Troy: Our Greatest Story Retold (Stephen Fry’s Greek Myths, 3)

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The third volume of Fry’s Great Mythology series covers the events that led to the founding, the siege, and the ultimate fall of Troy, drawing mostly from Homer’s Iliad, but other sources as well. It is an accessible, captivating and surprisingly complete (if sometimes rushed) retelling of our greatest epic story, told with Fry’s usual and palpable passion for Greek Mythology, albeit noticeably less wit than the previous installments—I guess that a tragic, decade-long war doesn’t provide too much comedic material. Troy. The most marvellous kingdom in all the world. The Jewel of the Aegean. Glittering Ilion, the city that rose and fell not once but twice . . .' It is, however, a work that strikes a very wonderful balance between erudition and an unproblematic focus on the most important characters, but it explains everything in an easy voice often punctuated with wry humor. This is Fry, after all, and he's nothing if not charming and often wry. A thunderbolt might blast an enemy to atoms, but love’s dart can bring down whole kingdoms and dynasties.” In this Stephen Fry does much more than retell the Iliad, he has included the Homeric Hymns (which recount build up/downfall of Troy) and the beginning of Virgil’s Aenid, as well as using some of the tragedies by Euripides and Aeschylus.

It is a myth in which we seek the truth about ourselves and which Stephen Fry brings breathtakingly to life. Like I've said before, I had not been very well-read (still ain't) nor particularly interested in Greek mythology. But with Mythos Stephen Fry did pique my interest. Drama - "You’re a big fellow, Ajax, and very strong, but our most valuable asset? I don’t think so.” Odysseus’s smiling modesty was more than Ajax could bear. He stormed from the meeting, leaving behind a stunned and sorrowful silence. “Dear me,” said Odysseus. “What a pity. I’ve always liked Ajax, you know. My deputy Eurylochus will stop by to transfer the armor to my ship. I’ll see you all for supper later on?” Ajax, meanwhile, stamped off to his tent, convinced that he had been deliberately snubbed and insulted." It is Zeus, the king of the gods, who triggers the war when he asks the Trojan prince Paris to judge the fairest goddess of them all. Aphrodite bribes Paris with the heart of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of the Greeks, and naturally, nature takes its course. This is now October and the limb that I am going out on might might no longer be as fragile when I say: THIS COULD BE THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN 2022 (and I have read more than 150). I’ll give you more of the reasons at the end of this review.It is a terrible, brutal war with casualties on all sides. The Greeks cannot defeat the Trojans - since Achilles, the Greek’s boldest warrior, is consumed with jealousy over an ally’s choice of lover and will not fight … Maybe there were a couple too many footnotes. But a lot of them were rather charming as well. So I'll give him a pass. Fry takes us from the founding myth of Troy, through its most famous inhabitants and the infamous war, to the razing of the city by the vengeful and victorious Achaeans Times Fierce nurse of prophets, princes, heroes, warriors, and poets. Under the protection of ARES, ARTEMIS, APOLLO, and APHRODITE, she stood for years as the paragon of all that can be achieved in the arts of war and peace, trade and treaty, love and art, statecraft, piety, and civil harmony. When she fell, a hole opened in the human world that may never be filled, save in memory." In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today.

What this version has “in goodly measure” is Fry’s wit and storytelling abilities. Here is a sample: "“It isn’t right,” said Agamemnon darkly. “She should be marrying me. I am the older and—with all respect—the better man. There are plans afoot. Before long I will have recaptured Mycenae. If Helen were mine, she would find herself queen of the greatest kingdom in the world.” A preposterous claim, Odysseus thought. And yet barked out with a gruff certainty that somehow convinced. “Oh yes,” said Agamemnon, as if sensing Odysseus’s doubt. “My prophet CALCHAS has assured me that great victories lie ahead of me. And Calchas is never wrong. I’ve nothing against my brother. Menelaus is a fine fellow, but he is no Agamemnon.”... "“Go on!” said Odysseus, daring to nudge Agamemnon in the ribs. “Marry Clytemnestra! What could possibly go wrong?”"The only thing I found my An Olympian feat. The gods seem to be smiling on Fry - his myths are definitely a hit' Evening Standard