Mythology Books

The Ancestors' Path is an oracle based upon the philosophies of traditional Native American beliefs. In this way, readers of the oracle seek to understand what part of the cyclical path a given experienced is located. This information tells them not only about their immediate circumstances but gives them a reference to understand how they got to that point in time and where they are headed.

The Ancestors' Path is probably one of the most easy to use but complex systems that I have come across. The set includes two dice, one representing the six elements and the other representing six totems. For a very basic reading, you simply throw the dice onto the board provided and look up the results. This gives you a very good idea about where you and your query are located in the cycle of change. With this information, you can also see what you have already accomplished and what the next step of the process will look like.

However, in order to get clarification on a particular issue, you can seek more guidance from the directions. Using the small compass provided, you line up the board you're your current north position. Throwing the dice in a particular direction specifies your question further. For instance, if you want to know specifically about the beginning of your current project, want a better understanding of the purpose of this path, or even wish to know how your spiritual helpers are supporting you on this path. This additional aspect creates an exceptional good picture of the particular situation at hand.

I have had experience with many other oracles, including The I-Ching, Geomancy, Tarot, Scrying and the observation of patterns in the natural world.

The Ancestor's Path is an incredible divinatory method. When the Paths are explored with the proper state of mind, when you use the oracle with proper ceremony, it can reveal stunning insights into your state of conciousness.

I have made difficult decisions using the oracular method and have been surprised by its accuracy on more than one occasion.

I highly recommend this system to any person who seeks a Shamanic, tribal interperetation of reality.

The Ancestors' Path is a helpful and fun way to consult "the Oracle", also instructing and educating the player in understanding the world through the Native American "looking glass". The answers to questions about life or any concern at hand will have universal meaning with the lovely flavour of the ancient traditions of this land. I recommend this book and divination game as a splendid gift to give a family member or friend for the Holidays!

I love this divination system. It taught me so much about Native American spirituality. More than that, the readings I receive when I "throw" the dice, which are part of the system, impart to me a depth of wisdom that I have rarely received when using other systems. The answers truly cut to the heart of any matter. With the Ancestors' Path, you experience the profound sense that you are, indeed, speaking with elders or ancestors, and that they have your best interests at heart.

I have had experience with many other oracles, including The I-Ching, Geomancy, Tarot, Scrying and the observation of patterns in the natural world.

The Ancestor's Path is an incredible divinatory method. When the Paths are explored with the proper state of mind, when you use the oracle with proper ceremony, it can reveal stunning insights into your state of conciousness.

I have made difficult decisions using the oracular method and have been surprised by its accuracy on more than one occasion.

I highly recommend this system to any person who seeks a Shamanic, tribal interperetation of reality.

Ever hear of the ancient mystery religions from the ancient mediterranean world that supposedly influenced the new testament? This is just about the best book to actually read up on what the mystery religions consisted of. A good tool to check out for yourself if there are or are not any parallels between the mystery religions and new testament content.

The book is informative and well presented. It was required reading for a Masters Class, and it augmented the other required reading, as well as the classroom information. The author writes commentary on the background of the mystery, and then the sacred text.

As Marvin M. Meyer explains in his excellent introduction, the Mysteries (from the Greek myein = to close) were associations of individuals: 'The Mysteries were secret religious groups composed of individuals who decided, through personal choice, to be initiated into the profound realities of one deity or another. They joined an association of people united in their quest for personal salvation.'

Unlike the Catholic Church or State religions, the Mysteries had no power base and no organized structure. They were an easy target for those who considered them as enemies or serious rivals in their power search. The Catholic Church attacked them fanatically in speech, picture and scripture. After becoming the official religion under Constantine the Great, the Roman Church convinced emperor Theodosius the Great to commit one of the most savage crimes against humanity: he ordered in A.D. 391 the abolition of all pagan mysteries and the destruction of their sanctuaries, giving at the same time a religious monopoly to the Pope.

This book contains excerpts of very well known works like 'Bakchai' by Euripides or 'The Golden Ass' by Apulejus, but also texts which are difficult to find.
The editor wrote a small introduction for each of the mysteries considered together with excellent bibliographies.

Not to be missed by all those interested in Ancient history.

Marvin W. Meyer's "The Ancient Mysteries: A sourcebook of Sacred Texts" is a splendid resource for original texts pertaining to the ancient Greco-Roman mystery cults. Meyer covers the full range of mystery cults, from the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, through the mysteries of Dionysos, the Great Mother, Isis, Osiris, and Mithras, finishing with the mysteries within Judaism and Christianity. The texts span a wide spectrum of viewpoints and sources, from relatively objective accounts by period historians, to manuals from within the cults governing discipline and worship, to actual hymns and stories by initiates such as Apuleius's "The Golden Ass." My favorite selection was his excerpts from the Orphic Hymns, reproduced from the incomparable translation by Apostolos Athanassakis, which inspired me to obtain and read the entire book.

Meyer provides a brief introduction to each form of the mysteries that he discusses, along with brief introductions to the excerpts he provides. This book is an excellent introduction to what the mysteries were, and how they were seen and experienced by initiates, dramatists and historians during the period when they flourished.

A very useful source book, I use it often. The division of the book into specific religions/cults makes it easy to use.

The only thing lacking are images/diagrams to supplement the texts.

The chapters on Isis, Osiris and Mithras are excellent.

This is a fascinating. I read the "Annotated Alice in Wonderland" as a kid (which like this with the annotations contains some information that would be distressing to children or above their level) and could peer into the world of the author and in this case since I was familiar with only some of the stories (as some have dated) to see a complete sociological, psychological and cultural analysis really brings them into a new light and sees Hans Christian Anderson as more than just a writer of "fairy tales" (actually cultural mythology) and a full fledged writer. This is a perfect read to an autobiography about his life and his complete lack of relations with either sex, repression of his sexuality and disability but the analysis is here is not just about him, its about the stories in a larger context. For example, "The Little Match Girl" is in reference to his mother who was forced to beg on the streets, in its reference to her obstracizement by society was clearly referring to how he was treated and its references to being "left out in the cold" refer to both the experience of depression as well as the literal frigid climate of Denmark. This still is a children's classic but in this light it is understood much better but one that is a story that could be appreciated by adults "Aunty Toothache" speaks of the cynicism of an ominous repressive, Freudian, maternal figure who forces him not to write poetry or he will suffer massive toothaches (which he did throughout his life). This was written at the end of his life as he was dying and it was a lament to how he forced himself not to write poetry perhaps to avoid confronting his sexuality. And it is a disturbing semi-gothic story. And if these aspects escaped you they didn't escape Oscar Wilde who was directly inspired by them. So who's to say who had the last laugh? So you can find the more appropriate stories and read them to your young children and then appreciate the annotations and both of you will gain something although you exist in seperate worlds.

