The Best Greek Mythological Retellings (According To An Ancient Historian)

[@alexmart3931]

After reading Song of Achilles all Greek mythology shot to the top of my TBR

[@MoAnInc]

As it should!!!!

[@codyrankin2042]

Thank you SO MUCH!! Electra, Stone Blind and Ariadne are on my list now

[@MoAnInc]

You’re so welcome ❤️ I hope you enjoy them!!!!

[@Genethagenius]

“Song of Achilles” is another excellent book I’ve discovered thanks to this channel! It’s sooo good everyone! And on Kindle Unlimited as of 1/2023 in the U.S.! “Elektra” is on my list to read next!!!

[@MoAnInc]

Let me know what you think of Electra when you’ve read it!!!

[@Veleanoria]

I have not heard of Home Fire and Daughters of Sparta so I will definitely add them to my tbr! :)

[@MoAnInc]

Oh my goodness I hope you love them!!!!

[@javieradorno2503]

Great picks!! I totally recommend Marie Renault's Theseus duology: The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea.

[@phkempf]

My favorite book was actually written by my current professor (I liked it before taking her class). Sarah Iles Johnston's Gods and Mortals: Ancient Greek Myths for Modern Readers

[@MoAnInc]

!!!!

[@ChristopherCaldwell72]

I would be very curious to know what you make of the Kaos series with Jeff Goldblum and the wonderful Janet McTeer

[@gavinneedham2013]

I’m reading stone blind right now and I don’t really know how you can say it doesn’t portray Perseus as a super bad guy when there are whole chapters in first person that just go on hate screeds about him.

[@danielpaulson8838]

I'm seeing some personal editorial she's adding to the stories. It's still a good overview. You just have to be aware when she's adding her own bias's to the myth. We need to understand them as if they came from 3500 BCE. They all nest something deeper. It isn't easy to see and she clearly doesn't see it. There is a shared template, globally. It is why some people see the similarities in myth and religions. But those who study the myth and religion do not see the shared template.

[@eveyoser268]

It's a good thing I read The Song Of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller! P.S. I've already finished Galatea and it was an amazing book even though the story was short! I will definitely read Ariadne and Electra by Jennifer Saint before she publishes Atalanta next year and Daughters of Sparta sounds intriguing but I will definitely give that a read!!!

[@MoAnInc]

Jennifer Saint’s books are a MUST!!!! I’m obsessed with them 😍

[@eveyoser268]

@@MoAnInc I even checked on Goodreads that Jennifer Saint is also planning to write her fourth novel on Hera which sounds interesting because she is known for being green eyed jealous of Zeus' affairs - probably will hear her side of the story but can't wait!!!!!

[@idongesitusen5764]

Goodvrecommendations, I’ve loved Circe & Song of Achilles. Have you read Seeds by M.M. Kin? It’s a 3 volume retelling of Hades & Persephone that sticks quite close to the original source while adding modern conventions sensibly ( I.e. Demeter’s overprotective nature is well warranted, but for the right reasons). I’d also recommend her book Worthy of Love, an Aphrodite & Hephaestus reimagining. In both cases, the gods are given very human personalities, but it’s not distracting. Highly recommend

[@asharmstrong6730]

Loved Pat Barker's Wonen of Troy trilogy. Read them all back-to-back last month. While i really enjoyed Natalie Haynes' Thousand Ships & Jocasta's Children, I was much less keen on Stone Blind because of the constant authorial intrusion, and the hate towards Perseus.

[@abraxaszee8953]

The Changing of the Gods by Anthony J. Miano. It starts as the Trojan War ends and Hades decides to confront everyone about their bad behavior.

[@MoAnInc]

I haven’t heard of this, but I’ll definitely check it out!

[@louyou6614]

antigone by jean anouille is a required high school read in my country , and is one of the text we have in the regional exam , very important exam it was my favorite

[@purpleprose]

Can you do a review on Apollo Ascending? I found the book on tik tok and the plot of the story seems interesting but i haven’t seen anyone review it and you’re the only one I trust. I really love Hyacinthus and Apollo’s romance so if this book sucks then I’d unfortunately be out of luck because it seems that they don’t have a lot of popularity, or at least not enough for people to write retellings of their tragedy 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@MoAnInc]

Oh! I will absolutely check it out and do a review for you!!

