For this readathon, the books you choose DO NOT need to be mythology related to count, they just need to fit the prompt. I wanted to keep #mythothon as accessible – and fun — as possible, so I didn’t want to make reading a lot of similar or heavy books a must.
However, I know a lot of you might want to go that extra mile and use as many books inspired by actual Greek mythology as possible. This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a selection I’ve either read and enjoyed or that I’ve heard really good things about. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments, and remember to post your TBRs so we can all cheer each other on when the readathon starts on November 1st.
‘Non-Fiction’ and Primers
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton
The Complete World of Greek Mythology by Richard Buxton
Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry
Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology by Cory O’Brien
The Medusa Reader by Marjorie Garber
Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore by Bettany Hughes
Classics
The Library of Greek Mythology by Apollodorus
Medea by Euripides
Alcestis by Euripides
Theogony by Hesiod
The Iliad by Homer
The Odyssey by Homer
Antigone by Sophocles
‘Traditional’ Retellings
Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare
Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
Tamer of Horses by Amalia Carosella
The Memoirs of Helen of Troy by Amanda Elyot
Nobody’s Princess Series by Esther M. Friesner (starts with Nobody’s Princess)
Numinous World by Jo Graham (starts with Black Ships)
Troy Series by David Gemmell (starts with Lord of the Silver Bow)
Golden Apple Trilogy by Emily Hauser (starts with For The Most Beautiful)
Odysseus: The Oath: Book One by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Olympians Series by George O’Connor (starts with Zeus: King of the Gods)
The King Must Die by Mary Renault
Outrun the Wind by Elizabeth Tammi
Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays by Christa Wolf
Reimaginings
Stories which step a little further from the source material, changing the setting, genre or time-period (for example, modern day)
Daughters of Zeus Series by Kaitlin Bevis (starts with Persephone)
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block
Abandon Series by Meg Cabot (start with Abandon)
Goddess Test Series by Aimee Carter (start with The Goddess Test)
Goddess Summoning Series by P.C. Cast (starts with Goddess of the Sea)
Medusa Girls Series by Tera Lynn Childs (start with Sweet Venom)
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Who Let the Gods Out? Series by Maz Evans (starts with Who Let the Gods Out?)
The Goddess Girl Series by Joan Hubb and Suzanne Williams (starts with Athena the Brain)
Pegasus Series by Kate O’Hearn (starts with The Flame of Olympus)
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan (starts with The Lightning Thief)
Ilium Series by Dan Simmons (starts with Ilium)
Nice list! Either you or the authors have a serious preference for Hades/Persephone retellings, but I’m not complaining 😀
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Haha! I think it’s a bit of both. 😂 I do have a soft spot for Persephone and Hades stories but it also seems to be popular with authors, in YA retellings.
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That’s okay – I love them too and I added several of these to my TBR 😀 Although I try to avoid very cliché-sounding YA hetero stories and one or two seemed like it might be in that category.
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