Book Review: "Clytemnestra" by Costanza Casati

If you love Greek Myths then there is a large chance you've come across the vengeful Clytemnestra of the Orestian Trilogy. Wife of Agamemnon, Queen of Mycenean Greece and arch-baddie. But is she really evil, or are there pieces of her story simply missing? Is her story simply unfinished and are her acts of vengeance completely and utterly justified?

What if Agamemnon wasn't the revered king of Myceane who once stole what was rightfully belonging to Achilles, but later returned it in an act of compassion? What is Agamemnon and his brother, Menelaus, were really brutes who sought to wed the sisters of the Spartan household for their own power-hungry gains? What if Clytemnestra was not just entirely justified - but the only one who knew exactly what she was doing the entire time, even when she was kicked down and out?

This book answers all those questions and more by telling the story of one of the most fearless women in Ancient Greek Literature and one of the most powerful sisters of the Spartan kingdom. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati is an achievement of Ancient Greek retellings and we explore the undying love between a mother and her child, a vengeful woman with the heart of a lion and a sister so protective that she threatens the most powerful man in the room with his life.

The constant intrigue underlying this novel is about whether Helen is really a sister of the Spartan daughters or not. The idea that Leda, their mother, once lay with a man other than their father is far-stretched in the kingdom's gossip, but remains an aspect that lets others treat Helen as if she were born of a swan - a divinity her sisters do not possess. But her beauty is no match for the wisdom, wit and fire of Clytemnestra, the sister who at first, married Tantalus but was passed on to Agamemnon when tragedy struck. Tragedy after tragedy, Clytemnestra vows vengeance, anger and death upon her new husband and, as she smashes her drink against the wall at their wedding, the room falls silent and watches her. She descends into a quiet rage that many may not ever experience.

Helen's marriage to Menelaus is a mistake. Clytemnestra knew it all along and yet, even when her sister returns to her - what's done is done. Agamemnon and Menealus are not the noble kings taking to the battlefield upon the heart of dear Helen - but they are the brutes who begged, borrowed and stole in order to get their kingdom, their wives and their power and would kill anyone in their way that stopped them from achieving their goals. As they take 10 of the best men of Tyndareus' household, they return with their kingdom again and yet, they are still not satiated. Agamemnon taking his wife by the most cruel of absolute forces as he turns her against her father and she wishes death upon him.

“Gods do not care about us. They have other concerns. That is why you should never live in the shadow of their anger. It is men you must fear. It is men who will be angry with you if you rise too high, if you are too much loved. The stronger you are, the more they will try to take you down.”

In this tale of murder, revenge and justified acts of cruelty - Clytemnestra proves that she has been wronged by the songs that have remembered her name. Her acts of vengeance are justified in a way that puts the reader firmly on her side and, when she goes hunting for those who helped wrong her - she shows no mercy as she throws her dagger to its target until it hits and kills.

Ultimately, this book is not only testament to Clytemnestra's brilliant cunning, but also to the turbulence of the courts of Ancient Greek Literature, the struggles for power, the men in the way and not only this, but the brilliance of the women who sought out to make their very existences as painful as physically possible. It will have you rooting for whichever woman sides with Clytemnestra and her murderous matriarchal rule over the most powerful kingdom in all of the Ancient Greek Kingdoms.