As a kid, I loved Greek Myths. And I read Homer when I was around 10 years old (and have reread Homer over the decades). So John Spurling’s ARCADIAN DAYS: GODS, WOMEN, AND MEN FROM GREEK MYTHS was a must-read book for me.
John Spurling is a gifted writer and captures the unique world of Greek Gods and Goddesses who influence humans. Spurling’s choice of five myths starts with Prometheus and Pandora, and continues with Jason and the sorceress Medea, Oedipus and his daughter Antigone, Achilles and his mother Thetis, and Odysseus and Penelope.
My favorite myth in ARCADIAN DAYS is Jason and his Argonauts who seek the Golden Fleece and find the assistance of Medea the sorceress brings unanticipated consequences. If you enjoy classic stories with astounding plots and colossal events, you’ll love ARCADIAN DAYS: GODS, WOMEN, AND MEN FROM GREEK MYTHS. Highly recommended! Do you have a favorite Greek Myth? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Notes — xi
Introduction — 1
PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA
- Fat and Fire — 3
- Wife and Gift — 11
- Eagle and Chains — 19
- Rain and Waves — 22
JASON AND MEDEA
- The Man With One Sandal — 28
- The Departure — 34
- Lemnos, Hellespont, Arkton — 37
- The Sea of Marmora — 42
- The Black Sea — 49
- Colchis — 54
- The Return — 68
- Corinth — 75
OEDIPUS AND ANTIGONE
- Dragon’s Teeth — 81
- Investigation — 86
- Accusation — 91
- Murder — 95
- First Shepherd — 97
- Second Shepard — 100
- Punishment — 103
- Colonos — 105
- Seven Against Seven — 112
- Burial — 116
- Sophocles or Euripides?
ACHILLES AND THETIS
- The Parents — 128
- The Beloved Son — 131
- The Siege of Troy — 136
- Death and Vengeance — 154
- A Surprise Visit — 173
- Last Days — 178
ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE
- Ithaka — 187
- Troy — 198
- Africa — 208
- Cyclops — 210
- Alolia — 218
- Laistrygones — 220
- Circe — 221
- Hades — 232
- Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis — 238
- Thrinakia — 240
- Calypso — 245
- Phaeacians — 253
- Return — 267
- Seconding — 286
Glossary of Names — 305
