10 INTRODUCTION
ANCIENT GREECE
18 Gaia first gave birth to her
equal, Ouranos
Origin of the universe24 Rhea swaddled up a stone
and passed it to Kronos
to swallow
The birth of Zeus32 Zeus in his first
youth battered the
earthborn Titans
The war of the gods and Titans34 No wind beats roughly
here, no snow nor rain
Mount Olympus36 He bound cunning
Prometheus in
inescapable fetters
Prometheus helps mankind40 Her impluse introduced
sorrow and mischief to
the lives of men
Pandora’s box64 This pair of tyrants. They
murdered my father
Orestes avenges Agamemnon66 Tell me oh muse, the
hero’s story
The quest of Odysseus72 After the labors had been
accomplished, he would
be immortal
The labors of Herakles76 He had the face of a bull,
but the rest of him
was human
Theseus and the Minotaur78 Disdaining his father’s
warnings, the exhilarated
Icarus soared ever higher
Daedalus and Icarus82 Watching the Gorgon’s
head in the polished
shield, he beheaded her
Perseus and Medusa84 Hate is a bottomless cup,
I will pour and pour
Jason and Medea86 Unfortunate Oedipus—
of all men, least to
be envied!
The fate of Oedipus42 Zeus had many women,
both mortal and immortal
The many affairs of Zeus48 Mighty Hades who dwells
in houses beneath
the earth
Hades and the Underworld50 He slipped a pomegranate,
sweet as honey,
into her hand
The abduction of Persephone52 The raving ladies
streamed out of
their homes
The cult of Dionysus53 Turning ’round, he caught
a glimpse of his wife and
she had to return below
Orpheus and Eurydice54 A bringer of dreams
Hermes’s first day56 Athena presents the olive
tree, Poseidon the wave
The founding of Athens58 I will give infallible
counsel to all who seek it
Apollo and the Oracle
of Delphi60 One loved; the other fled
the name of love
Apollo and Daphne62 Life and death are
balanced on the edge
of a razor
The Trojan WarCONTENTS
US_006-009_Contents.indd 6 05/12/17 3:24 pm
NORTHERN EUROPE
130 From Ymir’s flesh the
earth was made
Creation of the universe134 The ash of Yggdrasil is
the noblest of trees
Odin and the World Tree140 The first war in the world
War of the gods142 They mixed honey with
the blood and it turned
into mead
The Mead of Poetry144 Thor might smite as hard
as he desired and the
hammer would not fail
The treasures of the gods146 Am I wrong in thinking
that this little fellow
is Thor?
The adventures of Thor and
Loki in Jötunheim148 The unluckiest deed
ever done among
gods and men
The death of Baldur150 Brother will fight brother
and be his slayer
The twilight of the gods158 When the worm comes
to the water, smite him
in the heart
Sigurd the dragon slayer160 Wonderful the magic
sampo, plenty does
it bring to northland
The Kalevala88 She wants Adonis
more than she does
heaven itself
Aphrodite and Adonis90 Whatever I touch, may it
be transformed into
tawny gold
King Midas91 In a single day and night
the island of Atlantis
disappeared beneath
the waves
The legend of AtlantisANCIENT ROME
96 I sing of arms and
the man
Aeneas, founder of Rome102 A desire seized Romulus
and Remus to build a city
The founding of Rome106 The father of gods spurts
red flames through
the clouds
Numa outwits Jupiter108 Conceive of Vesta
as naught but the
living flame
Vesta and Priapus110 The fates will leave me
my voice, and by my
voice I shall be known
The sibyl of Cumae112 I love you as I love my
own soul
Cupid and Psyche114 I am on fire with love for
my own self
Narcissus and Echo115 She yet spins her thread,
as a spider
Arachne and Minerva116 I pay the due penalty
in blood
Cybele and Attis118 Mithras is the Lord
of generation
Mithras and the bull120 He carved a statue out of
snow-white ivory
Pygmalion121 For lying with me, take
control of the hinge
Carna and Janus122 No wood nymph could
tend a garden more
skilfuly than she
Pomona and Vertumnus124 Even death shall not
part us
Pyramus and Thisbe125 Those whom the gods care
for are gods
Philemon and BaucisUS_006-009_Contents.indd 7 05/12/17 3:24 pm