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Aphrodite's Blessings
Provides young adult readers with a collection of three love stories from Greek mythology, including the story of Atlanta and the race that wins her a husband and Psyche who has a mysterious husband who she may never know.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2002
11 people are currently reading
915 people want to read
About the author
Clemence McLaren
6 books21 followersClemence McLaren was born in New Jersey on November 3, 1938 to Edward Dobson, an engineer, and Grayce Berg Dobson. She attended Rutgers University from which she received a degree in 1960. In the same year she married Robert McLaren. Together, the couple had two children, Kevin and Heather.
For a number of years she and her husband taught overseas. During this time they built a cottage on a small Greek island "only four miles from Achilles' home island of Aegina," she says. She studied the Greek language and walked the trails which dated back to antiquity. Always fascinated by the ancient myths, her own elaborations of them became stories which she first told to her students and her own family.
The McLarens later moved to Hawaii, where Clemence McLaren taught in Honolulu secondary schools for four years and obtained an doctorate degree in religion.
Supplemental Information:
Career
Pan American Airlines, flight attendant, 1960-61; teacher in Dover, NJ, Guam, Saudi Arabia, and Maui, Hawaii, 1962-84; affiliated with Johns Hopkins University as a summer program dean, 1987—; occasional stints as a professor and researcher with University of Hawaii, 1987-95; teacher of senior English, Kamehameha Secondary Schools, Honolulu, HI, 1993—.
Member
Phi Beta Kappa.
Awards, Honors
Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library, 1997, and Best Books for Young Adults, American Library Association, 1997, both for Inside the Walls of Troy.
Writings
Inside the Walls of Troy: A Novel of the Women Who Lived the Trojan War, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1996.
Dance for the Land, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1999, expanded edition published as Dance for the Aina, Bess Press (Honolulu, HI), 2003.
Waiting for Odysseus, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2000.
Aphrodite's Blessings: Love Stories from the Greek Myths, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2002.
Contributor to popular magazines and professional journals. Contributor to Cat Heaven, Island Heritage Press, 1998.
For a number of years she and her husband taught overseas. During this time they built a cottage on a small Greek island "only four miles from Achilles' home island of Aegina," she says. She studied the Greek language and walked the trails which dated back to antiquity. Always fascinated by the ancient myths, her own elaborations of them became stories which she first told to her students and her own family.
The McLarens later moved to Hawaii, where Clemence McLaren taught in Honolulu secondary schools for four years and obtained an doctorate degree in religion.
Supplemental Information:
Career
Pan American Airlines, flight attendant, 1960-61; teacher in Dover, NJ, Guam, Saudi Arabia, and Maui, Hawaii, 1962-84; affiliated with Johns Hopkins University as a summer program dean, 1987—; occasional stints as a professor and researcher with University of Hawaii, 1987-95; teacher of senior English, Kamehameha Secondary Schools, Honolulu, HI, 1993—.
Member
Phi Beta Kappa.
Awards, Honors
Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library, 1997, and Best Books for Young Adults, American Library Association, 1997, both for Inside the Walls of Troy.
Writings
Inside the Walls of Troy: A Novel of the Women Who Lived the Trojan War, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1996.
Dance for the Land, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1999, expanded edition published as Dance for the Aina, Bess Press (Honolulu, HI), 2003.
Waiting for Odysseus, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2000.
Aphrodite's Blessings: Love Stories from the Greek Myths, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2002.
Contributor to popular magazines and professional journals. Contributor to Cat Heaven, Island Heritage Press, 1998.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 18, 2022
I love McLauren's teenage writing style of the Greek mythologies. These are three stories with HEAs but don't confuse that with fluffy stories because Greek mythology is dark and bloody.
First we have the story of Atalanta (the runner):
Atalanta, how much blood are you covered in? What I love about Atalanta is that she always gives them a choice but doesn't hesitate when they refuse. Aphrodite had to intervene otherwise Greece would have have been barren of hot men. FYI: the Olympians had to perform in the game in the nude, ergo, girls were not allowed to attend.
Milanion of Thrace: 'He shrugged, smiling. "Atlanta, this may be the last time we tal on this Earth. Do not pierce my heart with unkind words."'