Many people dismiss Hans Christian Anderson as a mere author of now outdated children's stories. Anderson, as this volume of his annotated stories makes clear, was a poet, folklorist, historian, and commentator as well as a children's writer. In fact, many of his stories were written for adults, not children, and even those aimed at the young have side passages and comments which were meant for grown up men and women to hear and ponder. This volume contains a good sampling of both of these types of Anderson's stories. Each story is copiously annotated, a real pleasure for the modern reader who may not recognize references to customs and people now far in the past. There are many beautiful illustrations from the multiple published versions of the stories. Most importantly, the stories have been newly translated from the original Danish, so that as much of the original emphasis and focus is present as possible.

This annotated volume not only allows the reader a fresh view of some famous stories, it also makes the enormously complex original author much more comprehensible and even more likeable.

This beautifully produced book contains 12 tales for children and 12 short stories for adults. There are almost 150 illustrations, many in color, from classic editions of Andersen's works. The colored images by Clarke, Dulas, Nielsen and Lorenz Frolich are splendid, as are the many ink drawings by W. Heath Robinson.

Maria Tatar edited The Annotated Brothers Grimm and The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. She and Julie K. Allen translated the stories, and Tatar provides many annotations. Example: "The Ugly Duckling" is "the most deeply personal of Anderson's stories, a narrative that traces his trajectory from humble origins to a literary aristocracy."

Tatar is eloquent on the importance of Andersen: "We need to engage our critical faculties in order to understand what makes these stories so emotionally addictive. Why have these Danish cultural stories taken hold in the United States to become instruments for navigating childhood? How do the stories enable the reader to get lost in the book, to drink the heady elixir of fantasy? And how do they arouse the intellectual curiosity of children?"

Tatar argues that Andersen's descriptive techniques create moments with "ignition power" that kindle the imagination. "Andersen's descriptions of beauty can weave spells. They create an adrenaline rush so that you begin to read with the spine rather than the brain. These luminous moments energize the mind, leading the reader to read on to explore perils and possibilities, but also to dig deeper."

"The Emperor's New Clothes" exemplifies Andersen's narrative powers. "When I reread the tale I remembered how as a child I had started to imagine what the cloth looked like. Even though it is invisible, the swindlers and the adults describe the cloth as silky and beautiful, with gossamer designs ... and Andersen invests so much narrative energy in describing the invisible cloth that, ironically, it begins to dazzle in the mind's eye. That is what Andersen can do -- he lights up the imagination."

The short stories were new to me and have some interest seen through Tatar's eyes. But these new translations of the old favorites like "The Snow Queen" or "The Little Mermaid" are just as magical as ever.

Robert C. Ross 2008

I ordered this as a Christmas gift for a friend with young children. The quality of the book exceeded my expectations. The wonderful stories and illustrations are perfect for kids, whilst the scholarship and annotations are excellent for adults.

Ever since taking some literature courses to complete my degree, I've been fascinated by fairy tales. These stories can be enjoyed on a very basic level, but in order to understand the context, one often needs to know more about the author, the time of the writing, and what the characters and story line connote for the writer and his or her readers - at the time it was written. Using a very simple format of narrow text with wide margins to contain the annotations, this book allows the reader to read the story only, or read the notes only, or read a combination thereof, or, just look at the fascinating pictures and engravings as copied from the original editions. The dust jacket is colorful and ornate, and the paper is crisp, easy on the eye, with error free print. In short, this book will appeal to old and young, scholars and casual readers, and even those just looking for a pretty book to put on the shelf.

By this detailed book Daftary submerges into 12th century politics. He carefully retells the history of islam and all of its various sects. The Assassins legends are carefully explained and the truth behind the slanders has been brought to light. The middle-age politics were made under the veil of islam in the middle-east back then. The sect's political ambition is to rise against foregin invasion(that is Selcuk rulers)No credit to tales about drugging men into sacrificing their lives for the promise of heaven. This group were made out of then-persian patriots defending their culture as a way of life.All in all a well-written book worth reading several times all over

This book should be required reading for anyone associated with Ismailism ! Negative propoganda and lack of original but unbiased research on Ismailism have portrayed a very negative image on Ismailis - this book provides a basis in remeyding that problem. You will not regret reading this book !

There's no question that Daftary's work -- like Bernard Lewis' -- is essential reading for anyone studying the Ismailis, or the various legends surrounding the so-called hasheeshians, or assassins. I came across Daftary's work and his Institutue of Ismaili Studies in London as I was preparing the first English translation of ALAMUT, Vladimir Bartol's novel of Hasan ibn Sabbah, the original so-called "assassin."

If Daftary's tone appears to be defensive, he's got several centuries of reasons behind him: since Marco Polo swept through Persia and returned to Italy with fantastic and horrific tales of how "no person, however powerful...could escape assassination" at the hands of the "Old Man of the Mountain" and his band of hashish-eating followers, Ismailis have had their work cut out for them. (Bartol's work certainly doesn't help, largely relying as it does on those myths and fabrications.) Taken together with Lewis' work on the subject, Daftary's study offers a compelling argument against Marco Polo and the bread crumbs of myths that followed him back to Italy.

