Daughters of Sparta: A tale of secrets, betrayal and revenge from mythology's most vilified women

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Content Warnings: Fantasy violence throughout (some graphic); torture with a branding iron; some kissing; at least 1 use of the s-word.* In the interest of keeping this review shorter than the book, I will mention one last disconnect of significance: the pervasiveness of individualistic thinking that feels out of step with the ancient Greek world. Helen, who Heywood seems to have chosen to represent women who do not want to have children, mopes that she wishes for a husband who “might want her for herself alone, and not for the children she could give him.” This statement reflects an “individual in/vs. society” kind of thinking that feels more Western European post-Enlightenment than ancient Greek. It’s hard to imagine ancient people thinking of themselves in such individualistic terms. Male heirs had a practical purpose that Heywood seems aware of via Klytemnestra’s narrative: to project strength to potential enemies pondering violence against a community. This is not to say that ancient women might not want something other than to be wives and mothers or that every woman would want to have children, but to think of themselves as distinct from the communities they belonged to and exempt from implicit threats…this feels very modern. Helen wanting a different role within her community or wanting more roles to exist within the community would have made more sense than for her to be thinking about her individual relationship with her husband separate from its consequences on her community. As it is the presented, the quote seems to express the view of “Homer” in “the Odyssey.” But the quote is so decontextualized and chopped up as to be denuded of its meaning. If you’ve read the Odyssey, you might recall that the above words appear in book eleven as part of a speech by Agamemnon delivered post-mortem, from Hades, as he explains to Odysseus how he died. There is more going on in this (comparatively) brief quote than I can account for here, but a few noteworthy points as they relate to Daughters of Sparta are as follows. First, obviously, the translations themselves are quite different: Through both the translation and Heywood’s extraction of it from its context, much of the nuance has been stripped out of the source text that has come down to us from antiquity, as evident in “good ones” (meaning women) vs. women “whose acts are virtuous.” It may not seem important, but the latter differentiates between women sum total being bad and bad acts that some women may perform. One thing this may reflect is the recognition of coexisting dualities, especially in Homer but also evident across ancient Greek thought. A particular quality, cunning for example, could be deployed for good or bad ends. Cunning itself is not necessarily inherently either good or bad but can become so through its application. Alternately, rather than morally neutral qualities, the modern Western mind especially (though not exclusively) tends to bifurcate, creating discrete categories for good and bad and then assigning qualities accordingly (honesty and cunning respectively, for example).

Not that that is always true. There are lots of awesome men in Greek mythology and legend, of course, as there have been throughout history and are today. It just made me laugh though. People are people, when it comes right down to it and as you say. All this is to say, Agamemnon’s claims about women in the speech Heywood pulls from are not coming from a reliable narrator. Odysseus’ response to Agamemnon is revelatory. He notes that the “schemes of women” are vehicles through which Zeus’ will is accomplished. If Agamemnon is not to blame for his bad acts because they were willed by the gods (as he claims in the Iliad), then why should he blame Klytemnestra for her bad acts? Would not they, too, be the will of the gods? Again, those who know Trojan war myth will know that the Trojan and Theban wars were, according to Hesiod, how Zeus chose to bring the Age of Heroes to an end. In this context, could Agamemnon blaming not only Klytemnestra but all women be seen as somewhat impious, a denial of how the gods work their will through humans? Agamemnon has also been known to compare himself to Zeus ( Iliad 19.95), and his ancestors’ impiety has caused the entire family line to be cursed (as alluded by Odysseus). Lccn 2020047756 Ocr tesseract 5.2.0-1-gc42a Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9889 Ocr_module_version 0.0.18 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-1200527 Openlibrary_edition

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Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth—not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting!” — Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist Brilliantly compelling . . . the perfect balance between historical authenticity and characters who I really connected with Here is Agamemnon’s full reply (Richmond Lattimore’s translation, underlines are mine to correspond with what Heywood extracts from, if I’m not mistaken, Emily Wilson’s translation): The writing style here was also entertaining. With a personal and up close perspective from Daphne, we go through the journey with her. We get her thoughts and emotions, and I love that as the story progresses, we get to dive into her what kind of person she is. I adored Daphne as a main character. She doesn’t want to be a pawn in the gods’ game, but for her family she would risk it. She also has confidence like a storm within her and I love that. I’m always up for a juicy retelling of classical myth, and this seems to be something of a golden age for the genre, with the Trojan War occupying pride of place. In just the last decade alone we’ve had numerous reinterpretations of that pivotal conflict of ancient myth, ranging from Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles to Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls (and its sequel The Women of Troy ) to Natalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships and, most recently, Claire Heywood’s Daughters of Sparta.

