remains afraid for her brother, and also afraid to connect with him. One day, her father asks her ‘why don’t you like Bobby?’ ‘I do. &nb(...)

YEAR: 1998

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aesop Hare and Tortoise

Terry Denton

Story Maze (Series, Book 1): The Ultimate Wave

The Ultimate Wave is a comic adventure story, told in graphic novel format. It is the story of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey, described by the Narrator as humans from the planet Ithaca (although the characters are drawn as a monkey, a duck, and a rhinoceros and are referred to as such repeatedly). These three love to surf, a note to Australian surfing culture, and meet Icon, a “pencil-headed mutant” from another dimension and a place called Duryllium. The story is told by a Narrator chara(...)

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Chorus Cyclops / Cyclopes Gods Ithaca Maze Underworld

Terry Denton

Story Maze (Series, Book 2): The Eye of Ulam

The second in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. Nico is competing in the World Surfing Championships against a surfer named Hercules when help is requested by their Duryllium friend Icon, who is in the midst of a battle with his brother Vidor over the throne of their kingdom. They find and save Icon, who has been blinded and left for dead on the battlefield and take him to a gingerbread cot(...)

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ammit Blindness Chorus Cyclops / Cyclopes Ganesha Gods Graeae Sisters Hercules Horus Ithaca Maze Nike Oedipus Olympic style games Prometheus Quest Ra Sisyphus Underworld

Terry Denton

Story Maze (Series, Book 3): The Wooden Cow

The third in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. Nico is once again attempting to compete in the World Surfing Championships – the ones he keeps missing due to their adventures. In The Wooden Cow, the three use their time-traveling device, called M.I.T., to reach Fresia, a small planet in the Bovine Galaxy, and the location of the surfing championship. M.I.T., which doesn’t want t(...)

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Chorus Golden Fleece Gorgons Hades Ithaca Trojan Horse (wooden)

Terry Denton

Story Maze (Series, Book 4): The Golden Udder

The fourth in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. This time they continue their attempt to help Ulysses to win the Queen of Fresia with The Golden Udder. However, when they attempt to retrieve the Udder, they discover it has been stolen by Amycus (along with Nico’s surfboard) and lost in a bet to Limousin, a surfing champion. They begin a quest to retrieve it. Their time-travel device M(...)

YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Amykos (Amycus) Chorus Gods Golden Fleece Harpies Ithaca Medea Odysseus/ Ulysses Sphinx Underworld

Terry Denton

Story Maze (Series, Book 5): The Minotaur’s Maze

The fifth book in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. The story begins with the trio winning a holiday to the tropical planet of Knossos. The story diverges into two paths at this point, as it has in the other episodes, whenever the trio attempt time travel. Their time travel device fractures times leaving them in two alternate realities. One puts them at a weight loss spa and the other at a (...)

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ariadne Chorus Daedalus Icarus Ithaca Knossos Labyrinth Maze Midas Minotaur

Terry Denton

Story Maze (Series, Book 6): The Obelisk of Eno

The sixth book in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. The story begins with yet another attempt by protagonist Nico to win the surfing world championship on the planet Ganymede. This time he is confident of victory given that his main rival, Hercules, has been sent to the Underworld to retrieve Cerberus. By some twist of traveling fate, they accidentally arrive on the reverse of Ganymede, the(...)

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ariadne Cerberus Ganymede Hercules Minotaur Neptune Obelisks Poseidon Underworld

Josef Hill, Elena Paige

Taki and Toula Time Travelers (Series, Book 1): Hercules Finds His Courage

In the first installment of this time-traveling series, two modern day Greek children from Crete, Toula (8 yr old girl) and Taki (6 yr old boy) find strange traditional Greek shoes called tsarouhia in their mother’s chest. They find out that wearing these shoes enable them to time-travel to ancient Greece. In this book, they arrive to find a frightened man hiding from a large bull. The children help him by calming the bull with some food. The man reveals to them that he is Hercules and tha(...)

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Eurystheus Heracles / Herakles Hercules

Josef Hill, Elena Paige

Taki and Toula Time Travelers (Series, Book 2): Athena Finds Her Confidence

In this time-traveling series first installment, two modern day Greek children from Crete, Toula (8 yr old girl) and Taki (6 yr old boy) find strange traditional Greek shoes called tsarouhia in their mother’s chest. They find out that wearing these shoes enable them to time-travel to ancient Greece (see here). In this book, they arrive at the time of the competition between Athena and Poseidon for the founding of a new city. They help Athena find her courage and win the competition against(...)

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Athena/ Athene Cecrops Poseidon

Josef Hill, Elena Paige

Taki and Toula Time Travelers (Series, Book 3): Zeus Tames his Temper

In this time-traveling series third installment, two modern day Greek children from Crete, Toula (8 yrs old girl) and Taki (6 yrs old boy) find strange traditional Greek shoes called tsarouhia in their mother’s chest. They find out that wearing these shoes enable them to time-travel to ancient Greece (see here). In this book, they arrive in the midst of a fiery argument between Zeus, Hades and Poseidon regarding the rule over the gods. The children help Zeus control his rage (and his (...)

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Hades Poseidon Zeus

Josef Hill, Elena Paige

Taki and Toula Time Travelers (Series, Book 4): Hades Learns to be Fair

In this time-traveling series fourth installment, two modern day Greek children from Crete, Toula (8 year old girl) and Taki (6 year old boy) find strange traditional Greek shoes called tsarouhia in their mother’s chest. They find out that wearing these shoes enable them to time-travel to ancient Greece (see here). In this book, the children find themselves in the petrifying underworld. Hades, who resents the children for assisting Zeus in their previous adventure (Paige, Zeus Tames h(...)

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Cerberus Death Hades Hermes Persephone Zeus

Josef Hill, Elena Paige

Taki and Toula Time Travelers (Series, Book 5): Aphrodite Finds Her Inner Beauty

In this time-traveling series fifth installment, two modern day Greek children from Crete, Toula (8-year-old girl) and Taki (6-year-old boy) find strange traditional Greek shoes called tsarouhia in their mother’s chest. They find out that wearing these shoes enables them to time-travel to ancient Greece (see here). In this book, the children arrive at Aphrodite’s temple. There are many statues of beautiful Aphrodite in the temple, yet one of the statues is of an older, ugly woma(...)

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aphrodite Galatea Pygmalion Zeus

Ursula Dubosarsky

The Blue Cat is set in Sydney, 1942, and filtered through the observations of a dreamy child, Columba. Ellery (Elias), a new boy, arrives at Columba’s school: he either does not speak English or cannot speak. He is from Europe (You-rope) and may be a German-Jewish refugee. His mother is missing, and no longer sends letters. "Hitler killed her," says Columba’s brash friend, Hilda. As Columba observes the changes affecting Sydney during the war (curfews, air-raid drills, the (...)

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aeneas Anchises Columba Roman history Troy Virgil Virgil’s Aeneid

Catherine Mayo

The Bow: Win or Lose?

The Bow: Win or Lose? takes place in Ancient Greece. It is the second of Mayo’s novels set in this period, the first book being Murder at Mykenai. A teenage Odysseus is helping to protect his father’s kingdom. After the death of his grandfather, Arkeisios (in the city of Argos), Odysseus travels with Eurybates (his father’s squire) to find his grandfathers hidden wealth. Odysseus is disguised as servant to Eurybates, who is dressed as an Egyptian priest. He finds gold hidden in(...)

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Education Gods Greek art Greek law Greek philosophy Greek religion Tablets Warfare Weapons

Ursula Dubosarsky

The Boy Who Could Fly: Eleven Plays for Children Inspired by Stories From The Metamorphoses of Ovid

Originally written as short plays for the New South Wales School Magazine, these stories are based upon a selection of myths in Ovid’s epic Metamorphoses. In Dubosarsky’s collection, she includes 11 short plays:Icarus: The Boy who could Fly – Icarus’ father, Daedalus, makes them both wings of beeswax and feathers so that they can fly back to Athens. Daedalus warns Icarus not to fly too close to the sun or the water, but to take the middle path. The boy does not liste(...)