As the Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at the Institute of Islamic studies it is safe to say that Daftary is the foremost expert and scholar in Ismailism today. What makes this book so compelling is that it dares to defy the age old myths of the so called "Assassins". Few books, if any, have provided readers with this perspective, and Daftary pulls it off exceptionally. While the book may be heavy in names, dates and facts they serve to provide credibility and work to dispel the myths that many have worked hard to create. Finally, a piece that gives competing works a run for their money. Anyone who has read other, older and perhaps more popular works about the "Assassin Terrorist" are highly recommended to read Daftary's works as they make a much more convincing argument. The book also elucidates the origins of myth and folklore and how they develop into acceptable facts with time. With all the negativity surrounding Islam and Ismailism today The Assassin Legends gives an opportunity to step back and look the entire picture. Any real scholar would admit that there are two sides to every story, and to study the Assassins without consulting Daftary's works would be committing a sincere injustice.

This is a very interesting and well researched look at the history of the Isma'ilis, and compliments your Middle-Eastern history shelf nicely. It is essentially a history text, though, and heavy on the names/dates/primary sources, and isn't quite so useful if you're looking for actual legends. It is also clearly biased in favor of the Isma'ilis, which is fair considering most Islamic histories are biases against them. Still, this book is a nice addition to the sect's history, but maybe not the best introduction.

Felice Vinci
The Baltic Origins of Homer's
Epic Tales:
The Iliad, the Odyssey, and
The Migration of Myth
(Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT) 2006
xiii+370 pages
ISBN 1-59477-052-2 (pb)

Critiqued by Frederic Jueneman

As perhaps an interesting preliminary aside, Roman author Felice Vinci's original 1995 book in Italian, Omero nel Baltico ("Homer in the Baltic"), was highlighted several years ago with a précis of his study of Homer's epic Iliad and Odyssey. Originally it was met with some skepticism; but hopefully since, it has captured the notice of some attentive classical scholars, who had no preconceived notions of their own, to further the study of Homeric lore. Now, finally, the full-scale English language version is widely available for critical analysis. (A contemporaneous Russian edition has also been recently published.) And, it might be amusingly mentioned that Vinci's popularity has since risen in Scandinavia, as these peoples were given a revitalized legacy, but his esteem has proportionately declined in Greece, since he has uncharitably taken away the cherished and hoary heritage of Homer from Aegean waters and moved it en masse into the Baltic. Notwithstanding, Vinci has done his homework remarkably well, as his extensive knowledge of Homeric Greek, as well as of ancient history and literature, comes through clearly.

The Foreword to this edition is by Joscelyn Godwin of Colgate University, a scholar who might be termed a student of esotericology (study of the occult), but who wouldn't be among my first choices as a preface author. Yet, his extensive knowledge of obscure esoteric practices and cabalistic lore from around the world puts him in a somewhat unique position. Such antiquated if otherwise unorthodox lore places almost all significant mythic events near the Pole, a premise that highlights the basic hypothesis of Vinci's repositioning of Homer's epic in the north.

This reviewer's only problem--albeit a minor one--is that Vinci has opted for literal, historic names and faces on what may otherwise be universal symbolisms, if not generic mythic themes. in Homer's epics, despite the fact that extensive Achaean and Trojan genealogies are sprinkled throughout these poems. Moreover, having been involved during an early editing process, this reviewer may also seem to have a conflict of interest in writing this critique; however, to be sure, there aren't many so intimately acquainted with Vinci's effort.

It should be said about both the Iliad and Odyssey, despite their heroic premise--if the discerning student of Homer hadn't otherwise noticed it--they are essentially Travelogues par excellence. But, even more than this, the Iliad is a compendium of peoples and cultures from various ports-of-call around the Baltic world, as outlined in exquisite detail in Book 2, "Catalogue of Ships," while the Odyssey itself more fancifully outlines economic trade routes taken by these intrepid Nordic seafarers, under the rubric of Ulysses' adventures, along with the constant dangers and other vicissitudes of wind, weather, and shoals that can trouble courageous mariners.

Homer seems to have efficiently used the Trojan War as the pivotal epic theme to highlight Baltic civilization, culture, and concomitant malignant unrest during the Sub-Boreal climatic plunge in the early second millennium BC, with the resulting armed conflicts for more habitable and sustainable territories, coupled with the ongoing quest for less frigid environments. These hostilities, coupled with the encroaching freeze, inexorably contributed to the eventual disintegration of Nordic society that finally impelled both their southward and their southeastward migrations to more temperate seaport climes. And this, in turn, was perhaps exacerbated by the eruption of Thera in the Mediterranean circa 1627 BC, as determined by dendrochronology (tree-ring dating). However, apparently not everyone did leave this increasingly Frigid Zone, as hardier peoples did remain in the northern climes to eke out an existence and evoke further Nordic legends and tales. Homer's epic is perhaps the only surviving classic from that epoch, as others may well have been lost. And even here, there seems to be the ghost of two Homers, as the Iliad and Odyssey are each stylistically distinct and dissimilar, as if they were orally relayed and later penned by different authors.

The literary artifact of the quest for the affections of Helen of Troy emphasizes one aspect of their regional cultural and moral values, but on this Vinci is silent except to comment that the heroine Sita is similarly abducted from her betrothed Rama in the Hindu Ramayana.

Further, these so-called "trade routes' in the Odyssey, are both a mnemonic of those sea passages and a verbal itinerary of what would otherwise have been forgotten and hence lost by these migrants. The superlative detail in Homer's epic lyrics are therefore not merely poetic hyperbole, but arrows-in-time of Mediterranean and Anatolian, if not, according to Vinci, Aryan, heritage, as well as tangible, albeit arcane literary directions to their former locales. That they were indeed lost and forgotten, it is our present task to remember and find them once again.

Vinci's reconstruction used the Greek biographer and moralist Plutarch (46-120 AD) as his initial guide for the identification of the Homeric Isle of Calypso, Ogygia (Stóra Dímun), off the coast of Norway in the Faeroe Islands. And, that these sea route mnemonics had also been forgotten and lost is noted in the writings of the geographer Strabo (63 BC-24 AD) and earlier historian Thucydides (471-400 BC), who thought Homer was a good storyteller but a rather poor geographer, where many Homeric islands are either missing or misplaced in the Mediterranean. Vinci attempts to amend these ancient erroneous impressions, as well as those of contemporary scholarship, with what might be termed geographical, morphological, and literary archeology. The actual physical digging and future confirmation of his arguments he would leave to the field archeologists. But, he has also left a pile of detritus for the philologists and historians, as there are still many linguistic and chronological problems.

