History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

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`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s: 2 Volumes

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The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990s: 2 Volumes
Jane Davidson Reid , and Chris Rohmann
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195049985

Book Description

Daring in concept and astonishing in scope, The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts is a unique reference work: a topically classified chronology of more than 30,000 artworks from circa 1300 to the present day that take as their theme the subjects of Greek and Roman mythology. In more than three hundred major entries, alphabetically arranged by subject, artworks are listed in chronological order, delineating the history of artistic interest in the subject, including painting, sculpture, music, dance, opera, drama, and literature over the last seven centuries. By bringing together information heretofore segregated by discipline, time period, or other constraint, Jane Davidson Reid has created an invaluable tool for the study of the history of the arts in the Western world. Ranging from Achilles to Zeus, entries cover all the important mythic beings of the classical world, from gods, goddesses, and heroes to nymphs, shepherds, and satyrs. A headnote to each entry identifies the subject, briefly describes relevant events and episodes recounted in Greek and Roman myths, and explains thematic cross-currents represented in the list of artworks that follows. A list of classical literary sources follows the headnote. Each listing of an artwork includes the artist's name, the title of the work, and the date of its creation, publication, or first performance, as appropriate. Also noted are the medium or genre of the work, the present location of works in the fine arts, and other pertinent information. Sources of data on each artwork appear in each listing. Enhanced by a comprehensive system of cross-references, a complete list of the sources of data cited in the listings, and an extensive artist index, which will enable readers to locate works by a given artist across numerous entries, this work presents its vast body of data in a way that is easily accessible to specialist and nonspecialist alike. No other work equals its interdisciplinary scope; no other work matches its usefulness to historians of the arts; and no other work possesses its appeal to scholars, students, and general readers interested in classical mythology and its enduring popularity in Western traditions of artistic expression.

The Mythology of Greece and Rome With Special Reference to Its Use in Art 1896

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The Mythology of Greece and Rome With Special Reference to Its Use in Art 1896
O. Seemann
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1417976454

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With sixty-four illustrations.

Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable (Dover Thrift Editions)

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Stimulating bedtime stories
A Mastery of Myth
Makes the Obscure Become Meaningful - and Fun to Read
Still excellent
Age of Fable: Greek and Roman myth. Bulfinch

Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable (Dover Thrift Editions)
Thomas Bulfinch
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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ASIN: 0486411079

Book Description

Vivid, classic retellings of the myths of Greece and Rome, along with stories of the Norse gods and heroes. Zeus and Hera, Apollo, Jason and the golden fleece, the wanderings of Ulysses and Aeneas, the deeds of Thor, many more seminal stories underlying Western culture.

Customer Reviews:

Stimulating bedtime stories.......2005-08-22

This classic book on clasaical mythology is exceptionally well written. Each story is short, most only a page or two. The adventures are succinctly presented and the language used adds considerably to the readability and excitement of the myths.

As one untrained in mythology, I have often found Greek plays and Homer to be obscure. But now, I can reread those classics with far greater understanding.

For those, like me, who have an interest in Greece and Roman, but whose background is in other fields, Bulfinch's "Mythology" is an outstanding nightly read. Just a few stories at a time will suffice, and you will delight in the endeavor for many a month.

A Mastery of Myth.......2004-06-22

Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology, The Age of Fable, is an excellent source for understanding and appreciating the legends and myths of ancient Greece and Rome. Well researched, the book reviews the fables in clear, simple prose. An excellent source for students, writers, scholars, or the casual reader interested in classic mythology. Highly recommended.

Makes the Obscure Become Meaningful - and Fun to Read.......2000-11-03

"The Age of Fable" is an enjoyable, easy to read introduction to Greek and Roman mythology.

Today we lament that people have little time for the classics and even less for mythology. Bulfinch, writing in 1855, said much the same, "To devote study to a species of learning which relates wholly to false marvels and obsolete faiths, is not to be expected of a general reader in a practical age like this."

And yet without some familiarity with Greek and Roman mythology we not only have little understanding of Greek and Roman civilization, we also limit our appreciation for some of the greatest English literature and poetry. Shakespeare, Keats, Milton, and other English writers have assumed that readers are acquainted with mythology. And more basic, we also deprive ourselves of some fascinating and enjoyable stories and tales.

