Stephen Fry's Mythos: An Engaging Exploration of Ancient Greek Mythology for Adults

Rhainz: I have gobbled up myths since childhood. This collection is a scholarly retelling of well known and some lesser known myths. I especially enjoyed the addition of including current words that owe their genesis from the words from myth.

United States on Oct 18, 2023

Madcatlady 55: I thought this book would be really interesting to read, and it is in parts, but found myself having to will myself to pick it up and read it. I probably would have given up if it hadn’t been set for a book club.
Stephen Fry is undoubtedly a clever scholar of the English language and likely spent a long time researching and writing this book however it is difficult and challenging to read in parts.

United Kingdom on Oct 14, 2023

Chuck W.: Read this book, half way through you'll order every other book by this author. I did!

United States on Oct 06, 2023

Bill Breuer: Stephen Fry has been clearly blessed by the god of storytelling - perhaps his name is Mythos? He surpasses himself here. Do not read this book! You must listen to him tell it! 15 hours of pure pleasure.

United States on Sep 27, 2023

Timothy Sanigar: Plenty of content and amusing characterisations.

United Kingdom on Aug 20, 2023

Kindle Customer: Like being told stories around a campfire, serves as an excellent introduction to Greek mythology.
Would definitely reccomend!
Thanks Stephen.

United Kingdom on Jul 31, 2023

JLC: I loved Greek myths when I was a child, but I was far along in life when I discovered that children's versions are REALLY sanitized. I had been meaning to read adult versions of the myths for years and when I found this one by Stephen Fry, I knew that I was in for a great romp from the Elysian Fields to the House of Hades. This is a very witty and compelling retelling of the exploits of the deities, with footnotes and side comments that indicate how much Greek mythology continues to inform our lives today. How marvelous it must have been to have lived in a world where no matter how ghastly you might have been in your life, it is not a patch on what the gods have done and where you are expected to fall in love with the beautiful no matter what sex or species. Some pedants have complained that Mr. Fry has been selective in the stories he presents, but frankly what he gives us is far more than we mere mortals can be expected to absorb and remember on our first journey into this strange and marvelous world.

United States on May 01, 2023

Guillaume Hansali: As a comedian and witty commentator with an unparalleled breadth of knowledge and command of the English language, Stephen Fry needs no introduction.
Not surprisingly, he happens to be a talented author with exquisite style.

An avid defender of freedom of Speech, Fry is an atheist and considers himself an empiricist. Empiricism is the idea that what we can know about the world is bonded to what we can observe. We sometimes see patterns within our observations and derive hypotheses that help us describe and, hopefully, predict natural phenomena. Empiricism is also about accepting that reason alone cannot explain everything; there are many things that we can predict with incredible accuracy but which still elude explanation.

So how can an empiricist like Fry explain his devotion to Greek mythology?

Because myths are narrative metaphors that teach us about human nature. They show us who we are at our worst and how we can be at our best.
Midas teaches us about the unintended consequences of our decisions;
Sisyphus's story is a masterclass in hubris, vanity, and the meaningless arrogance of believing that one can escape fate;
Prometheus' punishment is a...

Japan on Dec 22, 2021

TapTheLine: "Their myths understand that whoever created this baffling world, with its cruelties, wonders, caprices, beauties, madness and injustice, must themselves have been cruel, wonderful, capricious, beautiful, mad and unjust". The Greeks created gods that were in their image: warlike but creative, wise but ferocious, loving but jealous, tender but brutal, compassionate but vengeful". (Prologue)

Stephen Fry is one of the most versatile and multi-skilled artists of our time and his work as an author, actor, producer, director, presenter, etc, has won both critical acclaim and people's deep respect. From a man of this stature, one could expect nothing less than bold artistic creations that dare to approach grand themes and subjects through an innovative perspective. In Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, Fry attempts to retell the Greek myths, in chronological order, beginning with the existence of the primordial Chaos -the Greek equivalent to the scientific "big bang" theory- and the birth of the first order of divine beings such as the Nychta, Erevos, Gaia, Ouranos, Eris,and many others. These primordial deities were called the Titans, the word meaning "the striving, straining one",...

United States on Mar 06, 2020

Char Louise: I’m into mythology but so far have focused more on Norse mythology, so for a while I’d been wanting to read more of Greek mythology. I knew of the classic myths such as Pandora’s box, but the account of the creation of the world and of humanity was new to me and was fascinating. I found it especially interesting how many of the stories, recounted by Greek philosophers before the rise of Christianity, have similar biblical counterparts. While the book – as Fry states in the introduction – doesn’t aim to go into the meaning and interpretation of the myths, there were still intriguing historical and geographical comments that made me think. There are some modern references as he puts his own spin and humour into the classic tales.

I found the book slightly hard to get into and concentrate on, for various reasons: I wanted to read all the footnotes as I was interested, but that did mean breaking off from the main text and losing the flow. Also, because of the nature of mythology being short tales and anecdotes, I didn’t get absorbed in the story in the same way you do with a novel. But, neither of these things reflect badly on the author, it’s just the nature of...

United Kingdom on Mar 28, 2019