Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes
I’ve become a fan of Natalie Haynes, self-professed nerd and at least somewhat successful stand up classicist. (Definitely do check out her BBC shows.)
Pandora’s Jar is a collection of essays about prominent women (or at least female characters) from ancient Greek stories. Stories change over time, reflecting the times and the tellers. And the characters change as well.
Haynes’ goal here is to recover what has been lost or obscured over the years. Shockingly enough, the portrayal of women in these stories has changed over the millennia. Mostly, they have disappeared or been turned into villains or monsters. And, of course, they have been transformed over and over again, in order to fit the anxieties and expectations of the tellers.
Haynes is here to set the record straight. Or rather, to tell the whole “difficult, messy, murderous” story. “[these stories and these women] aren’t simple, because nothing interesting is simple.” (p. 288)
These essays cover material that appeared in recent seasons Stand Up for the Classics on BBC4. So, we Haynes-ians already know that Pandora didn’t have a box until a 16th century typo (she had a jar). We know that the Amazons were super cool (and Haynes would definitely, for sure, absolutely choose to be an Amazon in a heartbeat). We know about Helen of Sparta’s many different incarnations. Etc.
And for readers of Thousand Ships, we already know that Penelope and Odysseus are the two people from mythology we’d most like to have over for dinner.
This is stuff I didn’t need to know. But Sensei Haynes does such a good job that it was interesting and I learned stuff, even though I didn’t need to. : – ) Well done.
I should note that these essays have considerably more detail than fits in a radio show. So, yeah, get the book even if you heard the show. (And listen to the show even if you read the book.)
- Natalie Haynes, Pandora’s Jar: Women in Greek Myths, New York, Harper, 2020.
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