Mythos by Stephen Fry *** (of 4)

What makes the Greek gods so endearing is their thoroughly human characteristics. They love, honor, envy, spite, trick, support, double cross, respect, forget, bumble, succeed, fail, muddle, regret, and persevere, undergoing many of these practices and emotions in a lifetime and in a hot second. 

Stephen Fry brings the gods to life, the ancient Greeks who first introduced us to them, and the enduring legacy of Greek mythology. Accompanying each lively story, in myriad footnotes, he explains the relationship between the Greek gods and the hundreds of words and professions that continue to exist in Western civilization and the English language to this day. Mythos also yanks us from our egocentrism, reminding us that our woes and exaltations, small and large, personal and national, are not so unique after all. Being human is difficult. The ancient Greeks already knew that.