The Orpheus Descent

The Orpheus Descent PDF Author: Tom Harper
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062305298
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
A cerebral literary thriller in the vein of Dan Brown, Matthew Pearl, and Sam Bourne, The Orpheus Descent follows classical philosopher Plato on a mysterious journey to Italy that will ignite a conspiracy that burns into the present. The greatest thinker in human history, Plato, travels to Italy seeking initiation into the Orphic mysteries: the secret to the Underworld known only to the gods. But the knowledge he discovers is terrifying. Two millennia later, twelve ancient golden tablets secreted in museums around the world hold sacred information known to only a few—the pathway the dead must follow to the afterlife. And archaeologist Lily Barnes has just found another on a dig in southern Italy. But this tablet is far more valuable—and dangerous—than the rest. It holds the key to hell itself. Now, Lily is gone and her husband, Jonah, is desperate to find her. He knows she is alive—and in mortal danger—and he’s willing to go to hell itself to find her. But the deeper he descends on this dark and twisting journey, the more Jonah’s fear rises, for not everyone who travels where Lily has gone will find their way back. . . .

The Orpheus Descent

The Orpheus Descent PDF Author: Tom Harper
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062305298
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 387

Get Book Here

Book Description
A cerebral literary thriller in the vein of Dan Brown, Matthew Pearl, and Sam Bourne, The Orpheus Descent follows classical philosopher Plato on a mysterious journey to Italy that will ignite a conspiracy that burns into the present. The greatest thinker in human history, Plato, travels to Italy seeking initiation into the Orphic mysteries: the secret to the Underworld known only to the gods. But the knowledge he discovers is terrifying. Two millennia later, twelve ancient golden tablets secreted in museums around the world hold sacred information known to only a few—the pathway the dead must follow to the afterlife. And archaeologist Lily Barnes has just found another on a dig in southern Italy. But this tablet is far more valuable—and dangerous—than the rest. It holds the key to hell itself. Now, Lily is gone and her husband, Jonah, is desperate to find her. He knows she is alive—and in mortal danger—and he’s willing to go to hell itself to find her. But the deeper he descends on this dark and twisting journey, the more Jonah’s fear rises, for not everyone who travels where Lily has gone will find their way back. . . .

Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black

Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black PDF Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN: 1536207969
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Harry Black is lost between the world of war and the land of myth in this illustrated novel that transports the tale of Orpheus to World War II–era London. Brothers Marcus and Julian Sedgwick team up to pen this haunting tale of another pair of brothers, caught between life and death in World War II. Harry Black, a conscientious objector, artist, and firefighter battling the blazes of German bombing in London in 1944, wakes in the hospital to news that his soldier brother, Ellis, has been killed. In the delirium of his wounded state, Harry’s mind begins to blur the distinctions between the reality of war-torn London, the fiction of his unpublished sci-fi novel, and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Driven by visions of Ellis still alive and a sense of poetic inevitability, Harry sets off on a search for his brother that will lead him deep into the city’s Underworld. With otherworldly paintings by Alexis Deacon depicting Harry’s surreal descent further into the depths of hell, this eerily beautiful blend of prose, verse, and illustration delves into love, loyalty, and the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood as it builds to a fierce indictment of mechanized warfare.

Orpheus

Orpheus PDF Author: Ann Wroe
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446400905
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
For at least two and a half millennia, the figure of Orpheus has haunted humanity. Half-man, half-god, musician, magician, theologian, poet and lover, his story never leaves us. He may be myth, but his lyre still sounds, entrancing everything that hears it: animals, trees, water, stones, and men. In this extraordinary work Ann Wroe goes in search of Orpheus, from the forests where he walked and the mountains where he worshipped to the artefacts, texts and philosophies built up round him. She traces the man, and the power he represents, through the myriad versions of a fantastical life: his birth in Thrace, his studies in Egypt, his voyage with the Argonauts to fetch the Golden Fleece, his love for Eurydice and journey to Hades, and his terrible death. We see him tantalising Cicero and Plato, and breathing new music into Gluck and Monteverdi; occupying the mind of Jung and the surreal dreams of Cocteau; scandalising the Fathers of the early Church, and filling Rilke with poems like a whirlwind. He emerges as not simply another mythical figure but the force of creation itself, singing the song of light out of darkness and life out of death.

