Are you interested in Greek Mythology?

[Fizzy]

So I have been looking for new books to read lately and decided to go after something that has intrigued me for quite some time. I chose to learn about Greek Mythology. I have absolutely no knowledge about this subject nor have I taken any classes dealing with this prior to buying books about it. I don't really know why i'm so interested in the concept. I guess it just feels like one giant history much like J.R.R. Tolkien's works. It's like a giant adventure and i'm loving it.

I have chosen to start with two of the most influential works of literature in the history of this world, The Iliad and The Odyssey. I began the Iliad last night and I really cannot stop reading it. I was skeptical about purchasing it after reading it's an epic poem and some people have said it's very hard read. Now, I consider myself a very experienced reader, but I still get paranoid if I hear something is a difficult read. Luckily, i'm having no troubles so far and am enjoying the hell out of it. I bought Robert Fagles translation for anybody interested.

Are you guys interested in Greek Mythology? If so, what do you like about it?

What are some books you'd recommend?

 

[Alex]

Dude I fucking love Greek Mythology. My dad got me into them and by god I've never looked back. All the stories are epic, i can't think of one that is not a great read. From Hercules labours to Perseus and Medusa to Theseus and Jason they're all great.

They're even ones that aren't that well known that are good such as the story of Bellerophon. He's the guy who actually rides Pegasus (not Perseus) and defeats the Chrimera.

 

[SalvIsWin]

Stuff bout Greek mythology.

Does your copy of the Illiad have asides that explain the meaning behind what is being said? There's a lot of double-meanings and allusions to other things in the speech of the characters, it's a lot like reading Shakespeare in that way. Anyway, the Illiad and the Odyssey are the best readings to get started with, but really any Greek mythology is pretty awesome - it's always over the top, the Greek Gods were extremely vain and active people in the minds of the ancient Greeks & Romans.

Also, there's a made-for-TV movie of the Odyssey starring Armande Assante - it's pretty good, I would recommend it.

 

[Fizzy]

No, it doesn't have side notes explaining everything in detail. I have read that Fagles translation is the most modern version in regards to our English, even if it takes away from what Homer intended the story to be. Even though it doesn't have the side notes, it has a 60+ page introduction explaining in Fagles own words, about the story and Greek Mythology as a whole. It really helped me because it gave a very short backstory to the Trojan war and the gods themselves. It's much easier than Shakespeare, at least my translation is.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Greek mythology is great. My experience was from my childhood so its more about the characters and general themes and less about the writing style. It was pretty consistently part of the curriculum in school. I remember watching Clash of th Titans (old version) once as a special treat in class (the most special treat was the breast feeding scene).

Homer seems like a genius. I don't know who we could ever compare him to in modern day. Would really like to hear about what you are reading and your thoughts. This might motivate me to do some more reading than the garbage that comes out of this crapfactory.

 

[Fizzy]

I'd like to keep this thread alive once I garner thought about my readings and attain more knowledge on the Mythology as a whole. I'll post any thoughts I have as well as a review of each book I read and what book I go onto after each review. After the Iliad and the Odyssey, i'll probably move onto the history of the gods and how everything came to be, so expect quite a bit out of this thread.

 

[LilacFray]

Dude, Greek mythology is like awesome but you already knew that. I don't know much on the topic but it's certainly interesting. I had my share of Greek Mythology in Grade 4 when we learned about Ancient Greece and that's when I first got to know about it. The Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and mythological creatures along with their special backgrounds and myths are just plain fascinating. It's pretty much like how George Steele's Barber said his experience was. I never read further into it and it never was about writing styles or anything. And why hasn't anyone mentioned Troy? I've read a modernised version of the book about two years ago but you'd probably find it lame. Maybe read the book or watch the movie. My sister has watched it and she said it's great.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Dude, Greek mythology is like awesome but you already knew that. I don't know much on the topic but it's certainly interesting. I had my share of Greek Mythology in Grade 4 when we learned about Ancient Greece and that's when I first got to know about it. The Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and mythological creatures along with their special backgrounds and myths are just plain fascinating. It's pretty much like how George Steele's Barber said his experience was. I never read further into it and it never was about writing styles or anything. And why hasn't anyone mentioned Troy? I've read a modernised version of the book about two years ago but you'd probably find it lame. Maybe read the book or watch the movie. My sister has watched it and she said it's great.

I'm calling it now. Once these twilight movies are over, Greek Mythology is going to become the new vampire trend in movies and teen reading. We just need to find a way to take the stories and add some teenage angst and sexual tension. Any writer's out there? Who wants in on this money train? I think we should start our focus Zeus and Hera while they were in high school.

#Motivated

 

[LilacFray]

I'm calling it now. Once these twilight movies are over, Greek Mythology is going to become the new vampire trend in movies and teen reading. We just need to find a way to take the stories and add some teenage angst and sexual tension. Any writer's out there? Who wants in on this money train? I think we should start our focus Zeus and Hera while they were in high school.

#Motivated

This made my day! It really isn't a bad idea. If someone were to write it, it would have to be someone with good knowledge on Greek mythology and a writer overall. All I'm sure of is that it would be better than a story about a sparkly vampire, werewolf and a pale little girl. I want to throw this question out there - Which Greek god, goddess or demigod have you been most fascinated by? I found it hard to choose but I'll go with Artemis - goddess of hunting and wilderness. And Fizzy, here's the trailer of Troy. Just watched it for the first time myself.

