Quick Look
- Classic collection of myths and legends
- Represents the best of traditional storytelling
- Includes tales from around the world, including lesser known stories
A treasure trove of stories from the ancient world, retold by one of Ireland's greatest storytellers.
Description
A treasure trove of stories from the ancient world, retold by one of Ireland's greatest storytellers.
This classic collection of myths and legends includes stories from all the major ancient civilisations, and some lesser known ones: Egypt and Greece, and Babylon and Rome, alongside Ireland and Iceland, India and Finland, China and Japan, Mexico, Peru and Polynesia. The tales range from creation stories to heroic epics, and feature Isis, Gilgamesh, Hercules and Pandora, to name but a few.
This edition faithfully preserves Padraic Colum's original language. His lyrical rhythm and melody represent the very best of traditional storytelling.
Includes Padraic Colum's essay, 'The Significance of Mythology'.
Table of Contents
The Significance of Mythology
Egyptian:
Osiris and Iris
Ra, his Going-Down and Uprising
Babylonian:
In the Beginning
Gilgamesh
The Story of Utnapishtim and of the Deluge that Destroyed all that was on the Earth
Ishtar's Descent into the World Below
Persian:
Jemshid the Resplendent
Jewish post-Christian Period:
The Angels and the Creation and Fall of Man
The Confounding of the Angel of Death
Greece:
In the Beginning
Prometheus
Pandora
Demeter
Orpheus
Dionysos
Apollo
Herakles
Roman:
The Children of Mars
Numa the Law-Giver
The Sibyl
Pomona and Vertumnus
Greco-Roman:
Cupid and Psyche
Celtic:
Irish: Midir and Etain
The Death of Conaire Mor, the King of Ireland
The Voyage of Bran to the Land of the Immortals
Welsh: Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed and his Visit to Annwn, the Realm of Faerie
Math, the Son of Mathonwy
Finnish:
Lemminkainen, his Destruction and his Restoration to Life
Icelandic:
In the Beginning
The Building of the wall
Mimir
Balder
Loki's Punishment
The Children of Loki
Ragnarok, the Fate of the Gods
Indian:
Vedic: The Heavenly Nymph and her Mortal Husband
Epic: The Churning of the Ocean
The Birth of the Ganges
Savitri and the Lord of Death
Damayanti's Choice
Buddhist: Gotama's Attainment
Chinese:
In the Beginning
The Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman
Japanese:
The Sun Goddess and the Storm God and the Strife there was Between them
The First People
Polynesian:
In the Beginning
Maui the Fire Bringer
How Maui Strove to Win Immortality for All Creatures
Pele, Hawaii's Goddess of Volcanic Fire
Peruvian:
Viracocha
The Llama-herder and the Virgin of the Sun
Central American and Mexican:
In the Beginning
The Twin Heroes and the lords of Xibalba
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl's Enemy
The Gods of the Aztecs
The Aztecs
Zuni:
Paiyatuma and the Maidens of the Corn
Reviews
'As a tour of the world's great civilizations and the myths that give voice to their cultures, Padraic Colum's stands out as being not only sweeping in scope but beautiful in voice. Colum has selected what I will call 'keystone myths' from the ancient cultures that have informed our modern world. This one-volume edition carries within its covers more cultural heartbeats and beautiful vision than any other single book I can think of. Myths of the World is a book to enjoy throughout a lifetime. In Waldorf education, many of these myths are at the heart of 4th and 5th grade curricula.'
-- Bob and Nancy's Waldorf Bookstore
'The interest of this book lies in its scope and in the engaging way in which the myths are recounted. Suitable for bedtime reading either to yourself or your children.'
-- Scientific and Medical Network Review
Author
Padraic Colum (1881-1972) was born in Longford, Ireland. He was a poet, novelist and collector of folklore, and was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival.
Links
Also available by the same author:
The King of Ireland's Son
