The God Beneath the Sea
Front cover of first edition
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| Author |
Leon Garfield Edward Blishen |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Charles Keeping |
| Cover artist | Keeping |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel, Greek myth |
| Publisher | Longman |
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Publication date
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26 October 1970 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 168 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 130582 |
| 292/.1/3 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.G17943 Go |
| Followed by | The Golden Shadow |
The God Beneath the Sea is a children's novel based on Greek mythology, written by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen, illustrated by Charles Keeping, and published by Longman in 1970. It was awarded the annual Carnegie Medal (Garfield & Blishen) and commended for the companion Greenaway Medal (Keeping) by the British Library Association. Pantheon Books published a U.S. edition with illustrations by Zevi Blum in 1971.
The novel begins with newborn Hephaestus (the titular god beneath the sea) cast from Mount Olympus by his mother Hera. He is raised in a grotto by Thetis and Eurynome and the two goddesses tell him various Greek creation myths. The novel continues with myths of the Olympians and the age of gods and mortals, and concludes with Hephaestus returning to Olympus, having been cast down for a second time after reproaching Zeus.
Garfield, Blishen, Keeping, and Longman collaborated on a sequel entitled The Golden Shadow (1973, ). It is based on myths of the later heroic age, when divine activity was limited.
The God Beneath the Sea is divided into three parts. Part one begins with the image of the infant Hephaestus plummeting from Olympus to the ocean. Thetis saves the baby and takes him to the grotto she shares with Eurynome. They raise the baby, telling him stories of Greek myths and giving him a hammer and anvil to play with. Part one concludes with Hermes inviting Hephaestus back to Olympus at Hera's bequest, and Hephaestus claiming Aphrodite for his wife. Part two tells the myths of Prometheus and Pandora, and part three tells various myths of gods interacting with mortals. The novel concludes with the Olympians unsuccessfully attempting to overthrow Zeus, and Hephaestus returning to Olympus from Lemnos, having been cast down from Olympus for a second time after reproaching Zeus.
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