I wanted to review this book because the idea of myths being resonant in our increasingly complex modern society is a hot topic and, as a teacher, I try to encourage students who have so many choices laid before them, to study ancient literature. Myths are perhaps the answer as they express truths (unpleasant ones in many cases) and Morales’ new book addresses this issue in a practical and accessible way, in a book that would grace the shelves of any school library or Classics (or English) department. Firstly, why myth? This is a common question in papers dealing with Greek tragedy. Why did the tragedians use myths set way back in history rather than using contemporary stories to illustrate their moral point? Well, firstly, after Phyrnichus’ Capture of Miletus of 492 BCE was banned for causing distress to the audience in Athens so soon after the event, tragedies retelling the story of wars tended to focus on Athenian victories; Aeschylus’ Persae of 472 BCE fortunately fell into this category. Secondly, there is a tendency among some audience members to concentrate too closely on whether actors are portraying contemporary characters well enough or whether minor details are correct (‘That type of car wasn't sold until 1993 and this scene is set in 1990’). So, myths provide a distance between our reality and the ‘truth’ that those myths are telling us so that the audience, listener or reader can focus on the bigger truth as told by the myth. In her preface, Morales turns to this question, asking why in 2016 Antigone in Ferguson was staged in response to the killing of 18 year-old Michael Brown Jr. by police there in 2014, and she concludes that by performing stories ‘at one remove’ it avoids ‘risking the crassness of dramatising the specific events of a young man's death’. It also allows characters to be what Ralph Ellison called ‘enlarged’ and give those characters ‘possibilities [that] transcended the limitations that society placed upon them’ (Patrice Rankine). It is the courage and endurance of Antigone, rather than her rather sad end, that remains with those who study the play – they see her, says Morales, as a Malala Yousafi or Greta Thunberg, the lonely figure who stands against the world. Interestingly, that is not how Antigone herself would have been viewed in the ancient world. I remember Professor Hugh Bowden of King's College London delivering a session at school entitled ‘Why Antigone was wrong, and Jason was right’. The students were outraged of course, but the Greeks would most likely have had less sympathy for a young woman who spoke out of turn and who acted outside what was acceptable for a citizen. This is why ancient myths are still resonant – they produce reactions because they challenge our worldview by presenting larger than life characters in larger than life situations. Of course, Antigone is not the only female heroine in this book: there are the Amazons as portrayed in Wonder Woman, representations of whom are often cited by the sort of men who belong to the Red Pill groups discussed by Donna Zuckerberg in ‘Not All Dead White Men’ as being to blame for all the supposed challenges to the male ego in the 21^st century. Morales also discusses Lysistrata and the various versions inspired by it from Tony Harrison (A Common Chorus 1992) to Germaine Greer (Lysistrata – The Sex Strike 1999) and most recently Spike Lee's Chi-Raq (2015). Purists may bristle at the changes made, but art only survives by being flexible enough to sustain such off-shoots, and myths are nothing if not flexible. Of course, fictional characters are not the only ones included in this book; for example, Morales discusses how Hippocrates and his views have been used to promote diets, but quite rightly states that Hippocrates himself would not have endorsed the modern diet culture. Gluttony (I am writing this on Boxing Day) is mostly disapproved of as a sign of extravagance, but being fat, or at least well-covered, would have been a sign of richness and prosperity, whereas being thin would suggest poverty and possibly weakness. Body-shape and the view taken of it varies according to culture and time – think of those plump Rubens ladies – and we should always be careful to take a step back when using examples from other cultures whether geographically or temporally distant. Morales specifically says that what annoys her in this case is that Hippocrates’ writings are being misappropriated ‘by the diet industry to promote misery and sickness’. Using myths or ancient exemplars is not always helpful. Other discussions centre around the way that ancient women were controlled in relation to dress codes, and the Oppian Laws of the late 3^rd century BCE are cited along with Pentheus (Bacchae). I particularly enjoyed the pointed comment about politicians avowing family values only to be brought down by a sex scandal in this section. Clearly Ovid gets an indepth discussion; and the topics of #MeToo and trans-rights feature prominently in the final chapters where there is a different take on the transformations. We should all be aware that the metamorphoses into animals and plants teach us that we should connect with all elements of our planet, seeing all of these as integral to the well-being of us all and this, if done properly, would eradicate sexual assault. A noble aim. There are some moving quotes from young people who, having been introduced to myths, realise that this is not a modern issue – the stories of Caenis/Caeneus, Teiresias and the possibly lesser-known Iphis and Ianthe are movingly told and make a fitting conclusion to this book. It is sometimes an uncomfortable read but one which would be a welcome addition to a school or departmental library.