{"product_id":"at-the-palaces-of-knossos-paperback","title":"At the Palaces of Knossos - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eNikos Kazantzakis\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlending historical fact and classical myth, the author of \u003ci\u003eZorba the Greek\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Temptation of Christ\u003c\/i\u003e transports the reader 3,000 years into the past, to a pivotal point in history: the final days before the ancient kingdom of Minoan Crete is to be conquered and supplanted by the emerging city-state of Athens. Translated by Theodora Vasils and Themi Vasils.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe familiar figures who peopled that ancient world-King Minos, Theseus and Ariadne, the Minotaur, Diadalos and Ikaros-fill the pages of this novel with lifelike immediacy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWritten originally for an Athenian youth periodical, \u003ci\u003eAt the Palaces of Knossos\u003c\/i\u003e functions on several levels. Fundamentally, it is a gripping and vivid adventure story, recounted by one of this century's greatest storytellers, and peopled with freshly interpreted figures of classical Greek mythology. We see a new vision of the Minotaur, portrayed here as a bloated and sickly green monster, as much to be pitied as dreaded. And we see a grief-stricken and embittered Diadalos stomping on the homemade wax wings that have caused the drowning of his son, Ikaros.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn another level, \u003ci\u003eAt the Palaces of Knossos\u003c\/i\u003e is an allegory of history, showing the supplanting of a primitive culture by a more modern civilization. Shifting the setting back and forth from Crete to Athens, Kazantzakis contrasts the languid, decaying life of the court of King Minos with the youth and vigor of the newly emerging Athens.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProtected by bronze swords, by ancient magic and ritual, and by ferocious-but-no-longer-invincible monsters, the kingdom of Crete represents the world that must perish if classical Greek civilization is to emerge into its golden age of reason and science. In the cataclysmic final scene in which the Minotaur is killed and King Minos's sumptuous palace burned, Kazantzakis dramatizes the death of the Bronze Age, with its monsters and totems, and the birth of the Age of Iron.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eNikos Kazantzakis\u003c\/b\u003e, author of poems, novels, essays, plays, and travel books, was arguably the most important and most translated Greek writer and philosopher of the 20th century. [more]\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003efrom Nikos Kazantzakis's biography on Wikipedia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 219\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.62 x 9.05 x 6.13 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 30, 1988\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52522295722291,"sku":"9780821408803","price":41.11,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/b3JoQVgybFhYMDlPVDJxQUkyMnJRUT09.webp?v=1760547202","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/at-the-palaces-of-knossos-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}