Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth

by Natalie Haynes

These Muses always remind me that scientists and artists should disregard the idiotic attempts to separate us. We are all nerds, in the end.

although the modern reader may find this entire scene rather low on informed consent, and rather high on unrequested sedatives.

So perhaps the moral of this story is that if a goddess tells you to keep your mouth shut on pain of meteorological revenge, you should.

The Latin here reads fuge coniugis usum – flee the use of a husband – which I may yet have as a tattoo.

I have tended to prioritize the more subtextual moral (don’t pretend to be less than you are to make a mediocre man feel better, as you will both regret it when you have tails).

I didn’t start this book expecting to compare Arnold Schwarzenegger to the goddess Artemis, but we are where we are.

It’s a long time since I owned a cat (or it owned me, whichever seems more accurate),

It was restored by a man named Pietro Zei in 1904, whom we can safely say must have been an absolute demon at jigsaws.

Actaeon was born into the royal house of Thebes, which should sound a warning sign if you’re expecting him to live a happy life and die of old age.

Vampires live forever, so they have terrific investment opportunities).

The author of this hymn – written in overtly and unquestioningly patriarchal times – nonetheless understands the value of women’s relationships with one another. They bring comfort, consolation, joy, and warmth, in the face of every injustice.

The inability to even register the difference between a god and a rock suggests Kronos was not just a terrible father, but also an inattentive eater.

Just when you thought you couldn’t like her more, this versatile goddess turns out to be the patron saint of carbs.

this. If an old woman approaches you and asks for anything, or suggests anything, you always, always say yes, and thank you very much for asking. There is an almost zero chance that she is an actual old lady and not a goddess, a witch, or an enchantress in disguise.

It’s hard work pursuing a murderer, it seems.

We live in a time when it is commonplace to see a politician reverse their position and then simply deny they ever said anything that contradicts their current position. It is a particularly egregious form of lying because it leaves the listener not only uncertain of the truth now, but unsure of whether they had ever grasped it.

It’s bad enough to be a liar; it is worse to try to persuade people that their memories or understanding are at fault.