Step into a world of heroes, monsters and death-defying deeds! This book collects together rip-roaring adventure stories and larger-than-life myths from Ancient Rome. You'll discover: • How the famous adventurer, Aeneas, made an epic journey to the Land of the Dead • How the nymph, Daphne, escaped a love-struck god by transforming ... into a plant! • How two brothers founded the city of Rome, before their love turned to murder • And much more! Perfect for all young history lovers, aged 8+. ABOUT THE SERIES: Monstrous Myths retells traditional myths with a child-friendly emphasis on scary and weird elements. These humorous, cheeky and irreverent books are jam-packed with real facts about the beliefs of ancient cultures. Featuring witty, anarchic cartoons, this series makes history accessible and fun for young readers.

Roman gods and goddesses were certainly busy immortal beings! Whether they were falling in love, battling each other, or grappling for power, they were constantly making trouble with humans. These engaging tales include the exploits of Pluto, Cupid, Apollo, Venus, and legendary heroes, such as Aeneas. Readers will be interested to learn how these myths are remembered even in modern times, such as Cupid's role in Valentine's Day. Beautiful, colorful illustrations further spark imaginations in this appealing look at one aspect of ancient Roman culture.

Before there was Jupiter, there was Zeus. And before there was Venus, there was Aphrodite. The ancient Romans took many of their gods and their legends from Greece. And no wonder, these awesome tales are full of danger, magic, and heroic feats. Readers will love learning how these fantastical stories and characters even have a place in modern times, for example, the Perseus and Andromeda constellations. Jason and the Argonauts, Theseus and the Minotaur, and the Trojan Horse are just some of the thrilling, and even amusing, tales found in this illustrated book.

The myths of ancient Egypt are peppered with tales of creation, love, family, trickery, and revenge. Readers will love learning about the famous Egyptian gods and goddesses, including Ra, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Set. Colorful drawings accompany the engaging text, and fact boxes and sidebars highlight even more interesting information. This book, more than just fictional tales, is a glimpse into an essential part of the Egyptian culture.

Though Africa is a huge continent filled with different cultures, African folktales share some characteristics. One is a love of nature, specifically animals. The other is a respect for cleverness. These two characteristics meet in the tales of Anansi the Spiderman and the Jackal. Both are tricksters who often get the best of their fellow beasts. Readers will love becoming acquainted with these two characters' exploits as well as other famous, engaging, and often funny African tales. Fact boxes and illustrations enhance each story.

A fresh cultural analysis of female monsters from Greek mythology, and an invitation for all women to reclaim these stories as inspiration for a more wild, more “monstrous” version of feminism The folklore that has shaped our dominant culture teems with frightening female creatures. In our language, in our stories (many written by men), we underline the idea that women who step out of bounds—who are angry or greedy or ambitious, who are overtly sexual or not sexy enough—aren’t just outside the norm. They’re unnatural. Monstrous. But maybe, the traits we’ve been told make us dangerous and undesirable are actually our greatest strengths. Through fresh analysis of 11 female monsters, including Medusa, the Harpies, the Furies, and the Sphinx, Jess Zimmerman takes us on an illuminating feminist journey through mythology. She guides women (and others) to reexamine their relationships with traits like hunger, anger, ugliness, and ambition, teaching readers to embrace a new image of the female hero: one that looks a lot like a monster, with the agency and power to match. Often, women try to avoid the feeling of monstrousness, of being grotesquely alien, by tamping down those qualities that we’re told fall outside the bounds of natural femininity. But monsters also get to do what other female characters—damsels, love interests, and even most heroines—do not. Monsters get to be complete, unrestrained, and larger than life. Today, women are becoming increasingly aware of the ways rules and socially constructed expectations have diminished us. After seeing where compliance gets us—harassed, shut out, and ruled by predators—women have never been more ready to become repellent, fearsome, and ravenous.

Giving Western literature and art many of its most enduring themes and archetypes, Greek mythology and the gods and goddesses at its core are a fundamental part of the popular imagination. At the heart of Greek mythology are exciting stories of drama, action, and adventure featuring gods and goddesses, who, while physically superior to humans, share many of their weaknesses. Readers will be introduced to the many figures once believed to populate Mount Olympus as well as related concepts and facts about the Greek mythological tradition.