In a beautiful fully illustrated package this modern witty take on familiar Greek myths with
a focus on the wild and wonderful role plants have played in the stories over centuries is S
ong of Achilles meets The Secret Life of Trees . See the ever-popular Greek myths anew by
focusing on the fascinating roles plants play in the stories. When Prometheus stole fire from
the Olympian gods and gave it to mankind he hid it in a stalk of giant fennel. Ancient Greeks
waiting to question the oracles were given cannabis as part of their cleansing rituals. A
quince fruit started the Trojan war. The goddess Demeter was so distraught when Hades kidnapped
her daughter that she caused winter to blanket the earth killing all plants. In Greek
mythology plants were used for tools intoxication warfare food medicine magic and
rituals. Achilles used yarrow (now named after him as Achillea ) to stanch the flow of blood
from his soldiers’ wounds. (It still works.) Wine was long used by the gods but there is
evidence that other plants -- such as oleander mandrake and ivy-- were added to wine to
create the frenzy for which Dionysus’s followers were well known. Some of those plants were
real and still exist today some of them are mythological with powers we can only imagine.
This book will focus on how the ancient Greeks used plants in their lives and loves and
conquests – focusing particularly on ones we can cultivate today. Includes tips throughout for
bringing these ancient plants into your garden.
