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GREAT WOMEN OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY

A woman’s weak and timid in most matters. The noise of war, the look of steel, makes her a coward. But touch her right in marriage, And there’s no bloodier spirit. Medea, Euripides, 265. Translated by Philip Vellacott

Where tenderness meets rage and sweet peace meets hideous war: this is where the women of Greek mythology find themselves, some proud, others deeply wounded.

The ancient Greek woman is mother, daughter and sister. She is loving and monstrous, reckless and ingenious; she lurks in the shadows of night and shines with the bright joy of the Sun. She stands at the side of the warrior men, but is also trailblazing and – when necessary –leads from behind. Along with the spirit of matriarchy of the Aegean, she gave birth to amazing characters that stand tall to this day in Greek literature and theatre, and feels more relevant now than ever.

Made by soil and sea, the mythological women of Greece are Earth itself.

Through Great Women of Greek Mythology, we present the most iconic women of our ancient history: Medea, Electra, Circe, Antigone, Helen, Ariadne and Medusa. And there’s more to come! With simple, comprehensible texts compiled and edited by a great team of writers, editors and scientists, we invite you to meet the famous daughters of mythology and their universe.

Elena Spandoni

Brainfood Digital Media and Publishing M.E.P.E

GREAT WOMEN OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Alcestis of Thessaly

WRITTEN AND EDITED BY Mike French and Vittorio Mattioli, Read Panda Editing OÜ

COVER DESIGN Little Miss Grumpy

DESKTOP PUBLISHING LaSid

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Nikos Chatzopoulos

SERIES EDITOR Elena Spandoni

Brainfood Digital Media and Publishing M.E.P.E. 28 Empedokleous Str., 12131 Peristeri, Athens, GREECE Tel.: +30 210 2514123, Email: contact@brainfood.gr www.brainfood.gr

March 2025

ISBN: 978-618-5903-10-7

All rights reserved. No portion of the book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Alcestis of Thessaly

In Mycenae, Helen’s niece, Electra, is married to a destitute farmer and lives a life of misery. While her husband is honourable, she has only one pair of clothes, and she still cuts her hair short in a sign of mourning for the killing of her father, Agamemnon, after his triumphant return from Troy. The only reason Electra has not killed herself is because she is waiting for her brother Orestes to come and help her take revenge against Aegisthus, the usurper, and Clytemnestra, his lover and their mother, who betrayed Agamemnon and killed him.

In her book, it is Ariadne herself who shares her memories from childhood and into adulthood. Helen’s abductor, Theseus, appears here too, and we are taken from Minoan palaces on Crete, with the great labyrinth built by Daedalus for Ariadne’s brother, the monstrous Minotaur, to the deserted island of Naxos, where Ariadne is abandoned by the traitorous Theseus on his way back to Athens. We see how on the brink of death, she is saved by the god Dionysus, who takes a keen interest in her, and how they end up as a couple. We are told of her sister Phaedra and her fate at the court of Athens.

We move on to a relation of Dionysus, Antigone, the daughter and granddaughter of Oedipus. After the discovery of Oedipus’ crimes, her family falls apart. With both her parents dead, her two brothers fight for

rule of the Greek city of Thebes. The story takes place in the aftermath of that civil war. Antigone’s brother Polynices has been killed outside the walls of Thebes. When she shows his body the proper rites, thus defying a decree issued by the city’s ruler, Creon, she is arrested and condemned to death. The central tension of the book lies between her respect for the unwritten laws of the gods and Creon’s for those of the city.

Medea is a princess in faraway Colchis. She is married to Jason of the Argonauts, but now that he has no more need for her, Jason wishes to be rid of her in favour of a wife from a more civilised land. Most of Medea’s story takes place in a single day in the palace at Corinth where she, Jason and their children are staying. This is the 24 hours during which Jason is meant to marry the Corinthian princess Glauce. Despite all the help Medea has provided Jason, he has decided to discard her, something Medea will not take lying down.

Medea and Ariadne’s aunt, Circe, is the daughter of the Sun god, Helios. She lives alone on the island of Aeaea. Odysseus’ ship lands there on his journey home. When 23 of his men seek her out, she promptly turns them into pigs and locks them up in a sty. An immortal goddess herself, Circe is not to be trifled with: her concoctions and witchcraft are second to none. Made famous by her appearance in the Odys-

sey, Circe’s story looks at the time spent by Odysseus and his men on Aeaea but from her own perspective.

