Four books that will make you love Greek mythology
Greek mythology can be seen as a dusty subject, difficult to dive into and impossible to navigate through the sheer amount of names and diabolical creatures it expects you to know. However, if fantasy or even the pull of a good character journey inspires you to read, Greek mythology retellings offer a rich adventure and compelling drama to keep you immersed in their stories.
The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
A young prince, Patroclus, is banished and sent to the palace of Peleus where he meets Achilles, the prophesied great hero of Greece. Madeline Miller brings the voice of Patroclus to immerse you in a tale of young love which is fraught with horrid twists of fates as the two men journey to the famous battle of Troy. This is the perfect novel to introduce a reader to the exciting new influx of Greek mythology retelling meant to soften and break your heart.
Circe, Madeline Miller
Daughter of the sun god Helios, Circe has always been the outcast in her divine family. Feeling powerless and alone, she meets a young sailor Glaucus who seems to understand her sorrow. Accessing a power forbidden by the gods, Circe makes Glaucus immortal so she will never be alone again but is cast aside for his new expectations of immortality. Banished to an island, Circe becomes a fearsome sorceress encountering gods, monsters, and heroes while still trying to find what will truly bring her peace. Madeline Miller’s second novel has the perfect tone and flourish to carry on reading through Greek mythology, touching on the same high emotional tones as Song of Achilles with betrayal, bittersweet loves, and empowerment.
The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker
Pat Barker tells a brutal and stark retelling of the war of Troy through young enslaved princess Briseis. Though voiceless in the war camp she sees all, allowing for the story to break down even the great heroes into little more boys playing at war. Unlike the books above Barker takes on a realism perspective rather than one purely influenced by mythology so caution is necessary if you avoid violent themes. As a heroine, Briseis makes the book compelling in her honesty and fear of the men who have destroyed her life while also narrating a strange kinship with the women enslaved to the heroes of Greece.
Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, Stephen Fry
If you enjoyed the tales of Greek mythology but were curious about the gods’ lives and their drama even before their heroes were born, look to Stephen Fry’s sardonic collection of tales in Mythos. From Hephaestus’s catastrophic marriage to Aphrodite (and her affair with his brother), to the disastrously one-sided love that transformed a nymph into an ‘Echo’, these stories span the start of how the universe began in Greek mythology to the great loves, betrayals and origins of the gods and their sensational ways.
