15 Brilliant Books on Greek Mythology
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- From full novels that retell the tales of Greek myths and legends to extensive compendiums of Greek mythology, here's a big stack of awesome recommendations for you to check out (there may not actually be 15. I didn't count).
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I'm two weeks late to this comment section, but I wanted to add one of my favourite Greek myth retellings. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood is a novella that focuses on Penelope and her twelve maids whilst they wait for Odysseus to return home. Once again, these characters are normally reduced to the background, but are now the centre of the story. The book also has sections written in verse as if it's a Greek chorus. All-in-all, it's a super short retelling that I recommend!
I've heard wonderful things about it and I'll certainly get to it soon, thanks! You really sold it!
I'd also recommend a series by Janell Rhiannon called the Homeric Chronicles. The series isn't too well known yet but it's an extremely detailed retelling of the Iliad and it's easy to read 😊
Oh that sounds perfect! Thank you so much!
I got randomly recommended Circe on Kindle Unlimited and just came to search out more mythology books. I haven’t even finished Circe yet but it’s bringing back my love of Greek mythology. Thank you for your recommendations!
I loveeee The Song of Achilles so much I couldn’t get the feeling of loss out of my chest for weeks!!! I didn’t love Circe as much as I wanted to as well but it was still a great retelling. I have both Ariadne and The Silence of the Girls on my TBR so hopefully I can start reading them soon!
God I know, that book gets into your heart! Sadly, Circe just doesn't in the same way. Ariadne is tons of fun though, and I hope you enjoy it!
thats sad i loved circe sm
So nice that people still read the Greek mythology. They should definitely read odyssey and iliad. Great job as always!
Now that it’s holiday season your videos are a lifesaver! Family and friends will be getting many of the books you’ve mentioned in recent weeks as presents. Thanks!
That makes my heart soar, honestly. Especially when many books I recommend are from indie publishers. Support indies always :)
Oh I so want to read Ariadne!
There's an Italian historian expert on Latin and Greek mythology, literature and overall civilazations. Her name is Eva Cantarella - you will NOT graduate high school here without reading at least ONE of her countless books. If some of them have been translated - and they should have - you should absolutely check her out, I think you'd love her books :)
Oh thank you so much for recommending her! I've never even heard of her, and to think she's such a huge deal in Italy!
lmaoo omfg she's the author of my history school book (I'm italian and currently in high school)
@@eli-qc5rl ohh nice!!! i have only read her more literature related books, but she is a great historian and i’m sure her history text is much better than so many others! the one i studied on was absolutely terrible 🙄
Love the serendipitous story for Charlotte Higgins and the Cambridge Satchel Company. Great patron pick!
Haha thank you 💜
Oooh I didn't know The Women of Troy is a continuation of another book 😅 Great recommendations! I'm adding some of these books on my list ☺️
Yup, and a really wonderful one, too!
I've studied comparative mythology for over 30 years and by opting for dramatic retellings of the myths there's a very high probability of missing critical information. These aren't fanciful creations or the attempts of primitive men to explain things they didn't understand they are highly complex symbolic allegories that contain the entirety of the ancient mystery tradition.. For example one book went into Achilles which is from the illiad .. the illiad is a theurgic text and the book "theurgy theory and practice" by p.d. Newman goes into this quite well.. the best book on Greek mythology i would recommend as a professional would be "the Greek myths" by Robert Graves.. if people only knew what was hidden within those myths....
Righto
@@WillowTalksBooks yeah I figured you were an idiot lol well pearls before swine as they say.
hiii!! hope you are well, and thanks for this video upload. had a hard day today, and your videos are a comfort thing for me!
That's such a wonderful compliment, thank you! I hope your days get better. Im going through a rough time as well but making videos brings me joy :)
The Wolf Den is so so good!! One of my favorites of the year and I can’t wait for the rest of the trilogy. Also how didn’t I know there is a sequel to The Silence of the Girls? I need to get into that asap. I’m currently reading The Children of Jocasta by Haynes, about the Oedipus and Antigone myths, and it’s also excellent.
I cannot wait to get my teeth into The Wolf Den! And don't feel bad, Women of Troy only just came out.
I have to read that Haynes book though! I loved studying Antigone at school.
My TBR list thanks you again! 😊
Isn't The Wolf Den Roman rather than Greek?
Just Googled it and you're right, Pompeii was a Roman city. Egg on my face, eh?
I've listened to all three Fry mythology books, I think you do enjoy it more that way as Fry reads it himself. Troy, the last one, gives a bit of space to Helen, I did like that she usually is reduced to background.
Are you planning to read the Greek classics? It would be interesting to see a comparison video of each
I have been for the longest time! And I feel like I'm about ready to :)
robin waterfield's the greek myths.
ariadne.
the wolf den(a triology).
The song of acillies.
charlotte higgins' greek myths.
the thousand ships.
pandora's jar.
mythos and heroes(stephen fry).
Ahh you must’ve clicked on the full article that’s linked in the description. Smart :)
I loved Circe, especially its first half. I also loved Ariadne. I would say they are on equal footing. Each does certain things better than the other.
I liked "The Silence of the Girls", but didn't love it mainly because of its second part, and the introduction of Achille's POV. The novel had an amazing start. Those opening lines were fantatsic, but eventually ran little bit out of steam imo. I still would recommend it though.
I would have picked "The Songs of Achilles" in a heartbeat, but I REALLY dislike Achilles. lol
Hahaha nobody can blame you for having a strong dislike of Achilles. I could write an essay on the problems surrounding him and how he is perceived in stories.
Very late to the comment section here, but wanted to pop up to highly recommend If Not, Winter. Fragments of Sappho translated by Anne Carson.
A gorgeous translation of the fragments of Sappho’s lyrics and poetry. She was known as the tenth Muse in Ancient Greece , and was celebrated for her verses on mythology and love and desire between women. It really is beautiful and i think you’d like it.
In the last couple of weeks I've read The Silence of the Girls and The Women of Troy. I'd checked out TSOTG at the library, partly because of its beautiful cover, and only read it as I was reaching the renewal date. I loved it, but as you say, it's hard to 'love' or 'enjoy' something so heart-breaking. I'd gone off Greek myths for a long time, in favour of mythology from other parts of the world, but now I'm hooked again and am hoping to read The Song of Achilles in the not-too-distant future! :D
Nice overview 😊 I recommend Medea by Christa Wolf. A German feminist retelling from the 90s
I am so jealous of your hard covers
I loooove your reviews! Thank you so much for your work 💜
Thank you so much! Comments like yours keep me going 💜
I know this is a year old but I’d like you take on any books based on Norse mythology
Since you like books comprised of letters - you might like Dangerous Liasons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Ooh thanks for the rec! I'll check it out
I literally hated every second reading The songs of Achilles and left the book mid way.
Shame
You haven't included Percy Jackson.😅
Mhm
Great video. I am hoping Santa Claus will be bringing Greek Myths by Charlotte Higgins 🎅 I have a few of these books on my tbr but I know nothing about Greek mythology so I'm hoping Greek Myths will be a good place to start. I didn't realise the Stephen Fry books were for children.
you look like pam from the office
I get that a lot
I give the son of Achilles a 5/10 the book was good I really didn’t like the characters. Patroclus was weak and lacked purpose up until his death and Achilles was alright up until the end of the book where he started losing his mind
If you haven’t read the Iliad then you have zero credibility on this topic
Can you imagine being this much of a c*nt to someone’s face? Anonymity doesn’t mean you get to treat other people like sh*t. Get off my channel
Achilles being gay is very much modern revisionism
Nobody is this stupid, stop pretending. But, on the off-chance you’re being serious, you should read The LGBTQ+ History Book. I hear the audiobook is particularly good.
Can someone recommend me a greek fantasy book without feminism
Hahahahahahaha
@@WillowTalksBooks no like for real is there non, which doesn't Focus on Feminism 🥲
The original epics that all these books are based on? These books are about reclaiming narratives and putting forgotten women at the forefront, giving them the agency they were never afforded in the original stories. So, if you’d like to remove all that pesky female agency, go read the original epic poems :)
Or, as my partner just said, “Read the Percy Jackson books or grow up.”
@@WillowTalksBooks I already did but I mean is there no one ficusing on something else in the stories like a love Story our a hero and his sacrificey