The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles
Padraic ColumThe Macmillan Company1921
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- 28
- ISBN
- 9780689868849
Tags
Children's Books Children's Literature Literary FigureHeroic EpicHeroic VoyageGolden FleeceComing of AgeEpicLiterary PrizeLegendsGreek MythologyYouth ReadingSummary
The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles (commonly shortened to The Golden Fleece) is a work by the Irish poet, novelist, and children's author Padraic Colum (1881–1972), published in 1921 by the Macmillan Company in New York, with illustrations by the Hungarian-born artist Willy Pogány. The book received a Newbery Honor in 1922. Its main thread is Jason's voyage with the Argonauts to Colchis to seize the Golden Fleece, and the narrative is woven in three parts: "The Voyage to Colchis," "The Return to Greece," and "The Heroes of the Quest." Part One recounts Jason's upbringing, Pelias's command that he fetch the Golden Fleece, the gathering of the heroes and the building of the Argo, and episodes along the way including Phineus and the Harpies, Lemnos, the Clashing Rocks, and Prometheus on Mount Caucasus; Part Two tells of King Aeetes, the sorceress Medea, the cunning theft of the Fleece, the death of Absyrtus, and the long, winding journey home; Part Three turns to the heroes who sailed with him, telling of Atalanta's hunt, Peleus and his sea-born bride, Theseus and the Minotaur, the life and twelve labors of Heracles, Admetus, and Orpheus's descent into the underworld. Colum intersperses the tale with the songs of the bard Orpheus, embedding myths of creation, the gods and Pandora, and Demeter within the main narrative; the language is spare and rhythmic, well suited to reading aloud. The book has long been regarded as a classic introduction to classical myth for young readers in the English-speaking world.Editor's review
金羊毛是希腊神话中最富冒险气质的母题之一：被放逐的王子、五十位同船的英雄、毒龙守护的宝物，以及一场注定曲折的归程。科拉姆不满足于复述单一的伊阿宋故事，而是把散见荷马史诗与后世戏剧的篇章纳入同一时间轴，写成一幅“英雄世代”的全景图。本书的独特处在于结构：主线的远航与支线的神话交替推进，由吟游诗人俄耳甫斯的歌声串起，读来像在甲板上听一场环海的吟唱，节奏张弛有度，句法简洁，尤宜大声诵读。威廉·波加尼的插画带有复古装饰风格，为文本增添了纸上壁画的质感。1922年，该书获得首届纽伯瑞儿童文学奖银奖，近百年来一直是英语世界青少年接触古典神话的常见入门书。中文读者可通过江苏凤凰文艺出版社2024年出版的中译本《寻找金羊毛：阿耳戈英雄传说》（周密译）阅读本书内容。Who it's for
A good fit for
- 9岁以上、对希腊神话与冒险故事感兴趣的中小学生
- 希望为孩子挑选可朗读的睡前神话读物的家长与教师
- 想从故事入手了解西方古典文学源头的普通读者
- 正在学英语、希望用经典儿童文学练习泛读的读者
Not a good fit for
- 期待现代节奏强情节小说的成年读者
- 只想查阅神话条目、不愿读长篇叙事的工具书型读者
- 低龄（约7岁以下）且对神祇与战斗场面较敏感的孩子
Reading tips
- 建议先读第一部，把握“伊阿宋—珀利阿斯—金羊毛”的主线，再回看第三部分各英雄故事，人物关系会更清楚。
- 阅读时随手记一张人物与神祇关系表，遇到同名或译名差异可对照书前的人物谱系。
- 本书文字富有韵律，适合每天朗读一节，尤其适合亲子共读与复述练习。
- 若阅读英文原版，可配合中译本对照，注意神话专名的常见译法。
About the publisher
The Macmillan CompanyPublic information on The Macmillan Company is limited, yet its catalogue clearly shows a focus on original literary editions. Its poetry list includes Edwin Arlington Robinson's The Man Against the Sky and The Three Taverns as well as Sara Teasdale's Flame and Shadow; its fiction and story collections feature works by Jack London, Anton Chekhov (translated by Constance Garnett), Winston Churchill and Owen Wister; and its children's and mythological titles include Padraic Colum's The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles. The ten books in the collection span modern poetry, foreign literature and children's literature, reflecting a balance between classic authors and books for younger readers, with attention to readability and literary value.
Contents
- Part One: The Voyage to Colchis: The Boy Jason
- King Pelias
- The Golden Fleece
- The Gathering of the Heroes and the Building of the Ship
- The Argo and the Beginning of All Things
- The Victory of Polydeuces and the Departure of Heracles
- King Phineus
- The Counsel of Phineus; The Landing at Lemnos
- The Maidens of Lemnos; Demeter and Persephone; The Race of Atalanta
- The Departure from Lemnos; The Golden Maidens
- Through the Clashing Rocks
- Mount Caucasus; Prometheus
- Part Two: The Return to Greece: King Aeetes
- The Sorceress Medea
- The Winning of the Golden Fleece
- The Killing of Absyrtus
- Medea Comes to Circe
- In the Land of the Phaeacians
- The Coming to the Waste Land
- The Carrying of the Argo; The Story of Perseus
- The Approach to Iolcus Again
- Part Three: The Heroes of the Quest: Atalanta the Huntress
- Peleus and His Sea-Born Bride
- Theseus and the Minotaur
- The Life and Labors of Heracles; The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice
- Admetus
- How the Bard Orpheus Went Down to the Underworld
- Jason and Medea
FAQ
这本书和“金羊毛”神话讲的是同一件事吗？
是同一母题的完整文学重述。它不止讲伊阿宋取金羊毛，还把赫拉克勒斯、忒修斯、俄耳甫斯等英雄故事编入同一条时间线，可视作“阿喀琉斯之前的英雄时代”合集。这本书获过什么奖？
本书1921年首次出版，获1922年纽伯瑞儿童文学奖银奖（Newbery Honor）。这是该奖设立之初的获奖作品之一，在儿童文学史上具有一定地位。中文版叫什么名字？
本书中文全译本为《寻找金羊毛：阿耳戈英雄传说》，周密译，江苏凤凰文艺出版社2024年出版，属于“浪花朵朵”书系，适合9岁以上读者。英文原版难读吗？
整体属儿童文学难度，句式简洁，但神话专名较多。若以学习英语为目的，建议先读中译本熟悉情节，再读原版。This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Padraic Colum AuthorPadraic Colum is an author known for children's books and children's literature, whose representative work is The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles. Because public information is limited, his nationality and dates of birth and death remain unconfirmed. This representative work shows that he was skilled at drawing on ancient Greek myths and heroic legends, retelling old stories in a form suitable for children and giving classic narratives new vitality in the field of children's books. His writing emphasizes narrative coherence and readability; while keeping the original plot framework of the myths, he also takes younger readers' comprehension into account, giving him a certain influence in children's literature and popular retellings of mythology. The library currently holds one work by him.