Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold

Honestly, I love Stephen Fry's sense of humour and narrative voice so much that I would enjoy almost anything that he churns out. Mythos is no different.

I first listened to this exclusively on audiobook format almost 2 years ago now, when Greek mythology was an area that I kinda knew the barest superficials about, but didn't really have any in-depth idea. This book blew my mind away. It was like a collection of amazing short stories starring these out-of-these-world characters and it was so, so entertaining. It kickstarted an interest in mythology and after I had listened to it the first time, I did a lot more digging and research.

Two years later, having discussed a lot more on Greek mythology, read up a bit more, and listened to more podcasts about them, I'm now more familiar with the stories. I can see that Stephen Fry's rendition of them are almost like a summarised version of the myths and, arguably, slightly sanitised in a way. They're still very entertaining nevertheless, and with his trademark wit and humour as the proverbial cherry on top.

I've also recently read Gaiman's retelling of Norse mythology and find it interesting to compare the two. Gaiman, I could tell, was more interested in the storytelling. Fry, however, is more interested in how these myths have impacted our everyday lives, specifically how they have strongly influenced English as we use it today. Instead of just fun little stories, it felt like Fry strove to show that these myths have played a much larger role in our pop culture than a lot of us realise. He makes connections between these gods and stories and things that we see everyday and know the meaning of so instinctively that we may not have realised they came from Greek myth - for example, the staff and the serpent symbol synonamous with modern-day medicine being a reference to Asclepius and the serpent he saved which had then whispered the arts of healing into his ear.

Definitely a good read if you're at all interested in Greek myth. If you're a beginner, the engaging way Fry tells these stories will keep you entertaining from start to finish. If you're a veteran at Greek myth, the humourous way he retells and interprets these myths may still put a smile to your face.