One never knows what one might find while unearthing literary relics. Fossils are where you find them, as every paleontologist will acknowledge. Some plots of ground are more fertile than others, but the trick is in finding them. Hellenic authors and their present-day progeny have looked in vain in the Aegean for the likes of Homer's "long isle" Dulichium, "sandy" Pylos, Achilles' home of Phthia, and "white-cliffed" Cranae. They never had really existed in Mediterranean waters. But, they all have place in the Scandinavian world, which is where Vinci has discovered such vestiges of literary fossils, not only in Homer but also Saxo Grammaticus and the Icelandic Eddas, and parts of the Finnish epic Kalevala, among others.

The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (1150-1220) recorded parallel legends in his Gesta Danorum (Danish History), which dovetail Nordic legends in many respects with the Homeric epics, where occasionally even the names look familiar. In like manner, both the poetic Elder Edda (12th century) and the Younger Edda, penned by Snorri Sturluson in the following 13th century, have such corresponding themes where Nordic gods play the analogous roles of the Homeric heroes. One wonders if Saxo and Snorri previously had read Homer, or if these were from independently homomorphic tales. In the Kalevala, Väinämöinen has a leg scar comparable to Ulysses' childhood injury; and similarly, one might compare the godlike smithys from the far north, notably Ilmarinen and Hephaestus, who fashioned armor for their respective Finnish and Achaean heroes. Moreover, such oblique references appear throughout Indo-European mythic literature, much further afield than either the Mediterranean or the Baltic.

Where Saxo outlines the history of the Danes in lower Scandinavia, principally Denmark, Homer--by way of Vinci--describes the rest of the Baltic world, although Saxo does look eastward and places the Hellespont in the Gulf of Finland, far from the Dardanelles in northwestern Turkey, which is most unlike the sea that Homer called "wide" and "boundless."

Vinci's repeated excursions into etymological concordances are fascinating, but not fully convincing at least until further evidence is forthcoming, despite his caveat that "considerations based on geography and climate are far more reliable than similarities in place-names." Nevertheless, the poetic clustering of Homeric homonyms in names and places from both the Mediterranean and the Baltic worlds frames a persuasive argument.

His occasional references to the loss of the linguistic element "v"--the digamma--from ancient pre-Homeric Greek could well be such an etymological fossil and a potential linguistic springboard for additional appraisal. (The digamma had fallen into disuse except for an Aeolian dialect.) For example, Livy records the flight of Antenor with his Eneti allies after the fall of Troy, which might account for the Etrurian founding of a Veneti seaport colony later known to us as Venice, although the recorded history of this city just dates from our own 5th century. Similarly, the missing digammate prefix in the word "Achaean" would make "Vachaean" sound like "Viking." It's unfortunate that Vinci's protracted discussion of the linguistic significance of the digamma was edited out of this edition. However, there's lots more room for further philological study, to add to what has already been done long before Vinci came on the scene.

It has also come to the attention of this reviewer that Etruscan tombs in northern Italy frequently commemorate themes from both the "Trojan War" and the "Seven Against Thebes," an otherwise unaccountable provenance unless both ancient Troy and Thebes were originally located in the north. Interestingly, to confound this puzzle further, Vinci adds, "Thebes was not an Achaean city and did not take part in the Trojan War." This makes one wonder why the Etruscans venerated such funereal encomiums if their forebears did not participate in the Achaean-Trojan conflict. Even so, Etrurian origins are thought by received wisdom to be formerly from northern regions. In addition, Vinci does identify today's quaint Finnish village of Toija near the coast in southwestern Finland as being the putative site of the mythical Ilium of Homer, far from the Anatolian site at Hissarlik on the shores of Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean that was uncovered by Heinrich Schliemann circa 1873.

In the Odyssey Homer describes an immense "flowing away" (ápsoros) current plowing silently through the ocean as Potamós Okeanós (literally "Blue River") that has all the earmarks of the Atlantic Gulf Stream, of which we presumably attribute its discovery to Benjamin Franklin circa 1770. The 8th century BC poet Hesiod had also remarked on it, which leads one to think that much of Homer has been swept aside by scholarly oversight when their attention is more-or-less rigidly confined to the Mediterranean. It also augurs for an Atlantic voyage of Ulysses to more distant and exotic ports-of-call, which may well have been as far west as Iceland, Greenland, or--heavens forfend!--the eastern seaboard of the Americas.

The vast plains of Homer's world do not reside in the rocky crags and spires of the Aegean; the terrain of the Iliad speaks of rolling hills and secluded seaports, specifically the harborage of Homeric Sparta, which otherwise is located far inland in the Mediterranean Peloponnese. Nor, for that matter, the non-Greek Homeric sources of tin, copper, iron, and particularly amber, although scattered artifacts have been found at Mycenae and other Mediterranean sites, despite similarly scattered ore sites in Anatolia, in and around the Black Sea. In the northland there are ancient copper mines in the Shetlands and tin ore in Cornwall, with immense iron deposits found in northern Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia, and of course amber in areas rich in conifers. Magnetite from Sweden may have been the origin of ancient but crude compasses, which guided these daring ancient mariners through foggy seas across the ocean to Iceland, Greenland, and even the Americas for exploration and additional resources. Until the collapse of the warm Atlantic climatic phase prior to the second millennium, such seafaring across an oceanic expanse would certainly be possible, if not probable, during more temperate meteorological conditions.

So too, found in the far north, are prized gold and silver, which adorned the breastplates and shields fashioned by the gods for the Achaeans, perhaps along with Plato's celebrated orichalcum. Some of the world's finest gold, as well as silver, are found in Lapland in the northern extreme of Finland. Curiously, the precious orichalcum of Plato's fabulous Atlantis may turn out to be the platinum mined in the Urals. But, these minerals are less easily accessed today as they might have been during a pre-glacial Boreal phase--relatively ice free--several thousand years ago.

The climate of the northland underlies the Odyssey portrayals of "close-fitting" garments and long tunics, wrapped around "like the peel on a dry onion." And, in the Iliad, we similarly read of "thick furs" and "thick cloaks and blankets." All such descriptions are of Bronze Age clothing as found in Scandinavian burial tumuli, even as to the golden shoulder buckle worn by Ulysses to fasten his cloak.

