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. more
320 pages, Hardcover
First published Picador
4.24
Rating
18414
Ratings
2489
Reviews
Natalie Haynes
19 books 5014 followers
Natalie Haynes, author of THE FURIES (THE AMBER FURY in the UK), is a graduate of Cambridge University and an award-winning comedian, journalist, and broadcaster. She judged the Man Booker Prize in 2013 and was a judge for the final Orange Prize in 2012. Natalie was a regular panelist on BBC2’s Newsnight Review, Radio 4’s Saturday Review, and the long-running arts show, Front Row. She is a guest columnist for the The Independent and The Guardian. Her radio series, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, was first broadcast in March 2014.Community reviews
‘Every myth contains multiple timelines within itself: the time in which it is set, the time it is first told, and every retelling afterwards. ’Something I love best about myths and fairy tales are that they are not static but instead provide a sort of readymade cast of characters and plot that gets told and retold throughout history. In an era where new myth retellings are hitting New Release shelves on a near weekly basis, it was a pleasure to dive into Natalie Hayne’s Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths, in which the Haynes combines her vast knowledge of greek mythology and witty humor to step through key women figures in myths. This collection of essays in not a retelling, but instead a deep dive into the various interpretations of these figures that have existed through time in ‘ an attempt to fill in some of the black space’ and offer a more dynamic portrait of them. It is a fun and often very funny book, combining classic texts like Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides (and more) with later tellings such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and even pop-culture references and more recent retellings such as Clash of the Titans or the Hadestown musical. more
ARC received in exchange for an honest review. A wonderful feminist discussion into various women at the heart of the Greek myths. These are women who are often overshadowed by the male heroes of their own stories, yet Haynes manages to bring them to life and give them a voice that has long been forgotten. These are women who originally are described as intelligent warriors, fearless and resourceful, and ultimately let down by their husbands, lovers and the Gods. Their stories have been warped over time to diminish them, force them into the background and cast them as villains and monsters. more
This is such a smart and fascinating explanation and retelling by scholar Natalie Haynes. She is also a comic, and you can feel her sense of humor in this highly readable nonfiction text tackling multiple myths; the humor makes it truly stand out. I took Classics in college, and I absolutely loved it. I can only imagine, if I’d had access to a text like this along with an illuminating discussion, how much it would have added to my experience. I hope that Classics’ professors today are employing nonfiction works by Haynes and other scholars to round out the stories with different viewpoints. more
My rating: 4. 5⭐️Having read and loved A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes I was eagerly looking forward to reading Pandora’s Jar : Women in the Greek Myths and I was not disappointed. The author describes Greek myths as “protean” stating that they operate in different timelines- the one in which they are set and the timelines of the subsequent versions and retellings. Each chapter in this book is devoted to a female character from the Greek myths and the author draws from multiple sources to discuss how these characters have been presented, represented and interpreted over the years. Chapters are dedicated to Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. more
Classicist Natalie Haynes has penned this extraordinarily interesting non-fiction in the hope of addressing some of the prejudice and inaccuracies forced upon some of mythology's female figures. These women are often relegated to the side-lines of the story, and when they are granted an extended focus it is for their role as either the mother, the sinner, or the monster. Sometimes all three at once. But was this always the case and, if so, just why are women depicted as behaving in such a narrow spectrum. This was such an incredible feminist insight to some of mythology's most infamous females. more
Anyone who has read A Thousand Ships, shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction this year, will know that Natalie Haynes is deeply interested in giving voice to the women of Greek myth. But what some might not know is that she's also an incredible classicist and a comedian. Now, these two things go together better than you might imagine. If you follow her Instagram or listen to her podcast 'Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics' (https://www. bbc. more
Classicist and stand-up comedian, Natalie Haynes, delves into Greek Myth- particularly the women of Greek myth and I know I just had to read this book. This book explores 10 female myths, from their origins and variations, as well as how their roles have changed over the years and modern day interpretations. It was also great to see what artefacts remains depicting these women; whose stories are lost to us (from writing), bringing to question how these women were depicted/talked about during Ancient Greek times. It’s interesting to see how their roles have been morphed often to only being relegated to a sideline character, compared to the main male hero (think Medea in the movie Jason and the Argonauts). I had some favourites especially. more
