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Available
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Publication
Vintage Books (1975)
Description
The Bull from the Sea is the story of Theseus, King of Athens, but also Mary Renault's brilliant historical reconstruction of ancient Greek politics. Throughout his reign, Theseus is torn between his genius for kingship and his truant craving for adventure. As Theseus for a dynastic marriage with Phaedra, Pirithoos, the pirate prince, lures him off to explore the unknown Euxine, where he meets and captures the young warrior priestess Hippolyta. She is the love of his life, and that love is the crux of his fate. The bull of Marathon, the battle of the Lapiths and Kentaurs, and the moon-goddess cult of Pontos are merely a portion of the legendary material that Renault weaves into the fabric of great historical fiction. Whether or not these myths have their far-distant origin in actual events, the author's imagination and scholarship have invested them with immediate amd magical reality.… (more)
Media reviews
"Its fascination lies in the intricate interweaving of the Theseus stories with other myths, in the superb recapturing of the classic way of life, and most of all in the sheer magic of the telling."
User reviews
LibraryThing member polutropos
For sweeping glorious romance of the highest calibre there is none greater than The Bull from the Sea. The story of Theseus, the great Athenian, famed for his bringing together the Greeks under his rule, encompasses great love, sacrifice, betrayal, hatred and revenge. Like the great Greek plays it
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shows the lives of a hero, driven by fate, through great love to great misery. Theseus, Pirithoos, Hippolyta, Hippolytos, Akamas and Phaedra are all drawn masterfully, becoming unforgettable characters in a great drama. Spectacular story carefully crafted into a pageturner by Mary Renault. The highest recommendation. Show Less
LibraryThing member patrickgarson
This novel - Renault's second featuring Theseus - is ambitious, and packs a lot into its meagre 220 pages. Unfortunately, the conflicting demands of preserving a mythic tone, getting through a tonne of classic legends, and still providing human characters proves too much in The Bull From The Sea.
Returning triumphant from Crete, Theseus now faces a far more complex challenge: running, maintaining and expanding a kingdom. Along the way, he will fall in love, organise succession and try to keep the always-fickle gods on his side.
Renault has taken a raft of classical myths surrounding Theseus, and adapted them into a kind of pseudo-historical yarn. It's so pseudo because our knowledge has expanded since she wrote these books, and also, it's at heart speculative; we do not and cannot know these things. Renault juxtaposes this with an almost formal, somewhat "legendary" tone to the story, and many a mention of the Gods and their ways etc.
When I read Black Ships by Jo Graham earlier this year, an approach like this worked a treat. But in working with such well-known material, and altering as little as possible, I found it really distracting. With so many iconic events happening in The Bull From The Sea, I felt consistently yanked out of the story by these "almost-myth" events, and then evaluating Renault's treatment of them etc.
This is compounded by Renault's characterisation which - in this book at least - ranges from slim to non-existent. We follow Theseus from his teens to his late fifties, and so much change would be difficult for any writer to do convincingly, doubly so when there are several checkpoints along the way that you feel Renault is driven to tick off.The other characters - as is appropriate in myth - are more archetypes than people, and Renault never really breaks through the facades we already know from the tales.
These factors all combined to produce a aura of formalism and framing that I don't really respond to in novels. This feeling of the work being a Story can work well in myths, which are typically short and extremely diegetic, but in a novel it's just not enough. I need something more human, more sophisticated and dynamic. The Bull From The Sea kept me at arms' length - finishing it wasn't a trial, but it wasn't a shame, either.
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It's not a bad book, per se, but in striving to be so many different things in so short a space, it inevitably falls short.Returning triumphant from Crete, Theseus now faces a far more complex challenge: running, maintaining and expanding a kingdom. Along the way, he will fall in love, organise succession and try to keep the always-fickle gods on his side.
Renault has taken a raft of classical myths surrounding Theseus, and adapted them into a kind of pseudo-historical yarn. It's so pseudo because our knowledge has expanded since she wrote these books, and also, it's at heart speculative; we do not and cannot know these things. Renault juxtaposes this with an almost formal, somewhat "legendary" tone to the story, and many a mention of the Gods and their ways etc.
