Pyrrhus: The son of Achilles, who was instrumental in the sack of Troy. He killed Priam, king of Troy, and in some retellings also Astyanax, Hector’s baby, to prevent him from growing up and exacting vengeance.
Telegonus: The son of Odysseus and Circe, credited as the mythical founder of the cities of Tusculum and Praeneste in Italy.
Telemachus: Odysseus and Penelope’s only child, the prince of Ithaca. In the Odyssey, Homer shows him helping his father plot and enact his vengeance against the suitors besieging their home.
Theseus: Prince of Athens, sent to Crete as part of Athens’ promised tribute of fourteen youths to feed the Minotaur’s savage appetite. Instead, Theseus killed the Minotaur with the princess Ariadne’s help.
Monsters
Charybdis: A powerful whirlpool set on one side of narrow straits, across from the monster Scylla. Ships seeking to avoid Scylla’s teeth were swallowed whole.
Minotaur: Named after Minos, the king of Crete, the Minotaur was actually the child of the queen Pasipha? and a sacred white bull. Daedalus built the Labyrinth to contain the flesh-eating monster, and Minos demanded that Athens send fourteen boys and girls as sacrifices to feed it. One of these was the Athenian prince Theseus, who slew the beast.
Polyphemus: A cyclops (one-eyed giant), and a son of Poseidon. In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his men land upon Polyphemus’ island, enter his cave, and begin eating his stores. When Polyphemus catches them, he traps them in the cave, devouring several of Odysseus’ men. Odysseus tricks the monster with friendly words, giving his name as Outis, No one. He blinds the monster to escape, and as he sails off, he reveals his true name. Polyphemus calls on his father, Poseidon, to punish Odysseus.
Scylla: According to Homer, a ferocious monster with six heads and twelve dangling legs who hid in a cave on one side of narrow straits, across from the whirlpool Charybdis. When boats passed she would dart down, snatch up a sailor in each of her mouths, and devour them. In later depictions she was given the head of a woman, a sea-monster tail, and savage dogs erupting from her belly. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Scylla was originally a nymph who was transformed into a monster.
Sirens: Often depicted with women’s heads and birds’ bodies, the Sirens perched atop craggy rocks, singing. Their voices were so sweet that men would forget their reason when hearing them. In the Odyssey, Circe advises Odysseus to put beeswax in his men’s ears so as to pass safely, and further suggests that he tie himself to the mast with his own ears free, so he may be the first to hear their enchanting song and live.
Acknowledgments
So many people were supportive of this book’s journey that I cannot possibly list them all. I must settle instead for a heartfelt Thank You: to my friends, family, students, readers, and all those who engage passionately with these ancient stories and stop to tell me about it.
Thanks to Dan Burfoot for his time and keen literary insight on an early draft. Huge thanks to Jonah Ramu Cohen for always being enthusiastic about my work, willing to read multiple drafts and to talk storytelling, myths, and feminism.
I continue to be grateful to and inspired by my classics mentors, most especially David Rich, Joseph Pucci, and Michael C. J. Putnam. I am grateful as well to the gracious David Elmer, who let me pick his brain on a few key matters. They all bear no responsibility for my distortions.
Many thanks to Margo Rabb, Adam Rosenblatt, and Amanda Levinson for cheering me on through the writing process, and likewise to Sarah Yardney and Michelle Wofsey Rowe. Much love to my brother, Tull, and his wife, Beverly, for their continued support.
Deepest gratitude to Gatewood West for insight, crucial wisdom, and great warmth that was with me throughout this journey.
I offer eternal devotions to my amazing editor, Lee Boudreaux, for brilliant and patient feedback, for all her faith in my work, and for being generally sublime. Thank you as well to the fabulous team: Pamela Brown, Carina Guiterman, Gregg Kulick, Karen Landry, Carrie Neill, Craig Young, and everyone else at Little, Brown. Very special thanks also to the wonderful Judy Clain and Reagan Arthur for their enthusiasm and support.
I am so grateful as well to the divine Alexandra Pringle, and to the whole Bloomsbury UK family: Ros Ellis, Madeleine Feeny, David Mann, Angelique Tran Van Sang, Amanda Shipp, Rachel Wilkie, and many more.
And, as always, a million thank-yous to Julie Barer, who continues to be Best of All Agents, loving, brilliant, and a fierce advocate for my work, always willing to read another draft, and a great friend to boot. Big thanks to the whole team at The Book Group, especially Nicole Cunningham and Jenny Meyer. And of course to the terrific Caspian Dennis, and Sandy Violette as well.
There are not enough words in the world to adequately express my adoration of and gratitude to Jonathan and Cathy Drake for their love, support, and supreme grandparenting. Thank you! Thanks also to Tina, BJ, and Julia.
Love and hugest appreciation to my lovely stepfather, Gordon, and to my mother, Madeline, who introduced the classics to me, read to me every day of my childhood, and supported this book getting written in ways large and small, not least by being my first example of dux femina facti.
Much love to the radiant and potent V. and F., whose magic transformed my life, and who were patient with me disappearing for hours at a time. Finally, unending thanks and love to Nathaniel, my sine quo non, who was there for every page.