Best Selling Books by Adrienne Mayor

Traces the story of how ancient cultures envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices and human enhancements, sharing insights into how the mythologies of the past related to and shaped ancient machine innovations.

Griffins, Cyclopes, Monsters, and Giants - these fabulous creatures of classical mythology continue to live in the modern imagination through the vivid accounts of the ancient Greeks and Romans. But what if these beings were more than fictions? This is the arresting and original idea that Adrienne Mayor explores in The First Fossil Hunters. Through careful research and documentation, she shows that many of the giants and monsters of myth did have a basis in fact - in ancient people''s discoveries of the enormous bones of long-extinct dinosaurs, mastodons, and other animals that were once abundant in the lands of the Greeks and Romans.

A compelling biography of the legendary king, rebel, and poisoner who defied the Roman Empire Machiavelli praised his military genius. European royalty sought out his secret elixir against poison. His life inspired Mozart''s first opera, while for centuries poets and playwrights recited bloody, romantic tales of his victories, defeats, intrigues, concubines, and mysterious death. But until now no modern historian has recounted the full story of Mithradates, the ruthless king and visionary rebel who challenged the power of Rome in the first century BC. In this richly illustrated book—the first biography of Mithradates in fifty years—Adrienne Mayor combines a storyteller''s gifts with the most recent archaeological and scientific discoveries to tell the tale of Mithradates as it has never been told before. The Poison King describes a life brimming with spectacle and excitement. Claiming Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia as ancestors, Mithradates inherited a wealthy Black Sea kingdom at age fourteen after his mother poisoned his father. He fled into exile and returned in triumph to become a ruler of superb intelligence and fierce ambition. Hailed as a savior by his followers and feared as a second Hannibal by his enemies, he envisioned a grand Eastern empire to rival Rome. After massacring eighty thousand Roman citizens in 88 BC, he seized Greece and modern-day Turkey. Fighting some of the most spectacular battles in ancient history, he dragged Rome into a long round of wars and threatened to invade Italy itself. His uncanny ability to elude capture and surge back after devastating losses unnerved the Romans, while his mastery of poisons allowed him to foil assassination attempts and eliminate rivals. The Poison King is a gripping account of one of Rome''s most relentless but least understood foes. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

The real history of the Amazons in war and love Amazons—fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world—were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons. But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China. Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination. Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons—Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China. Driven by a detective''s curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.

A treasury of astonishing mythic marvels—and the surprising truths behind them Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights—glimmering, long-buried nuggets of truth—embedded in myth, legends, and folklore. Combing through ancient texts and obscure sources, she has spent decades prospecting for intriguing wonders and marvels, historical mysteries, diverting anecdotes, and hidden gems from ancient, medieval, and modern times. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a treasury of fifty of her most amazing and amusing discoveries. The book explores such subjects as how mirages inspired legends of cities in the sky; the true identity of winged serpents in ancient Egypt; how ghost ships led to the discovery of the Gulf Stream; and the beauty secrets of ancient Amazons. Other pieces examine Arthur Conan Doyle’s sea serpent and Geronimo’s dragon; Flaubert’s obsession with ancient Carthage; ancient tattooing practices; and the strange relationship between wine goblets and women’s breasts since the times of Helen of Troy and Marie Antoinette. And there’s much, much more. Showcasing Mayor’s trademark passion not to demythologize myths, but to uncover the fascinating truths buried beneath them, Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a wonder cabinet of delightful curiosities.

"A comprehensive look at WMD''s antecedents, from flamethrowers of the Peloponnesian War to plague-bearing booby traps.... Rich and entertaining." -Newsweek Featuring a new introduction by the author. Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease... are these terrifying agents and implements of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot. Weapons of biological and chemical warfare have been in use for thousands of years, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, Adrienne Mayor''s fascinating exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare draws extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern methods of war and terrorism. Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs will catapult readers into the dark and fascinating realm of ancient war and mythic treachery-and their devastating consequences.

