❅ greek mythology
Items in this hypelist
Classics
Works and Days
Hesiod • 2018
A new verse translation by award-winning poet Alicia Stallings of one of the foundational works of ancient Greece<br/><br/>TLS BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2018, selected by Rachel Hadas and Emily Wilson<br/><br/>The ancient Greeks revered Hesiod, believing he had beaten Homer in a singing contest and that after his dead body was thrown to sea, it was brought back by dolphins. His Works and Days is one of the most important early works of Greek poetry. Ostensibly written by the poet to chide his lazy brother, it recounts the story of Pandora’s box and humanity’s decline since the Golden Age, and can be read as a celebration of rural life and a hymn to work. Alicia Stallings’s new translation breathes new life into Hesiod’s work, rendering its vivid poetry for a new generation of classics readers.<br/><br/>For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Hippolytus
Euripides • 2014
‘Hippolytus’ is an Ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, based on the myth of Hippolytus, son of Theseus. The play was first produced for the City Dionysia of Athens in 428 BC and won first prize as part of a trilogy. Hippolytus wears as a crown of garlands as a worshipper of Artemis, with a modest Phaedra who fights her sexual appetites. The surviving play offers a much more even-handed and psychologically complex treatment of the characters than is commonly found in traditional retelling of myths. Check out our other books at www.dogstailbooks.co.uk
The Aeneid
Virgil • 2008
From the award-winning translator of The Iliad and The Odyssey comes a brilliant new translation of Virgil's great epic<br/><br/>Fleeing the ashes of Troy, Aeneas, Achilles’ mighty foe in the Iliad, begins an incredible journey to fulfill his destiny as the founder of Rome. His voyage will take him through stormy seas, entangle him in a tragic love affair, and lure him into the world of the dead itself--all the way tormented by the vengeful Juno, Queen of the Gods. Ultimately, he reaches the promised land of Italy where, after bloody battles and with high hopes, he founds what will become the Roman empire. An unsparing portrait of a man caught between love, duty, and fate, the Aeneid redefines passion, nobility, and courage for our times. Robert Fagles, whose acclaimed translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were welcomed as major publishing events, brings the Aeneid to a new generation of readers, retaining all of the gravitas and humanity of the original Latin as well as its powerful blend of poetry and myth. Featuring an illuminating introduction to Virgil’s world by esteemed scholar Bernard Knox, this volume lends a vibrant new voice to one of the seminal literary achievements of the ancient world.<br/><br/>For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Bacchae
Euripides • 2012
Euripides turned to playwriting at a young age, achieving his first victory in the dramatic competitions of the Athenian City Dionysia in 441 b.c.e. He would be awarded this honor three more times in his life, and once more posthumously. His plays are often ironic, pessimistic, and display radical rejection of classical decorum and rules. In 408 b.c.e., Euripides left worn-torn Athens for Macedonia, upon the invitation of King Archelaus, and there he spent his last years as a confidant of the king. In his final years, he produced "The Bacchae" - one of the most produced ancient plays of the twentieth century. The play, based on the mythological story of King Pentheus of Thebes and his mother Agauë, and their punishment by the god Dionysus for refusing to worship him, was awarded first prize at the Athens City Dionysia after Euripides' death. Its popularity through the centuries is a testament to Euripides' great talent as a Greek dramatist.
The Library of Greek Mythology
Apollodorus • 2017
The Bibliotheca (Ancient Greek: Βιβλιοθήκη Bibliothēkē, "Library"), also known as the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The author was traditionally thought to be Apollodorus of Athens, but that attribution is now regarded as false, and so "Pseudo-" was added to Apollodorus The Bibliotheca has been called "the most valuable mythographical work that has come down from ancient times". An epigram recorded by the important intellectual Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople expressed its purpose: It has the following not ungraceful epigram: 'Draw your knowledge of the past from me and read the ancient tales of learned lore. Look neither at the page of Homer, nor of elegy, nor tragic muse, nor epic strain. Seek not the vaunted verse of the cycle; but look in me and you will find in me all that the world contains'. The brief and unadorned accounts of myth in the Bibliotheca have led some commentators to suggest that even its complete sections are an epitome of a lost work.
