Greek Myths Retold and Retooled: Mythos, Medusa's Sisters, Galatea

I have always loved the stories of the Greek myths, having read the children's versions as a kid, then some Ovid and Homer, and now the reimaginings.

I just finished listening to Stephen Fry read his Mythos, the first of three books in which he tells the stories of Greek mythology. He makes a point of saying that he is retelling the stories, not interpreting or analyzing them but simply passing them along. I like to think that his reading them and me listening is part of the Homeric tradition.

I enjoyed the book immensely--he begins with Chaos and works his way through the creation, the Titans, the Olympians, and the several eras of mortals. He divides the stories into themes--transformations of gods and mortals into animals, plants, rivers, springs, etc--lovers, mostly doomed but a few successful couples--punishments of mortals and gods, particularly for hubris but also for other transgressions, notably lack of hospitality, which was so important to the Greeks. I loved some of the explanation stories--how the honeybee (Melissa) got a stinger was my personal favorite. And, of course, I absolutely loved how Fry would list all the various words that we use today that are derived from the names and stories.

Fry retells the age-old stories, some of which were new to me, with wry humor and some modern sensibilities, but not so much as to be annoying. I am planning on listening to Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures next, followed by Troy, which is the book my daughter Sarah read and recommended to me. I decided to start with Mythos so as to have a good grounding.

At 416 pages, Mythos is my first book that qualifies for the Big Book Summer Challenge.

Medusa's Sisters, by Lauren J.A. Bear, is in the reimaging camp. This was a 5-star novel for me, and it was absolutely riveting. In Bear's story, the Gorgons started out as beautiful triplets. The first and second born, Stheno and Euryale, are immortal, but Medusa is mortal. Despite being triplets, Stheno is a stereotypical oldest sibling, Euryale is the Jan Brady figure, and Medusa is the petted, spoiled baby. How they become monsters is a classic case of two powerful beings squabbling over glory and not caring who gets hurt as a consequence of their petty rivalry. 

Despite the tragedy of Medusa--and her story is a tragedy--the really lovely aspect of this reimagining is how these Gorgons wrestle with the consequences of their power to kill--it comes down to not judging the worth of a being by their physical appearance...even when looks can kill! They may have ended up as monsters externally, but the gorgeous gods who callously destroyed their happiness are the real villains in this story.

Bear has another book coming out in January 2025, Mother of Rome, which looks very promising and is already on my TBR list.

Galatea, by Madeline Miller, author of the fabulous Song of Achilles and Circe, is a slender book. Only 27 pages, this reimagining tells the myth of Pygmalion from the point of view of Galatea, the woman the sculptor created out of marble, fell in love with, and begged Aphrodite to bring to life. It reads like a parable, a warning, rather than a myth. It is a feminist take on what happens when a someone believes they own not only the body but the soul of another. Not a particularly fun book to read--a tragedy without the lovely and life-affirming aspects of Medusa's Sisters. Glad I read it but not sure I have the heart to reread it.

January Reading Wrapup

Cold winter months mean lots of reading time. When the trails around my house are icy and snowpacked, the garden is tucked away, and night comes early, I love curling up by the fire and reading.

Here's a look at my January books.

Circe, by Madeline Miller - absolutely wonderful. I loved Miller's Song of Achilles, and this was also terrific. The story of the witch/goddess Circe, daughter of Helios, one of the Titans and the sun god of Greek mythology. I loved so many things about this book, starting with the gossipy world of the gods, their jealousies, rivalries, passions, and pastimes. I loved how Circe was born immortal but had to learn witchcraft--I loved how she was able to use her magic to protect her son, her island, and their lives. I loved seeing Odysseus and his odyssey through her eyes, and that of Penelope.

Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography by Marion Meade - another winner. I have long admired Eleanor and reading a complete bio of her was a treat. It was both scholarly and easy to read, not a mean feat. Having been published in 1977 it's a bit dated. How I wish one of the many cable/network companies would make a mini-series of her life. We're saturated with the Tudors, although I do plan to watch The Spanish Princess on Starz, about Katherine of Aragon. How could I not?

Transcription, by Kate Atkinson - Atkinson is fast becoming one of my favorite contemporary authors. This novel is about Juliet Armstrong, a woman typist who works for MI-5 in London during WWII, helping them spy on the British who were Nazi sympathizers or collaborators--she types up the transcriptions of the meetings that MI-5 tapes.  After the war, she works for the BBC Radio, and her past comes back to haunt her. Such a fascinating story, giving me a view into an aspect of the war that I knew nothing about. Atkinson is incredibly skillful in building the tension of the story, as she oscillates between two primary time period, giving clues and building tension with each transition. The ending really walloped me--I did not see it coming.

 O Pioneers, by Willa Cather - tremendous, an instant favorite, and first in the Great Plains trilogy

Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte - a disappointing classic but my first book in the 2019 Back to the Classics challenge.

The Song of Achilles

When I first read about Madeline Miller's debut novel, The Song of Achilles, a few years ago, I immediately put it on my TBR list, but it took my son reading it and loving it to make me move it to the top of the list and I'm so glad I did as it is my favorite book read in 2016!

Based loosely on The Iliad, Miller tells the story of the Trojan war from the perspective of Patroclus, friend and lover of Achilles, and what emerges is that this shy, awkward, exiled prince is the real hero of the Trojan war.  But to tell the story, Miller has to go back to childhoods of both Patroclus and Achilles, and tell us how and why they became friends and how that friendship evolved into a deep and abiding love.

As I read, I regularly checked the internet to see how Miller's telling of the story lined up with the myth cannon of Achilles and I was thrilled that each event she fleshed out was thoroughly grounded.  For some reason that mattered to me--I guess what I'm getting at is that Homer created a legendary world and Miller's story was consistent with that world.

I also thought Miller dealt with the gods beautifully--larger than life, more beautiful than bearable, but heavy with the burden of immortality.  The gods of Homer, and hence Miller, are not lovable, awful, yes, but not warm.  There's one part where Apollo appears atop a wall of Troy and the writing is just wonderful--it gave me a perfect image of how the immortals pushed through the fabric of the human world at will.

My favorite part is when Patroclus and Achilles are still young and are apprenticed to Chiron, a centaur on Mt Pelion. They sleep in caves, play on the mountain, and basically live an idyllic life until, of course, Paris ruins everything by stealing Helen from Menelaus.  Achilles as the best Greek warrior is pressured into joining the expedition to steal Helen back, and Patroclus, bound by a promise he made when he was a child, also goes, though he is no warrior.

I also loved the character Breseis, one of the Trojan women captured by the Greeks, who becomes one of Achilles' prizes, as in spoils of war.  Besides Patroclus, she is my favorite character.

Achilles, of course, is hard to love.  He is too beautiful, too effortlessly strong and swift and sure, too godlike and too arrogant to be loved, except by Patroclus.  His pride, his vanity, his thirst for fame render him unlikeable, just as in Homer's version.  And yet, Patroclus' love for Achilles is completely believeable.  Patroclus loves Achilles, as he is, without reserve but also without blinders.

Endings are hard, but again I think Miller did a masterful job in ending her telling of the legend.  The conversation between Achilles' goddess mother, Thetis, and Patroclus' ghost was a perfect way to resolve the story arc and bring it to a satisfying close.

Really a beautiful story about friendship, love, honor, and family and the messes that we mortals get ourselves into.