Wind, fog, and rain also afflicted the combatants during the remarkably short season of the Achaean-Trojan skirmishes, where often one warrior could not see another. It should be said that the Iliad itself actually describes just a month-long finale of the ten-year hostilities over what appears to be an ongoing turf war, disregarding the overlay of Homer's plot theme in the quest for the satisfaction of honor and Helen's return to the court of Agamemnon. The constant references to inclement weather, and even the occasional allusions to ice and snow, all seem to denote unrelenting characteristic atmospheric conditions in the northlands. It also appears to this reviewer that the Achaeans wanted to once-and-for-all bring the economic dominance of Troy to its knees. In fact, the artifice of the "Trojan Horse," described only in the more imaginative Odyssey, may be an early description of a siege engine to breech the timbered walls of Troy.

The long winter nights of the polar climes north of the Arctic Circle do not rule out anything significant in the underlying themes of myth, where, for example, Persephone spends her half-year in the gloomy company of her husband Hades, brother of Zeus. Or, where Ulysses drifts northward with the Potamós Okeanós from the Isle of Circe to the Cimmerian land of Styx to consult with the ghost of Tiresias, the erstwhile king of Thebes. During Arctic winters we have both the light of the Moon during its periodic phases to illuminate the tundra, and the sometimes-spectacular aurora borealis as the porphyréen îrin (colored arch) spread across the heavens by Zeus for the aesthetic benefit of mortals. Nightfall in the Arctic does not mean it precludes activity, mythological or actual.

But, when the Sun's light finally begins to gradually reappear through the recurring twilights of spring, Homer speaks of "revolving dawns" that can only be observed in the far north, not in continental Europe nor the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the curious hapax legomenon of Homer--amphilyke nyx--is a linguistic fossil referring to the "dimly-lit night" during which Achaeans and Trojans fought during the day and throughout the Arctic dusk and into the following day, a phenomenon only experienced during early or late summer months in far northern climes. In another instance, King Nestor of Pylos recommended that campfires should surround each Achaean encampment; but, without any further clarification by Homer, most scholars assume that this advice was for discouraging potential Trojan infiltrators or from a surprise attack. However, according to classicist Alberto DiPippo of Univ. of Santa Clara, since there's no dark nighttime per se in far northern summers, such well-placed campfires would more realistically discourage the abominable insect infestation that usually plague such humid polar regions during the summertime.

This brief critique is but a small part of what Vinci has laid out for the reader, since we haven't even touched on what these ancients ate or drank, or did for their amusement, or even as to the ultimate migration of the Achaeans as ancestors of the Mycenaeans and later Hellenes, and who may even have been the personification of the fabled Peoples of the Sea.

And finally, to indulge in a reminiscence: While editing the first draft of this book some years ago, it was then presciently written "...this is a Homeric world that was once almost irretrievably lost, but at long last has now been found where it has always been."

Felice Vinci wrote this fascinating book in Italian in 1995 (he is a nuclear engineer and classics buff), and the book was translated into English and into Russian in 2006. The translations have led to growing interest in Vinci's work.

Vinci's main thesis is that The Illiad and the Odyssey of Homer took place in the Baltic, not the Mediterranean. Reading his book, and an excellent commentary by William Mullen of Bard College in the current issue of "Culture + Travel", makes re-reading these two old favorites a mind blowing experience.

Suspend your disbelief for a few paragraphs. Archeologists agree that invaders from the north founded the Greek Mycenaean kingdoms in the 16th century B.C.E. Linguists believe that languages from Greek to Sanskrit belong to an ancestral group called the Proto-Indo-Europeans that migrated throughout Europe before the second millennium B.C.E. Climatologists believe that 4500 years ago the planet as a whole was 4 degrees Celsius warmer, the so-called Post-Glacial Climatic Optimum.

What is not agreed is Vinci's claims that these groups "re-mapped" their new homes in the Mediterranean using the place names of the Baltic in their new homes, much as the Dutch and then the English named a certain island "New Amsterdam" and then "New York." By Mullen's count, "out of 390 place names in the Homeric epics, Vinci finds 321 northern counterparts in the text, individually and in relation to each other."

Homer often mentions snow and fog, his characters wore heavy clothes, the main battle in the "Iliad" takes place between two noons, separated by a starless "white night". Climate changes over the centuries, but were there white nights in Turkey many centuries ago?

In Vinci's approach, Troy is Toija in Finland, a town whose topography matches Homer's description precisely, including a long ridge that overlooks the plain "like an eyebrow". The Turkish name for the standard tourist destination is called "Hissarlik" -- not much like "Troy" -- and is not located on a "boundless sea" as Homer described it.

A puzzling part of the "Odyssey" is Homer's description of Atlas holding up "the great pillars that sustain Earth and Heaven." Neither the Rock of Gibraltar nor the Atlas Mountains in Africa look much like pillars. But two of the Faroe Islands, Kunoy and Kalsoy, are parallel slabs of stone, with only a narrow sea lane between them.

Home for Odysseus was Ithaca, which Homer describes as a low, flat island and the westernmost of four islands. In Greece, Ithaca is hilly and the westernmost of three islands, not four. West of Copenhagen, however, there is a low lying, rainy island, the fourth and westernmost of a small chain, fitting Athena's description: "Here is grain surpassing even a god's telling ... All kinds of woods, and watering places, the year round."

So, what's the truth? Well, we know that Homer was probably not one person but actually a series of story tellers, singing and re-telling their great tales over many centuries and in many different places. We probably will never know for sure if the tales could have taken place in the Baltic, but Vinci's theories add a wonderful gloss to both stories. Is it impossible that the invaders from the north carried both their singers and their tales south to the Mediterranean?

Read Vinci's book and then re-read Homer's two great classics with a new appreciation.


Robert C. Ross 2008

For those who have actually read and pondered the Homeric sagas, many difficulties present themselves in trying to visualize the battles, the geography and the scenery when compared to the eastern areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In this book, Felice Vinci proposes and very well defends the seemingly outrageous idea that the events described in the epics actually transpired in the Baltic Sea. He contends that these events took place at the end of a particularly warm period, and with the dropping temperatures, the actors of the Homeric dramas fled south and occupied the warmer Mediterranean. Transposing the names of their former cities to their new homes, once things settled down, the epics were put to writing.