Medea
Euripides • 2020
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides. The story is based on the myth of Jason and Medea. Medea, formerly a princess of the Black Sea kingdom of Colchis, is the wife of the hero Jason. Her position within Greek society is put in peril when Jason takes another wife. Medea decides to take her fate into her hands and start a new life in Athens, but first she must start by murdering Jason and their two children.
The Trojan Women
Euripides • 2020
The Trojan Women tells the tale of four Trojan women who have survived the siege and sacking of Troy. Their husbands are dead, their families have been enslaved, and their once great city lies in ruin.The ten-year Trojan War is over, but the women who remain have the challenging task of adapting to a new world order. The Trojan Women tells the story of how these women deal with calamitous events, and whose fates are often much worse than the swift deaths that were dealt to their husbands.
Theogony
Hesiod • 2006
A new verse-translation celebrating the poetry of Hesiod's great works, Theogony and Works and Days
The Odyssey
Homer • 2018
A New York Times Notable Book of 2018<br/><br/>"Wilson’s language is fresh, unpretentious and lean…It is rare to find a translation that is at once so effortlessly easy to read and so rigorously considered." ―Madeline Miller, author of Circe<br/>Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.<br/>This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the “complicated” hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this version as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.<br/>Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, Emily Wilson’s Odyssey sings with a voice that echoes Homer’s music; matching the number of lines in the Greek original, the poem sails along at Homer’s swift, smooth pace.<br/>A fascinating, informative introduction explores the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the poem’s major themes, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this is an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of readers. 3 maps
The Iliad
Homer • 2024
“Wilson’s Iliad is clear and brisk, its iambic pentameter a zone of enchantment.” ―Ange Mlinko, London Review of Books<br/><br/>The greatest literary landmark of antiquity masterfully rendered by the most celebrated translator of our time.<br/>When Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017―revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was “fresh, unpretentious and lean” (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)―critics lauded it as “a revelation” (Susan Chira, New York Times) and “a cultural landmark” (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer’s other great epic―the most revered war poem of all time.<br/>The Iliad roars with the clamor of arms, the bellowing boasts of victors, the fury and grief of loss, and the anguished cries of dying men. It sings, too, of the sublime magnitude of the world―the fierce beauty of nature and the gods’ grand schemes beyond the ken of mortals. In Wilson’s hands, this thrilling, magical, and often horrifying tale now gallops at a pace befitting its legendary battle scenes, in crisp but resonant language that evokes the poem’s deep pathos and reveals palpably real, even “complicated,” characters―both human and divine.<br/>The culmination of a decade of intense engagement with antiquity’s most surpassingly beautiful and emotionally complex poetry, Wilson’s Iliad now gives us a complete Homer for our generation. 5 maps
Essays
Divine Might
Natalie Haynes • 2024
<p>New York Times bestselling author Natalie Haynes returns to the world of ancient Greek myth in this scintillating follow-up to Pandora's Jar.<br></p><p>Few writers today have reshaped our view of the ancient Greek myths more than revered bestselling author Natalie Haynes. Divine Might is a female-centered look at Olympus and the Furies, focusing on the goddesses whose prowess, passions, jealousies, and desires rival those of their male kin, including:<br></p><ul> <li>Athene, who sprang fully formed from her father's brow (giving Zeus a killer headache in the process), the goddess of war and provider of wise counsel. </li> <li>Aphrodite, born of the foam (and sperm released from a Titan's castrated testicles), the most beautiful of all the Olympian goddesses, the epitome of love who dispenses desire and inspires longing—yet harbors a fearsome vengeful side, doling out brutal punishments to those who displease her. </li> <li>Hera, Zeus's long-suffering wife, whose jealousy born of his repeated dalliances with mortals, nymphs, and other goddesses, leads her to wreak elaborate and often painful revenge on those she believes have wronged her. (Well, wouldn't you?) </li> <li>Demeter, goddess of the harvest and mother of Persephone; Artemis, the hunter and goddess of wild spaces; the Muses, the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory; and Hestia, goddess of domesticity and sacrificial fire. </li></ul><p>Infused with Haynes's engaging charm and irrepressible wit, Divine Might is a refreshing take on the legends and stories we thought we knew.<br></p>
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths
Natalie Haynes • 2022
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER<br/>“Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!”—Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale<br/>The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek mythology from Helen of Troy to Pandora and the Amazons to Medea.<br/>The tellers of Greek myths—historically men—have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil—like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world’s suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.<br/>In Pandora’s Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman’s perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus’ mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris “caused” the Trojan war—a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce—getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn’t always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped.<br/>Pandora’s Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place—and so eager to accept the stories we’ve been told?
