Subtitled “Women in Greek Myth” Haynes presents ten females – Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Some may be more familiar, others to a lesser extent. Pandora in modern terminology is more normally associated with her “box” that she opens against instruction to the detriment of the people of the world. The fact that Haynes correctly identifies it as originally a “jar” lays down the basic challenge of this book. She will review what is told about these various women from deepest history, how the various story developments do, or do not, survive and how they evolve to be used into the present. She will also look to the archaeological evidence of surviving Greek pottery with glorious figurative designs to see if they support or contradict the written word.
The stories are imbedded in deep eastern Mediterranean myths and culture more than 3 millennia old. The Gods are the most powerful beings, albeit that some are more powerful than others, they are promiscuous, argumentative and fickle. Humans, or half humans, can be dragged into their quarrels or “games” often with disastrous results. Perhaps the most famous tales are the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. The former about the ten years war between the Greeks and the Trojans and the latter the tale of how it takes one Greek hero Odysseus another ten years to return to his home and wife Penelope. Many of Haynes women are woven into this tale. Others also pre-date it. She will consider the play cycles of 5th century BC Greece that still survive – perhaps 500 years later than the events recounted and how women were presented through them. Later texts including Roman authors are considered and their absorption by more modern writers, musicians and filmmakers. No “story” is correct, but all reflect current beliefs, values and critically attitudes to women. Very few of these texts were written by women.
So Haynes pulling together the rare and dispersed sources allows historic women to be more visible – yes many of them were of the rich and powerful class, but that seemingly does not make for safety. Many of the tales that include them are told through the male perspective and the main attraction is the heroic male - through military or other prowess - who succeeds. There are of course no contemporary considerations of the impact of armies invading and killing on others whose lives are disrupted. It seems it takes until the plays of Euripides in the 5th century BC when he, against the trend, to consider the impact on women in more detail and how they react – albeit often in a way that is still destructive to themselves.
You might say that we are dealing with “fiction” here, but it was no doubt bedded (then as now) in solid reference to real life. The reality of this is that women were treated as commodities for the benefit of men. Many were traded or kidnapped from man to man as part of truces or booty. This points to a much higher level of systematic violence against women – and indeed girl children – that is deeply uncomfortable and depressing to read, especially when it is a trope repeated over and over again. Women of the poorer classes also appear on occasions, but are potentially even more vulnerable and so often will throw their lot in with the mean to the detriment of other women too. Women walked a dangerous path – particularly if they held beauty or status and came to the attention of the wrong man, or God. Behind those tales however we see some women – from other cultures – who buck the trend: The female Amazons fight as warriors. But elsewhere when male warriors are away the women of necessity are required to hold homes, estates and communities together.
So when you read this book on the women substantially hidden in the shadows it requires the reader to use the spotlight of their experience, knowledge and deductive reasoning to understand the realities that lay behind the myths and to see the real life women must have lived in this world of male “heroes”. Women academics have regularly tried over the last 150 years to re-set the skewed understanding of the place of women in these cultures and to give them their true place. It is sad that it still needs to be repeated once more, but at least the need to do it is still recognised. Haynes by giving us this resume of so many of the women of legend also allows us to read her fiction – and that of others – with a greater depth of understanding and compassion.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan Picador for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths’ by Natalie Haynes in exchange for an honest review. On publication I ordered its hardback edition.

It was clear from her Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlisted novel, ‘A Thousand Ships’, that Natalie Haynes is passionate about giving a voice to the women of the Greek myths.

In this work of nonfiction she focuses upon ten mythic women, writing in an intelligent, witty, and accessible style, weaving in elements of history alongside art, literature, theatre, films, popular culture, and the like. These ten were: Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea, and Penelope.

I was completely engaged in this book from the opening line of the Introduction where Haynes shared becoming transfixed while watching Ray Harryhausen’s ‘Clash of the Titans’ with her brother. I could appreciate how films like this set her on the path to becoming a classicist as similarly my own lifelong love of mythology was encouraged by the same in childhood, also repeatedly viewed with my brother.

