Mythos book review

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry
Published by Michael Joseph on November 2, 2017
Pages: 416
Goodreads

The Greek myths are the greatest stories ever told, passed down through millennia and inspiring writers and artists as varied as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, James Joyce and Walt Disney.
They are embedded deeply in the traditions, tales and cultural DNA of the West. In Stephen Fry's hands the stories of the titans and gods become a brilliantly entertaining account of ribaldry and revelry, warfare and worship, debauchery, love affairs and life lessons, slayings and suicides, triumphs and tragedies.
You'll fall in love with Zeus, marvel at the birth of Athena, wince at Cronus and Gaia's revenge on Ouranos, weep with King Midas and hunt with the beautiful and ferocious Artemis.
Thoroughly spellbinding, informative and moving, Stephen Fry's Mythos perfectly captures these stories for the modern age - in all their rich and deeply human relevance.

I am on what seems to be a giant Greek myth push at the moment but Mythos has been on my list for a very long time and I love learning about the different Greek heroes in almost chronological order. It was interesting to see how everything ends up escalating from single moments and choices. I also loved Stephen Fry’s tone all the way through this book and the almost modern-day references through the tales. I definitely learnt a lot and I think I have way more appreciation for just how brilliant Greek mythology is. I will say, this is probably a book I’m going to reread the physical book for, purely because although I enjoyed the narration I struggled to keep a track of the characters and who was who. There are so many people and time frames that I think it would have been more enjoyable for me to be able to flick back and reacquaint myself.

I adore Greek myths and the Greek Gods. I love the fact that Mythos, managed to really humanise the Gods and the various nymphs and other creatures. I really became involved in their stories and their lives. I think my favourite would be the stupid mortals who tried to take on the Gods and expected to win. I also enjoyed the ‘lessons’ that were pulled out of the situations, and how the Gods played each other through the different mortals. Basically what I’m saying is, I loved the interactions the Gods had with the normal world and how they influenced everything around them. I think my favourite God is Athena and my favourite story was Eros and Pysche.

The best bit of Mythos was just how brilliantly Stephen Fry added to the already wonderfully detailed stories. He made them feel easy to understand and also added important details which seemed to help drive certain points home. I loved looking at the creation of earth and the different entities in a totally different way and you could definitely pull parallels from that to other religious texts of the same time period. I think I was fascinated by the way everything seemed to click in together and I really loved watching different people’s lives entwine and become one at the last moment.

I think the one bit with Mythos that I struggled with was definitely remembering who the different people were and what their connection to who was. I have mentioned that although I enjoy Stephen Fry’s narration I will definitely be rereading this as a physical copy purely so I can really enjoy the characters and the stories and keep better track of everything going on. Maybe when I read it next I’ll make my own Greek family tree to keep a track!

I would definitely recommend Mythos. It was a brilliant take on the Greek Myths that contained a LOT of information without being too dry and it kept my attention all the way through! Very impressed!

Have you read Mythos? What did you think? Were you able to keep a track of everyone? Let me know!