The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

1591

© Heinz Schmitz, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.5.

Heracles and the Nemean Lion Clay Lane

Sending a hero off to ‘certain death’ never seems to work out...

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1592

© Peter Trimming, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Perseus and Andromeda Clay Lane

Wielding the Gorgon’s head, Perseus saves a beautiful maiden from a ravening sea-monster.

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1593

From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Heracles at the Crossroads Clay Lane

The gods had given Heracles every grace of body and mind, but there was one thing he must do for himself: choose how to use them.

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1594

Photo by Jastrow, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Hunt for the Wild Boar of Calydon Clay Lane

Artemis, goddess of the hunt, pursued a bitter and relentless vengeance upon a king who carelessly slighted her.

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1595

© Anna Anichkova, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Hephaestus and the Love Net Clay Lane

When he caught his wife with her lover, the ugly blacksmith of the gods showed that he was not without his pride.

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1596

© EdSITEment, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Battle of Salamis Plutarch

As the Persian Empire’s grip tightened by land and sea, it fell to one man to unite Greece in a last desperate bid to break it.

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