This is a bold and exciting assertion. This book explains and defends the premise very well. I strongly encourage people to read and ponder. It is a rare thing when something this bold and of this scope can be conceived and propounded with such dignity and vigor.

Put down whatever you are reading today and get this book!

Making comparisons of climate and geography, including place names, between Homer's ancient Greek classics and the Baltic Sea coastal areas, Vinci engages in intriguing, fascinating, but also well-substantiated speculation on the bases of Homer's works. Eons ago when the epics originated, climate was warmer in the Baltic region. Though it was not as warm as it commonly is in the eastern Mediterranean lands including Greece, Vinci finds references to this one-time warmer Northern European climate in the Odyssey, for example, with its frequent mention of cooler, damper weather often forming mist. Ulysses, the main character of the Odyssey, is more like a Viking seafarer than a typical Greek sailor. Vinci even finds many references in the Baltic region to the Trojan War poetically recorded in Homer's "Iliad." The link between the Baltic region and ancient Greece is strengthened, though not confirmed, by the migrations of Northern peoples to areas of Asia Minor. As Vinci recognizes, "further archaeological corroboration" by experts in different fields would be necessary to confirm his theory. But in pursuing it, this work covers many little-known but interesting and colorful aspects of the ancient European world and also enhances appreciation of the literary style and the cultural material and sources of the works.

It is a curious fact that the geographical descriptions furnished in Homer's Iliad (the story of the siege of Troy) and Odyssey (the story of Odysseus's journey home after Troy's fall) do not easily match the assumed Mediterranean topography. Various prehistorians, historians, archeologists, and linguists have expressed their consternation about Homer's geographical details. It was Plutarch (46-120 A.D.), who in his essay "The face that appears in the lunar orb," unequivocally states that Goddess Calypso's island of Ogygia mentioned in the Odyssey was situated "five days' sail from Britain, toward the west."

Vinci, a nuclear engineer by profession and a passionate classicist by vocation, took Plutarch's statement as a serious clue to search for the geography of the Homeric epics in the North Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean. He has amassed a mountain of evidence in favor of the Baltic origins of both Greek epics. Similarities between the mythologies of the North and the Mediterranean have often been pointed out. Vinci argues that a deterioration in climate around 2000 B.C. caused some of the Scandinavian peoples to migrate south. As time went by, the epics were claimed by the Greeks for their own Mediterranean culture and environment.

What about Schliemann's Troy? Although this intrepid explorer undoubtedly discovered the Mycenean civilization, his claim to have unearthed the city of Troy has never been universally accepted. Already Strabo ( ) denied that the "ancient Ilium ( Troy)" was to be found in Anatolia. A better candidate for the Homeric Troy than the Anatolian town of Hisarlik, excavated by Schliemann, is possibly the Finnish town of Toija, as suggested by Vinci.

Vinci's audacious rewriting of Homeric culture and mythology is a creative proposition, which deserves to be further investigated. He has my full vote of confidence.

[...]

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is, without question, a wonderful reference book. All reviews agree that it's unique in scope and content. Read the other reviews for details. I can't really add anything there.

But interestingly, no one focuses on what a great read this book is. I love it because I can just pick it up, open the book to any page at random, and instantly lose myself in the contents of the pages. It's delightful in that you never know what you'll learn (but you always learn something interesting), and you can read as much or as little as you wish, depending on your time or interest. Later on, you can pick up where you left off, or just flip the pages to some other random place in the book

We jokingly refer to it as the world's best "bathroom book."

So, by all means use it as a reference, but don't stop there - read it!

As a resource for any student or scholar, Brewer's is a unique and indispensible resource of esoteric or little known information. I possess the Centenary Edition of 1970 which was discarded from London's Homerton College Library.

Brewer's picks up where other reference books leave off. With approximately six-thousand unusual quotations, the reader will be well read and prepared to take on the day; be it an opening toast, or a debate between orators. I rate it at five stars plus with no hesitation or reservation.

What a book!!! Imagine a dictionary + thesaurus + encyclopedia, all binded together with alphabetically listed topics (sublime,sacred,profane,outrageous,obscure,eldritch,et al) which cross-reference each other through (seemingly) never-ending threads of association,relativity and/or conspiracy!!!

You can start with one subject and find yourself time-traveling through history and mythology...touching on a plethora of events, peoples, places, philosophies and diverse arcana from time immemorial.

I have thouroughly read (and re-read) a much earlier edition(11th) until my pages started falling out. As soon as I get the $$ I'm gonna buy this 16th edition and begin my adventures again.

Highly recommended for those who love this Universe and the multitude of histories intwined.

What I have is this 16th edition, published in 2002. Here's the link to the newest edition, which came out last year: Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (17th Edition).

This is a rich resource, but understand that it has a very British bent. You get to learn that "beer and sandwiches" means informal negotiations, the "Dashing White Sergeant" is a Scottish country dance, "Brigg Fair" is an English rhapsody for orchestra, and "Emmets" are what tourists are called in Cornwall. Two pages are devoted to a list of football club nicknames -- The Addicks, the Rokermen, the Mambas...

I also found this description of the Chicago Bears amusing: "A record-breaking professional American football team, with a home base at Wrigley Field."

Despite that outdated info, I still found this useful and enjoyable to read, and I recommend getting it as a reference book for allusions and cultural literacy. There are entries on the Popemobile, Siegfried Line, Lady Bird, a shot in the arm, Iris (the movie), Comstockery, chicken Kiev, golden hello, Suzuki method, KGB, Manchukuo, planned obsolescence, zuppa inglese and Zut alors!

There are also extended entries featuring lists of 20th-century advertising slogans, aircraft names, famous last words, film star nicknames, first lines of novels, medical abbreviations, rock group names, and Soviet sayings.

I never thought I'd describe a reference book as unputdownable, but once you open this book to look one thing up (say, a peculiar expression that someone has just said, "Now why *do* we say that?" about), you'll find yourself reading all the entries in sight! Very useful for anyone with an interest in literature, history, or language and great fun to use, with a distinctly tongue-in-cheek feel to it (the hilarious section on "Famous Last Words", for instance).

