Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney is a young adult fancy fiction novel set in Ancient Greece between the 11th and 12th centuries. Anaxandra narrates the novel in first-person using a depressive and melancholic tone. Anaxandra is the novel's central character, and the antagonists are Helen and Paris. The novel's major conflict is the abduction of Anaxandra by King Nicander, who takes her to live with his disabled daughter, Princess Callisto. The main topics in the novel discussed by Caroline B. Cooney include fate, revenge and prophesy.
Thematically, Caroline B. Cooney starts by exploring Anaxandra’s fate. The novel commences when Anaxandra is 6 years old. King Nicander kidnaps Anaxandra and takes her from her village to Siphnos Island to live with his disabled daughter, Princess Callisto. Anaxandra lives happily and peacefully with her new family on the island until she is 12, when pirates attack the island and kills everyone except her. King Menelaus rescues Anaxandra after she lies that she is Princess Callisto. King Menelaus takes Anaxandra to live in the palace in Sparta with his wife, Queen Helen. However, Queen Helen suspects the identity of Anaxandra, but she does not have any grounds to accuse her of impersonation. Later, Anaxandra lives in a new palace in Troy after Helen elopes with Prince Paris. Consequently, Anaxandra’s fate is fixed because she does not choose where to stay.
The second significant issue in the novel is revenge. When King Menelaus leaves to visit the King of Crete to pay him for his slaves, Prince Paris attacks Sparta and steals all the treasures. Making matters worse, Prince Paris elopes with Helen and King Menelaus' infant son to the Kingdom of Troy. Helen gladly accepts to elope with Prince Paris because he is handsome and charming. When King Menelaus returns, he is shocked to discover that Prince Paris has stolen all his treasure and eloped with his wife. King Menelaus revenges by launching a war against Troy. The neighboring kingdoms and the armies of Helen's former suitors support King Menelaus's army in invading Troy to recover the stolen treasures and bring back Helen.
The novel ends with the fulfilment of Cassandra's prophesy, who predicts that Helen will bring the downfall of Troy. When Prince Paris brings Helen to Troy, everyone likes her except Cassandra, Prince Paris' sister. According to Cassandra, Helen has come to destroy Troy because of the looming war, but no one believes her. However, Cassandra's prophesy is fulfilled when King Menelaus's army and neighboring kingdoms destroy Troy.
