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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Myths & mythology
Practiced today by more than 500 million adherents, Buddhism
emerged from India between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.
Based around the original teachings of the Buddha, key texts
emerged to promote a true understanding of Buddhist ethics and
spiritual practices. The Buddhist traditions created a vast body of
mythological literature, much of it focused on the life of the
Buddha. For example, the 550 Jataka Tales tell of Buddha's early
life and renunciation, as well as his previous human and animal
incarnations. The stories also tell of Gautama Buddha's family,
such as his mother Mara, and her dream of a white elephant
preceding his birth; as well as his cousin, Devadatta, a disciple
monk who rebelled against Buddha and tried to kill him. Buddhist
literature includes numerous parables - such as the Turtle Who
Couldn't Stop Talking - as well as recounting scenes from the
Indian epic the Ramayana. History and myth intermingle in texts
such as Ashokavadana, where the Mauryan emperor Ashoka is portrayed
as a model of Buddhist kingship. Illustrated with 120 photographs
and artworks, Buddhist Myths is an accessible, engaging and highly
informative exploration of the fascinating mythology underlying one
of the world's oldest and most influential religions.
A nationwide bestseller--with more than 65,000 copies in print
since publication by Alfred A. Knopf in 1981, this fascinating
chronicle of cowboy life and legend is now available in a trade
paperback edition. It's the 500-year saga of the "real
cowboy"--from fifteenth-century Mexico to the twentieth-century
American West.
The four stories which make up the "Mabinogi "along with three
additional tales from the same tradition form this collection and
comprise the core of the ancient Welsh mythological cycle. Included
are only those stories that have remained unadulterated by the
influence of the French Arthurian romances, providing a rare,
authentic selection of the finest works in medieval Celtic
literature. In this first thoroughly revised edition and
translation since Lady Charlotte Guest's famous "Mabinogion "in
1849, Patrick Ford has presented a scholarly document in readable,
modern English, a literary achievement of the highest order.
A collection of magical Italian folk and fairy tales-most in
English for the first time The Pomegranates and Other Modern
Italian Fairy Tales presents twenty magical stories published
between 1875 and 1914, following Italy's political unification. In
those decades of political and social change, folklorists collected
fairy tales from many regions of the country while influential
writers invented original narratives in standard Italian, drawing
on traditional tales in local dialects, and translated others from
France. This collection features a range of these entertaining
jewels from such authors as Carlo Collodi, most celebrated for the
novel Pinocchio, and Domenico Comparetti, regarded as the Italian
Grimm, to Grazia Deledda, the only Italian woman to have received
the Nobel Prize in Literature. With one exception, all of these
tales are appearing in English for the first time. The stories in
this volume are linked by themes of metamorphosis: a man turns into
a lion, a dove, and an ant; a handsome youth emerges from a pig's
body; and three lovely women rise out of the rinds of pomegranates.
There are also more introspective transformations: a self-absorbed
princess learns about manners, a melancholy prince finds joy again,
and a complacent young woman discovers gratitude. Cristina Mazzoni
provides a comprehensive introduction that situates the tales in
their cultural and historical context. The collection also includes
period illustrations and biographical notes about the authors.
Filled with adventures, supernatural and fantastic events, and
brave and flawed protagonists, The Pomegranates and Other Modern
Italian Fairy Tales will delight, surprise, and astonish.
Myths are usually seen as stories from the depths of time-fun and
fantastical, but no longer believed by anyone. Yet, as Philip Ball
shows, we are still writing them-and still living them-today. From
Robinson Crusoe and Frankenstein to Batman, many stories written in
the past few centuries are commonly, perhaps glibly, called "modern
myths." But Ball argues that we should take that idea seriously.
Our stories of Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Sherlock
Holmes are doing the kind of cultural work that the ancient myths
once did. Through the medium of narratives that all of us know in
their basic outline and which have no clear moral or resolution,
these modern myths explore some of our deepest fears, dreams, and
anxieties. We keep returning to these tales, reinventing them
endlessly for new uses. But what are they really about, and why do
we need them? What myths are still taking shape today? And what
makes a story become a modern myth? In The Modern Myths, Ball takes
us on a wide-ranging tour of our collective imagination, asking
what some of its most popular stories reveal about the nature of
being human in the modern age.
