Thinking about it, I’ve actually been exposed to the stories of the Greek myths from a very early age. I remember watching a video (yeah, video) in primary school, which was a clay stop-motion animation of the stories of Medusa, the Odyssey, etc. It’s only until much later, when studying these stories during my MA course, that I realised that the animated versions in those films from my childhood had been dialled RIGHT back. These extra details rekindled my love for myth even more.

As I’m writing this I realise that I stand in a very privileged position, to have been taught these tales from a young age and to have had the opportunity to study them at university. But equally, it’s made me realise that these stories are not necessarily on as high a pedestal as we make them out to be. They are, very simply, just stories. Before science and technology advanced to what it is today, these stories were a way for the everyday person to make sense of the world around them. Crops failed? Must be the Gods! It won’t stop raining! Those pesky Gods. We’re losing the war! You’ve guessed it!

The relatability factor is why I enjoyed Madeline Miller’s retelling of the Illiad so much. The prose was like poetry, she made the characters of the ancients live and breathe and be relatable in a way that I could recognise my own thoughts and feelings in the characters. She brings the myth to life in a way that the story could be told anywhere in any setting. Circe is next on my TBR, and I can’t bloody wait.

If you’re interested, Radio 4 has a great podcast called Book Club, in which Madeline talks about this novel in one episode. I listened to it on Spotify, but it’s probably available wherever you can get your podcasts from 🙂