Journey to the Sea

an online magazine devoted to the study of myth

Laura Gibbs

Laura Gibbs

Laura is a full-time online instructor at the University of Oklahoma, teaching courses in Folklore & Mythology, World Literature, and the Epics of Ancient India. She has published books on Aesop's fables, Latin proverbs, and the Vulgate Bible. Find out more about Laura by visiting her Bestiaria Latina Blog.


Katyń: History, Lies, Fiction and Myth

Oct 15th, 2009 • Issue 14

Laura looks at the 2007 film Katyń, exploring how director Andrzej Wajda wove Greek myth and his own biography into the fictional character of Agnieszka to give a true account of the tragic 1940 massacre in Poland. Article »

The Lion’s Share in Roger L’Estrange

Aug 15th, 2009 • Issue 13

Laura concludes her series on Aesopic fables reflecting the well-known phrase the "lion's share" by looking at two versions of the fable by Roger L'Estrange with two different morals. Article »

The Land of the Dead in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea

Jul 1st, 2009 • Issue 12

Laura begins her series looking at the land of the dead in works of modern fantasy, exploring its geography, its connection to the land of the living, and its significance in Earthsea. Article »

Jesus’s Harrowing of Hell in the Christian Apocryphal Tradition

Jul 1st, 2009 • Issue 12

The story of Jesus traveling to the underworld is one of many stories better known through its visual representations throughout the churches in Europe than in any written narrative form. Article »

Christianizing Aesop: The Fables of Odo of Cheriton

May 15th, 2009 • Issue 11

Laura discusses the ways medieval scholars incorporated Aesopic fables into a Christian framework, looking specifically at the thirteenth-century Latin fables of Odo of Cheriton. Article »

Virtual Unicorns: Religion & Science in Many Waters

Apr 1st, 2009 • Issue 10

Laura looks at Many Waters to explore Madeleine L'Engle's use of material from the Bible, Jewish and Christian apocrypha, theoretical physics, and more to tell a moving story of love, devotion and sacrifice. Article »

Life of Aesop: The Wise Fool and the Philosopher

Mar 1st, 2009 • Issue 9

Laura explores three anecdotes from the legendary Life of Aesop, showing Aesop outwitting his rivals. Aesop used logical thinking and mythical thinking to provide comic relief and surprising insight into the nature of the world. Article »

Shiva, Lord of the Dance

Feb 1st, 2009 • Issue 8

Statues depicting Shiva as Nataraja, "Lord of the Dance," portray a sense of balance, motion, and sheer beauty to all who view them. Laura explores the ways they express narratives to those who can read the symbols and allusions. Article »

Prometheus in the Emblems of Alciato

Jan 1st, 2009 • Issue 7

Laura looks at a selection of sixteenth-century emblems that depict the suffering of Prometheus to explore the ways this mythological narrative is represented in visual symbols and verse. Article »

Saint Sylvester and the Dragon

Jan 1st, 2009 • Issue 7

Laura explores a fourteenth-century fresco from the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, depicting the legendary story of Saint Sylvester taming the dragon. Article »