‘Mythos by Stephen Fry is a humorous retelling of the Greek myths—if that seems possible given all the atrocities constantly being committed by the gods, goddesses, and titans. It’s a really great book for getting on top of not only the Greek myths but also the way the names of the gods/goddesses etc. and Ancient Greek words are intertwined into the modern English language. We highly recommend the audiobook, in particular, narrated by Stephen Fry himself, who is a talented and funny actor.’ (Five books, 2021)
I started listening to Mythos by Stephen Fry as an audiobook. I had just downloaded audible as I never really managed to get into reading, but must say I am loving being able to listen to books! My boyfriend suggested I listen to this books called Mythos, as he knows I have always had a very strong interest in Greek Mythology, so I started to listen to it and I cannot even begin to explain how much I have learnt, just from going on walks and having my earphones in, I am able to learn about a whole other culture and religion, one I am very intrigued in.
Stephen Fry is also the voice of the audiobook, which, in my opinion, makes it all that much better. He explains so well and in a very detailed manner how the earth began and the stories of the Titans and the Olympians. He also explains very clearly, that the Greeks had different views and opinions on certain aspects, for example, they believe that 12 is a far more superior number to 10 as 12 is divisible by 2,3,4 and 6 whereas 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5 (boring), they had a strong attraction to Mathematics, some of the greatest mathematicians were Greek, for example, Pythagoras and Aristotle. I do believe that I would like to include this interest in my project, by showing the 12 Olympian Gods and Goddesses.
It is also very well explained how Greek Mythology comes into our everyday lives, for example, the Goddess 'GAIA’ who is a personification of the earth and grandmother to Zeus. The word Gaia is another way of saying γῆ (ge) which mean Earth in Greek, this ‘ge’ transformed into geo for geology or geography, always meaning earth. The Romans named Gaia - Terra, which means ‘Earth’ in Latin.
I seem to make connections with my everyday life and Greek Mythology, living in a Roman city makes these connections even stronger as the Romans were so heavily influenced by the Greeks, in many ways including architecture and the Gods, they named the gods and goddess after planets eg,
Ares - Mars.
Hades - Pluto
Neptune - Poseidon
and so on.
Anyway, realising just how much of an impact these connections has had on me, especially now that I am listening to the book about them, has made me even more intrigued and interested by these stories. So, even though I could go on and explain everything I have learnt through what I have already listened to, I will do this in chunks throughout my research. I am starting to edge towards using everyday objects to interpret the 12 Olympian gods. Using a few different photographers and artists as inspiration to hopefully create 12 Tableaux for each God and Goddess.