D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths

“Most of the time they lived happily together, feasting on sweet-smelling ambrosia and nectar, but when their wills clashed, there were violent quarrels. Then Zeus would reach for a thunderbolt, and the Olympians would tremble and fall to order, for Zeus alone was stronger than all the gods together.”

This early description of the Olympian pantheon introduces a central theme of the book: the importance of wisdom, which for the ancient Greeks generally means balance. Consistent with descriptions in ancient sources, the gods enjoyed peace and pleasure when they worked harmoniously together. When they failed to prioritize harmony, and “their wills clashed,” violence erupted, which Zeus would ultimately put down with a show of his preeminent strength.

“The more wives he had, the more children he would have, and all the better for Greece! All his children would inherit some of his greatness and become great heroes and rulers.”

The above passage introduces the myth of Io, who Hera jealously tormented, offering a reason for why Zeus’s many relationship would have been seen as beneficial. The purpose is perhaps to make Zeus’s polygamy, as it is represented throughout the book, less jarring for modern, young readers. On a narrative level, it also sets up the later descriptions of Zeus’s immortal and mortal children and their hero quests.

“Quickly Hermes touched all the eyes with his magic wand and closed them forever in eternal sleep. Argus had been bored to death.”

In ancient myth narratives, Argus’s death at Hera’s request and Hermes’s hands is more violent than as described here, a pattern that is exhibited throughout the book. The D’Aulaires’ choice to render Argus “bored to death” makes the story more whimsical, consistent with its target audience of young readers. It offers a benign, almost comical end for Argus that also plays on a popular phrase.

“Io lived long as the goddess-queen of Egypt, and the son she bore to Zeus became king after her. Her descendants returned to Greece as great kings and beautiful queens. Poor Io’s sufferings had not all been in vain.”

The D’Aulaires conclude the story of Io by showing how her long quest to escape Hera’s wrath ultimately had meaning. As in ancient myth narratives, in this version of Io’s story, suffering is not pointless, though its meaning may not be revealed until the very end of the story. Rendering suffering as one piece of a larger story, as is prevalent in ancient myths, offers young readers the potential of hope through difficult times.

“Aphrodite, the beautiful goddess of love, was the only Olympian who had neither mother nor father. Nobody knew from where she had come.”

In ancient Greek, aphros, the first part of Aphrodite’s name, means foam, a reference to the nature of her birth as described by Hesiod: After Cronus defeated Uranus, his blood hitting the surf created a foam out of which Aphrodite was born. Eliding the violence of her origins, as occurs throughout the collection, allows the D’Aulaires to focus on the whimsical element of the goddess of love appearing on “a cushion of foam” and being blown “to the flowering island of Cytheral” (37).

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was the favorite child of Zeus. She had sprung fully grown out of her father’s head.”

The above passage introduces Athena’s birth story: Her father swallowed her mother while she was pregnant, and Athena was born from his head. Characteristically, the D’Aulaires draw important details from ancient sources (in this case a Homeric Hymn to Athena) but curate, add, and adapt those details to develop their own themes. In ancient sources, Athena is depicted as wise and very close to and beloved by Zeus; the D’Aulaires foreground these details to explore the value of wisdom.

“Sooner or later, all mortals came to Hades. Once inside his realm, they whirled about forever like dry leaves in a cold autumn wind. Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of the underworld, stood at the gates.”

Here, the D’Aulaires’ description of the inevitability of death reflects how they treat difficult episodes from the myths throughout the book. They paint a word picture using matter-of-fact but gentle language. The lyrical description of dry leaves whirling in an autumn wind evokes an image familiar to readers in some climates, offering a recognizable experience alongside one that may be scary.

“Every year, when Persephone left her, Demeter grieved, nothing grew, and there was winter on earth. But as soon as her daughter’s light footsteps were heard, the whole earth burst into bloom. Spring had come. As long as mother and daughter were together, the earth was warm and bore fruit.”