I was also delighted by the inclusion of Wonder Woman and Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the chapter on The Amazons.

Even though I consider that I have a good grounding in Greek mythology, I found myself making notes throughout. I was pleased that in the bibliography she also included a listing of all the artworks mentioned in the text, including their places of residence at the time of writing.

I loved this book. It flowed beautifully and though I read it in a single sitting, I expect that it is one that I will be returning to again and again. I also am looking forward to Haynes future projects.

This was excellent and a book that I consider a must read for lovers of classic mythology.

Highly recommended.

In Pandora's Jar, Haynes explores popular figures from Greek Mythology, examining both how they are presented in Classical texts, and in modern re-workings. It makes for a rich, informative text, which is completely immersive and hard to put down. It's fascinating to see how even writers working at similar times told myths in very different ways, and I learnt a lot of sides to these characters' stories that I had never come across before. This book has left me keen to reread Euripides' plays, but also try some new authors too.

This is definitely a book to read with a phone or laptop to hand, because Haynes discusses a lot of different works of art (both ancient and modern) and it's good to be able to look them up while reading!

Haynes's voice and style are strong throughout, and it feels as though she could easily be talking to you on her radio show. I laughed a lot while reading this and it is Haynes's humour, as much as the subject matter, which makes this book such a success.

This book will be popular with everyone from Classicists, to readers whose only knowledge of these characters comes from half-remembered children's stories. Haynes writes in a way that is accessible to all, but won't bore readers with a prior knowledge of the texts discussed.

I have been talking about this book non-stop for the past week, and really cannot recommend it enough.

Absolutely loved this, I adore Greek mythology so to read a book that focuses on the women in Greek mythology I got so excited. It was such an interesting look at women who are usually marginalised or portrayed as dark and bad/evil. I love the fact that Haynes looks at these characters such as medusa, Pandora and the Amazons and not just Aphrodite etc and I love that Haynes humour comes through too. A fabulous read and interesting look at the myths and attempting to redress the balance of men always being at the forefront and cantering women exactly where they should be, at the centre too.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Pandora's Jar is a treasure trove of ancient stories about some complex, misunderstood and down right badass women. This was such an informative read that thoroughly explored the stories of mythological women from Euripides, to Penelope and even Medusa. It was such an interesting outlook on women who have been marginalised in Greek myths or depicted as monstrous, evil and unnatural beings. It digs deep and delves into the lives of these women and how they've been portrayed in ancient and modern texts. It took me a while to read but I savoured it each time I read and found it fascinating. My favourite sections were definitely on Medusa, Medea and the Amazons. I definitely recommend this to lovers of Greek mythology and those who enjoy ancient literature. It gives a voice to these women who have been muted and villainised in literature and it's fantastic.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Haynes does a fantastic job at retelling our beloved classic Greek Myths to make the reader think more about 10 women from Greek mythology. These women are; Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea, and Penelope.
Why have they always been pushed aside? Why is it that we are never told their POV?
Haynes brings these women to the forefront in such a witty and relatable way, it feels like they're real humans.

I personally love how Haynes used ancient and recent sources and other pieces of culture to tell these women's stories, and I definitely feel like I now have a starting point on where to look for more female POV Greek myth retellings.

When I heard that a new Natalie Haynes book was being released this year, I knew it would be one of my reading highlights of 2020. I was right.

I love Greek mythology and I'll read pretty much everything that you put in front of me in that genre. The influx of women's stories that we've had recently has been perfect but Pandora's Jar is slightly different, and in a good way.

Natalie Haynes discusses the stories of several of the women from these stories and does so brilliantly. Her humour is fantastic; I chuckled quite a lot while reading this one. I enjoyed the general story overview but then hearing the different versions and adaptations as well.

Natalie Haynes has written a beautiful book (again!). My huge thanks for allowing me to read and review this one. I'll be preordering a signed copy and I'm planning on gifting copies to friends too.

