Mythology: Mega Collection

The story of Troy speaks to all of us - the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for 10 whole and very bloody years. It is Zeus, the king of the gods, who triggers the war when he asks the Trojan prince Paris to judge the fairest goddess of them all. Aphrodite bribes Paris with the heart of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of the Greeks, and naturally, nature takes its course. 

The deep-seated origins and wide-reaching lessons of ancient myths built the foundation for our modern legacies. Explore the mythologies of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Learn what makes these stories so important, distinctive, and able to withstand the test of time. Discover how, despite geographical implausibilities, many myths from across the oceans share themes, morals, and archetypes.

Said to be the world's longest poem, Mahabharata was originally composed in 100,000 Sanskrit verses by the ancient Indian sage Vyasa. Revered as a sacred text within Hinduism, it contains the great spiritual teaching Bhagavad-gita. Krishna Dharma has condensed the epic into a fast paced novel that fully retains the majestic mood of the original. A powerful and moving tale, it recounts the history of the five heroic Pandava brothers, sons of the Emperor Pandu.

The great Norse myths are woven into the fabric of our storytelling - from Tolkien, Alan Garner and Rosemary Sutcliff to Game of Thrones and Marvel Comics. They are also an inspiration for Neil Gaiman's own award-bedecked, best-selling fiction. Now he reaches back through time to the original source stories in a thrilling and vivid rendition of the great Norse tales.

Is there a connection between Greek and Hindu mythology? Does it have something to do with a common Indo-European root? Or maybe an exchange of ideas in the centuries that followed the arrival of Alexander the Great, when Greek emissaries travelled to the kingdoms of Mathura and Magadha? In this book, mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik turns his attention to ancient Greek tales and explores a new world of stories. Long have Europeans and Americans retold Indic mythologies. It is time for Indians to reverse the gaze.

Three thousand years ago, deep inside the forests of India, a great 'thought- revolution' was brewing. In those forest labs, the brightest scientist-philosophers contemplated the universe and reflected upon the already-ancient texts called the Vedas, gaining some startling insights into questions that we still have no watertight answers to. This joyful, fun guide to some of India's most enduring and secular wisdoms, reinterpreted for first-time explorers by author Roopa Pai, is guaranteed to keep you listening.  

Imagine sandals on your feet, a sword in your hand and the hot sun beating down on your helmet. Join Jason aboard the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. Marvel as Atalanta - a woman raised by bears - outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera. Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of - at our worst and our very best....

When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus - the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination - is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has deteriorated in his absence.

"It doesn't take an Einstein to understand modern physics," says Professor Wolfson at the outset of these 24 lectures on what may be the most important subjects in the universe: relativity and quantum physics. Both have reputations for complexity. But the basic ideas behind them are, in fact, simple and comprehensible by anyone. These dynamic and illuminating lectures begin with a brief overview of theories of physical reality starting with Aristotle and culminating in Newtonian or "classical" physics.

The former God Apollo is having a pretty rough time of it. Well, for one thing, he's called Lester. But being an awkward mortal teenager is the least of his worries. Though he and his friends (some of them) have emerged from the Burning Maze, they still have a triumvirate to defeat, oracles to rescue and prophecies to decipher so that the world may be saved, and Lester can become Apollo once again. But right now, Caligula is sailing to San Francisco to deal with Camp Jupiter personally, and they have to get their first. Or risk its destruction.....

Having sold millions of copies in print, Bernard Evslin’s classic retelling of the Greek myths captures the excitement and enchantment of these stories that have influenced many of today’s popular films and novels. Easy to understand and fun to read for both adults and children, it is no wonder this book has been taught in schools all over the world.

Dan Brown’s new novel, Inferno, features renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and is set in the heart of Europe, where Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centred around one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces. As Dan Brown comments: "Although I studied Dante’s Inferno as a student, it wasn't until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dante's work on the modern world."

The god Apollo, cast down to earth and trapped in the form of a gawky teenage boy as punishment, must set off on the second of his harrowing (and hilarious) trials. He and his companions seek the ancient oracles - restoring them is the only way for Apollo to reclaim his place on Mount Olympus - but this is easier said than done. Somewhere in the American Midwest is a haunted cave that may hold answers for Apollo in his quest to become a god again...if it doesn't kill him or drive him insane first.

Prepare to be surprised. Roopa Pai's spirited, one-of-a-kind retelling of the epic conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and his mentor and friend Krishna busts myths about the Bhagavad Gita. Lucid, thought-provoking and brimming with fun trivia, this audiobook will stay with you long after you have heard the last words. Why haven't you listened to it yet?

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Hidden Oracle: The Trials of Apollo, Book One, by Rick Riordan, read by Robbie Daymond. How do you punish an immortal? By making him human. After angering his father, Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy.