kgrogers1979

I recently bought the video game God of War for PS2, and that game has made me interested in Greek mythology. Are there any good novels about Greek mythology or the Greek gods?

DaveCole

Epicurus The Sage Tpb by William Messner-Loebs and Sam Keith is a humorous look at the Greek gods and philosophers.

Josh-da-man

"Latro in the Mist" by Gene Wolfe. (This might not be exactly what you're looking for, though, so I'd advise doing a bit of research before you dive into it.)

Noonan

Best one I can think of would be "Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae".

Hospitaller

If you are looking for a more scholarly write up of the Greek mythos, the appropriately named "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton is a classic in the field. If you are looking for something with a bit of story, you might even want to try reading the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Or you could just rent Clash of the Titans or Jason and the Argonauts

look4sheep

Here's another one to try if you just want general knowledge of the greeks.

The Library of Greek Mythology By Apollodorus, tr. Robin Hard

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

waveform

Tom HOLT

Lateralus

The Iliad by Homer

My favorite was always Ajax.

I also like the Gates of Fire, it is not about Mythology but it describes how the Greeks liked to fight... up close and personal.

movielib

I loved Gates of Fire but as Lateralus said, it is a historical novel, not mythological. But Steven Pressfield's Last of the Amazons could be considered more mythological since the Amazons didn't really exist but are more a part of Greek myth (but not in the Greek God sense). It's not as good as Gates of Fire but it's still pretty good and if you liked GoF you'd probably like LotA.

Holly E. Ordway

Mary Renault's The King Must Die is an interesting, historically realistic look at the legend of King Theseus (i.e. there's no fantasy/actions of the gods in the story, but it depicts how things might *really* have been, to create the legends that came later).

Homer's Odyssey is the gold standard, though. Get a good prose translation and enjoy.

cgray

With the new Men and Gods: Myths and Legends of the Ancient Greeks (illus. by Edward Gorey. Check it out!), I've been getting re-excited about Greek mythology. Any recent recommendations in the past year or two?

I'm more into a general, comprehensive book of tales rather than a fantasy novel set during an ancient greek battle, etc. so anything along those lines would be appreciated.

My recommendation would be Gods, Heroes and Men of Ancient Greece: Mythology's Great Tales of Valor and Romance by WHD Rouse. Very readable and enjoyable.

dugan

John C. Wright's new series (Orphans of Chaos, Fugitives from Chaos, Titans of Chaos) is hugely enjoyable.

tonyc3742

Does it have to be a novel? I've always loved D'Auriale's [spelling?] book of Greek myths. I guess it's a youth/young adult, but it's still good, and I've enjoyed the art. Part of it might be nostalgia, I think it's the first book on Greek myths that I read, but I think it's good in itself.

Sean O'Hara

Why bother with novels? Go straight to the source -- the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and the Voyage of the Argonauts.

The Aeneid really is one of the most ass-kicking books ever written.

Nick Danger

Go to the original material.

There's a reason that The Illiad and The Odyssey have been bestsellers for 2500 years. They rock.

mgbfan

Dan Simmons did an interesting novel called Ilium that features heavily present-day Greek gods and their fascination with the Trojan War. Tough to explain, but I read and enjoyed it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ilium-Dan-Simmons/dp/0380817926

rfduncan

How about Edith Hamilton's Mythology? It is supposed to be a top notch treatment of the traditional characters, dealing with the actual myths instead of fabricating new "adventures".