Victory of the Heroes (Greek and Roman Mythology)

Author: Time-Life Books
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This is a unique world history. Each book is filled with extraordinary stories at the core of a culture, mysterious rituals, wrathful deities, and the pursuit of ghosts and symbols of magic—elements rarely found in most history books. In the early days of humanity, how did people around the world attempt to explain life, death, creation, love, and other mysterious phenomena of life? The myths in these books are crucial to understanding these perspectives, as they are the intersection of imagination and history, wisdom and experience, and also the meeting point of dreams and reality.
In short, the stories told here are the most important ones that have been passed down for thousands of years, their vitality so enduring that they linger in our memories long after we’ve read them.
Each book is filled with images of sacred sites, symbols, artworks, and mythological figures. For example, you will see the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Holy Grail said to have been used by Jesus, and the shamanic masks of the Native Americans of the Americas, among others. Additionally, each book includes historical overviews, maps, and more, with titles spanning time and space.
These books are the crystallization of human thought and experience over millennia, a compilation of human ingenuity. They are not just a series of books; their rich content celebrates and continues the essence of humanity and the essence of humanity’s greatest dreams. You will find yourself turning to them again and again, gaining pleasure, inspiration, and enlightenment. Most importantly, these stories will provide us with a fresh perspective on history and the world.
Because of the curse of the gods, Oedipus, the king of Greece, killed his father and married his mother; Hercules, the mightiest man in the world, performed a series of astonishing acts to atone for the murder of his wife and children; Jason, leading the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, was convinced that he would one day ascend the throne of kings; the beautiful Greek queen Helen and the Trojan prince Paris eloped, leading to a decade-long war between Troy and Greece.
These stories are all taken from the magnificent book The Triumph of the Heroes: Greek and Roman Myths, which showcases the extraordinary imagination and creativity of the creators of Greek and Roman mythology as they shaped heroes who transcended ordinary life. This book is part of the Myths and Humanity series, which aims to explore the cultural roots of world myths in a layered manner.