Penelope's Bones - by Emily Hauser

About the Book

"Three millennia ago, in an ancient Greece where men spoke and women were silenced, some of the world's first epics were born: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. But these are not just tales about heroic men. There are scores of women as well-complex, fascinating women whose presence is pivotal to the stories. Essential reading for anyone who loves the novels of Madeline Miller, Pat Barker, or Natalie Haynes, this riveting new history reveals the real women of the Bronze Age Aegean, offering a groundbreaking reassessment of women in the ancient world. Following in the footsteps of Helen, Briseis, Cassandra, Aphrodite, Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso, and Penelope, award-winning classicist and ancient historian Emily Hauser pieces together compelling evidence from the original texts and archaeological excavations. Readers will learn about era-defining discoveries such as the excavation of Troy and the deciphering of Linear B tablets, as well as more recent finds such as the tomb of the Griffin Warrior at Pylos, whose grave goods inspire reconsideration of traditional gender attributes; DNA evidence showing that groups of Thracian warriors buried with their weapons and steeds were in fact female fighters; a prehistoric dye workshop on Crete that casts fresh light on "women's work" of dyeing, spinning, and weaving textiles; and a superbly preserved shipwreck off the coast of Turkey whose contents tell of the economic and diplomatic networks crisscrossing the Bronze Age Mediterranean"--

Book Synopsis

Weaving together literary and archaeological evidence, Emily Hauser illuminates the rich, intriguing lives of the real women behind Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

Achilles. Agamemnon. Odysseus. Hector. The lives of these and many other men in the greatest epics of ancient Greece have been pored over endlessly in the past three millennia. But these are not just tales about heroic men. There are scores of women as well--complex, fascinating women whose stories have gone unexplored for far too long.

In Penelope's Bones, award-winning classicist and historian Emily Hauser pieces together compelling evidence from archaeological excavations and scientific discoveries to unearth the richly textured lives of women in Bronze Age Greece--the era of Homer's heroes. Here, for the first time, we come to understand the everyday lives and experiences of the real women who stand behind the legends of Helen, Briseis, Cassandra, Aphrodite, Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso, Penelope, and more. In this captivating journey through Homer's world, Hauser explains era-defining discoveries, such as the excavation of Troy and the decipherment of Linear B tablets that reveal thousands of captive women and their children; more recent finds like the tomb of the Griffin Warrior at Pylos, whose tomb contents challenge traditional gender attributes; DNA evidence showing that groups of warriors buried near the Black Sea with their weapons and steeds were, in fact, Amazon-like female fighters; a prehistoric dye workshop on Crete that casts fresh light on "women's work" of dyeing, spinning, and weaving textiles; and a superbly preserved shipwreck off the coast of Turkey whose contents tell of the economic and diplomatic networks crisscrossing the Bronze Age Mediterranean.

Essential reading for fans of Madeline Miller or Natalie Haynes, this riveting new history brings to life the women of the Bronze Age Aegean as never before, offering a groundbreaking reassessment of the ancient world.

Review Quotes

"Like the song of the Sirens, Penelope's Bones tugs powerfully at its readers, an echoing summons from beyond the horizon. Hauser merges flawless aesthetic intuition about the Homeric epics with a superb command of scientific approaches to Bronze Age history from linguistics, genetics, cell biology, biophysics, and elsewhere."-- "Washington Independent Review of Books"

"A riveting narrative of the female figures of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey . . . A close study of the epic poems, a meditation on the lives of women then and now, an engaging history of scholarship, and an overview of the archaeology of the Bronze Age Aegean and beyond. Written with a novelist's flair, Penelope's Bones, with its linked chapters, makes for a surprising page-turner."-- "Wall Street Journal"

"A book the world has been waiting for. Reveals the brilliant foundation for the reality of the myths that make all of us . . . I loved it."-- "Bettany Hughes"

"Scholarly and witty, curious and lyrical, Penelope's Bones offers a dazzling new way of thinking about the ancient world. Blending archaeology, literary criticism and historical detective work, Hauser shows us how to read against the grain of Homer's epic poems to uncover the female experience of life in the Bronze Age. Penelope's Bones is a wonderful, beautifully written and important book." -- "Dan Jones, NYT bestselling author"

"A bold and intellectually-thrilling book, blending history and science, rigorous scholarship, and dazzling feats of imagination."-- "Tom Holland, author of Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age"

"A dazzling and compassionate achievement that throws brilliant light on the world of Homer. Impressively researched and beautifully written, this book is full of astonishing revelations."-- "Caroline Lawrence, author of the Roman Mysteries series"

"The rare book that will not only deepen your understanding of Homer, but open your mind to an entirely new, richer way of reading ancient epic."-- "Donna Zuckerberg, author of Not All Dead White Men"

"A brilliant riposte to a millennia-old dilemma. Fascinating, enthralling, and insightful--Penelope's Bones helps to recolor the world of epic for us for good!"-- "Michael Scott, author of X Marks the Spot: The Story of Archaeology in Eight Extraordinary Discoveries"

"From the shadowy recesses of myth and epic poetry, step forth a host of women who once lived. A stirring, enlightening and fascinating exploration of the real lives of women written with expert knowledge, wit, and poetic flair. A true pleasure for the reader to lose themselves in."-- "Jennifer Saint, author of Elektra"

"If you are interested in the ancient world, I truly cannot recommend Penelope's Bones highly enough. Just breathtaking--you HAVE to read it."-- "Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den"

"Someone once wrote that the world of Homer is immortal precisely because it never existed, except in the poetic imagination--a thought that award-winning classicist and novelist Hauser exploits and explores brilliantly in her eighteen character-sketches of ancient females both divine and human."-- "Paul Cartledge, author of The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece"

"Vividly brings the women of the Bronze Age to life, with a winning combination of sparkling, energetic writing and meticulous research into the archaeology of the time."-- "Tim Whitmarsh, author of Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World"

"A masterpiece. Bringing together her stellar expertise and exquisitely artful prose style, her brilliant interpretation of these tales is destined to enthrall the expert and the general reader alike. Hauser shows us Homer in a new light: in a world inhabited by women uneclipsed by men."-- "Gregory Nagy, Harvard University"

"A timely reminder of how much has been left out of traditional myth and storytelling. Hauser deftly plumbs the depths of Greek myth to re-center the lives of mythical women."-- "Joel Christensen, author of Storylife: On Epic, Narrative, and Living Things"

About the Author

Emily Hauser is a senior lecturer in classics and ancient history at the University of Exeter, UK. She is the author of three novels reimagining the women of Greek myth: For the Most Beautiful, For the Winner, and For the Immortal. She is also the author, most recently, of How Women Became Poets.