Summary

Mythos by Stephen Fry is an accessible retelling of Greek mythology, complete with modern humor and references, covering a wide range of myths from the origins of the gods to individual tales of heroes and creatures.

Abstract

Mythos serves as an introduction to Greek myths, narrated with 21st-century wit and allusions, making it an ideal starting point for newcomers. The book delves into the creation myths, the genealogy of gods, titans, and other mythical beings, as well as the exploits and stories of various characters, including Prometheus, Persephone, and Midas. Stephen Fry draws from classical texts such as Hesiod's Theogony and Ovid's Metamorphoses to create a narrative that is both informative and entertaining. The book is structured into two main parts: 'The Beginning,' which explores the cosmogony and theogony, and 'The Toys of Zeus,' which presents individual myths, including the origins of mankind, the tales of love and transformation, and the fates of mortals who crossed the gods.

Opinions

The author's personal experience with Greek mythology began with their sibling's retelling and an online course on ancient Greek literature.
Mythos is praised for its beginner-friendly approach and its ability to make ancient myths relatable to modern readers.
The audiobook version of Mythos, narrated by Stephen Fry himself, is highly recommended over the ebook for bringing the stories to life with his engaging narration.
Some readers, including the author, feel that the book's attempt to modernize the myths may detract from the original excitement and grandeur of the tales.
The book's table of contents is considered insufficient for potential readers curious about specific myths covered, prompting the author to provide a more detailed outline in the article.
The article suggests that experiencing the audiobook in conjunction with the physical book could enhance the reading experience, particularly to keep track of the characters and their complex relationships.
The author concludes by encouraging readers interested in Greek mythology to consider becoming Medium members for access to similar content and by promoting their free newsletter for updates on future writings.

A List of Every Myth Covered in ‘Mythos’ by Stephen Fry

What you need to know before reading ‘Mythos’

My unofficial introduction to Greek mythology was through my brother, who read the Percy Jackson series. He could spend hours telling me about the creation myth or Hercules’ twelve labours.

If I went to the toilet, he would follow me and continue reciting his story outside the door.

“Then Hercules captured the Cretan Bull…,” came the muffled sounds of his voice.

My official introduction to Greek mythology was an online course by Wesleyan University titled ‘The Ancient Greeks’. The first lesson was on Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey. Later, the professor introduced Theogony by Hesiod, a poem about the Greek gods.

Giant ancient poems I would never pick up on my own.

Mythos by Stephen Fry is my second venture into texts about Greek myths. After I read it, I realised one question kept coming up from people curious about the book: what myths does it cover? What stories are in Mythos?

I’ll answer that question in this article.

The ABCs of ‘Mythos’ by Stephen Fry

A: In short, Mythos is a beginner-friendly retelling of Greek mythology with 21st-century jokes and references.

B: With a Goodreads rating of 4.27, this 416-page book is the first of the Great Mythology series.

C: Fry’s sources include Hesoid’s Theogony, The Golden Ass by Apuleius, and Metamorphoses by Ovid. If you’re a newbie, rest assured you will get the main gist of Greek myths and not some obscure version that no one follows.

Tips To Maximise Your Reading of ‘Mythos’

I borrowed an ebook version of Mythos from my library. This was an easily fixable mistake.

Reading about the myths is obviously not the same as watching a condensed, animated YouTube video, so it didn’t feel as exciting in some parts (bored by Greek myths? Who knew!).

I suspect that Fry’s efforts to relate the ancient tale to modern readers took away some of its spark for me.

Instead, I (and many other readers) highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Fry’s narration brings the characters to life.

You could listen to it with a physical copy in my hands for more clarity, as some listeners were confused about names.

Myths Covered in ‘Mythos’: A Detailed Table of Contents

The book has a table of contents, of course, but it doesn’t provide the information potential readers are looking for.

Below is a more detailed version outlining the myths covered in the book. Here’s how to interpret it.

The bolded words and bullet points are the actual table of contents in the book. For example, Part One: The Beginning consists of three chapters — ‘Out of Chaos’, ‘The First Order’ and ‘The Second Order’.

