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A review by lorelei_reads
Athena's Child by Hannah Lynn
3.75
“First, they loved her. Then, they abused her. Finally, they made her a villain.”
I read a LOT of mythology growing up. Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Celtic, Native American, you name it and I was obsessed with it. You know what I noticed a lot in western mythologies? The women really got the short end of the stick, and the gods were truly awful. We joke about Zeus’s philandering, the way the gods created little baby demi-gods all over the place, but it’s only recently that stories have started to focus on the injustice of it, and how women were treated in those times. How is it right that a woman could be assaulted and yet end up portrayed as a bitter, monstrous villain?
We’ve seen a wave of books recently that reclaim the stories of these women. Clytemnestra, Circe, Phaedra, Hippolyte and Penthesilea have all been given the chance to tell their side of the story.
In Athena’s Child, Medusa is added to that list. The more popular versions of her legend portray her as nothing but a hideous, monstrous gorgon, but this book is based on the version where Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden and priestess of Athena. After Medusa is assaulted by Poseidon in the temple, Athena blames the victim, cursing Medusa to become the hideous gorgon of legend.
There’s a lot to unpack here about how powerful men have historically been threatened by women’s gaze, about how they use sexual power to subjugate and punish women, and how even other women participate in the shaming. About how hard it can be to stand up and push back against injustice, even if you recognize it. And how staying silent and being complicit may be the easy route, but it’s the cowardly one.
We get POV chapters from both Medusa and Perseus. It’s tragic but well written, and I thought it was a fresh retelling of a myth we’re all familiar with. Bonus, it’s independently published, so if you read it you’re supporting an indie author!
I read a LOT of mythology growing up. Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Celtic, Native American, you name it and I was obsessed with it. You know what I noticed a lot in western mythologies? The women really got the short end of the stick, and the gods were truly awful. We joke about Zeus’s philandering, the way the gods created little baby demi-gods all over the place, but it’s only recently that stories have started to focus on the injustice of it, and how women were treated in those times. How is it right that a woman could be assaulted and yet end up portrayed as a bitter, monstrous villain?
We’ve seen a wave of books recently that reclaim the stories of these women. Clytemnestra, Circe, Phaedra, Hippolyte and Penthesilea have all been given the chance to tell their side of the story.
In Athena’s Child, Medusa is added to that list. The more popular versions of her legend portray her as nothing but a hideous, monstrous gorgon, but this book is based on the version where Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden and priestess of Athena. After Medusa is assaulted by Poseidon in the temple, Athena blames the victim, cursing Medusa to become the hideous gorgon of legend.
There’s a lot to unpack here about how powerful men have historically been threatened by women’s gaze, about how they use sexual power to subjugate and punish women, and how even other women participate in the shaming. About how hard it can be to stand up and push back against injustice, even if you recognize it. And how staying silent and being complicit may be the easy route, but it’s the cowardly one.
We get POV chapters from both Medusa and Perseus. It’s tragic but well written, and I thought it was a fresh retelling of a myth we’re all familiar with. Bonus, it’s independently published, so if you read it you’re supporting an indie author!