Author | Stephen Fry |
---|---|
Publisher | Michael Joseph |
Publication date | 2017 |
ISBN | 9780718188726 |
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, [1] as well as a play titled Mythos: A Trilogy, [2] which premiered at the Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada, in 2018 [3] and was set to tour the UK starting in August 2019. [2] [3] A third and fourth book, named Troy and Odyssey followed in 2020 and 2024.
Fry states at the beginning of the book that no background knowledge is necessary to appreciate the stories and that "there is absolutely nothing academic or intellectual about Greek mythology; it is addictive, entertaining, approachable and astonishingly human". [4] The stories are mostly retellings of myths derived from Hesiod's Theogony , Ovid's Metamorphoses and Apuleius's The Golden Ass/Donkey. [5]
Mythos received a rating of 4/5 in a review titled "What kind of a book is Stephen Fry's Mythos? Who knows — but it's clever and fun" in the culture section of The Telegraph . [6] The Scotsman praised the book's accessibility as well as Fry's knowledge and enthusiasm about the subject [4] but criticised the inconsistency of the book's style, saying that it shifts between being erudite and "deliberately downmarket". [4] British scholar Edith Hall criticised Fry's limited selection of myths in her review for The Guardian [5] and said that the book's lack of a contents page or index means that the reader is not warned of its uncomprehensive nature. [5] She goes on however to commend Fry for putting his fame to constructive use and to say that his "distinctive voice undoubtedly adds something lively, humorous and intimate to myth's psychological dimension. People who enjoy his media personality and particular style of post‑Wodehouse English drollery are in for a treat". [5]
Joseph John Campbell was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the human experience. Campbell's best-known work is his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), in which he discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero shared by world mythologies, termed the monomyth.
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He first came to prominence as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984) alongside Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane and in Blackadder (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. Since 2011 he has served as president of the mental health charity Mind.
Thomas Bulfinch was an American author born in Newton, Massachusetts, known best for Bulfinch's Mythology, a posthumous combination of his three volumes of mythologies.
Mythos is a worldview-based traditional story or body of mythology.
The Myth of Er is a legend that concludes Plato's Republic (10.614–10.621). The story includes an account of the cosmos and the afterlife that greatly influenced religious, philosophical, and scientific thought for many centuries.
The Songs of Kings was a novel published in 2002 by Barry Unsworth that retells the story of Iphigenia at Aulis told by the Greek tragic poet Euripides.
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes is a book written by Edith Hamilton, published in 1942 by Little, Brown and Company. It has been reissued since then by several publishers, including its 75th anniversary illustrated edition. It retells stories of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology drawn from a variety of sources. The introduction includes commentary on the major classical poets used as sources, and on how changing cultures have led to changing characterizations of the deities and their myths. It is frequently used in high schools and colleges as an introductory text to ancient mythology and belief.
Natalie Louise Haynes is an English writer, broadcaster, classicist, and comedian.
Thomas Holland is an English author and popular historian who has published best-selling books on topics including classical and medieval history, and the origins of Islam.
Medusa and the other Gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale, have been featured in art and culture spanning from the days of ancient Greece to present day. Medusa is the most well-known of the three mythological monsters, having been variously portrayed as a monster, a protective symbol, a rallying symbol for liberty, and a sympathetic victim of rape and/or a curse.
Devdutt Pattanaik is a mythologist and writer from Mumbai, India. He writes on mythology, the study of cultural truths revealed through stories, symbols and rituals. He lectures on the relevance of both Indian and Western myths in modern life. His work focuses largely on the areas of religion, mythology, and management. He has authored and illustrated over 50 books, including ABC Of Hinduism, Bahubali : 63 insights into Jainism, and Yoga Mythology: 64 Asanas and Their Stories.
Epic is a narrative genre characterised by its length, scope, and subject matter. The defining characteristics of the genre are mostly derived from its roots in ancient poetry. An epic is not limited to the traditional medium of oral poetry, but has expanded to include modern mediums including film, theater, television shows, novels, and video games.
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.
Jason Colavito is an American author and independent scholar specializing in the study of fringe theories particularly around ancient history and extraterrestrials. Colavito has written a number of books, including The Cult of Alien Gods (2005), The Mound Builder Myth (2020), and Legends of the Pyramids (2021).
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.
A Thousand Ships is a 2019 novel by Natalie Haynes which retells the mythology of the Trojan War from the perspective of the women involved. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction.
Greek mythology retelling is a literary genre where stories from classic Greek mythology are placed in either a contemporary or futuristic setting. Stories from this genre aim to combine mythological themes like birth, death, and love with modern philosophies of feminism and empowerment.