The Kinds of Ancient Story -- The Present Book -- KINGS AND PRINCESSES. Cupid and Psyche -- The Treasury of Rhampsinitos -- The Pharaoh and the Courtesan -- GODS AND GHOSTS. Divine Epiphanies -- The Muses Appear to Hesiod -- The Muses Appear to Archilochos -- Thamyris Competes against the Muses -- Stesichoros's Palinode -- Asklepios Heals Pandaros -- Asklepios Reveals Secrets of the Gods -- Athena Saves the Lindians -- The Altar of the Vulture God -- A Fortune in Water -- The Rescue of Simonides -- Lower Mythology -- Narcissus -- Rhoikos and the Nymph -- The Great God Pan Is Dead! -- Bogies -- Shape-Changers -- The Werewolf -- The Empousa -- Ghosts -- Philinnion -- The Last Princess at Troy -- The Grateful Dead Man -- Murder at the Inn -- Letter from the Middle of the Earth -- The Haunted House -- The Haunted Baths -- The Haunted Battlefield -- The Hero of Temesa -- Periander's Wife -- Early Wonder-Workers -- Abaris the Hyperborean -- Aristeas of Prokonnesos -- Hermotimos of Klazomenai -- Epimenides of Crete -- Pherekydes of Syros -- Pythagoras -- Transmigration of Souls -- Pythagoras Remembers an Earlier Life -- Pythagoras Discerns a Friend's Soul in a Dog -- Empedokles Recalls His Earlier Lives -- The Woman Who Remembers Too Much -- Magicians and Witches -- Pases the Magician -- Attack by Star-Stroke -- A Woman Dies from Spells -- The Soul-Drawing Wand -- Apollonios Cures a Plague -- The Magician's Apprentice -- Evil Landladies -- Divination and Seers -- The Language of Birds -- The Acquisition of the Sibylline Oracles -- What the Sibyl ants -- Bacchus Forsakes Antony -- Cato Explains a Portent -- Cato on Soothsayers -- Fate -- Polykrates's Ring -- Zeus, Why Me? -- The Last Days of Mykerinos -- Kleonymos's Near-Death Experience -- Eurynoos's Near-Death Experience -- Curma's Near-Death Experience -- Jews, Christians, and Pagans -- The Origin of the Septuagint -- Miracles of Jesus -- Paul and Barnabas Mistaken for Pagan Gods -- The Discovery of the True Cross -- The Last Delphic Oracle -- You Have Won, Galilean! -- The Murder of Hypatia -- LEGENDS ON VARIOUS THEMES. The Bizarre -- Capture of a Satyr -- Capture of a Centaur -- Sightings of Mermen and Mermaids -- The Self-Sustaining Beast -- In Love with a Statue -- Animal Offspring -- The Ugly Man -- Male Parturition -- Sudden Change of Sex -- Periodic Ecstasy -- The Laughing Tirynthians -- The Man Who Loses His Laugh -- A Strange Tomb -- The Lame Man and the Blind Man -- Irony -- Intaphrenes's Wife -- A Parent's Request -- Plato's Characters -- The Unbreakable Glass Bowl -- Animals -- The Dolphin Rider -- The Grateful Dolphin -- Androkles and the Lion -- How Ophiteia Gets Its Name -- Xanthippos's Dog -- The Accidental Killing of a Cat -- Children -- The Children Play King -- The Children Play Priest -- The Children Play War -- A Child Steals from the Goddess -- Friends -- Damon and Phintias -- Friends Unknown -- Abauchas's Choice -- Rulers and Tyrants -- Plato Teaches a Tyrant about Democracy -- The City of Forbidden Expression -- Ismenias's Subterfuge -- Queen for a Day -- The Absentminded Emperor -- Justice -- Zeus's Ledger -- The Golden Ax -- The Judge of the Ants -- Tarpeia's Reward -- The Cranes of Ibykos -- The Murder of Mitys of Argos -- An Eye for an Eye -- The Trial of the Courtesan Phryne -- The Problem of Dreamt Sex -- The Disputed Child -- Abusive Son of an Abusive Father --
TRICKSTERS AND LOVERS. Trickery and Cleverness -- Trophonios and Agamedes -- The Dishonest Banker -- The Joint Depositors -- The Two Thieves -- Aesop and the Figs -- Never Heard Before -- The Slaves Take Over -- The Milesians Hold a Party -- Saving Lampsakos -- The Suckling Daughter -- A Donkey's Shadow -- The Hoax -- Lovers and Seducers -- Zeus and Hera Wrangle over Sexuality -- The Affair of Ares and Aphrodite -- Iphimedeia Desires Poseidon -- Hippolytos and Phaidra -- The Husband's Untimely Return: 1 -- The Husband's Untimely Return: 2 -- The Signal -- The Widow of Ephesos -- Sleeping with a God -- The Pergamene Boy -- Aesop and the Master's Wife -- The King's Trusted Friend -- Dream-Lovers -- The Astute Physician -- Hero and Leander -- Xanthos, Who Longs for His Wife -- Ariston and His Friend's Wife -- Olympians in the Bedroom -- ARTISTS AND ATHLETES. Artists