Natalie Haynes

We meet Athene, who sprang fully formed from her father’s head: goddess of war and wisdom, guardian of Athens. We run with Artemis, goddess of hunting and protector of young girls (apart from those she decides she wants as a sacrifice). Here is Aphrodite, goddess of sex and desire – there is no deity more determined and able to make you miserable if you annoy her. And then there’s the queen of all the Olympian gods: Hera, Zeus’s long-suffering wife, whose jealousy of his dalliances with mortals, nymphs and goddesses lead her to wreak elaborate, vicious revenge on those who have wronged her. 

We also meet Demeter, goddess of agriculture and mother of the kidnapped Persephone, we sing the immortal song of the Muses and we warm ourselves with Hestia, goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire. The Furies carry flames of another kind – black fires of vengeance for those who incur their wrath. 

These goddesses are as mighty, revered and destructive as their male counterparts. Isn’t it time we looked beyond the columns of a ruined temple to the awesome power within? 

Natalie Haynes is a writer, broadcaster and comedian and is the author of novels The Amber Fury, The Children of Jocasta, A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind; and non-fiction titles The Ancient Guide to Modern Life and Pandora’s Jar. She has written and presented eight series of the BBC Radio 4 show Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. 

With wit, imagination and style, Natalie Haynes is breathing life and meaning into the Greek Myths bringing Classics to a wider audience.