Greek Myths, Western Style: Toga Tales With An Attitude

by Barbara McBride-Smith

When she was a young girl, Barbara McBride-Smith was introduced to the ancient Greek myths but she didn't quite hear right. When her teacher told her they lived in the cradle of western civilization, young Barbara thought she said Western civilization - as in central Texas, around about Waco, where they seemed to fit right in. Ol' Man Zeus, after all, was a gun-totin' Big Daddy, sort of the J.R. Ewing of Mount Olympus. You know Aphrodite, the school basketball queen or Pandora the debutante, the best guitar picker around was Orpheus - Tom T. and wasn't Medusa the one who started the fashion trend known as Big Hair? With her incurable Texas drawl, feminist sympathies, and cheerleader's do-right attitude, master storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith spins the Greek myths as you've never heard them before.

Genres: Anthologies, Mythology

120 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 1998

Reviews

[Nick]

This was a great idea, but a few of these stories fall flat on paper. I've heard her perform a couple of them live, and they are better in that form.
That said, the book is still worth reading if you have any interest in revisionist folktales or fractured fairy tales. While the Texas connection is a little forced in one or two stories [the worst being her story of Theseus, in which she tries to convince the audience that he was just stupid, rather than self-centered and cruel], in some cases the revisions work well.
The warped versions of the tales from the Iliad and Odyssey, along with some of the myths, are delightful in their Texas form.
They're still better if you can hear her tell them, though. If you HAVE heard her, you might be able to hear her voice as you read. It certainly helps.

[Jim]

Kind of funny. Updated versions of Greek myths, in cowboy language. It would probably perform better than it reads. There are a dozen or so myths covered.

[Jenna]

This was a surprisingly good book that I picked up at a library book sale.
The writer summarizes several of the Greek myths/characters using the analogies of "good ol' boys/rednecks from Texas".

For exs:
from the Medea chapter-
"Medea? She was the nicest girl in town back when we were growing up in Colchis. Oh, nobody liked it much when she started messing with that voodoo magic."
"...that Jason was rotten to the core. And if he wasn't bad enough, that uncouth bunch of jocks that tagged along with him were nothing but a bunch of worthless yahoos."
"Anyway, that pack of pack of hooligans floated up on a big boat called the Argo, surfed ashore, and told everybody they were the Argonauts. Any idiot knows that Argonaut just means somebody who sails the Argo."

from Cupid & Psyche chapter-
"Cupid was a mama's boy. It wasn't his fault. She wouldn't let go of him."
Medusa-
"Remember that old saying? Some seems to ring true in this story. 'Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.'"
Orpheus-
"Orpheus was a picker. Not your everyday picker....because Orpheus had rhythm and blues genes like nobody had ever before."


You get the gist. Little bits of humor thrown in with TX/Southern style sayings helps to give a simplified overview of the Greeks.
I'd highly recommend this to anyone/teens who want an introduction or refresher on the Greek myth's topic.
It was a very quick read as the chapters are short & succinct.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Theseus
By Barbara McBride-Smith

[Curt Bobbitt]

Short, colloquial, rather silly summaries of several characters and overlapping events of Greek mythology. Humorous drawings illustrate each chapter.

A final chapter called "A Few Last Words" offers suggested readings for children and adults.

[Susan]

hilarious!