Gods and Heroes

Myths serve many purposes. They explain the world and its people; they provide moral guidance; they link diverse individuals into a people; and they offer insights into what happens after death (and, perhaps, before birth). Which is to say that myths serve many of the same purposes as religions and philosophies. It is, in some ways, both cynical and dismissive to note that “one man’s religion is another man’s mythology,” but it is also often true; we tend to elevate our own beliefs while denigrating those of others. Comparative approaches are more positive, highlighting the motifs and mores common to various cultures and delving into the psychological elements of myths that make them such clear markers of humanity.

Greek and Roman myths predominate here, but this is to be expected; except for the Bible, they have had a greater and more wide-ranging impact on Western civilization than any other source. They are firmly rooted in human behavior, even when that behavior is exhibited by gods, their half-human children, or animals. They offer young readers insights into how to grow up successfully: how to face challenges, how to handle success and defeat, how to be a worthwhile human being, and how to deal with love and death. The same is true of myths from China, aboriginal America, Africa, ancient Mesopotamia, and Scandinavia, the second great contributor of mythology to the Western world. The mythology of India is in a category by itself, ancient but alive, a vibrant polytheistic tradition that presumes monotheism but celebrates the manifold appearances of the gods. Readers of all ages and backgrounds will find much here that is both powerfully engaging and enlightening.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BYRD, Robert. The Hero and the Minotaur: The Fantastic Adventures of Theseus. illus. by author. Dutton. 2005. RTE $17.99. ISBN 0-525-47391-2.

Gr 1-5–Ancient artistic motifs–braided beards, large expressive eyes, flowing robes–combine with a contemporary sense of humor and lots of detail in Byrd’s sprawling illustrations, creating an evocative setting for the fairly brief text that covers all the pertinent information: Theseus’s early adventures; the love of Ariadne; Daedalus and Icarus. Byrd’s Theseus is an unalloyed hero, appropriate for the younger audience the author aims to attract.

D’AULAIRE, Ingri & Edgar Parin D’Aulaire. D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths. illus. by authors. New York Review of Books. 1967. Tr $24.95. ISBN 1-59017-125-X.

Gr 1-8–Thick-legged, bearded gods and long-tressed goddesses characterize the D’Aulaires’ lush illustrations, whether in full color or shades of gray. At the heart of the book are the All-Father Odin, willing to give up an eye for wisdom; the mighty, but somewhat simple Thor; and the unpredictable, selfish, and often cruel Loki. From creation out of ice and fire through almost total destruction, the world of these tales is full of power, whimsy, harsh earthiness, and the seemingly never-ending battle of order and light against brutality and darkness.

DAVIS, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much about World Myths. illus. by Sergio Ruzzier. HarperCollins. 2005. Tr $19.99. ISBN 0-06-028605-9; PLB $20.89. ISBN 0-06-028606-7; pap. $6.99. ISBN 0-06-440837-X.

Gr 3-7–Davis’s worldwide survey stretches from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China, whose myths are quite ancient, through Europe, Africa, Australasia, India, and the New World, where ancient and newer myths mingle. The question-and-answer format allows for such child-pleasing queries as “What did Cronos do to make his kids disappear?” “Is the Hindu goddess Devi naughty or nice?” and “Why did Finn MacCool suck his thumb?” Audio version is available from HarperCollins.

FISHER, Leonard Everett. The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China. illus. by author. Holiday House. 2003. RTE $16.95. ISBN 0-8234-1694-1.

K-Gr 4–From Yu Huang Da Di, the Jade Emperor and the highest of all gods, to Menshen, soldiers who became door gods and guardians of peaceful sleep after proving their ability to keep away the nightmares tormenting the emperor, Fisher’s one-page summaries of more than a dozen important deities are accompanied by his bright and vividly colored illustrations. Deities of abstracts such as mercy, immortality, and mischief are highlighted along with those of more tangible elements–fire, thunder, lightning, and war.

HALEY, Gail. A Story, a Story. illus. by author. S & S. 1970. Tr $17. ISBN 0-689-20511-2.

K-Gr 4–Generally considered a folktale, A Story, a Story features human and divine interaction and a plot device remarkably similar to Pandora’s box, though with positive results. In the remote past before storytelling exists on earth, Ananse the Spider Man uses intelligence instead of strength to meet the Sky God’s price for his golden box of stories. The folktale elements are undeniable, but so too is Ananse’s kinship to mythology’s greater trickster, Odysseus.