The horizontal carrot (>) is my own addition. You can read it as ‘myth/story of’, such as ‘myth of Chaos’ or ‘story of Kronos’s crime’.

So in Part One: The Beginning, in the chapter ‘The Second Order’, Fry writes about the birth of Gaia and Ouranos’s children, what Kronos did to his father, how it led to the birth of Aphrodite, the Titans’ rule and the birth of Kronos and Rhea’s children.

The book is generally split into two parts — ‘The Beginning’ and ‘The Toys of Zeus’.

‘The Beginning’ is the creation myth. ‘The Toys of Zeus’ is a collection of myths about individual characters.

Part One: The Beginning

Out of Chaos > Chaos
The First Order > Erebus, Nyx > Gaia, Tartarus, and Gaia’s children
The Second Order > Gaia and Ouranos’s children — 6 males and 6 females, Cyclopes, Hecatonchires > Kronos’s crime > Birth of Aphrodite and other creatures from Ouranos’s DNA > Establishment of the Titans > Birth of Kronos and Rhea’s children, including Zeus

Part Two: The Beginning

Clash of the Titans > Titanomachy > The Muses > The Charites/Three Graces > The Horai > The Moirai/Fates > The Keres > The Gorgons > Nymphs > Atlas’s punishment > Kronos’s punishment
The Third Order > Double wedding: Zeus and Hera, Aphrodite and Hephaestus > The bee and its sting > Metis as a fly, and Zeus > Birth of Athena > Birth of Artemis and Apollo > Birth of Hermes > Establishment of the Olympians

Part One: The Toys of Zeus

Prometheus > Creation of humans > Prometheus’s gift of fire > The Golden Age
The Punishments > Pandora and her jar > Afterlife (Hermes, Tartarus, Hades, Thanatos, Charon) > Prometheus’s punishment
Persephone and the Chariot > Kidnapping of Persephone, Hades’s trick, and the start of the seasons > Hermaphroditus and Silenus
Cupid and Psyche > The Erotes > Psyche’s life and how she met Eros

Part Two: The Toys of Zeus

Mortals > Io and Zeus > Death of Argus > Athena and Athens
Phaeton > Phaeton’s absent father, Apollo > Death of Phaeton and birth of the mute swan
Cadmus > The search for Europa > Creation of the alphabet > Killing of the Ismenian Dragon > Creation of Thebes > Cadmus and Harmonia, and the cursed necklace
Twice Born > Semele and Zeus (disguised) > Hera’s revenge > Birth of Dionysus
The Beautiful and the Damned > Actaeon angering Artemis > Erysichthon angering Demeter
The Doctor and the Crow > Birth of Asclepius and medicine > Asclepius and Epione’s children > Athena’s gift and Asclepius’s death
Crime and Punishment > Ixion and the Wheel of Ixion > Tantalus’s crime
Sisyphus > Sisyphus’s tricks in life and death
Hubris > Niobe and the Weeping Rock > The musical competition between Apollo and Marsyas
Arachne > The weaving competition between Arachne and Athena > Birth of the first spider
More Metamorphoses > Nisus and Scylla, the sea-eagle and the gull > Callisto the bear > Procne and Philomela, the swallow and the nightingale > Ganymede and Zeus > Selene, Cephalus and Procris > The Lailaps and Alopex Teumesios paradox > Endymion and Selene
Eos and Tithonus
The Bloom of Youth > Hyacinthus, Apollo and Zephyrus > Crocus and Smilax > Aphrodite and Adonis
Echo and Narcissus > Tiresias the seer > Narcissus’s oracle > Echo’s lie and Hera’s revenge > Narcissus and Echo’s meeting
Lovers > Pyramus and Thisbe: star-crossed lovers
Galateas > Acis and Galatea > Origin of the Ekdusia festival > Leucippos, Daphne and Apollo > Galatea and Pygmalion > Hero and Leander
Arion and the Dolphin
Philemon and Baucis, or Hospitality Rewarded
Phrygia and the Gordian Knot
Midas (and his gold fingers)

The book ends with an afterword and beautiful illustrations of pottery and statues. Let me know if anything needs to be added!

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