I bought this cassette through Amazon.com a couple months ago (originally it was going to be a gift!)and have to say it has been a truly enjoyable experience! The buying and the listening! Sorbo and Hurst are fantastic. Kevin's deeply sincere tone is captivating and Michael, on Side B, uses his "Iolaus" accent (American) to read with great enthusiasm, like a master story teller. His segment on the Nemean Lion should NOT be missed by anyone who enjoys listening about Hercules and his labors. By the way, even if you're not interested (in Greek mythology [stories]) these actors and their wonderful voices will MAKE you change your mind. Okay ... so when's the next tape coming out???

This tape is great fun to listen to, especially, if you are a "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" Fan. My advice: take the tape recorder, dimm the lights, sit back and relax!

Sorbo's reading on Side A is extremely convincing and he could easily charm you or your kids to sleep. But Michael Hurst's voice and enthusiasm on Side B revives you, captures you and won't let go of your imagination until the tape is finished. It's as if you can almost see him in that recording studio, fighting invisible lions while turning the pages of the book.

However, if you think the Enchanted Tales are connected to H:TLJ, you will be disappointed. The story is the classic tale of his 7 labours and for all you Iolausians out there, Iolaus is not Iolaus, but Iole, a young girl. Also the tape is not very long and Side A is only half-played and you are being asked to forwind to the end.

Overall, two enthusiastic thumbs up for Michael Hurst and Kevin Sorbo! With those reading abilities, they can babysit my kids any day!

An excellent listening of the exploits of Hercules. Kevin Sorbo does a great job reading, but Michael Hurst, who reads the second side, is by far the BEST reader I've ever had the pleasure to listen to!! His Shakespearean training shines through and I would buy anything he reads...a definate MUST for any fan of the series or the legend.

This is by far the best Greek Mythology Reference book I've ever used. It is in dictionary form, but gives you all the information you need to know and also offers little known information throughout the book. This book is very hard to find...This book is worth every penny and is great for doing research.

This is an excellent reference of almost any Greek myth of importance, including the illiad and the odyssey. If you want an excellent reference, with better than dictionary definitions, each citation comes with a brief but detailed account of each "character's" significance, than this is the one for you.

Of all the mythology books I've read (which is quite an extensive list), this is by far the best of them. Bernard Evslin's book is extremely detailed and contains only known and proven facts and no minor little things that have no use to further a story. Now this is not a book with plot, so don't purchase it mistaking it for one with a story line. What it does do, though, is give you a list of Greek mythological characters and tell you about them, much in the form of an encyclopedia. Many lists of classical mythology characters include only major people and gods. Not this book. It contains so many more than just major ones. It has gods and mortals that I have not been able to find information about in any other way. It also includes many stories of Greek mythology. Besides mythological charcters, it alsoincludes major objects or events like the phoenix, Pandora's box, or the Trojan War. ALso, also, almost every mythology story is in here, from the birth of Zeus to the capture of Persephone. By far superb to all others. A great buy for a cheap price. Recommended for people who already know quite a bit about mythology, figuring it doesn't make things easy to understand for beginners.

it is a great book, i mean i used it for research and if you are doing research on Cerberus you got it made. It has the wholes story from which he was born to when he vowed to guard the gates of hell for 1000 years. It is a great book. It is a must to do research on this book.

This book, Cerberus (Monsters of Mythology) by Bernard Evslin, is a true recommend! Don't think it's a children's book just by looking at it, people of all ages would strongly love it once they read it!! It tells of Cerberus's life from the beginning to the very end. This book also consists of LOVELY paintings in it. With a GREAT story and pictures, this book is a MUST buy!!! In the paragraphs below, I will tell you a little about this GREAT book!

You must probably think Cerberus is an awful monster in your first impression right? Well, after reading this story, you will get to know the real Cerberus! His great innocence and love for a dear young girl, Delia.

In the beginning, Cerberus was born from the dangerous monster(this creature consisting of a woman's head and with the body of a serpent, I forgot her name) and Typhon was Cerberus's father. This serpent woman and the all-destructive Typhon always had very strong and powerful kids.. or creatures. And when Cerberus was first born, Hades quickly found out. He immediately went out to meet Cerberus, when he saw him, Hades knew that Cerberus would be an excellent guard for his underworld. Lately, a few of the living sneaked into hell, and a few of the dead escaped, Hades needed higher security, so he needed Cerberus. But Cerberus's mother doesn't want that to happen.

