What do you think?
Rate this book
The Praise Singer
Simonides of Keos lived during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, a fertile period for the arts, when myths were being acted out and verse had just begun to be written down. In this evocative portrayal of Simonides, the poet is learning to master his craft and secure fickle patrons, and his travels place him at the scene of many central historical events. This fact, along with his friendship with gallivanting, brilliant Anakreon, makes him a perfect guide to the age.
The Praise Singer is faithfully grounded in history, with all the immediacy of Mary Renault’s acclaimed novels of the ancient world, offering an unforgettable portrait of such events as the Persian invasion of Ionia, the reign of Pisistratos in Athens, and the fall of Hippias and Hipparchos.
The Praise Singer is faithfully grounded in history, with all the immediacy of Mary Renault’s acclaimed novels of the ancient world, offering an unforgettable portrait of such events as the Persian invasion of Ionia, the reign of Pisistratos in Athens, and the fall of Hippias and Hipparchos.
275 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Mary Renault
46 books1,838 followersMary Renault was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece. In addition to vivid fictional portrayals of Theseus, Socrates, Plato and Alexander the Great, she wrote a non-fiction biography of Alexander.
Her historical novels are all set in ancient Greece. They include a pair of novels about the mythological hero Theseus and a trilogy about the career of Alexander the Great. In a sense, The Charioteer (1953), the story of two young gay servicemen in the 1940s who try to model their relationship on the ideals expressed in Plato's Phaedrus and Symposium, is a warm-up for Renault's historical novels. By turning away from the 20th century and focusing on stories about male lovers in the warrior societies of ancient Greece, Renault no longer had to deal with homosexuality and anti-gay prejudice as social "problems". Instead she was free to focus on larger ethical and philosophical concerns, while examining the nature of love and leadership. The Charioteer could not be published in the U.S. until 1959, after the success of The Last of the Wine proved that American readers and critics would accept a serious gay love story.
Her historical novels are all set in ancient Greece. They include a pair of novels about the mythological hero Theseus and a trilogy about the career of Alexander the Great. In a sense, The Charioteer (1953), the story of two young gay servicemen in the 1940s who try to model their relationship on the ideals expressed in Plato's Phaedrus and Symposium, is a warm-up for Renault's historical novels. By turning away from the 20th century and focusing on stories about male lovers in the warrior societies of ancient Greece, Renault no longer had to deal with homosexuality and anti-gay prejudice as social "problems". Instead she was free to focus on larger ethical and philosophical concerns, while examining the nature of love and leadership. The Charioteer could not be published in the U.S. until 1959, after the success of The Last of the Wine proved that American readers and critics would accept a serious gay love story.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
December 18, 2011
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: In the story of the great lyric poet Simonides, Mary Renault brings alive a time in Greece when tyrants kept an unsteady rule and poetry, music, and royal patronage combined to produce a flowering of the arts.
Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood through a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they travel through 5th century B.C. Greece, Simonides learns not only how to play the kithara and compose poetry, but also how to navigate the shifting alliances surrounding his rich patrons. He is witness to the Persian invasion of Ionia, to the decadent reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates, and to the fall of the Pisistratids in the Athenian court. Along the way, he encounters artists, statesmen, athletes, thinkers, and lovers, including the likes of Pythagoras and Aischylos. Using the singer's unique perspective, Renault combines her vibrant imagination and her formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century.
My Review: This book was a re-read, I feel sure, since I was hooked on her stuff in the Seventies...yet I felt curiously unfamiliar with the book. I recalled some scenes, such as Simonides returning from home to rejoin his master Kleobis in their Samian exile; I found a lot of the book to be less clear in my mind than most I've read before and choose to re-read.
I put this down to the fact that as I was reading it in 1978 or 1979, I was disappointed that the main character wasn't gay and wasn't even very excitingly drawn. (Can you tell I was a youth who loved the Alexander novels, The Bull from the Sea, The King Must Die, The Persian Boy? Especially The Persian Boy, quite salacious!)
But, in the end, as a fifty-year-old who's tastes have matured (ha), I liked this book quite a lot. It was a lovely tale of how the world has always judged others by their looks and not their deeds or talents. It presents itself as a harmless historical novel, and examines human nature minutely, unsparingly, and with what can only be called a jaundiced eye. Renault was clearly irritated at the follies of mankind. It shows in such lines as this, spoken by Simonides in his old age: "I have never desired young maids, preferrinig ripe fruit to green; maybe it is because I feared their laughter when I was a boy." (p262, Pantheon hardcover edition 1978)
Still scared of the masses. Still subject to the fears and foibles of youth. Wiser? Renault is too good a writer to make you take her view. She tells her story, and leaves you to take her meanings.
Sheer pleasure, friends, and all too seldom met, when a storyteller trusts you to read, and read again, and reach your own conclusions. Read it and conclude, and you won't be sorry.
The Publisher Says: In the story of the great lyric poet Simonides, Mary Renault brings alive a time in Greece when tyrants kept an unsteady rule and poetry, music, and royal patronage combined to produce a flowering of the arts.
Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood through a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they travel through 5th century B.C. Greece, Simonides learns not only how to play the kithara and compose poetry, but also how to navigate the shifting alliances surrounding his rich patrons. He is witness to the Persian invasion of Ionia, to the decadent reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates, and to the fall of the Pisistratids in the Athenian court. Along the way, he encounters artists, statesmen, athletes, thinkers, and lovers, including the likes of Pythagoras and Aischylos. Using the singer's unique perspective, Renault combines her vibrant imagination and her formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century.
My Review: This book was a re-read, I feel sure, since I was hooked on her stuff in the Seventies...yet I felt curiously unfamiliar with the book. I recalled some scenes, such as Simonides returning from home to rejoin his master Kleobis in their Samian exile; I found a lot of the book to be less clear in my mind than most I've read before and choose to re-read.
I put this down to the fact that as I was reading it in 1978 or 1979, I was disappointed that the main character wasn't gay and wasn't even very excitingly drawn. (Can you tell I was a youth who loved the Alexander novels, The Bull from the Sea, The King Must Die, The Persian Boy? Especially The Persian Boy, quite salacious!)
But, in the end, as a fifty-year-old who's tastes have matured (ha), I liked this book quite a lot. It was a lovely tale of how the world has always judged others by their looks and not their deeds or talents. It presents itself as a harmless historical novel, and examines human nature minutely, unsparingly, and with what can only be called a jaundiced eye. Renault was clearly irritated at the follies of mankind. It shows in such lines as this, spoken by Simonides in his old age: "I have never desired young maids, preferrinig ripe fruit to green; maybe it is because I feared their laughter when I was a boy." (p262, Pantheon hardcover edition 1978)
Still scared of the masses. Still subject to the fears and foibles of youth. Wiser? Renault is too good a writer to make you take her view. She tells her story, and leaves you to take her meanings.
