Focuses on famous clashes and renowned heroes and heroines in folklore and mythology, discussing well-known battle myths from Greece, ancient Rome, and Northern and Celtic Europe as well as myths from sub-Saharan Africa, Native North America, East Asia, the Near East, Oceana, India, Central and South America and Eastern Europe.

Publisher's Note -- Editor's Introduction -- Contributors -- List of Frontispiece Photos -- Maps & Mythological Figures -- ANCIENT EGYPT -- OVERVIEWS -- Ancient Egypt -- Religion and Mythology -- STORIES OF BATTLE AND WAR DEITIES -- The Gods of Egypt -- Amen-Ra, the God of Empire -- The Battle of Horus and Set -- The Book of Thoth -- Hathor -- Horus -- Horus and the City of Pe -- Sekhmet -- Seth -- The Victory of Sinuhe -- NEAR EAST -- OVERVIEWS -- The Near East -- The Byzantine Empire -- The Huns -- Scythia -- Mithrism -- Muhammad, the Quran, and Islam -- Yahweh and the Israelites -- STORIES OF BATTLE AND WAR DEITIES -- Ahura Mazda and the Battle between -- Good and Evil -- Aishah bint Abi Bakr -- Aliibn Abi Talib -- Apocalypse -- The Baal Myth from Ugarit -- David -- David and Goliath -- Gilgamesh -- Husayn -- Inana and Su-kale-tuda -- Ishtar -- Marduk the Dragon Slayer -- Moloch -- Al-Mu'allaqat -- Ninurta and the Turtle -- The Nursemaid of Rostam -- Samson the Judge -- Saul -- Shamash -- The Sin of the God Zu -- Sindbad's Third Voyage -- The Theft of Destiny -- Uthman ibn Affan -- INDIA -- OVERVIEWS -- Literature in Ancient India -- Hinduism -- STORIES OF BATTLE AND WAR DEITIES -- Bhagavadgita -- Draupadi -- Durga -- The Incarnations of Visnu -- Indra -- Kali -- Kartikeya -- Krishna -- Mahabharata -- Ravana -- EAST ASIA -- OVERVIEWS -- East Asia -- Mongolia -- STORIES OF BATTLE AND WAR DEITIES -- The Ballad of Mulan -- Chinese Battle of the Gods -- Chinese Battles: Magical Feats and -- Magical Weapons -- Chonjiwangbonp'uri -- Gesar of Ling -- Kojiki -- Li Chi Slays the Serpent -- Liu Bang (Gaozu of Han) -- Momotaro's Adventures -- "My Lord Bag of Rice -- Prince Yamato's Adventures -- Qutulun -- Raiko and the Demon of Oyeyama -- Raiko and the Goblin Spider -- Shangdi -- Slaying the Serpent -- The Tale of the Heike: Myth into Art -- Tomoe Gozen, Samurai Warrior -- Vietnamese Rebels: The Trung Sisters -- and Trieu Thi Trinh -- Water War -- Yinglong, the Winged Dragon -- Yorimasa -- Yoshitsune and Benkei -- Yu Rebuilds the Earth-ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME -- OVERVIEWS -- Mycenaean Greece -- Classical Greece -- The Etruscans -- Classical Rome -- Roman Military and Personal Deities -- Hellenistic and Roman Greece. STORIES OF BATTLE AND WAR DEITIES -- Achilles Slays Hector -- The Achilleid -- Ajax -- Amazon Queens -- Ares -- The Argonautica-The Argonautica: Jason and the Argonauts -- The Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes: -- An Argonaut Fights King Amycus -- The Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes: -- Argonauts Fight the Followers of King Amycus -- The Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes: -- Treachery and the Golden Fleece -- The Argonautica of Valerius Flaccus: -- Some Typical Battle Scenes -- Artemisia, Queen of Caria -- Athena -- Athena and the Birth of Erichthonius -- The Birth of Athena and the War with the Giants -- The Myth of Atlantis -- Bellerophon and the Battle with Chimera -- Cadmus Kills a Dragon -- Camilla, Queen of the Volscians -- The Centaurs Battle Pirithous and His Allies -- Cronus Castrates Uranus and Zeus -- Overthrows Cronus -- Dionysus's Female Fighters -- Gaia and the Castration of Uranus -- The Gigantomachy -- Helen of Troy -- Hera and the Seduction of Zeus -- Heracles and His Twelve Labors -- Heracles's Twelfth Labor -- Heracles's Wrestling Achelous for Deianira -- Homer -- Hypsicratea, Queen of Pontus -- The Iliad -- The Iliad: The Trojans Fight the Greeks -- The Iliad: A Typical Battle Scene -- Jupiter -- Mars -- Minerva -- Nike -- Nisus and Euryalas Attack the Sleeping Latin Camp -- Tales of Odysseus: Lotus-Eaters, Cyclops -- Penelope and the Suitors -- Perseus and Medusa -- Perseus Battles Phineus -- Poseidon -- The Posthomerica: The Heroic Amazon -- The Posthomerica: The Heroic Amazon -- Confronts Ajax and Achilles -- The Posthomerica: The Heroic Amazon -- Dies at the Hands of Achilles -- Romulus and Remus -- Semiramis, the Victorious Queen -- Seven Against Thebes I -- Seven Against Thebes II -- Statius's Thebaid I -- Statius's Thebaid II: Main Characters -- Statius's Thebaid III: A Carefully Balanced Battle -- Statius's Thebaid IV: A Night of -- Nightmarish Deaths -- Statius's Thebaid V: Two Brothers Die -- Theseus's Early Exploits-Theseus Kills the Minotaur -- Thamyris, Queen of Scythia -- Troy -- Troy: Aeneas, and the Aeneid -- Troy's Destruction -- Troy's Destruction Remembered by Aeneas -- Troy's Emigrants Battle the Latins Until -- Aeneas Kills Turnus. Troy and Vergil (or Virgil) -- Uranus -- Zeus -- Zeus and the Titan War -- Zeus Defeats Typhon.