'It gripped me for a week. Incredible!' JANICE HALLETT, author of
THE TWYFORD CODE An endlessly inventive murder mystery' ALEX
PAVESI, author of EIGHT DETECTIVES 'Mind-bendingly brilliant.
Agatha Christie on steroids!' TIM GLISTER, author of RED CORONA A
LOCKED ROOM. A BRUTAL MURDER. AND A KILLER WHO CAN UNWIND TIME...
In the former mining town of Black Lake, there is an old story
about a shipwreck with only one survivor. His descendants have a
unique ability: once in their lives - and only once - they can
unwind the events of the previous six hours. More than two hundred
years later, part-time police constable Ella Manning is attending a
party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion belonging to the
local billionaire. When a raging storm sweeps in from the Pacific,
she and several other guests find themselves trapped. And when
their host is discovered brutally murdered in his study the next
morning, the door locked from the inside, they turn to her to solve
the crime. Pushing her detective skills to the limit, against the
odds Ella is sure she has identified the killer... but then someone
undoes time. With no memory of what she discovered before, her
investigation begins again, with very different results. Which of
her suspects is guilty? And is there something even more sinister
she is yet to uncover? Can she solve the mystery before time runs
out... again? A must-read for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn
Hardcastle, The Sanatorium and And Then There Were None, Black Lake
Manor will keep you feverishly turning the pages all night long!
'A gorgeous epic . . . Wholly absorbing. I adored it' MARIAN KEYES
Two young girls. One hot, long, sultry summer. And a rambling old
English manor house where nothing is as it seems . . . 'This
sweeping, absorbing story is a treat' ADELE PARKS 'A compelling
story of female friendship, dark secrets and family bonds that
pulls you in and won't let go' ROSANNA LEY 'If you love atmospheric
stories about old houses, families and secrets, this is for you'
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'A gorgeous story to get immersed in' Prima
__________ A successful London barrister, Catherine Christophe,
goes missing the day before her wedding anniversary. The clue to
her disappearance, it seems, lies buried thirty years in the past.
Somerset, 1989. Janey Lestrange arrives to stay for the summer at
the grand old house of the Hunter family. But something is wrong
behind the beautiful facades of Vanes. Janey's childhood friend,
Kitty Hunter, her brother and their eccentric parents - once so
welcoming - do not seem to want her there. It is only as the night
of an ancient and mysterious family ritual looms closer that Janey
comes to realise they need her . . . Decades later, the tragic
events of that unforgettable summer still cast the darkest shadow.
Can the truth about what happened that night ever be brought into
the light? __________ 'Bewitching, beguiling and utterly beautiful,
The Beloved Girls will pull you into their mysterious and enchanted
world and never let you go. With a cast of compelling characters
and a labyrinthine plot, it's a page-turner of the most luxurious
kind - a real escape.' VERONICA HENRY Compelling, immersive and
luxurious, THE BELOVED GIRLS is the outstanding new novel from the
Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of The Garden of Lost and
Found and The Wildflowers
Inspired by the history of Britain, from the tree under which the
first trade union was formed to the branches from which outlaws
were hanged, The Great British Tree Biography details the
fascinating stories associated with trees throughout the history of
the British Isles. How much did you know about the Glastonbury
Hawthorn? A tree on the site of Glastonbury Abbey that flowers on
Christmas Day, and is believed to descend from an original thorn
planted on the grounds by Joseph of Arimathea. And then there's
Oswald's Tree where the dismembered body of Oswald, the Christian
King of Northumbria was said to have been hung by Penda, King of
Mercia, as a warning to others - and from where the town of
Oswestry takes its name. There is the lime that grows stubbornly on
a cricket pitch in Kent, the ash tree surrounded by 19th-century
gravestones in St Pancras churchyard and the Knole Oak,
immortalised on the page in Virginia Woolf's Orlando and in the
video for The Beatles song Strawberry Fields Forever. From the from
oak on Isle Maree in Scotland said to provide release from madness
to visitors who offer coins to the tree, to the beeches in
Wiltshire that inspired Tolkien, and the sycamore in London where
Marc Bolan met his untimely fate, this beautifully illustrated book
tells the unique history of the British Isles through its diverse
collection of trees and forests. Journalist Mark Hooper also
investigates the influence of British trees in folklore, art,
literature, music, legend and myth, weaving a fascinating tale of
Britain's woodlands through the stories of the individual trees.