Time passes by, one day Cerberus was out hunting and he found a little girl caught inside a shark... so he rescued her. Cerberus was shocked when Delia said she wasn't afraid of him, she even wanted to be his friend! Cerberus's heart melt. They later developed a great friendship. He grew fond of her. And she was the most important thing to him. He loved her. He would go play with her. Delia would always be seen playing with him and riding on his back. But then words got out to Hadies, and one of his henchmen, the queen of the Harpies, decided to stir a plot which causes Cerberus to become a henchmen of Hadies later on. It is truly a tragic story. It really shows the part of Cerberus we've NEVER seen before! It's a BIG recommend. :) SO BUY IT! You would NOT regret it!

"The Sphinx" is perhaps Bernard Evslin's most impressive volume in the Monsters of Mythology series. Before I read this book I knew that a sphinx had the body of a lion, the head of a woman and the wings and talons of an eagle, and I knew the story of how Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx that was terrifying Thebes. However, the latter takes up less than two pages in Evslin's volume and he comments that the infamous riddle ("What sometimes goes on two legs, sometimes three, sometimes four, and goes least when it has more") is pretty lame. Certainly it is not worth leaping off a cliff in shame over. But as Evslin takes pains to point in regards to the fate of Oedipus, there are conflicting accounts in Greek mythology about virtually every figure (see Robert Graves's reference work "The Greek Myths" for details on your favorite myth).

Consequently, Evslin tells a lengthy story about the Sphinx that touches upon some familiar tales from classical mythology, but which contains lots of new details. It seems that once upon a time Hecate, Queen of hte Harpies, retires so that she can marry a lame little poet named Thallo. However, Hades wants to bring Hectate back to his realm and summons the dreaded Sphinx to kill Thallo. The story becomes even more involved when Demeter, Lady of the Harvest, threatens to cast a famine across the land unless her daughter, Persephone, is returned from the underworld where she has been abducted and taken by Hades. All of this is prelude to an epic battle that involves flying hags, hundred-handed giants, Cerberus the three-headed dog, and wingless dragons. This book is illustrated with photographs of both ancient and modern paintings and figures of gods, the sphinx and other monsters. In the final analysis, it might make more sense for this to have a different title than "The Sphinx," but I doubt that many people will seriously mind that fact. In certainly is about "Monsters of Mythology."

This, like all the books in Evslin's Monsters of Mythology series, is an excellent read. It goes into the myths around the Sphinx in quite an entertaining manner. Although some people have complained that this series is inaccurate, it is important to remember that all myths are stories anyways, and there is no one true account. All in all, Evslin does a spectacular job of bringing traditional myths into a book that anyone can enjoy.

Bernard Evslin tells the story of the Minotaur with great regard for the background of the tale. Most versions of the tale I have been reading begin with Theseus becoming part of the tribute of young men and women bound for Crete and the labyrinth of the Minotaur. But Evslin goes into the background of the tale in extraordinary detail. We hear of the prophecy that Ariadne and Phaedra will marry the same man in turn, how Theseus came to Athens, and how King Minos of Crete came to create the great labyrinth that housed the Minotaur (literally Minos's bull). So we are more than halfway through the book before Evslin picks up the familiar tale. He also lets the monster's death be the end part of the story, thereby having to avoid choosing between the two different versions of how it came to be that Ariadne did not make it back to Athens with Theseus, for whom the battle with the Minotaur was but "the first test in his long quest for glory."

"The Minotaur" is part of the "Monsters of Mythology" series, which has 25 volumes devoted to mostly Hellenic monsters, but a pair of Norse and Celtic creatures as well. Students who have read younger versions of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur will find considerably more depth and detail in this version. Evslin draws on his background in both mythology and playwriting to tell the tale. The illustrations are taken from both art and archeology, so there are photographs of a contemporary bronze statue of the Minotaur by Claude Lalanne and a collage entitled "Minotaure" by Pablo Picasso, as well as a Greek vase from the 6th-century B.C. of Theseus and the Minotaur, a Greco-Roman sculpture of Ariadne, and a Minoan fresco of a Toreador. The net effect is a sense of the power the myth of the Minotaur has had over the centuries. However, to find out the story of Phaedra, readers will have to look elsewhere, although I suspect the foreshadowing of her story in this book will have readers eager to hear her story as well.