In writing "The Age of Fable" Bulfinch focused on "mythology as connected with literature", not just the fables themselves. He created a book that has remained easy to read and as well serves as an amazingly useful reference when reading 16th, 17th, and 18th century literature and poetry. I have repeatedly found that what was an obscure and murky reference to mythology took on meaning and significance by a quick visit to Bulfinch. I particularly appreciate his index of names: it really helps me track down those prolific deities.

I sometimes pick up "The Age of Fable" and simply browse a few pages, exploring a new tale, a new adventure by powerful deities with magnified human frailties. Buy a copy, you won't be disappointed.

Still excellent.......2000-08-25

This book provides a succinct introduction to many of the stories that underlie Western culture. The main part of the book presents a digest of Greek myths, arranged in a loosely along the "genealogy" of the Greek Pantheon. Included are brief synopses of the Odyssey, the Iliad, and the Aneid. These stories are no longer universally known as they were such a short time ago, and this book provides an easy introduction to them. At the end of the volume are included some stories of the Hindu and Nordic gods, but these, especially the Hindu stories, are not as satisfying as the Greek stories. [...] this book is a great buy!

Age of Fable: Greek and Roman myth. Bulfinch.......2000-07-09

Overall a good book for novice readers to of mythology. Good basic stories written in prose. Also has explanations of the use of myth in poetry. The footnotes are clear and concise, and where appropriate provide further information about the text you just read. My only quibble with the book is that it's called Greek and Roman myth, when they put the names of Roman deities first, and the name of the Greek dieties in parentheses. This is a book you read if you want to expand your knowledge base about mythology. This is not a book for people already know the stories. This is a good book for people who know nothing about greek myth, and are looking for a place to start.

The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind

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Does not go back far enough into time
A seminal work (for academics)
Very Interesting but poorly written
though not illustrated, this book is still useful
Intriguing Window on Late Pagan Spirituality

The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind
Garth Fowden
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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ASIN: 0691024987

Book Description

Sage, scientist, and sorcerer, Hermes Trismegistus was the culture-hero of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt. A human (according to some) who had lived about the time of Moses, but now indisputably a god, he was credited with the authorship of numerous books on magic and the supernatural, alchemy, astrology, theology, and philosophy. Until the early seventeenth century, few doubted the attribution. Even when unmasked, Hermes remained a byword for the arcane. Historians of ancient philosophy have puzzled much over the origins of his mystical teachings; but this is the first investigation of the Hermetic milieu by a social historian.

Starting from the complex fusions and tensions that molded Graeco-Egyptian culture, and in particular Hermetism, during the centuries after Alexander, Garth Fowden goes on to argue that the technical and philosophical Hermetica, apparently so different, might be seen as aspects of a single "way of Hermes." This assumption that philosophy and religion, even cult, bring one eventually to the same goal was typically late antique, and guaranteed the Hermetica a far-flung readership, even among Christians. The focus and conclusion of this study is an assault on the problem of the social milieu of Hermetism.

Customer Reviews:

Does not go back far enough into time.......2006-07-06

I purchased this book, hoping it would examine the _ancient_ Egyptian source of the ideas within the Corpus Hermeticum. But, in that respect this book is entitled in a misleading manner. The author is a researcher for the Center for _Greek_ and _Roman_ Antiquity of the National _Hellenic_ Research Foundation in _Athens_. And, as the name of his foundation clearly implies, his academic zeal begins and ends with Greece and Rome.

Yes, everyone knows that the Corpus Hermeticum we now have was written by Greeks. But, my interest is in discovering the Kemetian source those Greeks worked from to come up with their Corpus Hermeticum. Alas, this book was no help.

A seminal work (for academics).......2003-11-26

Fowden, as a writer, is admittedly no model of lucidity; at the same time, he is writing for academics, and is thus able to compress a huge amount into a small space. If you are not used to academic prose, you will find this book very difficult; it would also help if you know a certain amount about the reception of the Hermetica in 19th and 20th century historiography, and perhaps a bit about the late Classical era.

At the same time, this book has been reprinted for a reason: it's the single most important historical argument about the Hermetica. For a long time, the Hermetica were understood to be purely Greek, essentially Hellenic misappropriations of pseudo-Egyptian ideas, recast in Neoplatonic style. What Fowden does is to show that these texts do have an important base within the dying Egyptian traditions of their day.

