The Literature Book

this dramatic storytelling became more sophisticated, and by the time Athens was established as a democratic nation-state, the t ...

20 See also: Mahabharata 22–25 ■ Iliad 26–33 ■ Beowulf 42–43 ■ Njal’s Saga 52–53 W riting first appeared in Mesopotamia at the b ...

21 See also: Quan Tangshi 46 ■ Romance of the Three Kingdoms 66–67 ■ The Narrow Road to the Interior 92 T he Book of Changes is ...

22 WHAT IS THIS CRIME I AM PLANNING O KRISHNA? MAHABHARATA (9TH–4TH CENTURIES bce), ATTRIBUTED TO VYASA T he epic poetry of the ...

23 See also: The Epic of Gilgamesh 20 ■ Iliad 26–33 ■ One Thousand and One Nights 44–45 ■ Ramayana 55 ■ The Canterbury Tales 68– ...

24 religious digressions, one of which, the Bhagavad Gita, has become important in its own right. The epic explores themes of fa ...

25 Dhritarashtra reaches out blindly for his wife Gandhari, who has bound her eyes to share his darkened world. Bad actions in a ...

SING O GODDESS THE ANGER OF ACHILLES ILIAD (c.8TH CENTURY bce), ATTRIBUTED TO HOMER US_026-033_Iliad.indd 26 08/10/2015 13:03 ...

SING O GODDESS ILIAD (c.8TH CENTURY bce), ATTRIBUTED TO HOMER US_026-033_Iliad.indd 27 08/10/2015 13:03 ...

28 E pics are narrative poems that recount the story of a hero who represents a particular culture. They chronicle his quests an ...

29 Troy was believed for many years to be a mythical city. However, archaeologists now agree that excavations in Anatolia, Turke ...

30 raging for nine years. Homer digresses to explain some of the background to the events he is describing, but he assumes much ...

31 warriors. But his character and motivation stand in contrast to those of Achilles, highlighting two very different attitudes ...

32 of Zeus and Leda. Paris had seized Helen in collusion with Aphrodite, so sides had already been taken on Mount Olympus, the h ...

33 The Odyssey details the death of the hero Achilles. He is killed by an arrow fired by Paris, which is guided to the one vulne ...

HOW DREADFUL OF THE TRUTH CAN BE WHEN THERE’S NO HELP IN OEDIPUS THE KING (c.429 bce), SOPHOCLES KNOWLEDGE TRUTH! US_034-039_Oed ...

US_034-039_Oedipus.indd 35 08/10/2015 13:03 ...

36 W ith the revolt that overthrew the last tyrant king in 510 bce, and the establishment of a form of democracy, the city-state ...

37 Writers submitted work to be performed at the festival, in the form of a trilogy of tragedies followed by a comic play, and c ...

38 a series of episodes interspersed with commentary from the chorus, leading to a choral exodus, or conclusion. Within this fra ...