José Daniel Cabrera Peña – illustratör

When Paris, prince of Troy, ran off with Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, it launched the greatest war of the mythic age of Greece. Heroes and gods assembled on both sides, as the combined armies of Greece launched a siege that would last for ten years. During that time, famous heroes, such as Achilles, Ajax, and Hector, would find glory on the battlefield, before being cut down. Others, such as Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Aeneas, would survive the war, only to face even greater challenges afterwards. Thanks to the Iliad of Homer, and numerous other ancient sources, the story of the siege of Troy has survived over 3,000 years. In this new book in the Myths and Legends series, Professor Si Sheppard draws together all of these ancient writings to tell the complete story of the Trojan war, from the flight of the “face that launched a thousand ships” to the great wooden horse that brought the city to bloody ruin.

Even before Theseus descended into the labyrinth to face the Minotaur, he was already a famous hero and a veteran of many battles. The son of a man, a woman, and the god Poseidon, he’d journey far across Ancient Greece, fighting numerous monsters including the Periphetes ‘the clubber’, the Crymmyon Sow, and the insane demigod, Procrustes ‘the stretcher’. He also survived several assassination attempts, including one by Medea, the famous witch-wife of Jason. Despite these adventures, it was on Crete that Theseus faced his greatest challenge. Taking the place of a sacrificial tribute to the king of Crete, Theseus used his wits and charm to convince the princess Ariadne and the famous inventor Daedalus to help him defeat the dreaded Minotaur, a hideous combination of man and bull that lived in a labrythine dungeon. In this book, Graeme Davis draws upon the classic sources to retell the great myths and legends of Theseus, the founder-king of Athens, and backs this narrative with a factual examination of the myth, its variations, and its development over time. Replete with both classical and modern illustrations, this book is a concise exploration of one of the most enduring myths of Ancient Greece.

On the very edge of recorded history, the fabled island of Atlantis formed the centre of a vast and powerful empire. From there, the divinely-descended lords of the western ocean made war on the rest of the world, until a brave resistance drove them back, and the gods punished them for their hubris. In that last cataclysmic struggle between gods and mortals, the whole island continent sank beneath the sea. For the first time, this book reconstructs the fact and fiction of that lost age of gods and heroes, including the political organization of the Atlantean Empire, the equipment and tactics of the armies of Atlantis and their enemies, and the stories of the great wars themselves, from the early struggles between Atlantean colonies and the Amazons of North Africa to the final and catastrophic counter-invasion of Atlantis by the peoples of Europe and Asia.

The voyage of Jason and the Argonauts and their hunt for the Golden Fleece is one of the most enduringly popular of all of the Ancient Greek heroic myths. Accepting the quest in order to regain his kingdom, Jason assembled a crew of legendary heroes, including Hercules, Orpheus, Atalanta, and the twins Castor and Polydeuces. With this band of warriors and demi-gods, Jason set sail in the Argo on a journey across the known world. During their quest, the Argonauts faced numerous challenges including the Harpies, the Clashing Rocks, the Sirens, Talos, the bronze giant, the sleepless dragon that guarded the fleece, and, of course, the fickle will of the gods of Olympus. Filled with magic, monsters, sword fights, and sacrifice, this ancient adventure story is given new life by Neil Smith who also examines its historical context, its classical sources and its enduring legacy.

Set in an age of feuding samurai, wandering swordsmen and fearless warrior monks, Ronin is a skirmish wargame that captures the flavour and excitement of such Akira Kurosawa films as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. Whether they prefer the loyal samurai retainers of a feudal lord or a horde of desperate bandits, players choose from one of several factions and build forces to battle for dominance and survival in 16th-century Japan. They may also recruit swords-for-hire to supplement their forces – masterless ronin, martial arts masters and secretive ninja will lend their skills to any commander who can afford them. A full points system, incorporating a wide range of equipment and skills, allows for detailed customisation of characters, while scenarios and a campaign system permit them to gain experience and develop over time. The fast-paced rules simulate the cut and thrust of hand-to-hand combat and require the player to make tactical decisions in the middle of a fight, immersing them in an era of war.

Two armies prepare for war. Thor, surrounded by crackling lightning, leads the assault of a horde of Viking berserkers. Preparing to receive this charge stands a wall of grim-faced, determined Spartan hoplites, commanded by Ares himself… Of Gods and Mortals is a skirmish wargame that gives players the opportunity to command the greatest heroes, warriors and monsters of legend – and the gods and goddesses that ruled over them. Whether you want to lead the forces of Greek, Egyptian, Celtic or Norse mythology to battle, or build your own pantheon, Of Gods and Mortals presents everything you need. Each player takes control of a god, a handful of legendary characters and a number of mortal troops, forming a warband that must work in harmony to succeed. Although the gods are incredibly powerful, they are only as strong as the faith of the mortals who follow them – if their worshippers are cut down, gods become weaker, and if a deity is vanquished in combat, its followers may flee the field of battle. Success lies in employing a strategy that uses all your troops, from the mightiest to the most humble, as effectively as possible.