Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: mythology

  • The Honourable Thief

    The Honourable Thief

    The Honourable Thief is a work of fiction but…” Specific historical events provided a springboard for the story.” Some of these events include the downfall of a famous archaeologist, war in Crete, where the people suffered greatly, and the continual war against antiquities theft.  Other influencing factors include art auctions and ongoing archaeological digs, and the wonderful stories of Homer.

    Benedict Hitchens is the character we follow from Crete to Greece to Turkey and to London. As a young archaeology student, he was always passionate about Achilles and the stories surrounding him. When he arrived in Turkey and began to preside over digs, he showed a remarkable aptitude for unearthing rare treasures, and for being able to read the landscape. Money to expand his digs was always hard to come by, and so he decided to negotiate with characters dealing in the black market.

    During his time in Crete, Ben met and married a wonderful girl who was by his side when he was fighting for the Resistance. Much later in Greece, Ben dealt with another woman, who trapped and betrayed him. She knew of his passion for information about Achilles and tricked him into leading the way to the hero’s tomb. Through a series of events, he came to the tomb, and with luck and persistence managed to gain entry. The greatest prize of all, Achilles’ shield, was still intact with the body of its owner. Ben took the shield, but all was not as it seemed. He was robbed and lost the treasure.

    Benedict’s character is unpredictable, and not always likeable. For those who love stories of unearthed treasure and Greek Mythology, it is an interesting read, although somewhat implausible at times. The story weaves from country to country, and also weaves back and forth in time. The chapter headings give the place and the year of the action taking place. However, the story just misses the mark of being believable, and for those wanting a little more detail of the digs, it falls short.

  • The Story Of Antigone

    The Story Of Antigone

    Antigone is another tale in the “Save the Story”, library which is published by Pushkin Children’s Books. Their aim is to “share tales from different languages and cultures”… and to reflect the best stories, whether classics or current best-sellers, for children of today.

    This story is an ancient story of Greek Mythology, and also about the aftermath of war. Some of their other publications include Captain Nemo, the story of Don Juan, and the story of Gulliver.

    This book is an A5, soft covered book, which is aimed at competent readers, or would greatly lend itself to being read aloud, or produced as a play. On the flap of the front cover is a precis of the story, so we understand the plot and the theme of bravery and courage.

    Cleverly, the story begins with a crow, and we see the crow emerge as the narrator of the story. The story is set outside the city walls of a town, after the fighting is over. This is ideal as the crow is removed from the intimate emotions and dangers on the ground but can hear and see all that happens. This is a very clever ploy so children can feel slightly removed from the aftermath of war; having said that the crow comments on which part of the human body is it’s favourite to eat.

    Antigone has two brothers who fight to the death. One is called a hero; the other is left outside the city walls for the dogs and crows to feast upon. Appalled by this treatment, Antigone defies the new king, her uncle, and covers her brother’s body and pours a wine offering on the ground.

    She is caught by the king, and even though she gives clear and passionate reasons why respect and dignity should be granted to all, the king is unmoved. He is warned that Antigone’s death will create his own downfall, but stubbornly goes ahead with his plan for her demise.

    Beautifully told by “an old, tough- hearted, worldly wise black crow”, this is a marvellous introduction to a play written by Sophocles around 442 BCE.

    The explanation of the story and why the theme of, “what matters to a human being”, is explained at the back once again by the crow. It is very good reading and also thoroughly explained for the student.