Sheer pleasure, friends, and all too seldom met, when a storyteller trusts you to read, and read again, and reach your own conclusions. Read it and conclude, and you won't be sorry.
October 11, 2021
I said, “We shall come back again. All that I know of Athens tells me so. A city is not as great as its rulers only. It is as great as its gods. I have served them most; and I think the city knows it.”
“And its heroes,” said the boy. “You have sung them too. Perhaps it was because of you that he died so bravely.” He was feeling better now, and wanted to give some comfort back to me, in return for mine to him. “You sang it, and he did it. Have you thought of that?”
Another great trip to Ancient Greece, this time in the age of Peisistratids' tyrant rule of Athens.
This is a quiet and restrained story, especially compared to other Renault's epics, told by the great poet Simonides of Keos. He is an observer of history more than a participant. Because of that it can potentially be boring and that is why I won't recommend to start your acquaintance with Mary Renault with this one. But if you're already her fan and Ancient Greek history fascinates you, there's nobody like Renault.
September 23, 2015
If you want to visit ancient Greece, Mary Renault is the perfect tour guide. She can take known facts, make logical conclusions based on them, and weave both into a magic carpet that transports you to a living era, not a long lost one.
In The Praise Singer, we enter the world of Simonides the poet, 83 years old and reflecting about his life. He is a bit cranky at first, complaining that no one can remember songs anymore without writing them down, the way his young (40 years or so) nephew does. Of course in his day and earlier, a poet's memory was his meal ticket, so it was easy to understand his complaint here. Technology makes people nervous no matter the era.
Simonides was from the island of Ceos (now written as Keos) and he says the island was "stern": there were strict laws about behavior, dress and all sorts of things, but it is a lie that a man must take hemlock at age sixty. That was only in the old seige when the warriors had to be kept alive. Nowadays, it is just considered good manners. He spent his final years in Sicily and although he had other reasons for that choice, I would have to agree with him that Ceos was 'stern'!
We follow Simonides from youngster on the stern island to renowned poet in Athens, and are caught up in a swirl of history, watching intrigues and learning what may well have been the true back stories to many events that since those days have become legendary. I visited wiki a lot while reading this book, because as the story went along I became curious about nearly everything that was mentioned. The people were nearly all historical people, not merely created to fill out the tale (although there were of necessity a few such, they felt as real as the others and who's to say they did not actually exist?). Here is the wiki link for Simonides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonid...
Besides the story of one man's life, this is a story of the development of a country. We see ancient Greece on its way to the Classical Greece most of us think about when we hear the name. I like to read about people becoming who they are meant to be, and to see a bit of the same type of development in an entire country was fascinating. This book may not be as well known as others Renault wrote about ancient Greece, but it definitely deserves our attention.
In The Praise Singer, we enter the world of Simonides the poet, 83 years old and reflecting about his life. He is a bit cranky at first, complaining that no one can remember songs anymore without writing them down, the way his young (40 years or so) nephew does. Of course in his day and earlier, a poet's memory was his meal ticket, so it was easy to understand his complaint here. Technology makes people nervous no matter the era.
Simonides was from the island of Ceos (now written as Keos) and he says the island was "stern": there were strict laws about behavior, dress and all sorts of things, but it is a lie that a man must take hemlock at age sixty. That was only in the old seige when the warriors had to be kept alive. Nowadays, it is just considered good manners. He spent his final years in Sicily and although he had other reasons for that choice, I would have to agree with him that Ceos was 'stern'!
We follow Simonides from youngster on the stern island to renowned poet in Athens, and are caught up in a swirl of history, watching intrigues and learning what may well have been the true back stories to many events that since those days have become legendary. I visited wiki a lot while reading this book, because as the story went along I became curious about nearly everything that was mentioned. The people were nearly all historical people, not merely created to fill out the tale (although there were of necessity a few such, they felt as real as the others and who's to say they did not actually exist?). Here is the wiki link for Simonides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonid...
Besides the story of one man's life, this is a story of the development of a country. We see ancient Greece on its way to the Classical Greece most of us think about when we hear the name. I like to read about people becoming who they are meant to be, and to see a bit of the same type of development in an entire country was fascinating. This book may not be as well known as others Renault wrote about ancient Greece, but it definitely deserves our attention.
December 14, 2012
3.5 – 4 stars
Mary Renault’s _The Praise Singer_ is another highly enjoyable visit to the world of ancient Greece. This time we have left the heroic age of her consummate Theseus series (The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea) and entered the early classical period of Athens during the reigns of the tyrant Pisistratos and his heirs as seen through the eyes of the poet Simonides. This turns out to be something of a golden age for Athens and the arts, at least according to Simonides, which lies precariously on the edge of political upheaval and, ultimately, the coming storm of the Graeco-Persian war.
Simonides, the ugly but gifted child of a wealthy landowner on the small and severe island of Keos, tells us the story of his life as he grows from a provincial outcast into a shining star in the cultural centre of the Ionian world. He is an amiable narrator, seemingly unafraid to tell the truth as he sees it, and embodies almost equal parts perceptive insight and naïve simplicity. Given that this is a first-person narrative we obviously see the events of Simonides’ world through his eyes and thus the events that make up his life are central to the story, and yet I also had the sense that however much his life may be the focus of the tale and even be a not insignificant part of the cultural centre of his world, he is still much more of an observer than a participant in what we see. What I mean by that is that while Simonides was in no way a grey or lifeless character I still felt as though it was his world, and not the character himself, that took centre stage in the story. Simonides is also never a mystery to the reader, but I think that is because he is presented as a very straightforward man, a plain-speaking one whose position on any subject is able to be known without needing to ask. This simplicity of character means that there are times that the significance of events, and especially the nuances of personalities, can be overlooked by him until he sees them in a new light after events have fallen out in an unexpected way. The fact that the story is told as a memoir by Simonides as he looks back from old age on the various events of his life lends itself nicely to this nuance of his personality. As is perhaps likely to be the case with any tale set in ancient Greece the story is something of a tragedy, but it is not so much a personal tragedy for an individual brought on by hubris (though that does certainly play a part in things, as it must) as it is a tragedy for a people and a way of life subject to the vicissitudes of time and fortune.
