 |
| The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon, by Tintoretto (Wikipedia) |
Note: For a woman who is barely mentioned at all, the fabulously-wealthy Queen of Sheba has had an out-sized effect on culture. Just ask my sister!
Get Ready: What would you call a powerful, perhaps arrogant, woman?
 |
| Scheherazade and Shahryar by Ferdinand Keller, 1880 (Wikipedia) |
Note: This amazing collection is like a library unto itself; some tales are familiar, but there are lots of hidden gems waiting to be discovered!
Get Ready: Do you like stories with lots of magic--genies and other spirits and so on? Why or why not?
 |
| Percival is greeted by the Fisher King, in a story that helped inspire The Waste Land(Wikimedia) |
Note: This modernist poem about the effects of the First World War has its roots in the magnificent medieval story of Parzival (Perceval) and the Fisher King.
Get Ready: In what ways do modern literature and art differ from that of previous eras?
 |
| In the Bible, Elijah was taken up in a "chariot of fire" as Elisha looked on. Thus some believe that, since he did not die, he can return. Painting by Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1740 (Wikipedia) |
Note: The Jewish tradition has given the world many inspiring folk stories; here's a good example.
Get Ready: Do you find it difficult to understand "why bad things happen to good people"? How do you explain it?
 |
| Hades and Persephone with Cerberus (Wikipedia) |
Note: The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but here it features rivers, a boatman, and an unusual dog!
Get Ready: What mild curses do you sometimes use?
 |
| An ancient depiction of Enkidu (Wikipedia) |
Note: Gilgamesh goes on a quest to find the secret of immortality--with mixed results.
Get Ready: Are you afraid to die?
 |
| A man holding a snake and a lion is believed to be Gilgamesh (Wikipedia) |
Note: The oldest known epic is a cracking good "buddy movie," one which explores friendship, love, loss, death, and immortality.
Get Ready: Should a person be punished for wrongs committed in a moment of exuberance?
 |
| Una and the Lion by Briton Rivière (1840–1920) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Spenser's Faerie Queene works as an allegory, in which each character represents a virtue (or vice). Let's meet a few of them now.
Get Ready: Do you enjoy a story with clear-cut "good guys" and "bad guys," or do you prefer characters to be portrayed with more subtlety?
 |
| The Greater Trumps in the Rider-Waite Tarot (Wikipedia) |
Note: The world knows the fantasy works of C.S. Lewis (Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), but fewer are aware of the work of one of their colleagues, the OUP editor Charles Williams.
Get Ready: Do you ever play cards? What are the suits? How many cards are there in each suit? How many in the deck? Do you think these cards have any special meaning?
 |
| Faust and Mephisto (Wikipedia) |
Note: There is a long tradition in literature of people "selling their soul to the devil"; the most famous example is the German scholar Faust (or Faustus).
Get Ready: What would you trade for financial, romantic, or intellectual success?
 |
| King Vikram grasps the Baital by the hair (Wikipedia) |
Note: Having heard what happened in the palace, let's see what happened to King Vikram (and his son) in the cemetery.
Get Ready: Do you know any riddles?
 |
| A modern statue of the legendary King Vikram (Vikramaditya) (Wikipedia) |
Note: The stories in this collection are set in a frame story and, as often happens, it is every bit as interesting as the tales themselves.
Get Ready: Have you ever received a gift and not discovered until later how valuable (or useful) it is?
 |
| King Josaphat (Wikipedia) |
Note: The story of the Christian saint named Josaphat was actually just an echo of the life of the Buddha--yet for many years he was venerated by the Church!
Get Ready: Do you think it strange that two very different religions could share the same stories? Or does this seem natural to you?
 |
| Rabbi Loew and the Golem (Wikipedia) |
Note: Jewish folk stories tell us of creatures made of clay by holy men, just as God made Adam. But sometimes when people trifle with magic, things can go horribly wrong...
Get Ready: The Jews often were (and sometimes still are) persecuted by the cultures in which they live(d). How do you think this real problem contributed to stories about the creation of golems?
.jpg){kind=link}
_Illustrated_by_Ernest_Griset_page048.png){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