The main part of each book is the novel itself. In writing these books, we researched the surviving ancient sources. Where a full-length play by one of the ancient Greek masters – such as Aeschylus, Sophocles or Euripides – survived, we have adapted that into a more modern novel, following its plot. This is the case with Electra, Medea and Antigone. Circe, Ariadne and Helen, on the other hand, are more original pieces in which we used information gained from surviving sources to create an engaging narrative and coherent whole. At the end of each book there is a small, more academic – but simply written – section that analyses the characters, the sources and the historical background. The series has now been expanded to include four more women.

Most people know something of Medusa, the feared Gorgon who can turn people to stone at the mere sight of the snakes that grow from her head. Her story is usually told from the perspective of her murderer, Perseus; but few know what many ancient sources tell us. This is a much sadder story, one that sees Medusa in a very different light than that of the evil monster.

Hecuba is also a woman who suffers terribly. She is the last queen of Troy and is famous for her many children, including Hector and Paris. She not only loses her

Chapter I

A young Greek girl might dream of being swept off her feet by one of the great heroes. Perhaps Heracles, fresh from completing one of his labours, would appear and win her through some new feat, this one done entirely with her as the prize in mind. Or someone like Jason might come for her. To win Medea’s hand, he had yoked a pair of fire-breathing bulls and fought off soldiers that sprang from a dragon’s teeth – tasks set by a father jealously guarding his daughter. Like that couple, the girl might wonder dreamily, she would help her beloved, and their love would blossom with their conspiracy. They might choose to forget, however, the ending of the tale of Medea and Jason: these are daydreams, after all. Or like with Helen, all the great princes of the land would gather and compete for her.

Alcestis, princess of Iolcus, was born long before these women became famous. There was no Penelope to admire, no Helen to envy; and

Medea was just about to meet Jason in a faraway land. Still, she had had such dreams and knew that she was lucky to live out one of her own. She was pretty, it is true. Her long brown hair, styled according to the fashion of her city, shone with life, and her deep brown eyes and full lips drew admiration from the local men who courted her, as they had done since she turned 16 some months ago. And more, she was the prettiest of King Pelias’ daughters. But even so, she had no divine blood – so there was no reason why she of all princesses might have that particular youthful dream fulfilled.

Alcestis strode back and forth in her room, her habit since she had been a little girl upon receiving good news. Her cheeks ached from her smile – but still she could not drop it. She alternated between fiddling with the ends of her curly brown hair and scrunching her hands up tight over her belly, rumpling the front of her chiton. Sometimes, her regular stride evolved into a sort of skip, before she reminded herself

that she was a princess and 16 and so entirely too old to be skipping.

So many men had sought her hand that her father had set a challenge: her suitor must yoke wild beasts to a chariot in order to win her in marriage. It was like something from the great stories of heroes and princesses born of gods! When her father had sent Jason off on his quest to bring back the Golden Fleece a few years ago, she had barely dared to dream that a hero might be set a task for her – although she would be lying if she were to say the thought had not crossed her mind. She had watched from the shadows as the beautiful Jason, her cousin and just a handful of years older than her, had swaggered through the palace and in her secret heart wished that he had come for her. As more young men gathered around Jason, it had seemed possible: but then they had set off on their voyage, and nothing had been heard from them since.

She found that her joyous gait was coming dangerously close to being a skip again and

She would soon become a queen of a Greek city. She made a silent promise to herself and the sea and her city laid out in front of her that Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, would not only live up to her new role but exceed at it.

She soundlessly mouthed her oath: ‘Any man that can yoke wild beasts to a chariot will win the noblest of wives.’ She tried to be stern but if anything her smile grew wider.

Who would it be? There were plenty of worthy men to choose from. But she could not lie to herself: she knew who she wanted to win. She had known as soon as he had stepped into the palace. Admetus of Pherae had stood out to her immediately. He was tall and handsome, with strong features, an aquiline nose and a full beard. He had swept into the hall followed by his attendants and commanded every eye: his natural air of authority was magnetic, and on top of that, it was said that the god Apollo had been ordered to serve him as punishment for some crime. The rumours went so far as to sug-