Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold

It's a good time for anyone interested in mythology. First Neil Gaiman published his retelling of the Norse Myths, and now Stephen Fry has done the same for the Greek Myths. Mythos is a delight, easy to read and not weighed down (unlike say Robert Graves' book on Greek mothology) by copious notes and dubious interpretation. Instead Fry focuses on telling the myths with wit, style and in as clear a way as possible.

We start at the beginning, with the creation of the world, move through the age of the Titans and finally the Age of the Gods themselves, seated on Mount Olympus, ruled by Zeus. These are capricious, jealous, easily offended gods who have no quibbles about punishing mortals for perceived transgressions. Wishes are granted in a very literal way, so be careful what you ask for!

Fry takes us from the Golden Age into the Silver Age but stops short of the Age of Heroes. So there's no Jason and the Argonauts, no Hercules, no Trojan War. I can only hope these will be covered in a future Volume 2.

Otherwise immerse yourself in myths that have literally shaped out language and world (as Fry happily points out in the mercifully brief footnotes that accompany some of these stories).

Very good indeed.