Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #2)

by Stephen Fry

Just as the oracle had prophesized that King Acrisius of Argos would be killed by a grandson, so it had told Oenomaus that he would be killed by a son-in-law. To prevent his daughter ever marrying, the king challenged every applicant for her hand to a chariot race, the loser to forfeit his life. Oenomaus was the finest charioteer in the land: so far, the heads of more than a dozen hopeful young men adorned the wooden stakes that fenced the racing field. Hippodamia was very beautiful, Pisa was very rich, and the suitors kept coming.

As Yoda had expressed it a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

“You see?” said Prometheus. “It is your fate to be Heracles the hero, burdened with labors, yet it is also your choice. You choose to submit to it. Such is the paradox of living. We willingly accept that we have no will.” This was all a touch too profound for Heracles. He saw, but did not see. In this he shared the same bemusement on the subject of free will and destiny that befuddles us all. “Yes, well, never mind all that; I have a job to do.”

Athenian exceptionalism at the height of the classical era was as unpopular with the rest of the world as British exceptionalism in the days of the Raj or American and Russian exceptionalism are today.

Men! It’s not that they’re brutish, boorish, shallow, and insensitive—though I dare say many are. It’s just that they’re so damned blind. So incredibly stupid. Men in myth and fiction at least. In real life we are keen, clever, and entirely without fault, of course.

THE CHOSEN ONE It’s the archetype of fiction for children, young adults, and—let’s be honest— pretend grown-ups like us too. A mysterious absent father. A doting mother who encourages you to believe that you are special. The Chosen One. “You’re a wizard, Harry!” That kind of thing. It goes like this.

Myth can be a kind of human algebra which makes it easier to manipulate truths about ourselves. Symbols and rituals are not toys and games to be dispensed with on our arrival at adulthood, they are tools we will always need. They complement our scientific impulse; they do not stand in opposition to it. As with the interpretation of myths, double determination—the attribution of inner and outer influence—is as much a matter of preference as anything else. Some love to see the gods appear, interfere, and direct, others are happier following humans doing their thing with the minimum of divine intervention. The Muses whisper in my ear and tell me I am done.