This book is really well written, relevant and interesting. Natalie Haynes’ writing makes the Greek myths so accessible and relatable, which is exactly how history should be, and perhaps even more importantly enjoyable. This book has enabled me to now have a more challenging and fun discussion with my 11 year old son who absolutely loves the Greek myths instead of just having to agree with him!

This book revisits some of the most well done women in Greek myths and gives them their story back so that they are on an equal footing with the menfolk.

I was really excited to learn that Natalie Haynes was writing a new book, having been a big fan of her writing and having loved classical fiction, including Madeline Miller. Unlike Haynes’ last book, A Thousand Ships (which you should read too!), Pandora’s Jar is a history book rather than fiction. I was sent an advanced reading copy by the publishers, Pan Macmillan, through NetGalley.

Pandora’s Jar focuses on ten women from Greek myth: Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea, and Penelope. Natalie Haynes argues that Greek women in literature have often been continually misinterpreted throughout history and have resulted in their bad reputations. She outlines the misinterpretations of the original myths through language, art and literature across history. The book starts with Pandora, who was misconstrued as nosey, destructive and uncaring; her jar was eventually transformed into a box through misinterpretation and enhanced her bad name. Natalie Haynes’ is here to remedy that.

I’m always excited by books that clearly illustrate the continual use of ancient myth throughout history, and Pandora’s Jar does just that. Given Haynes’ background in classics, I was totally unsurprised that this book was articulate and thoroughly researched. Each chapter is very clear, starting with the myth and following the history into the legacy of the character. Haynes seamlessly weaves her argument throughout. My favourite parts were the legacy of these women – how they appeared in the Renaissance, the Restoration and even in modern pop culture – and how their characters and stories had been altered.

The only downside I found to this book was that I felt like this was a general approach that I have often encountered while reading history books. While I enjoyed the feminist approach and reading about these Greek women immensely, it did feel like this was something I had read before. Although feminist interpretations of myth and ancient history are quite common among academics, Natalie Haynes’ book brings to light these conversations in an accessible way for public audiences.

This book is great for people who love classical history, or for those who want to learn more. Our modern conceptions of these ancient women don’t always match up to their original tales, and Natalie Haynes has done some great work in readdressing their stories.

Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes (£16.99) is out in hardback on October 1st 2020.

After the incredible A Thousand Ships this return to non fiction was a great read, learning more about how the mythological characters we think we know was fascinating, especially looking at their appearance through different (male) written sources.
This was like a written version of Natalie Haynes Stands Up For the Classics and I loved every bit of it.

Haynes’ work on Greek women is unparalleled. The way she tells these stories with humour and compassion makes these women so vivid and relatable. It is always a pleasure to read how Haynes has rendered her subjects and Pandora’s Jar is an accessible and necessary piece of literary investigation and criticism into the figures who are often the most interesting in these stories; the women.

I wanted to read this book, having read a number of retellings of Greek myths from the female point of view. It was great to learn more about Pandora, Helen, Clytemnestra, Jocasta and others. I didn't know much about the original myths and writings, such as Euripede's plays, but the author managed to strike a balance between academic rigor and popular interest. Each chapter is about a different figure, and included how they have been seen in popular culture, art and films too. I felt my knowledge of the myths has been really improved!

‘Pandora’s Jar’ re-tells the stories of ten women that appear in Greek Mythology but whose own stories have often been overshadowed by the men who appear alongside them.

Each chapter considers a different woman; Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazon’s, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. I was familiar with the myths that each of these women appear in but Haynes makes them the focus and offers more than one variant on their stories using a variety of sources, both ancient and modern.

Haynes begins each chapter by providing an overview of the most familiar version of each woman’s story, useful for anyone who has little knowledge of Greek Mythology or is in need of a refresher. She then expands on this, examining other accounts and what this adds to our understanding of the woman. Haynes draws on a number of sources for this, from Greek and Roman to The Simpson’s and Wonder Woman! Famous works of art and pottery are also referenced, it’s interesting to bring all these sources together and consider just how many versions of the same story have been told across history.

