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Pandora's Jar

Women in the Greek Myths

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Pandora's Jar

Written by: Natalie Haynes
Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
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Summary

“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?

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Ancient Europe Greece Women's Fiction Women's Voices Marriage Ancient History Comedy Mythology Ancient Greece Greek Mythology Funny Witty Women Mythology
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Love the narration as well as the content. I’ve already recommended this to two of my students

Interesting content, beautiful narration!

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I was expecting something more like mythos, in terms of full on story telling, but this was in some ways even better. So insightful! I learned so many new aspects to many stories from Greek myth, and felt like in many instances these women were finally being given due credit. To really know them as full, multi dimensional characters.
I was also, tbh, shocked a number of times at how much of the women’s story, or background, or character, has been stripped away in more modern works compared to ancient ones.
The authors performance is also excellent, I had many chuckles and laughs at her cheeky asides and her voice is very pleasant to listen to. I loved this. If you enjoy Greek mythology and/or ancient history, this is a must listen.

Absolutely excellent

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Well written and a thoroughly education insight to women in mythology fan freaking tasting learned so much.

Fan freaking tasting

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I love the authors analysis and representation of each of the characters. She gives you a good perspective of each characters story(s) and their purpose in their contemporary setting.

Perspective

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Amazing, insightful, educational and well written. I enjoyed every minute. The research was in-depth and scholarly, she did an amazing job.

A must read.

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