History & Criticism
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Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths
"Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!"-Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale
The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek mythology from Helen of Troy to Pandora and the Amazons to Medea.
The tellers of Greek myths-historically men-have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil-like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world's suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.
In Pandora's Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman's perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus' mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris "caused" the Trojan war-a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce-getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn't always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped.
Pandora's Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place-and so eager to accept the stories we've been told?
The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek mythology from Helen of Troy to Pandora and the Amazons to Medea.
The tellers of Greek myths-historically men-have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil-like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world's suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.
In Pandora's Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman's perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus' mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris "caused" the Trojan war-a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce-getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn't always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped.
Pandora's Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place-and so eager to accept the stories we've been told?
Editorial Reviews
"Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!" -- Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale
"Natalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world. I loved it." -- Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life
"Natalie Haynes is beyond brilliant. Pandora's Jar is a treasure box of classical delights. Never has ancient misogyny been presented with so much wit and style." -- Amanda Foreman, author of The World Made by Women
"Beyoncé, Star Trek, Ray Harryhausen . . . the most enjoyable book about Greek myths you will ever read, absolutely brimming with subversive enthusiasm." -- Mark Haddon, author of The Porpoise and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
"Witty, erudite and subversive, this takes the women of Greek myth―the women who are sidelined, vilified, misunderstood or ignored―and puts them centre stage." -- Samantha Ellis, author of How to Be a Heroine and Take Courage
"Natalie Haynes is [Britain's] muse." -- Adam Rutherford, author of How to Argue with a Racist
"A hugely enjoyable and witty book, which will appeal to admirers of novels such as Madeline Miller's Circe, Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire, and Haynes's own fiction." -- The Guardian
"Impassioned and informed . . . When Haynes gets down to retelling the stories . . . and teasing out their distortions and elisions, the book flies." -- Sunday Times (UK)
"An erudite, funny and sometimes angry attempt to fill in the blank spaces." -- Observer
...
"Natalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world. I loved it." -- Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life
"Natalie Haynes is beyond brilliant. Pandora's Jar is a treasure box of classical delights. Never has ancient misogyny been presented with so much wit and style." -- Amanda Foreman, author of The World Made by Women
"Beyoncé, Star Trek, Ray Harryhausen . . . the most enjoyable book about Greek myths you will ever read, absolutely brimming with subversive enthusiasm." -- Mark Haddon, author of The Porpoise and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
"Witty, erudite and subversive, this takes the women of Greek myth―the women who are sidelined, vilified, misunderstood or ignored―and puts them centre stage." -- Samantha Ellis, author of How to Be a Heroine and Take Courage
"Natalie Haynes is [Britain's] muse." -- Adam Rutherford, author of How to Argue with a Racist
"A hugely enjoyable and witty book, which will appeal to admirers of novels such as Madeline Miller's Circe, Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire, and Haynes's own fiction." -- The Guardian
"Impassioned and informed . . . When Haynes gets down to retelling the stories . . . and teasing out their distortions and elisions, the book flies." -- Sunday Times (UK)
"An erudite, funny and sometimes angry attempt to fill in the blank spaces." -- Observer
...
Readers Top Reviews
openmypages Fictio
Greek mythology retellings have become extremely popular in recent times, reimagining these characters as more than a foil or an unwitting participant in the consequences their actions has given many of the women of these stories new life. In Pandora's Jar, Natalie Haynes sets us straight on the adulteration of these myths through time and perspective on the time they were written. This helps us to understand why the women are so often painted as a villain or the impetus of something bad that has been unleashed on the world. Like in her previous novelizations, Haynes gives these women life and motivations and provides us all with a deeper understanding of how their roles have evolved with humanity. She explains how the words on the page informed our current understanding but also delves deeply into the spaces between the words on the page and how a new set of eyes at a different angle could make all the difference. This book is divided into chapters which focus on one woman at a time: Pandora, Jocasta, Helen of Troy, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Some of these women are more well known to us in the modern world and we get a new view and context for them, others are less well known and we get to hear where they fit in and how relatable (or not) that they are. We don't get full retellings rather analyses of the key pieces of the story that have made the woman infamous. Really intelligent writing and compelling, thought provoking analyses of a much loved genre of characters. Thanks to Harper Perennial for a gifted advanced copy of this book. All opinions above are my own.
Stephanie (Bookfever
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. On the downside you start to think when there's a new book related to Greek myth that you might not enjoy it as much since you've already read so much of it but that certainly wasn't the case with this one. Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths has chapters about Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Each and every chapter was really fascinating to read but I did have my favorites. I really loved the ones about Pandora, Medusa, The Amazons, Eurydice and Medea. I'm so glad they all got their chance to shine in this book! A rather unexpected part of the women's stories and Natalie Haynes' voice was the humor which was somewhat dry. I totally loved that because that's exactly my type of humor too. It often made me go heh :) So forget about Achilles, Theseus, Odysseus, Herakles, Jason and all those so-called heroes! Natalie Haynes is here to give the women in the Greek myths a voice, which is something they deserve after thousands and thousands of years of being silenced.
Sharon LutzStephanie
Natalie Haynes is an amazing linguist, classicist, and writer! Her retelling of Greek myths from a feminist point of view is clever, contemporary, and enlightening! An outstanding read for any person who enjoys ancient mythology with a contemporary style!
Marie SembarSharon L
A Must for Mythology Readers Pandora's Jar Having 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!!
