Famous Tales

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Famous Tales

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1iaia852
apr 12, 2010, 9:33 pm

What mythology tales are you most familiar with and why. Did you learn something from it? Did you see it in a opera? Express your idea.

2vpfluke
apr 12, 2010, 11:26 pm

When I was a boy about 8 or 9, there were three of us who had a children's Roman mythology book. So we started play-acting by rotating the roles among us of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, possibly Apollo.

I also read the Arabian Nights at the same age.

Later on I got into Jungian psychology somewhat, and there is a lot Greek mythology underpinning Jung's ideas.

For opera, I haven't seen too much. But the Magic Flute is very mythic. I also saw the Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle on television, and that is nordic mythology.

3billiejean
apr 13, 2010, 11:57 am

I read all the Greek/Roman myths growing up, and my kids have always read all the mythology they could get their hands on. They especially like the Celtic ones. I am hoping to read some Nordic mythology this year.

Last year I read Till We Have Faces about Cupid and Psyche and it was an amazing read.

The only opera I have seen was Madame Butterfly and Hansel and Gretel.
--BJ

4librisalexandria
apr 13, 2010, 12:16 pm

I can still remember how I first read about Prometheus. I was about eight years old, sitting on a door step in my grandmother's front garden, one weekend when I was staying with her. For some reason the story stayed with me. I even remember the aroma of the pages and the illustration depicting Prometheus running down a mountain side holding fire. It is subliminal, really. Every time I hear his name or read it, a feeling of well-being comes over me. I guess the idea of a demi-god sacrificing his life for mankind made an impact in my young mind and remains significant still. Hundreds of years later you see that sacrifice for mankind theme repated in the story of Jesus. Yet, it is Prometheus who brings the feelings of well-being to me.

5whymaggiemay
apr 13, 2010, 1:06 pm

I read all the Greek and Roman myths in junior high. In high shool I read some of the Egyptian myths. In my reading in the last few years I've been exposed to a few of the myths of India. I've bee re-exposed to the Greek myths through the Percy Jackson series, which I loved.

Perhaps we should do some research to see what myths are covered in modern writings and we could challenge our reading in that way.

6MerryMary
apr 13, 2010, 9:06 pm

I can remember Prometheus' story, and perhaps a few more, being in our reading books at school as a child. I was around 15 or 16 when I found Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I can remember thinking that everything I knew came from somewhere other that what I had thought.

I have loved mythology ever since. I am familiar with Greek, Roman, and Norse. I have a nodding acquaintance with some Native American myths, and only bits of Celtic myth. I would love to learn more about the Celts, as well as Australian Aborigine myths.

7vpfluke
apr 13, 2010, 10:05 pm

Tha Canongate series of Myths are a pretty decent modern retelling of different myths (Link: http://www.librarything.com/series/The+Myths ).
I haven't read many of them but I thought Jeanette Winterson's Weight: the myth of Atlas and Heracles was very good.

8MyriadBooks
apr 14, 2010, 12:07 pm

>7 vpfluke:: Ooooo A whole new series to add to my TBR list.

9VivalaErin
apr 14, 2010, 3:38 pm

I started with Edith Hamilton in high school, and once I got to college I was able to take one class on world myth and another in classical, then my favorite professor taught a King Arthur class, and I focused on the myths in an Irish Lit class. I've just always loved the stories, whether it's Egyptian, Greek, Norse, Indian, Celtic, whatever. I'm the go-to for anybody with a mythology question among my colleagues. I have entirely too many mythology books on my shelves LOL.

10socialpages
apr 17, 2010, 6:13 pm

I have to agree with #7. It's a great series. My favourite was The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood which retells the myth of Penelope waiting patiently at home on Ithaca for her man Odysseus to return. It's typical Atwood: Penelope is a smart, cunning woman who uses her brain to outwit her many suitors. Penelope also gives us a different take on her cousin, Helen, the cause of all the trouble.

11bakabaka84
apr 23, 2010, 11:44 pm

The Golden Ass by Apuleius read it for my Roman history class it was very funny. learned how provincials viewed magic and got a nice journey to wisdom for Lucius. also it was nice to read the first known (at least i think this one was) written account of Cupid and Psyche.

12Thespian
maj 8, 2010, 7:49 pm

I remember reading the story of how Scylla became the monster that she was. And I remember it very well because that was what made me realize how brutal and evil the people/creatures in mythology can really get. And it really disturbed me.

13Poptropica
maj 8, 2010, 7:54 pm

I read almost every book i could get my mind to. I espelcially like Greek Mythology because it is very straightforward and mermorizable.

14socialpages
maj 24, 2010, 5:02 am

#11 I'm reading The Golden Ass at the moment and really enjoying it. Fate isn't kind to Lucius but I keep on reading in the hope that he eventually finds the roses that will return him to human form.

15socialpages
maj 24, 2010, 5:02 am

Det här meddelandet har tagits bort av dess författare.

16Booksloth
maj 24, 2010, 5:33 am

#7/10 Another word in praise of the Canongate series. I find them a bit up and down and some are very much better than others but they certainly make interesting reading for anyone who likes to ponder the inner meaning of some of those old myths. I remember a spell at school when we studied the Greek and Roman myths; despite their being essentially the same stories with different names, I always much preferred the Greek ones. Maybe it was a subliminal foreshadowing of my adult love for the country (though I do love Italy too, just not quite as much). The great thing about them was that, unlike the Greek and Roamn epics, they have great 'parts' for women. Okay, far too many of the women get abandoned on islands once they have helped out the hero but they at least start out as fascinating characters (as, come to think of it, do the women in the Bible).

17MarysGirl
maj 24, 2010, 11:33 am

I started as a kid reading the Greek and Roman myths, continued with the Norse sagas, and never stopped. I collect myth and folklore stories. One of my favorites is Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole. I introduced my daughter to the myths through a beautifully illustrated DK book called The Illustrated Book of Myths. She favored Japanese mythology, but fell in love with that 70's mythology phenom - Star Wars!

18louminus
aug 13, 2012, 1:06 pm

Although I love just about anything mythological, I will read anything by or about Joseph Campbell. His best-known work is "The Hero with a Thousand Faces".

The Internet Sacred Text Archive (http://sacred-texts.com/index.htm) has a mind-boggling collection of material related to religion/mythology/philosophy/whatever . The site management uses a *very* loose interpretation of "sacred"!

ISTA also offers the entire archive (through about 2009, approximately 1700 works) on DVD-ROM for $99.95 (shipping included). But much has been added to the archive since the disk was produced.

Enjoy, but come up for air once in a while!

19vpfluke
aug 16, 2012, 9:31 pm

I did wander over to the sacred-txts site some time ago, but didn't bookmark it--so it is nice to have a direct reference to it.

20tuna.moriarty
jan 4, 2020, 8:53 pm

I spent most of my childhood reading every piece of mythology I could get my hands on. I read Greek, Norse, Hindu, Amerindian, Japanese, Chinese, Egyptian, Roman, African. Everything. But, I think the one that stuck with me the most was the story of the Amazons. My mom always encouraged my sister and I to be empowered, and all of the things I read about the badass warrior women gave me the idea that I could be whatever I want.