Disrupting the Trojan War

More women with agency are restoring inclusion, diversity, and equity to classical texts.

1. More Women with Agency

Powerful goddesses feature prominently throughout Greek mythology. The Trojan War is, in a way, just one link in the chain of events set off by Eris, the goddess of discord. And with the continuing rivalry among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite already providing energy to the conflict between the Achaeans and Trojans, the Iliad throws Achilles’s goddess mother, Thetis, into the mix.

But Bronze Age Mycenae and Troy alike were patriarchies on steroids, against which mortal women of all stations struggled through stories that were mostly left untold. These women exist in classical sources, and some of their stories are detailed, but few step into the spotlight for long and fewer still ever claim their proper voice.

As one example, Briseis is central to the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon, but not because of anything she says, thinks, or does. Homer’s Iliad treats Briseis as a prize to be traded back and forth in a story where she might as well be a shiny gold trophy.

The Mythoversal retelling will allow us to view events through Briseis’s voice and from her own perspective. In the process, we will get a better sense of her personality, relationships, and character arc. Briseis has already made choices that have influenced the plot. 

As currently drafted, and subject to further edits, nine of the first twenty installments of Rage are narrated by female voices, resulting in a noticeable shift in tone and focus as the story unfolds through different sets of eyes.

Nothing has happened that contradicts Homer’s version. This is not a disruption to the established events of the traditional story. For example, there won’t be any women warriors on the battlefield until the Amazons arrive. But it’s important for us to recognize that there were once women warriors in the story of the Trojan War. In some versions, they arrived before the (spoiler alert) death of Hector, and would have been present during the time of the Iliad.

In a previous disruption, centuries ago, women were deemphasized and their stories outright dropped from the popular canon. In that way, the Mythoversal retelling is less of a disruption than just restoring something that always used to be there.

Next week I’ll talk about the second disruption, highlighting the ethnic diversity of the Trojan War. And going forward, the most recently updated version of these disruptions will live on a dedicated page on the Mythoversal website.

As always, I’d love to know what you think!

—Greg R. Fishbone, Mythoversal Author-in-Residence