Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths

Some of my favorite chapters had to be the ones focused on Medusa, Medea, and the Amazons, although Penelope and Clytemnestra came close behind. With a sharp wit and occasional sarcasm to help keep her reader engaged, Haynes shreds whatever claims to the title hero men like Jason and Theseus have (and you really have to agree with her, especially about Theseus) to bring the story back around to the women. Medusa was hanging out in a cave not bothering anyone, having already suffered being sexually assaulted by Posiedon and cursed by Athene, she's sleeping and along comes this jerk with no personal grudge against her to chops off her head and weaponizes it. Every visual interpretation of this Haynes can find tends to make this moment both violent and sexual. What's that about, really?Clytemnestra and Medea win Greece's awards for "worst wife" and "worst mother" because, Haynes points out, Greek men were terrified of powerful women. It kind of makes you want to travel back to when the plays were first performed and watch the male audience shake in their sandals- especially over Euripides' Medea. Or would they have been more afraid of Clytemnestra? A woman with no magical power, no assistance from the gods, just ten years of rage over her husband sacrificing their daughter so he could go off to war and no one saying anything against it. He kills the kid, spends ten years at war making a name for himself and enjoying raping other women, then comes home (with his war "bride" in tow) and expects his wife to be happy about it? I'd have voted justifiable homicide if I was on that jury.There's something for everyone in these chapters- from original interpretations of Greek and how they can change meanings that stick with us down through the ages to the dangers of "sanitizing" myths to tell them to children. From descriptions of visual representations of myths in ancient pottery to what Medea's dragon chariot at the end of her play actually meant to the Greeks (which I thought was pretty great even if the male audience might not have); and modern operas of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice to modern Amazons together-we-are-powerful symbolism in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the exploration into some of Greek mythology's well known (and a few lesser known) women should resonate with women across all levels.As Natalie Haynes says, we keep retelling these stories because we find new questions they raise and new voices wanting to be heard, and each generation will undoubtedly continue to do so. But discovering some of the origins makes those stories even more interesting to me.

A wonderful discussion about the historical portrayals of women, and the changes those epics have undergone throughout history.If you love the Greek and Roman myths, and the amazing sheroes within them, as I do - this book will have you highlighting half of it.The citations of the work’s references are an adventure worth exploring all their own!I also recommend Ms Haynes other works, excellently crafted versions of Greek and Roman mythology that are female-centric novels. Love them.

I don't even know where to start in telling you how much I enjoyed this book! I am not super familiar with many of the women in Greek myth, so I was going in somewhat blindly to this book. But I am almost glad I didn't have any preconceived notions about these women's stories. The author does a masterful job of providing a well-researched history of each of the women featured, parsing out the various versions across history. It's obviously an academic-type book, in that it is, as I said, well-researched, but it is also immensely entertaining. Ms. Haynes has a way of adding just the right sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek observation at just the right moment. I also want to compliment the editors for a well edited book; I didn't find any editing errors, which is a rarity! Anyway, if you're interested in Greek myths, or women's stories, or really anything, I think you'll enjoy this. If you don't particularly like women, or should I say, strong women, you might be disappointed. Bravo, Natalie Haynes! I look forward to reading more of your work!!

To have a completely different perspective is enthralling. Each story is mesmerizing. I found this book hard to put down. I

This book is very information dense, to the point where I could only read about a page of actual book length at a time. What I did read of it I thoroughly enjoyed, but I simply cannot finish it, my cognition isn’t there yet.

Deep appreciation for Haynes's closer reading if a very complex goddess, whose simple origins had lasting cultiral effects. I appreciate how she reclaims an earlier understanding of Pandora that adds greater depth and context.

A Must for Mythology ReadersPandora's JarHaving read multiple mythology retellings this read was perfectly timed! The content was extensively researched, though I hesitate to say to excess because truly when you read a reference book as I believe this could be categorized you do want all the background! Thankfully Haynes spliced this history lesson with wit, anecdotes and pop culture usages of these mythological women! There's an evident passion to set the record straight about how retellings through history have rewritten and villainized many of these women.My love for Greek mythology has grown immensely from this collection! There were a couple spoilers about the fate of some women or certain stories, but I had already read about those women in prior books. For the majority of these women, I am grateful that the book didn't disclose their demise. However, I can't be sure whether she chose to omit it or their fates are simply not included in historical text.The advantage to Pandora's Jar is that I can refer back to the section of a specific individual as I continue my mythology journey! My favorite sections were Pandora and Clytemnestra! But all were fascinating! For some of the women I had read about I was astonished at how their stories have evolved and where creative liberties fill in blanks for fiction!Loved this one!!

gostei do livro

Okay, where to start?!Natalie Haynes did an amazing job with wonderful feminist discussions about women in Greek myths. I enjoyed the writing so much, I feel like I could read anything she writes. 😆I have fallen in love with the Greek Myth retellings that have become more popular in recent years. I STILL need to grab A Thousand Ships by this wonderful author, but im a MASSIVE fan of Madeline Miller. A Thousnad Ships is now very high on my "books to buy" list!It was so refreshing to see the women discussed in this book, in a light that really focused on them. More often then not, women are forced into the background of their own stories. The retellings are warped in ways that make them villainous, monstrous, and just plain evil crazed women. Look how Medusa has been treated thought history!Going into this book, a basic knowledge of myths with definitely help but it's not necessary! The information in this book is wonderful and I learned so much I didn't know about many of the women featured. This was an absolutely GREAT read that I enjoyed soooo much.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

I love the direct tone of this book, the witty comments, careful and detailed sourcing... there is just so much care and thoughtfulness put into every page and the unravelling of each woman's story.From paintings, poems, modern day retellings and even film adaptations, the sources are as fascinating as the subject at hand. While reading this book I felt that finally someone could give life to the complex and strong voices of women in Greek mythology and in doing divorcing us to reflect other continuation of these biased representation of women in today's societies. Why is it that we still chose to teach and abide to these one dimensional view of women and their downplayed role in literature and storytelling in general.

Super llibre.Recomanat

Pandora is the first woman; thanks to her (according to Hesiod), the carefree age of men comes to an end. But you’ll forgive me for suggesting that an all-male age with no women (and no fire) sounds incredibly boring. Of course it was carefree, what the hell would anyone care about?