Tales of Troy and Greece by  Andrew Lang

Back Matter


Notes

< I>THE story of Ulysses is taken mainly from the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Post Homerica of Quintus Smyrnæus. As we have no detailed account of the stealing of the Palladium by Ulysses, use has been made of Helen's tale about his entry into Troy in the disguise of a beaten beggar.

The chief source of "The Fleece of Gold" is tradition, with the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius; the fight between Polydeuces and the Giant is best reported by Theocritus.

No epic or tragedy concerning the early fortunes of Theseus and the history of Perseus has reached us: summaries in Plutarch and Apollodorus provide the outlines of the legends.

The descriptions of costume, arms, and mode of life are derived from Homer and from the "Mycenæan" relics discovered in the last thirty years by Dr. Schliemann, Mr. A. J. Evans, and many other explorers.

"The Fleece of Gold," first published in an American magazine, has also appeared in America in a little volume (Henry Altemus & Co.). It is here reprinted by permission of Messrs. Altemus, with some changes and corrections.


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