Fiction: Traditional stories, myths and fairy tales

Religion is a particularly useful field within which to study Roman self-definition, for the Romans considered themselves to be the most religious of all peoples and ascribed their imperial success to their religiosity.

Meet the supreme Gautama Buddha, the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesa, and Chang O--the Lunar Toad who is Chinese goddess of the Moon.

Hailed as "e;a feast"e; (Washington Post) and "e;a modern-day bestiary"e; (The New Yorker), Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters--how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future.

Two Greek cities which in their time were leading states in the Mediterranean world, Selinus in Sicily and Cyrene in Libya, set up inscriptions of the kind called sacred laws, but regulating worship on a larger scale than elsewhere - Selinus in the mid fifth century B.

For over half a century, scholars have laboured to show that C.

In this marvelous collection, David Leeming and Jake Page have gathered together the great myths and legends of America, ranging from the creation stories of the first inhabitants, to the tall-tales of the Western frontier, to the legendary outlaws of the 1920s.

This is a substantially expanded and completely revised edition of a book originally published in 1988 as Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics.

In many of the world's religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, a seemingly enigmatic and paradoxical image is found--that of the god who worships.

Hailed as "e;a feast"e; (Washington Post) and "e;a modern-day bestiary"e; (The New Yorker), Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters--how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future.

Winner of the 2014 Mythopoeic Myth & Fantasy Studies AwardAt the heart of the mythology of the Anglo-Scandinavian-Germanic North is the evergreen Yggdrasil, the tree of life believed to hold up the skies and unite and separate three worlds: Asgard, high in the tree, where the gods dwelled in their great halls; Middlegard, where human beings lived; and the dark underground world of Hel, home to the monstrous goddess of death.

The fourth century of our common era began and ended with a miracle.

The fourth century of our common era began and ended with a miracle.

Sing to me of the resourceful man, O Muse, who wandered far after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy.

Sing to me of the resourceful man, O Muse, who wandered far after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy.

Stories about dragons, serpents, and their slayers make up a rich and varied tradition within ancient mythology and folklore.

This is the first book-length treatment of supplication, an important social practice in ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

Norse Mythology explores the magical myths and legends of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Viking-Age Greenland and outlines the way the prehistoric tales and beliefs from these regions that have remained embedded in the imagination of the world.

After more than a century of debate about the significance of imperial cults for the interpretation of Revelation, this is the first study to examine both the archaeological evidence and the Biblical text in depth.

Greek Nymphs: Myths, Cult, Lore is the first comprehensive study of the nymph in the ancient Greek world.

What makes something mythic?

A family seated round the fireplace Singing and making merry; A sprightly waltz played with grace Noche Buena brings us all the magic of the Christmas season as seen through the eyes of the Hispanic Americans who celebrate it.

The Politics of Identity in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy offers the first sustained analysis of the relationship between collective identity and politics in the Greek West during the period c.

The Politics of Identity in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy offers the first sustained analysis of the relationship between collective identity and politics in the Greek West during the period c.

A full-length study and new translation of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa's famed Meghaduta (literally "e;The Cloud Messenger,"e;) The Cloud of Longing focuses on the poem's interfacing of nature, feeling, figuration, and mythic memory.

A full-length study and new translation of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa's famed Meghaduta (literally "e;The Cloud Messenger,"e;) The Cloud of Longing focuses on the poem's interfacing of nature, feeling, figuration, and mythic memory.

Among the best-known and most esteemed people known from antiquity is the Babylonian king Hammurabi.

Among the best-known and most esteemed people known from antiquity is the Babylonian king Hammurabi.

This innovative study posits that myths in general, and Greek theogonic myth in particular, have a latent meaning that is responsible both for the emotional energy inherent in myths, and for the special attraction they have even to those who no longer believe in their literal meaning.

The first anthology of Jewish mythology in English, Tree of Souls reveals a mythical tradition as rich and as fascinating as any in the world.

This well-researched and inspiring collection of ten essays by leading American and European scholars challenges the tendency among scholars of Greek religion to ignore what have traditionally been called "e;magical"e; practices in ancient Greece.

In the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was common practice to curse or bind an enemy or rival by writing an incantation on a tablet and dedicating it to a god or spirit.

Holy Brotherhood: Romani Music in a Hungarian Pentecostal Church is a musical ethnography of a religious community.

Tales of magic and wonder can be found in every phase of Jewish literature, from the sacred to the secular.

Ovid's remarkable and endlessly fascinating Metamorphoses is one of the best-known and most popular works of classical literature, exerting a pervasive influence on later European literature and culture.

Ovid's remarkable and endlessly fascinating Metamorphoses is one of the best-known and most popular works of classical literature, exerting a pervasive influence on later European literature and culture.

Nature imitates art--not a paradox from Oscar Wilde's pen, but instead the bold formulation of the Latin poet Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE), marking a radical turning point in ancient aesthetics, founded on the principle of mimesis.

Nature imitates art--not a paradox from Oscar Wilde's pen, but instead the bold formulation of the Latin poet Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE), marking a radical turning point in ancient aesthetics, founded on the principle of mimesis.

'Mary E.

The author lived in Ireland for about ten years in the 90s of the last millennium.

Raised by wolves.

'In ancient tales many marvels are told us .

'The story goes that a sow who had delivered a whole litter of piglets loudly accosted a lioness.

The only work of its kind to survive from classical antiquity, the Library of Apollodorus is a unique guide to Greek mythology, from the origins of the universe to the Trojan War.

Then they took the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden that anyone had ever seen.

The Golden Ass is a unique, entertaining, and thoroughly readable Latin novel - the only work of fiction in Latin to have survived in its entirety.

'In ancient tales many marvels are told us .

Then they took the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden that anyone had ever seen.

The poet Robert Graves' use of material from classical sources has been contentious to scholars for many years, with a number of classicists baulking at his interpretation of myth and his novelization of history, and questioning its academic value.

In this book, Angelika Neuwirth provides a new approach to understanding the founding text of Islam.

This book addresses a particular and little-known form of writing, the prose dialogue, during the Late Antique period, when Christian authors adopted and transformed the dialogue form to suit the new needs of religious debate.