Sources of Stories

Biblical and mythological stories have been retold countless times, and for many of us, we have heard these stories repeatedly throughout our lives. Have you ever read the original story?

“Stories in Art: Sources of Stories” is a chart of biblical and mythological stories with links to the original text, such as the Bible, or an ancient source, such as Homer or Ovid. It also includes a brief synopsis of the story, as well as my favorite depiction of each story.

Stories from the Old Testament | Stories from the Life of Christ | Stories from the Lives of Saints | Stories from Greek/Roman Mythology | Stories from the Trojan War

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Notes on Sources:
In the table above, each story is linked to an internet resource for that text. Here are some links that are used frequently in this table.

• The Bible: The Old and New Testaments, New International Version, published online at biblegateway.com
• The Golden Legend: compiled by Jacobus de Voragine in 1275, translated in to English by William Caxton in 1483, published online by Fordham University
• Bibliotheca, by Pseudo-Apollodorus (a 2nd century AD compilation of a lost work, previously thought to be written by Apollodorus of Alexandria), translated by J. G. Frazer and published online at theoi.com
• Metamorphosis, by Ovid (43 BC – AD 17/18), translated by A. S. Kline, published online at poetryintranslation.com
• The Odyssey, by Homer, translated by A. S. Kline, published online at poetryintranslation.com
• The Aeneid, by Homer, translated by A. S. Kline, published online at poetryintranslation.com

Poetry in Translation has versions of The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Aeneid with line numbers so it’s easy to link to, but I prefer Robert Fagles’ translations of these epic tales. His most recent editions can be found here: The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Aeneid.