Summary
Summary of A Story of the Golden Age
A Story of the Golden Age at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 4 h 35 min3 h 35 min fast, 5 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 65,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1887by James Baldwin
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
A map opens a wider world
On his twelfth birthday, Odysseus stands beside his tutor, Phemius, on Mount Neritus and watches a map take shape in the sand. The world suddenly reaches far beyond his island. By evening, he is kneeling before his mother, asking to cross the sea.
Baldwin makes this awakening the doorway into Greek legend. The boy’s growing curiosity leads toward Apollo, Cheiron and a golden apple, while his own story gathers the causes of the Trojan War into a connected tale.
Key idea 2
Travel stories teach lessons about danger
The voyage to Parnassus gives Odysseus more than a change of scenery.
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Key idea 3
A good choice leaves its mark
Odysseus reaches the home of Autolycus, his grandfather, warned that the old man is called the King of Cattle Thieves.
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Key idea 4
Each pupil needs a different lesson
On Mount Pelion, Odysseus meets Cheiron and blushes when he looks for hooves.
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Key idea 5
Desire can reach beyond one person
Cheiron’s next tale begins with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.
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Key idea 6
A clever bargain creates an obligation
At the palace of Tyndareus, princes compete for Helen, but Odysseus is drawn to her quiet cousin Penelope.
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Key idea 7
An old promise reaches home
Years later, Odysseus has become king of Ithaca and has a son, Telemachus, with Penelope.
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Key idea 8
One tale opens into another
Baldwin builds the book from people telling stories within the larger story.
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Key idea 9
A hero grows through connected choices
Odysseus’s journey brings together lessons from Apollo’s priests, a cattle-thieving grandfather and a wise centaur.
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Who it’s for
Readers who enjoy Greek myths woven into one connected adventure will love this book, as will anyone seeking an approachable way into Homer.
What this book is
What does a boy do when he learns that the world is far bigger than his island? On his twelfth birthday, Odysseus stands on Mount Neritus beside his tutor, the bard Phemius, and watches a map take shape in the sand. By evening he is on his knees before his mother, asking to be sent across the sea.
James Baldwin, an American writer who died in 1925, wrote A Story of the Golden Age as a doorway into Homer. He gathers the old Greek legends about the causes of the Trojan War into one running tale of the boyhood and youth of Odysseus. Along the way you meet Apollo, the centaur Cheiron and a golden apple.
In this summary
- 1A map opens a wider worldFree
- 2Travel stories teach lessons about danger
- 3A good choice leaves its mark
- 4Each pupil needs a different lesson
- 5Desire can reach beyond one person
- 6A clever bargain creates an obligation
- 7An old promise reaches home
- 8One tale opens into another
- 9A hero grows through connected choices
A boy on a mountain sees the world
The story opens on sea-girt Ithaca, a rocky island of orchards, vineyards and sheep. King Laertes farms his own land, and his wife Anticleia spins among her maidens. Their only child is strong, quick-tongued and short in stature, and his name is Odysseus.
On his twelfth birthday the boy climbs Mount Neritus with Phemius. He sees islands and the open western sea, and he asks whether people really live in all those lands. Phemius draws a map in the sand and sings of the sun god and the Islands of the Blest. The boy is thrilled and troubled at once.
Odysseus hurries home and asks his mother to keep an old promise to visit his grandfather Autolycus at Parnassus. Anticleia weeps, but she agrees. Once a mind has been stirred, home alone cannot satisfy it.
Curiosity changes a person for good, and the first step beyond home is the hardest.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
How does Cheiron approach teaching his pupils?
Right. “Each boy needed different lessons, so he curbed one and nurtured another.”Not quite. “Each boy needed different lessons, so he curbed one and nurtured another.”
What does Odysseus propose to settle the danger surrounding Helen’s marriage?
Right. “Every suitor must swear to defend Helen's husband against anyone who takes her away.”Not quite. “Every suitor must swear to defend Helen's husband against anyone who takes her away.”
Why is Odysseus not always presented as admirable?
Right. “Odysseus is a hero not always to be admired, since his cunning sometimes outweighs his honor.”Not quite. “Odysseus is a hero not always to be admired, since his cunning sometimes outweighs his honor.”
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About 4 h 40 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 65,100 words
- Reading timeAbout 4 h 35 min
Questions about A Story of the Golden Age
What is A Story of the Golden Age about?
It follows Odysseus from his twelfth birthday on Ithaca through his youth and into the Trojan War, ending with Troy's destruction. Along the way it retells many Greek myths that explain how the Trojan War begins.
Is A Story of the Golden Age a retelling of the Iliad or the Odyssey?
No. Baldwin weaves a connected narrative that leads into the Trojan War and continues through Troy's destruction. He weaves older legends together and says that the best way to know Homer is to read Homer himself.
Who are the main characters in the book?
Odysseus, his tutor Phemius, his grandfather Autolycus, the centaur Cheiron, Penelope, Helen and Menelaus, Paris, and Achilles all play major roles, along with gods such as Apollo, Athena and Zeus.
Which Greek myths are inside this book?
Readers meet Phaethon, Apollo and the Python, Heracles and the two roads, Meleager, the golden apple, Atalanta's race, Prometheus and Deucalion in embedded tales, and Iphigenia at Aulis in the main narrative.
Cite this edition
Baldwin, James. A Story of the Golden Age. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-story-of-the-golden-age.
Baldwin, J. (2026). A story of the Golden Age. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-story-of-the-golden-age (Original work published 1887)
Baldwin, James. A Story of the Golden Age. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-story-of-the-golden-age.
@book{baldwin2026story,
author = {Baldwin, James},
title = {A Story of the Golden Age},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-story-of-the-golden-age},
note = {First published 1887}
}
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Get the full summary of A Story of the Golden Age, free
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