Zeus: A Journey Through Greece in the Footsteps of a God | 
| Author: Tom Stone
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $8.19
You Save: $17.76 (68%)
New (39) Used (9) from $8.19
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 304982
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 158234518X
Dewey Decimal Number: 292.2113
EAN: 9781582345185
ASIN: 158234518X
Publication Date: February 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Perfect condition. Satisfaction guaranteed. Inventory subject to prior sale.
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Product Description
In the tradition of Walking the Bible, an irresistible tour through some of the most powerful stories ever told. Lusty, lightning-tempered, polyamorous Zeus was the most powerful and charismatic of the Greek gods, and the progenitor of some of the most enduring stories of world mythology. In Zeus, author Tom Stone takes readers on a 4,000-year journey through the god’s tumultuous life, from his origins as a sky god in the Russian steppes and his scandalous reign on Mt. Olympus to his approaching end in a palace storeroom in Christian Constantinople. Crossing the length and breadth of Greece, Stone and his Iranian wife explore the most significant sites in Greek myth, from mountaintops to subterranean caves, Olympus to Crete, and Mycenae to Macedonia. Along the way, he reveals how Zeus’s story grew from the soil of Greece and changed along with the country’s history, all with a brilliant mix of erudition and bravura storytelling. Combining mythology, history, and travel, this is an indispensable book for anyone who loves Greece or its great stories of myth and legend.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
Couldn't put it down... July 25, 2008
I expected it to be a bit dry, but after the first chapter, I found I could not put it down, and read it cover to cover in one night.
Fairy Tales for Grown-ups July 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Everybody loves a good fairy tale, but as you get older you may feel silly reading "Cinderella" or "Hansel and Gretel". Thank goodness for the Ancient Greeks; their mythology stories are the perfect fairy tales for adults. There's plenty of double-crossing, emotional outbursts, sex, violence and jealousy, and you get the added benefit of learning about classical civilization while you read these soap-opera stories. In "Zeus: a journey through Greece in the footsteps of a god", author Tom Stone manages to blend these wonderful mythological tales with a travelogue of Greece. Since the stories that comprise Greek mythology are so numerous, with so many characters, Stone focuses his book on the tales involving Zeus, the most powerful of the gods. He also does a wonderful job of presenting the stories in a somewhat chronological order (time being a fuzzy thing when talking about mythological events), beginning with Zeus's early years and his struggles against his own father Kronos. Stone also weaves in the various ups and downs of Greece, conflicts with her Aegean neighbors, changes in Grecian society and the growing influence of monotheistic religions. A timeline, a map and a ton of endnotes helps round out this really engaging look at Ancient Greece. It's a wonderful read for anyone who likes Edith Hamilton (mythology), Simon Schama (history) or Peter Mayle (amusing anecdotes of interactions with colorful locals).
Zeus, Journey Through Greece in the Footsteps of a God May 6, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
A wonderful scholarly, but immensely readable odyssey through Greece. Stone visits ancient sanctuaries and shrines throughout the mainland and islands, and discusses the myth and the reality of this glorious civilization.
brilliant work April 21, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Tom Stone manages to produce a magnificent history or mythological and historical Greece. It's written by a lyrical kind of prose that stays true to the original romanticism of the myths. He also includes an incredible and comprehensive bibliography for those who wish to continue their own study of everything Greek.
A GREAT TRIP WITH THE GODS! April 5, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have always loved Greek myths but I have never been able to get all the stories straight. Stone has performed the impossible task of doing just that. By putting them in their proper sequence in the story of Zeus -
Prometheus stealing fire, Pandora's jar ("box" was a bad translation),the Minotaur in its labyrinth, Perseus and Medusa, Herakles, the House of Atreus, the Judgment of Paris,Helen of Troy, etc. -- and linking them to actual historical events such as the eruption of the volcano on Santorini, the fall of the Minoan Empire, the Dorian invasion, the Peloponnesian Wars, and the Roman conquest, Stone has made what has seemed to be an impossible labyrinth into a most enjoyable read. But in addition to all this, the travel parts of the book, which involve the story of his and Persian wife's travels through Greeceto research the book, are refreshing and delightful side trips to the main story. A deep and beautiful look into the Greek soul!
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