Gods and Goddesses (The Enchanted World)

 

by The Editors of Time-Life Books 

Publisher ‏: ‎ Time Life Education; First Edition (May 1, 1988) 

Hardcover, 143 pages 

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"There was at time's beginning, a land whose Kings were gods. This was Egypt, womb of magic and birthplace of the sun. In every generation, its Pharaoh was a deity, the scion of a dynasty that began at the Creation. He was the lineal descendant and literal incarnation of Ra, the solar patriarch, of falcon-eye Horus, and Osiris, lord of the underworld. His subjects hailed him as the source of all life, shepherd of the land, guardian of the harvests, controller of the Nile. Under his hand, Egypt flourished.”  

With a title like Gods and Goddesses it doesn’t take much to figure out what the theme will be for the 21st and final volume of Time-Life’s Enchanted World series. It’s a fitting conclusion to this incredible series. So many of the stories revolve around the deities of our dead ancestors that it's only fitting they become an object of speculation in themselves.  

Four chapters are presented here, each dealing with a different pantheon. The mythology of Egypt, Greece, India, and Norse peoples are explored in depth. Occasionally a story from a different culture is inserted between chapters, but these four are the primary tales. They are in depth and as true to the original myths as I can tell. In the end, I preferred the chapter on Indian mythos - simply because I was very familiar with the creation mythos of the other three chapters, and the Indian one was something relatively new. 

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The Secret Arts (The Enchanted World)

 

 By the Editors of Time-Life Books 

Publisher: ‎Time Life Education (July 1, 1987)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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"In the dangerous times when demons lurked in the shadows by day and sought to enter mortal dwellings by night, people used what tools they could to shelter themselves and their loved ones from harm. A thorough versing in the lore of charms, the traditional antidotes to evil, provided the best hope of success. 

"In cases of supernatural assault, the weakest points of any home were its apitures - doors, windows, and especially the wide chimneys. Such inviting entrances needed constant protection.. A simple wooden post, carved with bands and crosses, Might be set up against the hearth against the incursion of witches." 

This is book 20 in The Enchanted World series by Time-Life Books. The penultimate volume, it really acts as a companion piece to the first book, Wizards and Witches. In that first volume, it discussed three traditions of wizards - the lowest being the book learned mage who sought answers of the beyond through grimoires and other magical texts. This book directly discussed the methods and tools used by this third tier of mage. 

This book discussed the various methods of divination - looking at the entrails of sacrificed animals, ripples of rocks in water, reading the lines in palms, crystal balls and polished skulls; The mediums of magic- through mommets, songs, and written curses; the tools of the mage - how to make a magic wand, construction of magic rings, uses of the magicians sword and dagger. All in all a thorough examination of the art. However, the use of stories is at a minimum here. Far less than in other volumes, but the art included is just as impressive as always. 

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Tales of Terror (The Enchanted World)

 

by the Editors of Time/Life Books

Publisher: ‎ Time Life Education (March 1, 1987)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“Beneath its brilliant Aegean skies, the land of Greece was the scene of many horrors: bacchanalian orgies of rape, death and human sacrifice. But no tale of the ancient poets was so blood-soaked as that curse that fell upon the noble House of Atreus: a malignity that, once conjured into being, thrived for generations, spawning madness, despair and obscenities beyond imagining. “ 

This is number 19 in The Enchanted World series put out by Time/Life books back in the 1980s, and I have to say there has never been a better collection of old tales, legends, folklore, and myths. While it isn’t by any means complete, the production value of the books themselves - beautifully bound in hardcover with amazing illustrations throughout - make this series a treasure to own. 

This volume is a little different from the others. Yes, it is thematic to terror, but it doesn’t attempt to shape a narrative throughout the entire book. There are thirteen chapters in this volume - OOOO spooky - as opposed to the normal three, and the stories are simply presented without much context. Occasionally a few of the chapters have one or more tales in them, especially the ones dealing with werewolves or ghostly travelers, but overall, the tales jump from chapter to chapter. Despite this, I found it an easier read than some of the previous volumes - or perhaps the theme was just more to my liking. 