Then we have the story of Andromeda [castigated by (her mother's) Cassiopeia's folly]:
I love Andromeda's story because it's what all the medieval stories of damsels in distress are litteraly about. This author got the part about Medusa being beautiful correct contrary to common belief that she is a hideous monster.
And then we have Psyche (worshiped more than Aphrodite for her beauty):
I absolutely love this story because the drama is amongst the gods and they are triggered by lust on one hand and jealousy on the other. The gods have their weakness but also know the weakness of mortal and use these weaknesses to their advantage. Always a fun read. I overall enjoyed this book. Except that if I can recollect correctly, all the descriptions of the characters are blonde and we are talking about Greek/Roman (Greece and Italy) not Scandinavia.
December 17, 2016
I'm a sucker for Greek mythology & love stories. THANK YOU APHRODITE.
September 25, 2017
Loved this.
January 19, 2023
Ummmm, LOVE!! This book is a hidden gem. Maybe it just holds a special place in my heart because it was my favorite book when I was younger, but it’s such a fun, easy, quick read. It’s composed of 3 short stories about different girls in Greece. If you enjoy reading about people falling in love and/or Greek mythology, this is for you!
August 31, 2024
I've read this multiple times and it's truly lovely and helps lift my spirits.
January 27, 2015
This was a decent enough book considering they made the stories pretty fluffy. Everyone got their happy ending.
I think my favorite story was Psyche because it had the most interaction with the gods. I mean, Eros was a major factor, and this is the only story in the three where we actually see Aphrodite.
I think my favorite story was Psyche because it had the most interaction with the gods. I mean, Eros was a major factor, and this is the only story in the three where we actually see Aphrodite.
February 1, 2008
it was cute.
February 28, 2009
I read it a long time ago, like 5 years but i remember I liked. I don't know, I don't have an opinion. I was like 14.
June 24, 2009
Don't you just love happy endings? Good for a short stories book (I use prefer longer novels...)
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January 28, 2016What the ?!!!
I apparently read this book back in 2005, but I have no memory of anything about it.
OMG, I was so weird back then.
I apparently read this book back in 2005, but I have no memory of anything about it.
OMG, I was so weird back then.
April 3, 2012
When a young princess is turned into the top runner in her land by her father, her aunt considers her marriage privilages, but all the girl wants is to be free. Princess of Ithaca, Atalanta, finds a compromise to suit all sides, when her father holds a race to outrun Atalanta, marry her, and gain the kingdom of Ithaca, or lose and pay the price with his life. After thousands of contests, one young man starts to realize the issue with specific sacrifices to "wrong" gods. He decides he knows the "right" gods to sacrifice to, one in particular. He sets out on a mission, positive he can win the heart of the princess, and please all the right gods as well. Not only did I fall in love with the plot of the story, but each character portrays a certain quality the others don't. When love comes into a story it makes things so much more difficult, however, the author, Clemence McLaren, tells a story of a time where things were much simpler. In ancient times there was no technology to crowd peoples lives, a matter had to be settled face to face, which made the matter twice as romantic. This method of writing is exactly what made me fall head over heels in love with this book.
May 27, 2015
The book currently read is Aphrodite’s Blessings by Clemence McLaren. An original and fresh book that contains three Greek love stories. The first story, a young female athlete has to compete with other male candidates to determine who will be her future husband but if the boy loose he gets killed. Atalanta, the young girl does not know that Aphrodite will help her in one of the races. The second story talks about a girl named Andromeda whose beauty is beyond any goddess. Her father obliges her to choose a husband but Aphrodite will also help her. The third and last story is about Psyche, a beautiful mortal that no one wants to marry afraid of her beauty. Finally Psyche finds her perfect suitor but Aphrodite wants her to go first to the underworld to earn his love. The three stories contain women points of view and along with it their problems.