So often the ancient sources do not match our modern understanding of these women. Of course, with modern sensibilities we may squirm at the gender roles of the ancient Greeks, the double standards between how men and women are treated and it cannot be denied that there in some stories women have been treated as pawns, raped or murdered and discarded to further a plot. But if you look closer there are also plenty of examples of well defined women, wielding power in their own right and displaying a complexity of character which is often missing in our modern reiterations. It could be argued that some of these women were misunderstood in their own time but there is no doubt most of them have been sidelined more by future retellings.

Haynes is simply shining a light on the interesting women that we already know about. She doesn’t need to overstretch to change their narratives, the evidence is there, and she accepts and welcomes their flaws. Anyone who has an interest in Greek Mythology should find this an interesting read, it only adds to our understanding of mythology.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful feminist discussion into various women at the heart of the Greek myths. These are women who are often overshadowed by the male heroes of their own stories, yet Haynes manages to bring them to life and give them a voice that has long been forgotten. These are women who originally are described as intelligent warriors, fearless and resourceful, and ultimately let down by their husbands, lovers and the Gods. Their stories have been warped over time to diminish them, force them into the background and cast them as villains and monsters. It was incredibly refreshing to see them in a new, more positive light. Haynes's writing is also incredibly accessible and humorous at times too, making the myths and information she pulls from easy to follow and understand. I personally don't think you need to have a deep understanding of these myths going into the book, although it's obviously beneficial.

I am really enjoying this resurgence of the Greek myths told from a woman's perspective (such as Haynes novel A Thousand Ships and Miller's Circe and I'm now desperate for a Medusa or Medea retelling. As part of this review, I've included a few words and thoughts on each woman's story. If you don't want to know which Greek heroines are found within Haynes book, don't read on.

Pandora - Because obviously all bad things in the world are the fault of women (see also: Eve).

Jocasta - with the least amount of info, she still manages to figure out Oedipus is her son before he does. And pays the highest price for it.

Helen - beautiful face. Obviously men decided the Trojan war was her fault. Surprisingly intelligent, and could easily spar with Odysseus. Pretty sure she picked Menelaus because he's so stupid.

Medusa - perhaps the ultimate misunderstood and badly represented of the Greek women. Demonstrates the sexualised fear and misogynistic objectification of strong females in the myths. Myths retold by angry white men.

Amazons - the ultimate woman tribe. Women supporting women, bolstering each other up. It's interesting to see the differences between the original texts and how they've been perverted over time (again, by fragile white men) and the parallels with modern day counterparts like Wonder Woman and Buffy.

Clytemnestra - Agamemnon's wife. Iphegenia's mother. Clever and cunning, she bows to no man in her quest for revenge. Again, she's the image every man fears - a dominant, intelligent woman who can think for herself.

Eurydice - Orpheus's shadow. Lover. Muse. Has a history steeped in sacrifice that had been warped to instead reflect Orpheus's tale. Eurydice has instead been stripped of her voice and desires. Is it Orpheus's selfishness rather than love that pulls her from peace in the Underworld? Because no-one asks Eurydice for her opinion.

Phaedra - with Phaedra's story we enter into the discussion of sexual violence against women, and the removal of said violence in later texts to keep the shine on the male Greek heroes. Theseus is not a nice man. He's a serial rapist who seems to delight in making his way through women. Yet it's Phaedra who is vilified and remembered for her instigation of rape myth and false allegations. No less serious, but we seem to conveniently forget or romanticise the rape of women.

Medea - Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. All consuming in her power, passion and need for revenge, Medea is one hell of a woman. With the talent to beguile, she is woefully underestimated by every man she crosses and her pursuit of vengeance knows no bounds. I mean, this is the woman who cuts up her little brother to stop her father pursuing her lover, Jason. The woman has no boundaries.