The tales come from all over. Ancient Greece, old Russia, war-torn Brittany, mythic Persia. Wherever a story or legend, might dip over into the realm of horror, where the protagonist usually comes to a bad end. it is fair game for this volume. My particular favorite was Chapter 8 “Bloodguilt of a Royal House” which dealt, from beginning to end, with the curse put on the ancient house of Atreus - beginning with the betrayal of Pelops and ending with the Furies scourging Oriesties. 

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The Book of Beginnings (The Enchanted World)

by the Editors of Time-life Books (Author)

Publisher ‏: ‎ Time Life Education; First Edition (May 1, 1987)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“In the lands far to the north, in the lost ages when it seemed that the night lasted all winter long, the storytellers would gather around roaring fires to sing away the darkness. Old women, whirling distaffs, told of life as it used to be in the days of their grandmothers’ grandmothers. The healers and shamans, their fingers stained with the juices of potent herbs using in their mysterious work, recounted great deeds and sorrows from the morning of their race. As they passed round the beaker of mead, each bard would take it in turn to sing or speak an old story.”

An amazing look at origins stories from around the world. This book sets itself apart from many of its ilk, simply by incorporating so many cultures under this banner and then demonstrating the similarity between them all. Like Joyce’s term, the monomyth, this book strives to show the similarity between all forms of tales, yet still retain a sense of cultural identity. I was quite happy to see more than just a look at Norse and Greek myths - they are included, but not more represented than any other culture. Thus this book contains many myths of which I hadn’t read before.

Chapter One - “Out of Chaos” focuses on those stories which - if you can’t guess - deal with the creation of the world. Most of the tales have the same elements, an area of chaos is tamed by the will of a shaper deity; water is somehow fundamental to the beginning of life, and well as the monsters of the world being tamed by the Gods for mankind to exist. Chapter Two - “Celestial Lore” - deals with the various legends surrounding the creation of the firmament - the moon, the stars, and the sun. Unlike the previous chapter, there are incredible differences from story to story. Very imaginative material here, ripe for the plucking. Chapter Three - “The Dance of Life” - handles the creation stories that detail how a specific animal or plant was created. How the animals got their tails, how the violet was created, how frogs were born, etc. These are a little more predictable, as each creature is usually created by some pissed off deity. 

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The Lore of Love (The Enchanted World)

 

               by Ellen Galford (Editor) & the Editors of Time-Life Books

          Publisher : Time-Life Books; First Edition (January 1, 1987)

                                         Hardcover, 143 pages

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“Love engendered dreams and nightmares, begat ecstasy or madness, inspired poetry and madness in equal measure. The human heart was its playground and its battlefield, but few folks were foolish enough to imagine that the human will was its master. Young people passed on charms that would, they hoped, enabled them to see the face or hear the name of a future mate. But they knew full well that they had no power to change what was thus disclosed to them.” 

As you might be able to guess, the theme of this volume are love stories, or trysts, which intersect with the macabre, the divine, or magic. Because of that a lot of the stories are very similar Boy A sees Girl B (or vice versa), falls in love, and either connives to win the other’s love, or the pair are in love but then separated for some reason. The denouement being the pair end up together, if not in this life, then the next. The art is superb as always, perfectly complimenting the stories with lush touching material. 

Love stories are ubiquitous. Tales from all over the world are here. From Heroic India, to Arthurian Legend, to Ancient Greece, to Aztec times, to Imperial China, to old Persia. Familiar ones such as the story of Narcissus to wild and odd tales like The Aztec’s Couple Reunion in Flames. Every story here is worth a gander. Volume seventeen here of The Enchanted World series is a treasure. 

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Magical Justice (The Enchanted World)

 

By the Editors of Time-Life Books

Publisher: Time Life Education; First Printing edition (November 1, 1986)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“Men and women dreaded the prospect of invasion by these forces of chaos. They craved order and harmony, a hierarchy wherein every entity - animal, vegetable, mineral, or spiritual - knew its place and obligations. To protect the world from contamination, humans constructed a bulwark of laws governing every aspect of their existence. Their code was a safety net woven of many different strands: native kindness and common sense, priestly interpretations of divine will, diktats devised by Kings to keep themselves and their heirs in power, percepts dimly recalled from the days when elder races ruled the earth.” 

