Comedy and classicism might sound an uncommon pairing, however Natalie Haynes has parlayed her two areas of experience right into a profession as a bestselling creator of fiction and nonfiction, revered scholar and journalist, and fashionable podcaster (the BBC’s “Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics”).
Her new guide, Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth, is an enchanting follow-up to final yr’s historical past of mythological girls, Pandora’s Jar. Here, she revisits Greek mythology with a watch to interrogating and reconsidering the tales we’ve lengthy been informed—and the roles to which goddesses have been relegated—from a feminist perspective.
Haynes’ ardour for her topic is clear whether or not she’s conveying the outcomes of rigorous analysis into the works of Homer, Ovid, Sophocles and Aeschylus; explaining how fashionable popular culture displays widespread interpretations of Greek mythology; or describing in vivid element her experiences of wondrous works of artwork each historical and fashionable (poems, performs, sculptures, work, movies, music movies and extra).
Divine Might begins with the Muses and ends with the Furies; in between are chapters about Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia and Athena. All have been underestimated, whether or not in phrases of their power and knowledge, or their vengefulness and anger. As Haynes notes, “We like to be able to separate heroes, villains and victims. It’s convenient for a simple narrative, but it isn’t always reflective of the truth.”
For instance, Hestia isn’t as properly often called her counterparts, however as goddess of the fireplace she “must have been constantly referred to in daily life, even if not in grand mythological narratives.” And whereas Artemis is portrayed as “a woodland goddess, riding through mountainous forests with her entourage of wild creatures” we mustn’t overlook she revels in “absolute lawlessness, her insistence that everyone subscribes to her view of the world or pays the price.”
With mental rigor and contagious enthusiasm, Haynes urges readers to take a second have a look at up to date artwork and society with a brand new, enlightened appreciation for these legendary girls. After all, she writes, “When women make art like men do, their goddesses look divine.”
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