Clytemnestra: The spellbinding retelling of Greek mythology’s greatest heroine

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When we meet Clytemnestra, she is a young princess of Sparta; a hunter and fighter who is close to her family, especially to her sister, Helen, the famed beauty who later flees for Troy. Clytemnestra is one of several narrators of A Thousand Ships (2019) by Natalie Haynes, which retells the Trojan War from the perspective of the women involved.

The Greeks were early masters of stories about betrayal and vengeance, about family feuds and curses, about men who conquered and women who suffered. Today, in the hands of skilled authors, these myths have become juicy fodder for novels that reimagine their maligned, misunderstood and often overlooked female characters, imbuing them with fresh agency and context. In the 1977 film adaptation Iphigenia, Clytemnestra is portrayed by the Greek actress Irene Papas. [10] These tragedies underpin Clytemnestra’s life, but Casati leaves plenty of space for her main character to experience freedom, strength and triumph. In its deft portrayal of the many layers of trauma, and in its offering of a feminist take on revenge, Clytemnestra joins a recent spate of similarly minded artworks, including Emerald Fennell’s film Promising Young Woman and Michaela Coel’s television series I May Destroy You. Casati’s careful consideration of different perspectives allows the reader to sympathize deeply with Clytemnestra. In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra is often remembered for being insane — a wretched woman who, blinded by a need for vengeance, murders her husband. But in Casati’s novel, she is a fiery figure, still fueled by a burning desire for revenge, but never painted as delusional. “Clytemnestra” shows how she is shaped by trauma yet still bravely holds onto power in a time when women were seen as subhuman. Casati’s clear feminist stance makes this retelling fresh despite being based on stories that are thousands of years old.Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, the King and Queen of Sparta, making her a Spartan Princess. According to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, seducing and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs: Castor and Clytemnestra from one egg, and Helen and Polydeuces (Pollux) from the other. Therefore, Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus, whereas Helen and Polydeuces were fathered by Zeus. Her other sisters were Philonoe, Phoebe and Timandra. The American modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham created a two-hour ballet, Clytemnestra (1958), about the queen. Clytemnestra appears as an extremely abusive mother in the play Molora, Yaël Farber's 2007 rewriting of the Oresteia set in post-apartheid South Africa and its Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. [11] For this, she says, they’ll need “ambition, courage, distrust”. If her message is cryptic in that moment, it becomes increasingly clear as the two princesses grow older and face one betrayal after another.

Mendelsohn, Daniel (July 24, 2017). "Novelizing Greek Myth". The New Yorker . Retrieved May 12, 2023. McDonald, Marianne; Winkler, Martin M. (2001). "Michael Cacoyannis and Irene Papas on Greek Tragedy". In Martin M. Winkler (ed.). Classical Myth & Culture in the Cinema. Oxford University Press. pp.72–89. ISBN 978-0-19-513004-1. A passionate picture of a fiercely patriarchal society and her heroine's refusal to be bound by its Clytemnestra appears in numerous works from ancient to modern times, sometimes as a villain and sometimes as a sympathetic antihero. [7] [8] Author and classicist Madeline Miller wrote "[a]fter Medea, Queen Clytemnestra is probably the most notorious woman in Greek mythology". [9] Acceptance or vengeance - infamy follows both. So you bide your time and wait, until you might force the gods' hands and take revenge. Until you rise. For you understood something that the others don't. If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.Clytaemnestra", Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. Vol. VI (ninthed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p.44 . The Trojan War lasted ten years. During this period of Agamemnon's long absence, Clytemnestra began a love affair with Aegisthus, her husband's cousin. Whether Clytemnestra was seduced into the affair or entered into it independently differs according to the version of the myth. A bad wife? Not if you consider the circumstances, argues Casati. In Clytemnestra’s voice, Casati delineates the many just causes for her fury. A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece and told through the eyes of its greatest heroine, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred and love, perfect for fans of ARIADNE and THE SONG OF ACHILLES.