But before the war even started Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphegenia for fair winds, an act that set his wife against him. Later, Paris of Troy takes Helen away, precipitating the ten year war between Greece and Troy that told in Homer’s Illiad. The story starts with the marriage of Clytemnestra’s impossibly beautiful sister Helen to Agamemnon’s brother Menelaus, a union that allows the brothers to take back their kingdom from their uncle. Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, Cassandra, sister of Paris and Elektra, one of the daughters of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. Saint tells her story from the perspective of three women. In Elektra, Saint goes all in, tackling probably the best known and most retold of Greek myths – the siege of Troy, from its lead up to its just a bloody aftermath. While the start of that tale is well known much of the book focussed on stories that are slightly less in the public consciousness. Saint’s first book Ariadne, began with the story of Theseus and the Minotaur but told the tale from the perspective of Ariadne and her sister. From established authors like Colm Tóibín, Pat Barker and Mark Haddon to newer authors like Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint. The last few years in particular have seen a number of authors tackling and re-imagining Greek mythology. The Greek myths continue to fascinate and challenge both writers and readers.
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