Read Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus and Eurydice
A much better tragic love story than Romeo and Juliet, and the illustrations for this were quite nice. Menelaos Stephanides I grew up with the Stephanides brothers ''Greek Mythology'' series. These were among the first books I ever read, and they literally shaped my identity -I first realised what my cultural heritage meant, thanks to them, and their influence remained with me ever since, motivating me to read Homer, the tragics and Greek philosophers in later years. The text and illustrations were aimed at children, but, revisiting them as an adult I still find them lyrical, evocative and beautiful. Great books have no limits, really, no specific target groups, and their language speaks to one and all, at all times -young and old, Greek or otherwise. Powerful pictures can convey the meaning of a thousand words, and this is definitely the case here -the illustrations capture the brightness of the Attic light, as well as the vivid imagination of the ancient Greeks, one foot in the light the other in darkness, at times aethereal, at others robust and colorful. The lines of these designs 'flow' on the static page, clearly inspired by the way ancient Greek statues often manage to be ''alive', full of movement. The Orpheus and Eurydice myth is among the most beautiful and inspiring that Greek mythology has to offer, and this volume is one of the best in the series. Would highly recommend this to everyone with an interest in Greek mythology -hopefully this will inspire you to read the Orphic texts themselves, and who knows, perhaps it will even lead you all the way to studies like Guthrie's amazing ''Orpheus and Greek religion.'' Thank you, Menelaos and Yannis - I would be someone else without the world you opened for me back in 1993. It still reads as if a day hasn't gone by. Menelaos Stephanides