Pandora's Jar

Natalie Haynes re-examines the stories of ten mythical women—Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, the Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea, and Penelope—revealing alternative versions that dismantle stereotypes of them as villains, monsters, or passive figures.

She traces how myths have evolved through retellings, often shaped by male narrators, and argues for nuanced views, such as Medusa as a victim punished for rape or Pandora with a jar rather than a box.