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Apollo Arachne Argus Ariadne Atlanta Ceres Cupid Daedalus Daphne Dryades Echo Galatea Helios Hippomenes Hunger Icarus Inachus Io Juno Jupiter Mercury Midas Minerva Minos (King) Minotaur Narcissus Neptune Nymphs Pan Pygmalion Theseus Tmolus Venus

James Brouwer, Wolfgang Bylsma, Tom Taylor

The Deep is an animated television series based on a comic book created by Tom Taylor and James Brouwer, and published by Gestalt Comics. It is an Australian/Canadian co-production, commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In The Deep, the Nekton family (parents: Will and Kaiko; son Antaeus (Ant) and daughter Fontaine), are underwater explorers, who live on a submarine called the Arronax. In each episode, the Nektons unravel a different mystery, often showing that what seems to b(...)

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Antaeus Atlantis Mermaids Minotaur Nereus Proteus Sirens Thetis

Ursula Dubosarsky

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(...)

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Australia

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

Melina Marchetta

The Gorgon in the Gully

In The Gorgon in the Gully, Danny Griggs is a timid boy who is scared of bullies, and of what other people think of him. When he accidentally kicks the school’s lucky football into the gully at the edge of his school, he is afraid to go and get it. A Gorgon lives in that gully, or so school lore has it. At home, Danny researches the Gorgon and discovers the terrors it represents. His mother advises him to "look at whatever you’re scared of from a different angle. Look at it up r(...)

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Katabasis Medusa Perseus

Libby Gleeson, Armin Greder

A picture book that suggests an origin for the Ursa Major constellation, the storyline of The Great Bear depicts the life of a bear in a medieval circus. Kept in a cage all day, she is an obedient dancing bear who performs every night all her life for noisy crowds, sometimes cheering, but more often tormenting her by throwing stones and poking sticks at her. We see the backs or the silhouettes of the circus performers whose cruel carnivalesque is their livelihood. There are gaps in the simp(...)

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Symbols of the Zodiac Ursa Major

Robert Ingpen, Maurice Saxby

The Great Deeds of Superheroes

Five hero tales from Greek myth are included in this collection. In addition to being listed first, the size of the Greek section overshadows that of the other cultures, which feature at most two stories (or in the case of the Old English section, three tales). Each of the five heroes from Ancient Greece is endowed with a descriptive title. Perseus is "the Fearless," Heracles "the Strong One," Theseus "the Daring and the Bold," Jason "the Voyager," and Ody(...)

YEAR: 1989

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Archetype Heracles / Herakles Hercules Heroic pattern Jason Perseus Theseus

Sulari Gentill

The Hero Trilogy (Series, Book 1): Chasing Odysseus

This is the first book in the author’s Hero trilogy. The story of Chasing Odysseus starts in the final days of the Trojan War. Its heroes are three teenaged brothers (Machaon, Cadmus and Lycon) and their younger sister (Hero). Their adoptive father, Agelaus, is a leader of the Herdsmen, a fiercely independent community, allied to the Trojans, who live on the slopes of Mt Ida. The Herdsmen, traditional protectors of the Trojan people, have been secretly supplying the Trojans with food (...)

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Achilles Aeneas Aeolus Agamemnon Alcinous Amazons Arete Calypso Charybdis Cicones Circe Cyclops / Cyclopes Demodocus Eurylochus Gods Helen Hermes Island of the Sun Lotus-eater Menelaus Nausicaa Odysseus/ Ulysses Pan Pantheon Paris Penthesilea Phaeacia Polyphemus Priam Scamandrios Scylla Sirens Tiresias Troy Underworld

Sulari Gentill

The Hero Trilogy (Series, Book 2): Trying War

Following immediately from the events of Chasing Odysseus, the second book of the trilogy, Trying War, continues the adventures of the young Hero and her adopted brothers, Machaon, Lycon and Cadmus. When they arrive home to rejoin the Herdsmen who live outside Troy, they find Mount Ida under attack by Amazons. The warrior women take Hero captive; a new journey begins as her brothers set out to rescue her, taking with them the nymph Oenone, Paris’ abandoned wife, and the wolf Lupa who had s(...)

