★ What if the most radical queer narratives aren't new at all, but have been hiding in plain sight within ancient myths?
★ Classicist Jean Menzies reclaims the ancient Greek canon, revealing how legendary figures like Achilles and Tiresias have always embodied the beautiful complexity of gender fluidity and queer love.
★ Moving beyond modern labels, this book celebrates marginalized stories with both scholarly rigor and profound tenderness, proving that the past holds a mirror to our most authentic selves.
★ Part historical excavation and part heartfelt tribute, it invites readers to discover a richer, more inclusive mythology that honors the diverse spectrum of human identity.

Ancient Greece was rich with stories of queer love and gender- fluid identity—but what can these ancient stories tell us about our contemporary world?

Tales as old as antiquity – whether the love affair of Achilles and Patroclus, the genderfluid Tiresias, or the infamous Heracles – are still capturing our imaginations thousands of years later. But was antiquity’s relationship with queer folk more complicated than we now imagine? Historian Jean Menzies dives into the world of queer readings and retellings of Greek mythology, inviting readers to discover the power to be found in remaking these narratives.

From explorations of gender and identity across millennia, to celebrating queer love in its many forms, All the Violet Tiaras carves a space for queer stories to be told with all the complexity and tenderness they deserve—and a goddess or two thrown in for good measure.

Jean Menzies
Jean Menzies is an ancient historian and author from Scotland. Jean completed her PhD in classics at the University of Roe- hampton in 2022, with a focus on gender, myth, and rhetoric in Ancient Greece. Meanwhile, her first novel, The Flames of Albiyon, is a sapphic adult fantasy about dragons and found family. She can usually be found online harping on about queer literature and ancient history over on her YouTube channel Jean’s Thoughts.