The Greek myths, refined by the great poets and playwrights of Ancient Greece, distil the essence of human life: its brief span; its pride, courage and insecurity, its anxious relationship with the natural world - earth, see and sky, represented by powerful gods and monsters.

Taking inspiration from the incomparably beautiful and intense poetry of Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, John Spurling - a lifelong classicist and an award-winning playwright and historical novelist - spins five foundational myths for contemporary readers. These captivating tales centre on male-female pairs - Prometheus and Pandora with her box, handsome Jason and the sorceress Medea, Oedipus and his daughter Antigone, Achilles and his mother Thetis, wandering Odyssesus and steadfast Penelope - that destroyed dynasties, raised and felled heroes, and sealed the fates of men.