The Bull from the Sea

Excellent book and writer. Renault knew so much and crammed so much of it into her series, for new readers or very scholarly mature readers there are loads of exciting and intertaing hours in side. The last of the wine, the Persian Boy and the mask of Apollo are excellent as well.

I really enjoyed and loved the first book about Theseus, but the second book was a bit more hard to get through, actually until I reached the telling about the Amazons. I love how Mary Renault continuously rewriting the myths and gods to fit into an actual living and realistic stories, and how she uses many and correct scenes from the ancient Greek. I like that the gods are not envolved in that way as they manifests themselves as living objects, but instead are alive in the spirit of the people. She has a very fine and beautiful way to tell about the humans dedications to the gods, in which actually make them living in a way.However, as I said about her first book, her language is very.. hmm, not playful and a bit monotonous for my taste, but maybe this is something about the time the book was written in. Thats why the four stars only! I liked the story and the complexity of it, but the sadness is that the language style it sometimes makes the story a little boring. So be prepared! I wished the language was more poetic and beautiful in style, and that she had played more with adjectives. The story however, makes it worth reading, definetely! And it doesen't stop me for reading her other books.The next scheduled is her first book 'The Last of the Wine' from 1956, set in Athens during the Peloponnesian War; the narrator is a student of Socrates.

the second of a pair of novels personalizing the life story of Theseus, the legendary founder of Athens, as told by the hero himself - read first The King Must Die, it strongly puts the reader into the world and mindset of pre-Classical Greece - the novel "unpacks" the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, and gives the tale of how it must have happened. The Bull From the Sea is the latter years of Theseus, how he founded the nation-state of Athens, made an Amazon his Queen, encountered the accursed Oedipus, lived as a pirate, and went to Hell and back - the ancient gods seem silly to us now, but once they were the guides and oracles of the progenitors of democracy, and they live again in the visions of these characters. I loved this duology, though Bull from the Sea is more elegiac - hey, a life has an arc, right? Worthy writing, good reading, evocative and spellbinding in a literate, immediate, and thoroughly compelling style.

Mix of mythology and legend that reads a little like y.a. FictionBoth of the books in the Theseus story are worth a read

Nice First Edition, very. well packaged and sent with lots of cool stamps. Thanks for taking care.

No d.j.

I am very impressed with all of Renault's writings, as capture the times about which they are written graphically.

“The Bull from the Sea” by Mary Renault, is the second Theseus book, beginning with ascension to the throne, until the end of his life. Through his relationship to Hippolyta, his consolidation of Attica, his marriage to Phaedra, his voyages, and battles he strives to be remembered as a hero. But, like many legends before him, his greatness also comes with tragedy.Like the first book, Mary Renault expertly crafts a plausible non-mythological narrative out of the myths of Theseus. The story is moving, and weaves the legend and myths that surrounded a mortal man.

This second book in the Theseus series sees our hero become a great king, a pirate, a warrior and a father.The author makes the legendary hero all too human as we see with his many faults and errors. But this is what brings him alive for the modern reader. The Minotaur is just a man with a mask, Theseus is not really the son of Poseidon. The fantastical legends become human stories. You don't have to be familiar with Greek mythology to appreciate these books, in fact it might be better if you aren't. Either way, these are fascinating books and well-worth reading.

Acquistato in quanto cercavo un romanzo ambientato sull'antica Grecia, ho trovato in realtà un racconto poco scorrevole, poco intrigante e totalmente privo di suspense.

A wonderful retelling of the legend of Theseus and Hippolyta the Queen of the Amazons. Mary Renault is probably the finest historical novelist of the 20th Century and this, together with her story of the first part of Theseus' life - The King Must Die, draws the reader into the mysteries of pre-Classical Greece so seductively that it is a horrible shock to put the book down and return to the 21st Century. Magical!

Eileen Mary Challans aka Mary Renault was recognised by many as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. That this recognition has not been universal is due in part to her having been set up as an icon by the Gay Movement, the Women's Movement and possibly other populist movements as well. What is odd about this is that in the terms of what those movements stand for, most of her writing is unashamedly politically incorrect. For one thing, she has no time at all for the shallow stereotypes that undergird populism.Renault is in love with authenticity and excellence, and has a wonderful sense of the sacred, all of which she finds exemplified in Plato and the best of what made up the Golden Age of Greece. She is not only recognised by the Academy, as a reliable introduction to Classical Greek culture, but in addition, has an authentically religious understanding of life, recognisable immediately to anyone with true religious awareness. Whether she was a Christian or not, I have no idea... but her attitude to what religion ought to be about (according to me) is utterly authentic, and very rarely found nowadays.The Theseus books, which open her novelistic history of Greece are remarkably similar to the Alexander Trilogy that closes it. Theseus, after an astoundingly successful life, unravels after his beloved Hippolyta is killed in a battle for the survival of Athens - she throws herself in front of him to save his life. After that, having been the kind of king of whom, mutatis mutandis, even Plato would have been proud, he becomes a rover and a pirate. Besides the young Theseus himself, there are two supremely attractive figures in this book. Firstly Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. She is vowed to virginity in service of Artemis, and, although out of everybody's reach, is like the Evening Star for beauty, courage, skill and everything admired by the Woman's Movement - EXCEPT that she is outwitted, overcome, abducted and seduced by Theseus. How politically incorrect could one get? And yet she is irresistible, on all counts.The second supremely attractive character is their son, Hippolytos. Strong, beautiful, courageous, gentle, loyal, lover of anything weak or in distress, he is his father's hope for the future... BUT he is deeply religious, devoted to Artemis (as a celibate!!) and sees his future not at all as a King but as a healer in the service of Asclepios. This creates a rift between him and his unravelling father.The villain is Phaedra, whom Theseus takes to wife after Hippolyta's death. Renault removes all the excuses Euripides makes for her in his play... and leaves her totally exposed to contempt. Having fallen for Hippolytos, she lures him to a tryst with her and when he refuses to satisfy her lust, screams RAPE... Theseus exiles him and puts him under the curse of Poseidon... one of three gift curses Poseidon had given to him to help him against his enemies. And so Hippolytos is destroyed - the denouement where Theseus learns the truth and is reconciled with his shattered son is possibly the most moving part of the book.This is a book I could (literally!!) not put down.

This and the companion book The King Must Die are both a wonderful way to imagine life at the time of the Ancient Greeks. They are very fact based, but tell the story in a believable and realistic way weaving story and truth in a compelling narrative. I would recommend them to anyone wishing to know more about how people lived at this time and for a plausible account of how the story of Theseus could be based on real happenings.