A bold and intellectually-thrilling book, blending history and science, rigorous scholarship and dazzling feats of imagination.

This book is one of the most thought provoking I have read in a very long time . . . it absolutely blew me away. It is such a rich, evocative and original work . . . it’s just breathtaking . . . If you are interested in the ancient world I truly cannot recommend Mythica highly enough. I would go so far as to say you HAVE to read it – this book is quite wonderful.

From the shadowy recesses of myth and epic poetry, step forth a host of women who once lived: mothers, daughters, wives, weavers, witches, slaves, queens and warriors. These women surface in Homer’s stories, but Dr Hauser puts flesh on their bones, finding a window to the past that allows us to imagine the true depth and breadth of their experiences . . . a stirring, enlightening and fascinating exploration.

A book the world has been waiting for. Reveals the brilliant foundation for the reality of the myths that make all of us . . . I loved it.

Vividly brings the women of the Bronze Age to life, with a winning combination of sparkling, energetic writing and meticulous research into the archaeology of the time.

A fascinating and empowering exploration of women in mythology. Hauser guides us on an epic journey through the Homeric world, drawing on her expert knowledge to challenge the male-dominated voices of the past and reclaim women’s rightful place in history.

Emily Hauser spotlights the fundamental contradiction in ancient epic: the stories rely on female protagonists but rarely put them centre stage to tell their stories in their own words. This book offers a brilliant riposte to that millennia-old dilemma . . . their stories are fascinating, enthralling and insightful – and help to recolour the world of epic for us for good!

A masterpiece. Emily Hauser . . . awakens in us a sense of wonder as these mythologized women come to life in stories that are woven into the fabric of Homeric poetry . . . shows us Homer in a new light: in a world inhabited by women uneclipsed by men.

A dazzling and compassionate achievement. Emily Hauser’s book . . . uses archaeology old and new to throw brilliant light on the world of Homer. Impressively researched and beautifully written, this account is dense but never dry, and full of astonishing revelations. Hauser has woven a vibrant tapestry of colour, scent, sound and texture: the best kind of scholarship. It deserves a place on every school and university bookshelf as well as in the home of anyone who loves mythology.

Someone once wrote that the world of Homer is immortal precisely because it never existed – except in the poetic imagination: a thought that award-winning classicist and novelist Dr Emily Hauser exploits and explores brilliantly in her 18 character-sketches of ancient females both divine and human, both Greek and non-Greek . . . she writes her women subjects back in to a dominantly masculinist literary and visual tradition.