My Favourite Greek Myth Retellings

[booksbardsandbaselines]

 Lately I’ve been thinking about how ancient myths are like really old houses: a little crumbling in places, haunted by problematic ghosts, but still full of mystery, beauty, and stories waiting to be told again (ideally with more emotional maturity and less casual divine punishment).

I love Greek mythology, but I really love when modern writers take those stories, dust them off, and give them new life—especially when they do it with lyrical prose, deep empathy, and a healthy suspicion of male heroes.

So here are some of my absolute favourite Greek myth retellings—and why I keep coming back to them like Odysseus to Ithaca (minus the decade-long detour and monster troubles, ideally).

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🌿 Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe gets to be more than a witch who turns men into pigs (although… respect). Miller writes her with such grace and fury and introspection—she’s a goddess, yes, but also a woman searching for her place in a world that fears her power. Also, there's a very good lion.

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⚔️ The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Look, if you’ve cried over this one, we’re in a support group together. Miller gives Achilles and Patroclus the tender, epic love story they deserve—and it absolutely ruins you in the best, most cathartic way.

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🏺 A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Women of the Trojan War, assemble! This is like an ancient ensemble drama where everyone finally gets to tell their side. From Cassandra to Penelope to the goddesses themselves, Haynes reminds us that war stories are never just about warriors.

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🧵 Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

A dreamy, lyrical dive into the Minotaur myth and its aftermath. Ariadne and her sister Phaedra get to shine (and suffer and rage and hope). Also: Theseus? Still the worst.

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🔥 Elektra by Jennifer Saint

Ah yes, the House of Atreus: the original messy reality show. This one zooms in on Clytemnestra, Elektra, and Cassandra, and the cycle of revenge and trauma they’re tangled in. Lots of drama, no easy answers.

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🏹 Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

We love a heroine who outruns the boys and keeps her bow steady. This one leans more into the adventure side, following Atalanta with the Argonauts. It’s fun, fierce, and makes room for her to be more than a sidekick.

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🧠 Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes

Not a retelling, but a sharp, funny, deeply satisfying feminist look at how mythology (and later writers) twisted women’s stories. Pandora, Medusa, Helen, and others get their dignity back—or at least, their complexity.

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If you’ve read any of these, come yell about them with me. If you haven’t—consider this your official invitation to dive in. Just maybe don’t accept gifts from the gods or make eye contact with a gorgon.

Which myth retellings do you love? Which ones do you want to read? I’m always ready to add to the TBR pile (it’s basically a ziggurat at this point).

Comments

[zenigotchas]

You had me at "minotaur." Been a hot minute since I've done much with Greek myth but it's always nice to hear about it and adaptations! Super creepy tale <3 What's Ariadne like?

(The closest to any Greek adaptations I've been consuming would be this video game series I like that uses myth, like actual, culturally and historically accurate depictions of myth. It has some very neat depictions of Greek gods and characters)

[lovelyangel]

All the books you’ve listed sound really interesting, and I’d love to read them – if only I could get caught up on my reading. I can’t really handle more books in my backlog at the moment. However, I’m bookmarking your post for future reference.

I have only two Greek Myth retellings in my library. I can’t say that I would recommend Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane to anyone as it really goes off the rails towards the end. However, I did love how Achilles was portrayed. I just wish the book didn’t get so bizarre near the end.

On the other hand, one of my favorite books from when I was in high school I have re-read many times. I love this book – a very unique view of the Trojan War. Unfortunately, Whom the Gods Would Destroy by Richard Powell is long out-of-print. I have the original paperback printing that I bought when I was in high school – and years ago I searched hard and was able to get a used hardbound first edition from 1970.

I mentioned these books briefly in a Blog Post a few years ago.

You might note in any Recent Photo of my tsundoku stack that there’s a hardbound copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. I still have the paperback copy of that book that was assigned reading in my 8th grade English class – which is how I’m pretty well versed on Greek mythology. I bought a 75th Anniversary Edition just because it’s cool (and I can retire my ancient, beat-up paperback).