Archive · 15 Dec 2025
Queer and Feminist Retellings of Greek Myths
Two authors, Natalie Haynes and Zoe Terakes, are writing new versions of old Greek myths.
Haynes' book, No Friend to This House, tells the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece from the perspectives of women and minor characters, showing how their lives were affected.
Terakes' book, Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers, retells five ancient tales with a focus on queer identities and experiences.
Both authors aim to challenge traditional views of these myths, highlighting the stories of those who have been ignored or misrepresented.
Their books are part of a larger trend of reimagining classical stories with modern, inclusive perspectives.
Natalie Haynes' No Friend to This House retells the Jason and the Golden Fleece myth from the perspectives of women and minor characters.
Zoe Terakes' Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers reimagines five ancient tales with a focus on queer identities and experiences.
Both authors challenge traditional, patriarchal, and heterosexual assumptions in classical myths.
Haynes uses a multi-voiced structure to give voice to those sidelined by ancient sources, including goddesses, naiads, and nymphs.
Terakes' stories are intensely embodied, capturing the erotic and emotional lives of the characters, and include commentary on the migrant experience and Australian racism.
- Who
- Natalie Haynes and Zoe Terakes
- What
- Retellings of Greek myths with queer and feminist perspectives
- When
- Present day, with historical and contemporary settings in the stories
- Where
- Ancient Greece and modern Australia
- Why
- To challenge patriarchal and heterosexual assumptions in classical myths
- Authors
- Natalie Haynes, Zoe Terakes
- Books
- No Friend to This House, Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers
- Key Themes
- Queer desire, feminist fury, myth retellings
- Publication Details
- Mantle, Hachette
- Scholarly Focus
- Classical fiction and nonfiction
- Key Characters
- Medea, Iphis, Ianthe, Icarus, Eurydice, Artemis, Kallisto, Hermaphroditus
- Writing Style
- Multi-voiced, visceral, political, erotic
- Cultural Context
- Queer and feminist reclamation of myths