Probably not the right shelf. I'll ponder this. Well, I've pondered & decided this book is a literary criticism. Ms Haynes takes us on a journey through the myths of Ancient Greeks, giving the feminine point of view & attempting a rescue of some much maligned reputations. She also shows us how often the (male) classical writers managed to show the female actions in the most unfavorable light. more
The dedication of this book begins:For my mum, who has always thought a woman with an axe was more interesting than a princesswhich is approximately the moment I suspected I would not agree with this book’s worldview. I’m uncertain what the intended audience of this book is. For someone who’s studied the classics and/or ancient Greek mythology, hardly anything new will be gained from this book, which is largely occupied with broad retellings of well-known myths (often through a more ‘feminist’—or woman-centric, at least—lens), descriptions of various adaptations of said myths (film, stage, art, etc. ; notably lacking in photographs or illustrations), and a lot of transliterated Ancient Greek words, most of which are defined, none of which include the original spelling. For a layperson unfamiliar with the field, the summaries of most myths are too unspecific to be generally enlightening—not to mention overly reliant on niche references and allusions that would be lost to the uninitiated—and much of the linguistic detail, along with the contextual references, involves field-dependent jargon and information. more
I came across this author when Waterstones told me they had this special signed edition of her latest book. Since I still have to wait for this book to arrive here, I checked for others and stumbled upon her previous publications. So now I'm reading the three that appealed to me the most - two fictions and this non-fiction. We are told about 10 of the most famous women in Greek mythology:1) Pandora2) Jocasta(this is kinda a weird depiction of Jocasta, but I find the artwork beautiful so I'm using it)3) Helen4) Medusa5) Amazons6) Clytemnestra7) Eurydice8) Phaedra9) Medea10) PenelopeWe learn about every woman's story through the different versions of the Greek myths they feature in. But the author then also critically examines each version and puts it into context. more
Natalie Haynes is back with this eloquent, witty and powerful book about women from Greek mythology. We meet Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa and many more women who haven’t had their stories told this way, a way where every version of them is acknowledged, analysed, juxtaposed and most importantly humanised. Haynes provides us with every one of their myths and changes the perspective to add to their stories, giving us far more fully fleshed out characters. It’s interesting how much more three dimensional these mythological women become when their stories are being told by a writer who addresses their tales with warmth and nuance. Haynes touches on the works of playwrights like Euripides and Sophocles, art from Michaelangelo and brings in revelations from Pseudo Apollodorus and Aeschylus among many others to invoke a deeper meaning to the stories of the women we think we know. more
I knew going into the audiobook that it was going to be interesting but I wasn't prepared on how emersed and focused I would be in her tellings of women in Greek mythology. It was so well told and excellent narrated and very interesting to listen as I coloured in my boos or what not. Have noticed I'm a lot more intrigued in learning in women's history than I pick up but definitely need to find more books in those topics. more
Haines spends too much time analysing what playwrights did with females from Greek mythology and then extrapolating it to mean that's the actual historical reality of the period, which is a poor way to prove her claims, especially when she uses people like Euripides, a fiction writer who wasn't exactly "the norm" in his interpretations. more
الكتاب عبارة عن اعادة حكي "من التاريخ" لنسخ مختلفة عن قصص النساء في الميثولوجيا الإغريقية. لم تخترع ناتلي هاينس تأويلاتها الخاصة لما نعرفه، وانما صدمتنا بأن ما نعرفه ليس ديمًا هو الحقيقة، أو على أقل تقدير ليس هو الحقيقة الوحيدة وإن كان قد تم تصويرها وكأنها ذلك عمدًا. أقرأ الكتاب وأنا أفكر في بلادي التي تُسجن فيها الفتيات لتقديم فيديوهات على تيك توك، وتقتل فيها من حين لأخر بدوافع الشرف والعار والعاطفة، ولا أستطيع فصل الميثولوجيتين عن بعض. هام وينصح به. more
frtcwhere did my half-finish review go. more
5 ✨✨✨This is an excellent book. I'll definitely reread it. Funny and witty. Loved it. more
This was a well researched and impressive book, but just to note this is a non fiction piece of work which delves into the histories and different representations of a variety of women in Greek myth and legend, such as Helen, Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Medusa and many more. I feel like you have to have a fairly good knowledge of Greek plays and myths prior to reading this book but if you're able to keep up with the references and different stories then it shouldn't pose too much of an issue. I wanted to enjoy this more but I found myself skim reading some of the chapters as other figures were more interesting to me. This book gave me more of an anthology sort of feel where some chapters peaked my interest more than others so bear this in mind. . more
