Penelope's Bones: A New History of Homer's World Through the Women Written Out of It

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Emily Hauser

Penelope's Bones

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

Emily Hauser

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Hardback

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English

University of Chicago Press
13 June 2025

Poetry; Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; History; European history; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Gender studies: women

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.

By: Emily Hauser
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780226839684
ISBN 10: 0226839680
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 13 June 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

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.

Reviews for Penelope's Bones: A New History of Homer's World Through the Women Written Out of It

""A brilliant riposte to a millennia-old dilemma. Fascinating, enthralling and insightful--and 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"" ""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"" ""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""