The Best Greek Mythology Retellings to Read in 2025

Published by Esther Fung, Dec. 9, 2024


Hi! My name is Esther, and in addition to working at PangoBooks, I am a huge Greek mythology fan. I even took ancient Greek for two years in college and minored in Classics, because I'm just that obsessed.


The recent boom in Greek mythology retellings is very near and dear to my heart. I'm so excited that authors are shifting the lens through which these ancient stories are told and widening their scopes. However, for me, simply finding a new narrator isn't enough to make a retelling worth the read. I want these works to transform our understanding of the original text and/or explain a facet of the modern world using the tropes and archetypes of the ancient world.


Here, I've compiled a guide of all the best Greek mythology retellings to read in 2025. Whether you're new to these stories or you were sitting next to me in class, you're not going to regret adding any of these books to your reading list.

What is a retelling?

A retelling is any work of fiction that retells another story. Often, retellings change the setting (Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights moves Romeo and Juliet from Verona to 1920s Shanghai), the narrator (James by Percival Everett recounts The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's point of view), and/or genre (Seth Grahame-Smith transforms a classic Regency romance into a horror novel in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). By making these changes, retellings will delight readers who love the original story while lending new depth and perspective to the source material that inspired them. Many retellings have gone on to earn great acclaim. For example, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver is a retelling of Dicken's David Copperfield and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2023.


Why are there so many Greek mythology retellings?

Some common sources of inspiration for retellings are Shakespearean plays, Jane Austen novels, and, most prominently, Greek mythology.


It's not hard to imagine why these ancient stories still captivate writers and readers today. Many of these tales grapple with timeless conflicts we all face. Are we our own person or are our paths predestined, no matter what we do? Are fame, success, and glory worth all the sacrifices, or is it better to spend our time loving the people around us? Is death the final end?


At the same time, Greek mythology tales are very much products of their own time. The treatment of mortal women was especially shocking. (Maybe this is when I should come clean and admit that I am a Helen of Troy defender.) The tragic fates that befell everyone from well-known figures like Cassandra and Medusa to more obscure women like Philomela and the maids in The Odyssey have led to a wealth of Greek mythology retellings written by authors eager to avenge these characters.


Below, I'll share retellings that, in my opinion, successfully transformed their source material and added new layers of nuance. Please note that my definition of a well-written retelling does not include strict allegiance to the original text. For me, transformation is more important than accuracy in a retelling.

The best Greek mythology retellings

Photo

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

I first discovered Natalie Haynes through her nonfiction work, Pandora's Jar, which I recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the women in Greek mythology. Her retelling of the Trojan War, A Thousand Ships, is a masterpiece, as it gives voice to all the women involved, from the Amazon warriors to Helen herself.


Average rating on Pango: 4.56 ★★★★★

"This was genuinely such a good book and I really enjoyed seeing all of the different women’s perspectives of the popular stories I’ve already learned about." - Anna Kachel

Photo

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Did you know that Margaret Atwood wrote a Greek mythology retelling? In The Penelopiad, she turns her devastating pen to famed power couple, Penelope and Odysseus, as she gives voice to the twelve handmaidens the hero hanged for disloyalty after he returned to Ithaca. This short novel challenges the reader to consider how much agency women in the ancient world had and how class protected Queen Penelope while leaving her servants vulnerable to the men who sought to claim the vacant throne.

Photo

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

I've already admitted to being an Helen of Troy apologist, so maybe it isn't surprising to now confess that Queen Clytemnestra, slayer of husbands, is my favorite character in Greek mythology. If female rage was a Greek mythology retelling, it would be Costanza Casati's Clytemnestra. Casati gives us a fully-realized, flesh-and-blood woman who is neither a villain nor a hero, but a human being who has had enough of the justice of kings and gods.


Average rating on Pango: 4.57 ★★★★★

"The pacing of the story is fantastic and kept me glued to the pages. I truly cannot believe this is a debut. If you’re a mythology fan, I highly recommend this immersive tale of love, loss, and vengeance." - Kyra

Photo

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

One of the most popular writers of Greek mythology retellings is Jennifer Saint, who is best known for her debut novel, Ariadne. Here, Saint breathes new life into the familiar story of Theseus slaying the Minotaur, by allowing the princess of Crete to take center stage. Once you're done with this novel, you'll never look at Theseus nor the Minotaur the same again.


Average Pango rating: 4.35 ★★★★☆

"I quite enjoyed this book and i find the storytelling around Ariadne to be enthralling. Her story is heartbreaking and intriguing and powerful all at once." - Alexis Williams

Photo

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis may be best known for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but both he and his friend, J.R.R. Tolkien, consider Till We Have Faces to be his best work. Here, Lewis retells the story of Cupid and Psyche from the point of view of Psyche's older sister, Orual. Till We Have Faces argues that Orual's actions are not the result of malice, as is suggested by the original myth, but ignorance about the gods and their ways. This retelling is probably the least-known on this list, but is deserving of much more attention.

Photo

Circe by Madeline Miller

You can't talk about Greek mythology retellings and not mention Madeline Miller's Circe. Arguably the most well-known book in this subgenre, Circe is a feminist retelling of the witch who turned Odysseus's crew into swine in The Odyssey. It is a must-read for anyone interested in Greek mythology.


Average Pango rating: 4.39 ★★★★☆

"Loved this book!! 🥰 It had everything in Greek Mythology that I love!! I didn't look at Circe as a witch but as a person just like any other girl, her story is one of independence and loneliness and survival!! I could not put this book down literally!!" - Kristen McGuffee

Photo

Ulysses by James Joyce

Moving on to modern retellings, we arrive at James Joyce's magum opus, Ulysses. This 1920 classic takes place in a single day in Dublin and follows Leopold Bloom, his wife Molly, and a young writer named Stephen Dedalus. This modernist work is famously difficult to read, but is so worth it for any Greek mythology lover who isn't afraid of a drastically different reimagining.

Photo

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

The final book on this list transformed the original source material to such a degree that some readers didn't even realize it was a retelling. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie sets the events of Antigone in modern-day United Kingdom, reimagining Oedipus's disgraced family as British-Pakistani citizens. It's one of my favorite retellings, as evidenced in my review below.


Average rating on Pango: 5.00 ★★★★★

"By imagining Oedipus's children as Muslim Pakistani-British citizens torn between assimilationist attitudes and anger at the bigotry they've experienced their whole lives, Shamsie responds to Sophocles's original question ("What do you do when the state's legal codes conflicts with personal moral codes?") with her own: Who does the law protect, and who does it sacrifice?" - Esther from Pango

Photo

More retellings and books inspired by Greek mythology:

Featured Greek mythology retellings

Photo

Explore more on Pango: