The Greek Myths - Robert Graves

The Folio edition of the Greek Myths was a very thoughtful gift I received from a friend some years ago but sadly the beauty ends at the front covers. I'm something of a Greek mythology fan, so was not expecting to be so disappointed by the contents. The problem is not the Greek myths themselves, which have obviously endured the test of the time, but the writer, Robert Graves. A quick search on the internet reassured me that it was not just myself who found his analyses of these ancient classics to be far off the mark. Graves suffers from a heavy obsession with Moon goddesses and pagan death cults, to the point where every single interpretation of the myths must be twisted to fit his theory. Indeed, some of the contortions he makes to prove his point are downright baffling and his monomania ruins the stories. I'd definitely recommend skipping all his scholarly notes.

For Graves, everything boils down to an old matriarchal king-killing religion that was succeeded by later patriarchy, as personified by the Olympian pantheon. When a myth doesn't contain elements of his beloved triple moon goddess cult, he dismisses it as having arisen from a mistaken image or icon that only he can correctly interpret. The repetition with which he belabours the same point over and over had me exasperated long before I finished reading the first volume. He also manages to achieve the singularly astounding feat of telling these exciting tales in the dullest possible manner, with far too much emphasis on which obscure personages founded which cities. Another far out theory of his is that The Odyssey was written by a woman. It's the first time I've encountered this idea, and whilst an interesting one, I don't buy into it. I would only recommend his work as a rough reference guide, since he does span quite a lot of lore.

Rating: 2/5