Volume 16 of the Enchanted World series focuses on the dubious term of Magical Justice. While I have said that previous volumes seemed like filler titles to group together old stories left out of previous volumes, in this case there is no doubt. Not that the stories are boring or uninteresting, nor does this volume shirk on its art budget. However, the theme is stretched thin and so ambiguous that nearly anything could fit. In fact, one tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” has nothing to do with magic at all. 

On the other hand, this is a great collection of old folk tales from all across the world. Some are very familiar - “The Tale of King Midas” “Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven” - while many others “A Celestial Usurper”, “The Beggar’s Bride” were new and refreshing. The lack of rhyme or reason in this volume actually frees it to take the best from every culture and every time. And the book is better for it. 

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The Fall of Camelot (The Enchanted World)

 

by Ellen Phillips & The Editors Time-Life Books

Publisher : Time-Life Books; First Edition (June 1, 1986)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“The prisoners of Annwfyn had reigned in an ear when humankind seemed more vulnerable and the princes of Fairie wandered freely on the earth. Arthur was the lord of a new age. The star of human power, he gathered the realms of Britain into his hands. Even Arthur, however, could not safely insult the hidden elder world that was not human. The Prince of Annwfn took vengeance for the loss of their treasure. Their eyes were keen, their reach long, their weapons many, their patience infinite. They sent their servants among the conquering mortals, servants who worked in secret ways, who formed with threads of shadow the cracks that caused the British King’s bright honor to crumble into dust and ruin to settle on his dominion.”

Volume 15 of The Enchanted World series, The Fall of Camelot, is a departure for the series. Previously, each book had a specific theme and all the stories revolved around it, but they could come from any time and any region in the world. This however is very specific in date and place. The Fall of Camelot is a retelling of the Matter of Britain - that the lord of King Arthur from beginning to end, containing all the old characters you know. And while many of the previous volumes have stories from Arthurian Legend, but I am happy to say that none are repeated in this book.

This book is a valid interpretation of the legends of King Arthur. It keeps to the original themes of the Enchanted World Series with the old ways, and the time of Fairie, losing power before the God of Reason while still affecting the real world. In a way, King Arthur is the quintessential pivoting on this axis. For we begin with much sorcery, and fairies, ogres, giants, raids into the otherworld, but by the end its men fighting against men, with a son and father killing each other. The return of Excalibur (or Caliburn as it’s called in this tome) of the Lady of the Lake represents the end of the era of magic and fairies. Men are now on their own, for good or ill.

The book keeps a solid pace, essentially telling one tale, instead of a collection of stories, about the rise and fall of King Arthur and Camelot. Granted, the author picks and chooses those tales and parts which fits his interpretation, from a much larger boy of work, but it is almost impossible to include all of the stories, as many are contradictory, and be able to maintain a stable narrative. The art, as always, is extraordinary.

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The Book of Christmas (The Enchanted World)

 

by Brendan Lehane

Publisher : Time Life Education; 1st edition (June 1, 1986)

Hardcover, 141 pages

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“Fire was the center of all the winter festivals. It was the brother to the sun, calling out to the heavens. Great bonfires blazed on the hills of Ireland and Scotland, on the mountains of France and Germany and in the halls of the Norse kings. Throughout the countries lapped by the Mediterranean and ruled by Rome, fire burned in the form of candles as the Romans held their winter feast. Originally this feast was called Brumilia, later it became known as Saturnalia. The festivities were dedicated to the Titan Saturn, lord of the harvest, long trapped by his son Jupiter beneath the earth, perhaps because the imprisoned Titans were deemed to view the world upside down, the Saturnalia was a feast of reversals. Masters served slaves and slaves commanded masters. This was a time of banqueting, of carrying green boughs that signified the strength of life, of bestowing presents. Men and women faced the darkness with a kind of madcap glee, fending it off with their high spirits” 

The Book of Christmas, volume 14 of The Enchanted World series, opens with a reconstruction of the Nativity story, the annunciation and birth of Jesus, compiled from the Gospels of Luke and Mark. Which I felt was rather brave as this book, and this series, is filled with folklore. Let’s not forget that this volume was put out during the height of the Satanic Panic, so any suggestion that any part of the story of Jesus was based on folklore sent hysterical screams across the airwaves. I can only assume that this slipped through the cracks because no one bothered to read it. 

