Reading Group Guide

1. One of the recurring themes in the book is how bored the gods
sometimes get with their centuries upon centuries of exis tence.
Do you think immortality is a blessing or a curse? What would
you do if you were given the option to live forever? If you had to
be immortal, what would you do with your time on Earth?
2. Gods Behaving Badly presents the Greek gods in a very different
light from the way they are depicted in most mythology books.
How did you feel about the novel’s irreverent take on the Olympians?
3. Despite the waning of their powers, each of the gods has superhuman
abilities. But they also have specifi c responsibilities and
spheres of infl uence. Which of the gods would you most prefer
being? Which of them would you least like to be?
4. Apollo says, “Harming mortals is fun. We’ve all done it” (page
19). How does the role of the deities in Greek mythology differ
from the role of the deity in many of the monotheistic religions?
Which do you prefer
5. Apollo claims to love Alice, yet he arranges for her to come to
harm. He also seems genuinely surprised by the idea that forcing
himself on her is wrong. How do our modern ideas of love and
morality differ from those of the ancient world, if the gods’ attitudes
in the novel are any indication?
6. Alice’s experience of the underworld offers a somewhat chilling
view of the eternity that awaits us after death. If you could design
your own fi ctional afterlife, what would it be like?
7. Artemis’s discussion of some of the champions of the ancient
world (pages 226–229) underlines how different Neil and Alice
are from our ideas of legendary heroes. How does each of them
display extraordinary bravery or strength? Do you think either of
them earns the designation of “hero” by the end of the book?
8. The solution to the dilemma of the gods’ waning strength turns
out to be deceptively simple. Do you feel this is an apt metaphor
for the power of belief in our world? On a more personal level,
have you ever been in a situation where someone’s faith in you
helped you accomplish something?