Greek Women

The Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks, and they have been retold many times, but rarely do they focus on the remarkable women at the heart of these ancient stories. Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, from the Trojan War to Jason and the Argonauts. And still, today, a wealth of novels, plays and films draw their inspiration from stories first told almost 3,000 years ago.

It starts as a sensual game, but can Lily stick to Nik's rules? And, what's more, can he? Idealistic archaeologist Lily Rose craves a fairy-tale love, but in her experience it always ends in heartbreak. So now Lily's trying a different approach - a fling with infamous Greek playboy Nik Zervakis. Antilove and antifamily, Nik lives by his own set of rules. There's no one better to teach Lily how to separate sex from deep emotions! But whilst Nik may have the world at his feet, he has shadows in his heart.

On the beautiful beaches of Crete, an old woman is handing out scraps of paper. Sofia, eighty-five years old, unable to speak, is desperate to find a daughter she has never known. After a tragic childhood in Athens and a soaring career as a singer, the brutal treatment of the man she loved by a tyrannical regime forced her to give up her daughter mere days after her birth. Now she longs to be reunited with her child before it's too late. Meanwhile in London, Zoe is searching too. In the months since the disappearance of her teenage daughter, Zoe's life has crumbled apart.

Before every new beginning, there must be an ending.... Running from heartbreak, Chloe Marston leaves her old life in London for a fresh start in New York. Working at a luxury concierge company, she makes other people’s lives run perfectly, even if her own has ground to a halt. But a terrible accident forces her to step into a new role, up close and personal with the company’s most esteemed and powerful clients.

When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment. Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis. Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason's band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?

The great city of Troy is under siege as Greek heroes Achilles and Agamemnon wage bloody war over a stolen woman. In the Greek camp, another woman is watching and waiting: Briseis. She was a queen of this land until Achilles sacked her city and murdered her husband and sons. Now she is Achilles' concubine: a prize of battle. Briseis is just one among thousands of women backstage in this war - the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead - all of them voiceless in history.

Greek billionaire Leo Christakis is convinced the prim and proper suits worn by Natasha are simply a cover for the gold-digger that lies beneath. Suspecting Natasha to be stealing from his company, Leo insists she remain at his beck and call. Natasha is then thrown into his world of unimaginable luxury until Leo discovers she's innocent - in every sense. Now she must become the Christakis bride....

After a work party gone disastrously wrong, Samantha suddenly finds herself jobless and jilted. So when her sister invites Sam to stay at her little whitewashed farmhouse on a Greek island, Sam leaps at the chance to escape. Before long, she’s trundling up the cobbled driveway, almost colliding with sexy neighbour Spyros. It isn’t all sunshine and smiles though. For every afternoon spent lounging by the pool, cocktail in hand, there is a morning spent adjusting to life with boisterous six-year-old nieces.

Four old university friends, Dora, Penny, Nell and Moira, reunite to relive that first hippy-dippy trip together to a beautiful, unspoilt, romantic Greek island looking for sun, sand and sea. But it’s not just about going back to when they were young. Maybe they do have dreams like Shirley Valentine because ultimately they’re all looking for something to help them through some difficult times in their lives - whether it’s with their career, family or relationships.

Eve has her own story, and she's been waiting millennia for Barbara McBride-Smith to tell it. It's the same for Mrs. Noah. Talk about misunderstood or under-appreciated women! McBride-Smith singles them out for her trademark feminist humor. And following Eve and Mrs. Noah's stories are four of McBride-Smith's retellings of Greek myths from her West Texas good-ole-girl perspective.

Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories.

The goddesses of classical mythology ruled the heavens, mingled with mortals, and overcame tremendous odds. Goddess Power: A Kids' Book of Greek and Roman Mythology takes you on an extraordinary journey through the triumphs and tragedies of these remarkable women. From Gaia, Goddess of Earth, to Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty, these legendary ladies’ stories are paired with stunning artwork that brings the myths to life. How will you be inspired by these tales about Greek mythology for kids?

Beth Martin is 31, newly divorced and wondering just what life holds for her.... Best friend Heidi is adamant that all the answers lie in Corfu - the island where the girls partied away their youth. So cue a trip to a sun-drenched Greek island, ouzo cocktails, a trip down memory lane...and Alex Hallas, the man Beth has never quite forgotten. As they dance under the stars, the sand beneath their toes, old feelings begin to resurface, and Beth might just have a chance to take back her life. If they can learn to love the people they've become....

Calliope Adham—young, strong-willed, and recently widowed—is schoolmistress in the village of Molyvos when Hitler's army invades Greece in 1941. Well-read and linguistically gifted, she is recruited by the Germans to act as their liaison officer. It is the beginning of a personal and national saga that will last for several decades. Calliope's wartime duties bring her into close contact with Lieutenant Lorenz Umbreit, the Wehrmacht commander. The schoolmistress is an active member of the Greek Resistance, yet her friendship with the German blossoms against all odds.

Becky Rose has just landed her dream job house-sitting at a top-end villa on the island of Corfu. Elias Mardas is travelling back to Corfu on business whilst dealing with his own personal demons. Late arriving in Athens, Becky and Elias have to spend a night in the Greek capital. When they have to emergency land in Kefalonia, Becky's got to decide whether to suck up the adventure and this gorgeous companion she seems to have been thrown together with, or panic about when she's going to arrive at Corfu.

Rebecca Neumanner's marriage is on the brink of collapse as her desire to be a mother becomes an obsession. Then she receives news from her estranged family in Rhodes. Called back to the beautiful Greek island of her birth, she realises how little she knows of the grandmother she has eluded for over a decade. Bubba has never spoken of the Nazi occupation during her youth, but there have always been whispers. What desperate measures did she take that terrible day in 1944 when her family was ripped apart? Can the rumour she had blood on her own hands really be true? But Bubba intends to take her secrets to the grave.

When Ruby arrives in Corfu, she’s greeted by a sparkling sea, hot sand and a new future. She’s ready to learn the trade at her Aunt Hazel’s taverna and she’s certainly not going to be distracted by Yianni, her handsome colleague, no matter how much they are drawn to each other. Because getting close to someone again means facing up to her past—and the reason she was so desperate to get away from home in the first place.

From the moment Ellie Brooks met mogul Alek Sarantos, her life went off the rails. Now she's pregnant. It was only supposed to be one wild, passionate night. Yet when Ellie shows up demanding Alek legitimise their unborn child, he shocks himself...and agrees. Catapulted into a world she wasn't meant for, Ellie's resolve wavers until a tiny kick reminds her why she made a deal with this handsome devil.

On the lush green island of Corfu, Melodie's new husband, Anton, is missing. With no clues to his whereabouts, Melodie and her step daughter Gaia are broken from the fear that they may never see him again. When Anton's car is found by the side of the road, Gaia fixates on the idea that Melodie's malicious half-sister is somehow involved.

Epic poetry and tragic drama provide us with some of the richest ancient Greek depictions of women who are married to soldiers. In tales of the Trojan War, as told by Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, we encounter these mythical warriors' wives: Penelope, isolated but resourceful as she awaits the return of Odysseus after his lengthy absence; the war widow Andromache, enslaved and displaced from her homeland after the fall of Troy; the unfaithful and murderous Clytemnestra; and Tecmessa, a war captive who witnesses her partner's breakdown and suicide in the aftermath of battle.