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Catoblepas (Dungeons
The catoblepas (from Latin ''catōblepas'', ultimately from Greek καταβλέπω (katablépō) "to look downwards") is a legendary creature from Aethiopia, first described by Pliny the Elder and later by Claudius Aelianus. One known description of the Catoblepas is said to resemble a cape buffalo, with its head always pointing downwards due to its great weight. Its stare or breath could either turn people into stone, or kill them. The catoblepas is often thought to be based on real-life encounters with wildebeest, such that some dictionaries say that the word is synonymous with "gnu". Other depictions have it sporting the head of a hog and the body of a cape buffalo. It is sometimes known as an African version of a Gorgon. Ancient and medieval descriptions Pliny the Elder (''Natural History'', 8.77) described the catoblepas as a mid-sized creature, sluggish, with a heavy head and a face always turned to the ground. He thought its gaze, like that of the basilisk, was lethal, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine Manasses
Constantine Manasses (; ) was a Byzantine chronicler who flourished in the 12th century during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos (1143–1180). He was the author of a ''Synopsis Chronike'' (Σύνοψις Χρονική, "summary chronicle"), which narrates history from the creation of the world to the end of the reign of Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1081), sponsored by Irene Komnene, the emperor's sister-in-law. It was probably written around 1150, shortly before Irene's death. It consists of about 7000 lines in political verse. It obtained great popularity and appeared in a free prose translation; it was also translated into Bulgarian in the 14th century. This translation, which includes several miniatures, was commissioned by tsar Ivan Alexander between 1340 and 1345. An Arabic translation written in 1313 is now hosted at the British Library. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The House Of Hades
''The House of Hades'' is a fantasy-adventure novel written by American author Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 8, 2013, and is the fourth book in ''The Heroes of Olympus'' series, preceded by ''The Mark of Athena'' and followed by ''The Blood of Olympus''. The story follows the Greek demigods Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo, and Percy Jackson, and the Roman demigods Jason Grace, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang on their quest to close the Doors of Death, stop the Giants from raising Gaea, and prevent war between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. The novel is narrated in the third-person, alternating between the points of view of the seven demigods of the " Prophecy of Seven". The novel received positive reviews from critics for its more mature themes compared to previous Riordan novels. During the first week of its release, ''The House of Hades'' sold about 350,000 copies, reaching the top of the bestselle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Heroes Of Olympus
''The Heroes of Olympus'' is a pentalogy of fantasy-adventure novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The novels detail a conflict between Greek demigods, Roman demigods, and Gaea. In the fourth book of the series, there is also a fight against Tartarus, which, in Greek mythology, was the darkest and deepest point of the Underworld. The series can be read as a standalone volume but is meant to be read after '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians''. Riordan introduces Roman mythology in the series alongside several new characters, primarily from the Roman Camp Jupiter. The first book of the series, '' The Lost Hero'', was published on October 12, 2010. The final entry in the series, '' The Blood of Olympus'', was published on October 7, 2014. The story is continued in the sequel series: '' The Trials of Apollo.'' Plot ''The Heroes of Olympus'' is centered around a prophecy introduced in '' The Last Olympian'' that predicted seven demigods would unite to protect the wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Reaves
James Michael Reaves (September 14, 1950 – March 20, 2023) was an American writer, known for his contributions as a script writer and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The Animated Series''. He has also written media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction. His work was often done collaboratively, notably with his then-wife Brynne Stephens (for numerous TV episodes in the 1980s and 1990s), and with Steve Perry, Neil Gaiman, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and his daughter Mallory Reaves for various novels. Reaves won a 1993 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program for his work on ''Batman: The Animated Series''. Reaves had Parkinson's disease, and for a time maintained a blog concerning his experiences dealing with the disease and its effects, which included difficulty typing and loss of coherent speech.http://michaelreaveswriter.blogspot.com/ Reaves died in Los Angeles on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shattered World
