‘This is a work of fiction’

I just finished listening to the audiobook of Homer’s Odyssey, both written and recorded by Stephen Fry. Of course, the original Odyssey was in ancient Greek and has been translated by many authors. Fry’s rendering makes it more accessible to a current reader. His narration is so eloquent that that alone recommends it.

Fry has done the same thing with The Iliad and has other books that talk about the Greek and Roman gods, demigods, heroes and myths. In short, he has offered a Master Class on the foundational myths of Western Civilization

I frequently end my audiobook listening when the story is done and before the legal jargon is voiced. This time I listened all the way through, ending with this legal caveat:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

I am so happy to find out that the tales of ancient Greek gods and the heroes they both bless and curse and make mischief both for and with are fictional.

What is not fictional, of course, is what they tell us about ourselves and our fellow humans — the consequences of hubris, the rewards of fidelity, the existence of schemers, the uncertainty of life, and the choice of how to die but not whether to die.

The best fiction tells the most truth. That fiction needs a disclaimer is either a compliment to the story crafter or a condemnation of the audience.