HUTTON, Warwick. Perseus. illus. by author. S & S. 1993. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-689-50565-5.

Gr 2-5–The story of Perseus appeals to children’s sense of justice as well as vengeance, love as well as anger. And such monsters! The Medusa, the Gray Sisters, the sea monster. Hutton’s outlined watercolors feature elongated bodies and small heads and flash with rich colors. The author’s other offerings include Persephone (1994), Theseus and the Minotaur (1989), The Trojan Horse (1992), and Odysseus and the Cyclops (1995, all S & S).

OSBORNE, Mary Pope. Sirens and Sea Monsters. illus. by Troy Howell. (Tales from the Odyssey Series). Hyperion. 2003. Tr $9.99. ISBN 0-7868-0772-5; pap. $3.99. ISBN 0-7868-0930-2.

Gr 2-5–Aimed at beginning chapter-book readers but not flinching from the brutality of Homer’s original, Osborne’s bite-sized retellings of the Odyssey emphasize dramatic action and emotional dialogue. Odysseus faces torturous temptation from the Sirens, inhuman monstrosity from Scylla and Charybdis, and the loss of all of his remaining soldiers as he battles his way home, in this the third of six volumes in the series.

SOUHAMI, Jessica. Rama and the Demon King: An Ancient Tale from India. illus. by author. DK Ink. 1997. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-7894-2450-9.

Gr 1-5–Rama, the great hero of the Indian epic The Ramayana, faces a stepmother’s jealousy with equanimity and the demon king’s kidnapping of his wife with resolute courage. Full of love, treachery, faith, and magic battle, and illustrated in energetic tissue-paper collages, this sleek retelling is perfect for introducing non-Hindu kids to one of the most beloved figures of a significant percentage of the world’s population.

WISNIEWSKI, David. Rain Player. illus. by author. Clarion. 1991. RTE $17. ISBN 0-395-55112-9; pap. $7.95. ISBN 0-395-72083-4.

Gr 1-5–Remarkable and vivid cut-paper illustrations are the stars of this beautiful book. Wisniewski layers both foreground and background cuttings to provide a three-dimensional sense of depth, and his characters are as detailed in feature and dress as many drawn or painted illustrations. The story of a Mayan boy–aided by the natural world–playing ball against the rain god is original, but based upon Mayan mythology and culture. A gorgeous creation.

YOLEN, Jane & Robert J. Harris. Jason and the Gorgon’s Blood. (Young Heroes Series.) HarperCollins. 2004. Tr $15.99. ISBN 0-06-029452-3; PLB $16.89. ISBN 0-06-029453-1.

Gr 3-7–Yolen and Harris imagine Jason still in training with the centaur Chiron and before his quest for the Golden Fleece. Along with the prince of Iolcus and other adolescents in training, he seeks to recover two jars containing the blood from Medusa’s head and stolen from Chiron by other centaurs. It’s not an immortal tale, but it is swiftly moving and involving.

ZEMAN, Ludmila. Gilgamesh the King. illus. by author. Tundra. 1998. Tr $19.95. ISBN 0-88776-283-2; pap. $8.95. ISBN 0-88776-437-1.

Gr 2-6–The semi-divine king seems to have no humanity at all until the Sun God sends Enkidu, a beast-man, to challenge him and then to become his best friend. Zeman’s large-scale illustrations reflect ancient Near Eastern traditions both in their borders, which use cuneiform and geometric patterns, and in the grandeur of the central scenes: stalwart bearded men, palm trees, enormous brick buildings. The story continues in The Revenge of Ishtar and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (both Tundra, 1998).

BARBER, Antonia. Apollo & Daphne: Masterpieces of Greek Mythology. Getty Museum. 1998. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-89236-504-8.

Gr 5-10–The work of such artists as Leonardo, Tintoretto, Raphael, Rembrandt, and (more recently) Burne-Jones are the raison d’etre of this slim volume showcasing art inspired by Greek mythology. The paintings’ colors are rich and the reproduction is sharp, stealing some of the thunder from Barber’s brief retellings of 15 myths including “Europa and the Bull,” “The Judgment of Paris,” “Perseus,” and “King Midas.” Artistic nudity and lusty subject matter may keep this off elementary library shelves.

CADNUM, Michael. Starfall: Phaeton and the Chariot of the Sun. Scholastic. 2004. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-439-54533-1.

