Category: | Our Mythical Childhood Survey

Chris Capstick , Monika Filipina

This light-hearted story is set in an ancient Egypt ruled by giant cats. The giant cats unfairly favour the normal-sized cats, leaving dogs to do all the work. This injustice has persisted for generations, until "a young pup called Alexander" left his care-free youth behind him to enter a world of toil and decided to lead the dogs in throwing off the shackles of their oppressors. True to the genre of books for young children, Alexander asks dogs of various occupations for their views o(...)

literary

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Alexander the Great Ancient Slavery Architecture Bible Egypt

Jamila Gavin, David Parkins

Alexander the Great. Man, Myth, or Monster?

Alexander the Great. Man, Myth, or Monster? introduces young readers to ancient history via biography. The birth to death format follows the traditions of biography, while the narrative also moves forward and backwards in parts, with the narrator recalling previous events or anticipating events that will occur later. The story is punctuated by mythic tales which are introduced as if being told to soldiers in the story. These embedded myths are well chosen to reflect what is happening in the main(...)

literary

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Achilles Agamemnon Alexander the Great Ancient Slavery Architecture Artemis Athens Bible Caesar Daedalus Dionysus / Dionysos Divination Egypt Egyptian Mythology Gilgamesh Gods Graeco-Persian Wars Greek History Greek Philosophy Heracles Hercules Homer Icarus Iliad Immortality Midas Oracles Patroclus Trojan War Troy Zeus

Bernard Beckett

August

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(...)

literary

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Augustine (of Hippo) Bible Plato Theory of Forms / Theory of Ideas

Douglas Petrie, Joseph Hill Whedon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Series, S04E10): Hush

The series itself follows Buffy Summers, a teenaged vampire-slayer who moves to Sunnydale with her mother in the series premiere. During her high school years (seasons 1 – 3), she forms strong friendships with fellow school students, Willow and Xander, and her Watcher, Giles, who is the school librarian. Together, the “Scooby Gang” assist Buffy in her slaying duties. By Season Four, Buffy has begun attending the local college, UC-Sunnydale, and the series takes a turn as Buffy (...)

audiovisual

YEAR: 1999

COUNTRY: United States of America

TAGS: Bible Cassandra Pandora Philomela

Hugo Pratt

Corto Maltese (Series, Book 7): Corto Maltese. The Golden House of Samarkand

The Maltese adventures typically involve a mission to locate an item of some sort within a challenging environment. In this, the seventh instalment in the series, Corto has heard tell of a manuscript by Lord George Byron the poet which Byron's friend, Edward Trelawny, hid on the island of Rhodes. Corto is on Rhodes to retrieve the manuscript. He locates it without too much difficulty and it contains a map to the "Great Gold" - the treasure of Alexander the Great, which is in the Go(...)

literary

YEAR: 1974

COUNTRY: France Italy

TAGS: Alexander the Great Architecture Bible Cassandra Golden Fleece Greek History Jason Narcissus

Bernard Beckett

Genesis

Dystopian speculative fiction for young adults, with a philosophical focus. Set in the "Republic," an island country that has survived global turmoil (war between continental powers, and plague). Protagonist Anaximander is undergoing examination for entrance into the "Academy," and therefore into an elite life of inquiry and culture. Her special topic is Adam Forde, a rebel from a previous period in history and a hero from an early stage of the Republic. As a coastal guard, A(...)

literary

COUNTRY: New Zealand

TAGS: Anaximander Bible Eve Greek Philosophy Pericles Socrates

Wojciech Rzehak, Jacek Siudak

Mythology. Beliefs of the Greeks and Romans [Mitologia. Wierzenia Greków i Rzymian]

A previous version of the entry was published in: 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 mythology includes myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The book is formally divided into two parts: 1) Greek myths an(...)

literary

YEAR: 2004

COUNTRY: Poland

TAGS: Aeneas Argonauts Bible Greek Gods Hercules Roman Gods Rome Romulus Thebes Zeus

Stuart Hill, Sandra Lawrence

The Atlas of Heroes. A World of Heroes from Myth and Legend

This atlas is large in scale (at 28x34cm) and sumptuously illustrated with hand-drawn maps decorated with numerous heroes associated with each location. The figures on the maps are numbered, and these correspond to a companion page which features summaries of each hero. The maps are double-framed within an introductory story communicated via text and illustration; a young girl discovers the atlas as part of a stash of items in an attic, and the atlas features notes added by her as she uncovers m(...)