For non-specialists, this may seem like small potatoes. But it changes everything. If you have read Frances Yates, for example, she argued that these texts were grotesquely misread by Ficino and the Renaissance tradition, on three counts: (1) they thought the texts were really, really ancient, more or less contemporary with Moses; (2) they thought the texts were Egyptian, not Greek; and (3) they thought the texts were really about magic (and not philosophy). Now there's no question that the Hermetica are from 1st-2d century Alexandria, but they are _not_ simply Greek; they are, in a sense, Egyptian formulations that draw on the then-influential Greek modes of philosophical thought. Furthermore, it means that the texts we usually think of as the Hermetic Corpus can and should be correlated with the PGM (the Greek Magical Papyri and their Demotic associates), changing the whole character of the texts by giving them a wildly different literary and ritual context. In other words, the Renaissance got the dating wrong, but in many respects got the rest more or less right; as a result, Fowden's book not only changes the way we read the Hermetica in their Alexandrian context, but also how we make sense of the Renaissance magical revival (Ficino, Pico, Agrippa, Bruno, etc.).

If, having read this review, you think, "Who cares?" then this book is certainly not for you. If you think, "Wow! That's fascinating," then this is essential. I have seen the odd quibble with small points in Fowden's arguments, but I have not seen any serious attack on the main thrust of the book. Considering when it was first written, that's extraordinary.

But you do need to be comfortable with academic prose.

Very Interesting but poorly written.......2001-11-14

This is a very interesting book on Hermes centered Egyptian-Greek religious practice in the pre-Christian era, much more illumination than the mere reading of mythologies. However the writing of it is unfortunate. The author fills, not just each page, but each paragraph with 1960's cliché and psychobabble that was popular with hip academia of the day. It is a trip back in time to read this now archaic speech.
This book deserves 4 or 5 stars except for its unreadability. It is difficult and arduous reading, as I found myself having to parse each sentence to extract it's meaning. I could only keep it up for short periods of time and hope to be able to finish the book someday.
If only the publishers were to have the book rewritten by someone with a broader writing ability, this book would be an invaluable addition to anyone's library with an interest in Egyptian-Greek pagan religion as practiced in that era.
Even with the books faults, the subject matter is so interesting that it may be worth the trouble for the hardy.

though not illustrated, this book is still useful.......2000-08-23

The origins of Hermes Trismegistus, the sage cult hero of Graeco-Roman Egypt, to many people has seemingly been lost in the midst of time. This is the first investigation undertaken into his mystic by a social historian. The technical and philosophical aspects of Hermetica as normally seen as separate entities, but the author argues for their togetherness as was typical of philosophy and religion of that era. The book has no illustrations or photos and in that sense it is quite scholarly. Definitely for those who are religion-orientated, especially and more precisely interested in Hermes.

Intriguing Window on Late Pagan Spirituality.......2000-05-05

The curious writings on Magic, Astrology, Alchemy, and Spirituality traditionally attributed to the Egyptian god Hermes Trismegistus have fascinated scholars, theologians, mystics, and occultists alike for almost two thousand years. Since the early 1600's most academics regarded the spirituality oriented "philosophical Hermetica" as the products of Greek philosophy and Gnostic Christianity with no Egyptian religious content. In this influential and often referenced book, Garth Fowden establishes these works as a blend of Greek and authentic Egyptian sources in a classic "east meets west" scenario. Hence the title "The Egyptian Hermes".

Leaving aside the disputes of the learned, what I found most interesting about this book is Fowden's attempt to understand the mindset and social and religious environment of the anonymous 2nd and 3rd century creators of the Hermetica. For instance, even though I am trained in physics and chemistry, I now begin to understand why a first century Greek-Egyptian could find astrology, alchemy and magic to be sensible pursuits. I was also intrigued to find these so-called pagans sought a transcendent union with the single god who created the cosmos, which includes the other gods. These and other unexpected mixtures of pagan and typically Christian beliefs serve to illustrate the broad range of religious and philosophical ideas in the Roman Empire during the time that Christianity was becoming established. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of religion or philosophy, not just to students of Hermetic philosophy.