YEAR: 2012

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Absyrtus Aeëtes Alcippe Amazons Ares Deideimara Electra Eumenides Furies Hecate / Hekate Iphigenia / Iphigeneia Jason Lykomedes Medea Oedipus Oenone Orestes Pan Pantheon Paris Poseidon Theseus Troy

Sulari Gentill

The Hero Trilogy (Series, Book 3): The Blood of Wolves

The Blood of Wolves finds the young Hero and her adopted brothers, Machaon, Lycon and Cadmus back on the slopes of Mt Ida. The arrival of one of the Trojan refugees who left with Aeneas after Troy’s fall soon sets them and their guardian wolf Lupa on another long journey. This time all the Herdsmen leave, as Pan warns that Ida will soon fall to its land-hungry neighbours. They go to find a new home for themselves and to help Aeneas, who they are told has been imprisoned on Crete; their adv(...)

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Acestes Achaemenides Achilles Aeneas Alcippe Anchises Andromache Anna Ariadne Astyanax Celaeno Dido Euryalus Harpies Hector Ilioneus Iulus Latinus Lavinia Minos (King) Minotaur Nausicaa Neoptolemus Nisus Palinarus Pan Pasiphae Patroclus Penthesilea Polyphemus Scamandrios Troy Turnus Venus

Patrick Branwell Brontë

The History of the Young Men

This work opens with an extensive Introduction which details the early lives of the Brontë children and the evolution of their creative writing. There is also a section of Notes on the Text, which provides a manuscript history and images of the original. Branwell's introduction provides the history of the acquisition of the toy soldiers who formed the basis of the stories. He adds, 'this history is a statement of what Myself, Charlotte Emily and Ann really pretended did happen' (...)

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aesop Apollo Bible Carthage Gods Graeco-Persian wars Greek history Greek language Greek mythology Homer Iliad Latin Language Laurel wreath Mythology Oracles Patroclus Punic Wars Reception of classical antiquity Roman Empire Roman history Sparta Trojan War Virgil’s Aeneid

Wayne Harris, Margaret Wild

The House of Narcissus

The House of Narcissus is a paranormal picture book about a beautiful house in a city of waterways that falls in love with its own reflection. Resenting the intrusion of people who live in it, who distract it from thinking about its own beauty, the house tries to drive them out, with bad smells, and cold. Sending a chandelier crashing to the ground, the house scars a small girl, and is left alone. It draws ever closer to its reflection, not noticing its loneliness. A cat moves in, and the h(...)

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Narcissus

Tonya Alexandra

The Love Oracles (Series, Book One): Nymph

Merope is a Star Nymph, the youngest of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and the Oceanid nymph Pleione. After rejecting the offer to take Orion as her consort, Merope is banished from Olympus to a small Greek island. She meets Lukas, a local teenager, and although they are not aware of it until much later, the pair are struck by Eros’ arrows and fall passionately in love.Olympian law strictly forbids a relationship between a goddess and a mortal man, though Merope rec(...)

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Heracles / Herakles Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite Merope Mortals and Immortals Orion Ovid’s Fasti Pleiades Prometheus

Roma Thompson, Dorothy Vardon

The Magic Shell

In this picture book for younger readers, a girl named Judy has been “playing and paddling in the cool sparkling water”, on a yellow sandy beach. A shell is washed up on the shore in front of her. As she listens to the shell, a voice urges her to put it back in the water. It is the voice of Helen who is to become her friend in the ensuing pages. “A fleet of beautiful shells”, with “lovely ladies”, long-haired sea nymphs, Helen, Crystobel, Lurline, Diana, and R(...)

YEAR: 1949

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Neptune Nymphs

Maurice Saxby , John Winch

The Millennium Book of Myth and Story

The text includes retellings of six classical myths: Prometheus’ theft of fire, Pandora’s Box, Orpheus and Eurydice, Midas and the Golden Touch, Daedalus and Icarus, and Baucis and Philemon. These myths are grouped with stories from other cultures, including China, North America, India, and Africa, among others. Other stories are drawn from the Old and New Testament, Egyptian and Norse mythology, and Aboriginal Australia. The 33 myths are arranged into ten sections that emphasise the(...)