Adaptations
Odyssey
Stephen Fry • 2024
Troy has fallen. After ten years of war, Odysseus dreams of lying in the arms of his beloved wife Penelope, and of teaching his son Telemachus a warrior's ways. However, gods toy with the desires of little mortals. Angered by this upstart's presumption, Poseidon - God of the ocean realms - curses our hero to wander the seas for ten long years.<br> <br> Encountering one-eyed giants, six-headed monsters, terrible storms, titanic whirlpools, hypnotic sirens, seductive witches and jealous goddesses, Odysseus is tempted and tormented beyond any man's endurance.<br> <br> Yet he is no mere mortal - and the lure of his wife and son draws him, step by step, stroke by stroke, ever closer to home and to his destiny . . .
Heroes
Stephen Fry • 2020
In this sequel to the bestselling Mythos, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry moves from the exploits of the Olympian gods to the deeds of mortal heroes.<br/><br/>Perseus. Jason. Atalanta. Theseus. Heracles. Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths. Whether recounting a tender love affair or a heroic triumph, Fry’s distinctive voice and writing style lend humor and emotion to his fresh yet reverential interpretations that deftly find resonance with our own modern minds and hearts.<br/><br/>Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this fresh take on ancient tales invites you to explore a captivating world with a brilliant storyteller as your guide.<br/><br/>BELOVED AUTHOR: Stephen Fry is an icon whose signature wit and mellifluous style makes this retelling utterly unique. Fans will love hearing his interpretations as he draws out the humor and pathos in both tender love affairs and heroic battles and discovering each myth's relevance for our own time whether they are familiar with the original Greek myths or not.<br/><br/>STUNNING SERIES SEQUEL: The celebrated and internationally bestselling trilogy that begins with Mythos and concludes with Troy continues with Heroes. Fans of the first book will be thrilled to continue the adventure in this compelling sequel.<br/><br/>STRIKING GIFT: With a vibrant contemporary design, full-color artwork throughout, and a luxe, foil-stamped jacket, this gorgeous collector's edition makes a superb present.<br/><br/>Perfect for: Mythology and history buffs, lovers of ancient Greece, art aficionados, and devoted fans of Stephen Fry Adding to the home library alongside Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, Madeline Miller's Circe or Song of Achilles, and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes Readers who enjoy timeless stories, from the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales to Egyptian mythology to legends of Greek gods
Mythos
Stephen Fry • 2018
Nessuno è capace di passione, rabbia, inganno e seduzione con tanta audacia e fantasia come le divinità dell'antica Grecia. Le loro affascinanti vicende, tramandate attraverso i millenni, sono entrate a far parte della cultura del mondo occidentale, e hanno ispirato moltissimi scrittori e artisti di tutte le epoche, da Shakespeare a Michelangelo, da James Joyce a Walt Disney. In queste pagine le storie degli dei, dalla nascita dell'Universo alla creazione del genere umano, rivivono in un racconto vivace e coinvolgente, intessuto della grandezza e della miseria divine che si rispecchiano nelle nostre. Tra nascite e morti, amori e ingiustizie, trionfi e tragedie, come in un film, assisteremo alla nascita di Atena dalla testa di Zeus, alla ricerca della figlia di Demetra nell'oscuro regno di Ade, al terribile destino di Prometeo dopo il tradimento ai danni di Zeus, all'attimo in cui Pandora prende la decisione di aprire il suo vaso ... Un racconto nuovo di storie antiche che pensavamo di conoscere, riscritte per la nostra epoca tragica, comica e fatale da Stephen Fry, un'icona vivente, definito come 'un moderno Oscar Wilde' per il suo tagliente umorismo e 'un uomo rinascimentale' per la sua incredibile poliedricità. Un libro che coglie tutta la ricchezza e la profondità dei miti e li trasforma, con sguardo lucido e ironico, in abili narratori del nostro presente e della nostra umanità.