The topic of Aphrodite’s Blessings is Aphrodite’s help to other women with love problems in their life. Before reading this book, my idea of this topic was that it would all be Aphrodite’s experience with love. What made me realize this was the tittle of the book and the cover of the book. One question was bothering me, What type of love stories from the Greek Myths is this book containing? Also from this book I learned 5 facts about their stories. The first one is life back then was not as easy as now. The second fact that I learned is that women did not have a voice. Also women did not have as much rights as women do now. Another fact is that people were more worried about their looks. The last fact is that people back then they use to marry at a very young age. This book is a non-fiction book because it talks about greek myths and their gods. Also because it used resources from other books and reliable friends.
I recommend this book to girls and boys, middle school students, high school students, teachers, historians, and tourists. This book could be read by a girl or a boy because it can make someone learn that must of the women were obliged to do things. Middle school students would also benefit from this book because it is not very hard to read but at the same time many information is being introduced. High school students with projects about Greek culture or women rights would find this book really useful. Also teachers who are teaching ancient Greece and would like a book where the culture, rights, and religion is introduced would use this book as well as a historian to know more about a time period. Last, tourist who would love to visit Greece and would like to learn about their history could use this book. This book could be for anyone because it is interesting and brings you more knowledge.
The topic of Aphrodite’s Blessings is Aphrodite’s help to other women with love problems in their life. Before reading this book, my idea of this topic was that it would all be Aphrodite’s experience with love. What made me realize this was the tittle of the book and the cover of the book. One question was bothering me, What type of love stories from the Greek Myths is this book containing? Also from this book I learned 5 facts about their stories. The first one is life back then was not as easy as now. The second fact that I learned is that women did not have a voice. Also women did not have as much rights as women do now. Another fact is that people were more worried about their looks. The last fact is that people back then they use to marry at a very young age. This book is a non-fiction book because it talks about greek myths and their gods. Also because it used resources from other books and reliable friends.
I recommend this book to girls and boys, middle school students, high school students, teachers, historians, and tourists. This book could be read by a girl or a boy because it can make someone learn that must of the women were obliged to do things. Middle school students would also benefit from this book because it is not very hard to read but at the same time many information is being introduced. High school students with projects about Greek culture or women rights would find this book really useful. Also teachers who are teaching ancient Greece and would like a book where the culture, rights, and religion is introduced would use this book as well as a historian to know more about a time period. Last, tourist who would love to visit Greece and would like to learn about their history could use this book. This book could be for anyone because it is interesting and brings you more knowledge.
October 31, 2010
Title: Aphrodite's Blessings
Subtitle: Love Stories from the Greek Myths
Author: Clemence McLaren
Summary: This is a compilation of three retellings of Greek myths about love and the goddess of love, Aphrodite. They are told in first person, from the view of the heroine. One retells the story of how Atalanta outran everyone except for one clever young man who thought to ask the goddess of love herself. Then there's the story of Andromeda insisting on marrying Perseus after he saved her from the vile sea monster. The last is the tale of Psyche, who was fortunate enough to have Eros himself, son of Aphrodite, fall in love with her. He takes her to a beautiful villa with invisible servants. He only comes at night when it is so dark that she cannot see him. He is gone in the morning. But Psyche's sisters give her the idea to hide a candle in the room and look at her husband when he was asleep. She did, but he woke up. She found that he was Eros, and he left her. But Aphrodite decided to give Psyche another chance and gave her four tasks. The first three she accomplished with the help of animals, and the last she had to go into the Underworld. She accomplished them and was reunited with Eros.
Stars: 7
Violence: 3, because of Perseus killing the sea monster.
Romance: 6 because of kissing (of course all the couples kissed). Also bare shoulders (of Eros) but it didn't describe anything horribly indecent.
Language: 0 again. I know, I know, it was supposed to be 1-10, but how can I help it if it wasn't even a 1?
Subtitle: Love Stories from the Greek Myths
Author: Clemence McLaren
Summary: This is a compilation of three retellings of Greek myths about love and the goddess of love, Aphrodite. They are told in first person, from the view of the heroine. One retells the story of how Atalanta outran everyone except for one clever young man who thought to ask the goddess of love herself. Then there's the story of Andromeda insisting on marrying Perseus after he saved her from the vile sea monster. The last is the tale of Psyche, who was fortunate enough to have Eros himself, son of Aphrodite, fall in love with her. He takes her to a beautiful villa with invisible servants. He only comes at night when it is so dark that she cannot see him. He is gone in the morning. But Psyche's sisters give her the idea to hide a candle in the room and look at her husband when he was asleep. She did, but he woke up. She found that he was Eros, and he left her. But Aphrodite decided to give Psyche another chance and gave her four tasks. The first three she accomplished with the help of animals, and the last she had to go into the Underworld. She accomplished them and was reunited with Eros.