Renault explores many themes in this novel: the unfairness of a human nature which by default castigates ugliness and praises beauty; meditations on the nature and purpose of art as well as its abuses; the precarious nature of human society and the seemingly small, and even personal, incidents that can lead to the downfall of an entire culture; and the serenity that can be found in remaining true to oneself and one’s principles. Aside from these themes the story is worth reading simply to enjoy Renault’s fluid mastery of her prose and her vivid depiction of a long-gone world. I will admit to having enjoyed the Theseus books more, I think that was at least partially because the shading between the natural and the supernatural was still very ambiguous in those and the mythical was coinciding with the historical in a fascinating way, whereas here we are in a much more ‘modern’ and almost purely historical setting where, if the gods are not exactly disbelieved in, they are certainly treated with much more complacency. I sometimes felt as though Simonides’ point of view was occasionally a little too restrictive, though I can’t really count that as a fault since it was really an expression of effective character building and was also inherent in the format Renault chose for her tale; really this was more a case of my own desires not always coinciding with the author’s purpose.
All in all, though, this was an excellent tale that immerses the reader into a specific era of the Hellenic world with vivid characters and a quick, fluid pace. Definitely recommended to lovers of well-written historical fiction and the world of ancient Greece.
Mary Renault’s _The Praise Singer_ is another highly enjoyable visit to the world of ancient Greece. This time we have left the heroic age of her consummate Theseus series (The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea) and entered the early classical period of Athens during the reigns of the tyrant Pisistratos and his heirs as seen through the eyes of the poet Simonides. This turns out to be something of a golden age for Athens and the arts, at least according to Simonides, which lies precariously on the edge of political upheaval and, ultimately, the coming storm of the Graeco-Persian war.
Simonides, the ugly but gifted child of a wealthy landowner on the small and severe island of Keos, tells us the story of his life as he grows from a provincial outcast into a shining star in the cultural centre of the Ionian world. He is an amiable narrator, seemingly unafraid to tell the truth as he sees it, and embodies almost equal parts perceptive insight and naïve simplicity. Given that this is a first-person narrative we obviously see the events of Simonides’ world through his eyes and thus the events that make up his life are central to the story, and yet I also had the sense that however much his life may be the focus of the tale and even be a not insignificant part of the cultural centre of his world, he is still much more of an observer than a participant in what we see. What I mean by that is that while Simonides was in no way a grey or lifeless character I still felt as though it was his world, and not the character himself, that took centre stage in the story. Simonides is also never a mystery to the reader, but I think that is because he is presented as a very straightforward man, a plain-speaking one whose position on any subject is able to be known without needing to ask. This simplicity of character means that there are times that the significance of events, and especially the nuances of personalities, can be overlooked by him until he sees them in a new light after events have fallen out in an unexpected way. The fact that the story is told as a memoir by Simonides as he looks back from old age on the various events of his life lends itself nicely to this nuance of his personality. As is perhaps likely to be the case with any tale set in ancient Greece the story is something of a tragedy, but it is not so much a personal tragedy for an individual brought on by hubris (though that does certainly play a part in things, as it must) as it is a tragedy for a people and a way of life subject to the vicissitudes of time and fortune.
Renault explores many themes in this novel: the unfairness of a human nature which by default castigates ugliness and praises beauty; meditations on the nature and purpose of art as well as its abuses; the precarious nature of human society and the seemingly small, and even personal, incidents that can lead to the downfall of an entire culture; and the serenity that can be found in remaining true to oneself and one’s principles. Aside from these themes the story is worth reading simply to enjoy Renault’s fluid mastery of her prose and her vivid depiction of a long-gone world. I will admit to having enjoyed the Theseus books more, I think that was at least partially because the shading between the natural and the supernatural was still very ambiguous in those and the mythical was coinciding with the historical in a fascinating way, whereas here we are in a much more ‘modern’ and almost purely historical setting where, if the gods are not exactly disbelieved in, they are certainly treated with much more complacency. I sometimes felt as though Simonides’ point of view was occasionally a little too restrictive, though I can’t really count that as a fault since it was really an expression of effective character building and was also inherent in the format Renault chose for her tale; really this was more a case of my own desires not always coinciding with the author’s purpose.
All in all, though, this was an excellent tale that immerses the reader into a specific era of the Hellenic world with vivid characters and a quick, fluid pace. Definitely recommended to lovers of well-written historical fiction and the world of ancient Greece.
December 24, 2015
I have no praise to sing for this one. And what a shame. Ancient history is of tremendous interest to me in both fictional and nonfictional form and, until this book, I've never found it trite and uninteresting. It's a fictional account of a real life praise singer's notably long (for the time) life of 88 years and yet the writing was so dull, so...froufrou for lack of a proper word, so distractingly heavily fraught with homoeroticism that it neither delighted nor entertained. I obsessively finish the books I start, but this one offered nothing page to page, no redeeming qualities. For a relatively short book it read tediously long too. A pleasant interesting armchair visit to a world long gone this certainly wasn't. This sort of thing definitely has an audience, quite possibly the sort of audience that enjoys incessant descriptions of male beauty over, for example, actual substance. Personally, though, waste of time.
July 25, 2019
There is both the sense of the familiar and something that is quite a departure from her other books in Mary Renault’s The Praise Singer. The style of writing is the same; Renault’s marvellous ability to create an immersive ancient Greek world that almost feels palpable, as if the author instinctively intuits the everyday concerns and wider outlook of her characters, espousing what we might today call alien views and illuminating strange customs as though there could be nothing more natural. Renault was one of those rare writers who has always been able to whisk me off to a distant, long-forgotten world, while somehow engaging the reader in comprehending that world. Certainly, in historical fiction I’ve found few authors who seem to truly understand their subject, and I’ve had to put down far too many books where the voice was simply too modern and did not ring true.
What is surprising and fresh about The Praise Singer is that the substance is different. I’ve read Renault’s Theseus duology, and Alexander trilogy, and am now making my way through her three standalone novels set in the fifth and fourth centuries; The Praise Singer is the first, chronologically, and notable in that far from being carried by a larger-than-life hero, Renault’s protagonist is a bard, Simonides, who writes about the deeds of such figures. Other reviewers have noted that this does give the novel the feel of a history textbook dressed up in a semi-fictional (for Simonides and many of the named characters were real people) story – sugar to make the medicine go down, perhaps? I can understand such criticism, although I don’t agree entirely with it. Unless you really like your Greek poets, a reader might feel frustrated at reading about events through the perspective of a less enthralling ‘side character’ rather than directly sitting on the shoulders of the tyrants and oligarchs. I must admit to being less gripped by this novel than Renault’s aforementioned series. But Simonides is not just a conveniently long-lived eyewitness. One gets the impression that there is something of Renault herself in the depiction, a fascination on her part for a fellow story-teller.
