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(with paintings by Francoise Gilot)
by Arianna Huffington
"The Greek gods can guide us to forgotten dimensions of our lives and of ourselves," writes Arianna Huffington in this book that celebrates the gods and goddesses of Greece and re-creates for our time their richness and their meaning. Like an underground river flowing through Western culture, the Greek gods have sent up springs and fountains, inspiring and fertilizing the Western imagination for more than twenty centuries.
Arianna Huffington explores the gods not as poetic fancies but as vital forces alive in us today. She brings the gods down from Olympos and into our everyday lives and shows how they still exist in us -- not as beings external to ourselves, but as integral parts of our own identities.
In retelling the myths of the Olympians, Huffington illustrates how the events surrounding these majestic figures correspond to modern realities. She portrays the gods as natural and concrete, entering our lives through our conflicts and flaws as well as through our joys and accomplishments, and leading us to a greater understanding of ourselves and of our world.
The essence of the gods and goddesses is visually evoked in Francoise Gilot's magnificent paintings. Inspired by the resourcefulness and joie de vivre of the Greek deities since her childhood, Gilot attempts to idealize, rather than describe, them through her paintings. Evocative and exquisite, her work greatly enhances our understanding of the gods and goddesses.
"Once we discover the connecting thread between the old myths and ourselves, we become open to dimensions in the stories of the gods which reveal new depths in them, new power and significance." This is the central theme around which this book revolves: the gods and goddesses still exist in us -- not as disembodied deities, but as integral parts of our own identities. Beautifully enhanced by Francoise Gilot's breathtaking paintings, The Gods of Greece illustrates how the epic adventures of these majestic figures correspond to realities within ourselves and can unlock a greater understanding of our modern world.
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