Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, Stephen Fry, UK, 2017

This is a book to be read several times. It is a goldmine of information about the Greek myths and everything else as well. It is also a treasure trove when it comes to the origins of many English words and phrases.

When I first began reading Mythos, I felt as though I should have a notebook at hand in order to write down the names of the many gods and related beings. I found the range of characters, with their complicated and many-layered relationships, to be extremely daunting, but I decided to let the stories and the information wash around me, trusting that whatever remained with me was meant to remain, and the rest could be revisited at some other time. This proved to be a good solution.

Fry’s knowledge of the myths, the ancient world, the English language and many other associated things is overwhelming. Gods like Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Poseidon – to name only a few – come to life with both god-like and human-like attributes. Jealous and often vindictive, most of these gods are self-centred and seemingly completely devoid of any kind of empathy.

The majority of us are familiar with the Greek myths, and the stories about Ares, Hades, Hermes, Aphrodite and others are not new; however, in the hands of story-teller Fry, all these stories (and many others) become alive in a completely new and vibrant manner.

This is definitely a book I would recommend – its 410 pages to be either swallowed in one very hearty meal or broken off, bit by bit, over an extended period of time. Either way you are in for a roller-coaster of a ride.