Greek Myths: A New Retelling, with drawings by Chris Ofili

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A lot of the women were raped, which was to be expected in a book about Greek mythology; however, I think a lot of substance was missing from those aspects.

Inside the palace, Clytemnestra led her husband through to the bath, and, with smooth assurance, helped him strip off his clothes. My favourite is the story of Arachne’s weaving contest with Athene when the misguided mortal tells Athena, “Explain it to me: the gods make laws for humans, and then refuse to follow those same laws themselves. There is no shortage these days of lively, well-written retellings of ancient Greek and Roman myths, but Charlotte Higgins has embraced a central metaphor – weaving – that leads us through the labyrinth of interconnected stories in a startlingly fresh way.Andromache who knows that she's destined to lose her husband Hector all because of his awful brother and the woman who launched a thousand ships, Helen. It's a powerful depiction that infuses the myths with creative new artistry and paints the female characters with bolder agency. Roman authors self-consciously played on the etymological relationship between “text” and “textile”.

Its thoughtful introduction, ample notes pointing to the ancient sources, bibliography of accessible further reading, maps, genealogies and glossary make it a useful resource for far more advanced adult readers. So, I think it is pretty well established around here that I am a sucker for a good Greek myth retelling and even a new interpretation of the Greek myths so is it really a surprise that I’ve gone ahead and read this one as well? Finally, the description of this book as a feminist retelling is also pretty misleading, as there wasn't really any particular focus put onto the women. I sort of wish I’d come across this when I was younger — this is a great ‘introduction’ to Greek myth without having to scour and pull together lots of disparate sources.

Additionally, while the drawings are lovely in the book, I found it interesting that the author chose to use a male artist for what is supposed to be a female-centric book. In this spellbinding new collection, Charlotte Higgins reinterprets some of Greek mythology’s most enduring stories. Props are due, however bc this author simultaneously congratules herself on being a feminist while recapitulating the visceral misogyny of Greek mythology in her own text while simultaneously giving the impression that she too just fcking hates women.

Women do all the work for 9 months, then risk dying in birth, yet guys get all the credit for 10 seconds of "work" while in bliss. Penelope weaves a design ‘as intricate as her own involved, withheld mind’ … Detail from Penelope and the Suitors by John William Waterhouse. The book is exactly what it tells itself to be, it's a telling of the Greek Myths, so many that you kind of lose count, and they're all told in a compelling and enthusiastic way, and they're also short.Some women are again, just background stories and the guys who pop up in myths are reinvented rather than the woman.