Myths of the Sea

Throughout the ages, the sea has attracted the gaze of the bold: beyond the horizon, wonders have been dreamt of — realms of pure gold, islands of bliss, utopias inhabited by Atlanteans, unseen beasts and birds. For those who have not yet dared to leave their native shore and set sail in search of the unknown, this vivid book offers thrilling stories that have been born on the pages of logbooks and in taverns of port cities: about giant squids capable of dragging entire ships to the depths, about the sirens of southern seas, about ghost lands and hidden treasures. You will learn how enduring myths about legendary sunken civilizations — Atlantis, Hyperborea, and Lemuria — were born, why the image of the seafaring wanderer Odysseus is actually older than Homer's poems and the legends of the Trojan War, and which myths inspired H.P. Lovecraft to create Dagon and Cthulhu.