The Reading List

THE READING LIST

MYTHOS

WRITTEN BY STEPHEN FRY

I picked up Stephen Fry’s book Mythos by accident looking for something light and fun to read. On that basis Mythos, written in 2017, was not a disappointment. Some of you will recognize Fry for his career as an actor, especially his comedic roles in Fry and Laurie and Black Adder along with many other dramatic roles in a long career. I didn’t know that Fry is also a writer, but he published his first novel in 1991.

Mythos is a funny retelling of Greek mythology for a modern audience. The Greek gods and mythical creatures are presented in a humorous, if not always authentic, way. By that I mean that I often feel as if these ancient divine beings were actually characters in an episode of Upstairs, Downstairs, or Downton Abbey. While unconventional, I think this made the characters and their situations less abstract and more relatable. From childhood, I’ve been fascinated by mythology and couldn’t get enough of reading the ancient tales. If this book were just a classic retelling of those stories, I probably would not have bothered, but, because of Fry’s unique retelling, I discovered anew why these tales fascinated me.

Fry does an especially good job of connecting the Greek myths with common words that we use today. Sometimes we forget how dependent English is on the ancient Greek language. If you’ve ever looked at an atlas to find a map, you may know that the word comes from the Titan with the same name who was forced to hold up the heavens (sometimes depicted as a world) on his shoulders. The words chronology, chronograph, chronic are related to Chronos, the god of time. Others include hypnosis, morphine, echo and fury, all named after creatures and beings from Greek mythology. Fry sprinkles these explanations throughout his story telling, which has the effect of instantly connecting these ancient stories with the reader’s experience today.

For sensitive readers, Mythos might be a little disturbing. The Greek gods were violent and their morality wasn’t exactly puritanical, so be warned. But, for those who want to learn about Greek mythology or just refresh old learning, this book fits the bill. There is much we can learn from the ancient tales of other cultures, especially the fact that, in our humanity, we are more alike than not.

REVIEWED BY FR. LARRY HOSTETTER

PRESIDENT, BRESCIA UNIVERSITY