Gr 6-10–While its conclusion is inevitably tragic, Cadnum leavens the sorrow of this retelling of the myth of Phaeton with a deep flow of family love alongside the gods’ profound concern for their mortal worshippers, especially evidenced in the portrayals of Jupiter, Apollo, and Mercury. At moments Cadnum actually re-creates a sense of what ancient Greeks and Romans may have felt about their gods and about the world in which they moved.

COLUM, Padraic. Nordic Gods and Heroes. illus. by Willy Pogany. (Pictorial Archive Series). Dover. 1996. pap. 0-486-28912-5.

Gr 5-10–Colum’s diction was somewhat archaic even in 1920, but the style is perfectly appropriate to these ancient and strange tales. Less familiar to most readers than the Greek myths, these stories seem therefore fresher and more truly otherworldly–the gods’ home in Asgard, their dealings with giants and dwarfs, magical hammers and rings, and a mischievous god who eats a witch’s heart and “goes over to the dark side.”

EVSLIN, Bernard. Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths. Laurel Leaf. 1984. pap. $6.50. ISBN 0-553-25920-2.

Gr 5-9–While Evslin includes more than two dozen myths here, the heart of this essential collection is formed by his masterful, full-bodied, and sometimes funny retellings of the Perseus, Theseus, and Orpheus cycles, perfect for read-alouds with fifth through eighth graders, who will find their own doubts and longings reflected in the lives of the heroes.

GRAVES, Robert. Greek Gods and Heroes. Laurel Leaf. 1965. pap. $5.50. ISBN 0-440-93221-1.

Gr 5-8–Graves’s honed and swiftly paced re-creations, many only two pages long, invite both read-alone browsing and “sponge activity” read-alouds. Material less common to this age group–such as the palace layout on Olympus, the “seven against Thebes,” and the giants’ rebellion–makes this volume useful even when newer titles cover the major myths, and Graves’s conclusion about the gods’ activity after the Roman Empire became Christian ties disparate parts into a satisfying whole.

McCALL, Henrietta. Gods and Goddesses: In the Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. (Gods and Goddesses Series). Peter Bedrick. 2002. Tr $18.95. ISBN 0-87226-635-4.

Gr 4-8–Major deities and the religious practices associated with them are described in brief central introductions, accompanied by photographs and minutely detailed illustrations. Lengthy captions to the artwork give more information about the divinities and the aspects of culture and daily life associated with them. This is a useful guide to a mythology mostly unfamiliar to students.

McCAUGHREAN, Geraldine. Perseus. (Heroes Series). Cricket. 2005. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-8126-2735-0.

Gr 4-7–Linguistic verve and a barbed humor mark this short novel based on the myth of Perseus. When King Acrisius learns from the oracle at Epidaurus that his (as yet nonexistent) grandson will kill him one day, he begins a futile effort to defeat his fate and thus sets into motion the grand adventures that bring that fate to its conclusion. McCaughrean’s Perseus is human, brash, and appealing.

SERVICE, Pamela F. The Reluctant God. Fawcett. 1989. pap. $5.50. ISBN 0-449-70339-8.

Gr 5-10–Suppose the gods of ancient Egypt were real, and that Pharaoh truly was one of their number? Service posits exactly that in this novel, conventionally seen as a fantasy adventure. Young Amenemhat, to whom the Pharaonic divinity has just passed, is placed in a state of suspended animation as a guardian of the faith and wakes in the late 20th century, befriended and aided by Lorna, an archaeologist’s daughter. Exciting, touching, and more than a bit awe-inspiring.

SUTCLIFF, Rosemary. Black Ships before Troy: The Story of the Iliad. illus. by Alan Lee. Delacorte. 1993. Tr $24.95. ISBN 0-385-31069-2.

Gr 5-10–Lee’s vivid watercolor paintings, reminiscent of those he created for The Lord of the Rings (Houghton, 2002), beautifully complement this lean retelling of the story of the Trojan War. Sutcliff does not stint at revealing the horror of battle or the brutality of the soldier at work, and her skills as a master storyteller are apparent. Followed by the worthy The Wanderings of Odysseus (Delacorte,1996).

HIGH SCHOOL

CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, Kevin. The Norse Myths. Pantheon. 1981. pap. $16. ISBN 0-394-74846-8.

Gr 9 Up –A lengthy introduction and extensive background notes attest to Crossley-Holland’s scholarship. Students, however, will be more interested in the author’s narrative skills: these tales are surprising, sometimes funny, occasionally ribald, and significantly stranger than the better-known Greek myths. Tolkien fans will note the links to The Lord of the Rings, and Christians may note the similarities between Loki and Lucifer and wonder about the All-Father Odin, hung on a tree, pierced by a spear, and resurrected.

