Jeanie Lang (1867–1932)

A Book of Myths
Author: Jean Lang
Publisher: Thomas Nelson & Sons
Published In: New York
Pgs: 244

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Man stretches out his hands in the endeavour to understand. Through the human, we reach for the divine. The old peoples of earth made gods of their heroes and endowed them with virtues and vices of their worshippers. The gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Norsemen, their stories are here.

Genre:
Culture
Fiction
Gods and Goddesses
Magic
Mythology
Poetry
Short stories
Society

Why this book:
I love the myths of the ancient world.

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Favorite Character:
Perseus, son of Zeus, slayer of the Medusa, freer of Atlas, champion of Andromeda, slayer of the Kraken

Least Favorite Character:
Whichever jealous, vindictive, rapey, stalkery god or goddess who happens to appear in whatever myth happens to come up next.

The Feel:
There is still a feeling of wonder in these old stories.

Favorite Scene:
When Phaeton’s pride drives him to suicide, but his father Apollo allowing it to happen is so...I don’t have the word. With the vengefulness of the ancient gods in these tales, I’m surprised that we don’t have a tale of Apollo seeking vengeance on the ones who teased Phaeton that his father wasn’t a god and that they didn’t believe him.

Perseus vs. the Kraken. Perseus vs. the Medusa.

Hmm Moments:
The myth of Atalanta is all death and, then, a cheat for the “hero”, pfft, to claim the maiden. She ends up with, not the worthy who fought alongside her and appreciated her as she was, but with her cousin who sought Aphrodite's aid and cheated in the race between her and Death. Of course, her greed was a factor in her loss, which considering how many had raced her and lost on their way to Death’s embrace doesn’t exactly paint her in a favorable light either. Beginning in the death of her bear brothers and mother and ending in the tale of Aphrodite’s three apples, the moral of this almost comes down to women are screwed. Looking at the intervening years since this ancient tale was first told, that’s been right for way too long. Still and all, this is a horrible tale.

It is amazing how rapey and stalky a lot of the myths are in retrospect.

In the Myth of Niobe, they talk about how proud she was of her children and that this was still going on today. And this made me think of all those stories of Zeus fathering children left and right...and all those children of unwed mothers whose families saw a way to legitimize the children...sort of.

So many tragedies. Why aren’t there any happy myths? Dying and being placed among the stars as a constellation as consolation...meh.

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Too many to count.

Casting call:
Liam Neeson was incredible as Zeus. Sean Bean was incredible as Zeus. Charles Keating was incredible as Zeus. Anthony Quinn was incredible as Zeus. Laurence Olivier was incredible as Zeus. Great actors in an amazing role. Whoever gets cast as the King of the Gods the next time had better be able to carry this off. And amazingly Liam Neeson played Zeus and got killed instead of it being Sean Bean.
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Last Page Sound:
Well.

Author Assessment:
This is not Bullfinch. But it is another flavoring on the stories. I liked it.

Editorial Assessment:
I wonder at the stories that were included and those that were ignored. No Thor. Barely any Loki. No King Arthur.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it

Disposition of Book:
e-Book

Would recommend to:
genre fans ______________________________________________________________________________… (más)