As a child I quickly abandoned the dry mythology of my Judeo/Christian upbringing for the glowing, fabulous tales of the Greeks, Norse and Celts.As an adult I ran into this book at a 24 hour drug store, on a late night shopping binge, in the "cheapie bin".Thanks to this book I regained an interest in learning more about the religion of my family and the ideology and symbols of so much of the western world.And, possibly more importantly, was really entertained by the stories thanks to an exquisite storyteller. The writer's purpose, as stated in the intro, was to make the tales of the old testament breathe again.I know the Bible is the best selling book of all time and truly is a source of tremendous inspiration, but it is a difficult and often dull read.Mr. Evslin has definitely resusitated these familiar tales and given them the literary respect they deserve.I wish there had been a book like this one in my school library when I was small.

This text was my first major teaching assignment and both I and the students enjoyed this book of mythology. Evslin is an easy read and a very compelling storyteller. It's wonderful beginners book as well as an excellent reference. The book contain all of the major gods, concentrating on their origins and major myths that involve each one. Heroes such as Perseus, Theseus, Atalanta, and Daedalus are included. I was disappointed that Hercules was not included; however, his mythology is rather long and widely known, which is probably why it was left out. Other myths included: King Midas, Pygmalion, Echo and Psyche, Phaethon and many others. This is an excellent source for beginners and students. If you are already versed in Greek mythology, you may find the lack of certain myths discouraging, but I do encourage you to revisit a wonderful telling of myths that probably got you interested in Greek mythology in the first place.

I found this book browsing in a bookstore. At first glance it looked like a cheap knock-off under the guise of mythology. However, I was captivated by the authors introduction, in which he explains how as a child the myths were read to him in Greek, and much was lost in the English translations he later heard- so this book is his way to communicate the myths as comprehensive and story-like as possible. He succeed on all levels.

I have read many English versions ancient Greek texts, and this one has an excellent flow that is not acheived by mere translation. This book helped me to learn about the characters in the Greek myths and legends better than any other, in the sense that the stories are presented in a MEMORABLE way. Now I can read other texts with a real sense of knowing who everyone is.

The book is a quick and captivating read, could be done in one day. I thank the author for his outstanding job. He has acheived a book which compliments the myths of the Greeks, and other translations can compliment this book.

It was soincredibly interesting and fun. not only did I enjoy reading the hella cool stories, i learned that Greek mythology does affect our language today. i learned how alot of things now, came from what we learn in mythology. the stories are so entertaining and fun toread, Sime are sad, some are happy but all of them kept me flipin' pages. I'm happy I read this book because it gave me knowledge about history and it made me know cool stories and I liked Disneys Hercules alot more. I felt smarter watching it. it a great book, props to the auther who wrote it in a non boring way. Thanks!

I liked it,I found the way the storys were laid out to be appealing.

The half historical and mythical novel The Greek Gods by Bernard Evslin, and Bernard Evslin tells of the legendary Gods Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Posiden, and Hera. These Gods play a big roll in the book. The Greek mythology had some faith and some common sense. In the book many people defined the Gods making them angry like Arachnie becoming a spider. The Gods were very jealous beings and destroyed the Titans long ago.

Homeschooling is a tough job. This year my daughter is doing Greece. We started on mythology and dumped a lot of books. Then we discovered this one. What a little treasure this turned out to be!! Each god is described clearly ,in an entertaining fashion. Every story was read and remembered with ease by her not yet 10 year old mind. Frankly, it should be in the library of every household....It can be read by all ages because it is entertaining and painless....

This book is really exciting, especially the parts where he sees those monsters like the cyclops. It was funny when he tricked the cyclops into thinking that his name was Noman. Then when the Ulysses and his men attacked it, it said, "Noman is killing me! Noman is killing me!", which meant that no man is killing it to the other cyclops. I can't believe that he thought of something like that. It suprises me that a book like this is a non-fiction book, since there are those monsters. This book was really a book to remember.

The main character of this book is Ulysses, the King of Ithaca. He goes to Troy to attack the Romans with many other Greeks to bring the wife of a Greek king back. The Romans stole her from her home. After they win the battle after many years, it was time for the long journey home to Ithaca. While he was sailing home to his wife, Penelope, he saw many extraordianary "things" like Cyclops and Circe and the Sorceress. On the way home, he encountered so many obstacles that he lost all his companions. That's so sad.

I liked this book because it is full of adventures and twists and turns. It is so exciting that i finished the book in one day because i couldn't stop reading! This is a book that people of all ages should read.

