My Greek Mythology Journey

Of ALL genres of books I love, it is most known that I am a classic and fantasy fan, and I have shared my journeys with them. However, there is another top favorite genre of mine, which is Greek Mythology, which in some ways is similar to fantasy. So, what is my Greek Mythology journey?

The Start- Percy Jackson and the Olympians

My LOVE for Greek Mythology truly began in middle school. Those were the years I discovered Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It truly was the series that made me fall in love with the genre.

Mythology Unit of World Literature- 10th Grade

Well, there was an incredible part about World Literature during high school. Specifically in World Literature. I ALWAYS was looking forward to our mythology unit. This was when I initially exposed to The Iliad and The Odyssey. One of the BEST parts of studying mythology was the book project. We had to dress up as a God or a Goddess——-but had to be the one we drew—-I ended dressing up as Aphrodite, The Goddess of Love

Reread Time

The Iliad/The Odyssey

Just a few years ago, I decided to read the entire Iliad/Odyssey. In 10th grade, obviously we weren’t reading the entire works. The Iliad and The Odyssey were the earliest books I read- in many ways, I almost think of them as a duology (after all, they are connected), One thing I didn’t realize in 10th grade is that The Iliad, is in fact, a tragedy——I could only see it as a myth in the past—-don’t forget The Iliad is all about a war, and Achilles, the main character, is a tragic hero

In my opinion, I feel like The Odyssey is more like a myth. That is WHY I love this one more- when it comes to myths, I think of gods/goddesses, demigods, beasts/creatures, and a quest. The Odyssey is the only one of the two with a quest

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

What was different this time around? The only reason why I reread them was when I finally decided to read Heroes of Olympus. I knew that rereading Percy Jackson would help me understand its sequel better. Since I was older now, I was able to spot even more this time around. Of course, I was able to recognize some of the same things- like character names or similar events. But it was the first time I noticed Percy and Annabeth’s relationship- helped that I was no longer in middle school

Rereading the series proved to be very helpful for Heroes of Olympus- that is because I would have gotten a little confused without that prior knowledge. Like I noticed older characters in the series (not older as in age, but showing up again in Heroes of Olympus), or some of the same locations

Retellings

This is where I am at now- due to the love that started to exist with Percy Jackson, I eventually was able to discover the Retellings. But, a lot of them were more connected to The Iliad and the Odyssey——-that is how I discovered my first. So, what are the retellings I read so far:

1. Song of Achilles- The Iliad from Patroclous’ POV
2. Circe- my love for Song of Achilles lead to this (as it said, “fans of Song of Achilles will enjoy this”)
3. Daughters of Sparta- The Iliad from Helen and Her Sister’s POV

Other Greek Mythology Books

There is JUST one other Greek Mythology I read. It is basically a collection some of the most famous Greek Myths told in a basic way. It even has one of the newest Greek Myths I got fascinated by thanks to Hadestown, the musical based off of Orpheus and Euyrdice—–this basic group of Greek Myths has that myth in it