 

Coupling with the story of Jesus, we are shown many other nature rituals celebrated in Western cultures of December 25th.  These came from the most primitive of times when people worshipped the sun as a god. When winter came and life seemed extinguished, they celebrated the Solstice, the winter day when the weakening sun regained its strength. Many Christmas traditions have their roots in pre-Christian traditions, but it was the birth of Jesus according to this volume that made a season of fear into a season of hope.

Pre-Christianity, the 25th of December was a time for monsters to roam about, old gods to capture mortals and bad children, and the Wild Hunt to roam the world looking for men to chase down and kill. All the rituals and signs and decorations were meant to ward off evil, Christianity changed that into the welcoming of love and peace into the world. The book is filled with fascinating looks into the old world origins of many traditions. Plus tales of The Nutcracker, and plenty of other Christmas favorites. 

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

Fabled Lands (The Enchanted World)

 

by the Editors of Time/Life Books

 Publisher : Time Life Education; First Printing edition (April 1, 1986)

 Hardcover, 143 pages

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“The way of the traveler was, at best, uncertain when the earth was rough and young. Lands charged with magic lay hidden in the folds of the countryside, in the depths of the sea, even in the white fields of the clouds, sometimes visible, sometimes not. So shifting were the borders of these lands that a bend in a road, or a wave in the ocean, or the foot of a rainbow where it touched the ground, might prove a gateway for unsuspecting mortals. No one could tell when he might step from his own safe world across a border he could not see into a place where he would be a stranger, and all the life he would be a stranger, and all the life he had lived among his own kind would be as nothing.” 

Volume 13 of the Enchanted World series is Fabled Lands. The stories contained inside do not really describe other worlds in much detail, and focus mainly on man’s usually accidental dealings with other worlds. A lot of these are Irish tales dealing with the world of Fairie, and if you’ve read other books in this series then you know the differences. Time moves at a different rate in Fairie. While the residents of both worlds can interact and produce children, inevitably one was drawn back to their old world, this seems to be a biological phenomena rather than just homesickness. 

Second on the list to those of Fairie and the Irish Fianna and Knights of the Round Table who slew monsters and defeated evil knights there, were journeys into the Underworld. Men forced to risk their life in the land of the dead for knowledge or love. We’re briefly told the stories of Orpheus and Gilgamesh, and a great deal of time is spent on Aeneas, the last surviving general of The Trojan War who mythological led to the founding of Rome - which I was happy of, as it isn’t a story that is told often enough. Many regard the Aeneid as a Roman rip-off of the The Odyssey, and while it was certainly inspired by the poem, it is a work of great literature in its own right. You wouldn’t say O Brother, Where Art Thou?  was a bad film because it was inspired by the The Odyssey. 

Overall, this is a wonderful collection of lesser known stories from around the world, though mostly from the Matter of Britain tales and Irish folklore. It is one of their catch-all books though, created to incorporate stories left out of other editions. Not that I mind, these certainly were a fun read. The art complimented the stories perfectly as usual, and by themselves are worth the price of the book. 

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Seekers and Saviors (The Enchanted World)

 

by Tristram Potter Coffin & the Editors of Time-Life Books

Publisher : Time Life Education; First Printing edition (February 1, 1986)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“These rough magics manifested themselves in a bewildering variety of ways - in such intelligent animals as the miller’s cat, in beings who had human form but were not human, in unseen powers that could change the shapes of things or even open the door between death and life. Their nature was unknown: The life of the elder world followed no rules that men and women could understand. Sometimes these powers were inimical to mortals, because humankind had intruded on the earth that was once theirs. When that happened, people had to defend one another courageously stand alone, using the human virtues of loyalty and love as defenses against inhuman enemies. But when, by some unfathomable caprice, the beings and powers of the elder age of the world inclined favorably towards humanity, then men and women could control them, and use them in weapons in mortal affairs.”

