Customer Reviews

The Golden Fleece: And the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles

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This volume by the transplanted Irish poet Padraic Colum is a well-known introduction to Greek mythology for children. It was a runner-up to the first (1922) Newbery Medal for best contribution to American children's literature. In the framework of telling the story of Jason and the Argonauts, other noted stories are told (e.g., Theseus and the Minotaur, the labors of Hercules, etc.). In this edition, the artwork is in the style of the 1920s. You can even imagine "flappers" dancing. Children enjoy this introduction and search for more.

I've taught 6th grade for more than a decade so I'm quite familiar with the Greek heroes. That's why I was so disappointed to discover that this is one of the most boring versions of the Greek myths I've ever read. Perhaps in 1922, when it was new, it excited children to research further, but modern kids find the language stulted and the action almost non-existent. Far better versions of these stories exist. Unfortunately for me, taken in by good reviews, I bought twenty copies for classroom use before discovering how deadly dull it was. If you have a kid whose read everything else, s/he might be interested, otherwise just forget it.

I think that the golden fleece was a great book and had great illistrations,and detail in the story a few places are a little rough but still a great book. It whould be a little better if it did'int keep skiping story's

This classic title appears in the Looking Glass Library, presenting a fine hardcover reprint in an edition perfect for library lending. Padraic Colum's THE GOLDEN FLEECE AND THE HEROES WHO LIVED BEFORE ACHILLES receives a fine introduction by Rick Riordan in a survey bringing young adults to ancient Greece, where Jason must prove his worth by embarking on a journey for a legendary fleece.

THE GOLDEN FLEECE
The setting of the story is in many places such as Mount Pelion, iolcus, and limos. The characters in the story are Jason, king aeson, Hercules, thesues, the Argonauts, Orpheus, and of course the Greek gods.the conflict in the story is that Jason has to find the golden fleece so his dad can become king again. The plot in the story is that Jason's dad blows a horn so chirion could take care of him and Jason's uncle is king and he has to find the golden fleece and Jason finds the fleece.The point of view is a first person point of view.The theme theme of the story is that Jason needs to find the golden fleece.

The Golden Fleece has many parts that are interesting in it. It is very adventurous, it keeps you wanting to read more. One part in the Golden Fleece is when Orpheaus is telling the story of Medusa. Then Perseus went and chopped of the Gorgon's head off by using a shield that he had found and a sword given to him by the gods he then goes and goes shows this to the king that wouldn't allow him to enter his kingdom and rescue his mother from the king that wants to marry her. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in mythology.

Padraic Colum is a great story teller and he has done a marvellous job here. Over a period of years, I have read this book to my children three times. They continued to enjoy the rich texture of the language in these stories and each time found new levels of meaning. For young people there is no better introduction to these stories.