Medusa in the Mirror

When Medusa looks in the mirror, what does she see? She was once a monster; today, she is a powerful symbol of surviving sexual violence. In Greek mythology, women were traditionally reduced to passive, submissive, or villainous roles. Recent years have seen a renaissance in literature that is centered around mythological female characters in an effort to change this. In these retellings, women are instead presented as complex, autonomous characters. What sparked this trend, and why is it happening now?

Jacqueline Klooster, professor of Ancient Greek Literature, will discuss several female characters of classical mythology and examine how the narrative surrounding them has changed in recent years. From Medusa in the myth of Perseus to The Odyssey’s Penelope, she will illustrate what the retellings uncover about the original stories and how society’s views on women have changed over time.

Jacqueline Klooster is professor of Ancient Greek Literature at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Before, she worked at the Groningen Classics Department for ten years. Recently, Jacqueline published her book entitled Medusa in de Spiegel (Medusa in the Mirror), on the current trend of rewriting ancients myths from a female perspective (Athenaeum 2025), which was shortlisted for the Homerusprijs and is currently being translated in multiple languages.  

Boekverkoop Godert Walter

Book recommendations
If you’re interested to read more about this subject, Jacqueline recommends these books:

Circe - Madeline Miller NL edition / ENG edition
The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
Penelope en Odysseus - Evelien Bracke
A Thousand Ships - Natalie Haynes
Medusa - Rosie Hewlett 
Ariadne - Jennifer Saint
Medusa in de Spiegel  - Jacqueline Klooster
Medusa en Perseus - Jacqueline Klooster