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Mythica

A New History of Homer’s World, Through the Women Written Out of It

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Mythica

By: Emily Hauser
Narrated by: Emily Hauser
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Did you love Madeline Miller’s Circe? Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls? Jennifer Saint's Elektra? Natalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships?

But did you ever wonder who the real women behind the myths of the Trojan War were?

Now award-winning classicist and ancient historian Emily Hauser takes listeners on an epic journey to uncover the astonishing true story of the real women behind ancient Greece’s greatest legends – and the real heroes of those ancient epics, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

Because, contrary to perceptions built up over three millennia, ancient history is not all about men – and it's not only men's stories that deserve to be told . . .

In Mythica Emily Hauser tells, for the first time, the extraordinary stories of the real women behind some of the western world’s greatest legends. Following in their footsteps, digging into the history behind Homer’s epic poems, piecing together evidence from the original texts, recent astonishing archaeological finds and the latest DNA studies, she reveals who these women – queens, mothers, warriors, slaves – were, how they lived, and how history has (or has not – until now) remembered them.

A riveting new history of the Bronze Age Aegean and a journey through Homer’s epics charted entirely by women – from Helen of Troy, Briseis, Cassandra and Aphrodite to Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso and Penelope – Mythica is a ground-breaking reassessment of the reality behind the often-mythologized women of Greece’s greatest epics, and of the ancient world itself as we learn ever more about it.

©2025 Emily Hauser (P)2025 Penguin Audio Ancient Customs & Traditions Europe Greece Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences Women Ancient History Ancient Greece Greek Mythology

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Critic reviews

A bold and intellectually-thrilling book, blending history and science, rigorous scholarship and dazzling feats of imagination. (TOM HOLLAND, bestselling historian and co-host of The Rest is History podcast)
This book is one of the most thought provoking I have read in a very long time . . . it absolutely blew me away. It is such a rich, evocative and original work . . . it's just breathtaking . . . If you are interested in the ancient world I truly cannot recommend Mythica highly enough. I would go so far as to say you HAVE to read it - this book is quite wonderful. (ELODIE HARPER, bestselling author of The Wolf Den)
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, Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge and author of Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World)
A fascinating and empowering exploration of women in mythology. Hauser guides us on an epic journey through the Homeric world, drawing on her expert knowledge to challenge the male-dominated voices of the past and reclaim women’s rightful place in history. (ROSIE HEWLETT, bestselling author of Medea)
A masterpiece. Emily Hauser . . . awakens in us a sense of wonder as these mythologized women come to life in stories that are woven into the fabric of Homeric poetry . . . shows us Homer in a new light: in a world inhabited by women uneclipsed by men. (GREGORY NAGY, Professor of Classics at Harvard University)
A dazzling and compassionate achievement. Emily Hauser’s book . . . uses archaeology old and new to throw brilliant light on the world of Homer. Impressively researched and beautifully written, this account is dense but never dry, and full of astonishing revelations. Hauser has woven a vibrant tapestry of colour, scent, sound and texture: the best kind of scholarship. It deserves a place on every school and university bookshelf as well as in the home of anyone who loves mythology. (CAROLINE LAWRENCE, author of The Roman Mysteries)
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, weaving together literature, art, archaeology, history, and imagination. Hauser uses her gifts as both a scholar and a novelist to bring the past to life and reanimate both ancient and interior landscapes. In the silent negative space between the heroes' journeys, she uncovers and gives voice to the real and mythic women of antiquity and many twentieth-century female scholars whose tireless work has often been forgotten. (DONNA ZUCKERBERG, author of Not All Dead White Men)

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