Her Kind: Stories of Women from Greek Mythology

Alan D. Booth is an associate professor in the Classics Department at
Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Jane Cahill, a professor of classics at the University of Winnipeg,
believes that Greek myths, as transmitted from antiquity and received
into our cultural heritage, are generally formulations of misogynistic
male minds—and, moreover, that instructors and textbooks traditionally
explain this material in a way that serves to perpetuate prejudices
against women. It was through her activities as a storyteller that
Cahill came to discern a means to redress the situation. In reciting
stories drawn from Greek mythology to various audiences, she found
herself introducing a distinctly female focus in order to stimulate her
listeners’ interest. This experience persuaded her that, in antiquity,
women must also have developed an oral tradition at variance with the
written record.

In Her Kind, Cahill reformulates 13 mythic tales along lines that, she
feels, would have appealed to women in the classical era. Each of the
revamped myths is preceded by an introduction providing interpretative
direction, and followed by notes detailing ancient sources and other
modern approaches. Cahill’s lively texts will engage even those not
entirely convinced by her perceptions and premises.