Greek and Roman
On the Road with a Killer Angel
“The pilgrim turned, and pointed with his finger to the road they were to take; but as he turned, the angel seized him by the shoulders, and precipitated him into the stream below.” […]
Repost
Britons and Celts
Wife-Swapping Brits
“Wives are shared between groups of ten or twelve men, especially between brothers and between fathers and sons, but the offspring of these unions are counted as the children of the man with whom a particular woman cohabited.” […]
Supernatural
The Man in the Jaws of the Dragon
“Then they struck the dragon until it died. Sintram’s sword bit into it like the sharpest shaving knife bites into a beard.” […]
Supernatural
Hail the Viking Wizard-Pirate
“Therefore, to avoid stooping to a trial of strength with pirates at sea, he would cause the waves and winds to rage by means of his sorcery and induce them to wreck his foes.” […]
Britons and Celts
The Honorable Weasel
“She went over to a jug of milk, which had been set aside for the man’s son and heir, stood up on her hind legs, spat the venom which she had inside her body into the milk and so infected it with deadly poison.” […]
Supernatural
A Comedian in His Bones
Long time ago a clownish fellow lived in that country; his name was Klefsan. It is told of this own that there was never a man who, when he saw Klefsan, was not compelled to laugh at his amusing and absurd remarks.” […]
Orient
Witness to a Witch Trial
“I was told that every ten years, witchcraft increases and the old witches begin to lead the women astray.” […]
Greek and Roman
The Goddess Prepares for War
“Then onto the flaming chariot Pallas set her feet and seized her spear – weighted, heavy, the massive shaft she wields to break the battle lines of heroes the mighty Father’s daughter storms against.” […]
History
Beaten with Scorpions
“Hugh proved to be a worthless shoot who took after his father with every kind of evil, but ‘those whom his father beat with whips, he, more despicable than his parent, beat with scorpions.'” […]
Greek and Roman
The Bird Who Talks
“The tenant of the next shoemaker’s shop killed the bird, either out of rivalry or in a sudden fit of anger because he claimed that some droppings had spotted his shoes. This aroused such an uproar among the general public that the man was driven out of the district and subsequently lynched, while the bird’s funeral was celebrated with great pomp.” […]