Natalie Haynes knows her stuff, and this is a great overview of some of the major female characters in Greek myth and how they were depicted by different writers in ancient Greece. The variations in their stories are fascinating, and it’s eye-opening to learn how our accepted modern interpretations of these women often don’t align with their original characterization, or that we’ve missed a lot of the nuance in how they were originally represented. My knowledge of ancient Greek writers/playwrights is woefully inadequate, so along with learning about the women, I learned a good deal about the writing of Euripides, Sophocles, etc. - and this book has made me want to seek out their plays. Another winner from Natalie Haynes.

Further reading…