Penelope - the Greek wife of Odysseus who is forever put on the pedestal as the perfect wife. Patiently and faithfully waiting 20 years for her husband to return, while using her wits to keep suitors at bay. She's often seen as the woman to pit against every other woman to be found lacking. Yet through the years she's been whittled down to a fraction of who she is. Where has the intelligent woman who ruled alone while raising a child gone?

To reiterate: a great feminist look at several important and colourful women throughout the Greek myths. I also appreciated the many, many Clash of the Titans references. My childhood heart swelled at the mention of Bubo the owl. Highly recommend to lovers of the classic myths.

As always Natalie's work is well researched and detailed. I love learning new things from Greek Mythology! A great book for anyone who wants to learn more about Pandora

This was a well researched and impressive book, but just to note this is a non fiction piece of work which delves into the histories and different representations of a variety of women in Greek myth and legend, such as Helen, Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Medusa and many more. I feel like you have to have a fairly good knowledge of Greek plays and myths prior to reading this book but if you're able to keep up with the references and different stories then it shouldn't pose too much of an issue. I wanted to enjoy this more but I found myself skim reading some of the chapters as other figures were more interesting to me. This book gave me more of an anthology sort of feel where some chapters peaked my interest more than others so bear this in mind. I definitely enjoyed her other fictional books more than this one, so if like me you prefer fiction, this probably won't be a hit for you.

What a treat to have the opportunity to read this before publication thanks to NetGalley. This is the first of Natalie Haynes’s non-fiction books I’ve read but as a devotee of the radio programme Stands up for the Classics and lockdown offering Ovid not Covid I had high hopes. And of course Pandora’s Jar lives up to them. Like those programmes, it contains proper scholarship alongside relatable and sometimes pop-culture side bars. We are exact contemporaries so those references hit the spot for me.
Each chapter focuses on a different woman from ancient myth, some well known (Helen, Penelope), others less so (Penthesilea, Phaedra), providing an in-depth discussion of how female characters have been depicted. Myth being what it is, there’s rarely one uncontested version of a story. As she points out, women’s stories are in the ancient sources, particularly in Euripides and Ovid; it’s more recently that they have been diminished or overlooked altogether.
What I like about Natalie Haynes’ feminist approach to these stories, and how the women in them have been and are portrayed, is that while it is sometimes angry (and rightly so) it’s always reasonable too. No shrieking harpy here but a steadfast questioning. To anyone who thinks ‘oh no, not another book going on about how women in the ancient world have been overlooked’, I’d say, it’s OK, guys – all the old stuff is still there, we’ve just got more great things to read, watch and listen to. In this case, less is not more.
Just as when I first listened to Stands Up For The Classics I thought Radio 4 had started commissioning programmes based on looking inside my head, I felt Pandora’s Jar had been written just for me – its exploration of the variations of each myth is right up my street. Natalie Haynes has a gift for words which sometimes made me laugh out loud (kudos for getting in swan/swain and birdmance on the same page); I particularly liked the phrase ‘betrothal admin’ as applied to finding a husband for Helen.
I really enjoyed Pandora’s Jar. I don’t often revisit books but I think this will be an exception: I look forward to listening to the audiobook and having a real book in my hands. Right, I’m off to get my hands on The Amber Fury and The Ancient Guide to Modern Life. Oh, and I need to see some Aeschylus and Euripides.

A very interesting book that retells several famous women from Greek myths like Pandora, Helen of Troy, and Medusa etc. I have always enjoyed reading the Greek myths and legends so found this book very good, but I feel it has a very limited audience, though that may be the aim. It's told not in an intellectual way, but not something that is easy reading for the average layman, which is a shame as it would benefit adolescent girls to read this, and yet the language style would more than likely put them off, leaving this for readers more of university age and above which is a shame. I have marked it down as it didn't translate over to Kindle very well as the bits it tried to refer you to (I'm assuming some sort of footnote) didn't work for me