Gods and Men

by Menelaos Stephanides, Yannis Stephanides

“The crags of Olympus stand silent and bare, scoured by the icy winds. The halls of the gods are as if they had never been.” This sequel to 'The Gods of Olympus' takes the reader from the birth of mankind to the passing of the ancient religion of the Greeks. Names and events which have become a part of the western world’s identity are brought to vivid life in these how Prometheus brought the gift of fire to men; the tale of Pandora’s box; the story behind 'the Midas touch'; the boy on the dolphin; the origin of 'tantalize'; the sad end of Icarus, who literally burnt his wings; how the Peloponnese came by its name and Europa gave hers to a continent. Here are love’s labours lost in the tragic myth of Orpheus and his Eurydice, and love lent wings in the story which has given us our 'halcyon days'. The gods of the Greeks may have vanished in the mists of time, yet their legacy lives on undimmed.

Genres: Mythology, History, Greece

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

About the author

Menelaos Stephanides, the author of ‘Greek Mythology’, originally studied economics in Athens but his main preoccupation was writing.

For more than twenty-five years he concentrated, with great success, on the retelling of ancient Greek myths, tirelessly studying the source materials to achieve his literary version of the many stories. Working with his brother, the artist and illustrator Yannis Stephanides, he wrote and published the 18-volume series ‘Greek Mythology’ for children, which was translated into several languages and later reissued as a pocket book for older readers. He then turned his attention to more recent Greek tradition, studying hundreds of folk tales the most appealing of which he retold in the highly successful 10-volume series ‘Folk Tales from Greece’.

Menelaos Stephanides’ name is now familiar in many parts of the world, thanks to the translation of both his mythology and the folk tales into several foreign languages. In 1989 his book ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ was awarded two Pier Paolo Vergerio honourable distinctions by the University of Padua, while in 1998 his entire published work was recommended by the Hellenic Ministry of Education for inclusion in school libraries, having already long been recognised as a source of reference for publishers, the reading public and educationalists.

Reviews

[Fariha]

As it's an anthology of short stories of Greek Mythology, I'll review each short chapter / story.

THE FIVE AGES OF MAN
I actually didn't know this concept of the 5 ages of man. Our current age being the 5th age, and the 4th age being the mythic age of heroes.
"Life was difficult for this 5th generation (us). They had to work hard to survive, and their lives were beset with trials and problems." TELL ME ABOUT IT!

PROMETHEUS, THE PROTECTOR OF MANKIND
DEUCALION'S FLOOD
THE HIDEOUS SUFFERINGS OF PROMETHEUS
I thought it better the consider these 3 chapters together, as they're all concerning Prometheus. Fascinating detail to a story it turns out I didn't know much about. It was all done chronologically, and primarily deals with the subject matter as historical fact. I liked the mention of various versions of the myth of Deucalion's Ark and it's final rest place.
Quick side note - poor Pandora, another woman to add to the countless women who have been maligned in folklore, mythology, and also in history, due to the actions of a man. When the tale of Pandora's Jar persisted throughout time, why did the fact that Zeus created Pandora and imbued her with negative traits to specifically bring about the fall of Man, not get remembered?!

THE MOON, THE DAWN, AND THE SUN
Beautiful, lyrical prose. This tale alone would be 4 stars. I hope the rest follow this writing style.
"With a faint and gentle light which spread over all things and grew even stronger, Eos (goddess of Dawn) slowly dissolved the darkness of the night. In he left hand she held a golden vessel filled with cool water. She would dip her fingers into it, and the scatter shining pearls of dew upon the Earth, the meadows and the flowers."

[Akhmal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 stars

Another fun and entertaining children read. Full of interesting tales, only this time it focuses on the relationship between the gods and men, as what the title suggests.

I really like the last one about The Pride of Niobe and her children.


Other stories, I reeeeally love ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE (eughhh so tragic!!!)


& DAEDALUS AND ICARUS.


I especially love the ending, reminding all that these are just myths & that the gods were just injustice, something like that. There's just so many characters though I was lost here and there. But again, a fun read.

I like this more than the first one, actually.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such tragic stories speak of what it is to be human. It’s very easy to feel a connection with them. To worship a hero, to adore a goddess, to fear a god.

[Ellah Fornillos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun read and the boon itself is so small and short I found it easy to take with me wherever. Super interesting to read some original myths but some of them put me to sleep so Im docking a pt off

[Maria Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una stellina in meno, perché il precedente è più carino.

[Unbestechlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good retelling of the myths but one star less cos I didn't like comments like "people made that up"

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siempre está bueno leer sobre mitologia griega.

[Marcio Thetank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice book , to read in the beach with your kids arround and telling them fantastic mitholgy stories

[Harrison Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Underwhelming

[Augusto de Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um bom livro para se introduzir a mitologia grega.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this on holidays in Greece to learn a bit more about the history. Loads of information I had never heard before! Really interesting subject and read.

[dylan king · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ,but hard to get into

If you like greek myths read it

[Rick Goodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I guess if you have to read this for a class, it makes a lot of sense as a book to accompany academic study. By itself, however, I found it lacking. That said, putting a lot of the mythos in some sort of context really provides a new perspective on ancient Greek life.

[Fawwaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

imagine being on top of Acropolis, reading about how Athena was born from the head of Zeus and subsequently went to war to defend city against other gods.

i'm not familiar with Greek mythology before and i am now (yeah probably just a bit though)