The Odyssey

The Odyssey

by Homer

★★★★☆

After the ten-year Trojan War ends the warriors return to their home lands. Odysseus’ journey is longer than most because he has angered Poseidon. He runs into one obstacle after another as he fights to return to his wife and son. He fights a Cyclops, travels to the land of the dead, narrowly misses the call of the sirens and spends years trapped on Calypso's island. When he finally returns to Ithaca his home is filled with suitors attempting to woo his wife.  

I first read The Odyssey in high school, rereading it a decade later was a very different experience. This time I paid much more attention to Penelope’s story. She is such an incredible character. Her loyalty and patience is remarkable. Even though her husband has been gone for 20 years she still holds out that he is alive and will return to her. It made me wonder how long someone would wait nowadays. Obviously there were fewer communication options back then, but still a couple decades is a long time to hang on to hope.

Penelope is surrounded by suitors and keeps them at bay by telling them she’ll consider them once she finishes what she’s weaving. She weaves all day and then at night she undoes everything she’s woven. Margaret Atwood wrote an interesting novella about her story, The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus.

I enjoyed his son Telemachus’ journey. When his father leaves he is only a baby, but he’s grown to become a man in Odysseus’ absence and he longs to find his father. He isn’t sure if he should search for his father or stay and protect his mother, it’s a difficult decision.

For me, it’s important that Odysseus is not a god. He is just a mortal man. So many of the stories in Greek literature are about the gods or demigods. Odysseus is neither, he occasionally has help from the gods, like Athena, at other times he is persecuted by the gods, especially Poseidon, but he has none of their powers. He must rely on his intelligence and cunning to outsmart his captors.

BOTTOM LINE: An absolute must for classic lovers. It’s also one of the most accessible pieces of Greek literature and a gateway drug into that world.

p.s. This time around I listened to the Robert Fagles translation on audio and it was read by the magnificent Ian McKellen. I would highly recommend it!

I reread this as part of the readalong hosted by Allie at A Literary Odyssey

Also, in the book they climb Mount Parnassus. I’m even more excited to visit the Parnassus bookstore in Nashville next month!

Nikki at Book Pairings posted on this book today too!

Greek Week: The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune

Heroes of Olympus Series

The Lost Hero

by Rick Riordan

★★★☆

From a salsa-eating Cyclops to a mechanical dragon, the first book in Riordan’s new Heroes of Olympus series is packed with adventure. Beginning the summer after the final book in the Percy Jackson series ended, The Lost Hero introduces us to a new group of half-bloods.

The main character, Jason, wakes up on a bus with no memory of who he is or what he’s doing there. He is with a school group taking a trip to the Grand Canyon. A quirky kid name Leo claims to be his best friend and a girl named Piper obviously is more than just his friend. After being attacked by a storm monster the trio is whisked to Camp Half-Blood by Annabeth. They try to come to terms with their “half-blood” status and their new life.

As is Riordan’s formula with all of his books, they quickly find that they must go on a quest. Along the way they meet infamous Greek characters like Midas and Madea. We learn more about Zeus’ wife Hera as well. Leo grew on me throughout the book. I liked that his character found his strength in an unconventional way.

It’s a bummer that so many of the characters are one-note creations. You meet someone new and in a heart beat you know if they are a “good” guy or a “bad” guy. It’s rare to find anyone who walks that line. I always end his books wishing there was a bit more complexity, but I also enjoy them.

BOTTOM LINE: I think Riordan’s books are an excellent way to introduce young adults to Greek mythology. He makes it fun and accessible and I always learn something. I do wish the characters rang a little more true for me, but I’m also not the target audiences.  

The Son of Neptune

by Rick Riordan

★★★★

This one was fantastic. We dive right back into the story from the last book, but instead of the Greek camp we’ve caught up with Percy, who is missing in the first book. Unfortunately, just like Jason, he has no memory.

We finally make it to the Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent to Camp Half-Blood. Apparently there has always been bad blood between the two groups and the current campers know almost nothing about the other camp. Percy meets Frank and Hazel; both a sweet, self-conscious kids who figure out more about themselves with each new challenge. I loved them both as new characters. Hazel has an interesting past that starts in New Orleans and Frank’s family has a long history in Asian tradition, great additions to the series.