Amazon.com

Since fossils have presumably existed for millions of years, why don't we see much paleontological thought from ancient writers? Classics scholar Adrienne Mayor suggests that we can, in fact, learn much about the Greek and Roman attitudes toward fossils if we turn to a surprising source of data and theory: their myths. In The First Fossil Hunters, she explores likely connections between the rich fossil beds around the Mediterranean and tales of griffins and giants originating in the classical world. Striking similarities exist between the Protoceratops skeletons of the Gobi Desert and the legends of the gold-hoarding griffin told by nomadic people of the region, and the fossilized remains of giant Miocene mammals could be taken for the heroes and monsters of earlier times. Mayor makes her case well, but, as with all interpretive science, the arguments are inconclusive. Still, her novel reading of ancient myth--and her critique of the modern scientific mythology that seeks to explain the lack of classical paleontological thinking--is compelling and thought-provoking.

The final chapter of The First Fossil Hunters is an engrossing and occasionally quite funny look at "Paleontological Fictions" dating back several thousand years; the false tritons and centaurs give P.T. Barnum and his successors a much longer genealogy than previously thought. Whether or not you accept Mayor's analysis of Greek and Roman thinking, The First Fossil Hunters should open your eyes to new possibilities about our distant past. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Griffins, Centaurs, Cyclopes, and Giants--these fabulous creatures of classical mythology continue to live in the modern imagination through the vivid accounts that have come down to us from the ancient Greeks and Romans. But what if these beings were more than merely fictions? What if monstrous creatures once roamed the earth in the very places where their legends first arose? This is the arresting and original thesis that Adrienne Mayor explores in The First Fossil Hunters. Through careful research and meticulous documentation, she convincingly shows that many of the giants and monsters of myth did have a basis in fact--in the enormous bones of long-extinct species that were once abundant in the lands of the Greeks and Romans.

As Mayor shows, the Greeks and Romans were well aware that a different breed of creatures once inhabited their lands. They frequently encountered the fossilized bones of these primeval beings, and they developed sophisticated concepts to explain the fossil evidence, concepts that were expressed in mythological stories. The legend of the gold-guarding griffin, for example, sprang from tales first told by Scythian gold-miners, who, passing through the Gobi Desert at the foot of the Altai Mountains, encountered the skeletons of Protoceratops and other dinosaurs that littered the ground.

Like their modern counterparts, the ancient fossil hunters collected and measured impressive petrified remains and displayed them in temples and museums; they attempted to reconstruct the appearance of these prehistoric creatures and to explain their extinction. Long thought to be fantasy, the remarkably detailed and perceptive Greek and Roman accounts of giant bone finds were actually based on solid paleontological facts. By reading these neglected narratives for the first time in the light of modern scientific discoveries, Adrienne Mayor illuminates a lost world of ancient paleontology. As Peter Dodson writes in his Foreword, "Paleontologists, classicists, and historians as well as natural history buffs will read this book with the greatest of delight--surprises abound."

Customer Reviews:

Those clever, curious Greeks.......2006-11-10

Today, when a spectacular fossil is unearthed, it ends up in a museum. Our ancestors must have found stone bones, too, but they didn't have museums. So they put them in temples.

And spun yarns about them. It should not have been surprising that, once someone thought to ransack the ancient world for evidence, so much of it remains. We have already seen, in other fields, how much can be reconstructed from even the scraps of inscriptions that have been accumulated so assiduously by, for the most part, German philologists. And we already knew that the Greeks, above all other premodern people, asked questions about what they found in the world around them.

It is a bit of a surprise, if Adrienne Mayor is correct, that the model of the griffin should be dinosaur fossils found as far away as Central Asia. That was a very, very long way from Greece. Less surprising, perhaps, that fake fossils were also in evidence.

Probably none of the fossils collected so long ago remains, but Adrienne Mayor finds a few representations of them. The most convincing is a skull painted on a vase.

Her treatment is very complete, with an appendix of apparent references to fossils in old texts, such as a passing reference in Cicero to theft of fossils from a temple.

There is room for much speculation in this scrappy material, and Mayor makes the most of it.

Altogether, 'The First Fossil Hunters' is a clever, entertaining, imaginative and curious book.

Fabulous fables formed from facts.......2005-05-19

Two millennia of condemnation of "pagan" mythology have obscured the value ancient legends contributed to knowledge. Being members of this world instead of longing for the next, our ancient ancestors were keen observers of Nature. Among their interests were "mythical monsters". The Griffin - a combination of lion and eagle; the Minotaur - a man with a bull's head; or the Cyclops - a man with but one eye. These familiar characters emerged from ancient Mediterranean societies and transmitted down to our own time. Lost in the transmission was the notion that there might be a factual basis for such creatures. Adrienne Mayor wants to clarify the origins of mythological creatures. In this excellent study, she challenges fixed thinking about myths' origins.

The Mediterranean is a dynamic place. Continental plates collide, pushing up mountains, diverting rivers and causing sea basins to flood or become dry. The constantly changing conditions reveal long buried fossil sites. Mayor builds a vivid picture of how the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans might encounter these strange artefacts and attempt to make sense of them. What would these bizarre skulls, teeth or thigh bones mean to them? They were aware of anatomy and didn't mistake a leg bone for a vertebrae. Their reconstructions of the artefacts were reasonably accurate. They "knew" the fossils represented once-living creatures. Not having mastered the scientific discipline of today, they "interpreted" the exposed fossils in human terms - stories of mighty people, heroic deeds and lost worlds. Mayor argues that fossils led the ancients to understand life wasn't fixed. Creatures and humans alike had once lived in ancient times, then died out. Extinction was a real possibility - it had already happened.

Combining photographs and expressive line drawings to supplement her text, Mayor offers vivid evidence of the source for many mythical creatures. When bone assemblages of several species jumbled together were found, it was only logical to assume a single creature was once built around them. Hence, we are told of bull-headed men, or lions with an eagle's beak. We can see how the image of a bizarre creature emerging from a cave is actually a dinosaur fossil protruding from an eroding cliff. The view on a vase painting depicts this scene with superb clarity. With no idea of the Earth's true age, it was easy to make these judgements. Mythology is built from human experience, so it was fitting to give these creatures human characteristics.

Mayor's challenge to both classical scholars and paleontology permeates the book. The long history of dismissal of legendary creatures and the myths surrounding them blinds both scholars and the public alike, she contends. She suggests scientists and classicists enlarge their views of the information and evidence and reconsider how we perceive the past. As an example, Aristotle was long attributed as advocating fixity of species; a notion seized on by Christian scholars. Mayor demonstrates this is a limited reading of the philosopher. More such revelations might come to light if open-minded researchers seek further. Some documents have shown how the ancients measured and assessed fossil. They were clearly aware that fossils demonstrated that contemporary life and past life were similar but not identical. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

An excellent idea poorly edited.......2005-04-14

Some of the other reviewers have touched on the same topic - this book has some great ideas and some great scholarship, but the editor(s) for this book should be fired. Writing science for a general audience can be a delicate undertaking because you can't know how much background the reader has in the topic or how much referencing is required. A lay person doesn't particularly care about how many works you've cited while a student doesn't particularly care about explaining the basics.

A great deal of the main portion of the book should have been moved to appendices; there is page after page going over each and (seemingly) every find.

The first chapter on griffins is fairly lucid (perhaps due to there being fewer finds to go over) while the chapters dealing with giant heroes in Greece are turgid and monotonous. Not every detail has to be discussed in the main text.

A good book for students of mythology, Classical archaeology and palaeontology, but not really suitable for general readers. Her _Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs_ is much more readable and entertaining while still being well enough referenced to be used in scholarly work.

The cover of this book is Mayor's best argument.............2004-10-31

....it shows a Greek vase painted with the image of the monster of Troy. The image, obviously, is that of a dinosaur skull. I have no doubt in my mind that many of the Greek monsters were based on fossilized bones of prehistoric animals. The Griffin based off of Protocerotops remains is almost conclusive evidence; and her research should definately be taken seriously for this matter alone.

My problem with the research lies in her conclusions of the 'hero-giants' of antiquity. Mayor obviously attributes Greece as the origin of giant-myths while she neglects the mythology that originates from every corner of the ancient world. And from every ancient civilization. Of course it's possible that all ancient cultures, at some time, had discovered fossil remains and attributed them to giant humans. But the mythology goes deeper than Mayor allows herself to see (or allows herself to write). Let's not forget that the giants presented in not only Greek, but Hebrew, Norse, Egyptian, Mesoamerican, North American, and South American myths were not only the heroes of old, but had turned wicked and were destroyed collectively.