Stars: 7
Violence: 3, because of Perseus killing the sea monster.
Romance: 6 because of kissing (of course all the couples kissed). Also bare shoulders (of Eros) but it didn't describe anything horribly indecent.
Language: 0 again. I know, I know, it was supposed to be 1-10, but how can I help it if it wasn't even a 1?
October 11, 2017
I picked up this book when I felt absolutely uneducated about mythological love stories. Just like with anything that is dated, these love stories were written for a different generation. I did get acquainted with Greek mythology, which is what I wanted but it was a difficult read (since my mind is so accustomed to contemporary writing).
The first, and my personal favorite, is Atalanta's story. She is the daughter of the King of Arcadia and a gifted runner, who realizes that in ancient Greece it doesn't mean much if a woman has talent or not, if she can't get a 'suitable husband'. The story unfolds into a fairytale that a lot of career driven women must have fantasized about in their spare time. The second story is of princess Andromeda who has a boastful mother. One day Queen Cassiopeia offends the gods with her unnecessary arrogance, but Lord Perseus shows up to save the day. The same immortal that was known for slaying monsters; the same God Andromeda dreamt of everyday. The final story is of the beautiful Psyche who was born so beautiful that people believed she may have caused Aphrodite herself to be envious. After failing her first test, she passes a series of tests for the love of God.
The first, and my personal favorite, is Atalanta's story. She is the daughter of the King of Arcadia and a gifted runner, who realizes that in ancient Greece it doesn't mean much if a woman has talent or not, if she can't get a 'suitable husband'. The story unfolds into a fairytale that a lot of career driven women must have fantasized about in their spare time. The second story is of princess Andromeda who has a boastful mother. One day Queen Cassiopeia offends the gods with her unnecessary arrogance, but Lord Perseus shows up to save the day. The same immortal that was known for slaying monsters; the same God Andromeda dreamt of everyday. The final story is of the beautiful Psyche who was born so beautiful that people believed she may have caused Aphrodite herself to be envious. After failing her first test, she passes a series of tests for the love of God.
February 14, 2015
This is a book of three short stories based on Greek myths. Each story is about love. Each story speaks directly about the types of relationships people had in ancient Greece.
The first is about a king who did not have a son. When his wife died giving birth to a daughter he decided to raise her as a boy. By doing this she is allowed many more freedoms than the other women receive.
Andromeda in the next story does not like the choice made for her about whom she was to marry. The Goddess does step in, but it is not what typically happened in the life of a Grecian woman.
The last is about one of the most beautiful women ever Psyche, and the jealousy of Aphrodite. She is given away in marriage to someone she has never even seen.
I liked this book. I love love stories. I find a good romance is a way for me to have faith in the people of the world. We all hope to have a happy ending someday. There is a little bit of a bedroom scene in the last story. Nothing graphic at all. Just talking about kissing her husband in bed, and the feel of his chest. I did not find it inappropriate in any way.
The first is about a king who did not have a son. When his wife died giving birth to a daughter he decided to raise her as a boy. By doing this she is allowed many more freedoms than the other women receive.
Andromeda in the next story does not like the choice made for her about whom she was to marry. The Goddess does step in, but it is not what typically happened in the life of a Grecian woman.
The last is about one of the most beautiful women ever Psyche, and the jealousy of Aphrodite. She is given away in marriage to someone she has never even seen.
I liked this book. I love love stories. I find a good romance is a way for me to have faith in the people of the world. We all hope to have a happy ending someday. There is a little bit of a bedroom scene in the last story. Nothing graphic at all. Just talking about kissing her husband in bed, and the feel of his chest. I did not find it inappropriate in any way.