8 out of 10
February 25, 2024
if i was being exiled to a desert island and was only able to take with me the works of one author, of course it would be my girlfriend’s. who is not mary renault. but she may indeed be my second choice.
anyway, this is why i cannot be exiled to a desert island.
anyway, this is why i cannot be exiled to a desert island.
March 6, 2011
About four years ago, I participated in our library's adult winter reading program. It's a fun and easy contest that was started to complement the children's summer reading program that had been going on for years (at least as long as I had been taking my son to the library...and I'm sure it was well-established then). During the winter months (Jan-Feb), all one has to do is submit entries for every book read--name of book, author, and a simple rating. They hold a drawing every week of the program and winners get to select book prizes.
So...when I got a notice that I'd won in January of 2008, I looked over the books and, based on the blurb and cover and whatnot, I decided to bring The Praise Singer by Mary Renault home with me. It sounded interesting. It was historical fiction and would take me a little out of my comfort zone period-wise, but I thought that might be a good thing.
Um. Not so much. The back of book says: "Renault combines her vibrant imagination and her formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century." Actually, she takes what ought to be an interesting story and makes it sound like a history lesson. For the most part, the writing is flat; the sentences are choppy; and I had a hard time finishing the book. I thought for a time that this was intentional--that perhaps she was trying to make it sound like it had been translated from the Greek. That was an interesting idea for about a chapter or so--after that, it was just a a distraction.
There are moments (way too brief) of what (given the praise I've read of some of her other works on Goodreads) may be her usual fluid, lyrical writing. But it's not sustained. What really grabbed me about the book was the character. I loved Simonides and really wanted to hear his story--how this "ugly duckling" (the least-favored of his father's children) turned into the swan. How he overcame a life as a herdsman to become one of the most well-known bards of his time. How he not only learns his craft, but also learns how to navigate through the shifting alliances of the time. He lives to see the Persian invasion of Ionia, the reign and overthrow of the of Polykrates, and the fall of the tyrants of the Athenian court. That was worth reading. I just wish that Renault had been more of the bard herself in this outing. Two stars. Mostly for character.
So...when I got a notice that I'd won in January of 2008, I looked over the books and, based on the blurb and cover and whatnot, I decided to bring The Praise Singer by Mary Renault home with me. It sounded interesting. It was historical fiction and would take me a little out of my comfort zone period-wise, but I thought that might be a good thing.
Um. Not so much. The back of book says: "Renault combines her vibrant imagination and her formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century." Actually, she takes what ought to be an interesting story and makes it sound like a history lesson. For the most part, the writing is flat; the sentences are choppy; and I had a hard time finishing the book. I thought for a time that this was intentional--that perhaps she was trying to make it sound like it had been translated from the Greek. That was an interesting idea for about a chapter or so--after that, it was just a a distraction.
There are moments (way too brief) of what (given the praise I've read of some of her other works on Goodreads) may be her usual fluid, lyrical writing. But it's not sustained. What really grabbed me about the book was the character. I loved Simonides and really wanted to hear his story--how this "ugly duckling" (the least-favored of his father's children) turned into the swan. How he overcame a life as a herdsman to become one of the most well-known bards of his time. How he not only learns his craft, but also learns how to navigate through the shifting alliances of the time. He lives to see the Persian invasion of Ionia, the reign and overthrow of the of Polykrates, and the fall of the tyrants of the Athenian court. That was worth reading. I just wish that Renault had been more of the bard herself in this outing. Two stars. Mostly for character.
July 24, 2009
I love Mary Renault and the work she had done as an historian and novelist.
We, all of us, grow up within narrow confines of family, culture and class. The study of history and of cultural anthropology is a corrective to the limitations of our upbringing.
Renault was a homosexual living in a time and place when that was not acceptable. She made a career out of writing about another time and place when it was not only acceptable but highly idealized. Beyond that, the intimate investigation of antique Greek civilization challenges a whole host of practices our time. Renault's novels bring not only these conventions to light, objectively speaking, but also engender sympathy for the persons who held such values. And she does so within the compass of historical plausibility. People may have been actually like this, people like ourselves...
We, all of us, grow up within narrow confines of family, culture and class. The study of history and of cultural anthropology is a corrective to the limitations of our upbringing.
Renault was a homosexual living in a time and place when that was not acceptable. She made a career out of writing about another time and place when it was not only acceptable but highly idealized. Beyond that, the intimate investigation of antique Greek civilization challenges a whole host of practices our time. Renault's novels bring not only these conventions to light, objectively speaking, but also engender sympathy for the persons who held such values. And she does so within the compass of historical plausibility. People may have been actually like this, people like ourselves...
June 9, 2016
If you want a taste of what living in ancient Greece was really like then Renault is the writer to read. In this novel she eschews the heroics of Alexander and Theseus and instead focuses on the little-known epic poet/bard Simonides who sings Homer as he travels around the Greek world. He witnesses great events and introduces us to the people who make things happen, but he himself is content to sing of life rather than drive it.
Perhaps Renault's least popular Greek novel, this is a quiet, subtle book that somehow still manages to haunt once it's finished - superb.
Perhaps Renault's least popular Greek novel, this is a quiet, subtle book that somehow still manages to haunt once it's finished - superb.
January 2, 2022
“Anything can happen to anyone; I saw that in Ionia. Men born in riches have ended up washing a Persian’s floors.”
Historical fiction. Building on what little is known about sixth century BC Greece, Renault builds a sympathetic and engaging tale. Tells it as it should have been.
“He praised my ode. He was the first to mention the lines that I had liked best myself. (There is praise, after all, which makes one wonder what one did wrong, to have caught the fancy of such a fool.)”
Best read digitally with hot links, unless the reader is very familiar with ancient Greek geography, persons, and terminology. Other readers may find themselves adrift. Lyrical turns of the phrase.
'It is bitter to lose a friend to evil, before one loses him to death.'
Historical fiction. Building on what little is known about sixth century BC Greece, Renault builds a sympathetic and engaging tale. Tells it as it should have been.
“He praised my ode. He was the first to mention the lines that I had liked best myself. (There is praise, after all, which makes one wonder what one did wrong, to have caught the fancy of such a fool.)”
Best read digitally with hot links, unless the reader is very familiar with ancient Greek geography, persons, and terminology. Other readers may find themselves adrift. Lyrical turns of the phrase.
'It is bitter to lose a friend to evil, before one loses him to death.'
