I’ve always had an interest in Greek mythology and its subsequent impact on worldwide culture through colonialism and Hollywood is indelible. However, I think there are only a few people living today that would have absorbed the original texts or even their best translations firsthand. One fellow I do have faith to have completed such tasks is Stephen Fry. So when he writes a book about Greek mythology I’ll tend to think his shit is on point.
I found Heroes on a bookshelf and decided to pick it up to kill some time and notch another book on the list I aim to fill before the year ends. It’s an entertaining read and not very difficult to get through. It seems like a translation for the 21st century audience. Even though the footnotes can be clunky and lines of family lineage may rip the reader from the narrative, the simple facts of each story are plain and easily digestible.
Of course there must be some meaning and nuance lost in the simplification that can keep a 21st century consumer’s attention but one can walk away after reading this book with a fair understanding of the stories of great heroes like Heracles (aka, Hercules), Jason and Theseus, among others. I had known a few of these before I began reading this book but there were some small details that were remarked on in this text that helped me gain a fuller and more meaningful experience from the mythology.
For instance, the fact that the story of Thesius slaying the Minotaur is told with different details depending on the different viewpoints, Athenian and Cretan. One painting Thesius as a love-lorn romantic, while the other painted him as a heartless boor. That’s where Fry’s footnotes come in handy, but I did ignore a few around the two-thirds mark because I just couldn’t be bothered. I just wanted to know the details of the story, not anything else.
Although the book may simply and lose some of the juice that comes from the originals, it does at least provide the 21st century reader a palace to go for their fix of ancient Greek mythology. In that sense Stephen Fry may have ensured that these myths will find another life for another century. These stories are archetypal and knowing them makes anyone a better person for it even if they can’t tell why. This book makes it quite easy for anyone who can read to find these stories for themselves.
So thank you Stephen. I have already ordered a copy of Mythos and I will be asking my Greek friends if they have read these books. I also plan to be in Crete and Athens in late 2025 and I feel that my trip has already been enhanced because I have engaged with some of the stories that occurred on those shores all those millennia ago. It’s an incredible feeling to find yourself within time and space and be grateful and curious and excited. Putting yourself in different contexts helps to bring out those feelings. Reading is the cheapest and easiest way to get into those contexts, but if you can travel, I recommend taking the chance.
