The internationally acclaimed Myths series brings together some ofthe finest writers of our time to provide a contemporary take on some ofour most enduring stories. Here, the timeless and universal tales thatreflect and shape our lives-mirroring our fears and desires, helping usmake sense of the world-are revisited, updated, and made new.Margaret Atwood'sPenelopiadis a sharp, brilliant and tender revision of a story at the heart of our culture:the myths about Penelope and Odysseus. In Homer's familiar version,The Odyssey,Penelope is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife. Left alonefor twenty years when Odysseus goes to fight in the Trojan Wars, shemanages to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son and,in the face of scandalous rumours, keep over a hundred suitors at bay.When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcomingmonsters and sleeping with goddesses, he kills Penelope's suitorsand-curiously-twelve of her maids.In Homer the hanging of themaids merits only a fleeting though poignant mention, but Atwoodcomments in her introduction that she has always been haunted by thosedeaths.The Penelopiad, she adds,begins with