literary

YEAR: 2018

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Achilles Aeneas Aeneid Aesop Agamemnon Argo Argonauts Ariadne Athena / Athene Athens Atlas Bellerophon Bible Cassandra Cleopatra VII Crete Egypt Gilgamesh Golden Fleece Hector Hecuba Helen Heracles Hercules Homer Iliad Jason Labyrinth Mark Antony Medea Menelaus Minos Minotaur Odysseus / Ulysses Odyssey Pegasus Penelope Priam Roman History Theseus Trojan Horse Trojan War Troy Twelve Labours of Heracles Virgil

Pauline Baynes, Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia (Series, Book 4): The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair, the fourth book published in the Narnia Chronicles by C. S. Lewis, introduces us to Jill Pole, a girl who attends Experiment House. She is cruelly bullied by some of the children there. At the beginning of the book she is found crying behind the gym by Eustace Scrubb. Eustace – who had appeared in the previous installment of the Narnia Chronicles, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – comforts Jill and confides in her about his adventures in Narnia. As they flee fro(...)

literary

YEAR: 1953

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Afterlife Bible Centaur(s) Faun Immortality Underworld

Pauline Baynes, Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia (Series, Book 6): The Magician's Nephew

Polly and Diggory are neighbours in row houses in London. Diggory lives with his aunt and uncle. His father is away in India and, sadly, his mother is dying. While playing together one day, Polly and Diggory discover a long tunnel running through the roofs of the adjoining houses on their street. They open a door with a latch and enter an attic room, discovering the room that Diggory’s Uncle Andrew has forbidden anyone from entering. Uncle Andrew is in the room, snarling, and is immediatel(...)

literary

YEAR: 1955

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Bible Creation Myths Olympus Pegasus

Pauline Baynes, Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia (Series, Book 7): The Last Battle

The Last Battle is the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. It serves as a culmination of all the events of the series. The reader is introduced to Shift, a bully of a gorilla who convinces Puzzle the donkey to wear a lion’s skin and pretend to be Aslan, the Golden ‘father’ of Narnia. King Tirian, with his unicorn, Jewel, hears news of Aslan’s return. Much death and destruction occurs in Narnia, supposedly at Aslan’s command. Calormene men who(...)

literary

YEAR: 1956

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

TAGS: Aesop’s Fables Bible Centaur(s) Faun Gods Nymphs Phoenix (Bird) Plato

Philippe Béha, Glen Huser

The Golden Touch. A Retelling of the Legend of King Midas

The Golden Touch. A Retelling of the Legend of King Midas is a book and CD version of an opera staged in Canada in which over 200 school children performed alongside a Chroma Musika cast 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, and the city of Laval. This w(...)

literary

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: Canada United Kingdom

TAGS: Apollo Architecture Bible Charybdis Cyclops / Cyclopes Dionysus / Dionysos Faun Gods Greek Music Helen Metamorphoses (Ovid's) Midas Ovid Pan

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' (...)

literary

YEAR: 2010

COUNTRY: Australia

TAGS: Aeneid Aesop Apollo Bible Carthage Gods Graeco-Persian Wars Greek History Homer Iliad Latin (Language) Laurel Wreath Oracles Patroclus Punic Wars Roman Empire Roman History Sparta Trojan 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

YEAR: 1964

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

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

Gerd Scherm

The Wanderers [Die Irrfahrer]

The prophet and scribe Seshmosis, who saved his nation, the Tajarim, from Egyptian bondage thanks to the support of the goddess GON, god without a name, leaves Byblos with his friends in order to travel to Crete. He intends to analyse a mysterious locket there, whose origins are Cretan, and which is inscribed in a secret language. Once arrived in Crete, the adventurers meet not only Minos, the king of Crete, but also his obliging daughter Ariadne and her lover Theseus who is eager to become hims(...)

literary

YEAR: 2007

COUNTRY: Germany

TAGS: Achilles Bible Crete Egypt Labyrinth Minos Minotaur Odysseus / Ulysses Theseus Trojan War