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Arcadian Days: Gods, Women, and Men from Greek Myths ★★★ | Book thirty-five of 2023 | e-book

John Spurling has crafted a lyrical retelling of some well-known Greek myths, weaving these seemingly disparate stories together with subtle themes. The most prominent common factor throughout this collection of retellings is each features a prominent woman or female deity at the heart of the story. Where his first book, Arcadian Nights, centres around four figures based in the Peloponnese, his new book Arcadian Days features five of the best-known myths from all around Greece. These stories are Prometheus and Pandora, Jason and Medea, Oedipus and Antigone, Achilles and Thetis, and Odysseus and Penelope. Entwined through these overarching stories are smaller myths and other strong women, such as Atalanta, as featured with Jason and the Argonauts, and Penthesilea, the Amazon warrior who goes head to head with the great Achilles.

But if it is difficult for us sometimes to understand the motives of these gods, they themselves often seem unable to interpret the feelings of mortals (170).

This collection of myths draws upon the ancient Greek texts by Homer, Hesiod, and the three tragedians – Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides – while also incorporating Spurling's own voice to fill in gaps and weave a complete story. Arcadian Days has been written for the general public and would be a great starting point for anyone looking to read a new, accessible retelling of some of the most famous Greek myths. The author (as all have to when retelling myths) makes some specific translation decisions that strike me as something of a personal preference, and his clear choice for Achilles and Patroclus to be depicted as just close friends was an interesting decision amidst the fairly popular view that the relationship between these two warriors transcends simple friendship. Personally, some of the decisions Spurling makes with some of these stories and characters don’t feel like they are up to date with modern views and ideas. There were parts that made me think, ‘hmm, interesting decision.’ Of course, retellings are at the prerogative of the author, and what one person (me) may not love, may be someone else’s perfect cup of tea. That being said, it was still well-written and very engaging.

As the stories progress, Spurling often makes comments on the goings-on and offers potential explanations for decisions made by the players in the tale. It feels as though the omniscient author is speaking right to you, which makes the book feel more personal. This commentary seems to answer questions the reader may be thinking and makes fascinating contemplation over the role of the gods. Each myth is written in slightly different styles, with the retelling of Odysseus' journey in the last section written as Odysseus telling his own story to the reader. This helps differentiate the different tales, whilst also capturing the reader in different ways. The stories also explore what it means to be mortal, particularly with his quote in relation to the new armour created by Hephaestus for Achilles, requested by his mother Thetis:

Yes, it was also made to be a shield. And, with all these layers of metal, a real shield to be carried into battle so as to ward off spears and be battered by rocks and the strokes of swords. To submit to time and mortality, like its owner' (164).

Thank you to Pegasus Books for providing a PDF copy of Arcadian Days for review.

★★★☆☆ I enjoyed this one, but also had a few issues with it… Trigger warning - mention of hanging and r*pe.

What’s the book about?

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood is a retelling of the life of Penelope, and the fate of the 12 maids from The Odyssey. In this contemporary tale, Atwood delves into the question of why were the twelve maids hanged and what led up to their fate? The story is told primarily from the perspective of Penelope, dead in the underworld, retelling her life on earth with interjecting sections from the point of view of the maids. These interjecting sections are told in a number of different forms including poetry, a trial, a play and a love song. Penelope’s tale takes us from her birth, childhood and marriage to Odysseus, through her 20 lonely years to her life after Odysseus returned and her afterlife. Atwood has filled in the gaps with how she believes Penelope may have been acting and what she may have been feeling throughout her life, and while using the maids as a sort of tragic chorus, commentating on their lives, Penelope and their hanging.

My Thoughts about the book

Like I said at the beginning, I definitely enjoyed reading this, but there were a couple of things that caused the loss of two stars in my rating. In its essence, this is The Odyssey retold from the point of view of Penelope, and the twelve maids who were hanged in the tale. I had really high hopes for this book but I was slightly underwhelmed. I think I am partially to be blamed for this because there really isn’t that much to work with from Penelope’s point of view from ancient texts, with her letter in Ovid’s Heroides as the only one that comes to mind. What we get is a retelling of the tale of the Odyssey from Penelope who is dead, and she isn’t as much of a subservient wife as she was on earth.

She aims much of her criticism at Odysseus, Telemachus and Helen. While I think that Odysseus and Telemachus deserve the way Penelope described them (especially Telemachus who is rude and disrespectful), for a feminist retelling, I was incredibly surprised with the depiction of Helen. Penelope did not hold back with her scathing remarks about her vain, attention-loving, husband deserting cousin, and I found it truly unbelievable in a contemporary retelling. That is the kind of stance on Helen that I am used to reading in myths from antiquity, because as a woman in the 21st century reading The Odyssey and any other myth relating to the abduction of Helen by Paris of Troy, I firmly believe she was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. So, we have Penelope reminiscing on her life, with Atwood making some speculations about how she may have reacted in some situations which felt a bit forced and unbelievable. But overall, I liked Atwood’s attempt at reconstructing how Penelope may have lived without her husband for 20 years.

However, this wasn't purely focussed on Penelope and her newfound boldness in death, but also on the fate of the twelve maids who were hung in book 22 of The Odyssey. I really loved many of the sections from the point of view of the maids, they were poignant and gut-wrenching, and the use of different forms like poetry and play format added to the tragedy. I also loved the idea of the maids being like the chorus of a Greek tragedy, adding in their commentary. It added an extra dynamic to what would have been a fairly dull and speculative story. The hanging of the twelve maids in The Odyssey often comes as a bit of a shock, and prior to their deaths, they are made to clean up the carnage left after Odysseus had killed all of the suitors that were eating him out of house and home. The women were killed because they had betrayed Odysseus by sleeping with the suitors without his permission (their master who had been gone for 20 years). Atwood makes it explicit that it was r*pe, and these women had absolutely no choice in the matter (but apparently Helen did???), and continuously questions the reason for their deaths. They haunt Odysseus. He deserves to be haunted.

Many times whilst I was reading this, I noted that it felt like a modern commentary of the ancient story which was supported by Atwood’s use of modern language and having Penelope dead, in the present. She makes many comments about modern physics and spirits using telephone wires to travel and things like this which were quite jarring. I liked that Atwood highlighted the evolving beliefs and rituals attributed to the afterlife, which could also be said about the view of women in general, but I felt she took it a bit too far that it felt disconnected from the overall story. So, as you can see, I have conflicting thoughts over this, but overall it is an interesting take on The Odyssey, from the point of view of Penelope and the twelve maids. Have you read this? I would love to hear your thoughts either in the comments or over on my Instagram @kell_read!