Volume 12 in the Enchanted World series from Time-Life Books. This appears to be one of their catch-all books made up from leftover stories which didn’t fit under the other titles or was cut from said titles due to space constraint. Even the title Seekers and Saviors is a bit nebulous. With previous volumes such as Fairies and Elves or Giants and Ogres you knew what kinds of stories to expect. This title paints with a pretty broad brush.

That’s not to say these are bad stories, but they are motley mix. The first chapter, “Under the Wing of Magic”, deals with stories were innocents - or idiots- are protected from harm and driven towards fortune by unstated forces from beyond. The weird tale of Puss in Boots is relayed here, along with a Scottish Cinderella variation called Rashin Coatie -or “coat of rushes” - and a host of others. Those of pure hearts, taken advantage of by evil, then helped by benevolent forces from beyond.

Chapter Two - “Tests of Loyalty and Love” - deals with people overcoming a magical curse or creature for the benefits of others. In this part we see the tale of Ali Baba, Castor and Pollux, along with the strange Swedish tale of the Swan Brothers and their devoted sister, Sigurny. While Chapter 3 - “Strong Arms, Sturdy Hearts” -  deals with heroes, mostly knights from King Arthur’s court, Sir Gwain and Bel Inconnu, who use loyalty, bravery, and force of arms to destroy magic spawned evil every time. These stories are all exemplified by amazing artwork.

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Giants and Ogres (The Enchanted World)

 

by Tristram Potter Coffin & the Editors of Time-Life Book

Publisher : Time-Life Books; First Edition (October 1, 1985)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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"The Earth's Memory: Long after the last giants vanished from the earth, their imprints lingered on the landscape, souvenirs of an age of wonders. The trails where generations of giants trod were marked by mountain clefts and winding valleys. The footprints of giants formed lake beds, and massive boulders lay where giants had hurled them in sport or in anger. No doubt some of nature's own handiwork was mistakenly ascribed to giants, but many features of the planet seemed to lend themselves to no other explanation."

The 11th volume of The Enchanted World series should have been called Giants, Ogres, and Trolls as quite a lot of the stories near the end revolve around trolls. The book opens by stating that at the dawn of time, the giants were the mightiest of beings, creatures whom even the gods dreaded. It was from the giants that the Greek and Norse gods had to seize their power. Even after, as was seen in the Northlands where the giants held to their power the longest, the gods looked to the giants as equals, beings to whom they would turn in search of wisdom. Which is the stated theme of the entire volume. Essentially, each story consists of man tricking and destroying the elder race.

Giants eventually adapted into mortal society. Some, such as Bran the Blessed, went on to become kings and heroes. Others befriended and watched over the peasantry. As the giants' waning speeded up, they grew increasingly hostile to humans. They became enemies of humanity, attacking whenever they could. Their cousins, the trolls and the ogres, became total marauders, raping human women and eating human babies.

So far this volume has the only example in the series of The Enchanted World repeating a story. Here they repeat the tale – the original pre-Arthurian version – of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This story had already been told in the Legends of Valor volume, albeit with a different protagonist, that of the Irish hero Cuchulain. Even if you want to argue that they are two different stories because of the different main characters, even a cursory glance through them will reveal that the plot is exactly the same. Making up for this is the stellar art which is amazing and varied.

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

Spells and Bindings (The Enchanted World Series)

 

by Tristram Potter Coffin & the Editors of Time-Life Books

Publisher : Time Life Education; First Edition (October 1, 1985)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“In her curious statement lay an explanation that was difficult for mortals to comprehend. The scraps and shreds of magic that lingered on into an age of Arthur and beyond were relics of the dawn of time, when the riot of creation had not settled into the stable patterns that humans depended upon. The forces of enchantment were paradoxical to human minds. In themselves neither good nor evil, they had the potential for both good or evil, like the Irish Queen’s love-engendering wine.”

