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Wasn't everyone's favorite unit in elementary school the one about Greek Mythology? Luckily, it's not just for kids! Here are some great books for adults that explore the human themes motivating the Greek Gods.
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The Just City by Jo Walton
This is one of my favorite books I've read in years, even just starting with the awesome premise: Athene brings a conglomeration of people from across time who prayed to live in Plato’s Republic to Atlantis before the island is destroyed to let them try to build Plato’s city. This fascinating book is philosophical and intelligent, bringing up questions about the nature of justice, cognition, and excellence, but it is also filled with compelling characters, including Simmea, a slave girl bought and brought to the city at age ten to grow up there and Pytheas, a human instantiation of Apollo, who chose to become human in order to learn that the lives of others have equal significance. This book sounds heady but it’s also fun and truly unputdownable. The other books on this list are all connected by a Homerian through line but I think starting with this book is an interesting way to see the impact of the stories told below throughout history and philosophy.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Booktok went crazy for this, and they aren't wrong! This novelization of the friendship between Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad tells the story through the eyes of Patroclus. Miller's writing is lyrical, and the tale of their love and Achilles' pride is tragic and beautiful.
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
The Odyssey took twenty years. What happened to those left behind? Penelope is often portrayed in retellings as a dull and dutiful wife waiting by her weaving, but it must have taken a wily woman to keep Ithaca's throne safe. Upon his return, Odysseus had twelve of her maids hung - why? What happened in his absence? This is her story.
Ithaca by Claire North
North is best known as a sci-fi author, but this retelling measures up with some of the greats. Another version of the story of the women left behind by Odeysseus, but this one is narrated by the Queen of the Gods - Hera. While the other gods were boldly fighting in Troy, what about those Hera cares for - the wives and women whose power is in cunning, spying, and conniving?
About the Author
Shoshana G. is a children's librarian and likes fantasy novels, trivia, and other people's pets. She once won a talent contest by walking up a flight of stairs with a cake on her head and will gladly perform a similar stunt if asked!