#the actual Greek mythology is richer than any modern retellings

[say-hi-intrepid-heroes]

what got you into greek mythology?

oh boy where do i begin

i wasn't allowed to read percy jackson as a kid (because oh no there were gay people and my parents would never allow that) so to fit in with my friends i read a shit ton of classical mythology. i dabbled in most ancient pantheons, but norse and greek/roman were the ones i studied the most.

more recently, i love to study the presence of queer people in history, especially ancient history. right now im taking a course that really dives into The Iliad, and i fear my copy is filled with annotations and tabs (im currently marking for colour mentions, specific imagery/metaphors, and prophecies, since this is working in tandem with an art course), especially on the chapters and bits about Achilles and Patroclus. pardon my mini tangent here, but it's so interesting to see their story play out: there are prophecies that are set in stone, and yet they still try to avoid their fates. there is a core belief in their hearts that they will avoid the prophecies, and yet they do not. and also, at the end of the day, achilles chose to go to war instead of take the option of the life of being unknown. it's just so interesting.

anyway to wrap this up and actually meaningfully answer the question, i find ancient greek mythology to be such a foundational set of tropes that are really good to call back to. they also have the positive element of being so separated from any authors that might exist that there is no "source material" and much is left up to interpretation, which opens the doors for feminist and queer analyses of the texts. i'm not a huge fan of most modern "retellings" (that's a whole other can of worms that i won't go into rn), but i think the integration of elements of the mythos in modern art and writing can create richer meanings without falling victim to the constant push for innovation and new ideas.

everyone should go real myths. i personally recommend Edith Hamilton's Mythology (i found my copy at a secondhand store, she's pretty well known) for general myths, although you can find pretty much anything online. if you're into the epics, Emily Wilson's translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey are more similar to modern syntax and grammar than some other translations i've read, and is just a really easy read (any minor changes she makes are either explained in the introduction or in the notes, and i've yet to find anything unjustified).

anyway i'll stop yapping about this but feel free to get in the reblogs/replies or send more asks about this cause i love talking about this stuff :D