[@Qtrademark]

Whom the Gods Would Destroy by Richard Powell.

[@michaelldennis]

The King Must Die by Mary Renault and its sequel about Theseus are good companions to the Theseus myth. Certainly a different style of writing than 2020s book.

[@MoAnInc]

Definitely a different style, I agree

[@cunningba]

I’d like to add a shout out for Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls. Another take in Patroclus / Achilles that is interesting to contrast with Song of Achilles. Where did I get started? That would have been the Classics Illustrated comic version of The Iliad nearly 70 years ago.

[@chrisf5828]

Circe is a masterpiece. Atalanta had some interesting insights. The wildest retelling of Homer, by far, is Ilium by Dan Simmons. An entirely unexpected fresh perspective. No point describing it. I'm sure Wiki has a synopsis but I am glad I picked it up with no knowledge if it. Probably not as exciting for readers who do not know the Trojan war fairly well.

[@TheBookHermie]

oooo adding Home Fire and Daughters of Sparta to the tbr... they're the only ones I have not read from this list.

[@baku2575]

I think if you liked electra and daughters of Sparta then you’ll love Clytemnestra, it’s an amazing book.

[@MoAnInc]

Couldn’t agree more! You can watch my review of Clytemnestra here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6ilqHSdrdOlj7s

[@MoAnInc]

Also!!! I created a list for you guys of all the books I could find about the Ancient Greek & Roman world :) Overtime I'll be updating this (and adding sections for Egypt, the Near East, Mesoamerica etc), so check it out via this link www.moaninc.co.uk/books/the-ultimate-classics-book-list

[@fionamclean6533]

I was so excited to see this and quickly clicked on link, but it's broken. I am really keen to see an updated list with Egyptian, Mesopotamian and even Mesoamerican books listed, would love any suggestions please

[@ashleighandipatin1940]

Hi Erica! Really love your content and was so excited to see this book list but the link is not working. Is it still available? I have gotten so many recommendations from your channel already but I’m such a list girl and this one would be incredible if you have it. Thank you so much again for the wonderful content!

[@catIing]

Doesn't Circe also show up in the Telegony (as much as I would like to pretend the Telegony doesn't exist) and some story about Scyllla?

[@annalewis2114]

Just found your channel and looking forward to watching more of your videos. I am currently reading The Odyssey, can you recommend which ‘easy’ read to pair with it? I find pre bed read needs to be easier. Thank you

[@dataspice3732]

Give Colleen McCullough's "The Song of Troy" a try. Each chapter features one character telling their story in first person, including Helen, Hector, Patroclus and Neoptolemus. Sorry, no Cassandra, Ajax or Philoctetes. Would have been more interesting, but a good telling all the same. Published by Orion Books, it's hard to find in the U.S. You'll have to search for it online, for sure.

[@maheshiyatipansalawa4014]

Which book should I start with?

[@TheLinguistsLibrary]

Adding Ariadne to my wishlist. I would like to hear your opinion of Ursula Le Guin's 'Lavine' and Margaret Atwood's 'Penelopiad'.

[@MoAnInc]

I’ve reviewed the Penelopiad!

[@rafaelmarrero8374]

Hello , New subscriber here :). All of these books sound incredibly interesting . I've been interested in reading some of these re-telling's from the ancient Greek myths for a while now. Would you say giving the prevalence of written from the point of view of mostly female characters .. the author's aimed more towards a female prevalence audience in regards to readers? I've been also interested in reading the retellings of Hannah Lynn best regards, :)

[@michaelrauch8629]

🎉 I really need to read these, i writer retellings

[@MoAnInc]

They’re GREAT!

[@ulojolnk6971]

If i wanna get into all of these books which one should i start with? the song of achilles?

[@MoAnInc]

It really depends on what story you’re most interested in, tbh. There’s no right or wrong place to start!

[@davidthom7127]

😮 read the ORIGINALS

[@MoAnInc]

You’re on the right channel, ma friend 👍

[@hippomancy]

personally not fond of fictional retellings. might as well just watch Troy the movie as there are fictional additions... vs subtraction of gods etc...

[@umbra2057]

God of war, for sure... lol

[@BookOwl60]

Nice xD

[@cjprince1]

She doesn't look that ancient...