Stephen P. Kershaw

An illustrated encyclopedia of Greek mythology like no other, Mythologica features startlingly beautiful and exquisitely otherworldly portraits of mythological characters in eye-popping color from artist Victoria Topping and authoritative text from Classics scholar and Greek mythology expert Dr. Stephen Kershaw. Uncover the colorful lives of 50 powerful gods and goddesses, earth-dwelling mortals, and terrifying monsters as you journey back in time to ancient Greece. From the fearless Athena and her meddlesome ways to the brave and bold Odysseus and his remarkable journey home, discover why these incredible stories are still a part of our culture today. Listed alphabetically, each boldly designed spread presents a figure from the myths, including their name in Greek, their defining attributes, and a summary of their story, along with multiple sidelights that provide additional facts. Interspersed with the profiles are summaries of famous mythological tales and historical events, like the Odyssey, the Trojan War, and the story of the Argonauts. An electrifying visual portrayal of each figure transports you directly into their wild world. Victoria Topping’s artwork is a fusion of technological and traditional techniques that combines photography, painting, and cut-paper collage to perfectly express the blending of human and fantastic traits from which mythical beings are made. The thrilling images and digestible text provide the perfect introduction to the lively world of Greek mythology. Prepare to be amazed as you uncover the epic, heroic, and sometimes terrible lives of mortals, monsters, and gods.

An encyclopedia of gods, monsters and mortals from ancient Greece

Mythologica

the Epic Battles That Saved Democracy

Harvest of War : Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis

Yaşadığımız yirmi birinci yüzyılda, Yunan mitolojisinin tınılarıyla etrafımız daimi olarak sarılmış haldedir ve her ne kadar kafayı nadiren yorsak da her zaman mitler hakkında konuşuruz. Truva atlarının bilgisayarlarımızı tehdit ettiği ve Ajax'ın hem bir temizleme ürünü hem de Hollandalı bir futbol takımı olduğu kaotik bir dünyada (Khaos, başlangıçtaki adı) yaşamaktayız. Bir tarafta politikacılar, muhaliflerinin fikirlerini ‘masal' (diğer bir deyişle; yalan) olarak değerlendirirlerken diğer tarafta ise medyatik arkeologlar, Atlantis ‘efsanesinin altında yatan gerçeği' gün ışığına çıkarmaya çalışmaktadırlar. İnsan başlı at olan Kentaurlar, C.S. Lewis'in Narnia kitaplarına ve J.K. Rowling'in Harry Potter serisine ait sayfaları süslerler; futbol dünyasında teknik direktörler, golcülerinin Midas dokunuşuna sahip olduklarını belirtirler; bir erkek Adonis olurken bir kadın siren veya harpia olabilir ve bilindiği üzere, hepimizin Aşil tendonları vardır. Diğerleri ise, Yunan mitolojisinin semantik köklerine ait olan ve tüm eylemlerinde afrodizyak kullanıp erotik eserler okuyan nemfomanyaklardır. Bu arada bizler, Herkülvari görevler üstlenirken, Oidipus kompleksiyle boğuşurken, bireysel ‘Odysseus' yolculuklarına çıkarken armağanlar sunan Yunanlılardan kesinlikle uzak durmalıyız. Bu kitap, Yunan mitolojisinin özünü gözden geçirmenizi sağlar ve doğrudan anlatıldıklarında ise en etkili anlatımlarının sergilendiği mitlere en doğru kaynaktan ulaşmanızı hızlı bir şekilde destekler. Farklı sebeplerden dolayı, farklı yazarlar tarafından farklı zamanlarda ve yerlerde anlatılan benzer temel hikâyelerin birçok versiyonu vardır. Bu farklılıkların birçoğu aydınlatılacaktır. Bu kitap aynı zamanda, antik Yunan döneminden yirmi birinci yüzyıla kadar Yunanistan'a ait masalların yansımalarını ve doğruluklarını araştıracaktır. Yunan Mitolojisi Rehber Kitabı üç temel alanda yer almaktadır: 1. İlk bölümde, mit ve mitoloji araştırılmıştır. Yunan mitlerinin ne olduklarını tanımlamak mümkün müdür? Diğer geleneksel masallardan ayırt edilebilirler mi? Doğru bir tanımı var mıdır? 2. İkinci bölümde, Yunan mitolojisinin temel masallarından bazılarına doğru bir yolculuğa çıkacağız. Tüm mitleri ve farklı şekillerini kapsayan bir araştırma olduğunu iddia edemeyiz. Aksi takdirde bu devasa bir eser oldurdu. Kitapta gerçekleştirmeye çalıştığımız şey ise okuyucuyu, tanrıların doğuşundan Truvalı kahramanların yuvalarına dönüşüne kadar, bu heyecanlı hikâyelerin ‘kronolojik' düzeni içinde dolaştırmaktır. Az bilinen birkaç kahraman ve temaların yanı sıra, İason ve Argonotlar, Truva Savaşı ve Odysseus gibi benzer hikâyelerle de karşılaşılacaktır. Buna ek olarak, bu kitap sık sık hikâyelerden ortaya çıkan ilginç konuları açıklamayı dener ve mitleri doğruluklarıyla birlikte tartışır. Truva Savaşı gerçekten oldu mu? Peki ya Atlantis? Daha modern çağlarda efsanevi bulgular nasıl kullanıldı ya da nasıl suistimal edildi? Bizler, Yunan geleneğinin sadece başka bir parçası mıyız? 3. Üçüncü bölümde, Antik Çağ'dan günümüze Yunan mitlerinin farklı bilimsel (veya daha az bilimsel) açıklamalarının kısa bir analizini göreceğiz. Bilim insanları, bin yıllık döneme ait mitlerin kökenlerini ve anlamlarını ortaya çıkarmak için kafa yormuşlardır. Bu nedenle, bu kitap, Euhemerus'dan Freud ve ötesindeki temel düşünsel yaklaşımlardan bazılarına ait araştırmaları sunar.

