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Acropolis #1
Acropolis: Curse of Athena
Athens in the time of Socrates- a centre for calm debate or a den of intrigue and deceit?
Artabas is half-Persian, half-Greek, an outsider who lives on his wits. He serves as a Spartan spy, in Corinth, a nest of corruption.
Sparta and Corinth seem close to defeat after eight years of war. Athens is in the ascendant. A truce has been declared for the Olympian Games and Corinth is crowded with travellers.
Artabas learns of a banquet arranged for important Athenians by powerful men in the city with links to Syracuse. Syracuse is the great power in the west, supplying the Peloponnese with much of its wheat for bread, yet so far she has stayed neutral.
He uses his lover to eavesdrop. But when the girl is found dead, his life takes a new direction, first in a quest for her killer, later in a bid to follow his own ambition, in the labyrinth that is Athens.
Philip Wooderson tells a story involving Alcibiades, spoilt nephew of the late Pericles, intent on glory in war no matter the cost to Athens; his aunt, the wily Aspasia, a seductress still in her prime, who schemes to regain the influence she held when Pericles ruled; and her aged lover, Euripides, writer of tragic plays, who sees disaster looming and schemes to end the war. Artabas finds himself courted by each, and learns that he can trust no one, except for his friend Socrates- a man who claims to know nothing.
The story concludes in Book Two, Acropolis: Wind of Hermes.
Both books are available in paperback and kindle editions via AMAZON.
Artabas is half-Persian, half-Greek, an outsider who lives on his wits. He serves as a Spartan spy, in Corinth, a nest of corruption.
Sparta and Corinth seem close to defeat after eight years of war. Athens is in the ascendant. A truce has been declared for the Olympian Games and Corinth is crowded with travellers.
Artabas learns of a banquet arranged for important Athenians by powerful men in the city with links to Syracuse. Syracuse is the great power in the west, supplying the Peloponnese with much of its wheat for bread, yet so far she has stayed neutral.
He uses his lover to eavesdrop. But when the girl is found dead, his life takes a new direction, first in a quest for her killer, later in a bid to follow his own ambition, in the labyrinth that is Athens.
Philip Wooderson tells a story involving Alcibiades, spoilt nephew of the late Pericles, intent on glory in war no matter the cost to Athens; his aunt, the wily Aspasia, a seductress still in her prime, who schemes to regain the influence she held when Pericles ruled; and her aged lover, Euripides, writer of tragic plays, who sees disaster looming and schemes to end the war. Artabas finds himself courted by each, and learns that he can trust no one, except for his friend Socrates- a man who claims to know nothing.
The story concludes in Book Two, Acropolis: Wind of Hermes.
Both books are available in paperback and kindle editions via AMAZON.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
396 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2015
1 person is currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Philip Wooderson
39 books7 followersPhilip Wooderson is an author, creative editor, and co-director of the Limnisa centre for writers in Greece.
His fiction for children and young adults has been published in the UK and US, and translated in several languages. His series, the Nile Files, was used by the Times to promote the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 Centre in London.
He graduated in history at the University of Sussex.
More recently he has turned his attention to adult historical fiction. His latest work, Acropolis, a novel in two volumes, Curse of Athena and Wind of Hermes are now available in paperback and kindle editions.
His fiction for children and young adults has been published in the UK and US, and translated in several languages. His series, the Nile Files, was used by the Times to promote the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 Centre in London.
He graduated in history at the University of Sussex.
More recently he has turned his attention to adult historical fiction. His latest work, Acropolis, a novel in two volumes, Curse of Athena and Wind of Hermes are now available in paperback and kindle editions.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 30, 2015
Brilliant and compelling. I was pleasantly surprised to find this novel an entertaining page turner as well as an intelligent and substantial piece of historical fiction. Wooderson shows us the intriguing world of ancient Athens during the period of the Peloponnese war, through the eyes of an outsider. And it's nothing like we expect.
An outstanding novel that I can highly recommend.
An outstanding novel that I can highly recommend.
September 17, 2019
Very enjoyable.
June 11, 2015
This was an entertaining view on Ancient Greece. It gave incite into a world forgotten. The beginning is a little slow, but I would recommend this to anyone with a desire to read about Ancient Greece.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews