Why is Stephen Fry so passionate about the ancient Greeks?

Is Stephen Fry the most eloquent man in the world? Very possibly. Because if you ask him, after his book Mythos and his latest, Heroes, why he is so passionate about the Greeks, he can riff for a few minutes in a way that will convince you that these legendary stories are safe in his hands.

F O L L O W U S

[JinnDante]

Greek here .This man's speech intelligence and wit is out of this world. I admire him so much. He has studied a lot of greek philosophy and has read so many books. It seems like he has the outmost respect for the Hellenic culture and history and his in depth "dive" in the Hellenic literature has elevated this man's spirit (and sorry for my poetic hyperbole) to the levels of the ancient Hellenes. If one person should be called Hellenas it is him. The whole world concept that Hellenes had and their level of intelligence lives through this man. It feels weird because this man is more "Greek" than many that are actually native Greeks. Mr Fry you are a magnificent human being i would be lucky to meet you one day and talk about Greek philosophy.

[wooders]

"I won't bore you too much" he could talk about the history of toilets and I'd be mesmerised

[tanzanos]

Fun fact:
Fighter pilots in training are called Ikarus in Greece

[Liz]

I could listen to him talk for hours... I did in fact, with his audiobooks !

[thewayofaxiom]

Bring back the Hellenistic glory.. even the Romans was enamored by the Greeks. Even thought I am Asian and came from multicultural incredibly ancient culture such as china and japan and the Philippines.. I am fascinated and deeply respected Greek culture.. ended up marrying a Greek wonderful woman.. Our twins are named.. Herodotus and Persephone.

[danner]

I adore the ancient Greeks, you can clearly see for the first time in history a culture of thinking and progress emerge. For the fact our language, thinking, and many ways of life are directly inspired by them show how they laid so many foundations for us.

[warlockpaladin]

"Let's try to be better than our parents."
This is such a low bar that it depresses to me to realize just how few people can hurdle it.

[vlad-utsz]

Fun fact: more than 52.000 English words are Greek for example (alphabet, astronomy, history, harmony, music, galaxy, mathematics, philosophy and others.

[Sofipont]

I am Greek and l must say that he understands us more than everyone.

[eoanmo]

As a Greek i think is a great privilege for the Greek history, a person like Stephen Fry with so much education and so big platform to be philhellene. Thank you phile mou ( my friend).

[A]

Aas a Greek Australian, im always thrilled to see intellectuals like Mr Fry support The Greek Culture and way of thinking. We need more people like him. Love his books .. interesting way to try to explain some Greek concepts in the English language. 😊 looking forward to hearing and reading more of his lovely books.

[thespartan]

No other small country can compare with Greece in terms of impact on human benefit. And that is a textbook example of Greek exceptionalism, indeed.

Plus: Robin Williams Was A Philhellene. His Words On Greece. Back in 2011, Williams gave an interview with a Greek TV host
Katsidis promoted the animated feature “Happy Feet 2, ” to which he lent his voice. During the interview, Williams expressed his appreciation for Greece and touched us all.– I know you’ve visited Greece. What do you think?

I have come for a holiday on a boat and we went to all the islands. Facing them you say: “I can not believe that there is recounted everything we read in Greek mythology.” Greek History is something all mankind must bow to.

Maybe your economy goes to hell, but that does not mean you’re helpless. Economic data is constantly changing in Europe and America for all. What is not changing is the legacy, your identity. The Parthenon does not leave Athens. It’s there to remind you that progress and prosperity may return.

I am now in England, for example, I went nowhere. I’m here to promote the movie and I will leave. What to see, Buckingham Palace? I do not care. As when I go to Germany, I’m not interested in the Berlin Wall, which is not a symbol of prosperity, but the opposite.

But you can not ignore Delos, the Parthenon, and Mycenae!

Thank you, Robin Williams. You will be missed, indeed.💙💙💙💙

[mencken]

People had brains before the ancient Greeks, and some used them, but the most important invention of the Greeks was the mind.

[tommonk]

I so admire people who are literate and thoughtful. Thank you, Mr. Fry.

[thanasispapadimopoulos]

The claim that Greeks invented the alphabet is true.

Please let me explain:

It is true that the Phoenician 'alphabet' pre-existed the Greek alphabet, but the Phoenician was an abjad. Abjad is is a type of writing system where each symbol or glyph stands for a consonant, leaving the reader to supply the appropriate vowel. On the other hand, an alphabet is defined as a set of graphemes that represent both vowels and consonants.

So, the Greek alphabet was developed on the basis of the earlier Phoenician alphabet, but the concept of alphabet and the first 'true' alphabet, in its narrow sense of word, was Greek.

[jonwizard]

Just finished his book: "Heroes" ...Brilliant! Get it...

[poppycalliope]

Love this guy!!! What an interesting man. Could listen to him endlessly.

[Uppernorwood]

I wasn't aware of the point about the sea levels, that's really interesting if it's true. Ironically Egypt is famous for it's incredibly predictable Nile seasonal flooding.

[asedition]

I love Stephen Fry I wish he would do ‘The Fry Lectures’ that would be something worth listening to…..he should have been a professor

[janelloyd]

Stephen Fry at his best...I could listen to him for hours