Reveals myth and "otherness" as keys to restoring self, nature, and
society * Shows how myths contain medicine to restore wholeness
amidst trauma, exile, sudden life change, disability, illness,
death, or grief * Synthesizes lessons from shamanic practice,
quantum physics, alchemy, soul poetry, wildness, social justice,
and the author's lived experience * Discloses the blessings of
outsiderhood and the gifts and insights gained and contributed to
culture by those who are marginalized and outcast There is an
"other" that lives within each of us, an exiled part that carries
wisdom needed for ourselves and the culture at large. Having
survived disabling polio as an infant, Daniel Deardorff knows the
oppressions of exclusion and outsiderhood. He guides readers on an
initiatory journey through ancient myth, literature, and personal
revelation to discover our own true identity. These 10,000-year-old
stories contain sacred medicine with insights that release
imagination and restore wholeness amid trauma, exile, climate
chaos, disability, illness, death, and grief. Illustrating how
archetypal figures of the Other--the Trickster, Daimon, Not-I,
etc.--hold paradox, Deardorff teaches us to reframe disparities of
self/other, civilization/ wilderness, form/deformity and transform
the experience of being outcast. Synthesizing lessons from shamanic
practice, quantum physics, alchemy, social justice, and his own
lived experience, Deardorff affirms the disruptive and
transgressive forces that break through dogma, conventionality, and
prejudice. He discloses blessings of outsiderhood and gifts to
culture by those who are marginalized. Through mythmaking
(mythopoesis), the experience of Otherness--cultural, racial,
religious, sexual, physiognomic--becomes one of empowerment, a
catalyst for human liberation.
See the history of witchcraft, magic and superstition come to life
with this spectacular supernatural book! From alchemy and modern
Wicca to paganism and shamanism, this enchanting book takes you on
a mystical journey that will leave you spellbound. This is the
perfect introduction to magic and the occult! This reference book
on witchcraft is packed with: - Informative, engaging, and
accessible text and lavish illustrations - Special features on
aspects of magic, such as oracle bones of ancient China, the
Knights Templar, and magic at the movies, and "plants and potions",
such as mandrake and belladonna examine topics in great detail -
Quick-fact panels that explore magic origins, key figures, key
deities, use in spells, structures of religions, and more This
indispensable witchcraft book explores the common human fascination
with spells, superstition, and the supernatural. It provides you
with a balanced and unbiased account of everything from Japanese
folklore and Indian witchcraft to the differences between black and
white magic and dispelling myths such as those surrounding the
voodoo doll and Ouija. Expect the unexpected with A History Of
Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult. It will open your eyes to other
worlds. Discover forms of divination from astrology and palmistry
to the Tarot and runestones. Explore the presence of witchcraft in
literature from Shakespeare's Macbeth to the Harry Potter series,
and the ways in which magic has interacted with religion. Whether
you're a believer or a sceptic, this richly illustrated history
book provides a fresh approach to the extensive and complex story
of witchcraft, magic and the occult.
This book, first published in 1990, is a thematic analysis of five
tales of early vernacular Chinese literature. Interest in
vernacular stories is increasing in the study of Chinese
literature, as their importance is being recognised as a key part
of the oral traditional narrative. From the analysis of the five
Chinese tales in light of literary, historical, philological
sources and folkloristic methodologies we may see to what extent
tales of an intrinsically religious nature can offer meanings in
the oral tradition.