From acclaimed folklorist and historian Adrienne Mayor, an enchanting collection of the ancient myths that emerged out of the wonders—and disasters—of the natural world Mythopedia is a fun, fact-filled A-Z treasury of myths inspired by natural events. Bringing together fifty legends from antiquity to the present, this delightfully entertaining book takes you around the world to explore sunken kingdoms and lost cities, accursed mountains and treacherous terrains, and lethal lakes and singing sand dunes, explaining the historical background and latest science underlying each tale. As soon as humans invented language, they told stories to explain mysterious things they observed around them—on land, in the seas, and in the skies. Even though these tales are expressed in poetic or supernatural language, they contain surprisingly accurate insights and even eyewitness descriptions of catastrophic events millennia ago. Drawing on her unique insights as a pioneer in the exciting new field of geomythology, Adrienne Mayor describes how cultural memories of tsunamis, volcanic disasters, and other massive geological events can reach back thousands of years as the stories were preserved, elaborated, told, and retold across generations. She shows how geomythology is expanding our understanding of our planet’s history over eons, revealing the human desire to explain nature and weave imaginative stories intertwined with keen observation, rational speculation, and memory. With captivating drawings by Michele Angel, Mythopedia is a compendium of many marvels, from the Hindu monkey god Hanuman and his army of bridge-building primates to the terrifying sand demon Shensha shen of China, the gnawing glaciers of Austria, and the vengeful fish-headed snake god Nyami Nyami of Africa’s Zambezi River. Features a cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design

The burnt-red badlands of Montana''s Hell Creek are a vast graveyard of the Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 68 million years ago. Those hills were, much later, also home to the Sioux, the Crows, and the Blackfeet, the first people to encounter the dinosaur fossils exposed by the elements. What did Native Americans make of these stone skeletons, and how did they explain the teeth and claws of gargantuan animals no one had seen alive? Did they speculate about their deaths? Did they collect fossils? Beginning in the East, with its Ice Age monsters, and ending in the West, where dinosaurs lived and died, this richly illustrated and elegantly written book examines the discoveries of enormous bones and uses of fossils for medicine, hunting magic, and spells. Well before Columbus, Native Americans observed the mysterious petrified remains of extinct creatures and sought to understand their transformation to stone. In perceptive creation stories, they visualized the remains of extinct mammoths, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine creatures as Monster Bears, Giant Lizards, Thunder Birds, and Water Monsters. Their insights, some so sophisticated that they anticipate modern scientific theories, were passed down in oral histories over many centuries. Drawing on historical sources, archaeology, traditional accounts, and extensive personal interviews, Adrienne Mayor takes us from Aztec and Inca fossil tales to the traditions of the Iroquois, Navajos, Apaches, Cheyennes, and Pawnees. Fossil Legends of the First Americans represents a major step forward in our understanding of how humans made sense of fossils before evolutionary theory developed.

Follow along as research scientist Adrienne Mayor searches for the origins of the mythical griffin - could such a creature be based in reality? While studying the classics in Greece, Adrienne came across accounts of an ancient creature, sometimes called bird-monster, griffin, or minotaur. Adrienne travels from Greece to the Gobi Desert in search of where an ancient race of fair-haired and pale nomadic horsemen called the Scythians hid their gold - gold that was rumored to be guarded by griffins.

"Battle mysterious monsters, join a quest with a courageous hero, and feast and frolic with the gods [in this introduction to mythology around the world]"--Page 4 of cover.

Antike und künstliche Intelligenz – das hört sich an wie ein Sci-Fi-Roman. Aber tatsächlich bevölkern gigantische Androiden, Techno-Hexen und böse Fembots die Mythen von Griechen und Römern, die uns scheinbar so vertraut sind. Schon seit Homer stellen Menschen sich Roboter-Diener oder animierte Statuen vor. Mythische Maschinen treten in Geschichten über Jason und die Argonauten, Medea, Daedalus, Prometheus und Pandora auf. Tatsächlich wurden in der Antike sogar schon einige ausgeklügelte animierte Geräte gebaut, in Alexandria, dem ursprünglichen Silicon Valley. In diesem fesselnden Buch erzählt Adrienne Mayor uns die noch nie erzählte Geschichte darüber, wie einige der fortschrittlichsten Innovationen in der Robotik und Künstlichen Intelligenz von heute im antiken Mythos vorweggenommen wurden. Sie zeigt, wie die Wissenschaft immer von der Phantasie angetrieben wurde. Dies ist die Mythologie des Zeitalters der KI!

