Edited By Flavia Collyer-Powell Art By Megan Lowe
While academic readings can be tiresome and long, there’s no doubt that retelling the myth in a different way makes a story you’ve read a hundred times more interesting and fun! Retold myths appeal to a much wider audience, take the much loved Percy Jackson series for example, while not 100% accurate these retellings made classics more mainstream and fostered a lot of people’s love for Classics. By retelling myths, authors keep the stories alive and relevant, it’s like the modern form of oral composition!
Song of Achilles
by Madeleine Miller
The Iliad but not as you know it! Told by Patroclus, this story follows him and Achilles growing up together into the heroes that we all know. As the story progresses, so does their relationship and we get to see these heroes in a new light. Miller does an amazing job at giving a fresh perspective of the Trojan War when she joins this story with that of the Iliad. SOA is a classic among classics students but is kind of like Marmite in that people either obsess or hate on it!
Penelopiad
by Margaret Atwood
We already know what Odysseus did in the 10 years following the Trojan War, but what of his faithful wife Penelope? This novella, told by Penelope after her death, explores Penelope’s life with Telemachus, how she dealt with the suitors, and the ruling of Ithaca without its King. I loved this book because it was quite short so made easy reading, but knowledge of the Odyssey is definitely helpful!
Circe
by Madeleine Miller
In this retelling of the Odyssey, Circe is given the opportunity to tell her side of the story. This book explores her life and interactions with others, while developing her as a character and revealing how she became the formidable witch that would go on to turn Odysseus’ men into swine. This book is probably my favourite on this list because it’s so beautifully written and presents Circe from an entirely new angle.
Gods Behaving Badly
by Marie Phillips
A truly wacky satirical novel based on the premise that the Greek gods now live in North London. Tired of their existence and with dwindling powers, Apollo, now a tv psychic, Artemis, a dog walker, and Aphrodite, who runs a phone sex line, start to become involved in the lives of a young mortal couple. This leads to disastrous results, as most human-god interactions seem to! This might be one of the wackiest books I have ever read, it made me cry with laughter, reread the same bit a million times, and question my own sanity but was definitely entertaining
Athena’s Child
by Hannah Lynn
This book tells the story of Medusa - both how her curse came about and how the gods interfered. Starting with Medusa’s origin story and ending with the tale of Perseus, Lynn conveys the tragic nature of Medusa’s tale which isn’t often explored. I adore this book, and Medusa as a whole, so definitely recommend it! It takes a story that you think you know and twists it to give it a new direction, and to give you a different story of the myth.
Food for the Gods
by Karen Dudley
In this retelling, the gods actually save Pelops from being served as dinner by his father. Fleeing to Athens, Pelops now becomes a celebrity chef- but when a murder happens at one of his restaurants, the gods must get involved in his life again! This book is crazy! Pelops as a chef is a very unique take on the myth but it provides comedy and is just a very light read. If you like this one then, Dudley has expanded her series with Kraken Bake, where Pelops enters a cooking contest with the key ingredient being Kraken.
Myths Retold from Other Cultures
Don’t Look Back by Ian MacMillan et. Al. (Hawaiian)
The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino (Japanese)
Runemarks by Joanne M. Harris (Norse)
Sita’s Ramayana by Moyna Chitrakar and Samhita Arni (Hindu)
The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton (Norse)
The Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi (Hindu)
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