My Life as Athena

by Daphne Ignatius

Born the daughter of Zeus, Athena springs out of her father's head, clad as a warrior and brandishing her weapons with skill. Smart, gutsy and rebellious, she is a misfit in an age that demands that females be gentle and submissive. Undaunted, Athena fights to assert her independence, but her autonomy comes at an unexpected price.

When she wins patronage of the city of Athens in a battle of wits, Athena comes into her own and matures into the goddess that we know from legend: a brilliant and principled immortal with dominion over wisdom, warfare, strategy and creative inspiration.

However, Greek mythology itself has been deliberately sanitized. It hides a darker story in which Athena must make difficult choices and outwit the other gods to protect herself and those she loves.

The golden age of ancient Greece is eventually threatened by a new military power growing in the west. When the Romans legions arrive, greedy for Greece's wealth and offering to adopt the Greek gods as their own, Athena and her fellow gods have a diabolical choice to make: Do they stand by the Greek people, or betray them to safeguard their own interests?

In defiance of her father's wishes, Athena rebels one last time and sets forth to change the course of human history.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology

263 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2014

About the author

Daphne Ignatius was born and raised in Malaysia. She attended the University of Kansas, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration. The daughter of two high school teachers, she was instilled with a love of the written word at an early age, and set down her first short story in illegible longhand at eight years old. Her earliest remembered ambition was to become an author, and that desire resurfaced during an existential crisis, resulting in this novel.

Daphne currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her beloved spouse, where she works by day as an Information Technology professional. Her existential crisis continues profitably with her next work, tentatively titled Tales from a Dragon Clan.

Reviews

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick read. It took me a bit to get into it, but at some parts I couldn't stop reading. It sure is an interesting interpretation of history. Unfortunately the ending came a bit sudden as if the author wasn't in the mood to get more detailed. There was a lot more potential to it. All in all though, it was an entertaining read.

[Marlaina McCauslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book early for my review on it, so here it is. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced ( I finished in about a day) and the mythologies were interesting in a new light. I enjoyed Ms. Daphne's interpretation of Athena and the other Gods and Goddess. However, I started to lose interest whenever she had relationships with the Norse God, Loki. I don't know why it bothered me, but I thought that it was a bit too much away from the original stories and myths to be apart from the story. Yet I understand that myths are up to the reader's and author's view point, so I am not going to get in to it. So why didn't I put this down as a 5 stars instead of what I put down as 4? I thought it could have been a bit longer. Each chapter was quite short and towards the end, where it got closer and closer to present age, she sped along until she did a wrap up of all the Gods and Goddess. I will be reading more of this author, perhaps looking at her series that is still at this time unfinished. I look forward to her work, and hope she comes out with more books like this one. Best of luck Daphne!

[Belle]

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore this book! It's an incredibly unique take on what everyday life was likely like for the Greek Gods and I love the perspective of being a main character in mythology and tales. How the author was able to bring them to life despite how "non-actually life like" mythological tales tend to be. I especially enjoy where she went with the religions at a later date and what happens to everyone. Very well written and kept my nose glued to the book! I especially love the fact that I recently met a friend of mine's autistic daughter who has a very big love of greek mythology and since I happened to be reading this book at the same time, I had a lot of the myths right at the front of my mind and we were totally able to chatter back and forth about it! We totally had a "moment" and I greatly appreciate that!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for something different this caught my attention, I don't read books that don't have a little romance in them that often. Sometimes tho I get tired of the same stuff, and I really have always Loved reading a lot of books about mythology and the gods and goddesses. I was surprised that the book kept my attention; It did take me longer to read, more than usual when I read a book, but I thought it was good.
It kinda reminds me just a tiny bit of the t.v. show game of thrones. I recommend this book if you are into mythology on gods and goddesses. Very vivid imaginative, Very creative, Witty funny, well developed Characters and extremely well thought out story.
I think it would be a good movie, something I'd watch if they had a good director and had the money yo make it into a movie. I enjoyed reading this book, was a pleasure to read.

[Doris Vandruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love mythology and like to take a peek into the lives of the gods and goddesses than I recommend this book to you. Did you know that all the stories we have read about the deities are not all exactly true. That is true!! Athena is telling her story and according to her not everything is as it appears to be. For example you know the story of Persephone, how she is kidnapped by the god of the underworld and because of the sadness of her mother that is why we have summer and winter? Not totally true!!! Not according to Athena, who was there. Daphne Ignatius writes this book in a remarkable way. She gives life to the immortals, and thus we are able to connect with them more. Okay, sorry, life to immortals. Anyway I absolutely loved this book. 5 STARS!

[Katie Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you feel like picking up a fantastical story that is easy to read and want to shed light on Odysseus's adventures, then have no fear. Even the gods need to shed some light on their own affairs and dealings, and this book really hits the mark with more subjective information presented as more or less in a diary type fashion. The gods too are not beyond scrutiny and were not safe once Christianity came into play, and this is an incredible supplemental read that divulges even the hobby of mythology! Definitely pick it up and read it. If anything, the surprise appearances of some other heard of "foreign" gods/goddess will have you smiling and enjoying yourself.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received a complimentary copy to read and review. Daphne is a great writer. I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. The characters and the world she has created are great. Readers who love mythology will love this one. It’s the story of Athena. You will be sucked in from the first page. It has great twists and turns to keep the reader turning the page. Add it to your TBR list you won’t be disappointed. I look forward to reading more of Daphne’s books.

[Gnome Claire *Wishes she was as cool as Gnome Ann* · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a quick fun read and I really enjoyed this take on greek mythology from athena's point of view. We follow Athena through thousands of years from her birth to the decline of the greek gods. It will give you a brief background of the timeline of the greek gods and some of the mythology but the author is more interested in Athena as a character and person than going over greek mythology again and she does change the story up (all of which I like).

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great spin on mythology! I loved that the author took Athena and made the story come alive. There are so many different gods and goddesses and the main ones make an appearance in this book. There are some lovely twists in the book and while Athena can get herself into trouble, she does find ways to get herself out of them. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of mythology. It was a smooth, fast read!! I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book.

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice

A good history based book with much humor added. I enjoyed a behind the scenes look at history's greatest hits through Athena's eyes.

[Lisa Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice, light read with wonderful voice.

This book was a genuine pleasure to read. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun
A sweet story
I'd recommend it to a friend