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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
This book is far from what I expected. I was expecting a fictional retelling of each woman's myths, probably from her perspective. Instead, I was treated to a more academic analysis of the history, context, variations, etc. of each of the women. It was a wonderful read and shows that there's more to each of them than the popular remembrance of their places in mythology.
funny
informative
medium-paced
Firstly, this book will not be for everyone. It is filled with names. Names you may recognize from some classics course you took in college (Euripides, Ovid) or some adaptation of Greek myth you’ve seen in modern media (Achilles, Circe, or Helen) and many, many names you are not likely to have heard. It can be intimidating to wade through. I urge you not to be intimidated. When Ms. Haynes references some long dead Greek Amphorae painter by name, think to yourself “pot painter” and move on. Getting caught in the minutiae will not be of service here.
Ms. Haynes is everything I know and remember of those leading my own Classics education, witty, wry, funny, and passionate. Her insights are thought provoking and engaging. Wading through the many, many, versions of any Greek myth, weaving them all together and taking into account the time period in which they were written, or translated, or reimagined by Hollywood, we get a sense of the “living document” nature of Greek Myth and come to notice the many times throughout history where women and their voices are put out, silenced, or completely reimagined - very often to the detriment of the story and nearly exclusively by men.
If you have an interest in Greek myth, Greek tragedy, or how women are portrayed and perceived through them, this is an EXCELLENT read. If you are planning to read (or reread, as I am) your Euripides, this book would make a wonderful companion read.
A few quotes that resonated with me. I apologize, I listened to the audio book (wonderfully narrated by Ms. Haynes herself) and did not take down proper notations. (Sorry Dr. Steiner, I do know better.)
“Medusa is not a monster, she is a woman who was raped and then punished for it. [Perseus] is still afraid of her even after he has beheaded her and trodden her down. If you’re looking for a better metaphor for virulent misogyny, I’m afraid I don’t have one. “
“We might well feel that a classic children’s book is no place for rape. I don’t particularly disagree, but these myths are full of violence, and we should at least ask why it is the violence against women that is removed in order to make our heroes uncomplicated adventurers.”
No quote, but at one point she makes a parallel between Medea and Beyoncé in her Hold Up video, and I just think that’s amazing.
“The version of the story that so many of us grew up with marginalizes it’s most interesting characters. . . Every telling of a myth is as valid as any other, of course, but women are lifted out of the equation with a monotonous frequency, and this provides ammunition for those that choose to believe that this is how stories always were, and are.”
Ms. Haynes is everything I know and remember of those leading my own Classics education, witty, wry, funny, and passionate. Her insights are thought provoking and engaging. Wading through the many, many, versions of any Greek myth, weaving them all together and taking into account the time period in which they were written, or translated, or reimagined by Hollywood, we get a sense of the “living document” nature of Greek Myth and come to notice the many times throughout history where women and their voices are put out, silenced, or completely reimagined - very often to the detriment of the story and nearly exclusively by men.
If you have an interest in Greek myth, Greek tragedy, or how women are portrayed and perceived through them, this is an EXCELLENT read. If you are planning to read (or reread, as I am) your Euripides, this book would make a wonderful companion read.
A few quotes that resonated with me. I apologize, I listened to the audio book (wonderfully narrated by Ms. Haynes herself) and did not take down proper notations. (Sorry Dr. Steiner, I do know better.)
“Medusa is not a monster, she is a woman who was raped and then punished for it. [Perseus] is still afraid of her even after he has beheaded her and trodden her down. If you’re looking for a better metaphor for virulent misogyny, I’m afraid I don’t have one. “
“We might well feel that a classic children’s book is no place for rape. I don’t particularly disagree, but these myths are full of violence, and we should at least ask why it is the violence against women that is removed in order to make our heroes uncomplicated adventurers.”
No quote, but at one point she makes a parallel between Medea and Beyoncé in her Hold Up video, and I just think that’s amazing.
“The version of the story that so many of us grew up with marginalizes it’s most interesting characters. . . Every telling of a myth is as valid as any other, of course, but women are lifted out of the equation with a monotonous frequency, and this provides ammunition for those that choose to believe that this is how stories always were, and are.”
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Firstly I would like to state that this book requires at least some prior knowledge of Greek mythology in order to fully understand it. This is not a feminist retelling of various myths but rather a feminist analysis written from a non fiction point of view. It is almost essay like with wit sewn between the lines.
I've read Natalie Haynes' fiction books A Thousand Ships and The Children of Jocasta before. I enjoyed both of these books, one more than the other, but I didn't nearly love them as much as I did Pandora's Jar, which is a nonfiction about women in the Greek myths. It was absolutely a brilliant read!
It's no secret that I love Greek mythology (and literally anything about the ancient Mediterranean world). I also just feel so happy that in the past few years the whole topic of Greek mythology has become very popular and us who are obsessed with it all have gotten lots of content to devour. On the downside you start to think when there's a new book related to Greek myth that you might not enjoy it as much since you've already read so much of it but that certainly wasn't the case with this one.
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths has chapters about Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Each and every chapter was really fascinating to read but I did have my favorites. I really loved the ones about Pandora, Medusa, The Amazons, Eurydice and Medea. I'm so glad they all got their chance to shine in this book! A rather unexpected part of the women's stories and Natalie Haynes' voice was the humor which was somewhat dry. I totally loved that because that's exactly my type of humor too. It often made me go heh :)
So forget about Achilles, Theseus, Odysseus, Herakles, Jason and all those so-called heroes! Natalie Haynes is here to give the women in the Greek myths a voice, which is something they deserve after thousands and thousands of years of being silenced.
It's no secret that I love Greek mythology (and literally anything about the ancient Mediterranean world). I also just feel so happy that in the past few years the whole topic of Greek mythology has become very popular and us who are obsessed with it all have gotten lots of content to devour. On the downside you start to think when there's a new book related to Greek myth that you might not enjoy it as much since you've already read so much of it but that certainly wasn't the case with this one.
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths has chapters about Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Each and every chapter was really fascinating to read but I did have my favorites. I really loved the ones about Pandora, Medusa, The Amazons, Eurydice and Medea. I'm so glad they all got their chance to shine in this book! A rather unexpected part of the women's stories and Natalie Haynes' voice was the humor which was somewhat dry. I totally loved that because that's exactly my type of humor too. It often made me go heh :)
So forget about Achilles, Theseus, Odysseus, Herakles, Jason and all those so-called heroes! Natalie Haynes is here to give the women in the Greek myths a voice, which is something they deserve after thousands and thousands of years of being silenced.
informative
medium-paced