Yunan Mitolojisi

The Atlantis story remains one of the most haunting and enigmatic tales from antiquity, and one that still resonates very deeply with the modern imagination. But where did Atlantis come from, what was it like, and where did it go to? Atlantis was first introduced by the Greek philosopher Plato in two dialogues the Timaios and Kritias, written in the fourth century BC. As he philosophises about the origins of life, the Universe and humanity, the great thinker puts forward a stunning description of Atlantis, an island paradise with an ideal society. But the Atlanteans degenerate and become imperialist aggressors: they fight against antediluvian Athens, which heroically repels their mighty forces, before a cataclysmic natural disaster destroys the warring states. His tale of a great empire that sank beneath the waves has sparked thousands of years of debate over whether Atlantis really existed. But did Plato mean his tale as history, or just as a parable to help illustrate his philosophy? The book is broken down into two main sections plus a coda - firstly the translations/commentaries which will have the discussions of the specifics of the actual texts; secondly a look at the reception of the myth from then to now; thirdly a brief round-off bringing it all together.

Plato's Ideal State

A Brief History of Atlantis

Gods, Monsters, Heroes and the Origins of Storytelling

The Greek Myths

A fresh new look at the Roman Empire, from the point of view of those regarded by the Romans as 'barbarians'. Kershaw builds a narrative around the lives, personalities, successes and failures both of the key opponents of Rome's rise and dominance, and of the those who ultimately brought the empire down. 'And now what will become of us without barbarians? Those people were a sort of solution.' 'Waiting for the Barbarians' C. P. Cavafy History is written by the victors, and Rome had some very eloquent historians. Those the Romans regarded as barbarians left few records of their own, but they had a tremendous impact on the Roman imagination. Resisting from outside Rome's borders or rebelling from within, they emerge vividly in Rome's historical tradition, and left a significant footprint in archaeology. Rome's history, as written by the Romans, follows a remarkable trajectory from its origins as a tiny village of refugees from a conflict zone to a dominant superpower, before being transformed into the medieval and Byzantine worlds. But throughout this history, Rome faced significant resistance and rebellion from peoples whom it regarded as barbarians. Gibbon saw the Roman Empire as one of the highest points of human achievement destroyed by barbarian invaders: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Goths, Vandals, Huns, Picts and Scots. To others, as Rome was ravaged, new life was infused into an expiring Italy. Gibbon's 'decline and fall' has been reappraised as transformation, through religious and cultural revolution. Based both on ancient historical writings and modern archaeological research, this new history takes a fresh look at the Roman Empire, through the personalities and lives of key opponents of Rome's rise, dominance and fall - or transformation. These include: Brennus, the Gaul who sacked Rome; the Plebs, those barbarous insiders and internal resistors; Hannibal; Viriathus, the Iberian shepherd and skilled guerilla; Jugurtha and the struggle to free Africa; the Germanic threat from the Cimbri and the Teutones; Spartacus, the gladiator; Vercingetorix and rebellion in Gaul; Cleopatra; Boudicca, the Queen of the Iceni and the scourge of Rome; the Great Jewish Revolt; Alaric the Goth and the Sack of Rome; Attila the Hun, 'Born to Shake the Nations'; and the Vandals and the fall of Rome.