It makes a really lovely present for young and old: it looks suitably impressive, has fairly universal appeal provided they're a fan of the written word, and is far livelier than the standard reference books that get trotted out on Important Occasions. I have given this to my best friend, my step-dad, and a second cousin who has just come of age; the latter (aged 13) hasn't been heard from yet (we calculated that there's a pretty good chance he's going to read it, unlike most of the books he's bound to have received), but the other two have adored it, and friends who have been introduced to my copy usually end up spending a good hour leafing through it. A huge number of phrases, expressions, and characters from myth, history and literature are there, but I still want to know where the word "codswallop" comes from...

I highly recommend this translation of Joinville and Villehardouin.

The translator has taken care to translate these works into lucid, contemporary language without dumbing down the writing. Her work has paid off, providing a readable and lively edition still suitable for scholarly review.

Whether you are reading these for enjoyment, personal interest, or academic reasons, this translation is a good one.

I had to read this book in my Medieval and Ranasance Class at OSU. This book gives a first person view of what the Crusades were like. My teenage son has read the book several times and used for several research papers in high school.

These are both excellent accounts of the crusades. Villehardouin proves insightful in what he does not say. A small army of crusaders faces unbelievable odds in Constantinople and yet somehow they conquer and hold this territory. It brings up the question of whether the conquest was an accident or a conspiracy, and a reader can answer that question through careful reading. There are other books wholly committed to this argument of conspiracy vs. accident.

Joinville gives an equally appreciable account of a crusade, this time a failed attempt in Egypt by Saint Louis. Joinville is an author that gives a huge amount of information. The integrity of Louis is apparent as well as the mistakes made by the crusaders (Joinville rarely places direct blame of any failure on Louis, noting instead Louis's brother and his failures.)

This is a well introduced book and is not difficult to read in my opinion.

Chronicles of the Crusades is a chronicle of the Crusades from two of the senior participants who took part in two of the Crusades. The book covers the descriptions of the fourth and the seventh crusades as seen through the eyes of Geoffroy De Villehardouin (who took part in the fourth crusade) and Jean De Joinville (who took part in the seventh crusade). The two chronicles were translated for this book by Margaret Shaw. The book was published in 1963 around the time of her death. The two chronicles give us a look into the two crusades as chronicled through the eyes of two important noblemen of their time. This in itself will taint the purity of the chronicle. Chronicles such as these lay out the justifications for the crusades and tend to gloss over the blemishes. These two are no different. They were written to glorify the Crusaders and surely the writers would not put on ink anything that would later detract from their names. These chronicles do an excellent job of showing how the two chroniclers thought and how they wanted these two crusades remembered. When this book is read this should be kept in mind. The average crusader was a mixture of those driven by greed and religious extremists. The crusaders were allowed to plunder the lands they conquered. In today's terms they were allowed to take war trophies, thus stealing from the inhabitants of the land. They were barbaric in their means of taking the land and the raping of women was allowed, if the women were not of the Christian faith. The fourth crusade received condemnation on its behavior when the Christian city of Constantinople was sacked. This was due to the crusaders raping of the women. This of course is not pointed out by Villehardouin. The chroniclers mention a little of the plunder, but do not mention anything else. Though the chroniclers are quick to point out the cruelty of the Saracens. Margaret Shaw refers to these two chronicles as being the most reliable accounts of the crusades written in French. I would have to disagree that these chronicles should be taken as completely accurate. Joinville refers to Prestor John as if he was a person who actually existed, thus showing that his accounts are not strictly cemented in fact. The chronicles give an overview of the crusades and do not go into much detail on the equipment used and the everyday life of the average crusader. This book is a good book to show the chroniclers thoughts and perspectives but if you are trying to get an accurate picture of what happened during these crusades I would look into other books as well. Such books that describe the opposing views as seen from the Muslim side and other books that can give specifics on how the crusaders lived and their equipment could help in understanding these crusades better. I am giving this book 5 stars because it does accurately convey it's title. It does cover the Chronicles of the Crusades.

The two accounts in _Chronicles of the Crusades_ provide readers with fascinating accounts of the 4th and 7th crusades. Villehardoun's observations of the sack of Constantinople leave some questions regarding whether it was a conspiracy to destroy the city or not; ultimately it is up to the reader to decide... It does, however, provide a window into 12th century warfare and politics.

Joinville's chronicle of the 7th crusade into the Holy Land was similarly fascinating, providing more information about a European's impressions of the Near East and Christian-Islamic conflict than Villehardoun. I much preferred Joinville for this reason. Together, both accounts provide a well-rounded history of the time and place - a tremendously interesting read for professional and armchair historians alike.

Told by his mother Frigg to search for the one who is "human but not human", Chaos, Fenris, and Iris arrive in the capital of Prontera, with no idea who they are seeking. After Skurai kills everyone at the assassins guild with the help of Odin's Beholders, a frame-up is perpetrated, making Loki think that Chaos has killed the order that keeps Midgard in balance. Swearing revenge, Loki sets out to kill Chaos, and Skurai is not far behind in seeking out a clash that will surely entail powerful blood for his cursed sword.

Ragnarok brings a lot of action to the table, but along with it, the characters and plot are engaging enough to provide a good entertainment for fantasy fans. While this series seems to borrow ideas from other works, whether it be Asgardian legends or Elric, or Dungeons and Dragons, it works. Lee's action sequences could be done much better because he uses so many lines to convey motion that it usually obscures the action, making you have to guess what happened sometimes. But all together this is an above average comic for readers that enjoy action and epic fantasy storylines.

This is definitly an awesome manga! The plot is extremely original, you can easily bond with the characters, and the art is simply magnificent! Myung-jin Lee has really done a wonderful job, and I'm sure he'll continue to do so throughout the series. For all those who love manga, I highly recommend Ragnarok.

I must say that the pacing for books 2 and 3 were a little slow. But Book 4 changes all that. The action in this volune was superb. Actually, not superb because there isn't a high enough word that can accurately describe the fight scenes. I don't think I have seen a better action sequence in manwha or manga.