Maquiavelo alabó su genialidad militar, su biografía inspiró la primera ópera de Mozart y durante siglos se buscó su elixir contra el veneno. Pero pocas han sido las narraciones completas acerca de la vida de Mitrídates el Grande, el rey despiadado y visionario que desafió el poder de Roma en el siglo I a. C. De ahí la relevancia de este libro, en la que Adrienne Mayor combina sus dotes narrativas con los más recientes descubrimientos arqueológicos y científicos para contar la historia de Mitrídates como nunca antes se había hecho. Queriéndose descendiente de Alejandro Magno y de Darío III de Persia, Mitrídates heredó un próspero reino en el mar Negro a los catorce años, después de que su madre envenenara a su padre. A partir de este núcleo, concibió un gran imperio oriental que rivalizara con Roma y, tras orquestar la matanza de 80 000 romanos en un solo día, se anexionó Grecia y Anatolia. Protagonista de algunas de las batallas más espectaculares de la Historia antigua, pugnó durante décadas con una Roma que se tomó muy en serio el peligro de este nuevo Aníbal, que amenazaba incluso con atacar la propia Italia. Su asombrosa capacidad para evitar ser capturado y rehacerse de devastadoras derrotas desconcertaba a los romanos. Su habilidad para las intrigas y su dominio de los venenos frustraba los intentos de asesinato y servía para deshacerse de cualquier rival. El rey del veneno. Mitrídates el Grande, enemigo implacable de Roma es una emocionante biografía de uno de los enemigos más implacables pero menos comprendidos de Roma. Finalista de National Book Award ( nonfiction) Uno de los mejores libros del año ( Washington Post) Ganador de Gold Medal in Biography ( Independent Publisher Book Award)

Las amazonas, esas fieras mujeres que habitaban en los confines del mundo conocido, fueron en los mitos griegos guerreras archienemigas de héroes como Aquiles o Hércules. Pero, ¿es adecuado emplear «míticas»? ¿Quiénes fueron en realidad esas intrépidas luchadoras que se entregaban a la guerra, la caza y la libertad sexual? ¿Existieron realmente o fueron solo un arquetipo de la otredad en la cosmovisión griega? En este extenso y profusamente ilustrado libro, Adrienne Mayor, finalista del National Book Award por su apasionante biografía de Mitrídates el Grande –también publicada por Desperta Ferro Ediciones– revela detalles íntimos y sorprendentes, así como nuevas hipótesis acerca de las mujeres de carne y hueso de las estepas que el mundo clásico conocería como amazonas, para demostrar que estas guerreras no eran tan solo fruto de la imaginación helénica. Combinando el análisis de los mitos clásicos con las tradiciones de la estepa euroasiática y la arqueología, el libro Amazonas. Guerreras del mundo antiguo es el primer relato integral acerca de estas aguerridas mujeres, plasmadas en la mitología y la historia a lo largo y ancho del mundo antiguo, desde el mar Mediterráneo hasta la Gran Muralla china. En su criba entre realidad y mito, Mayor sigue todas las pistas posibles, desde examinar las tumbas de mujeres cuyos cuerpos momificados conservan tatuajes y heridas de guerra, hasta escrutar decenas de representaciones artísticas en cerámica griega, esculturas o monedas. ¿Quién estuvo detrás de las Hipólita que batalló contra Hércules o de la Pentesilea que se batió con Aquiles? ¿Existió la reina Talestris, que según algunos relatos esperaba concebir un hijo de Alejandro Magno? ¿Y Hipiscratea, que comandó ejércitos acompañando a su esposo Mitrídates? Una obra que rompe estereotipos vivos hoy en día, pero también los de hace más de dos milenios. 2014, Preseleccionado en London Hellenic Prize. 2014, Seleccionado por la American Scientists Science Book Gift Guide. 2015, Ganador de Silver Medal, Independent Publisher Book Awards, World History category. 2016, Reseñado por The New York Times Book Reviews "The Year in Reading". 2016, Ganador del Sarasvati Award for Best Nonfiction Book in Women and Mythology, Association for the Study of Women & Mythology.