Ulysses. His adventures are beyond imagination. This book is really exciting to me. After fighting the Trojan Wars, it took him 10 long years to get back to Ithaca, his home. On his way, he battled and tricked the great one-eyed Cyclops, sailed to the world of Darkness, visited the Underworld, and even encountered the Sirens and Apollo's flock of golden sheep. Not only that, he and his crewmembers had to sail in a perfect way between two rocks to avoid being eaten and dashed to pieces by rocks, but he was able to survive and reach home.

The main character in the story is Ulysses. I liked the way in which Ulysses not only fought bravely, despite the members of his crew that betrayed him, but used his wit to help overcome obstacles. Ulysses was faced with numerous obstacles, harsh decisions, and enemies, all trying to prevent him from returning home and to his wife, Penelope. Ulysses was able to overcome every obstacle and make his way home, even though he lost all of his crewmembers.

I enjoyed this book because this is a book of action and adventure. It is also a book of betrayal, decisions, and bloodshed. I just can't put down the book once I started reading it. This is a great book, and I really enjoyed reading it. I recommend this book to anyone, young or old alike, to people with a taste of adventure.

The adventures of Ulysses is a excellent book. It was fun, exciting and filled with irony. It always keeps you wondering what is going to happen, and keeps you at the egde of your chair. There was no best part of the story, the whole adventure was thrilling. He was faced with many challanges and was able to over come them all! For examle when Ulysses was in the cave with the Cyclops he was very clever; he tricked the Cyclops and got him drunk by drinking unwatered wine. Then he stabbed him in his one and only eye, which left him blinded and Ulysses escaped the cave by the help of rams. Ulysses was faced with many enemys, Poseidon was his greatest. Poseidon put a curse on Ulysses which made his voyage home very difficult. Like Circe said, Ulysses was sly like a fox; he got home to Ithaca in "the Return."

I used this book in my 6th grade classroom for 6 years. The reading level is challenging, but within the scope of average 11+ year olds. While there's not as much dialogue as I might like, the story is fairly complete, including backstory that Homer didn't have and continuing past the death of Hector to the end of the war.
Unfortunately, when I read the original Iliad, I discovered that Mr. Evslin had been somewhat liberal in his designations of which god/dess performed some of the relevant acts. Even where he had included the characters who had done certain things, he attributed those actions to other characters, especially Odysseus, whom Mr. Evslin credits with much more than Homer did. As a teacher I was disappointed to discover that I had been teaching my students inaccurate information for so long. I'm still looking for a version true to the original that has the backstory, the adventure, the correct characters doing the correct things, the aftermath of the war, and is written in a style that will engage 6th graders....

This is essentially an easy-to-read abridged version of the story of the Trojan War as told by Homer in The Iliad, except that where Homer ends his epic with the death of Hector, Bernard Evslin carries the tale all the way through to the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy. The Trojan War lasted ten years, but this book, just like The Iliad, covers only the last six weeks or so of the war.
Evslin does a great job of portraying the characters themselves in the same way Homer did -- the brashness of Achilles, the maturity and wisdom of Odysseus (called Ulysses in this version), and also the whimsy and deception of the gods and goddesses, all come through in this book.
Evslin took some liberties in fleshing out certain scenes, making up some dialogue and minor events, but on the whole stayed admirably close to the original. His storytelling is uneven at times, which is why I gave this book four stars instead of five. For example, sometimes Evslin provides intimate details of particular scenes, but at other times, when adding some detail would add a lot of personal drama to the story (and where such detail is included in Homer), Evslin simply glosses over the scene with only a sentence or two. This is especially evident near the end when King Priam goes to Achilles to request the body of his dead son Hector. It's a painfully personal scene in Homer, but almost a footnote here.
There's no way Homer's epic can be condensed to a version this short without losing something, but by focussing on Achilles, Evslin's retelling feels complete in its own right. Most of what he cut were the storylines of the supporting characters, particularly the interactions between the Greeks themselves. I have to say these were wise choices, however, because they allow the story of a very complicated war to be told clearly in the small amount of space he has to tell it.
This book is published by Scholastic Inc, and is 160 pages of fairly small type. The reading level is not indicated, but I'm guessing it's about 5th or 6th grade level. The storytelling itself is fairly simple and easy to read -- Evslin does an amazing job sometimes of drawing a young reader through the material -- but there are a lot of unfamiliar names and places which, along with the small type size, may put off some young readers. And although I said this is a great version for kids, adults will enjoy reading it as well, whether they're already familiar with The Iliad or not.

I think this book was really good. It told about history and greek mythology all in one. It also told the story of the greek hero. I won't tell you who wins this war, but I will tell you it is worth your summer reading. This book also won't be what you expected.