June 7, 2019
While Mary Renault writes very beautifully and is able to evoke ancient Greece as if you were standing in the middle of any event Simonides attends, it simply isn't that interesting a story. It's basically 2 stars for the story and 5 stars for the writing. The main issue is that nothing much happens. There is no conflict Simonides is a part of, there is emotional investment by him in anything or anyone and the entire novel then turns into a sort of collection of short stories about other character that Sim met. There a re a couple of chapters about his brother, or Polykrates and ending with the last Tyrants.
And I do not miss the point of the quasi bard being the one who sings about people, telling their stories, which makes his own story only ever standing in regard to the greatness of the songs about others and not his own. The last line in the novel puts it quite nicely, 'you sang it and he did it'. And I can appreciate the nuance and the intimate takes into the private quarters of the great men of the time period, but it simply isn't enough to string a whole bunch of those together to form a story that keeps the reader interested.
Almost all characters get replaced by new characters every other chapter or so. Everyone just comes and goes and does things and dies or leaves and then someone else comes and so forth. The only thing that really kept me invested was the simply beautiful prose by Renault. It's a boring story, but a well-written one, thus I'm looking forward to reading another novel of hers, hopefully more things happen that matter.
And I do not miss the point of the quasi bard being the one who sings about people, telling their stories, which makes his own story only ever standing in regard to the greatness of the songs about others and not his own. The last line in the novel puts it quite nicely, 'you sang it and he did it'. And I can appreciate the nuance and the intimate takes into the private quarters of the great men of the time period, but it simply isn't enough to string a whole bunch of those together to form a story that keeps the reader interested.
Almost all characters get replaced by new characters every other chapter or so. Everyone just comes and goes and does things and dies or leaves and then someone else comes and so forth. The only thing that really kept me invested was the simply beautiful prose by Renault. It's a boring story, but a well-written one, thus I'm looking forward to reading another novel of hers, hopefully more things happen that matter.
August 27, 2012
Fictional retelling of the story of Simonides, the ancient Greek lyric poet and bard. He allegedly wrote the epitaph to the fallen at Thermopylae. I've read several novels on Welsh bards of the Dark Ages; this novel was a departure for me--a bard in another time and place. Simonides tells his story from childhood, through apprenticeship to another bard to learn his trade, how he wins and keeps his fame, then the cycle starts again, with his travelling with his talented nephew as apprentice. Another of Renault's masterly works with ancient Greek theme.
August 4, 2013
I liked reading a story set in Ancient times that was not focused on a battle or a warrior.
Learning about the time and people through the perceptions of a traveling singer gave the story a different spin than I am used to. It was well written and enjoyable.
Learning about the time and people through the perceptions of a traveling singer gave the story a different spin than I am used to. It was well written and enjoyable.
August 23, 2024
I’m not usually one for historical fiction but Renault blew me away.
October 12, 2026
wonderful! could a mary renault book be anything else? i'm really sad that i've finished all of her historical fiction, but i guess that means i have an excuse to read it all again lol. but seriously i feel like her books are so dense that you kind of have to reread them at least once to really truly get it. i loved that this book was a celebration of all kinds of artists! of course i loved the exekias cameo, and the fictionalized story of the first ever red-figure pottery!! as an art history lover i really appreciate the attention renault pays not only to greek art, but also how and why it changed over the years. i also really enjoy her style of narration, where an older version of the character is telling you the story, but in-character rather than as a nebulous force (if that makes sense?) like the version of simonides who is telling this story is an old man, so he tells the story like an old man. i really enjoyed this part specifically for that reason:
“His mind was sharp still, if not his memory; most of the others were maundering on about old men’s trivial concerns, or deploring the manners of the youth – which, I think, had never been so good as they were then, and certainly have not since.” (126)
other quotes:
“So don’t bring me, I say to these worthy men, some youth who wants to know what kind of song is likely to win the crown this year; or what everyone else is singing, lest he should feel lonely. If that is all he wants, I’ve no time left to waste on him. Take him away, and apprentice him to a lyre-maker, where he may even be of use. But if you come upon someone who grabs at song like a child at a bright stone on the shore, who shapes and reshapes like a child building a sand-castle, deep in his act and lost to all around – then, never mind if his sand-castle leans sideways, just give him time. Don’t tell him that this year people are doing, or not doing, or no longer doing, this or that. Send him to me, who will protect him from fools like you, will show him the great shell-beaches and watch him at his play.” (35-6)
“So that all could be heard, the Poet of the Agora scrambled up a statue plinth. The statue was of an Isthmian victor; but Hipponax was the victor now. One thing he taught me: that whomever you blacken, there will always be someone glad of it. All men seek esteem; the best by lifting themselves, which is hard to do, the rest by shoving others down, which is much easier.” (42)
“I had been considering the scapegoats, winner and loser both. They were evil men, but not the worst in a town as big as Ephesos. No; they were the worst men who were ugly too. How did I offend the gods before my birth, I thought, that I should be born halfway to being hated, before I do anything to deserve it? Song would have healed me, but it would not come; and being young, I thought that present trouble would last forever. [...] One morning I thought, as I lay in bed, This can be the last day when I wake to sorrow. The choice is mine.” (44)
“When he was settled and served, I sang the song, turning his way as one does to the guest of honor. By now, I was getting into a style that was my own; but this was his, and I fell into his style as if it were two years back. When I saw from his face that I had got it true, it was hard not to smile back at him; but that might have cheapened my tribute afterwards.