When I read Black Ships by Jo Graham earlier this year, an approach like this worked a treat. But in working with such well-known material, and altering as little as possible, I found it really distracting. With so many iconic events happening in The Bull From The Sea, I felt consistently yanked out of the story by these "almost-myth" events, and then evaluating Renault's treatment of them etc.
This is compounded by Renault's characterisation which - in this book at least - ranges from slim to non-existent. We follow Theseus from his teens to his late fifties, and so much change would be difficult for any writer to do convincingly, doubly so when there are several checkpoints along the way that you feel Renault is driven to tick off.The other characters - as is appropriate in myth - are more archetypes than people, and Renault never really breaks through the facades we already know from the tales.
These factors all combined to produce a aura of formalism and framing that I don't really respond to in novels. This feeling of the work being a Story can work well in myths, which are typically short and extremely diegetic, but in a novel it's just not enough. I need something more human, more sophisticated and dynamic. The Bull From The Sea kept me at arms' length - finishing it wasn't a trial, but it wasn't a shame, either.
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LibraryThing member gribeaux
Second half of the Theseus myth, well written but drags in part. Good ending. Great atmosphere throughout.
LibraryThing member surreality
Plot: The Theseus myth after the return from Knossos. Mostly a collection of smaller myths tied to the figure, with a bit of plot to keep it all together. The pacing is off in places and makes things drag, and especially in the second half the story begins to fray.
Characters: Same as with the first
Style: There are stretches where the writing feels superficial. Dialogue sections are usually fine, but longer narrative bits have a tendency to drag. The mythology is again rationalized.
Plus: Historically accurate, mythologically accurate except for the fantastic concepts.
Minus: The story can't seem to focus on anything.
Summary: Together with The King Must Die a retelling of the Theseus myth, but it doesn't quite have what makes other Mary Renault books so special.
Characters: Same as with the first
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book as far as Theseus is concerned - he takes center stage and leaves little room for others. There are fewer side characters here, and the ones who are feel as though they did not get all that much author love. What is lacking isn't so much characterization but motive. Style: There are stretches where the writing feels superficial. Dialogue sections are usually fine, but longer narrative bits have a tendency to drag. The mythology is again rationalized.
Plus: Historically accurate, mythologically accurate except for the fantastic concepts.
Minus: The story can't seem to focus on anything.
Summary: Together with The King Must Die a retelling of the Theseus myth, but it doesn't quite have what makes other Mary Renault books so special.
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LibraryThing member krasiviye.slova
The Bull from the Sea maintains the narrative charm of The King Must Die and continues the tension of the fall of goddess worship and the rise of the patriarchal sky gods. Theseus remains an interesting narrator, and Renault avoids forcing him into the role of a flawless hero, or brutish lug.
The
The
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greatest flaw of the book is the lack of narrative cohesion. The plot skips about on a whirlwind tour of the legends surrounding Theseus, frequently with little connecting material to relate the episodes to each other. Show Less
LibraryThing member PollyMoore3
Continues Theseus' story, begun in "The king must die".
LibraryThing member dragonasbreath
It is definitely a juvenile book, but it was not a bad read at all. It was interesting the way she synthesized the various myths into a continuous story.
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
My introduction to Mary Renault was The King Must Die, the first of two novels about Theseus--it was actually assigned reading in high school. What impressed me so much there was how she took a figure out of myth and grounded him historically. After that I quickly gobbled up all of Renault's works
This book is the sequel to The King Must Die. It's no less remarkable in taking the bare bones of myth and giving it flesh, transporting you into the world of the past and making Theseus credible as a person who lived and breathed, and not some fantastic figure. If I enjoyed this less--well, it's definitely the more melancholy work. The King Must Die was about Theseus the hero, and it's a great adventure story. This one, well, is more Greek tragedy than Greek myth, and after falling in love with Theseus in the first book, it's sad to read of his undoing. I'd still name this one of the best works of historical fiction I've ever read, one that cemented my love of historical fiction and fed a hunger to learn more about Ancient Greece.