As princesses of Sparta, Helen and Klytemnestra have known nothing but luxury and plenty. With their high birth and unrivaled beauty, they are the envy of all of Greece. But such privilege comes at a cost. While still only girls, the sisters are separated and married to foreign kings of their father’s choosing—the powerful Agamemnon, and his brother Menelaos. Yet even as Queens, each is only expected to do two things: birth an heir and embody the meek, demure nature that is expected of women. Required reading for fans of Circe . . . a remarkable, thrilling debut‘– Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth AvenuePerfect for readers of Circe and Ariadne, Daughters of Sparta is a vivid and illuminating retelling of the Siege of Troy that tells the story of mythology's most vilified women from their own mouths at long last. Overall, Daughter of Sparta is a solid read that will take you to a heart-pounding journey along with your favourite classic Greek myths. Such privilege comes at a high price, though, and their destinies are not theirs to command. While still only girls they are separated and married off to legendary foreign kings Agamemnon and Menelaus, never to meet again. Their duty is now to give birth to the heirs society demands and be the meek, submissive queens their men expect. Seventeen-year-old Daphne has spent her entire life honing her body and mind into that of a warrior, hoping to be accepted by the unyielding people of ancient Sparta. But an unexpected encounter with the goddess Artemis—who holds Daphne’s brother’s fate in her hands—upends the life she’s worked so hard to build. Nine mysterious items have been stolen from Mount Olympus and if Daphne cannot find them, the gods’ waning powers will fade away, the mortal world will descend into chaos, and her brother’s life will be forfeit. Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth - not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting!' - Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist

By the end, there are several questions left unanswered. There’s one question in particular that I really would’ve liked to know the answer to by the end of book one, but I suppose it’s going to have to wait until book two. I very much enjoyed the fact that Heywood chose to split the focus of the novel between the two sisters. While both Klytemnestra and Helen are, of course, famous individually, I daresay that relatively few people recognize that they were, in fact, siblings. In bringing them both into the frame as part of the same story, Heywood allows us to see how firmly intertwined their fates were from the beginning and how much they remained so throughout their lives. After all, were it not for Helen’s decision to abscond with Paris for Troy, Kyltemnestra wouldn’t have lost her daughter and wouldn’t have been driven to The romance does NOT take center stage in this book. This is not a romance book. The romance is there, but I think I was really expecting more of it. But there are definitely a few romantic moments sprinkled throughout, and I did enjoy the banter when it was there! I’m hoping there will be more in the sequel. Personally, I think it’s really interesting to think about needs and possibilities and how the ancients navigated those, both well and badly. I can appreciate the desire to tell stories that empower modern feminists, but then what is the reason to tell a story from a past and culture that the author does not want to take the time to understand in a nuanced way? And to be honest, there’s a lot more I could say, where she imposes a lot of attitudes that are clearly about modern not ancient life. There is so much cringe. I think if you’re going to enter a culture that is not your own, you have to be willing to see beyond your own resentments and anger and have the willingness and ability to see nuance and respect things that are different from you.If you love epic books about Greek mythology and the often misunderstood or misinterpreted women within these tales, Daughters of Sparta should be right at the top of your reading list. It's a vividly written and compelling retelling that brings the Spartan princesses to life with all the human fortitude and foibles you'd expect from flesh and blood people. I'm already impatiently awaiting the reveal of the next set of female perspectives from the ancient world that Claire Heywood will be writing about in her second novel.

Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth - not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting! The cover of Daughters of Sparta advertises: “Two sisters parted. Two women blamed. Two stories reclaimed.” It’s probably fairly obvious at this point how I feel about the trope of contemporary women declaring that they are “reclaiming” ancient Greek women’s stories. Obviously, fiction writers can retell myths any way they choose. Personally, I wish they would not promote these retellings as some sort of reclamation project. I wish we would stop erasing ancient women so that we can claim to have discovered them. The reason we know about their stories is because they were told in antiquity, sometimes in more sensitive and nuanced ways than they are told today. Daphne is the main heroine of this story. I liked Daphne’s spirit and loyalty to her family and country. She is tasked with finding nine items that were stolen from Olympus. If she fails, the powers of the gods will disappear, and the mortal world would be thrown into chaos! She never gives up and perseveres even when the road gets tough.But there is a good amount of action in this book, and I certainly enjoyed the excitement of those scenes! Perfect for readers of Circe and Ariadne, Daughters of Sparta is a vivid and illuminating retelling of the Siege of Troy that tells the story of mythology’s most vilified women from their own mouths at long last. Similarly, the East/West divide that Heywood seems to take for granted appears to have been murkier than she seems to assume. The ancient Greek world was not just on the European landmass, meaning I don’t know that all Greek speakers would have seen themselves or been seen as “western” (as is still true today of some Greeks). The highly fractured and antagonistic city-states within the ancient Greek-speaking world did not always side with each other in conflicts with non-Greek-speaking empires. Rivalries and antagonism surely existed, among Greek speakers and between Greek and non-Greek speakers, but ancient people did not have the same beliefs and biases as do modern nations, though they would surely have had their own. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-12-12 15:09:59 Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA40793905 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier The story of the Siege of Troy from the infamous Helen and her sister Klytemnestra's points of view - a tale of secrets, passion and revenge from the women behind mythology's most devastating war.