Harry Mount's Odyssey: Ancient Greece in the Footsteps of Odysseus

by Harry Mount

Architecture, art, sculpture, economics, mathematics, science, metaphysics, comedy, tragedy, drama and epic poetry were all devised and perfected by the Greeks. Of the four classical orders of architecture, three were invented by the Greeks and the fourth, the only one the Romans could come up with, was a combination of two of the former.The powerful ghost of ancient Greece still lingers on in the popular mind as the first great civilization and one of the most influential in the creation of modern thought. It is the starting block of Western European civilization. In his New Odyssey, eminent writer Harry Mount tells the story of ancient Greece while on the trail of its greatest son, Odysseus. In the charming, anecdotal style of his bestselling Amo, Amas, Amat and All That, Harry visits Troy, still looming over the plain where Achilles dragged Hector's body through the dust, and attempts to swim the Hellespont, in emulation of Lord Byron and the doomed Greek lover, Leander. Whether in Odysseus's kingdom on Ithaca, Homer's birthplace of Chios or the Minotaur's lair on Crete, Mount brings the Odyssey - and ancient Greece - back to life.

Genres: Travel, Classics, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 16, 2015

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I’ve shelved this under classics, history, language and travel writing - a perfect combination for me. I found it on the travel shelves of a second hand bookshop so it was a pleasant surprise to find it ticked so many boxes. Euhemerism is an interpretation of mythology founded in a belief that the actual places events took place, and the real people they are based on, can be identified. In other words, myths are based on fact. In this instance, Homer, Odysseus and The Odyssey, although Mount goes off track many times. He wouldn’t describe himself as a euhemerist but he enjoys comparing Homer’s descriptions with locations he visits so he does toy with the practice a little.

I enjoyed the physical journey but not as much as I enjoyed learning more about Ancient Greece and its language, especially as I’ve been studying the the language recently. So many of our words originate in Ancient Greece, from its language and its mythology. Yes, as some reviewers have said, he name drops a lot but if I was as well connected as he is, e.g., to Byron whose swim across the Hellespont he tries but fails to emulate, I might do the same. I’d probably keep quiet about being related Boris Johnston, mind you!

All in all, a very enjoyable read and one which I feel sure I’ll revisit. It is also a personal journey for the author but I felt his reflections were proportionate and helped us to understand his obsession with his subject. The book would have benefited from an index of places, characters, etc. and I found his insistence on the grammatical possessive annoying - Odysseus’s rather than Odysseus’ - particularly as he insists on starting sentences with Us (rather than we) classicists. I’d love someone to explain why that’s correct as it’s beyond me! Those are petty points that I got over, however. They didn’t spoil my enjoyment one iota!

[Fletcher1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had so much potential but just didn't really live up to it. The author has a passion for everything Greek and this shows in his writing. He also has a passion for name dropping which also shows in his writing. We are reminded a few times how he is 2nd cousin to David Cameron, a relation of Byron, knows Boris Johnson, attended Westminster School and Oxford University. Not just once but right throughout the book. His own personal story is not particularly interesting and he seems to deliberately play it up about his own misfortunes to cover his life of privilege. no problem with people coming from a life of privilege, but to be reminded of it constantly throughout the book becomes tiresome. When he gets away from that side of it, some of his writing is particularly enjoyable and his knowledge of all things Greek is very good. There is a passage detailing his visit to the ruins at Ithaca that was a fantastic piece of writing that shows what might have been.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

He went to Greece, he had a thirst for knowledge. He'd studied Greek at Eton College, that's where I didn't go. He said he wanted to travel like Odysseus but couldn't help but name drop all his mates. Like David Cameron and Boris Johnson for god's sake.

He couldn't travel like common people. He couldn't party like common people do. He moped around being miserable. And rich. And dumped. By his girlfriend. So what did he do? Wrote a book about this too.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. I'm indulging my fascination with all things ancient Greek at the moment, so it was just the sort of thing to feed that interest. Some nice, erudite sections on his travels in Greece, with some observations on the sad decline of Greece after its bankruptcy. I wanted to go and re-read the Odyssey afterwards as it's been 20 years since. I read it. The bits about the girlfriend he's broken up with were a little self indulgent and irrelevant to the narrative though
.
Yes, he's a public school and university classics/history graduate, but so what. I get really irritated by socialist readers criticising others with perceived privilege, like they haven't got their own massive inferiority complexes and chips on their shoulders to deal with. Personally, I think if their writing is okay, anything else is irrelevant. Plus I hate the current fashionable trend for marxist "thought". And I'm pure many generations working class on all sides, before you ask. Including a great grandmother born in the workhouse, a gypsy gran and 2 irish potato famine refugees.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep a quintessential 3 star book. Mr. Mount certainly has an impressive mind, chock full of knowledge, facts and overall erudition. But for all that he's such a goddam whingeing pom. Call it my Australian bias but I found his pining/grumbling about his ex-missus pathetic. He's happy amongst the ruins but then a name reminds him of her shampoo bottle. Anguish. It's funny how right at the end he'd realised the value of his classic education. Turn the page and he's still sulking, maybe he missed the Stoics...

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. Not a travel book. Far from it in fact.
Mount makes no friends at the beginning as he spends more time name dropping his friends and relatives than focusing on the Greek, yet as the book progresses he begins to show his love for Homer & The Odyssey, and at the same time manages to draw the reader in. And in so doing provides the reader with the chance for their own self-reflection.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Being able to read Ancient Greek didn't help me much here." Harry Mount reflects on how a Classical education has informed his life, as he travels on a lecture tour and remembers school, University and other trips to Greece. "Travel doesn't free the mind. It does free up lots of time to feel sorry for yourself."
Charming, anecdotal and vivid.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven’t finished this yet. It’s full of tasty Greek tidbits but I’m decamping to a novel set in Ancient Greece for a bit of a break (Mary Renault’s Fire from Heaven) and then I might come back to this one.

[Ben Twoonezero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book that carries you along, will read more by this author.

[Wendy Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book - not a great reader of travel books bur this is rather special

[Glen Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lectura amena e entretida. O autor recrea nas súas viaxes por onde foi Odiseo e vai contando datos interesantes.

[T H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. The author was a little too sorry for himself. But fascinating insights into ancient Greece and lots of facts that I did not know. Well worth reading