I ended with a dying fall, and a showy cadenza on the kithara; my own, for he had not yet worked up his concert version. There was a burst of applause. I saw his eyes filled with tears, and not of grief. That moment was like a laurel crown to me. But man’s joy is fleeting.” (54)
“Here in Samos, it was not what one must not sing, but what one must. Tell a man what he may not sing, and he is still half free; even all free, if he never wanted to sing it. But tell him what he must sing, take up his time with it so that his true voice cannot sound even in secret – there, I have seen, is slavery.” (59)
“Theodoros, I saw, could have done without us all. He enjoyed his fame; but, like most artists, not everything it brought with it. He’d have liked to view the work in peace, complete the finishing, and then show it perfect; and I do not blame him. No one can make me disclose a half-formed song; my mold, my furnace, are safely within my head.” (67)
“I climbed the steep way to the ancient walls, remembering how Kleobis had said he would make an offering for my victory. He had offered his own lonely death, while I was being welcomed in my own city without a care. People turned their heads now and then to see me weeping; but I had nowhere to go, and had to make the best of it.” (79)
“‘No matter. The Sight is rare. But the bonds of souls are for all men, as for every creature. Leave, when you can, your honorable grief. I forsee that you will live long. Even before your soul departs its present habitation, his in its new one may return, and you can repay your debt to him, as he, you may be sure, repaid to you some ancient kindness. In such ways we lift each other towards the light.’” (81)
“I have always liked to get to Delos early, before the crowds have trampled it, and try to see it when Leto came there first, to bear her child. She’d been delivered of the elder twin already; maiden Artemis could run beside her hunting game, for the infancy of gods is brief. But Leto is still big with the younger, greater one; his light glows through her, like the sun through a rosy shell. His time is come; he commands her; she crouches by the palm tree and grasps it in her pangs; the shining babe slides down between her thighs; rests for a moment, turning his blue eyes to the sky; then the birth-cord falls from him; faster on his feet than a day-old colt, he runs to the lake to rinse off the birth-bloom; swims across and back; and striding ashore in his tall splendor, shakes the water from his golden hair. Before the crowds come, I can see all that; after, I can only tell it.” (108)
“To save time I put my robe and wreath on. As I came in, I saw the change in my father’s face as he made out who it was. For a moment he’d thought it was someone of importance.” (111)
“If I had gone back before I left for the ferry, I would have seen his death. He named me; perhaps it would have told me something. As it is, I ask myself, even now, why it was not until I came that he asked for hemlock. Was it just that I knew Delos, and might be able to find it? Or did he think I would give it more willingly than the rest? Or to be humbled before me, was that the last stroke, too much to bear?” (118)
“They say that the Arabian phoenix dies in flame, and is reborn from its ashes. This is certainly true of Athens, and I wish only good to that strong and thrusting chick. But now I am old, the unburned phoenix is the Athens of my heart. It is the city I have carried westward with me, into Greater Greece. When I look back, my years there seem one long summer, with bitter winter coming in a single day. I can scarcely believe that there were fourteen years of it. That it was the core of my life, I know.” (139)
“‘Have you not heard, then? [Theodoros] died one day in the foundry. They were running the melted bronze into the mold; he felt the heat, they say, and got short of breath. But he kept on his feet till the mold was filled, shouting at them all, you know his way; then he caught at his breast and fell down, and was dead before the doctor came. His prentices said that right till the last, while he could catch his breath he was telling them how to finish the statue when the mold was broken. Sophilos had no use in his right hand for a week, from Theodoros gripping it at the end.’” (145)
“Yet her beauty lives for me as clear as ever, her room with its treasures, her laugh, her friendship. Often, still, I find myself thinking, I must tell Lyra that.” (162)
“I stood and looked at him. No, it would not be true to say I no longer knew him. I had known him a long time. All I saw now I’d known; but only as a man can know that his lynx kitten is getting bigger, not really believing that its claws are growing too. He had been much praised, much loved, and much of it deservedly. His sense of his deserts had grown. Now he was sure that what he desired, he deserved, and anyone who denied it merited punishment.” (235)
“Yes, I thought; it was as Achilles’ heir that he must have seen himself; inheritor of the ancient laws, which say a man lives by his pride and shall defend it to the death; Harmodios son of Proxenos son of Harmodios, and so on back to some well-greaved Achaian at Troy. And Aristogeiton, to whom Bacchylides, concerned for his hero only, had paid so little heed? The youth had killed for pride, but the man for love: from anger at the hurt to his beloved, and that one man should have the power to do it; from fear that he had power to take the beloved away.” (246)
“His mind was sharp still, if not his memory; most of the others were maundering on about old men’s trivial concerns, or deploring the manners of the youth – which, I think, had never been so good as they were then, and certainly have not since.” (126)
other quotes:
“So don’t bring me, I say to these worthy men, some youth who wants to know what kind of song is likely to win the crown this year; or what everyone else is singing, lest he should feel lonely. If that is all he wants, I’ve no time left to waste on him. Take him away, and apprentice him to a lyre-maker, where he may even be of use. But if you come upon someone who grabs at song like a child at a bright stone on the shore, who shapes and reshapes like a child building a sand-castle, deep in his act and lost to all around – then, never mind if his sand-castle leans sideways, just give him time. Don’t tell him that this year people are doing, or not doing, or no longer doing, this or that. Send him to me, who will protect him from fools like you, will show him the great shell-beaches and watch him at his play.” (35-6)
“So that all could be heard, the Poet of the Agora scrambled up a statue plinth. The statue was of an Isthmian victor; but Hipponax was the victor now. One thing he taught me: that whomever you blacken, there will always be someone glad of it. All men seek esteem; the best by lifting themselves, which is hard to do, the rest by shoving others down, which is much easier.” (42)
“I had been considering the scapegoats, winner and loser both. They were evil men, but not the worst in a town as big as Ephesos. No; they were the worst men who were ugly too. How did I offend the gods before my birth, I thought, that I should be born halfway to being hated, before I do anything to deserve it? Song would have healed me, but it would not come; and being young, I thought that present trouble would last forever. [...] One morning I thought, as I lay in bed, This can be the last day when I wake to sorrow. The choice is mine.” (44)
“When he was settled and served, I sang the song, turning his way as one does to the guest of honor. By now, I was getting into a style that was my own; but this was his, and I fell into his style as if it were two years back. When I saw from his face that I had got it true, it was hard not to smile back at him; but that might have cheapened my tribute afterwards.
I ended with a dying fall, and a showy cadenza on the kithara; my own, for he had not yet worked up his concert version. There was a burst of applause. I saw his eyes filled with tears, and not of grief. That moment was like a laurel crown to me. But man’s joy is fleeting.” (54)
“Here in Samos, it was not what one must not sing, but what one must. Tell a man what he may not sing, and he is still half free; even all free, if he never wanted to sing it. But tell him what he must sing, take up his time with it so that his true voice cannot sound even in secret – there, I have seen, is slavery.” (59)
“Theodoros, I saw, could have done without us all. He enjoyed his fame; but, like most artists, not everything it brought with it. He’d have liked to view the work in peace, complete the finishing, and then show it perfect; and I do not blame him. No one can make me disclose a half-formed song; my mold, my furnace, are safely within my head.” (67)
“I climbed the steep way to the ancient walls, remembering how Kleobis had said he would make an offering for my victory. He had offered his own lonely death, while I was being welcomed in my own city without a care. People turned their heads now and then to see me weeping; but I had nowhere to go, and had to make the best of it.” (79)
“‘No matter. The Sight is rare. But the bonds of souls are for all men, as for every creature. Leave, when you can, your honorable grief. I forsee that you will live long. Even before your soul departs its present habitation, his in its new one may return, and you can repay your debt to him, as he, you may be sure, repaid to you some ancient kindness. In such ways we lift each other towards the light.’” (81)
“I have always liked to get to Delos early, before the crowds have trampled it, and try to see it when Leto came there first, to bear her child. She’d been delivered of the elder twin already; maiden Artemis could run beside her hunting game, for the infancy of gods is brief. But Leto is still big with the younger, greater one; his light glows through her, like the sun through a rosy shell. His time is come; he commands her; she crouches by the palm tree and grasps it in her pangs; the shining babe slides down between her thighs; rests for a moment, turning his blue eyes to the sky; then the birth-cord falls from him; faster on his feet than a day-old colt, he runs to the lake to rinse off the birth-bloom; swims across and back; and striding ashore in his tall splendor, shakes the water from his golden hair. Before the crowds come, I can see all that; after, I can only tell it.” (108)
“To save time I put my robe and wreath on. As I came in, I saw the change in my father’s face as he made out who it was. For a moment he’d thought it was someone of importance.” (111)
“If I had gone back before I left for the ferry, I would have seen his death. He named me; perhaps it would have told me something. As it is, I ask myself, even now, why it was not until I came that he asked for hemlock. Was it just that I knew Delos, and might be able to find it? Or did he think I would give it more willingly than the rest? Or to be humbled before me, was that the last stroke, too much to bear?” (118)
“They say that the Arabian phoenix dies in flame, and is reborn from its ashes. This is certainly true of Athens, and I wish only good to that strong and thrusting chick. But now I am old, the unburned phoenix is the Athens of my heart. It is the city I have carried westward with me, into Greater Greece. When I look back, my years there seem one long summer, with bitter winter coming in a single day. I can scarcely believe that there were fourteen years of it. That it was the core of my life, I know.” (139)
“‘Have you not heard, then? [Theodoros] died one day in the foundry. They were running the melted bronze into the mold; he felt the heat, they say, and got short of breath. But he kept on his feet till the mold was filled, shouting at them all, you know his way; then he caught at his breast and fell down, and was dead before the doctor came. His prentices said that right till the last, while he could catch his breath he was telling them how to finish the statue when the mold was broken. Sophilos had no use in his right hand for a week, from Theodoros gripping it at the end.’” (145)
“Yet her beauty lives for me as clear as ever, her room with its treasures, her laugh, her friendship. Often, still, I find myself thinking, I must tell Lyra that.” (162)
“I stood and looked at him. No, it would not be true to say I no longer knew him. I had known him a long time. All I saw now I’d known; but only as a man can know that his lynx kitten is getting bigger, not really believing that its claws are growing too. He had been much praised, much loved, and much of it deservedly. His sense of his deserts had grown. Now he was sure that what he desired, he deserved, and anyone who denied it merited punishment.” (235)
“Yes, I thought; it was as Achilles’ heir that he must have seen himself; inheritor of the ancient laws, which say a man lives by his pride and shall defend it to the death; Harmodios son of Proxenos son of Harmodios, and so on back to some well-greaved Achaian at Troy. And Aristogeiton, to whom Bacchylides, concerned for his hero only, had paid so little heed? The youth had killed for pride, but the man for love: from anger at the hurt to his beloved, and that one man should have the power to do it; from fear that he had power to take the beloved away.” (246)
September 12, 2015
I don't usually read historical novels. They can be riddled with inaccuracies or simply historically otiose. This book, however, really wowed me. Renault follows the life of the ancient lyric poet, Simonides. Our historical knowledge of Simonides' life is thin, so Renault has to fill in a lot of gaps. Sometimes the events she postulates are not evidenced by our historical knowledge, but they always seem plausible within the narrative, and often also justify their absence from the historical record (e.g. a young Simonides spent time on Samos during the reign of Polycrates, but was never noticed by the tyrant or invited to perform in his court).
Large parts of the novel follow events that we couldn't possibly know, such as the details of his upbringing or his dalliance with common prostitutes. Other parts of the novel cover events that are the topic of much historical conjecture, such as the strange events surrounding the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Some familiarity with ancient history and literature makes this book more fun. Seeing Cyrus the Great, Pisistratus, and Anacreon through the eyes of the narrator almost rivals the joy of getting into the head of Simonides himself.
The book gives a fair representation of many aspects of historical reality, and although it is based on scholarship that is dated by now, it still covers more than you might get from a survey of the 'great men' of the time. Those who read history usually read about the leaders and the generals, which this book doesn't ignore. But what does life look like for the traveling artist? Or for the lowly shepherd? What did an ancient festival mean to the participant? These are questions that this book tackles and its answers seem more meaningful than scholarly debates about the social function of ancient ritual.
Renault makes her characters sensible to us by endowing them with many of the psychological and social characteristics that we identify with today. In some cases this may misrepresent the past. For example, a shepherd mentions sacrificing a goat for good luck in secret because he wanted to avoid reproach from his stingy estate owner. But how could you secretly sacrifice an animal? Once it is sacrificed, you would have a lot of meat to share with the community. Did he just discard the meat like a wasteful modern? It seems implausible that there were covert sacrifices of animals as large as a goat. This is a small critique though. More often the book succeeds in painting a picture of the ancient world that makes sense to modern eyes. And those are the only eyes that we can use to view the ancient world.
Large parts of the novel follow events that we couldn't possibly know, such as the details of his upbringing or his dalliance with common prostitutes. Other parts of the novel cover events that are the topic of much historical conjecture, such as the strange events surrounding the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Some familiarity with ancient history and literature makes this book more fun. Seeing Cyrus the Great, Pisistratus, and Anacreon through the eyes of the narrator almost rivals the joy of getting into the head of Simonides himself.
The book gives a fair representation of many aspects of historical reality, and although it is based on scholarship that is dated by now, it still covers more than you might get from a survey of the 'great men' of the time. Those who read history usually read about the leaders and the generals, which this book doesn't ignore. But what does life look like for the traveling artist? Or for the lowly shepherd? What did an ancient festival mean to the participant? These are questions that this book tackles and its answers seem more meaningful than scholarly debates about the social function of ancient ritual.
Renault makes her characters sensible to us by endowing them with many of the psychological and social characteristics that we identify with today. In some cases this may misrepresent the past. For example, a shepherd mentions sacrificing a goat for good luck in secret because he wanted to avoid reproach from his stingy estate owner. But how could you secretly sacrifice an animal? Once it is sacrificed, you would have a lot of meat to share with the community. Did he just discard the meat like a wasteful modern? It seems implausible that there were covert sacrifices of animals as large as a goat. This is a small critique though. More often the book succeeds in painting a picture of the ancient world that makes sense to modern eyes. And those are the only eyes that we can use to view the ancient world.
May 21, 2007
It was excellent in the last short bit, but the rest of it was just so boring. Intelligent, yes, of course, and insightful, always - Mme Renault rarely produces characters without value, but it got to the point where I was finishing the book out of a sense of devotion to the author, rather than a sincere interest in the text.
