No doubt, these stories will feature in the sequel – Heros? – that seems all but inevitable.

The many stories involving heroes such as Heracles or the Theban and Trojan Wars, fall outside of Stephen Fry’s remit. In any event, the aim of Mythos is to retell the Greek myths with an emphasis on the stories involving the gods. 475 BC) who said that if cattle, horses, or lions had hands or could paint they would have gods that looked like themselves and would create works that were similar to what humans produced (frr. Indeed, it was the ancient philosopher Xenophanes (ca. The Sumerians, too, created gods in their own image. Of course, the exact same thing could be said about the gods of pretty much any (ancient) culture. The Greeks created gods that were in their image: warlike but creative, wise but ferocious, loving but jealous, tender but brutal, compassionate but vengeful. The Greeks are singled out as unique, as special, even while Fry emphasizes the universal nature of the stories. To Fry, the myths are known primarily from the surviving literature there’s no room here for scenes known from only from art, nor is much attention paid to oral traditions. Perhaps in this light we should also devote not too much time to some of the rather old-fashioned notions regarding the Greeks and their myths that Fry sets out in the remainder of his foreword. To suggest that there’s “nothing academic or intellectual about Greek mythology” is rather cheeky: no doubt Fry is here taking aim at those critics who would dismiss Mythos as superficial entertainment popcorn, rather than a proper meal.

Aside from having studied Greek mythology in an academic setting, I have also written a book about the topic myself and, of course, have written about Classical mythology frequently on this website and elsewhere. vii).Ĭlearly, I’m not the intended audience for this book. He further explains that “There is absolutely nothing academic or intellectual about Greek mythology it is addictive, entertaining, approachable and astonishingly human” (p. In his foreword to Mythos, actor, comedian, and author Stephen Fry explains that he wrote the book especially for “those who may never have encountered the characters and stories of Greek myth before”, adding that no foreknowledge is necessary, since “it starts with an empty universe”. This article was originally published on the defunct Ancient World Magazine website and is now re-published here.

Greek mythology stephen fry