I must give a hearty congratulations to the author(s) for managing to string together a disparate collection of tales from all across the map and up and down history, while placing them securely under the banner of this title. While the title may have been strung together by leftover stories, not fitting into the other titles in the series, or being cut from them for space reasons, they all snugly fit together under the idea of Spells and Binding. 

While the three chapters  - “Double Edged Power:; “Webs of Enchantment”; “Deliverance from Magic’s Coils” - attempt to split the stories into some alternate type of theme, the basic logic behind the ideas of magical spells and so forth is that they derive from the old powers, chaos, which ruled and shaped before the coming of the Christian religion and its principles of order, reason, and education. Nearly all the stories revolve around a spell being cast through malice, or broken by ignorance to the detriment of all involved.

Nearly all of the tales, you most likely have read before: Bluebeard, Psyche and Eros, Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Frog, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Pandora’s Box, various tales of Morgan Le Fey, and so on, and so on. Again, it’s mostly elementary school stories, with a few extra old Irish tales tossed in, but the art excels itself. I think the art for this book is some of the best (if not the best in the series). That’s what sets this volume apart.

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                                  The Enchanted World Time-Life Books 1987 TV commercial

Dwarfs (The Enchanted World)

 

by Tim Appenzeller & Editors of Time\Life Books

Publisher : Time Life Education; 2nd print., rev. 1986 edition (September 1, 1985)

Hardcover, 141 pages

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“Those were the days when dwarfs dwelled throughout Northern Europe, wherever men and women lived close to the land. Inhabiting rocks, caves, mounds, and even forgotten crannies in farmhouses and barns, they passed their lives in ways as earthy and arduous as their peasant neighbors. They were an elfin countryfolk, and their powers were those of a supernatural peasantry. They were uncannily adept at crafts, preternaturally wise in matters of the seasons and the soil.

“Their names varied from land to land and region to region. The British Isles had their goblins, knackers, and leprechauns. Germany its Erdleute and Stillevolk, and Scandinavia its trolls and bergfolk an hurdlefolk. But their kinship to the earth, their matchless skills and their stunted stature were universal.”

You’ll notice the author and Time-Life books have chosen to use the traditional version of plural of dwarf - Dwarfs. In fact it was Tolkein who popularized the now accepted plural spelling - dwarves. I find it fitting here, as the tales of old dwarfs here come from well beyond Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and the sort of solidification that Tolkein’s version gave the race - ie. he popularized the stereotype. Eventually though the Dwarfs books are similar to Fairies and Elves at least in behavior. It’s just another collection of similar stories, swapping one title for another.

Chapter One - “Stern Sons of the Earth” - It opens with Norse dwarfs and tells how the race began soon after Odin Ymir, using his flesh to make the earth. The maggots that crawled from the flesh became dwarfs. Corpse grey and subterranean troglodytes, the gods look down on them but needed weapons that the dwarfs by their magical craftsmanship alone could provide.

Chapter Two - “The Diminutive Nobility” - in time the dwarfs lost the capacity to treat with the Gods to the gods and walked among mortals. With the pagan gods dead and the Christian Church dominant, a new world had dawned. Even so, a few dwarf kings were not afraid and outshone their cave-dwelling ancestors in splendor. The dwarfs adapted well to Christian Europe, befriending mortals for a time, until they became tricksters.

Chapter 3 - “An Ancient Race in Retreat” - and Chapter 4 - “Haunters of Hearth and Hayloft” - discuss the further decline of the dwarfish race into thieves and tricksters. As civilization grew and men moved away from a more naturalistic state with the Earth, Dwarfen attitudes towards human changes. As humans took on a surpassed Dwarf arts, they became jealous and obstructed -  ie. Gremlins, Tommyknockers. The last remaining few lived in fear of mortal enslavement.

