Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths

So important to read the stories of these women whom we demonise and hear nothing from in their own words. Adore it and so symbolic. Men really are ridiculous.

I bought Natalie Haynes’ latest book after a Guardian review of it, and with increasing delight and a hunger to see where she, panoptically knowledgeable and gifted with the ability to write about Old Stuff in new and most entertaining ways, would take me.Pandora led the charge, Greek mythical woman #1, an Eve-like figure, created on Zeus’s orders from clay as a ‘gift’ to Men to punish them for the (real) gift of Fire that Prometheus (whose name means ‘foresight’ I learned) gave to the then female-less race of Men. Fashioned from clay in the form of a woman she is taken down the slopes of Olympus by Hermes (the messenger of the Gods not the handbag maker) and – in one account – left in the care of Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus (his name means ‘hindsight’). It’s not a box, it’s a jar she carries and it is Epimetheus who opens it and lets out . . . well, we all know. Pandora (her name means ‘all-giving’), a woman, gets the blame for all eternity for releasing the ‘evils’ just as Eve is blamed forever for her original sin.Natalie Haynes proceeds to unpick the various and often contradictory myths, with an eye for mistranslation of the ancient Greek and its impact on perceptions, in order Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, the Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope, often with references to contemporary ‘iterations’ of these archetypal women and with free discussion of how the lot of women was back then (c. 500-400 BCE) and with telling and acutely accurate connections to modern women. This is the real lesson from ancient myth: that plus ça change c’est la même chose. . .I learned also from the author that the playwright Euripides is, in her view, one of the greatest writers of his and subsequent generations, making me imagine a vision of Shakespeare and Aaron Sorkin rolled into one. Euripides is definitely one old Greek I want to know more about.As I read ‘Penelope’s Jar’ I shared with my wife (= interrupted her often) with my enthusiastic summaries of what I was learning, prompting her to comment when we got to Phaedra the immortal words of Jessica Rabbit/Kathleen Turner that “I’m not bad – I’m just drawn that way.” Exactamundo. And pretty much all the men – Theseus, Perseus, Odysseus, - treat their women, wives, lovers, sisters with cruelty and carelessness. So when Clytemnestra revenge-killed Agamemnon for sacrificing (murdering ) her daughter so he could get a good breeze to sail for Troy, I mentally punched the air.What a wonderful book. I read several chapters (and they are not short) twice, because they were that good - and to reflect on the insights the author presented this admiring reader. Haynes also looks and sounds like a laugh (I found some of her “Natalie Haynes Stands up for the Classics” Radio 4 broadcasts online), someone to sink a few pints with and roll around laughing as she issues devastating one-liners.Buy Pandora’s Jar. You won’t be disappointed.

Pandora’s Jar is a marvellous exploration of ten prominent female mythological characters who have been the subject of many theatre, literature and art across the world and history, with varying versions of their portrayals. Haynes proceeds to give powerful assessments on the interpretation and reception of each women’s story, that’ll leave any mythology lovers speechless and with a great desire to give Haynes a round of applause.The female characters considered are: Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Each have their own chapter, making it easy to read one and refer back to it at a later date, with the help of a contents page too (on the hardback).I found it very critically assessing and thought provoking. Almost as if no stone was left unturned in Haynes assessments of each historical pieces in relation to the women. You’ll undoubtedly learn something you never knew before, and I was taken aback by how much I didn’t actually know, particularly just how many different interpretations there have been for each story.The book reads like a university module’s required textbook, albeit with an engaging conversational tone, which is understandable as it is non-fiction.I’d recommend having a basic knowledge of the mythology Haynes discusses here first. I felt that was the only area where the book missed something - it develops on the understanding that the reader already has some kind of prior knowledge of each of the women, and doesn't give a basic outline for each, which considering just how many different variations of the stories there are, makes sense. But it was unavoidable to google some bits to fill in the blanks that I'd of preferred Haynes to offer.Pandora’s Jar is clever, well-presented and a passionate defence of women who have been crucified everywhere for what men get away with. It could be described as a celebratory account for women in mythology, but that feels too simplistic. Ultimately, Haynes makes it clear that the versions of myths we hear or choose to tell are the ones universally preferred. A brilliant book.

The book arrived promptly and in good condition. Can't fault the service!

gostei do livro

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.

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