''Mythos'' is a book written by British author

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

, 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

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, 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.

Synopsis

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". The stories are mostly retellings of myths derived from Hesiod's ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one ...

'', Ovid's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' and Apuleius's ''The Golden Ass/Donkey''.

Reception

''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 ''

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''. ''

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'' praised the book's accessibility as well as Fry's knowledge and enthusiasm about the subject but criticised the inconsistency of the book's style, saying that it shifts between being erudite and "deliberately downmarket". British scholar

Edith Hall Edith Hall, (born 4 March 1959) is a British scholar of classics, specialising in ancient Greek literature and cultural history, and professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. She is a Fellow of the Bri ...

criticised Fry's limited selection of myths in her review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and said that the book's lack of a contents page or

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means that the reader is not warned of its uncomprehensive nature. 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".

References

{{Stephen Fry 2017 books Books by Stephen Fry Mythology books Works based on classical mythology Books about Greek mythology