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born August 6, 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth. Many of his books have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, and he claims one of his greatest achievements has been to publish a book beginning with every letter of the alphabet, from '' Anthonology'' to '' Zombie Lover''. Early life Anthony's parents, Alfred and Norma Jacob, were Quaker pacifists studying at Oxford University who interrupted their studies in 1936 to undertake relief work on behalf of the Quakers during the Spanish Civil War, establishing a food kitchen for children in Barcelona. Piers and his sister were left in England in the care of their maternal grandparents and a nanny. Alfred Jacob, although a British citizen, had been born in America near Philadelphia, and in 1940, after being forced out of Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Spell For Chameleon
''A Spell for Chameleon'' is a fantasy novel by British-American writer Piers Anthony, published in 1977 by Ballantine Books/Del Rey Books. It is the first book of the Xanth series. Plot introduction In this adventure, Bink is exiled to Mundania because he has (inadvertently) broken Xanth law by not having a magical talent. He returns to Xanth with Chameleon, a woman whose intelligence and beauty vary inversely depending on the time of the month, and the evil magician Trent, who was exiled 20 years earlier for attempting to usurp the throne of Xanth. Plot summary Bink must discover his magical talent before he comes of age, or be exiled from Xanth. En route to see the Good Magician Humfrey about whether he has a talent, Bink runs into three different women, Wynne, Dee, and Iris, as well as Chester and Cherie Centaur, and Crombie the soldier. He finds out from Good Magician Humfrey that he has Magician-caliber magic that cannot be identified. Because his talent cannot be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known works, () and (), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, Indeterminism, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges's works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have had a major influence on the magical realism, magical realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.Theo L. D'Haen (1995) "Magical Realism and Postmodernism: Decentering Privileged Centers", in: Louis P. Zamora and Wendy B. Faris, ''Magical Realism: Theory, History and Community''. Duhan and London, Duke University Press, pp. 191–208. Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Imaginary Beings
The ''Book of Imaginary Beings'' was written by Jorge Luis Borges with Margarita Guerrero and published in 1957 under the original Spanish title ''Manual de zoología fantástica'' ("Handbook of fantastic zoology"). It contains descriptions of legendary creature, mythical beasts from folklore and literature. In 1967 the authors published an expanded edition retitled as ''El libro de los seres imaginarios''. Borges collaborated on the first English translation, which was praised upon its publication in 1969. Contents Although a work of fiction, the book is situated in a tradition of paper museums, bestiaries, and natural history writing. In the preface, Borges states that the book is to be read "as with all miscellanies... not... straight through... Rather we would like the reader to dip into the pages at random, just as one plays with the shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope"; and that "legends of men taking the shapes of animals" have been omitted. Though Borges conducted resea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, '' Astrophil and Stella'', a treatise, '' The Defence of Poesy'' (also known as ''The Defence of Poesie'' or ''An Apology for Poetrie'') and a pastoral romance, '' The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia''. He died fighting the Spanish in the Netherlands, age 31, and his funeral procession in London was one of the most lavish ever seen. Biography Early life Born at Penshurst Place, Kent, of an aristocratic family, he was educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley. His mother was the eldest daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and the sister of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. His sister, Mary, was a writer, translator and literary patron, and married Henry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Countess Of Pembroke's Arcadia
''The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia'', also known simply as the ''Arcadia'', is a long prose pastoral romance by Sir Philip Sidney written towards the end of the 16th century. Having finished one version of his text, Sidney later significantly expanded and revised his work. Scholars today often refer to these two major versions as the ''Old Arcadia'' and the ''New Arcadia''. The ''Arcadia'' is Sidney's most ambitious literary work by far, and as significant in its own way as his sonnets. Composition and publication Sidney's ''Arcadia'' has a history that is unusually complex even for its time. The ''Old Arcadia'' Sidney may have begun an early draft in the late 1570s, when he was in his twenties. His own comments indicate that his purpose was humble; he asserts that he intended only to entertain his sister, Mary Herbert ( Countess of Pembroke from 1577). This version is narrated in chronological order, with sets of poems separating the books from each other. It seems likely t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