The Descent of the Lyre

The Descent of the Lyre PDF Author: Will Buckingham
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789380905075
Category : Gela (Bulgaria)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A marvellous remaking of the tale of Orpheus set in early Nineteenth century Bulgaria. Praised by THE BOOKSELLER (UK) as 'A well-written, lyrical tale'. From the author of CARGO FEVER (2007).

The Whalestoe Letters

The Whalestoe Letters PDF Author: Mark Z. Danielewski
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 0375714413
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Book Description
Between 1982 and 1989, Pelafina H. Lièvre sent her son, Johnny Truant, a series of letters from The Three Attic Whalestoe Institute, a psychiatric facility in Ohio where she spent the final years of her life. Beautiful, heartfelt, and tragic, this correspondence reveals the powerful and deeply moving relationship between a brilliant though mentally ill mother and the precocious, gifted young son she never ceases to love. Originally contained within the monumental House of Leaves, this collection stands alone as a stunning portrait of mother and child. It is presented here along with a foreword by Walden D. Wyhrta and eleven previously unavailable letters.

Descent and Return

Descent and Return PDF Author: Walter Strauss
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780674436367
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description


Ritual Texts for the Afterlife

Ritual Texts for the Afterlife PDF Author: Fritz Graf
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134119674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Fascinating texts written on small gold tablets that were deposited in graves provide a unique source of information about what some Greeks and Romans believed regarding the fate that awaited them after death, and how they could influence it. These texts, dating from the late fifth century BCE to the second century CE, have been part of the scholarly debate on ancient afterlife beliefs since the end of the nineteenth century. Recent finds and analysis of the texts have reshaped our understanding of their purpose and of the perceived afterlife. The tablets belonged to those who had been initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus Bacchius and relied heavily upon myths narrated in poems ascribed to the mythical singer Orpheus. After providing the Greek text and a translation of all the available tablets, the authors analyze their role in the mysteries of Dionysus, and present an outline of the myths concerning the origins of humanity and of the sacred texts that the Greeks ascribed to Orpheus. Related ancient texts are also appended in English translations. Providing the first book-length edition and discussion of these enigmatic texts in English, and their first English translation, this book is essential to the study of ancient Greek religion.

Redefining Ancient Orphism

Redefining Ancient Orphism PDF Author: Radcliffe G. Edmonds III
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107038219
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
In a paradigm shift, this book redefines Orphism as a polemical label for extra-ordinary religion, good or bad.

Journeys to the Underworld and Heavenly Realm in Ancient and Medieval Literature

Journeys to the Underworld and Heavenly Realm in Ancient and Medieval Literature PDF Author: John C. Stephens
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476634971
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Concepts of heaven and hell are among the oldest, most widespread religious beliefs in history. In Western literature, they are frequently embedded in stories of underworld explorations and celestial journeys--stories examining the nature of the universe, life on earth and the existence of the gods. The author analyzes tales of wonder in both ancient and medieval European literature. Other-worldly narratives appeared in literary contexts in the ancient world, including mythology, poetry and philosophical writings. In medieval times, they remained a popular form of literary expression. These stories are primarily religious in nature, describing fantastic worlds filled with miracles and supernatural beings.

Storm Tide

Storm Tide PDF Author: Wilbur Smith
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1838778888
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Two brothers divided over the future of a country on the brink of revolution. Multimillion copy bestselling author Wilbur Smith returns with a brand-new historical epic, set against the backdrop of the American revolution. The Courtney family is torn apart as three generations fight on opposing sides of a terrible war that will change the face of the world forever. 'Best Historical Novelist' Stephen King 1774. Rob Courtney has spent his whole life in a quiet trading outpost on the east coast of Africa, dreaming of a life of adventure at sea. When his grandfather Jim dies, Rob takes his chance and stows away on a ship as it sails to England, with only the family heirloom, the Neptune Sword, to his name. Arriving in London, Rob is seduced by the charms of the big city and soon finds himself desperate and penniless. That is until the navy comes calling. Rob is sent across the Atlantic on a ship to join the war against the rebellious American colonists. But on the other side of the Atlantic, unbeknownst to Rob, his distant cousins Cal and Aidan Courtney are leading a campaign against the British. Their one desire is American independence, and they are determined to drive the British out of America - by whatever means necessary. . . A powerful new historical thriller by the master of adventure fiction, Wilbur Smith, of families divided and a country on the brink of revolution.