Mayor has only taken a few steps into a larger world. Only by further research and branching out into other mythological cultures can she finally begin to piece EVERYTHING together. I'm convinced that the answers are not just found in Greece.

Exciting Theory Explains the Origin of Mythological Beasts.......2004-09-13

The thoughtfully and thoroughly presented ideas in this book explain the prevalence of mythological creatures such as dragons, giants and composite beasts throughout ancient cultures all over the world. It is a breakthrough in interdisciplinary thinking. The compartmentalization of scholarly pursuits has kept scientists from realizing the seemingly obvious for over a century. Adrienne Mayor comes upon the truth by returning to the holistic approach of Greek scientists, hitting a scholarly gold mine.

Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life

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it just runs out of gas the more it goes on
Kernyi's Dionysos
A true Ariadne's Thread
A work of art, both the book, and its subject.

Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life
Carl Kerenyi
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691029156

Book Description

No other god of the Greeks is as widely present in the monuments and nature of Greece and Italy, in the sensuous tradition of antiquity, as Dionysos. In myth and image, in visionary experience and ritual representation, the Greeks possessed a complete expression of indestructible life, the essence of Dionysos. In this work, the noted mythologist and historian of religion Carl Kerényi presents a historical account of the religion of Dionysos from its beginnings in the Minoan culture down to its transition to a cosmic and cosmopolitan religion of late antiquity under the Roman Empire. From the wealth of Greek literary, epigraphic, and monumental traditions, Kerényi constructs a picture of Dionysian worship, always underlining the constitutive element of myth.

Included in this study are the secret cult scenes of the women's mysteries both within and beyond Attica, the mystic sacrificial rite at Delphi, and the great public Dionysian festivals at Athens. The way in which the Athenian people received and assimilated tragedy in its immanent connection with Dionysos is seen as the greatest miracle in all cultural history. Tragedy and New Comedy are seen as high spiritual forms of the Dionysian religion, and the Dionysian element itself is seen as a chapter in the religious history of Europe.

Customer Reviews:

it just runs out of gas the more it goes on.......2006-04-16

I'm sure that this book is invaluable to the specialist but P.U.P. has put it out with a full color cover and a "cross-over" imprint, Mythos. My edition seems to be missing a number of pages because the blurry illustrations skip from # 105 to # 141 just about 70 or so pages after Kerenyi's argument has devolved from a proper book into a mere catalog of details and descriptions. This "book" is long on information(unfortunately mostly descriptive information pertaining to artifacts as the book progresses)but very short on synthesis. There is nearly endless presentation with very little summation. Kerenyi has always been a murky writer who hints rather than nails things down, and here he is at the apex of that fault.

p.s. There may be more validity to the method but the closing argument depends fairly heavily on the 20-odd missing illustrations missing from my edition. Since Kerenyi refuses to summarize after his presentation (depending heavily on the reader's recognition after viewing the blurry pictures in the text)it is nearly impossible to fully make sense of his argument without the illustrations.

In short both the author and the publisher fail to give the reader the experience promised.

Kernyi's Dionysos.......2006-01-20

This is one of the most fascinating books on ancient myths I have ever read. If you're into ancient pagan religions, you won't be able to put this book down once you pick it up. It's a bit of a tome --lots of scholarly details --but well worth journey.

A true Ariadne's Thread.......2003-02-27

I first encountered Karl Kerenyi by way of another of his books, _Eleusis_, a study of the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. Let me tell you, I love the way that man's mind worked. In the case of Eleusis, and also in the case of Dionysos, there are secrets that the celebrants of the rites took to their graves. But rather than just say "we'll never know what really went on", Kerenyi leaves no stone unturned in an attempt to figure it out. Using myths, art, and "urban legends" from ancient times, which often dance around secret subjects, Kerenyi puts together a more coherent picture of the religions of these ancient deities. The myths and art may dance around the real mysteries, but if you "dance" around enough and see the material from enough different angles, you can get a pretty good idea of what isn't being said.

Dionysos originated on the island of Crete, where he was considered to be the same deity as Zeus, and was a dying and resurrected god who presided over mead and the mysteries of death and rebirth. From there, his cult was taken all over the Mediterranean world, and changed along the way. His rites changed, too, and Kerenyi shows us all of the different ways he was worshipped, from the bull-sacrifice on Crete (with a great chapter on the god's notorious wife Ariadne) to the roving maenads of rural Greece, to the sacred tragedies and comedies of classical Athens. Then we see Dionysos again on the walls of the Villa dei Misteri in Pompeii.