Gia, the evil Mother Earth character, and her army of giants are back and the trio must battle them to free Death. Obviously the obstacles are many, but the constant stream of adventure is fun.

BOTTOM LINE: I felt like this one was really a step up from the first book. I love that this series is building towards collaboration between the Greek and Roman camps and I’m looking forward to seeing that play out.

Pairing Books with Movies: Greek Week Edition

  

There are dozens of films dealing with Greek gods and history. They range from an actual cartoon (Hercules) to cartoonishly bad movies (Clash of the Titans circa 1981). They tend to be on the epic side, but some embrace quieter stories. Here are a few that came to mind. Each would go well with any of the books I reviewed this week!

Troy (2004) / Hercules (1997) / 300 (2006)

 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) / 

Clash of the Titans (1981 and 2010)

The Odyssey (1997) miniseries / Helen of Troy (2003) / Alexander (2004)

Are there any big ones I missed?

Greek Week: Mythology

Mythology

by Edith Hamilton

★★★★★

I’ve always loved mythology and even took a Classical Mythology class in college, but it’s been years since I really studied it. Despite that many of the Greek gods’ names are ingrained in our collective minds: Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Hades, but it’s easy to loose track of how they are connected. This 1942 publication is a simple but complete overview of mythology. 

The book is broken down into the following seven sections:

1: The Gods, the Creation, and the Earliest Heroes (Both Greek and Roman names)

2: Stories of Love and Adventure (Cupid & Psyche and the Quest for the Golden Fleece)

3: The Great Heroes before the Trojan War (Perseus, Theseus, Hercules, and Atalanta)

4: The Heroes of the Trojan War (Achilles, Odysseus and Aeneas)

5: The Great Families of Mythology (Atreus, Thebes, and Athens)

6: The Less Important Myths (Midas, etc)

7: The Mythology of the Norsemen (Odin, Thor, Loki, etc) 

One reason mythology can be confusing is because all of the gods have at least two names: the Greek name and the Roman name. For example, Zeus is the Greek name for the ruler of Olympus and the same god is called Jupiter in Roman culture. There are also multiple versions of all of the myths. Different authors told their own interpretation and over the years the story begins to contradict itself. Hamilton removes this confusion, making the stories more accessible and breaking everything down by family tree and relationships. She also sights her sources at the beginning of each section. So if she compiled one version of the story from four different authors’ versions she explains what she did and what the differences are. 

That’s the reason this book is so excellent. Hamilton collected dozens of authors’ works into one edition. She took pieces from plays, epic poems, etc. to create on cohesive narrative. She includes an important element from one author in the story written by another author so that everyone’s actions make sense. Then she put them in chronological order within the narrative of the story. For example, she includes the Judgment of Paris, which is assumed to be the real reason for the Trojan War, before Virgil and Homer’s story of the Trojan War itself.

There are many themes that remain the same throughout the mythology. A major one is the attempt to beat fate and failing miserably. Heroes and rulers frequently heard prophesies about their lives. Then they would try to outsmart those predictions, like Oedipus’ father trying to kill his son when he was a baby or Cronus eating his children. They were trying to prevent their own deaths, but their actions inevitably led to the fulfillment of the prophesy.

“To attempt to act in such a way that the prophesy would be made void was as futile as to set oneself against the decrees of fate.” 

Another common theme is the power and cruelty of the gods. There is example after example of their quick tempers and over reactions. They often cause madness in a person to extract their revenge. Then that person (Hercules, Agave, etc.) kills their own families. Other times a god would fall in love with a mortal and regardless of whether or not that love was returned, it usually meant death and destruction for that person. 

The tale of Cupid and Psyche was won of my favorites. It’s all about true love and trust as opposed the stories of brute force where the gods just take what they want. They are a couple that truly love each other and work even harder to find each other once they are separated because they know real love is worth the pain.

The final section covers Norse mythology. There are many similarities with Greek mythology. Asgard is their equivalent to Greece’s Olympus, Thor is similar to Zeus, etc. The writing and proverbs is less poetic, but it’s still interesting. 

