Greek myths have been told and retold all throughout history, featuring tales of mighty heroes and powerful gods and goddesses. But whether a powerful goddess, a frightful monster, or a mere mortal, no woman in these epic stories was safe from male oppression.
Greek mythology is known to normalize atrocious behavior towards women. However, recently, there has been a new wave of Greek myths retold through the eyes of the women who were neglected and forgotten. These retellings have taken on the female perspective and are threaded with contemporary ideas of feminism that show that the stories of these women are not what they seemed. Here, we recommend feminist retellings of Greek mythology that will shed a new light on old tales as well as cast a mirror on the struggles still relevant in our current societies.
Circe by Madeline Miller
We would fail at our job to recommend Greek mythology feminist retellings if we did not start off with Madeline Miller. Her book Circe has become a hallmark of this sub-genre. Circe tells the little-known tale of the exiled goddess known as a sorceress and witch. Circe appears briefly in famous myths like The Odyssey, where she is portrayed as a witch who holds Odysseus captive on her island for years after turning his men to swine. In Circe, Madeline Miller creates an entirely new and enchanting world, telling the story of Circe from her harsh childhood as the daughter of the sun god, Helios, to her eternal exile and the power she finds in her isolation.
Madeline Miller is an exceptional author who writes with a lyrical honesty that will change the way you see the world. She has also written Galatea, a short story that reimagines the myth of the sculptor Pygmalion and Galatea, his beautiful creation brought to life as a gift from the gods to be his wife. Again, Miller stuns with her ability to craft an entirely new tale from those we’ve known.
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
A Thousand Ships is another must-read feminist Greek mythology retelling. It takes us to the famous Trojan War, and reimagines the war-torn landscape through the eyes of the various women whose worlds were devastated by this ten-year war. Haynes points out that this is just as much a woman’s war as it is a man’s war. A Thousand Ships tells the story entirely through female perspectives — from the three goddesses whose foolish fight started the war to the many wives and daughters left behind, as well as those whose lives were forever changed by the outcome.
Haynes has authored many more feminist retellings that are worth a mention, including Pandora’s Jar, which casts a wider lens on the many women slighted throughout Greek mythology, such as Medea and Helen of Troy. She also wrote The Children of Jocosta, the poignant tale of Jocosta, in a retelling of Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone.
Medusa by Jessie Burton
Medusa’s tale is one that we think we know and love. However, in her novel, Medusa, Jessie Burton gives us a true look at the story behind the world’s most beloved gorgon. Medusa is exiled and forever known as the monster that she is. The hero, Perseus, arrives on her island and changes everything for her. For Medusa, it is a story of love until she is betrayed — first by Perseus and later by history, as she is forever remembered as the ugly monster with a heart as cold as stone. Medusa’s story has been twisted and turned for centuries, but in this feminist retelling, Burton gives Medusa a voice of her own.
Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear
Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear tells the all-but-forgotten story of Medusa’s two gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale. It starts before the three girls became gorgons, back when they were just three triplets who looked out and cared for each other in the world of monsters and men. After the tragic fate of their youngest sister, Medusa, Stheno and Euryale are determined that all three of them will be remembered. They tell their story on their own terms in a lyrical and pointed novel of fate, betrayal, and sisterly love.
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
The Silence of the Girls brings us back to the battlefields of the Trojan War — this time focusing on the women in the Greek army camp. In this novel, Pat Barker brings to life the story of Briseis, the Trojan woman captured by Achilles who changed the course of the Trojan war. The Silence of the Girls gives a voice not only to Briseis, but to the many other women found in the camp, the prisoners, concubines, prostitutes, and more who grieve for their old life and loved ones as they are faced with the horrors of their new reality.
The Silence of the Girls is the first in a trilogy by Pat Barker, titled The Women of Troy series. The Silence of the Girls, The Women of Troy, and The Voyage Home follow these women throughout the long war, all the way to the fall of Troy and the aftermath. This is a devastating but important story for the many women whose lives were all but forgotten.
The Memoirs of Helen of Troy by Amanda Elyot
Amanda Elyot gives us the story of the woman who is at the center of so much of Greek mythology. The woman whose beauty sparked envy in suitors across all of Greece that were later called upon to return her to her husband, starting the ten-year Trojan War. The Memoirs of Helen of Troy attempts to tell this story through the eyes of Helen herself. What is it like to be the woman so many men are willing to fight and die for? Helen was a woman objectified and defined by her beauty for as long as she could remember. She is a woman hated by so many for starting a war that tore the world apart. Amanda Elyot unpacks the complex story of Helen: a well-known historical figure whose story has remained a mystery.
For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser
For those who can’t get enough of the woman of the Trojan War, For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser is another captivating tale of the women who have been forgotten. This story follows Briseis, the Trojan princess of Pedasus, and Krisayis, the daughter of the High Priest of Troy. They are both determined and brave women who refuse to lose their lives and spirits when captured by the Greeks.
For the Most Beautiful is the first book in Emily Hauser’s Golden Apple Trilogy, which traverses through time to tell the stories of brave women. The second book, For the Winner, tells the tale of Atalanta, the woman warrior who fought beside Jason and the Argonauts. The final book, For the Immortal, follows Admete as she accompanies Hercules to the land of the Amazons where she meets Hippolyta, queen of the warrior women.
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Ariadne is a tale of Ariadne and Phaedra, daughters of King Minos and Queen Pasiphaë and sisters of the Minotaur. Theseus, the Prince of Athens, comes to slay the Minotaur, and Ariadne decides to help him kill her brother. Hoping for an escape, she chooses to betray her family for Theseus and is quickly betrayed in return. Ariadne must find her own way in life and embark in a path that takes her beyond what she could have even imagined. Meanwhile, Phaedra is forced to grapple with Ariadne’s choices that have left her with a life that was never meant to be hers.
Jennifer Saint has written several epic tales of feminist Greek re-tellings that bring us unique perspectives and stories of women, some of whom are famed throughout all of Greek mythology, like Atalanta and even Hera, and others whom we never knew of before, like Ariadne and Elektra. She gives each woman a voice unique to themselves.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
Costanza Casati dives deeper into what may well be one of the most epic family dramas with her retelling, Clytemnestra. Some believe that, as the sister of Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra always had jealousy and vengeance running through her blood. Whether that’s true or not, Clytemnestra’s need for violent revenge certainly simmered after being slighted time and time again, being married off to the tyrant Agamemnon, watching as he slaughtered her daughter in sacrifice to the gods, and spending all those years waiting for him to return. Clytemnestra is a story of a woman who took an active role in her life, forever remembered and hated for what she did. It is a messy tale of revenge and ugly, powerful anger.
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Another book we cannot possibly fail to mention is The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, one of the most popular feminist retellings. Atwood, being the genius that she is, tells the little-known story of Penelope, who is remembered as the sweet, cunning, and devoted wife who anxiously awaited her husband’s heroic return as suitors took over her palace, believing Odysseus to be dead. Atwood takes this story to the underworld where Penelope finally tells her side of the story.
Myths are meant to be told and retold, and all of these retellings keep the magic of the myth alive. They infuse these old, stale stories of male heroism with a breath of fresh air — telling them in a whole new way from a new perspective for a new audience. Each story has its own unique take, making every old story feel new.
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Find these books and more on our Myth Retellings We Can’t Get Enough Of bookshelf on Bookshop.org.
