If you are anything like me, you may have reading trends. For me this means that I tend to read certain genres at certain times of the year. I enjoy mythological retellings, and luckily they have become exceptionally popular in the last decade. So, come spring and summer I’m digging into the myths. While I did take several Classics courses in my undergrad, my memory of Greek and Roman mythology is not always 100%. I’m grateful that I stumbled across Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes, a deep dive on several women from Greek mythology!
Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths, Natalie Haynes
The Greek myths are one of the most important cultural foundation-stones of the modern world.
Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Virgil to from Aeschylus to Sophocles and Euripides. And still, today, a wealth of novels, plays and films draw their inspiration from stories first told almost three thousand years ago. But modern tellers of Greek myth have usually been men, and have routinely shown little interest in telling women’s stories.
Now, in Pandora’s Jar, Natalie Haynes – broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist – redresses this imbalance. Taking Greek creation myths as her starting point and then retelling the four great mythic sagas: the Trojan War, the Royal House of Thebes, Jason and the Argonauts, Heracles, she puts the female characters on equal footing with their menfolk. The result is a vivid and powerful account of the deeds – and misdeeds – of Hera, Aphrodite, Athene and Circe. And away from the goddesses of Mount Olympus it is Helen, Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Antigone and Medea who sing from these pages, not Paris, Agamemnon, Orestes or Jason.
Why You Should Read This…
Mythological retellings can often be some of the smartest retellings; authors can often draw out themes and include Easter eggs from the original myths in a number of incredibly creative ways. However, if you aren’t well-versed in the myths, you very well might miss them. (The books are still very enjoyable, it’s just a missing layer.)
Natalie Haynes highlights several different women from Greek mythology, including Medusa, Pandora, and Helen, and examines their portrayals in mythology (and later texts and media) through a feminist lens. She thoroughly covers a wide range of source materials- sadly in many cases, there is not actually a ton to examine. Haynes is obviously well-read and has shared her findings in an extremely readable format. And given that she herself has written several mythological retellings, there is no better guide to lead us through!
If you are interested at all in reading mythological retellings or will be studying Greek mythology, this is a must-read!
Is Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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