Sunday, May 10, 2020

Review: Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After having read "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman, I couldn't help but compare these two, although Stephen Fry brings his usual self to this, adding his asides and general comments related to how the god and place names are still used to this day (i.e. Bosphorus and Oxford have the same meaning). His appendices at the end also add some light to how he compiled and retold the myths.

I enjoyed this book so much I started reading Euripides' plays (Alcestis, Medea and others) right after (actually, before even finishing) and, despite the plays involving other characters, they seemed more alive having just learned that much more about the context, etc.

I get the impression that most of the low ratings I see here seem to be by people wanting to show off that they knew about Greek myths prior to reading the book, while not finding any real fault with this book per se.

If you wish to learn more about Greek myths, or even if you don't, this will be a very entertaining and informative book.

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