'His cornucopia of tellers and tales is a delight, a riveting
celebration of a genre that revels in its own hybridity and the
imaginative riches produced by the crossing of cultural and
literary borders' Financial Times 'Like a child after the Pied
Piper I pursued Jubber into a world both human and full of magic. A
carnival of a book, rigorously researched and jostling with life'
Amy Jeffs, author of Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain 'Magical
tales about magical tales and tellers. Jubber, congenially and
fascinatingly, explores the land from which the great fairy stories
seeped, making the stories more resonant, powerful and important
than ever' Charles Foster, author of Being a Human and Being a
Beast The surprising origins and people behind the world's most
influential magical tales: the people who told and re-shaped them,
the landscapes that forged them, and the cultures that formed them
and were in turn formed by them. Who were the Fairy Tellers? In
this far-ranging quest, award-winning author Nicholas Jubber
unearths the lives of the dreamers who made our most beloved fairy
tales: inventors, thieves, rebels and forgotten geniuses who gave
us classic tales such as 'Cinderella', 'Hansel and Gretel', 'Beauty
and the Beast' and 'Baba Yaga'. From the Middle Ages to the birth
of modern children's literature, they include a German apothecary's
daughter, a Syrian youth running away from a career in the souk and
a Russian dissident embroiled in a plot to kill the tsar. Following
these and other unlikely protagonists, we travel from the steaming
cities of Italy and the Levant, under the dark branches of the
Black Forest, deep into the tundra of Siberia and across the snowy
fells of Lapland. In the process, we discover a fresh perspective
on some of our most frequently told stories. Filled with adventure,
tragedy and real-world magic, this bewitching book uncovers the
stranger lives behind the strangest of tales.
This volume offers 59 of the world's great myths--including
selections from "The Iliad and the Odyssey," "Beowulf," "King
Arthur" and "Quetzalcoatl." Each myth is accompanied by an
introduction that offers historical background and suggests avenues
for literary analysis.
Stories and animals have long travelled the same routes. Through
our heritage of charming, quirky and profound tales, you will find
yourself re-acquainted with Britain's wondrous fauna. Find out how
hedgehog ended up with spines and what makes him scuttle so fast,
discover how pigs saved a prince from leprosy and why the wealthy
lord was so intent on capturing the black fox. Sharon Jacksties'
wonderful book combines traditional stories, little-known
zoological facts and true anecdotes to create a treasure trove of
stories for animal lovers of every kind.
Monsters have preoccupied mankind from the earliest times: even
cave art includes animal-human monsters. Certainly monsters were
present in the ancient religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia; the Old
Testament describes the giant land and sea monsters Behemoth and
Leviathan, while in the world of Classical mythology, monsters
embody the fantasies of the gods and the cruellest punishments of
human beings. While we may no longer worry about being eaten by
trolls on the way home, there remains a fascination with these
creatures who have shadowed us throughout history. This book
explores monsters down the ages and throughout the world. It
provides a dark yet engrossing visual history of the human mind,
lit up by flashes of wild and unearthly inspiration.
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The Odyssey
(Paperback)
Gareth Hinds; Illustrated by Gareth Hinds
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R505
R418
Discovery Miles 4 180
Save R87 (17%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Fresh from his triumphs in the Trojan War, Odysseus, King of
Ithaca, wants to return to his family. Instead, he offends the sea
god Poseidon, who dooms him to long years of shipwreck &
wandering. In his efforts to get home, he battles man-eating
monsters, violent storms, & the supernatural seductions of
sirens & sorceresses.
Originally published in 1996, this book is a study of two of the
central themes of medieval German mythology, the Dietrich and
Nibelung legends. It traces its two legendary topics form their
historical roots during the last centuries of the Roman Empire to
the medieval texts that make them known to us. Many of the medieval
texts have never been translated into English or even modern
German. A synopsis of each work is therefore included so that the
reader can form an idea of the content of the works in question.
The book takes a text-oriented approach. The book includes a
chronological chart which puts most of the texts and literary works
discussed in a European and world context.
This Irish language version of Aesop's Fables includes a Connemara
twist. The fables are accompanied by essays on the Irish language
scholars who translated the fables, and an essay on the history of
the fables.
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