YEAR: 1997

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Baucis Daedalus Eurydice Icarus Jupiter Mercury Midas Orpheus Pandora Philemon Prometheus Zeus

Liz Porter

The Muddle-Headed Minotaur

A humorous, rhyming picture book with black and white cartoon illustrations, set in Greek village, is an entertaining introduction to Greek mythology for children. The story tells of “A muddle headed-minotaur who lived somewhere in Crete,/ decided to leave home…in search of something sweet” (Porter, 2003, p.1). Having spent too long in his dark lair, the Minotaur has become confused, but manages to find his way out of his cold, dark labyrinth. While everyone is at the loc(...)

YEAR: 2003

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aegan Sea Aegeus Ariadne Black and White Sails Dionysus Heroism Minos (King) Minotaur Naxos Theseus

June Epstein , Marjorie Howden

The Nine Muses: Five Plays for Ages 11 to 13

A playscript about Ancient Greece that brings classical composers to Mount Olympus for child performers and audiences. Includes plans for stage setting, notes on costume and props and a list of classical music to be performed during the performance. “Suggestions for original work” at the end of the play include dramatisations of one of the old Greek myths and writing a dialogue between two famous poets, painters or musicians. The prologue of The Nine Muses summarises the play&rs(...)

YEAR: 1951

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ancient Greek clothing Ancient Greek interests Apollo Calliope Clio Erato Euterpe Greek Gods Greek theatre Hermes Melpomene Polymnia Terpischore Thalia The Nine Muses Urania

Gary Crew, Matt Ottley

The Serpent’s Tale

In a Medieval market a boy demands that his mother buys him an amulet, at a fair in the town square. The amulet is a bracelet, in the form of a snake chasing its own tail, in an endless circle, an ouroboros, an ancient image of eternity. The boy sees it as a charm that holds the secret of a story that he wants to write. Time is short, for the priest warns that there could be an attack. The vendor is glad to be rid of the amulet and refuses to take any money for it. Ottley’s depic(...)

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Ouroboros / Uroborus

Sam Bowring

The Zoo of Magical and Mythological Creatures

Twelve-year-old Zackary is the youngest prince in the royal family of Zedge. His parents dote on him, but they are also exasperated – every tutor in the kingdom has declared him unteachable. After failing his training as a knight, Zackary is sent to assist Barnabus, the chaotic Royal Accountant, who files palace documents in his fireplace. When Barnabus sends Zackary on an errand to the nearby Zoo of Magical and Mythological Creatures, he discovers the allure of a place his parents have al(...)

YEAR: 2009

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Hydra Manticore Mermaids Nuckelavee Sirens Squonk Stymphalian Birds

Anna Manolatos, Frank Sikalas

Theseus and the Minotaur: Birth of a Hero

In this picture book version of the Theseus Myth, Theseus is a young man born of Princess Aethra and King Aegeus but also the son of Poseidon. He has incredible strength (being a demi-god) and is able to lift large boulders with one arm. When he turns 16, Theseus must remove his father’s sword and sandals from under a large rock, which have been hidden there until he is old enough to meet his father, King of Athens. Once he has obtained them, Theseus sails to his father’s kingdom. Up(...)

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aegeus Aethra Ariadne Minos Minotaur Poseidon Theseus

Irini Savvides

Willow Tree and Olive

Olive Alexandropoulos is in her final year of high school at prestigious Clare College in Sydney. In spite of the support of her teachers and her best friend Kerry, she is feeling the pressure, and her ambivalence about her Greek heritage doesn’t help. When a lecture on the sexual abuse of children triggers repressed memories of being raped as a five year old by an old man in her family’s village back in Greece, Olive falls apart. Although she tries to keep her revelation hidden, an (...)

YEAR: 2001

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Acropolis Athens Delphi Greek theatre Greek tragedy Lesbos Mytilene Sappho Sounion