As ancient sources and the D’Aulaires describe it, the myth of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades provides, among other things, an origin story for the existence of seasons. Trees, flowers, and crops wither and die (winter) when Persephone and her mother are separated and regrow (spring) when they are reunited. Throughout the book, the D’Aulaires conclude a gripping story by noting its relevance to the world their young readers inhabit.

“Zeus had to keep his promise, for he had sworn by the river Styx, the most solemn oath of the gods.”

The above passage describes why Zeus was compelled to reveal his true form of Semele, though he knew it would cause her destruction: He had sworn on the river Styx, the river that separated the worlds of the living and the dead. At the plot level, it creates forward momentum that leads Dionysus to the Maenads who raise him in his mother’s absence. The unbreakable oath, which plays a role in other myths as well, speaks to the importance of harmony among the parts of a whole.

“He sent to earth a beautiful but silly woman. Her name was Pandora.”

Creating humor for children sometimes leads the D’Aulaires to simplify complex dynamics in the original myths. While this is evident throughout the book, the above passage is an excellent example. The D’Aulaires’ account of Pandora’s creation closely follows ancient Greek poet Hesiod’s, but in Hesiod, Pandora is not a “silly woman” but a woman who has been designed to challenge men, who Zeus believes have received too many advantages through Prometheus’ gifts. Pandora’s capacities, all bestowed by the gods, are formidable, not to be made light of, since they can cause tremendous suffering.

“[The miseries] stung and bit the mortals as Zeus had planned, but their sufferings made them wicked instead of good, as Zeus had hoped.”

Meaning through suffering is a motif throughout the collection, which supports the exploration of heroism. Here, it is revealed that the miseries Pandora released were Zeus’s intention in order to improve men, but instead, it made them wicked. The binaries of good and evil as suggested here reflects a monotheistic, rather than ancient Greek, view, reflective of the time in which the D’Aulaires wrote.

“[Eos] dipped her rosy fingers into a cup filled with dew and sprinkled the drops over flowers and trees.”

Eos is dawn, and the sentence above is part of a passage describing how she ushers in a new day. The description of her “rosy fingers” evokes her epithet in Homer, “rosy-fingered Dawn.” The passage exemplifies the way the D’Aulaires incorporate language and images that can be found in the ancient sources, which provides a steppingstone for young readers to read those sources later.

“Nothing but a small heap of ashes was left of Asclepius, the first great doctor. But his temples and his teachings of medical science remained, and the gods put his image among the stars as a constellation.”

The above passage exemplifies a key approach the D’Aulaires take in their retellings of Greek and Roman myths for children. They repeatedly acknowledge what is fleeting (each human life) while also showing that humans leave behind timeless works—whether of art, music, poetry, or other craft, like architecture or medicine—that benefit their descendants. The gods honored Asclepius for his achievements by installing him among the constellations, and humans continue to benefit from his medical knowledge and developments.

“Those condemned to eternal pains stopped groaning, and their torturers, the avenging furies, the Erinyes, dropped their whips and wept tears of blood.”

Throughout the book, the D’Aulaires adapt concepts and language from ancient sources, applying them to new contexts. In this way, the book provides young readers with a framework for recognizing and engaging with ancient sources later. The above description of Orpheus singing in the underworld exemplifies this. In Homer’s Iliad, Zeus grieves the death of his son Sarpedon by weeping “tears of blood” onto the battlefield.

“His son, Pelops, was his greatest treasure, and, wanting to give the gods his best, Tantalus decided to sacrifice him. He made a stew of him and set the dish before the gods. But the Olympian gods detested human sacrifice.”

The D’Aulaires’ version of the Pelops myth described above follows a pattern throughout their book of muting vengeful motives as they exist in the ancient myths. In ancient versions of this myth, Tantalus intended to test the gods’ knowledge by serving them a human sacrifice and seeing if they would recognize it. Consistently throughout the book, main events from the myths are retained—in this case the gods hating human sacrifice and catching Tantalus—but motives and violence are softened for a young audience without losing the stories’ moral messages.