Troy
Stephen Fry • 2021
In this brilliant conclusion to his bestselling Mythos trilogy, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry retells the tale of the Trojan War with his trademark wit and vibrance.<br/><br/>Full of tragic heroes, intoxicating love stories, and the unstoppable force of fate, there is no conflict more iconic than the Trojan War. Troy is the story of the epic battle retold by Fry with drama, humor, and vivid emotion. Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Helen, their lovers, and their mortal enemies all burn bright in Fry's compelling prose. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this fresh take on an ancient tale invites you to explore a captivating world with a virtuoso storyteller as your guide.<br/><br/>BELOVED AUTHOR: Stephen Fry is an icon whose signature wit and mellifluous style makes this retelling utterly unique. Fans will love hearing his interpretation, whether they are familiar with the original Greek myths or not.<br/><br/>STUNNING SERIES CONCLUSION: Mythos and Heroes, the first two installments in the Greek mythology trilogy, were international bestsellers. Now fans can complete their set and read the thrilling third book.<br/><br/>GORGEOUS GIFT: With a vibrant contemporary design, full-color artwork throughout, and shimmering metallic highlights on the jacket, this book makes a superb present.<br/><br/>READERS LOVE IT: Stephen Fry's Greek Myths series' nearly 5-star rating and rave reviews make each of the three volumes a winner. “Stephen Fry is our modern-day Homer,” one reviewer declares, while another observes that “you really feel as if you're there as the events take place.” Buzzfeed says, “It's a quick-witted retelling so beginners and experts can both get something from it.”<br/><br/>Perfect for: Readers of Madeline Miller's Circe and Song of Achilles, Edith Hamilton's Mythology, and Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology People who enjoy reading timeless stories, from fairy tales to Viking mythology to legends of Greek gods Fans of classic literature and poetry about ancient Greece
Retellings
Clytemnestra's Bind
Susan C. Wilson • 2023
"Queen Clytemnestra's world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself. Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten to once more destroy the family Clytemnestra loves. "--Publisher.
The Penelopiad
Margaret Atwood • 2006
Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, I’ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn’t hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I’ve always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.” One of the high points of literary fiction in 2005, this critically acclaimed story found a vast audience and is finally available in paperback.
Mythica
Hauser • 2025
<b>THE INSTANT <i>TIMES</i> BESTSELLER<br> <br> Award-winning classicist</b> <b>and historian Emily Hauser takes readers on an epic journey to uncover the astonishing true story of the real women behind ancient Greece's greatest legends, and the real heroes of those ancient epics, Homer's <i>Iliad</i> and <i>Odyssey . . .</i><br> <br> 'Bold and intellectually thrilling . . . blending history and science, rigorous scholarship and dazzling feats of imagination.'</b> TOM HOLLAND, historian and co-host of 'The Rest is History' podcast<br> <br> <b>'A</b><b>bsolutely blew me away . . . rich, evocative and original work . . .</b> <b>this book is quite wonderful.'</b> ELODIE HARPER, author of <i>The Wolf Den</i><br> <br> <b>'Offers</b> <b>a dazzling new way of thinking about the ancient world . . .</b> <b>a wonderful, beautifully written and important book.'</b> DAN JONES, author of <i>Henry V</i><br> <br> <b>'A book the world has been waiting for . . . I loved it.'</b><br> BETTANY HUGHES, author of <i>The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World</i><br> <br> Contrary to perceptions built up over three millennia, ancient history is not all about men - and it's not only men's stories that deserve to be told.<br> <br> In <i>Mythica</i> Emily Hauser tells, for the first time, the extraordinary stories of the real women behind some of the western world's greatest legends. Following in their footsteps, digging into the history behind Homer's epic poems, piecing together evidence from the original texts, recent astonishing archaeological finds and the latest DNA studies, she reveals who these women - queens, mothers, warriors, slaves - were, how they lived, and how history has (or has not - until now) remembered them.<br> <br> A riveting new history of the Bronze Age Aegean and a journey through Homer's epics charted entirely by women - from Helen of Troy, Briseis, Cassandra and Aphrodite to Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso and Penelope - <i>Mythica</i> is a ground-breaking reassessment of the reality behind the often-mythologized women of Greece's greatest epics, and of the ancient world itself as we learn ever more about it.