"Brave men can live well anywhere. A coward dreads all things."

The book wraps up with a section of family trees. I flagged this break down early on and added notes as I went. It seems like every major family line is connected to the others and the trees helped me keep it all straight. 

BOTTOM LINE: This book covers so much ground, compiling hundreds of years of Greek literature into one volume. The work is priceless and my copy is flagged and highlighted for future reference. I’d highly recommended it to anyone who loves Greek mythology. It might be a little dry for those who aren’t already interested. It would also be a valuable resource for anyone reading modern Greek literature, like The Song of Achilles or the Percy Jackson series. 

"According to the most modern idea, a real myth has nothing to do with religion. It is an explanation of something in nature."

“They had learned that every sin causes fresh sin; every wrong brings another in its train.”

Image from here. 

Wordless Wednesday: Rosetta Stone

A collection of memories from my visit to the British Museum,

 where I saw the Rosetta Stone. 

The stone contains three different languages, 

one of which (the lowest portion) is Ancient Greek. 

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Greek Week: The Oresteia

The Oresteia

Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides

by Aeschylus

★★★★☆

This trilogy of plays begins just as the Trojan War ends. It focuses on the House of Atreus, the war hero Agamemnon’s family.

**Because each section of the trilogy depends on the events in the previous section there will be SPOILERS**

Agamemnon, the first part of the trilogy, tells the story of his triumphant return home after the Trojan War. In order to gain favor with the gods before embarking on the journey to Troy to fight the war, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. Tricking both her and her mother into believing she was about to be wed to Achilles, Agamemnon instead murdered her to honor Artemis and receive the gift of winds to carry their ships.

Agamemnon’s cruel actions towards his daughter come back to haunt him when he returns. His wife Clytemnestra welcomes him home with open arms, inviting him to walk on a red carpet and honoring him with gracious speeches. All the while she is secretly planning his demise with the help of Agamemnon’s cousin Aegisthus.

Cassandra, King Priam’s daughter, was taken as a spoil-of-war by Agamemnon and is caught up in this horrible scene. She has the gift of sight and so she knows about the impending murder, but she is also cursed by Apollo so no one will believe her when she warns them of it. Cassandra has always been one of my favorite characters in Greek mythology. Her life is such a tragic one and her presence in this player added an extra layer of futility.

Part Two, The Libation Bearers is about Agamemnon’s son Orestes’ return to his home land. He quickly learns of his father’s murder and wants to avenge his death. Apollo’s oracle has instructed him to kill his mother in order to achieve this. With his sister Electra’s help he kills both his mother and Aegisthus. They trick Clytemnestra into thinking Orestes is already dead and then follow through with Apollo’s decree for her death. Almost immediately Orestes is haunted by The Furies and he is plagued with guilt for committing matricide.

The final section, The Eumenides, is about Orestes’ trial. The Furies have hounded Orestes for years. The gods must decide if he will be punished for his mother’s murder and so Athena arranges a trial with jurors from Athens.

There was no blood connection between Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s, so his murder was not considered as heinous a crime as her’s. Murdering a blood relative is a more punishable offense, hence Orestes’ trial. During the play we learn the details of Agamemnon’s murder. Apollo comes to Orestes’ defense, explaining that he is the one who told him to avenge his father. Athena is the deciding vote in the trial, deciding to acquit Orestes of all guilt, but not truly giving him peace of mind from what he has done.

Greek mythology is all about cycles. You killed so-and-so, therefore I must kill you. You raped my wife, so I will curse you. You tricked me or refused me, so you will be fated to live in some form of agony. The more the gods meddle in human affairs the worse the cycle becomes. This trilogy is a perfect example of this cycle. One murder leads to another until almost everyone is dead. No one is truly spared from the horrific events.

BOTTOM LINE: I thought this one would be much denser and hard to read, but I found it relatively easy. I think that a big part of that is reading it while being immersed in the world of Greek mythology. I didn’t have to stop and try to remember who was who and how they were all connected because it was fresh in my mind. I would highly recommend reading this one along side The Odyssey and The Iliad as it provides closure for Agamemnon’s part of the Trojan War story.