“Her mother was very vain and had boasted unwisely that she was even lovelier than the Nereids.”

The above sentence refers to Andromeda’s mother, Ethiopian queen Cassiopeia, but the behavior can be applied to any number of mortals throughout the book. Consistent with their representation in ancient sources, mortals repeatedly make foolish decisions that lead to negative outcomes. Whether it be their excessive vanity, boasting, or confidence, mortals take things too far, and the consequences are felt not only by themselves but also by those close to them.

“Perseus did not keep the Gorgon’s head, it was much too dangerous for a mortal to own.”

Perseus’s decision to give the head of Medusa to Athena for the above reasons exemplifies his wisdom. He recognizes the danger that comes with possessing an object of immortal power. This exemplifies a central theme throughout the collection: danger of excess and need for wisdom, which in the ancient Greek myths often means balance.

“Shortsightedly, King Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold.”

The description of king Midas above demonstrates the D’Aulaires’ ability to distill central themes from ancient myths that convey their moral messages. By wishing to turn everything he touched into gold, Midas failed to consider the consequences of his request, namely that he would no longer be able to eat, drink, or hug his daughter—because all of the above would turn to gold, as the D’Aulaires show in their retelling of his story. Thus, while he could be criticized for being greedy and selfish, his critical mistake was shortsightedness, one that kings and heroes repeatedly make throughout the book.

“Sisyphus of Corinth was the cleverest king who ever lived. He was so cunning that he fooled even the gods.”

The above sentences introducing the myth of Sisyphus provide an example of the D’Aulaires’ capacity for pithy writing that engages young readers with compelling ideas. The section goes on to depict Sisyphus in a humorous light as he plays trick after trick on the gods, in the process gaining a long life alongside his beloved wife. Much of the story’s appeal lies in the idea of possessing the kind of power Sisyphus had to achieve his goals even against the most powerful entities. However, in this case, as in each of the myths the D’Aulaires retell, Sisyphus cannot outrun the gods forever, and the limits of mortal knowledge and power are affirmed.

“Proudly did the Muses sing of Heracles, often called Hercules, the strongest man who ever lived on earth and the greatest of all the descendants of Danaüs.”

The best-known hero from ancient Greek and Roman myths is Heracles in the former, Hercules in the latter. Consistent with their approach throughout the book, the D’Aulaires note the different names without getting bogged down in their different origins. They highlight the relevant information that, whether Heracles or Hercules, he was the most important hero, alerting young readers to his two manifestations and the key features of his story.

“Heracles was now the hero of Mount Olympus, beloved by all the gods. Even Hera begged him to forgive her and gave him her daughter Hebe, goddess of eternal youth, for his Olympian bride.”

Heracles’s name in Greek means “fame of Hera,” a meaning the D’Aulaires weave through their retelling of his story. Throughout his narrative, they point out that the suffering she caused him also brought about his fame, and in the end, the two were reconciled. Appearing in the final part of the book, his narrative develops the theme of what makes a hero in great depth.

“Lonesome and forgotten, he sat one day in the shade of his once glorious ship, the Argo, now rotting on the beach of Corinth. Suddenly the sacred piece of oak in the prow broke off, fell on him, and killed him.”

The above passage refers to Jason, who “broke his sacred oath to Medea” (228) and was in turn destroyed by the sacred oak that Athena had installed on his ship, Argo. The story of Jason perhaps most starkly illustrates the hero’s tendency to destroy himself due to his own excesses and mistakes, which is developed throughout the myth retellings in the book.

“The Romans built huge temples to the Olympian gods, not so beautiful as the Greek ones, but much more luxurious, and the glory of the gods became greater than ever. They were given Roman names instead of their Greek ones, but they were still the same gods and it is under their Roman names that we know them best today.”

Though the collection is called D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, it draws on many ancient Roman sources as well. In part, this is because many Roman myths were themselves retellings of Greek ones, some of which have since been lost. The above passage acknowledges this dynamic in a way that children can absorb and that prepares them to explore the topic in greater depth and complexity as they grow.