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Magical Beasts (The Enchanted World)

 

                            by Ellen Galford & the Editors of Time/Life Books

Publisher : Time Life Education; First Edition (September 1, 1985)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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"In the wilderness, and even in the settled lands, more beasts than man lived. The beasts existed in bewildering and changeable variety, as if nature itself were confused or had not yet finished the work of creation. Among earth-bound creatures of that time were some with real men's bodies and goat's feet, or with men's torso and horses' bodies. Lambs could be grown on special trees. Among the creatures of the air were winged horses, birds that cast human shadows, and birds that hatched from barnacles rather than from eggs. And in that era, though rarely seen, lived unicorns -graceful horses adorned with a single spiraling horn and blessed with the powers of purification and healing."

Magical Beasts opens with telling of how early in humanity's existence the world was locked in an Ice Age. Humans feared the animals and worshipped the cave bear, but as time passed man eventually conquered the cave bear and drove it away. Which is what most of these stories represent, mankind’s conquering of the land. Each evil beast whether it be the Minotaur, Manticore, Chimera, or what have you, represents this theme. That even in the unsteady world of nature, and the constant evolving weird mix of animals, man has the power to conquer and dominate. At least that was the theme of the first chapter – “Vestiges of the Elder Days”

With chapter two – “Riders of the Wind” – the exploration shifts to the portentous use of birds – mostly ravens and crows – and what they signify. Birds were often respected, and the bringers of portents for the average person. It also recounts that many flying animals, both mundane and magical, commanded respect for reasons that they were able to escape the mundane world by flight. Pegasus, the roc, firebirds, the phoenix.

Chapter three - Paragon of Purity- focuses on that most respected of magical beasts, the unicorn and his ilk. It comments on the appearance of the horned beast, or a near equivalent, in almost every culture. It symbolized beauty and purity but courage as well because it would never be taken alive. Its cousins included China's ki-lin and the Persian karkadann which personified only gentility or ferocity. All, however, could be tamed by maidens.

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Water Spirits (The Enchanted World)

 

                                        By Editors of Time-Life Books

Publisher: Time Life Education; First Printing edition (June 1, 1985)

Hardcover, 143 pages

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“And so the end was a bed on the cold ocean floor, far from the sunlight, where the body rolled and swayed in underwater breezes, where fish nibbled on the sailor’s eyes, lobsters plucked on the flesh of his feet and branching coral rooted in his bones. Seafarers called this grave Davy Jones's Locker. Some thought that ‘Davy’ was a corruption of the word ‘duffy’ African slave’s patios for ‘ghost’ - and that ‘Jones’ derived from the Biblical Jonah, who was sacrificed to the sea by sailors anxious to escape a storm. Others speculated the term descended from the name of the Hindu goddess of Death - Deva Lokka. But no one knew for certain.”

Water Spirits opens with the story of a man who saved the life of a mermaid who blessed him with the power to heal and to break witchcraft and cursed him so that every generation one man from his family would drown. This was done to illustrate people's fear of the sea as a mysterious and fickle place that could from one moment give life and in the other death. Water was hailed as the source of life; the Hindus worshiped the Ganges under the name of Ganga, Mimir's well gave Odin his wisdom, the Nile and the Jordan River built civilizations, and everywhere people sought the Fountain of Youth. Many culture’s creation myths relate the universe forming out of the chaotic watery deep. In addition, nearly every culture here has a Great Flood myth. The one presented in this volume is that of Gilgamesh, who is told the tale by the immortal survivor Utnapishtim.

Heroes began enterprising in sea quests. Jason and his Argonauts, for example, paid the correct homage to the gods and led a crew of heroes across the Seas. While Odysseus, whose men forgot to or openly stole from the Gods, was punished with ten years of wandering and danger. Regardless of his initial faithfulness to the gods however, those same gods destroyed Jason and turned the Argo into a constellation. That was a testimony to how fickle the gods could be, because sea gods were viewed in relation to their seas. Poseidon, for example, was as arbitrary as the enchanted seas and magic islands he ruled.

In later days, sailors no longer worshiped the sea gods but still lived in fear of the sea's power. For example, ships were still launched on Woden's Day and not on Thor's Day for fear of storms and thunder. Figureheads replaced the eyes, of Greek ships, but the function remained the same - keeping a lookout for evil. Anointing a ship with wine replaced the pagan custom on smearing ships with human blood.

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst