In this classical collection of tales from the ancient world are found all the legendary heroic and tragic figures of the time: Iris, Osiris, Gilgamesh, Hercules and Pandora, to name a few. These stories, once sacred, even now have a deep human significance, and are written in a language that recalls the rhythm and melody of traditional storytelling. Showing the close relationship between their past cultures, Padraic Colum includes stories from ancient Egypt and Babylon, Greece and Rome, Ireland and Iceland, China and Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and Peru.