August 29, 2008
This is a book about Greek myths. I absolutely loved this novel. It is a book I will want to read again. This might be more of a girl book. There are three love stories in this novel, all which are outstanding (Atlanta-the runner, Andromena- Her father has an arranged marriage for her, so that he can have an alliance with her new husband’s country, and Psyche-so beautiful people worship her instead of the goddess Aphrodite.) There is a marriage night, but it did not seem horrible to me. I would let my students decide whether or not to read this book.
September 7, 2016
This was quite good, but since I am well versed (cough, cough, obsessed) in Greek Mythology, there were some aspects of the retellings that didn't match up with the actual myths I had read. Still, it was explained in the author's note at the end but I have to admit it still bugged me a little. It was one of the better retellings I've read so far and it's great that the myths were told from a woman's point of view.
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May 14, 2017A wonderful read for February, this compilation of short stories celebrates three ancient Greek heroines and their pathways to love.
Atalanta must race the men of her kingdown, not knowing that the loser will be put to death; Andromeda must pay the price for her mother's reckless boasts; and Psyche must learn to trust, or lose her only hope of happiness.
These three goddesses will win you over with their strength, determination, and hopefulness.
-- Tiffany J. --
Atalanta must race the men of her kingdown, not knowing that the loser will be put to death; Andromeda must pay the price for her mother's reckless boasts; and Psyche must learn to trust, or lose her only hope of happiness.
These three goddesses will win you over with their strength, determination, and hopefulness.
-- Tiffany J. --
April 25, 2013
This book was great and very good but for girls that like romantic stories and love, I would say guys should read this. Atalanta was my favorite character because she is strong willed and wont let anyone get in the way of her. My lest favorite character is Leonides because he is arrogant and full of him self. The ending was great and very thrilling. It was thrilling threw out the whole book, there was some boring parts though.
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July 25, 20112008- Contains three short ""teen friendly"" versions of Greek myths. The tales include the stories of Atalanta, Andromeda and Psyche. The first story, of Atalanta, was my favorite, I felt she was the strongest character. Also note that the author changed some details, which she talks about in the author notes at the end.
December 10, 2011
This was pretty good. The retellings were very short and sweet; nothing really special, seemed specifically written for romance novel afficianados. (Something which I am not.) I did like the second story; the one about Andromeda and Perseus.
In the afterward, the auithor expressed some opinions which I do not agree with, so that kind of knocked down the book a few notches for me.
In the afterward, the auithor expressed some opinions which I do not agree with, so that kind of knocked down the book a few notches for me.
October 27, 2008
This is a collection of three short stories about Greek god's and goddesses. It is a very cute selection of stories in finding love and what I took to be an interesting look at gender relations. Quick read, accessible to all readers.
December 22, 2008
I really liked this three volume book. They were three known stories of Greek myth girls. My favorite of the three was Psyche, the last “book,” but they were all good. Maybe I liked that one because it was the only one I hadn’t read yet. I don’t know. All I know is that they were good.
August 15, 2011
The stories were really cute and well written. I've always been interested in Greek mythology and I had heard about some of the women in the stories, but I'd never known the actual tales. I liked how it was all about women for a change - and that they all had a happy ending!
October 5, 2011
its short and sweet. i liked the tales about each woman and their love story. nothing new to the stories except a tweak here and there in the plot but i liked how each girl was given a voice of her own. i think atalanta's story was really cute.
September 28, 2013
This book contains stories from the Greek times in which Aphrodite interfered. Sometimes she helped and sometimes, she hurt. You never knew. This book is suspenseful and is about Aphrodite and what she did. I would recommend it to people who like Greek mythology and Greek stories.
August 11, 2014
This book featured three young girls from the Greek myths who dared to follow their own love path. It was a cute and quick read, nothing special. The stories were all a bit shallow, I was hoping for a bit more meat to the characters.
February 26, 2018
This book is well written and a fun quick read. I don't think all the Gods and Goddesses are blonde as in Italy, Greece, the ancient world there were brunettes and white tan people in those areas as well as blondes.
February 10, 2009
this is the book sarah was making fun of in the library. i'd call it a mix of 90% chic-flic and 10% greek mytholgy
April 18, 2009
I love Greek mythology and I love romance, so this book was great for me. I love how the author lets us see the woman's side of the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews