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kyatic's reviews
920 reviews
Tales of Ancient Greece by Enid Blyton
4.0
I must have been about 8 when I read this, so my memory of it is a little faded, but I do recall that it was a book that both kindled and sated my childhood obsession with Greek mythology. As a kids' book, it does of course sanitise some of the myths out of necessity - rapes become kidnappings or trysts, and lovers who die together are shown happily reunited in the afterlife - but it's not done in such a way that the original narrative is lost. I'd be quite interested to dig out my old copy - which I think must be from the '70s - and see how it compares to the stories as I now know them. Nonetheless, I can quite certainly attribute this book as being the spark that set off a lifelong fascination. Thanks, Enid. You're a pal.
I Hate and I Love by Catullus
4.0
Perhaps it's in part to the translation, which I've since researched and found to be largely considered overtly stylised, but I was surprised by the modern tone that a lot of this poetry took. I was also interested to see the contrast between the famous Lesbia poems and the less well-known odes to some of Catullus' male friends and possible lovers - those who are expecting a book of love poetry to one woman, as Catullus' work is so often marketed, will not find their expectations met.
As well as some particularly scorchin' verses extolling the virtues of his lovers' bodies, there are some hilariously caustic criticisms and downright catty rebukes here. Catullus is widely renowned for his satirical abilities and his sharp tongue, and both are on display in this short collection.
Given the generally accepted unfaithfulness of the translation, I'll certainly be seeking out some more closely translated versions of Catullus' work to see exactly where Catullus comes into his own, but this is still an incredibly enjoyable introduction.
As well as some particularly scorchin' verses extolling the virtues of his lovers' bodies, there are some hilariously caustic criticisms and downright catty rebukes here. Catullus is widely renowned for his satirical abilities and his sharp tongue, and both are on display in this short collection.
Given the generally accepted unfaithfulness of the translation, I'll certainly be seeking out some more closely translated versions of Catullus' work to see exactly where Catullus comes into his own, but this is still an incredibly enjoyable introduction.
Caligula by Suetonius
4.0
I mean, it has to be said: Caligula was absolutely insane. This recounting by Suetonius of some of Caligula's more scandalous activities makes for very interesting reading. Part history book, part Hello! magazine, Suetonius mixes gossip, personal opinion and accepted truths to form an account of Caligula's tyranny that can't be entirely verified, but has certainly been hugely influential in forming our modern opinion of one of history's most terrifying rulers.
Theogony, Works and Days by Hesiod
3.0
This is one of those books that are incredibly hard to ascribe a star rating to. Did I enjoy reading it? I mean, there were bits that I enjoyed - the list of superstitions at the end of Works and Days, for example - and there were bits that I had to trudge through like I was wading through soup. Of course, much of that is because I'm coming at this text as a modern reader, used to reading fast paced novels, with nuanced characters and intricate plots. Hesiod, being very much not a modern writer, writes in a style that we've now come to find incredibly dry and quite hard going in places.
However, the influence that this work has had, both on our knowledge of Ancient Greece (specifically the beginning of Archaic Greece, given the time frame of around 750BC in which Hesiod was likely writing) and indeed on Western literature as a whole mean that it feels a little like blasphemy to give this work a low rating.
It's thanks to Theogony that we know the widely accepted canonical genealogy of the gods, including the primordial deities, the Titans and the gods of Olympus, and it's thanks to Works and Days that we have an idea of some of the more ancient civilisations of Greece, described and mythologised by Hesiod as the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages, but widely believed to refer to previous civilisations. Works and Days also gives us an invaluable insight into the daily lives of Hesiod's contemporaries, including their livelihoods, their cultural practices, their beliefs and their rituals.
It shows us too the origins of some more unsavoury cultural practices that are still with us today - it's quite clear that women do not enjoy a particularly high status, with Hesiod using the myth of Pandora in Theogony to blame women for all of mankind's ills, and expanding upon this theme in Works and Days to describe how women are a bane on men, eating food and taking up resources that men could otherwise keep for themselves. I'm not saying that we still live in a culture that views women like this, but I'm also not saying that we're not.
Despite the difficulty of rating this work, I've given it a medium 3 stars - 2 stars for the archaic readability and for the chip on my shoulder I admittedly have about Hesiod's gnawing misogyny, and 4 stars for everything else.
However, the influence that this work has had, both on our knowledge of Ancient Greece (specifically the beginning of Archaic Greece, given the time frame of around 750BC in which Hesiod was likely writing) and indeed on Western literature as a whole mean that it feels a little like blasphemy to give this work a low rating.
It's thanks to Theogony that we know the widely accepted canonical genealogy of the gods, including the primordial deities, the Titans and the gods of Olympus, and it's thanks to Works and Days that we have an idea of some of the more ancient civilisations of Greece, described and mythologised by Hesiod as the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages, but widely believed to refer to previous civilisations. Works and Days also gives us an invaluable insight into the daily lives of Hesiod's contemporaries, including their livelihoods, their cultural practices, their beliefs and their rituals.
It shows us too the origins of some more unsavoury cultural practices that are still with us today - it's quite clear that women do not enjoy a particularly high status, with Hesiod using the myth of Pandora in Theogony to blame women for all of mankind's ills, and expanding upon this theme in Works and Days to describe how women are a bane on men, eating food and taking up resources that men could otherwise keep for themselves. I'm not saying that we still live in a culture that views women like this, but I'm also not saying that we're not.
Despite the difficulty of rating this work, I've given it a medium 3 stars - 2 stars for the archaic readability and for the chip on my shoulder I admittedly have about Hesiod's gnawing misogyny, and 4 stars for everything else.