[YOUTUBE]cCg8Ku7C5eI[/YOUTUBE] Brad Pitt is Achilles and Orlando Bloom is Paris.

 

[SalvIsWin]

Are you, interested in Greek Mythology, MR Ferguson?

No i'm not. I'm not a nerd or a geek. I don't live in a basement either. I like Money. Which is good because i have a lot of it. I love women. Which is good because once again i have a lot of it. I love fast cars, people, socializing and exercise.

People who enjoy Greek Mythology or any other bullshit form of ancient history are not people. They are nerds. Nerds who are scared of real life and who live in the past. In my spare time (I dont have much), I fuck women and i drink in in the best bars in which ever town i'm in with my many friends. People worship me because i live life to how it should be lived.

You all should follow my example. My lead.

Kind Regards MR Ferguson.

You should work on your sentence fragments.

 

[BK Styles]

Are you, interested in Greek Mythology, MR Ferguson?

No i'm not. I'm not a nerd or a geek. I don't live in a basement either. I like Money. Which is good because i have a lot of it. I love women. Which is good because once again i have a lot of it. I love fast cars, people, socializing and exercise.

People who enjoy Greek Mythology or any other bullshit form of ancient history are not people. They are nerds. Nerds who are scared of real life and who live in the past. In my spare time (I dont have much), I fuck women and i drink in in the best bars in which ever town i'm in with my many friends. People worship me because i live life to how it should be lived.

You all should follow my example. My lead.

Kind Regards MR Ferguson.

Dude, you're on a wrestling website, nerd.

Onto the topic, Greek mythology is something that has always interested me, but something I've never ventured into. One of my uni friends recently decided she wanted to start a theatre company in the summer, and base it around different mythology and fantasy themes, including greek, and asked if I want to be a part of it. Obviously, I said hell yes, but I still need to look into it more.

I think the closest I've got is the Disney Hercules and Clash of the Titans (shudders at the thought).

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Love Greek Mythology, LOVE IT!

Anytime there is a movie that has some sort of Greek Mythology attached I'm all over it, even if its Troy.

I've spent a lot of time reading about Greek Mythology, reading the stories, the gods, goddesses and titans such as Zeus and Chronus, for whatever reason it just interests me, much more than any other type of religion or mythology out there.

I love the relationships between the gods, I love how a lot of times the Gods just come off like complete assholes (especially Zeus, what an asshole), I love reading the literature, I even love how the story is told and written, it gives you a lot of detail but at the same time leaves plenty up to the imagination.

In a lot of ways its the same reason I loved wrestling growing up, the gods/goddesses much like wrestlers come off as larger than life and its easy to get into something where everything is larger than life (part of my issue today is very few people come off as larger than life but that's for another thread altogether).

 

[Alex]

One thing that always bugged me (and would make my dad rage) is how they always change quite a bit of the story when putting the stories to the big screen

Troy is the biggest sinner of this. Menelaus didn't die in a fight with Hector (he didn't die at all) Agamemnon wasn't killed at Troy and Achilles dies halfway through the story (roughly)

I mean Clash Of The Titans was fairly true to the source material (minus Pegasus and a few other small things) but they've decided to do a sequel. But Perseus didn't really have any other adventures after that, they're just making shit up. It irks me, they've got all these other myths they could do and they decide to make shit up.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

One thing that always bugged me (and would make my dad rage) is how they always change quite a bit of the story when putting the stories to the big screen

Troy is the biggest sinner of this. Menelaus didn't die in a fight with Hector (he didn't die at all) Agamemnon wasn't killed at Troy and Achilles dies halfway through the story (roughly)

I mean Clash Of The Titans was fairly true to the source material (minus Pegasus and a few other small things) but they've decided to do a sequel. But Perseus didn't really have any other adventures after that, they're just making shit up. It irks me, they've got all these other myths they could do and they decide to make shit up.

I agree its annoying but at the same time that's Hollywood for you.

Almost every piece of literature turned to movie has significant changes made to it so it appeals to a broader audience. I wish it wasn't so blatant sometimes but at the same time its expected.

What bothered me most about Troy is that it made the Iiliad (which I was very interested in) so uninteresting. Its like the new TMNT argument I use, at the end of the day as long as its entertaining who cares if they are Aliens instead of mutants.

 

[TheHeartbreakPunk]

I absolutely love greek mythology. I like how they have an actual explanation for everything that happened in real life.

If you are looking for something about greek mythology, i would seriously suggest reading the percy jackson books. They are about kids, but they are really good. They just came out with a second series about them too, the heroes of olympus, which talks about greek and roman gods. I would reccomend those if you are interested in a book series.

 

[red ass skull muhfukkah]

I'm calling it now. Once these twilight movies are over, Greek Mythology is going to become the new vampire trend in movies and teen reading. We just need to find a way to take the stories and add some teenage angst and sexual tension. Any writer's out there? Who wants in on this money train? I think we should start our focus Zeus and Hera while they were in high school.

#Motivated

Percy Jackson and The Olympians is like the Harry Potter of Greek Mythology. They made one movie but it didn't seem to catch on like they thought it would. Percy is the son of Poseidon in the movie, they fight Madusa and all that shit.