Jill Dudley – författare

The divine singer Orpheus and his love for his wife Eurydice.

In Lap of the Gods Jill Dudley explores the ancient Greek myths and legends of Crete and other Aegean islands, describing the landscape and the individuality of each as well as the characters she meets. With her customary light touch she traces the lives of such famous island figures as Hippocrates, Pythagoras, Homer, and Sappho who all excelled under the guidance of the Olympian gods. As in her earlier books she is curious regarding how and why Christianity took over from the pagan gods. While professing to be a wavering atheist and on a continual search for enlightenment, she also admits to calling on God (sometimes Apollo) when in a tight corner. She is accompanied as always by Harry, her stalwart husband, as they visit temple sites, early Byzantine churches, attend festivals, and climb to sacred mountain caves. The book is an easy read, well researched, informative and often comical.

Author & stalwart husband Harry follow in the footsteps of the heroes of the Trojan War. They travel to Turkey, Mt. Ida & Troy, then to Greece to see the palaces of the major Greek heroes, and end on Mt. Olympus, the mountain of the Gods. It is humorous & informative with selected quotes from the Iliad & the Odyssey – intended to awaken interest in the non-academic reader.

Everybody has heard of Helen of Troy, and knows that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Most people know that she was married bur ran off with somebody which caused the Trojan War. But who, in fact, was she? Whose daughter was she, and who was she married to? What exactly happened to cause her to act as she did, and how does her story end? The answers to all these questions are here in this Put it in Your Pocket booklet

Today we speak of an 'Achilles' heel'. But who was Achilles, and what exactly was the story of his heel? Why was he considered the finest hero in the Trojan War, and what caused him to fall out with King Agamemnon so that he refused to fight? Did he survive the war, or was he killed? All these questions are answered in this Put it in Your Pocket booklet, the fourth in a series of six on the Trojan War.

The Wooden Horse is legendary, but what exactly was it? Why did the Greek warriors construct such a thing in the first place? And what was it that made the Trojans believe the Greeks had sailed away and the ten-year Trojan War was over? All these questions are answered in this fifth booklet of the Put it in Your Pocket Series.

Most people have heard of Odysseus from Homer's Odyssey, but few know who he was or where he came from, or what part he played in the Trojan War. In this sixth Put it in Your Pocket booklet his cunning and heroism are described, as are the adventures he experienced on his homeward journey, each one testing his strength and endurance to their limit

Chios claims Homer as its native son. In this booklet Jill Dudley describes the ancient site north of the port of Chios where the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey taught and sang his epic poems. She visits the temples of pagan gods who divinely intervened in the Trojan War, and describes how Helen of Troy was worshipped as a goddess in the northwest of the island. It is as the back cover of the booklet says: all you need to know about the island's myths, legends and its gods.

Jill Dudley's series of island booklets is ideal for the tourist who would like to learn about the island's ancient past, such as King Minos' birth and why Theseus came to Knosses and how he killed the Minotaur. It includes the story of the birth of the supreme god Zeus and explains why at birth he was hidden in the Diktaion cave. It is as the back cover of the booklet says: all you need to know about the island's myths, legends and its gods.

In this booklet Jill Dudley speaks of the light that seems to envelop Delos, the smallest of all the Cycladic islands. She describes Homer's account of the god Apollo's birth which took place there, and how in antiquity it became a major centre of pilgrimage. Today it still attracts many thousands of tourists because of its excavations and its history. She takes the reader on a tour of the island, and explains the reason for the Athenian's annual sacred embassy to Delos.

In this booklet Jill Dudley writes about Hippocrates who was born on Kos, whose father was a temple priest-physician serving Asclepius, god of healing. She describes Hippocrates' pioneering approach to medicine, and his break with the traditional belief that sickness was an infliction imposed by the gods. It is as the back cover of the booklet says: all you need to know about the island's myths, legends and its gods.

In this booklet Jill Dudley describes how, after he killed he Minotaur, Theseus came to Naxos with Ariadne and lived on the small offshore islet of Palatia now dominated by the great marble Portara (gateway). She explains how Dionysos, god of wine and drama came to Naxos and claimed the island as his own, and how tradition has it the supreme god Zeus grew up in a cave on Naxos. It is as the back cover of the booklet says: all you need to know about the island's myths, legends and its gods.

In this booklet Jill Dudley describes the legends of Helios (the sun-god), and explains what the Colossus was and why it was erected and what happened to it. She takes the reader to the ancient sanctuary of Apollo Pythias above Rhodes town, and the temple of Athena at Lyndos. It is as the back cover of the booklet says: all you need to know about the island's myths, legends and its gods.

The myth of how Poseidon, God of the sea, was given the island, and how the people angered him and he caused their deaths in the eruption. The Caldera and the Akrotiri Archaeological site. It is one of six 'Put It in Your Pocket series' on Greek islands.

Jill Dudley writes about the earliest myths regarding the Acropolis, the strange birth of the goddess Athena, and the contest between her and Poseidon, god of the sea, for the patronage of the city. She explains the reason for the Panathenaia festival, and describes the importance of the goddess' image (said to have fallen from heaven) on which the defence of the city was thought to depend. It is as it says on the back cover of the booklet: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

Jill Dudley describes how Apollo came to Delphi and killed the Python/Dragoness, then claimed for himself the magnificent sacred site on the foothills of Mt. Parnassus. She describes some of the more important buildings, and writes about the ancient ritual of enquiry; she also lists some of the oracle's responses, including those regarding Christianity. It is as it says on the back cover: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

Jill Dudley relates the various myths regarding the founding of the Olympic Games. She takes the reader around the main buildings on the site where the athletes took their vows, and the victors were crowned before the cult statue of the supreme god Zeus in his temple; this statue was one of the seven wonders of the world. It is as it says on the back cover of the booklet: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

Jill Dudley writes about the abduction of the goddess Demeter's daughter Persephone (otherwise known as Kore) by Hades, god of the underworld. She describes how Demeter came to Eleusis in search of her daughter, and why she chose it as the site for her Eleusian Mysteries, outlining some of the ancient rituals which took place there. It is as it says on the back cover: All you need to know about this sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

In this booklet Jill Dudley describes the myths regarding the birth of Asclepius, god of medicine. She outlines the procedures which took place to bring about the miraculous healing of the sick and disabled, and lists some of the miracle cures which took place there. It is as it says on the back cover of the booklet: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

Jill Dudley writes about the clash of St. Paul's concept of love with the sexual pleasures which the pagans enjoyed at the great temple of Aphrodite on Acrocorinth. She describes how the Apostle spent his time at nearby Old Corinth observing, preaching and converting, and why he wrote his Letters to the Corinthians. It is as it says on the back cover of the booklet: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

Jill Dudley writes about St. John the Theologian who lives in exile on this beautiful volcanic island. It was on Patmos that the voice of God was heard by St. John and Revelation, the last book in the New Testament was written down. She records how St. John overpowered the pagan gods who were worshipped on the island, and describes the great monastery built on the site of the former temple of the goddess Artemis.

In this booklet Jill Dudley gives a detailed account of the Church of Panagia Evangelistria's miracle-working icon of the Virgin Mary; how it was lost and, after many centuries, was miraculously recovered. She describes the piety of the pilgrims who go on hands and knees from the port to the church to give thanks, or to petition the Virgin Mary. She writes about the great festivals to which invalids flock in the hope they will be cured. She also points out that the islanders once prayed to Poseiden, god of the sea, known on the island as the 'Doctor of Tinos'.

In this booklet Jill Dudley describes many of the perilous adventures faced by the great hero Odysseus when returning to his island of Ithaka from the Trojan war. She explains the problems faced by his wife and twenty year old son who did not know whether Odysseus was dead or alive. Jill's explorations of the sites mentioned in the Odyssey leave the reader wanting to visit this beautiful and tranquil Ionian island.

Jill Dudley writes about the arrival on the island from mainland Greece of the goddess Hera, and the great temple built in her honour on Samos. She gives an account of the life of the sixth century B.C. astronomer and mathematician Pythagoras who lived under the rule of the tyrant Polycrates, and describes the cave where Pythagoras lived and taught. She also writes about the visit paid to the island of St. John the Evangelist.

Jill Dudley travels to the early Greek dramatists of fifth century B.C. Athens lived and worked. She introduces the reader to their world and brings their tragedies and comedies to life as she journeys from Athens to the Peloponnese, Thebes and Macedonia, and describes the myths and legends which inspired them. A worthwhile easy read, both informative and entertaining.

Farmers wife travels in footsteps of Socrates.

Heroic king of Athens who, when still a prince, volunteered to kill the Minotaur.

Life and death of Heracles and his twelve labours.

Jason whose efforts to obtain the Golden Fleece embroiled him with the sorceress Medea.