It was like a documentary and a collection of short stories. Not what I expected after reading “Stone Blind”. I was very disappointed. more
“when women take up space, there is less available for men. but it means we get a whole story instead of half of one. ” pandora’s jar is a compassionate, thorough examination of the remarkable women in greek mythology. haynes draws on both classical and contemporary tellings of these myths to explore why and how these fascinating, nuanced women have often been reduced to stereotypes—“villains, victims, wives and monsters”—while still remaining entertaining and accessible to readers. thank you to netgalley for the arc. more
My problem with this book is perfectly explained by Natalie Haynes at the end of the Penelope chapter, assuming there is a one valid interpretation of the Greek myths is a mistake, but she spends a lot of the earlier chapters complaining about wrong interpretations of the women of these myths. I found I got annoyed at the long descriptions of art works, which didn’t really give me an idea why she thought many of the pieces were important, and I could simply google the actual images anyway. A lot of the text is drawn out retelling of various versions of the myths in plays or films, but didn’t add much to my understanding of the characters. The basic point of the book seems to be that there are lots of versions of Greek myths and the role of the women changes depending on the version. It tries to dress it up in a feminist agenda that claims that these women are somehow belittled in their place in myth, but as you’re reading a book about some major characters in the myths that just happen to be female, it’s hard to follow the argument. more
There's something about Natalie Haynes' writing that I just love - she has this way of telling stories that pulls me in every time and makes me want to listen to her for hours. Which I guess is exactly what I did now, as I listened to the audiobook. Complete review to come. more
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes explores ten famous women in classical mythology by dedicating a chapter to each woman. Beginning with Pandora and concluding with Penelope, Haynes examines the literary sources of these mythological figures, their various appearances in classical plays, poems, and artifacts, as well as their more recent manifestations in art, music, theatre, and film. Her exploration includes Jocasta, Helen of Troy, Medusa, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea, and the Amazons. By exploring their representation in various classical works, Haynes expands our understanding of these figures. Her interrogation demonstrates their contradictory portrayals even within the classical period. more
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. more
4. 5 ⭐️ NETGALLEY VLOG & FULL THOUGHTS: https://youtu. be/1FsF-U-VQFoCompletely unexpected, but so SO good if you are at all interested in Greek mythology and the stories behind the women throughout. More thoughts in our NetGalley vlog out at the end of the month, but BRAVO. Very impressed. more
2023 Review After listening to Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, I revisited the chapter on Medusa in my kindle to find myself reading this one all over again. After an introduction, Natalie Haynes shares her views and retells these stories with sources, different versions and modern interpretations. There are ten chapters in the book, it starts with Pandora and ends with Penelope. Natalie Haynes reminds me how Pandora can’t be held for all the world’s evil’s just because she opened a jar, a jar by the way that crops up later. Or how Penelope is sharp as Odysseus in how she duped the suitors. more
“Myths may be the home of the miraculous, but they are also mirrors of us. Which version of a story we choose to tell, which characters we place in the foreground, which ones we allow to fade into the shadows: these reflect both the teller and the reader, as much as they show the characters of the myth. We have made space in our story-telling to rediscover women who have been lost or forgotten. They are not villains, victims, wives and monsters: they are people. ”After reading and loving A Thousand ships I could not wait to pick this one up and whilst it is more of a non-fiction read compared to A thousand ships, it was just as brilliant. more
3. 5 starsDid I find this to be a particularly original or incisive work of scholarship. No. Did I nevertheless get something out of it. Yes. more
Natalie Haynes my love. A Thousand Ships was my favorite read of 2022, so I knew I was going to like her nonfiction. Pandora's Jar is a series of essays about the mortal women in Greek myths, more particularly looking at these stories from a modern perspective. How have they been reinterpreted over time. How can we view them now. more
In 10 separate chapters, Natalie Haynes profiles 9 women from Greek mythology and three of the Amazons in the other chapter. For the most part, the profiled women are secondary or tertiary characters, and Haynes draws on her extensive research to provide thoughtful commentary, often drawing parallels into more modern settings. She also often refers to pottery images and imagery from museums around the world. One of her primary conclusions is that women were often blamed for the shortcomings of male characters, usually unfairly, such as Helen being responsible for the Trojan war when, in fact, she was a victim of kidnapping. I found the book slow and often providing too much detail. more