Ariadne: A Novel
Jennifer Saint • 2021
<p><b>A mesmerizing debut novel for fans of Madeline Miller's <i>Circe</i>.</b><br><br>Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. <br><br> When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. But will Ariadne’s decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?<br><br> Hypnotic, propulsive, and utterly transporting, Jennifer Saint's <i>Ariadne</i> forges a new epic, one that puts the forgotten women of Greek mythology back at the heart of the story, as they strive for a better world.</p>
A Thousand Ships: A Novel
Natalie Haynes • 2021
NATIONAL BESTSELLER<br/>An NPR Best Book of the Year<br/>“Gorgeous.... With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War.”—Madeline Miller, author of Circe<br/>Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a gorgeous retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of the many women involved in its causes and consequences—for fans of Madeline Miller.<br/>This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn . . .<br/>This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .<br/>In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.<br/>From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.<br/>A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.
The Shadow of Perseus: A Novel
Claire Heywood • 2023
Nationally bestselling author of Daughters of Sparta Claire Heywood returns with an imaginative and female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of the great hero Perseus, told through the voices of three women who are sidelined in the traditional version—his mother, Danae; his trophy, Medusa; and his wife, Andromeda—but whose viewpoints reveal a man who is not, in fact, a hero at all.<br/><br/>Danae: Banished from her homeland thanks to a prophecy foretelling that her unborn child will one day cause the death of her father, the king of Argos, Danae finds herself stranded, pregnant, and alone in a remote fishing village. It’s a harsh new world for a young woman who grew up as a coddled princess, and forging a new life for herself and for her young son Perseus will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.<br/><br/>Medusa: As a member of a reclusive band of women who live deep in the woods, known as the Gorgons, Medusa has eschewed all contact with the outside world. That is, until the day she finds an injured boy named Perseus in the forest.<br/><br/>Andromeda: When a harsh sandstorm threatens to destroy her nomadic desert tribe’s way of life, Andromeda knows that a sacrifice will be required to appease the gods and end the storm. But when a forceful young Perseus interferes, Andromeda’s life is set on an entirely new path.<br/><br/>As Perseus becomes increasingly obsessed with the promise of his own destiny, his heroic journey casts a shadow of violence and destruction across all three women’s lives. But even as he tries to silence them, the women may find that reclaiming their voices is their only hope for lifting themselves into a better future.
The Lost Books of the Odyssey
Zachary Mason • 2011
Metamorphica
Zachary Mason • 2018
<p><b>A brilliant and daring novel that reimagines Ovid’s <i>Metamorphoses</i></b><br><br>In the tradition of his bestselling debut novel <i>The Lost Books of the </i><i>Odyssey</i>, Zachary Mason’s <i>Metamorphica</i> transforms Ovid’s epic poem of endless transformation. It reimagines the stories of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Galatea, Midas and Atalanta, and strings them together like the stars in constellations—even Ovid becomes a story. It’s as though the ancient mythologies had been rewritten by Borges or Calvino; <i>Metamorphica</i> is an archipelago in which to linger for a while; it reflects a little light from the morning of the world.</p>
The Children of Jocasta
Natalie Haynes • 2021
From Natalie Haynes, the Women's Prize shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships, comes The Children of Jocasta, a retelling of Oedipus and Antigone from the perspectives of the women the myths overlooked.<br/><br/>My siblings and I have grown up in a cursed house, children of cursed parents . . .<br/><br/>Jocasta is just fifteen when she is told that she must marry the King of Thebes, an old man she has never met. Her life has never been her own, and nor will it be, unless she outlives her strange, absent husband.<br/><br/>Ismene is the same age when she is attacked in the palace she calls home. Since the day of her parents' tragic deaths a decade earlier, she has always longed to feel safe with the family she still has. But with a single act of violence, all that is about to change.<br/><br/>With the turn of these two events, a tragedy is set in motion. But not as you know it.
