Of all the characters in myths and legends told around the world, it's the wily trickster who provides the real spark in the action, causing trouble wherever he goes. This figure shows up time and again in Native American folklore, where he takes many forms, from the irascible Coyote of the Southwest, to Iktomi, the amorphous spider man of the Lakota tribe. This dazzling collection of American Indian trickster tales, compiled by an eminent anthropologist and a master storyteller, serves as the perfect companion to their previous masterwork, American Indian Myths and Legends.
American...
Of all the characters in myths and legends told around the world, it's the wily trickster who provides the real spark in the action, causing trouble w...
Here is a collection of myths drawn from the native cultures of North America--from the Inuit in the north to the Zuni, Hopi, and Cherokee in the south.
Here is a collection of myths drawn from the native cultures of North America--from the Inuit in the north to the Zuni, Hopi, and Cherokee in the sout...
The Papago Indians of the American Southwest say butterflies were created to gladden the hearts of children and chase away thoughts of aging and death. "How the Butterflies Came to Be" is one of twenty-four Native American tales included in "Native American Animal Stories." The stories, coming from Mohawk, Hopi, Yaqui, Haida and other cultures, demonstrate the power of animals in Native American traditions. Parents, teachers and children will delight in lovingly told stories about "our relations, the animals." The stories come to life through magical illustrations by Mohawk artists John...
The Papago Indians of the American Southwest say butterflies were created to gladden the hearts of children and chase away thoughts of aging and death...
From the wise and mysterious soothsayer with his long grey beard to the deathless necromancer practicing his dark magics in a forgotten dungeon, wizards have captured our imaginations since the earliest days of human storytelling, presenting us with some of our greatest heroes and villains. This book collects the tales of the most interesting, popular, and important spell-casters from history, including such legendary figures as Merlin, Simon Magus, Hermes Trismegistus, Koschei the Deathless, Nicholas Flamel, Dr John Dee, and Johann Georg Faust. Written to appeal to the modern reader, each...
From the wise and mysterious soothsayer with his long grey beard to the deathless necromancer practicing his dark magics in a forgotten dungeon, wizar...
From the early ballads that established his stories to the later additions of Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, and Alan-a-Dale, this book explores how the legend of Robin Hood grew.
He robbed from the rich to give to the poor, or so the legend goes. But who was the outlaw known as Robin Hood? How did his legend develop and how has it changed over the passing centuries? This new book in the Osprey Myths and Legends series takes a detailed look at Britain's most famous outlaw.
It also enters the perilous world of Robin Hood scholarship with a critical review of the case for...
From the early ballads that established his stories to the later additions of Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, and Alan-a-Dale, this book expl...
Homer's Iliad, read by college underclassmen everywhere, tells the story of Helen, 'the face that launched a thousand ships', the trojan horse, and Achilles' heel. The Iliad provides the basis for this modern exploration of one of the most famous legendary wars of all time, a story at least partly based in fact.
When Paris, prince of Troy, ran off with Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, it launched the greatest war of the mythic age of Greece. Heroes and gods assembled on both sides, as the combined armies of Greece launched a siege that would last for ten years. During that time,...
Homer's Iliad, read by college underclassmen everywhere, tells the story of Helen, 'the face that launched a thousand ships', the trojan horse, and...
Symbolically, the quintessential English feudal monarch is King Arthur, but stories of Charlemagne and his Knights' quests throughout Christian Europe had a much wider impact. Amidst the chaos and violence of Europe in the eighth century, Charlemagne became king of the Franks and slowly established an empire the likes of which had not been seen since the days of the Romans. As Charlemange's power grew, so did the stories attached to his name.
This book explores the myths and legends of the great king Charlemagne, from the stories about his mother, Bertha Bigfoot, and his youthful...
Symbolically, the quintessential English feudal monarch is King Arthur, but stories of Charlemagne and his Knights' quests throughout Christian Eur...
Sinbad the Sailor presents a retelling of the stories of the most famous adventurer from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, with added information covering the history of the stories and the age in which they are set.
Stories say that in the age of the Caliph Haroun al-Rashid, in the port city of Basra, there lived a wealthy man named Sinbad the Sailor. Sinbad had great tales to tell, of the seven voyages on which he acquired his fortune, of the strangeness and terror he encountered along the way, of huge monsters and strange people, and of storms at sea and lands beyond the...
Sinbad the Sailor presents a retelling of the stories of the most famous adventurer from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, with added informatio...
Graeme Davis draws upon the classic sources to retell the great myths and legends of Theseus, the founder-king of Athens, and backs this narrative with a factual examination of the myth, its variations, and its development over time. Replete with both classical and modern illustrations, this book is a concise exploration of one of the most enduring myths of Ancient Greece.
Even before Theseus descended into the labyrinth to face the Minotaur, he was already a famous hero and a veteran of many battles. The son of a man, a woman, and the god Poseidon, he'd journey far across Ancient...
Graeme Davis draws upon the classic sources to retell the great myths and legends of Theseus, the founder-king of Athens, and backs this narrative ...
The Knights of the Round Table were the original knights in shining armour, and this book is for anyone who is interested in fantastical tales of bravery or the actual history behind the stories. In medieval Arthurian tradition, Arthur often takes a back seat in the most exciting stories: he appears at the beginning and end of each to set the scene and conclude the tale. The central character is instead one of the Knights of the Round Table, each of whom is confronted with a wide variety of challenges and quests ranging from fighting monstrous creatures and rescuing damsels in distress to...
The Knights of the Round Table were the original knights in shining armour, and this book is for anyone who is interested in fantastical tales of brav...