and the Arts -- Herakles Fooled -- Nature Fooled -- Painter Fooled -- The Sculptor Polykleitos -- Models for Helen of Troy -- Helen's Chalice -- Archilochos: Lethal Iambics -- Hipponax: More Lethal Iambics -- The Cicada -- A Singer's Compensation -- Pindar's Sacrifice -- Pindar's House -- Phrynichos Fined -- The Chorus of Aeschylus's Eumenides -- Sophocles on Himself and Euripides -- I See a Weasel -- Mother, I Call to You -- Saved by Euripides -- How Menander Composes His Plays -- The First Line of Plato's Republic -- Ovid's Worst Lines -- Athletes -- The Origin of the Stadium -- The First Marathon -- The Origin of Nude Athletes -- The Origin of Nude Trainers -- Polymestor the Sprinter -- Ageus the Long-Distance Runner -- Milon the Wrestler -- Eumastas the Strongman -- Theagenes's Statue -- Poulydamas the Pancratiast -- Kleomedes Runs Amok -- Astylos Angers His Hometown -- Exainetos Pleases His Hometown -- Glaukos the Boxer -- The Reluctant Dueler -- MEMORABLE WORDS, NOTABLE ACTIONS. Portents -- The Infant Pindar on Mt Helikon -- The Infant Plato on Mt Hymettos -- Young Demosthenes in Court -- Characterizations -- A Statue of Homer -- Themistokles and the Man from Seriphos -- Aristeides the Just -- Timon the Misanthrope -- The Arrest of Theramenes -- Socrates's Hardihood -- Socrates Ponders a Problem -- Demosthenes's Handicaps -- Delivery! -- Only Human -- What Alexander Sleeps Upon -- Cleopatra's Wager -- The Lamprey Pools -- A Principled Man -- Nero Fiddles -- Where Would He Be Now? -- A Slave's Eye -- The People of Akragas -- Laconic Spartans -- Too Many Words -- A Spartan Mother -- Discussion at Thermopylae -- Alexander the Great Becomes a God -- On Spartan Adultery -- Delusion -- Menekrates, Who Calls Himself Zeus -- Menekrates-Zeus Writes to King Philip -- Philip Hosts Menekrates -- Hannon's Birds -- The Woman Who Holds Up the World with Her Finger -- The House Called Trireme -- The Happy Shipowner -- The Happy Playgoer -- Memorable Words -- Ars Longa, Vita Brevis -- Which Came First? -- Alter Ego -- Give Me a Place to Stand, and I'll Move the World! -- Life Is Like the Olympic Games -- The Die Is Cast -- Et tu, Brute? -- In Hoc Signo Vinces -- Memorable Experiences -- Toxic Honey -- A Narrow Escape -- The Great Fish -- The Discovery of Archimedes's Tomb -- Summing Up and Last Words -- Counting One's Blessings -- Socrates -- Theophrastos's Lament -- Vespasian's Last Words -- Deaths -- Pythagoras -- Aeschylus -- Euripides -- Philemon -- Diogenes the Cynic -- Zenon -- Cleopatra -- Petronius Arbiter -- Archimedes --
SAGES AND PHILOSOPHERS. Truth and Wisdom
The Seven Sages and the Prize of Wisdom
A Question of Responsibility
Secundus the Silent Philosopher
Benefits and Perils of Philosophy
Aristippos on the Philosopher's Advantage
Aristippos on the Benefits of Philosophy
Antisthenes on the Benefits of Philosophy
Diogenes on the Benefits of Philosophy
Krates on the Benefits of Philosophy
The Most Useful Man in Ephesos
Protagoras's Books Burned
Sinning against Philosophy
Thales and the Olive Presses
Diogenes on Being Laughed At
The Meeting of Diogenes and Alexander
Diogenes on Personal Attire
Diogenes on a Public Reading
Diogenes Visits a Brothel
Diogenes on the City of Myndos
Philosophers Criticize One Another
Diogenes Criticizes Plato
Plato Criticizes Diogenes
Plato Characterizes Diogenes
Diogenes on Plato's Theory of Ideas
Diogenes on a Definition of Plato's
Diogenes on the Impossibility of Motion
The Entrance to Plato's Classroom
Discoveries and Inventions
The Invention of Board Games
Thales Inscribes a Triangle in a Circle
Thales Measures the Height of the Pyramids
Thales Predicts an Eclipse
Happiness and Contentment
The Origin of Human Miseries
Water and a Loaf of Bread
The Different Stages of Life
The Different Kinds of People
The Different Kinds of Women
The Dog with a Piece of Meat
The Raven with a Piece of Meat
The Ape with Important Ancestors
The Race of the Tortoise and the Hare
The Goose That Lays Golden Eggs
The Tortoise That Wishes to Fly
The Shepherd Who Cries -Wolf !
NUMSKULLS AND SYBARITES. Traditional Numskulls
The Covetous Man and the Envious Man
Excursions to the Country
Appendix Across the Genres: Ancient Terms, Belief, and Relative Numbers
List of International Stories.
