Greek mythology retelling is a literary genre where stories from classic Greek mythology are retold, placed in either a contemporary or futuristic setting. [1] [2] Stories from this genre aim to combine mythological themes like birth, death, and love with modern philosophies of feminism and empowerment. [3]
One of the first examples of the genre is The Penelopiad (2005) written by Margaret Atwood that tells the events of Homer's The Odyssey, specifically the tragedy of Penelope, in the 21st century. [3] The book was part of the Canongate Myth Series where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. [4] Another influential series in the genre is Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series , which tells the story of Greek gods and their children living in the modern world. [5] [2] Subsequent series tackling other myths like Norse and Egyptian were also published by Riordan. Ursula K. Le Guin also published a book entitled Lavinia (2008) that retells the story of the Aeneid through the eyes of a minor female character, Lavinia. [6]
Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles (2011) became the first book to be coined the term. Although the series takes place in the Trojan War, the book gained popularity for its focus on LGBTQ+ relationships. [6] Another popular book was Mythos (2017) by Stephen Fry which is composed of several Greek tales retold and modernized. [3] Recently, the genre was put into scrutiny during the release of the controversial book Crown of Starlight by Cait Corran. [7]
Other examples include:
In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë was a queen of Crete, and was often referred to as goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. The daughter of Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse, Pasiphaë is notable as the mother of the Minotaur. Her husband, Minos, failed to sacrifice the Cretan Bull to Poseidon as he had promised. Poseidon then cursed Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull. Athenian inventor Daedalus built a hollow cow for her to hide in so she could mate with the bull, which resulted in her conceiving the Minotaur.
Acantha is often claimed to be a minor character in Greek mythology whose metamorphosis was the origin of the Acanthus plant. Acantha's myth however does not appear in any classical source.
In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem Metamorphoses. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors.
Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the major survivals of classical antiquity throughout later, including modern, Western culture. The Greek word mythos refers to the spoken word or speech, but it also denotes a tale, story or narrative.
Oisín, Osian, Ossian, or anglicized as Osheen was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the demigod son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and of Sadhbh, and is the narrator of much of the cycle and composition of the poems are attributed to him.
Clytemnestra, in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Sparta. In Aeschylus' Oresteia, she murders Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess Cassandra, whom Agamemnon had taken as a war prize following the sack of Troy; however, in Homer's Odyssey, her role in Agamemnon's death is unclear and her character is significantly more subdued.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a fantasy novel series by American author Rick Riordan. The first book series in his Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, the novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st century. The series follows the protagonist, Percy Jackson, a young demigod who must prevent the Titans, led by Kronos, from destroying the world.
Richard Russell Riordan Jr. is an American author, best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million copies in the United States. 20th Century Fox adapted the first two books of his Percy Jackson series as part of a series of films in which Riordan was not involved. Riordan currently serves as a co-creator and executive producer on the television series adaption of the book series that was released on Disney+ in 2023. Riordan's books have also spawned other related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections.
Camp Half-Blood Chronicles is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an essay collection, multiple guides, nine graphic novels, two films, a live action tv series, a video game, a musical, and other media. Set in the modern world, it focuses on groups of demigod teenagers, and features many characters from Greek and Roman mythology. The first series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, follows the adventures of a boy named Percy Jackson at a summer camp for Greek demigods. The second series, The Heroes of Olympus, introduces several more lead characters and a second camp for Roman demigods named Camp Jupiter in San Francisco. The third series, The Trials of Apollo, follows the now-mortal god Apollo on a quest to free the Oracle's and defeat three Roman emperors to reclaim his godhood, with appearances by many characters from the first and second series.
In Greek mythology, Arethusa was a nymph who fled from her home in Arcadia beneath the sea and came up as a fresh water fountain on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse, Sicily.
Myth-o-Mania is a series of books for children by Kate McMullan.
Elements of Greek mythology appear many times in culture, including pop culture. The Greek myths spread beyond the Hellenistic world when adopted into the culture of ancient Rome, and Western cultural movements have frequently incorporated them ever since, particularly since the Renaissance. Mythological elements feature in Renaissance art and in English poems, as well as in film and in other literature, and in songs and commercials. Along with the Bible and the classics-saturated works of Shakespeare, the myths of Greece and Rome have been the major "touchstone" in Western culture for the past 500 years.
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the veracity of a myth is not a defining criterion.
Madeline Miller is an American novelist, author of The Song of Achilles (2011) and Circe (2018). Miller spent ten years writing The Song of Achilles while she worked as a teacher of Latin and Greek. The novel tells the story of the love between the mythological figures Achilles and Patroclus; it won the Orange Prize for Fiction, making Miller the fourth debut novelist to win the prize. She is a 2019 recipient of the Alex Awards.
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is a collection of short stories about Greek mythology as narrated by Percy Jackson. It was written by Rick Riordan and was released on August 19, 2014. It features Percy Jackson giving his own take on the Greek myths in a humorous way.
Mythos is a book written by British author Stephen Fry, published in 2017. It is a retelling of a number of ancient Greek myths selected by Fry. It was followed by Fry's 2018 book Heroes, a retelling of myths about Greek heroes, as well as a play titled Mythos: A Trilogy, which premiered at the Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada, in 2018 and was set to tour the UK starting in August 2019. A third and fourth book, named Troy and Odyssey followed in 2020 and 2024.
And That Is Why... Manipuri Myths Retold is a children's book based on 12 stories from the Meitei mythology of Manipur, written by L. Somi Roy and published by Penguin Random House India. It was launched by Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha and titular King of Manipur Leishemba Sanajaoba at the palace compound, Imphal on 21 June 2021. The stories are adaptations of tales found in the puyas.
In ancient Greece, the surviving Greek mythology features a wide collection of myths where the subjects are physically transformed, usually through either divine intervention or sorcery and spells. Similar themes of physical transformation are found in all types of mythologies, folklore, and visual arts around the world, including those of Mesopotamian, Roman, medieval, and ancient Chinese.
Retelling, in media studies and literary studies, is the production of a derivative work that is substantially based on an earlier work but that presents the story differently.