In a way, _Dionysos_ is differently focused than _Eleusis_, where the author was trying to reconstruct what happened on one particular night. This book is more protean, following the thread of the Dionysus cult throughout distance and time as it changes. Recommended to anyone who loves mythology.

A work of art, both the book, and its subject........2000-05-19

Karl Kerenyi has a way about him. A way to touch the reader with word of clinical precision that none the less convey emotion and power to the reader that is probably as much to do with translator Ralph Manheim as the departed author himself.

Customer Reviews:

HELP! Editors needed!.......2005-12-23

While this reference is quite basic, it is easy to follow the lineage and obtain a working knowledge of classical mythology from this book. HOWEVER, beware that there are several misprints that will confuse the reader, as well as references in the index to characters that do not appear on the mentioned page. Thus, the book is in dire need of a decent editor.

Decent book for beginners........2004-05-03

This "Everything" guide is a good book for younger readers and those who are only starting to get into mythology. At over 290 pages, it covers the major players and who's who of Roman and Greek mythology (as in Jupiter/Zeus, Venus/Aphrodite, the Trojan War, Odysseus, et al).

However, more serious and 'seasoned' fans and scholars will likely prefer THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY by Kevin Osborn. We're not idiots, of course, but this book is meatier and has more background information on the various gods/goddesses, heroes and stories. At over 350 pages, it is 60 pages thicker than the "Everything" book and has smaller text and less white space. For instance, an entire chapter is devoted to the Trojan War hero Achilles while the "Everything" book only has a few pages, at the most.

Fans who want more than classical mythology will want to explore MYTHOLOGY FOR DUMMIES by Christopher Blackwell. This book also delves into the Arthurian legend, Norse myths, Beowulf, as well as world mythology in general (Chinese, Jewish, Hindu, etc).

These 3 books are all excellent. The choice lies on the readers' level of interests. I would recommend the "Everything" book to younger readers (middle or high schoolers, for instance) and those who just want the basics on classical mythology.

Excellent Book!!!!.......2004-03-03

I relly enjoy reading this book. If you are interest in greek mythology, this is a must read book. It explains, all the gods, the goddesses, the monsters, the minor gods in detail. It tells everything about them, their parents, sons, love affairs, talents and the myths they participate in. If you rally whant to learn about greek mythology, read this book!!!!

The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (Oxford Paperback Reference)

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The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (Oxford Paperback Reference)
Useful Reference, Fascinating Read

The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (Oxford Paperback Reference)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192802895

Book Description

The Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion offers a fully rounded and highly authoritative point of access to all aspects of ancient religious life and thought. Dr Simon Price and Dr Emily Kearns, area advisers for the third edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary, have come together to select, revise, edit, and in some cases wholly recast, a large number of key entries from OCD to create this handy, accessible reference work on mythology and religion in the Graeco-Roman world. Bringing to the attention of a wider audience the authority and scholarly rigour of OCD, the Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion provides students, teachers, and general readers with an affordable comprehensive, and wide-ranging A-Z reference source. The Dictionary is unique in that in addition to Greek myths and Roman festivals it covers Greek and Roman religious places, monuments, religious personnel, divination, astrology, and magic, and also contains many entries on Judaism and Christianity in Greek and Roman times.

Customer Reviews:

The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (Oxford Paperback Reference).......2006-11-17

Exelent for the novise. Very recomendeble

Useful Reference, Fascinating Read.......2004-05-13

No doubt this book was intended as a reference work and will be used as such by those who purchase it, for the most part. But, being the rather rum fellow that I am, I read the book from cover to cover and must report that it makes a dashed good read, at least for the peculiar bunch who, like myself, enjoy reading through such compilations. Just one fascinating example: I should never have known, had I not read through the work, that, according to ancient folklore, "A man who sees them becomes possessed by nymphs. They punish unresponsive lovers...." or that "Around 400 BC inscriptions mention Archedemus from Thera....who withdrew to a cave to devote himself to a monklike worship of the Nymphs." Clearly, entries like these prove rich ground for pondering male/female relations. And this is just one example! The perfect book for the Classicist near you....or perhaps yourself.

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