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I would say that this compilation of myths would be a wonderful place to start for people looking to familiarise themselves with the gods of Greek mythology, but don’t want to dive into Hesiod or Pseudo-Apollodorus just yet.

He has re-written these stories in a lighthearted way, adding in dialogue and mannerisms that he thinks fit, but without losing the essence of the myth or the heart of the story. “Gaia visited her daughter Mnemosyne, who was busy being unpronounceable.”Īlthough there were a couple of comments and additions here and there that I didn’t exactly like/enjoy or didn't think were necessary, overall I greatly enjoyed Fry’s tone and writing style.

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Fry comments at the end of his book that great ancient writers like Ovid took creative license to these stories, and this fact emboldened him to be as imaginative as he wanted in his retellings. The thing about myths is that even in the ancient world, they were adapted and changed, so any colloquialisms and quips added into these stories by Fry is simply a continuation of a three-thousand-year long tradition. There are a lot of retellings in the world, but this one’s by far one of the most entertaining ones I have read. After introducing our main gods and their stories, Fry takes us through many of Zeus’ conquests, stories of divine revenge and retribution, and popular stories featuring our Olympian gods. “The Greeks created gods that were in their image warlike but creative, wise but ferocious, loving but jealous, tender but brutal, compassionate, but vengeful.”įry does an exceptional job at creating a somewhat linear narrative for all of these myths that were undoubtedly collected from numerous ancient sources and authors. Fry does a wonderful job conveying the beginning of existence, and then moves through the development of the world with the Titans, the Olympian gods, the nymphs, the lesser gods, and all other divine beings.

Stephen Fry has compiled the core myths from Greek mythology, beginning with the cosmogony or creation of the universe with the protogenoi or primordial god Chaos who was quickly followed by Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (the depths), Erebus (darkness), Nyx (night), Hemera (day) and Aether (light).

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Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry is his first book in his Great Mythology series and a book that has been physically on my shelf for years (probably since it came out in 2017).

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