GARNER, Alan. The Owl Service. Harcourt. 1999. pap. $6. ISBN 0-15-201798-4.

Gr 8 Up–Three teenagers unwittingly re-enact an important incident from Welsh mythology when they meet in rural Wales in the 1960s. Garner juggles social-class prejudice and blended-family friction as the tension mounts and the world seems to constrict to an isolated valley. This is the first masterpiece by one of the UK’s most esteemed writers for the young.

GRAVES, Robert. The Greek Myths. 2 vols. Penguin. 1993. pap. $19.95. ISBN 0-14-017199-1.

Gr 9 Up–An invaluable reference source, this compendium assembles the variant forms of dozens of myths collected from versions of the ancient authors, with citations, Graves’s interpretations, and an in-depth index. Students bitten by the mythology bug will find a treasure here, most of it untouched by their literature courses.

KINDL, Patrice. Lost in the Labyrinth. Houghton. 2002. Tr $16. ISBN 0-618-16684-X; pap. $7.99. ISBN 0-618-39402-8.

Gr 7-10–Xenodice, a younger daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae, tells how life in Cretan Knossos is utterly and tragically changed by the arrival of Theseus. Xenodice’s love for the “Minotaur” (her brother, after all) is as touching as her youthful infatuation with Icarus, who works with his father Daedalus in crafting new inventions for the royal family. Kindl mingles myth, archaeology, and fantasy to create a vivid portrait of a long-dead culture.

MASON, Herbert. Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative. Mariner. 2003. pap. $7.95. ISBN 0-618-27564-9.

Gr 8 Up–Gilgamesh the king ruled in Mesopotamia about 4500 years ago. But the epic that grew around him, arguably the oldest literary story in the world, still attracts readers not because of his semi-divine powers, but because it centers on arrogance tempered by friendship, friendship sundered by death, and the subsequent attempt to find immortality. Mason’s version is supple and lean, surviving the competition of newer interpretations.

NAPOLI, Donna Jo. The Great God Pan. Random. 2003. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-385-32777-3; PLB $17.99. ISBN 0-385-90120-8; pap. $5.99. ISBN 0-440-22925-1.

Gr 8-10–Napoli’s Pan is both sensuous and sensual, attuned both to the broader glories of nature and to femininity in particular. Sometimes teasingly, but not graphically, erotic, this story depicts a momentous event–a god’s truly falling in love with a human, rather than simply lusting for her–and creates an explanation for Plutarch’s enigmatic assertion that “The Great God Pan is dead.” Initially uneven, the novel rapidly becomes sure-footed and involving.

THE RAMAYANA: A SHORTENED MODERN PROSE VERSION OF THE INDIAN EPIC. tr. by R. K. Narayan. Penguin. 1993. pap. $12. ISBN 0-14-018700-6.

Adult/High School–Demons that can change shape at will; monkeys that talk and reason; battles that take place on land and in the air; young love–all these are part of the Ramayana, one of India’s two national epics, centered around the hero Rama, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu; his brother Lakshmana; and his wife Sita. Narayan’s retelling abridges and compresses the version from the Tamil language, more than 10,000 stanzas long, into 170 manageable pages.

SHANOWER, Eric. Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships. vol. 1. illus. by author. Image Comics. 2001. pap. $19.95. ISBN 1-58240-200-0.

Gr 9 Up–In this first of a projected seven-volume series of graphic novels, Shanower weaves separate threads of Greek mythology to create a unified look at the causes of the Trojan War, from the Judgment of Paris to the sailing of the “thousand ships” from Aulis. Black line drawings full of detail, whether close-ups or long panoramas, and a great deal of research characterize this retelling.

SPINNER, Stephanie. Quiver. Knopf. 2002. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-375-81489-2; PLB $17.99. ISBN 0-375-91489-7; pap. $5.99. ISBN 0-440-23819-6.

Gr 8-10–In most retellings of the Greek myths, Atalanta’s race is covered in a few short pages. In Quiver, Atalanta comes alive with the immediacy of a novel about present-day teens, even as it carefully observes its own harsh and pitiless setting in the mythic past. This roundly developed Atalanta is full of strength and courage. Spinner’s decision to allow the gods to appear directly adds dimension to what is already a deeply felt tale.