Lance-flammes, gaz toxiques, bombes incendiaires, propagation de maladies à grande échelle : ces terrifiantes armes de guerre sont-elles des inventions modernes ? Loin de là! Miel empoisonné, venin de vipère, plantes mortelles, catapultage de ruches remplies de guêpes enragées, lancement de grenades d''argile remplies de scorpions vivants, cochons enduits de naphte enflammée propulsés contre des éléphants de guerre, souillure des puits, propagation de la peste, création de nuages de poussière caustique et de gaz toxiques, propulsion de flammes liquides inextinguibles... dans cette histoire détonnante consacrée aux origines de la guerre non conventionnelle, Adrienne Mayor montre que les sources antiques abondent en références à des armes non conventionnelles, biologiques et chimiques, et qu’il faut souvent les chercher entre les lignes car l’usage en était honteux. Établissant des liens inédits entre les mondes mythiques d''Hercule et la guerre de Troie, les récits d''Hérodote et de Thucydide, et les techniques modernes de guerre et de terrorisme, cette histoire catapulte les lecteurs dans le monde obscur et fascinant de la guerre antique. Adrienne Mayor est chercheuse en en histoire des sciences et en lettres classiques à l''université Stanford. Elle est notamment l’auteure de Amazones : quand les femmes étaient les égales de hommes (La Découverte, 2017).

Depuis l''Iliade jusqu''à Pompée en passant par Alexandre le Grand, les mythiques Amazones ont toujours fasciné les Grecs, puis les Romains : des guerrières qui rivalisaient avec les héros grecs par leur courage et leurs prouesses militaires, mais qui ressemblaient aussi aux Barbares – la légende dit qu''elles se coupaient le sein gauche pour tirer à l''arc et qu''elles se débarrassaient de leurs enfants mâles. Les Amazones sont-elles un mythe, un fantasme terrifiant inventé par les Grecs et les Romains ? Que peuvent-elles nous apprendre sur la réalité des civilisations avec lesquelles les Grecs étaient en contact ? Adrienne Mayor montre que les Amazones trouvent leur origine dans la réalité historique et met à bas le préjugé selon lequel il n''y aurait jamais eu de femmes guerrières. Les découvertes archéologiques faites dans ces immenses étendues où nomadisaient les Scythes – et donc les Amazones décrites par Hérodote – ont permis d''identifier les restes de guerrières mortes au combat. Il n''y a jamais eu de guerrières se mutilant la poitrine ou tuant leurs fils, mais il y a eu des tribus scythes où les femmes combattaient à l''égal des hommes. Adrienne Mayor se lance à leur poursuite et nous invite à un fabuleux voyage historique jusqu''aux confins de la Chine.

Weapons of biological & chemical warfare have been in use for thousands of years. This is the first book to trace biological & chemical warfare to its ancient roots. Drawing on sources ancient & modern, Mayor describes ancient recipes for arrow poisons, booby traps rigged with plague, petroleum-based combustibles, choking gases, & the deployment of dangerous animals & venomous snakes & insects. Also explores the ambiguous moral implications inherent in this kind of warfare: are these nefarious forms of weaponry ingenious or cowardly? Admirable or reprehensible? A highly readable page-turner that will catapult readers into the dark & fascinating realm of ancient war & mythic treachery -- & their devastating consequences.Ó Illustrations.