Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths

by Natalie Haynes

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

From the author of A Thousand Ships comes a sharp and witty correction to the popularly known Greek myths. Centering on the women often villainized or pushed to the side, this book flips the narrative on its head, giving the women the same weight as the men in classic Greek myths. Natalie Haynes’ brilliant book makes readers question why they were so quick to accept the stories they’ve been told.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063211315
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Natalie Haynes is the author of eight books, including the nonfiction work Pandora’s Jar, which was a New York Times bestseller, and the novels A Thousand Ships, which was a national bestseller and short-listed for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and Stone Blind. She has written and recorded eleven series of Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics for the BBC. Haynes has written for the Times, the Independent, The Guardian, and the Observer. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Introduction 1

Pandora 5

Jocasta 33

Helen 57

Medusa 85

The Amazons 113

Clytemnestra 145

Eurydice 173

Phaedra 199

Medea 227

Penelope 261

Conclusion 287

Acknowledgements 289

Notes 291

Further Reading and Other Sources 303

Editorial Reviews

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

Impassioned and informed . . . When Haynes gets down to retelling the stories . . . and teasing out their distortions and elisions, the book flies."

Sunday Times (UK)

Beyoncé, Star Trek, Ray Harryhausen . . . the most enjoyable book about Greek myths you will ever read, absolutely brimming with subversive enthusiasm.

Mark Haddon

"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

"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

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

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

An erudite, funny and sometimes angry attempt to fill in the blank spaces.” 

Observer

Natalie Haynes is [Britain’s] muse.” 

Adam Rutherford

Witty and frequently surprising.

Times Literary Supplement

Engaged, engaging and fun.

Herald

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

“Classicist Haynes challenges common ideas about Greek mythology in this sharp corrective. . . . When she hits her stride and seamlessly blends historical, textual, and artistic analysis, her survey sings. Even those casually familiar with Greek mythology will find this enriching.” — Publishers Weekly

“Agile, rich, subversive, Pandora's Jar proves that the classics are far from dead, and keep evolving with us.” — Mail on Sunday

“Witty and frequently surprising.” — Times Literary Supplement

“Engaged, engaging and fun.” — Herald

 “Packed with wry humor and scholarly insight, Pandora’s Jar shines a new light on our oldest stories, illuminating its subjects in all their painful complexity.” — Booklist 

"Throughout, Haynes also notes that these often outlandish retellings and related tropes have become (flawed) inspirations for works of modern art, music, and film, including the original Star Trek series, an episode of The Simpsons, Pulp Fiction, and a music video by Beyoncé . . . Readers of all levels of knowledge are certain to be enthralled with her analysis and find her humor and wit captivating. A fun and informative addition to the ongoing consideration of ancient mythology." — Kirkus Reviews

"A classicist revisits the tales of 10 mythological women from a female perspective, adding a new depth and nuance to the stories of Helen of Troy, Medea, Medusa and others." — New York Times

From the Publisher

Agile, rich, subversive, Pandora's Jar proves that the classics are far from dead, and keep evolving with us.

Mail on Sunday

2022-02-15
An analysis of the women of Greek myths and how “every myth contains multiple timelines within itself: the time in which it is set, the time it is first told, and every retelling afterwards.”

Writer, classicist, and comedian Haynes has written extensively on the ancient world. In her latest book, she rescues the reputations of some of the women in Greek mythology. She highlights the stories of women that have been retold countless times and explores the evolution of their characters over the centuries. Divided into 10 chapters, her narrative discusses Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, the Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea, and Penelope. In her discussion of Pandora, Haynes points out that Pandora’s box didn’t appear until Erasmus translated Hesiod’s Works and Days into Latin “well over two millennia after Hesiod was writing in Greek.” Furthermore, Hesiod’s original version made no reference to Pandora releasing its contents. “For the ancients,” Haynes suggests, “Pandora’s role as the ancestor of all women was far more important than her disputed role in opening the world to incessant evil.” Regarding the stories of Helen causing the Trojan War, Haynes contends that she was “nothing but a beautiful pawn.” Turning to the legends associated with Medusa, the author notes that while some versions of her myth have called her a “monster,” others claim that she was born beautiful but was afflicted with “snaky hair” to save her from future sexual encounters with men. Throughout, Haynes also notes that these often outlandish retellings and related tropes have become (flawed) inspirations for works of modern art, music, and film, including the original Star Trek series, an episode of The Simpsons, Pulp Fiction, and a music video by Beyoncé. Although the author assumes her audience is familiar with Greek mythology, readers of all levels of knowledge are certain to be enthralled with her analysis and find her humor and wit captivating.

A fun and informative addition to the ongoing consideration of ancient mythology.

Kirkus Reviews