Stephen Fry has penned and narrated a compelling retelling of the Greek myths of old. Starting with the creation of the world and going up until the troubled reign of King Midas, he deftly tells the various tales with wit and confidence.
I am far from an ancient Greek scholar, but I knew the basics going in to Mythos. Titans, horny gods, Pandora’s box, stealing fire, Gordian knots… This is a deep well from which to draw stories. In the closing pages of this book, Fry admits that he had to leave a lot out and choose a point at which to stop telling tales. And those stories he has leveraged, he’s added his own voice to (literally, in the case of the audiobook).
I was very taken with the opening chapters and stories of creation, and found myself hanging on to every word. Gaia and Uranus, the Titans, Cronus, Pontus… then Zeus and all that followed. To hear it told, in chronological order, is truly wild stuff. So much deception, secret pregnancies, child-eating… My favourite retelling was of Hermes, the divine trickster. Fry’s interpretation of his birth and early years were downright hilarious, and you cannot help but root for the mischievous little lad.
I also really enjoyed the story of how the bee got its stinger, and have somehow found myself in the habit of retelling that story after a few too many cocktails.
It’s rare to find a book that educates AND entertains, but Mythos did so quite well in my estimation. I admit I did get a little lost and disinterested towards the 10 hour mark of the audiobook, but I think I’m at fault there. Fry’s retelling is as engaging as you’d imagine.
I’ll give this one 4 stolen fires out of 5.