I'm use to seeing languages being translated and I know that you'll have to lose something when switching between langauges although I never found the translation to be confusing or weird.

This is what I and Many others Have been waiting for!!! No one ever expected this good of things to com from Myung- Jin Lee! A Job Well done though!!!! Myung- Jin Lee must now get to work on the movies and Visual Ragnarok!!!
(P.S. Myung-Jin Lee has Already helped in the making of the Game Ragnarok... Although it just became P2P ( Pay to Play )It is Very good...

A great series with an engaging story and lots of action. My only gripe is that the translator (Richard Knaak) did a mediocre job of translating some text and phrases in certain scenes that just don't fit. The "sound-fx" text also was pretty bad. I.E. Hop, hop, hop...what is that?

Also, I remember reading an earlier preview from someone saying that this was quote "...an awesome manga..." technically it's a Korean comic in which they call it manwha in their language. Manga is comic for Japanese.

Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1990
"DOMINO teaches the chants, clap patterns and jump - rope songs of the Virgin Islands, with a cassette recorded on playgrounds of St. Croix by author Karen S. Ellis; the syncopated rhythms are irresistible, and some of the lyrics quite salty."

The Orff Echo, Fall 1990, page 44
"All material is clearly presented with precise and easy-to-understand directions for the games and dances. To maintain authenticity, the words of the songs are written in a mixture of standard English and Cruzian, the dialect of St. Croix. A glossary is provided to assist with unfamiliar words and phrases. Especially interesting is the author's account of her use of an Orff Schulwerk-based approach to teach language skills to the children in a small island town. The accompanying cassette tape, available separately, includes nearly all of the items in the book, most of it performed by the children themselves. No one should miss the priceless rendition of "Ding Dong."

The Midwest Book Review, May 26, 1990

An oversized paperback with spiral binging and a 35 minute audio cassette introduce both adult and child listeners to traditional children's songs and proverbs from the American Virgin Islands, providing a unique opportunity to absorb the culture and sounds of an area which has received relatively little attention.
An oversized paperback and 35 minute cassette provides a unique opportunity to absorb the culture and sounds of an area which has received relatively little attention. More than just another ethnic song collection, the tape alone holds merit, the paperback/tape package is recommended above each singly: the book is an essential enhancement to the tape, offering a political and cultural review of the Virgin Islands, teaching advice to teachers who may be considering the tape and workbook for classroom use, and illustrated musical instructions and score sheets for the tape's songs. The small black and white photos of the children at play are particularly intriguing."

Come-All-Ye, Vol. II No. 2, Summer 1990 A Review Journal for publications in the fields of Folklore, American Studies, Social History and Popular Culture. "It is a thoroughly delightful compilation, of interest to folklorists, teachers and everybody else can enjoy it."

"An oversized paperback and 35 minute cassette provides a unique opportunity to absorb the culture and sounds of an area which has received relatively little attention. More than just another ethnic song collection, the tape alone holds merit, the paperback/tape package is recommended above each singly: the book is an essential enhancement to the tape, offering a political and cultural review of the Virgin Islands, teaching advice to teachers who may be considering the tape and workbook for classroom use, and illustrated musical instructions and score sheets for the tape's songs. The small black and white photos of the children at play are particularly intriguing."

Jim Cox Midwest Book Review

Dr. John Rickford Ph.D (1997, Feb. 28) Dept of Linguistics, Stanford University

I recieved Domino, and was impressed both by the book and the tape. It was enjoyable for my wife Angela and I--the similarities with so many songs we knew growing up in Guyana were so striking, especially for Angela. (As your photos show, these clap patterns and circle songs are more popular with girls than boys.) For instance, for "Brown Girl in the Ring," we sing, "There's a Colored girl in the ring, etc" and end with "She likes sugar, and I like plum!"

WRT the "Congo Saw" proverb on page 22--I'm pretty sure this is the same as the "Conguseh" we have in Guyana, meaning "gossip," so the proverb really means that gossip is worse, more harmful than working obeah. See the entry for _congosa_ in Allsopp's wonderful, just released _Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage_ (Oxford U Press).

Also, the wording for Mother Goose on page 39 seemed to us perhaps to be "Come look a me ya" ("Come look at me here") but it wasn't so clear. This is a wonderful achievement, Karen, and the kids must have LOVED the attention and interest you showed in them and their songs. I bet they missed you when you left.

I highly recommend this little known jewel book in fairies.I found the lecture very enjoyable, as a plus this book is a nice complement to Jacques Valle's "Passport to Magonia",a classic in his class, I consider the bits of valuable info given by the author and his theories of the fairies issue very interesting.
In fact is a must reading for those ufologist trying to decipher the UFO's enigma. The matter of EBE (extrabiological entities) versus extradimensional beings {life forms, quantum energy, universal mind or whatever other name)as the bipolar center of the UFO forums today.

This is a great book. It is one of the few fairy books that take an objective viewpoint. Most books say that fairies are not real I loved this book. It has cute pictures of supposedly real fairies and the true accounts are very interesting. There is even a cute picture of an ancient fairy shoe and a mummified body. I hope you buy this book it is the best. :)

Wow. I love this book. I went to the library looking for a book about faries, to find this magnificent book. It is filled with bunches and bunches of stories of people who, well, encountered faries. These stories are amazing! From little men driving cars, to ones getting caught in a woman's hair, to brownies who helped clean houses, to nature faries. I believe, and you will too.

I really enjoyed this book on fairies. The author did an excellent job of tying in a wide variety of legends, stories, tales, myths, and unexplained phenomenon (even crop circles and UFO's get a mention). Unlike many books of this genre - there is little fantasy or frou-frou, Bord instead lays more trust in themes which commonly reoccur in fairy encounters.

In all, this is an excellent book, and it is well worth the money. I will fault the binding though, the glossy pages of photos in the book were quick to fall out and I was by no means rough with the book.

This is a great faery book, and seems to get its base root from Ireland. It has interesting and "unexplained" faery photos in the middle of the book, and some interesting encounters with faeries told inside of this book. Although I love faeries, and believe in them, I didnt like this book that much because they made faeries sound like all myths and legends.