*The Mythology book I’m reading includes another section of this story. A play by Euripides tells of Iphigenia and Orestes being reunited after all these events unfold. In that version, instead of being sacrificed by her father, Iphigenia is saved just before execution by Artemis and spirited away to live on an island as a priestess. Sometime after the trial Orestes arrives at the island and the two escape together.

I read this as part of the Let’s Read Plays yearlong event hosted by Fanda. From November 2012 to October 2013 participants will read 12 classic plays throughout the year, at least one each month.

Greek Week: The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles

by Madeline Miller

★★★★★

Greek mythology, character-driven narrative with an epic story, a heartbreaking love story, these are a few of my favorite things all piled into one beautiful book. I couldn’t put it down; I didn’t want it to end. I finally started reading Edith Hamilton’s Mythology to slow my reading of this one.

Between The Odyssey, The Iliad, Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida and a college course on classical mythology, my knowledge of the Trojan War and the Greek heroes has been shaped and reshaped with different versions. Building on that base is this book, telling the story of Achilles and Patroclus. Throughout those other sources the pair has been painted as friends, brothers, lovers, etc. but one thing never changes: they are inseparable. They are dearer to each other than their own lives.

The first half of the book is the story of how they meet and the beginning of their friendship. The second half is the well-known story of the Trojan War. It’s retold through Patroclus’ eyes, which gives the whole tale a very different spin. All the familiar faces are there: Agamemnon, Odyssey, Hector, Paris, Zeus, Athena, etc., but many of them feel slightly different in this version.

Patroclus himself is a thoughtful, sensitive boy. He’s so unlike the other Greek warriors when it comes to brute strength, but his strength comes in a very different form. He’s willing to love against all odds, even when he knows it will end in a broken heart.

The reason this retelling resonated with me in such a powerful way is because of the characters themselves. Miller makes them so relatable. You feel for them in a way that you usually don't when you read books on classical mythology.

Chiron and Briseis particularly stood out for me. Chiron is a centaur who trains both Achilles and Patroclus for years in his rose-colored cave on a mountain-side. He is wise and kind and his home is a peaceful one, a complete change from the battle driven world they had become accustomed to. Briseis on the other hand is brought into Patroclus’ world in the midst of a bloody war. She is a prize from battle, but their friendship blossoms despite the circumstances and we see the best of Patroclus because of her.

BOTTOM LINE: I loved it. Sometimes a book lives up to the hype and this one did for me. I can’t say that you’d feel the same if you don’t already like Greek Mythology, but it was an absolute treat for me.

“Did he know, or only guess at Achilles’ destiny? Perhaps he simply assumed: a bitterness of habit, of boy after boy trained for music and medicine, and unleashed for murder.”

**One quick note about the kindle version. There was one incredibly helpful feature that really enhanced my reading experience. The character’s name were highlighted and when you clicked on them it took you to a screen with a drawing (see above) and a summary of the character’s part in Greek mythology.

Other Thoughts:

Iris on Books

Fizzy Thoughts 

The Sleepless Reader 

What She Read

Booklust
Book Pairing 
Necromancy Never Pays

Greek Week Announcement

This is sort of a grown-up bibliophile’s version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. At the beginning of the month I started The Song of Achilles for Care’s readalong. I was loving it, but I was also reading it too fast. It made me think about all the tales of Greek mythology I’d read over the years and all the ones I hadn’t. So I got my copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology off the shelf and started reading it.

That led me to start thinking about all the different movies I’d seen that were set in ancient Greece. This was a slippery slope because there are tons of them; some good and some awful, but usually fun!

Then I remembered how much I’d enjoyed Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and that he had a new series I’d wanted to check out. So I got The Lost Hero (the first book in that series), from the library.

Then I remembered I needed to read a play for Fanda’s Let’s Read Plays monthly challenge. And that led me to another Greek book, The Oresteia play trilogy by Aeschylus.  

So anyway, things got out of control quickly and I was surrounded by a stack of Greek themed books and Greek Week was born! I decided to post about all the crazy gods and their wrath and sneakiness throughout this week to share my craziness with all of you.

And I’ve now learned that if you give a bibliophile a good book on a topic they love, there’s no telling where they’ll end up.

Images from here, here and here.