Rebellion and Resistance to the Roman Empire

Barbarians

A general introduction to the classical world from its origins to the fall of the Roman Empire. The book focuses on questions of how we know about Classical civilization from archaeology and history; deals with the Mycenaean era and the world of Myth and Epic in Homer's Iliad & Odyssey; gives an outline of Greek history in the 5th & 4th Centuries BC; looks at Greek social life and the alternative model of Sparta, and considers the achievements of the Greeks in their art and architecture, tragedy and comedy. Turning to Rome, it engages with Roman history, the Roman Epic tradition, the fascinating features of Roman social life, analyses Roman satire, explores the urban environment in Pompeii and Herculaneum, and concludes with the End of Rome.

A Brief Guide to Classical Civilization

Praise for the author's A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths: 'Eminently sane, highly informative' PAUL CARTLEDGE, BBC History magazine In 2022 it will be 2,500 years since the final defeat of the invasion of Greece by the Persian King Xerxes. This astonishing clash between East and West still has resonances in modern history, and has left us with tales of heroic resistance in the face of seemingly hopeless odds. Kershaw makes use of recent archaeological and geological discoveries in this thrilling and timely retelling of the story, originally told by Herodotus, the Father of History. The protagonists are, in Europe, the Greeks, led on land by militaristic, oligarchic Sparta, and on sea by the newly democratic Athens; in Asia, the mighty Persian Empire - powerful, rich, cultured, ethnically diverse, ruled by mighty kings, and encompassing modern Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Egypt. When the rich, sophisticated, Greek communities of Ionia on the western coast of modern Turkey, rebel from their Persian overlord Darius I, Athens sends ships to help them. Darius crushes the Greeks in a huge sea battle near Miletus, and then invades Greece. Standing alone against the powerful Persian army, the soldiers of Athens' newly democratic state - a system which they have invented - unexpectedly repel Darius's forces at Marathon. After their victory, the Athenians strike a rich vein of silver in their state-owned mining district, and decide to spend the windfall on building a fleet of state-of-the-art warships. Persia wants revenge. The next king, Xerxes, assembles a vast multinational force, constructs a bridge of boats across the Hellespont, digs a canal through the Mount Athos peninsula, and bears down on Greece. Trusting in their 'wooden walls', the Athenians station their ships at Artemisium, where they and the weather prevent the Persians landing forces in the rear of the land forces under the Spartan King Leonidas at the nearby pass of Thermopylae. Xerxes's assault is a disastrous failure, until a traitor shows him a mountain track that leads behind the Greeks. Leonidas dismisses the Greek troops, but remains in the pass with his 300 Spartan warriors where they are overwhelmed in an heroic last stand. Athens is sacked by the Persians. Democracy is hanging by a thread. But the Athenians convince the Greek allies to fight on in the narrow waters by the island of Salamis (underwater archaeology has revealed the Greek base), where they can exploit local weather conditions to negate their numerical disadvantage. Despite the heroism of the Persian female commander Artemisia, the Persian fleet is destroyed. Xerxes returns to Asia Minor, but still leaves some forces in Greece. In 479 BCE, the Spartans lead a combined Greek army out against the Persians. In a close-run battle near the town of Plataea, the discipline, fighting ability and weaponry of the Greeks prevail. The Persian threat to the Greek mainland is over. Athens forms a successful anti-Persian coalition to drive the Persians from Greek territory, seek reparations, and create security in the future. But this 'alliance' is gradually converted into an Athenian Empire. The democracy becomes increasingly radical. In this context we see the astonishing flowering of fifth-century BCE Athenian culture - in architecture, drama and philosophy - but also a disastrous war, and defeat, at the hands of Sparta by the end of the century. The book concludes by exploring the ideas that the decisive battles of Thermopylae and Salamis mark the beginnings of Western civilization itself and that Greece remains the bulwark of the West , representing the values of generous and unselfish peace, freedom and democracy in a neighbourhood ravaged by instability and war.

Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis

Three Epic Battles that Saved Democracy

Three Battles That Saved Democracy

In this lively and very readable history of the Roman Empire from its establishment in 27 BC to the barbarian incursions and the fall of Rome in AD 476, Kershaw draws on a range of evidence, from Juvenal's Satires to recent archaeological finds. He examines extraordinary personalities such as Caligula and Nero and seismic events such as the conquest of Britain and the establishment of a 'New Rome' at Constantinople and the split into eastern and western empires. Along the way we encounter gladiators and charioteers, senators and slaves, fascinating women, bizarre sexual practices and grotesque acts of brutality, often seen through eyes of some of the world's greatest writers. He concludes with a brief look at how Rome lives on in the contemporary world, in politics, architecture, art and literature.

