From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics"The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact." --C. S. Lewis In From Achilles to Christ, Louis Markos introduces readers to the great narratives of classical mythology from a Christian perspective. From the battles of Achilles and the adventures of Odysseus to the feats of Hercules and the trials of Aeneas, Markos shows how the characters, themes and symbols within these myths both foreshadow and find their fulfillment in the story of Jesus Christ--the "myth made fact." Along the way, he dispels misplaced fears about the dangers of reading classical literature, and offers a Christian approach to the interpretation and appropriation of these great literary works. This engaging and eminently readable book is an excellent resource for Christian students, teachers and readers of classical literature. |
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Page 36
... Trojan War. And yet, as first-time readers of the epic immediately notice, the Iliad re- counts neither the beginning nor the end of the war. The action of the epic limits itself to a roughly two-week period in the final year of a ten ...
... Trojan War. And yet, as first-time readers of the epic immediately notice, the Iliad re- counts neither the beginning nor the end of the war. The action of the epic limits itself to a roughly two-week period in the final year of a ten ...
Page 37
... Trojan War began, according to the myths, when the gods were on Mount Olympus celebrating the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. (I use “celebrating” somewhat facetiously, since the wedding was forced on Thetis by the paranoid Zeus.) In ...
... Trojan War began, according to the myths, when the gods were on Mount Olympus celebrating the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. (I use “celebrating” somewhat facetiously, since the wedding was forced on Thetis by the paranoid Zeus.) In ...
Page 38
... Trojan shepherd repays his kindness by seducing his wife and taking her back with him to Troy. This creates ... Trojans engaging in sorties and single combats on the grassy plain between the Homer's Illiad I 39 wall of Troy and the ...
... Trojan shepherd repays his kindness by seducing his wife and taking her back with him to Troy. This creates ... Trojans engaging in sorties and single combats on the grassy plain between the Homer's Illiad I 39 wall of Troy and the ...
Page 39
... Trojan, and Greek and Greek have almost reached their breaking point; a multitude of external and internal conflicts ... Trojans, answers Chryses's prayer by shooting an arrow of plague into the Greek camp. For nine days soldiers ...
... Trojan, and Greek and Greek have almost reached their breaking point; a multitude of external and internal conflicts ... Trojans, answers Chryses's prayer by shooting an arrow of plague into the Greek camp. For nine days soldiers ...
Page 41
... Trojans, do I have a prize that is equal to your prize. Always the greater part of the painful fighting is the work of my hands; but when the time comes to distribute the booty 42 FROM ACHILLES TO CHRIST yours is far the greater ...
... Trojans, do I have a prize that is equal to your prize. Always the greater part of the painful fighting is the work of my hands; but when the time comes to distribute the booty 42 FROM ACHILLES TO CHRIST yours is far the greater ...
Contents
9 | |
25 | |
27 | |
36 | |
49 | |
A New Ethic | 60 |
From Wrath to Reconciliation | 69 |
Coming of Age | 79 |
The Tragedy of Character | 157 |
The Naïve and the Sentimental | 167 |
Apollonian versus Dionysiac | 179 |
VIRGIL | 191 |
The Sacred History of Rome | 193 |
The Making of a Roman Epic | 202 |
The Fall of Troy | 210 |
Aeneas and Dido | 219 |
Coming Home | 89 |
The Journeys of Odysseus | 100 |
THE GREEK TRAGEDIANS | 113 |
The Birth of Tragedy | 115 |
Pagan Poets and Hebrew Prophets | 124 |
The Human Scapegoat | 135 |
Questions of Duty | 146 |
To Hell and Back | 229 |
Just War? | 237 |
The Myth Made Fact | 247 |
Bibliographical Essay | 251 |
Index | 258 |
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Common terms and phrases
ACHILLES TO CHRIST Aeneas Aeneid Aeschylus Agamemnon allows ancient appears Athens battle become begins body Book characters Christian civilization comes course death desire Dido divine Electra embodies epic Euripides face fact fall father fear find first follow forces give glory gods Greek Greek Tragedies hand heart Hektor hero Homer honor hope human Iliad Italy kill king land leave less live look means mind mortal mother move nature Odysseus Oedipus offers once pagan past play plot poet present Press Prometheus reader remains Roman Rome seems sense ships Sophocles speaks spirit story struggle suffer Telemachus tells things tragedy tragic Trojan Troy true truth turn University Virgil virtues warrior wife women wrath Zeus