Guest post written by author Costanza Casati
Costanza Casati was born in Texas in 1995, grew up in a village in Northern Italy and lived in the UK for five years. Before moving to London, she attended a classical Liceo in Italy, where she studied Ancient Greek, and Ancient Greek literature, for five years. Costanza is a graduate of the prestigious Warwick Writing MA program, where she earned a distinction, and currently works as a freelance journalist and screenwriter. She is available for interview, guest post, and social media content. Clytemnestra is out May 2nd.
My novel tells the story of one of the most infamous characters from the Greek myth, Clytemnestra, who kills her husband Agamemnon as he comes back from the Trojan War. Viewed as the archetype of the lustful murderess for centuries, this Greek queen was actually a fierce, clever and resolute heroine. Grown up in Sparta, trained in hunting and wrestling, she was born into a powerful family: daughter of the King Tyndareus and Queen Leda, she was the sister of Helen and the cousin of Penelope. After being forced to marry the cruel king Agamemnon, Clytemnestra suffered horrifying losses at the hands of her husband, but rather than giving in to grief and despair, she fought her way to the very end, and finally got her vengeance.
So why do we remember her as nothing more than a murderess? Clytemnestra ruled the city of Mycenae while her husband was away. She found a lover in Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin and sworn enemy, and plotted her revenge for ten years before killing her husband. She is scandalous, powerful, unfaithful: all qualities that make her the embodiment of men’s anxieties about women and power. Which is why, in the countless depictions of her across the centuries she is always she woman who needs to be punished, or else she threatens the patriarchal order.
But Clytemnestra isn’t the only heroine who has been wronged by history. The Greek myth is populated with extraordinary female characters who, throughout the centuries, as these stories are told and retold, become nothing more than footnotes or archetypes. Think about the Cretan princess Ariadne, who helps the hero Theseus escape the labyrinth and kill the Minotaur. Or the huntress Atalanta, who slays two centaurs when they try to rape her, and later joins the Argonauts in their extraordinary quest. Or Antigone, who fights to secure the burial of her beloved brother, even when the ruthless King Creon decrees that he is not to be buried, on the pain of death. There are many courageous, charming and cunning women in the Greek myth and, while their stories have been obscured or, in the case of Clytemnestra, used as cautious tales to show what happens to women who refuse to submit, the recent trend of retellings that casts light on them show readers that myths and stories can exist with men left in the margins too and that women can be as heroic and complex as the men.
Here are some of my favourite Greek retellings that put the women at the centre of their narrative:
Circe by Madeline Miller
‘When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.’
This glorious retelling of the Odyssey follows the perspective of Circe, daughter of the sun. While this heroine appears only briefly in the ancient epic, in Miller’s retelling she is the main character, and it is the hero Odysseus who appears as a side character in her story. Fated to meet with some of the most fascinating characters from the myth, Circe will grow from a strange, bullied child to a powerful witch, always eager to find goodness and love in the humans she meets.
Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
‘Brilliant Achilles, shining Achilles, godlike Achilles … We never called him any of those things. We called him the butcher.’
This retelling of the Iliad focuses on the Trojan women who pay the price of war. Told from the point of view of Brises, once princess of Lyrnessus, now bed-slave to the hero Achilles, the novel explores loss and grief in an intimate, visceral way, moving away from the battlefield, and instead showing the human will to survive.
The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes
‘My siblings and I have grown up in a cursed house, children of cursed parents…’
Natalie Haynes takes one of the most famous families from the myth and explores their downfall from the perspectives of two women: Jocasta––wife of Oedipus––and Ismene, their daughter. Their fate is well-known: Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his own mother, but, in this retelling, Haynes tells the story in way that feels both fresh and true to the sources.
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
‘He loses his wife so he stirs up an army to bring her back to him, costing countless lives and creating countless widows, orphans and slaves. Oenone loses her husband and she raises her son. Which is the more heroic act?”
Another retelling of the Iliad, this one sets out to prove that the lives and sacrifices of the women are as epic as the ones of the men. It recounts the events of the Trojan war from a choral, all-female perspective, each chapter shining light on a different heroine: from goddesses to humans, this is a powerful collection of the glorious acts of women who are left behind.
Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
‘She was my sister, mother, guide and teacher all in one, and just like her, I wanted to fear nothing.’
Saint’s latest novel tells the incredible story of Atalanta, the only female Argonaut. Daughter of the King of Arcadia, she is left exposed on a mountainside and raised by a bear, to then become a protégé of the goddess Artemis. It is novel full of passion and adventure, where many different myths come together in a bright, joyous tapestry.
Ithaca by Claire North
‘Once upon a time, there were three queens in Greece. One was chaste and pure, one a temptress whore, one a murderous hag. This is how the poets sing it.’
This one focuses on Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, as she rules Ithaca while her husband is away. North writes a Penelope that is cunning, patient and faithful, as she is forced to deal with the pressures that threaten to destroy her kingdom … Narrated by the goddess Hera, this take on Penelope’s story is both funny and heart-breaking, and it features a rich cast of characters––from the suitors of Penelope to the maids of Ithaca to my absolute favourite: Clytemnestra.
