Description: We Goddesses : Athena, Aphrodite, Hera by Doris Orgel 1999 BRAND NEW 1st Ed HBck. Condition is Brand New. Shipped with USPS Media Mail. Description From School Library Journal Grade 6-10-Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera tell their stories in this elaborate compilation. Orgel begins with a detailed introduction to gods and goddesses, women's lives in ancient Greece, and how and why she wrote the book. She also includes a double-page spread map of "Where the Stories Happen." Athena reveals her true mother's name and origins, and tells of her birth, her childhood, and her escapades. Next, Aphrodite relates her tale, full of lovers and affairs, including the story of the Golden Apple and how she, Athena, and Hera became rivals. Finally, Hera gives her account of her birth and subsequent swallowing by father Cronos; how she became Zeus's wife; her monstrous child, Typhaon; her hatred of Heracles; and the final reconciliation of the three goddesses. In an afterword, the author presents an original dialogue set on Mount Olympus featuring the reconciled goddesses who invite readers to participate. A sampling of "Olympians in Classical Art" includes six pages of reproductions with captions. Eight full-color watercolor-and-pencil illustrations, done in lush fantasy-style art, complement the stories. While the writing style is fluid, fresh, and easy to read, the subject matter is better suited for an older audience. Sidebars provide definitions and pronunciations. The stories show how women were treated in ancient Greece, offering a break from the traditional male view of mythology. Buy this for mythology buffs ready for a new point of view. From Publishers Weekly Orgel (The Princess and the God; Ariadne, Awake!) again offers an original approach to Greek mythology. In a meaty and extended introduction, she outlines her feminist perspective, pointing out the low status of girls and women in ancient Greece and then recalling her own thwarted girlhood appetite for goddess stories ("Too few! too short!"). She lets Athena, Aphrodite and Hera narrate their own life stories. Athena, goddess of wisdom, most clearly questions patriarchal notions; for example, just after she joins the company on Mount Olympus, she is puzzled to hear Zeus speak of Athens as "the foremost city of men" ("Won't women live there too, and children?" she asks). Aphrodite, goddess of love, delivers the least involving narrative; she seems more vain than erotic. By contrast, the section on the goddess of marriage, Hera, offers the most provocative spin. This Hera admits that "quite often" she is "jealous, angry, vengeful." But her account of her marriage to the faithless Zeus makes readers understand her bad behavior and appreciate her marital fidelity. Orgel pays close attention to the judgment of Paris (Paris's choice of Aphrodite as the fairest goddess led to the Trojan War, as Orgel shows). In an epilogue, the goddesses have resolved their differences and none wants to repeat the contest--perhaps an overly optimistic ending, but indicative of the volume's idealism. Heyer's (The Weaving of a Dream) illustrations are oddly conventional; their pretty representations, paradoxically, undercut the vigor of Orgel's bold interpretations. From Kirkus Reviews Orgel (The Princess and the God, 1996, etc.) focuses on the goddesses, who throughout history have received less attention than their male counterparts. Her lengthy introduction takes on women's roles in ancient Greece (not much better off than slaves), and ancient Greek religion and society. She also maintains that readers are bored by the stiff presentation of mythology collections, and aims for a livelier tone; some may find this disconcertingsimilar to reading a modern English translation of the Bible after years of King James. She focuses on Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Aphrodite, goddess of love, and Hera, goddess of marriage, weaving stories of the other gods and goddesses as they relate to these three. Each goddess ``narrates'' her own section, about her own times, but Orgel also brings in relevant materialsometimes from completely different time periodsthat enriches the stories in new ways, e.g., invoking Shakespeare's ``Love's spring,'' while explaining how Aphrodite's arrival is also the arrival of spring. Also present is a more modern take on Hera's traditionally shrewish image. Annotations in the margins provide background information, pronunciations, and cross references. The illustrations and photographs of museum works help resurrect these deities, as does a reader-inclusive play at the end. (map, bibliography) (Folklore. 10+) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. About the Author "I started out in children's books by translating, then retelling stories I'd loved as a child in Austria," says Doris Orgel. (Her first book, a translation of Dwarf Long-Nose by Wilhelm Hauff, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, won the Lewis Carroll Shelf award.) "Translating and retelling were like taking intensive writing courses, learning from master storytellers how it's done," Orgel goes on. "I soon started writing my own stories, and have published lots-fifty or so-picture books, middle-grade and YA novels. But I've stayed true to my roots, gone on doing translations and retellings," including: The heart of Stone, and A Monkey's Uncle by Wilhelm Hauff; tales by the German romantic poet Clemens Brentano; E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Child from Far Away; The Enchanted Drum by Walter Grieder; The Grandma in the Apple Tree by Mira Lobe; Little John by Theodor Storm; Baron Munchhausen; The Story of Lohengrin; Godfather Cat and Mouse from the Brothers Grim; and most recently, Elke Heidenreich's Nero Corleone: A Cat's Story, an honor book in the 1998 Mildred Batchelder award. Many of Orgel's original books have retellings at their core. The Devil inVienna, her prize-winning novel about her family's escape from Austria under Hitler, starts with its two young heroines scaring each other, just in fun, by recounting tales of lurid things the devil did in olden days, thus setting the stage for Nazi devilry, not in fun, that would happen soon. Orgel's three latest books, Ariadne, Awake, The Princess and the God and We Goddesses reflect her passionate interest in ancient Greece, and are based on Greek material, re-imagined and retold. Orgel is currently working on a second volume about goddesses featuring the mothers and daughters Leto and Artemis, Demeter and Persephone. Marilee Heyer comes to the field of children's book illustration with a hand that knows the feel of a fine fabric, the intricacies of stunning embroidery and rich brocade. For the past 15 years she has made her living in the fashion world and is currently a fashion illustrator for I Magnin. In the early days after completing school at the Art Center in Los Angeles, Marilee worked in the movie industry doing story boards and animation for Saturday morning cartoons. After seeing "Star Wars" a few years ago, Marilee had an urge to work for Lucasfilm and prepared a portfolio of strange bird-like creatures in a tightly-rendered watercolor technique. While she did end up doing some work for Lucas, those portfolio drawings looked like excellent material for children's picture books. New York publishers agreed. Ms. Heyer found a folk tale, The Chuang Brocade, that suited her purposes. She illustrated the story to become her first book, The Weaving of a Dream. It was followed by The Forbidden Door, a story which Marilee wrote to accompany those first portfolio drawings. Next came Iron Hans, a Grimms fairy tale, and The Girl, the Fish, and the Crown, a Spanish fairy tale. The Girl, the Fish and the Crown was recently chosen by the Bank Street Project of New York as a book of the year in its category. Marilee works in watercolor and pencil on bristol board of 100% rag. After laying in the watercolor washes, she overdraws and blends with col-erase colored pencils. Fine detail is added with opaque water color. She lives in Los Osos, California.
Price: 29.98 USD
Location: Woodland, California
End Time: 2024-11-20T20:49:41.000Z
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Book Title: We Goddesses : Athena, Aphrodite, Hera
Number of Pages: 144 Pages
Language: English
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated
Item Height: 0.7 in
Topic: Legends, Myths, Fables / General, Legends, Myths, Fables / Greek & Roman, General, People & Places / Europe, Social Science / Folklore & Mythology
Publication Year: 1999
Illustrator: Heyer, Marilee, Yes
Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Juvenile Nonfiction
Item Weight: 23.7 Oz
Item Length: 10.3 in
Author: Doris Orgel
Item Width: 7.8 in
Format: Hardcover