Hera
Jennifer Saint • 2024
The enthralling tale of a powerful Greek goddess maligned in both myth and ancient history, as told by Sunday Times bestselling author Jennifer Saint.<br/><br/>When Hera, immortal goddess and daughter of the ancient Titan Cronos, helps her brother Zeus to overthrow their tyrannical father, she dreams of ruling at his side.<br/><br/>As they establish their reign on Mount Olympus, Hera suspects that Zeus might be just as ruthless and cruel as the father they betrayed.<br/><br/>She was always born to rule, but must she lose herself in perpetuating this cycle of violence and cruelty? Or can she find a way to forge a better world?<br/><br/>Often portrayed as the jealous wife or the wicked stepmother, this retelling captures the many sides of Hera, vengeful when she needs to be but also compassionate and mostly importantly, an all-powerful queen to the gods.
Atalanta
Saint Jennifer • 2023
The heroic story of the only female Argonaut<br/><br/>When Princess Atalanta is born, a daughter rather than the son her parents hoped for, she is left on a mountainside to die. But even then, she is a survivor. Raised by a mother bear under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis, Atalanta grows up wild and free, with just one condition: if she marries, Artemis warns, it will be her undoing.<br/><br/>Although she loves her beautiful forest home, Atalanta yearns for adventure. When Artemis offers her the chance to fight in her name alongside the Argonauts, the fiercest band of warriors the world has ever seen, Atalanta seizes it. The Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece is filled with impossible challenges, but Atalanta proves herself equal to the men she fights alongside. As she is swept into a passionate affair, in defiance of Artemis's warning, she begins to question the goddess's true intentions. Can Atalanta carve out her own legendary place in a world of men, while staying true to her heart?<br/><br/>Full of joy, passion, and adventure, Atalanta is the story of a woman who refuses to be contained. Jennifer Saint places Atalanta in the pantheon of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology, where she belongs.
Ithaca
Claire North • 2022
From the multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It’s time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . . "North brings a powerful, fresh, and unflinching voice to ancient myth. Breathtaking." —Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca's shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses—that will change the course of the world.
Clytemnestra
Casati Costanza • 2024
As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best . . .<br/><br/>Mother. Monarch. Murderer. Magnificent.<br/><br/>You are born to a king, but marry a tyrant. You stand helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore and comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own.<br/><br/>You play the part, fooling enemies who deny you justice. Slowly, you plot.<br/><br/>You are Clytemnestra.<br/><br/>But when the husband who owns you returns in triumph, what then?<br/><br/>Acceptance or vengeance - infamy follows both. So you bide your time and wait, until you might force the gods' hands and take revenge. Until you rise. For you understood something that the others don't. If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.<br/><br/>A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece and told through the eyes of its greatest heroine, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and of an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.
Elektra: A Novel
Jennifer Saint • 2022
A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines, from Jennifer Saint, the author of the beloved international bestseller, Ariadne. Three women, tangled in an ancient curse. When Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon, she ignores the insidious whispers about his family line, the House of Atreus. But when, on the eve of the Trojan War, Agamemnon betrays Clytemnestra in the most unimaginable way, she must confront the curse that has long ravaged their family. In Troy, Princess Cassandra has the gift of prophecy, but carries a curse of her own: no one will ever believe what she sees. When she is shown what will happen to her beloved city when Agamemnon and his army arrives, she is powerless to stop the tragedy from unfolding. Elektra, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s youngest daughter, wants only for her beloved father to return home from war. But can she escape her family’s bloody history, or is her destiny bound by violence, too?
Medea
Hewlett Rosie • 2024
Shunned by her mother. Beaten by her father. Separated from her sister. Medea has never fit in because she possesses a unique and dangerous power - witchcraft.<br/><br/>When the dashing young hero and leader on the famed Argonauts, Jason, arrives to claim the Golden Fleece that her father fiercely protects, Medea takes her opportunity to escape.<br/><br/>Her offer to help Jason overcome the trials set by her father sets in motion a journey that will test see her battle monsters, dethrone kings, fall in love and reclaim her power.<br/><br/>But when faced with the ultimate betrayal, just what will Medea be prepared to do for love?
Itaca
Claire North • 2023
Hace diecisiete años, el rey Ulises navegó a la guerra con Troya, llevando consigo a todos los hombres en edad de luchar de la isla de Ítaca. Ninguno de ellos ha regresado, y las mujeres de Ítaca son quienes deben dirigir el reino. Penélope era apenas una mujer adulta cuando se casó con Ulises. Mientras él estuviera vivo, estaría a salvo. Pero ahora, años después, aumentan las especulaciones de que su marido está muerto y los pretendientes empiezan a llamar a su puerta. Ningún hombre es lo suficientemente fuerte como para reclamar el trono vacío de Ulises. Penélope sabe que un paso en falso puede llevar a una sangrienta guerra civil. Solo a través de la astucia, el ingenio y su círculo de sirvientas de confianza, puede mantener la frágil paz necesaria para que el reino sobreviva. Esta es la historia de Penélope de Ítaca, la famosa esposa de Ulises, como nunca antes se había contado. Por encima de la isla, los dioses conducen las guerras de los hombres. Pero en Ítaca, son las mujeres abandonadas y sus diosas las que cambiarán el destino del mundo.
The Silence of the Girls: A Novel
Pat Barker • 2018
A Washington Post Notable Book One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, The Economist, Financial Times Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award Finalist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction Here is the story of the Iliad as we’ve never heard it before: in the words of Briseis, Trojan queen and captive of Achilles. Given only a few words in Homer’s epic and largely erased by history, she is nonetheless a pivotal figure in the Trojan War. In these pages she comes fully to life: wry, watchful, forging connections among her fellow female prisoners even as she is caught between Greece’s two most powerful warriors. Her story pulls back the veil on the thousands of women who lived behind the scenes of the Greek army camp—concubines, nurses, prostitutes, the women who lay out the dead—as gods and mortals spar, and as a legendary war hurtles toward its inevitable conclusion. Brilliantly written, filled with moments of terror and beauty, The Silence of the Girls gives voice to an extraordinary woman—and makes an ancient story new again.
The Women of Troy: A Novel
Pat Barker • 2021
A daring and timely feminist retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of the women of Troy who endured it—an extraordinary follow up to The Silence of the Girls from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Regeneration Trilogy and “one of contemporary literature’s most thoughtful and compelling writers" (The Washington Post). Troy has fallen and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war—including the women of Troy themselves. They await a fair wind for the Aegean. It does not come, because the gods are offended. The body of King Priam lies unburied and desecrated, and so the victors remain in suspension, camped in the shadows of the city they destroyed as the coalition that held them together begins to unravel. Old feuds resurface and new suspicions and rivalries begin to fester. Largely unnoticed by her captors, the one time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles's slave, now belonging to his companion Alcimus, quietly takes in these developments. She forges alliances when she can, with Priam's aged wife the defiant Hecuba and with the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.
Stone Blind: A Novel
Natalie Haynes • 2023
Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023<br/>"Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories.”—Telegraph (UK)<br/>The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora's Jar returns with a fresh and stunningly perceptive take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.<br/>They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster.<br/>The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.<br/>When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge—on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.<br/>Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .<br/>In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman—injured by a powerful man—is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa’s story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.
Cassandra
Christa Wolf • 2001
Cassandra, daughter of the King of Troy, is endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to be believed. After ten years of war, Troy has fallen to the Greeks, and Cassandra is now a prisoner, shackled up outside the gates of Agamemnon’s Mycenae. Through memories of her childhood and reflections on the long years of conflict, Cassandra pieces together the fall of her city. From a woman living in an age of heroes, here is the untold personal story overshadowed by the battlefield triumphs of Achilles and Hector.<br/><br/>This stunning reimagining of the Trojan War is a rich and vivid portrayal of the great tragedy that continues to echo throughout history.
Circe
Madeline Miller • 2020
"A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story," this #1 New York Times bestseller is "both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right" (Alexandra Alter, The New York Times). In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world. #1 New York Times bestseller -- named one of the best books of the year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, BuzzFeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider
Reinterpretation
Estuche mitológico: Incluye: Hades, el dios menos malo + Hércules, el héroe que no quiso serlo + Sísifo, el hombre que engañó a la muerte + Breve bestiario de la mitología griega
Pol Gise • 2024
Mythological analysis
The Greek Myths
Robert Graves • 1992
Endymion, Pelops, Daedalus, Pygmalion -- we recognize the names, but what are the stories behind these and other familiar gods from the Greek pantheon -- names that recur throughout the history of European culture? Drawing on an enormous range of sources, Robert Graves has brought together elements of these myths in simple narrative form. He retells the adventures of the most important gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks. His work has become the reference for the serious scholar as well as the casual inquirer.
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