Book review: Mythos
Everyone has surely heard of Pandora’s Box, but exactly what was in the box (which turns out to have been a jar) might be more of a mystery.
Book: Mythos
Author: Stephen Fry
Reviewed by: Samantha Keogh
Review made possible by: Penguin Random House South Africa
Ask anyone who Poseidon was (or Neptune as the Romans knew him) and few will hesitate to tell you he was the god of the sea.
And we’re all aware that Greek mythology was riddled with gods, Titans, water nymphs … and a host of other demi-gods and other miscellaneous immortals but, unless we have had the benefit of (or were subjected to) a “classical education”, few of us are fully au fait with the full gamut of characters the ancient Greeks had to contend with.
Stephen Fry – he of television series QI fame – sets out to remedy this deficiency in his delightful book Mythos.
Fry takes the ingredients that could so easily be a turgid, tedious school lunch and seasons them with dry humour and a raconteur’s delivery to produce a gourmet’s delight.
Interrupting himself frequently – with asides in the form of copious and sometimes self-effacing footnotes – he tells of the Hellenic version of creation before moving on to the selection of the Olympian 12 (although strictly speaking there were only 11 on Mount Olympus because Hades spent nearly all his time in the underworld).
Led by Zeus, these were a dozen of the most capricious, jealous, retaliatory, promiscuous and powerful beings imaginable, who were quick to respond to real or imagined slights.
They were also generous with the favours they granted mortals but never had the admonition to “be careful what you wish for” been more appropriate.
Fry tells many of the stories (time and pages preclude him for telling all) of how things came to be.
How Prometheus stole fire from the god Hephaestus – and was punished by having two vultures eat his liver daily for eternity.
How mulberries became purple.
How Leander swam the Hellespont every night to visit Hero, his true love – until the winds combined to extinguish his guiding light in her window, he became lost, was dashed against the rocks and drowned.
And many others.
Some tales – like that of Midas – we think we know (gold, riches and all that).
Most of us aren’t aware of the half of it and Fry tells the real story in which things did not turn out as Midas had hoped.
And those for whom words are an irresistible relish will be even more enchanted by the frequent references to how many English words and phrases we take for granted without thinking of their etymology with many having their origins in Greek mythology.
Should you read it?
What a question.
