Although my retelling may seem very different from the well-known version (about a hero, a monster, and a helpless princess), I took a lot of my ideas from the ancient sources, and from the ancient history of the Mediterranean. It’s true that alphabetic writing seems to have been brought to the Aegean, from the Phoenician city-states, sometime around the eleventh century BC. It’s true that there was a Great Disaster thirty centuries ago that destroyed the island of Fira (now better known as Santorini), and dealt the incredible Minoan civilization a blow from which it never recovered. It’s true that the Minoans honored women, that they had a culture of peace and plenty, and that they seem to have worshipped one god. It’s also true, you may like to know, that Perseus and Andromeda are the only pair of lovers in Greek myth to live happily ever after. As for the importance I’ve given to Andromeda and Cassiopeia, you have only to look up into the night sky to understand my reasoning.
