Greek Myths: A New Retelling, with drawings by Chris Ofili

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In this spellbinding new collection, Charlotte Higgins reinterprets some of Greek mythology’s most enduring stories. Circe weaves and sees so many of the women who were tossed aside by men, women like her niece Medea and Ariadne.

Props are due, however bc this author simultaneously congratules herself on being a feminist while recapitulating the visceral misogyny of Greek mythology in her own text while simultaneously giving the impression that she too just fcking hates women. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin. Penelope weaves a design ‘as intricate as her own involved, withheld mind’ … Detail from Penelope and the Suitors by John William Waterhouse. I am grateful to have this on my retellings shelf as a solid and enjoyable addition I will happily revisit and cherish.The ones I did read didn't provide any new information and there was very little actually about these women.

True, the women are shown to have more agency in this version than they do in most others but they do stick quite closely to what we would consider to be the “source material”. The premise of the book is that each chapter is one woman, who is within the myths, weaving a tapestry telling the stories of those who went before her, each chapter finishing with the myth of the weaver herself. The first chapter is Athena, weaving the story of the creation of the world - some other characters are Medea, Circe, Helen, and Penelope. What the Greeks really wanted, all along, was Troy's wealth They wanted the treasuries of her temples emptied out, her women lined up and shared out-soft bodies on which to vent their rage and greed.as a pacifist (okay, and a hippie) I find the Trojan War really exasperating (that woman has a lover! Charlotte Higgins reinterprets some of the most enduring stories of all time in this beautifully produced, spellbinding new collection, featuring original artworks by Chris Ofili.