The ODYSSEY——She Made the Gods Kneel

A mortal woman general takes Troy with the wooden horse—then smashes Zeus's statue in the square. For that sacrilege, the King of the Gods sends six of his own to break her on the road home: a cyclops, a wind god, a sorcerer, a siren, the lord of the dead, and the god of the immortal isle. Traps at every turn. One demand: kneel. Athena gives her a gift: every god who truly submits to her yields up his power. One by one she conquers them—powerful, highborn, beautiful—and every one kneels willingly, and turns on Zeus for her sake. Through endless punishment and endless temptation, she never forgets the soldiers beside her, and never forgets the husband waiting at home. At last she reaches Ithaca, and six gods fight at her back. Together they break the King of the Gods. She climbs Olympus and makes the gods kneel for the dead of Troy. They name her their new master. And she gives up the throne—and walks home hand in hand with the man she loves.