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

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

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

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If I have one complaint about Daughters of Sparta, it’s that it feels a bit too short. We are, after all, dealing with two of the most (in)famous women of ancient myth, one known for committing the heinous act of murdering her husband in his own house, the other known throughout history as a woman who ran away from her rightful husband and launched a devastating war. There are several time jumps that leap over some important developments—particularly the relationships between Klytemnestra and Aigisthos and between Helen, Paris, and the rest of the residents of Troy. 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. Brilliantly compelling . . . the perfect balance between historical authenticity and characters who I really connected with

Claire Heywood masterfully reimagines their lives as princesses of Sparta—first as pawns in the plots and games of men, and then as powerhouses capable of standing on their own and commanding whole kingdoms. Daughters of Sparta is a fantastic rewriting of an age-old tale.” — Bitch Magazine 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.

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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. 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): Ancient myths take on new life and humanity in Daughters of Sparta, Claire Heywood’s moving debut….Fans of Circe by Madeline Miller and the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer Bradley will be enthralled.” —Shelf Awareness, STARRED review

And I understand your upset about the quote at the beginning, wholeheartedly. I think that it was a careless choice, especially because, as you say, she doesn’t include any explanation for it in her author’s note. I think it was done without a lot of reflection, unfortunately.

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— This novel and I got off on the wrong foot with the epigraph, before the story even had a chance to properly begin. Heywood includes a quote from the Odyssey: “For there is nothing in this world so cruel and so shameless as a woman when she has fallen into such guilt as hers was […]/[…] her abominable crime has brought disgrace on herself and all women who shall come after—even on the good ones.”



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