Heroes

This was on my 5-star prediction list and I'm sad to say it didn't get 5 stars, though I did really enjoy it. It's just all the names and such that I kept on forgetting and the footnotes that distracted me (they did have some good information though, but it's still distracting) and took me out of the story. But yeah, I always love to read more about myths especially if it's retold in a bit of a funny way.

Really enjoyed this book. I read them out of order, but this one might have been my favorite out of all three. Stephen Fry is a great story teller.

TW to be added later

Solid book showing the stories of selected Greek heroes! Did feel a bit slow at times, but rating bumped up .25 stars because it ended with Theseus, and boy, did the way Fry write that one pulled me in. Worth noting there are multiple page number errors in the footnotes and some grammar errors in the text itself, which is odd because this is a later printing of these books. Definitely enjoyed, though!

Highly recommend if you love Greek mythology to get the audio book. Stephen Fry also narrates and he brings so much life to the numerous cast of characters. His writing is also captivating, adding in anachronisms where appropriate and never letting the text get to dry. This also feels like one of the more complete myth compilations, as Fry points out other versions that might be less popular or common is certain areas, and explains why such divergent explanations may occur.

Actual rating: 4.5 rounded up. I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Chronicle Books) and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Stephen Fry is such a treasure. There’s something about his style of storytelling that can make even the most grotesque tales a delight to read. And when given the opportunity to listen to him reading his own words, I never pass it up. His verbal storytelling is even more entertaining than his writing, and I so enjoyed being able to simultaneously read and listen to this book and its prequel, Mythos. Where Mythos told the stories of the Greek pantheon, from their inception to their deeds, Heroes recounts the tales of, well, heroes. Greek mythology relies almost as heavily on the exploits of heroes as it does on the fickle interference of the gods. In this book, Fry covers most of the more famous heroes of Ancient Greece. The greatest hits, if you will. Over the course of its more than 400 pages, Fry recounts in Heroes the tales of Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Jason, Atalanta, Oedipus, and Theseus. I was at first confused by the omission of Achilles and Odysseus, but it was recently announced that Fry will be publishing a further volume, Troy, about the events of The Iliad and The Odyssey. But of the heroes covered, Fry did an excellent job really digging into their lives and presenting them as three-dimensional characters, shying away from neither their attributes nor their weaknesses. It’s easy to see how much research and care was put into the writing of this book and Mythos, and they manage to be both accessible to those unfamiliar with the stories and a fun way to revisit for those who are well exposed to the material. “You see?' said Prometheus. 'It is your fate to be Heracles the hero, burdened with labours, yet it is also your choice. You choose to submit to it. Such is the paradox of living. We willingly accept that we have no will.” Besides the sassy approach Fry takes to his storytelling, one of my favorite elements of both this book and Mythos is the inclusion of so much etymology. The origin of words and phrases has always fascinated me, and the same must be true of Fry for him to have includes so much information regarding those derivations. However, I honestly could have lived without some of that information. For instance, the origins of the terms Milky Way and galaxy as referring to Hera’s sprayed breast milk is something I did not know. Not sure I needed to know, but I know it I do. And I can’t un-know it. Heroes seems a bit overly silly in tone compared to Mythos, but it’s still fun. I can’t get enough of Fry’s recounting of Greek mythology, and I will undoubtedly be rereading both of these books periodically. I can’t wait to get my hands on Troy, Fry’s retelling of the the Trojan War and the events that followed. These books are such a wonderfully easy way to brush up on your knowledge of Greek mythology, and ensure that you have a lot of fun while learning. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

ok, so i am fairly familiar with greek mythology so i cannot necessarily say it was anything new for me. but since i am very soured towards most greek (male) heroes, i appreciated that it reminded me of how much fun mythos and heroic quests are. the section dedicated to jason and the argonauts was especially good and exciting. other brilliant moments were medea killing her children, theseus (my worstie) killing the minotaur (it felt like a nod to 'house of asterion') and aegeus's death. i appreciate that this is a grim selection but i felt they were represented particularly dramatically and beautifully. i would recommend getting the audiobook, especially if you are already familiar with the majority of the myths, as stephen fry's narration is excellent.

Even though I already know quite a lot about the Ancient Times, I really enjoy the books by Stephen Fry about the mythology of the Ancient Greeks. I have already read Mythos before, and there were multiple references to that in Heroes. Most of the stories in Heroes I had already (partly) heard about in Latin and Greek class or read about in Percy Jackson, but I still liked the stories, since they give a little extra depth inside the multiple characters and it creates connections in between the stories of for example Heracles and Theseus. I liked the story about Jason and the Argonauts the best, because I knew the least about him beforehand and it included so many heroes and great names I had heard about before, so it was nice to know the connections between Jason and other stories. I do prefer Mythos over Heroes, but I really enjoyed reading Heroes anyway. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the heroes of Ancient Greece and their stories, even if you think you already know a lot about them. If you liked this book, I recommend: Mythos by Stephen Fry; The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller; the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

Of course, similar to Mythos. If you want a truncated and generally more humorous recounting of myths specific to heroes, this is the book for you. Fry, to his credit, even more often mentions alternative interpretations/tellings of some the myths. It’s definitely a bit more leaning toward artistic licence with the humour in this one. Sometimes it’s to cover up how much stuff doesn’t make sense—other times it to sort of punctuate or deflate an otherwise tense story. Incest, beastiality, rape, etc.

★★★★½

Really solid collection. Better written than Mythos.

A worthy successor to Mythos. I look forward to the inevitable retelling of the Iliad (and maybe also the Odyssey?) that seems (t0 me) to be heavily signposted here.