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of historical fiction set in Ancient Greece. The two novels about Theseus and the trilogy centered on Alexander the Great are undoubtedly her most famous of those eight novels.This book is the sequel to The King Must Die. It's no less remarkable in taking the bare bones of myth and giving it flesh, transporting you into the world of the past and making Theseus credible as a person who lived and breathed, and not some fantastic figure. If I enjoyed this less--well, it's definitely the more melancholy work. The King Must Die was about Theseus the hero, and it's a great adventure story. This one, well, is more Greek tragedy than Greek myth, and after falling in love with Theseus in the first book, it's sad to read of his undoing. I'd still name this one of the best works of historical fiction I've ever read, one that cemented my love of historical fiction and fed a hunger to learn more about Ancient Greece.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Here is the last half of Theseus life, and Renault has added a fair amount of Material, taken from Plutarch, Pausanias and other tangential sources. Sadly things don't go as well for our hero in his later life. He has failed marriages, sep-children and worse. But if you read The King Must Die you
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will read this one. Still a good novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member saturnloft
The sequel to The King Must Die, The Bull From the Sea begins shortly after Theseus's triumphant return from Crete. His father's unfortunate suicide means he's now king of Athens, with all the accompanying perks and pains. This book lacks the momentum of it's predecessor; much of the drama is
Also: Renault jarred me a bit at the end by having one of her dying characters utter the immortal last words of Socrates: not "I drank what?", but that mundane bit about owing someone a rooster. It ruined what would have been a nice dramatic scene for me because I immediately recognized the cribbed phrase. Bad Renault! No cookie for you.
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generated by Theseus's romantic gains and follies, ominous but convenient prophecies, and family troubles. It was a passable read overall.Also: Renault jarred me a bit at the end by having one of her dying characters utter the immortal last words of Socrates: not "I drank what?", but that mundane bit about owing someone a rooster. It ruined what would have been a nice dramatic scene for me because I immediately recognized the cribbed phrase. Bad Renault! No cookie for you.
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LibraryThing member janerawoof
Sequel to Renault's King must die, this is her retelling of the further story of Theseus. He returns to Athens, claims his throne, lifelong friendship with Pirithoos, liaison with Hippolyta and birth of their son, Hippolytus, marriage with Phaedra, her attempted betrayal and murder. Then Theseus
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breaks off his narrative right before his death on the island of Skyros. Very enjoyable, but I didn't feel it was quite up to Renault's usual standard, just a continuation of the Theseus myth. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bruce_Deming
More with Theseus if I remember rightly. Of the more fun ones.
LibraryThing member Matke
Another excellent picture of Ancient Greece, this time concentrating on the life of Theseus after he returned from Mycenae, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur.
Theseus is bigger than life, as a mythical hero should be, but Renault manages to make him seem almost human with some very real and strong
This will appeal to anyone interested in Ancient Greece and/or Classical Mythology.
Theseus is bigger than life, as a mythical hero should be, but Renault manages to make him seem almost human with some very real and strong
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emotions. Most of the other characters are rather flat, thus the 4 stars. The author’s strength was always her storytelling and world building. Of special note here are the more-or-less plausible explanations of some of the myths (e.g., the centaurs).This will appeal to anyone interested in Ancient Greece and/or Classical Mythology.
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LibraryThing member Kavinay
Renault has this great knack for casually skewering Theseus with his own presumptions of kingly privilege and judgement that you consistently feel sorry for those in his orbit, rather than fall into what a lesser author would render as a straight up heroic power fantasy.
Awards
Central News Agency Literary Award (Winner — 1962)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1962
Local notes
DKR
Other editions
The Bull from the Sea (Theseus Myth vol. 2) by Mary Renault (Hardcover)
The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault (Paperback)
The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault (Paperback)