For Leonteus, bastard son of the former king of Argos, being the hegemon of his half-brother King Diomedes’ bodyguard is what he has trained for his entire life. But the stability of the land of the Achaeans is suddenly rent in two by the abduction of King Menelaus’s queen, Helen, by a prince of Troy. […]
The real women who made the Greek myths
What can history tell us about the lives of women at the time of the Trojan War? Emily Hauser’s new book examines how recent advances in archaeology and science reveal a surprising amount about the real women who made the Greek myths. ‘Myth’. The very word in English appears to mean something that’s not true […]
Helen’s Judgment by Susan C Wilson
She’s the most scapegoated heroine in Greek mythology, but there’s never just one side to any story. This new framing uncovers the complexities of Helen of Troy — a woman tormented by the blame placed on her by others, and tortured by her own guilt. “We all blamed Helen.” Facing hostility from all sides, Helen […]
Shame and the Ancient Greek hero
Sulky, brutal Achilles; vain, passive Helen. Have we misjudged these characters from the stories of the Trojan War? Susan C Wilson, author of Helen’s Judgement, argues that we need to go back to the Iliad to understand them, and appreciate the importance of the concept of shame, which drove the Ancient Greek heroes and heroines. […]
Beware of Greeks: when Homer meets Holmes
Peter Tonkin, author of many adventure and murder mystery books, takes his skills to another age: mythical Ancient Greece. Homer’s epic tales of Odysseus and the Trojan war have been favourite holiday reading for many years. What, he wonders, would happen if he took Sherlock Holmes and dropped him into the Mycenaean Bronze Age? July […]
Beware of Greeks by Peter Tonkin
Greece, circa 1190 BCE. The Greek world is in turmoil as Agamemnon prepares for war against Troy. His friends and allies scour the cities and islands, demanding that lesser kings supply armies to join him in his approaching conflict but all too many fear a lengthy campaign will destroy their countries and cost them their […]
The triumph of Greek myths and the destruction of a civilisation
With the recent publication of several acclaimed novels based on Greek myths, author Hilary Green wonders whether the time is right to look again at the history behind the ancient stories – and maybe for a novel based on the archaeological record. As someone who cut her teeth on the novels of Mary Renault, I […]
Women of the Trojan War
The Trojan War, as told in Homer’s Iliad, is perhaps one of the most famous tales to come down to us from antiquity. We are all familiar with the story of the capture of the beautiful Helen by the Trojan prince Paris, and the ten-year war that ensued to get her back. We know the […]