A Brief History of the Roman Empire

Victoria Topping

An Encyclopedia of Gods, Monsters and Mortals from Ancient Greece

The book leads the reader through these vibrant stories, from the origins of the gods through to the homecomings of the Trojan heroes. All the familiar narratives are here, along with some less familiar characters and motifs. In addition to the tales, the book explains key issues arising from the narratives, and discusses the myths and their wider relevance. This long-overdue book crystallises three key areas of interest: the nature of the tales; the stories themselves; and how they have and might be interpreted. For the first time, it brings together aspects of Greek mythology only usually available in disparate forms - namely children's books and academic works. There will be much here that is interesting, surprising, and strange as well as familiar. Experts and non-experts, adults, students and schoolchildren alike will gain entertainment and insight from this fascinating and important volume.

A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths

Stephen P. Kershaw, Antik Yunan dünyasında hem entelektüel hem de fiziksel olarak çok zaman harcadı. Oxford Üniversitesi Sürekli Eğitim Bölümünde görev yapmakta ve başlangıç seviyesinden doktora derecesine kadar tüm seviyelerde ders vermekte, lisans dersleri hazırlamakta ve öğretmektedir. Edebiyat ve Sanat Yüksek Lisansı dersleri veren bir eski Yunan edebiyatı eserleri öğretmenidir. Steve ayrıca Oxford Üniversitesi'nin ‘Yunan Mitolojisi', ‘Roma'nın Yıkılışı' ve ‘Minoslular ile Mikenler' konulu online kurslarını oluşturdu. Victoria ve Albert Müzesi'nde ders vermektedir ve Sanat Tarihi Profesörü olarak Rodos Üniversitesi ve South Üniversitesi Avrupa Klasik Ders Çalışmalarını yürütmektedir. Constable & Robinson tarafından yayınlanan kitapların yanı sıra, Penguin Klasik Mitoloji Sözlüğü'nü de yayına hazırladı. Steve, History Channel'daki Barbarians Rising serisine uzman olarak katkıda bulundu; eski öğrencileri arasında Ürdün Prensesi vardır; Atina'daki zaferinden sonra Matthew Pinsent'in kazandığı dördüncü Olimpiyat altın madalyası üzerindeki Yunanca yazıtı çevirdi ve Swan Hellenic Cruises ve Kraliyet Akademisi'nin (Cox & Kings) konuk konuşmacısıdır. Eşi sanatçı Lal Jones ile birlikte Oxfordshire köyü Deddington'da yaşıyor.

Yunan Mitolojisi ve Atlantis Tarihi Rehber Kitap Serisi

Atlantis hikâyesi antik çağlardan gelen en unutulmaz ve esrarengiz masallardan biri olmaya devam ediyor ve hâlâ modern hayal gücünde çok derin bir şekilde yankılanıyor. Ama Atlantis nereden geldi, neye benziyordu ve nereye gitti? Atlantis ilk olarak Yunan filozof Platon tarafından MÖ 4. yüzyılda yazılan Timaios ve Kritias isimli iki diyalogda tanıtıldı. Büyük düşünür yaşamın, evrenin ve insanlığın kökenleri hakkında felsefe yaparken, ideal bir topluma sahip bir cennet adası olan Atlantis'in nefes kesici bir tanımını ortaya koyar. Ama Atlantisliler yozlaşır ve emperyalist saldırganlar haline gelir: tufan öncesi Atina'ya karşı Atlantisliler savaşır ancak Atina, Atlantis'in kudretli kuvvetlerini püskürtür ve ardından savaşan her iki devleti doğal bir afet yok eder. Suların altına batan büyük bir imparatorluğa dair Platon'un hikâyesi, Atlantis'in gerçekten var olup olmadığı konusunda binlerce yıldır süren tartışmalara yol açtı. Ama Platon, hikâyesini tarihsel bir anlatı olarak mı yoksa felsefesini açıklamak için bir benzetme olarak mı tasarlamıştı? Kitap iki ana bölüm artı bir final bölümü şeklinde ayrılmıştır ilk olarak asıl metinlerin özelliklerinin tartışıldığı çeviriler/yorumlar bölümü vardır; ikinci bölümde o zamandan günümüze efsanenin sunumu ele alınmıştır; üçüncü olarak da tümünü bir araya getiren kısa bir tamamlayıcı bölüm vardır.

Stephen P. Kershaw

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