Customer Reviews

Greek Gods and Heroes (Laurel-leaf books)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Venerable writer Robert Graves re-tells the most memorable Greek myths in a fun loving style that will entertain children and adults. Graves' narrator voice is sometimes amused, sometimes gently chiding as he describes the adventures of Hercules, the saga of Pandora and her unfortunate box, Midas' tragic touch and Narcissus' self obsession. He also examines the roles and relationships of the twelve Olympians themselves.

This is not a dry textbook style treatment of mythology, but a wonderfully absorbing bunch of yarns that can be read over and over to elementary school children; it will also be a useful reference down the road, when young children become older students. These are great stories, beautifully told.

My son (11) loves these stories.

The main Greek myths are here, told briefly and unsentimentally in crisp English. Most of the tales are 2-3 pages in length.

I was looking for a book that had a collection on certain Greek myths one day and I happened to stumble upon this book. Robert Graves here put together a collection of Greek myths in his own retelling and this book makes for a fun read. In addition to the fun that this book brings there is also a lot of basic information on Greek mythology to be learned, such as the Olympian Gods and monsters of the ancient myths. Whether the book is enjoyed slowly by reading one story and reading another at a later time or gobbling it up all together you will still get a lot of fun and information out of it.

A lot of the basic stories that have come out of Greek mythology are retold here in a simple and easy to read format. Stories such as Heracles' (Hercules), the birth of the God Hermes, Perseus', and many more can be found here. This book combines the politics, mystery, and magic of the ancient Greek world. Of the twenty seven stories that are told in this short little book my favorite is definitely the story of Heracles. I enjoyed reading about how he was able to perform the feats that were given to him to gain his freedom as his story shows how in the end you can always manage to do something that you set out to do.

While reading this book you will notice how the huge cast of characters interact with one another. Many are against each other, many are involved in a love affair, and others team up with each other to defeat other characters. It is interesting how our world today mirrors the mythological world of the ancient Greeks. A lot of people today do the same things that were done by the characters in the stories of the book.

Robert Graves' knowledge of the Greek myths is absolutely astounding. It is obvious upon the reading of this book how much research, time and effort went not only into writing this book, but also into gaining the basic facts which make the stories. In the introduction Graves writes how many things that are in today's world were derived from the ancient Greeks, like astronomy, literature, and medicine. When you read the book keep an eye out for the things of the Greeks that we use today.

I will be reading many of the stories in this book that I have enjoyed again and again in the future. This is a great introduction to the basics of Greek mythology and are great stories for bedtime.

Happy Reading!

A retelling of the classic Greek myths targeted at young adults.This book is very true to the original texts, with no effort made to spare the reader from the bloody details (and rightly so). When I was a child, the stories in this book were every bit as exciting to me as more modern tales, and I now realize that there's an educational component to them as well. It begins with a description of each of the major gods and goddesses, and goes chronologically through some of the history of their reign over earth. Graves has handled the ending with an imaginative and strangely touching account of how the gods fell from power:
"As soon as the Emporor Julian of Constantinople, the last of the Roman emporers to worship the Olympians, had been killed fighting the Persians in A.D. 363, Zeus was told by the Three Fates that his reign had ended-he and his friends must leave Olympus.
"Zeus angrily destroyed the palace with a thunderbolt, and they all went off to live among humble country people, hoping for better times. But christian missionaries chased them out with the sign of the Cross, and turned their temples into churches, which they divided among the leading saints. Mortals were now allowed to reckon by weeks again, as Prometheus the Titan had once taught them. The Olympians were forced to live in woods and caves, and have not been seen for centuries...".
If you're a parent choosing books for your child, you must include this book or something like it.

This is not a book for learning Greek myths so much as it is for having fun reading a myth-book. He leaves some details out and uses lots of modern-day metaphors to describe how the Greek Gods lived.

This was a strangely disappointing purchase. Given Robert Graves's reputation and his poetic background, I would have expected something that was concise but lyrical and engaging. Instead, while this book does seem precise and organized, it comes across more as vehicle for efficient information transfer than a collection of some of the world's greatest stories told by one of the world's great storytellers. The tone is dry, even mundane, and sucks much of the drama and power out of the myths - eg, this happened, then this, then this, then he/she died, the end. Oddly short on the sort of language and narrative arc that generally make myths exciting and memorable.

We hear such words and names as Zeus, Ariel, Titans, and Hermes quite frequently. But where do all these names and words come from? What is the history behind them? These and many other familiar questions will be answered in Greek Gods and Heroes (Laurel-leaf books) pocket book. The text is very easy to read and understand as the author Robert Graves has written the book in extremely prosaic way. Short stories are fascinating and interesting and the narrative plot is like a vivid adventure. This paperback is excellent basic introduction to Greek mythology and very enjoyable to read.

This book is unique among books about Greek mythology because Robert Graves describes the gods' thrones! I find that information fascinating.

This is an excellent book to encourage your kids curiosity without them realizing that it is actually teaching Greek Mythology. I picked this up for my stepson after we read the first "Percy Jackson and the Olympians", so that we would both have a better understanding of Greek Mythology.

I was getting ready for a trip to Italy Greece and Turkey. Since my plans called for visiting a lot of temples and other historical sites I decided to take a refresher course on the revelant Gods and heroes. Since I'll read anything by Robert Graves this is the book I chose. It's a small, easy to carry/pack book but it contained enough info that I appeared a genius to my companions. In addition the stories are fun to read as Graves is a wonderful writer. The only reason I only give it 4 stars it that it's a very short book.