To Read & To Write

“Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth” by Bernard and Dorothy Evslin and Ned Hoopes is a perfect little book of stories from Greek Mythology. The stories are written like folktales, making a simpler and more distilled (without retracting from quality) version compared to something like Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”. Readers will become familiar with Perseus, born of Zeus and a woman, who beheaded Medusa to prove his power to his oppressor, Polydectes. They will become familiar with Daedalus, father of Icarus and creator of waxen wings, whose son flew too close to the sun. Theseus also, who overcame his insecurity about being small compared to other men by slaying the monster Minotaur. They will read about Atalanta, the girl who was raised by bears after being abandoned by her father, the woman who became a fierce huntress, princess, and wife of Hippomenes. The awesome fables of King Midas and his greed and Pygmalion and his artistry will also be found in this book. “Heroes & Monsters o...

“My purpose is to tell of bodies which have been transformed into shapes of a different kind... and spin an unbroken thread of verse” – from Ovid's “Metamorphoses” Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, first published in 8 AD, is sometimes considered an epic, an epic poem, mythology, legend, or even a fairy-tale or a piece of folklore. Most have agreed that this literary work defies genre. “Metamorphoses” encompasses all the literary descriptions listed above, and is essentially a world-building composition that tells over two-hundred and fifty stories of transformation – transformations of mortals and gods alike – into elements of nature such as plants, animals, and other phenomena. Ovid, born in 43 BC, is an Italian storyteller, and today, it is still a mystery as to why he died in exile from Rome. His “Metamorphoses” contains re-tellings from the Latin and Greek tradition.  For most people who read this text, a lot of names will be familiar, such as the goddess Diana, Hercules, Arachne, K...