August 4, 2022
Only now discovering what a genius is Mary Renault. She succeeded in transporting me back to that Greece before Euripides, even before Pindar. This life of Simonides is about poetry, about how a singing bard lived, about family obligations and about power politics. An author everyone must read.
August 15, 2018
“Swift is the dragon-fly's darting; swifter is fortune's change.”
*
“Long after this, when I had made my name, someone from Keos asked how it was I had not come to hate my brother, to whom it must have seemed the gods had given everything, leaving nothing for me. I answered that next to having the gods' gifts ourselves, it is best to honor them. If not, one must grow to hate them; and, Zeus be my witness, I have seen what can come of that.”
*
I've been wanting to read Renault, specifically one of her Socrates or Plato books, for several years now. I had been told they were good. At first I thought it would be little better than fanfiction or some such gratuitous nonsense, but as in so many things, I found myself to be wrong. First, in reading a little bit about Renault herself who was a fairly accomplished author who faced some adversity trying to write and publish books with homosexual relationships, but eventually found an easy way to write the 10 or so books she did set in the Ancient/Classical world (among others). Second, I think in my academic fervor, for lack of a better word, I had returned to adopt the oh so beloved dismissive air of judgment against historical fiction as being “unworthy,” when in fact it was true that in the past I had enjoyed and respected at least more than one book that could rightly be labeled as such. Nonetheless, disabusing myself of both notions that Renault was a subpar author and that historical fiction a subpar genre, I decided to read The Praise Singer, of all her books, because I happened to find it at a garage sale. Thank you once again Fate for handing me the things I ought to be handed. At any rate, I probably should have read the ones about Plato first since Plato is my guy, but this one came from Fate so there's really no questioning that. And to give Fate a little credit, my first love was Homer, not Plato. And since there are no Renault books about Homer, Simonides of Keos will have to do.
So what did I think? I really enjoyed the book! For a classical/ancient/Homeric Greece fanatic like me I loved every bit of it. Contrary to what you might expect there wasn't ever a moment where I said to myself, “Bullocks! No ancient Greek would ever say that. All of this is wrong. WRONG.” or “How dare she depict x historical figure in such a manner? Disgraceful!” I recently had a much much milder reaction like this to Colm Toibin's book House of Names (which is still a very good book, check out my review). I think this book is another example of what happens when a modern novel just happens to be set in the past. Renault mines her historical resources well, but also doesn't flout them. I think she's pretty temperate when it comes to pillaging the salacious moments in history. And she transforms them into events in the life of, our narrator, Simonides, affectionately known as Sim. So as far as the protagonist, the world, the narrative frame, the chapter pacing, the historical events and figures, the setting, and the fictionalized characters-everything is spot on. I've heard that Renault's depiction of women is not so great and while I can kind of see what critics are getting at, I'm not so sure this novel has that as a prominent flaw. I would really have to read more of her oeuvre to get a feel for the criticism myself. I don't have much in the way of criticizing her prose either. It's measured, tight prose that lends itself to its protagonist. Perhaps not as flowery as I truly delight in, but not enough that I feel like ranting about it. It is pretty clever in general.
Some strengths:
The characters and their relationships to Sim are engaging and vivid. He has a difficult, to put it lightly, relationship with his father, an overbearing but silent man. And the opposite is true with his god-blessed, amiable brother. I loved when he encounters historical figures like Pythagoras, Anacreon, and Pisistratus and his sons (Hippias and Hipparchus). Heraclitus gets a noteworthy, but very brief mention.
There is some talk of poetry and composing oral poetry in a period where writing was returning to be a useful technology for poets. Simonides has a gift for memory and subscribes to the old thinking that writing things down spoils the skill of the mind to remember. There are dinner parties and symposia. There's a chariot race and choral performances. Lots of cool historical scenes like that.
I found the intrigue of the book not to be gratuitous at all, but skillfully subtle. Like so many Greek tragedies, the most climactic action scenes happen off stage.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to try some historical fiction set in ancient Greece. You'll get a free pseudo-history lesson about the period. And it might just inspire you to read some actual history (or at least a wiki-page or two). For classicists, you might find some details frustrating, but if you have a generous heart like me-ha!-you might just end up enjoying them like I did. The book is certainly accessible to people outside the field, as might be obvious.
The one actually serious thing (and I haven't gone on about how she uses various details of the life of Simonides that we don't know are quite true, but they're interesting. Just one example, Simonides is supposed to have invented the whole "memory palace" thing which comes up in Sim's thoughts on writing as a technology for poetry. On the whole Renault brings these details into her story well, as I've said) is that Pindar never shows up! I think she should have had a whole thing with Pindar. Coulda been great. Oh well.
Quotes:
(Sim and his father)
“All in all I had been living very well; it had been foolish to let my accounting to my father hand over me for a month beforehand. He had a way of fidgeting while I spoke, so that I felt something was coming without knowing what. I had sometimes lied to him, but only about small things for the sake of peace; and to his profit, not his loss. yet these trifles had oppressed me, almost as if I were a boy who could still be beaten, even when I had just come from Athens with gold in my belt and praise in my ears. I went home after the funeral feeling as if a heavy mortgage had been paid off.”
*
“No matter. The Sight is rare. But the bonds of souls are for all men, as for every creature. Leave, when you can, your honorable grief. I foresee that you will live long. Even before your soul departs its present habitation, his in its new one may return, and you can repay your debt to him, as he, you may be sure, repaid to you some ancient kindness. In such ways we lift each other towards the light”
~ ~
“Not ours. We look for music, first in the heavens”–he pointed to the astrolabe–”then on earth in the laws of its creatures, chiefly in man; in himself, in his dealings with his fellows, in his body politic. That is as displeasing to tyrants as a doctor’s advice to a drunkard. Well, we have work to do, which we need to pursue in peace. There is a piece of coastal land in Italy, good land unused; I traveled there to find it. My students are coming with me. He will be glad to see us go.”
--Pythagoras
*
“Long after this, when I had made my name, someone from Keos asked how it was I had not come to hate my brother, to whom it must have seemed the gods had given everything, leaving nothing for me. I answered that next to having the gods' gifts ourselves, it is best to honor them. If not, one must grow to hate them; and, Zeus be my witness, I have seen what can come of that.”
*
I've been wanting to read Renault, specifically one of her Socrates or Plato books, for several years now. I had been told they were good. At first I thought it would be little better than fanfiction or some such gratuitous nonsense, but as in so many things, I found myself to be wrong. First, in reading a little bit about Renault herself who was a fairly accomplished author who faced some adversity trying to write and publish books with homosexual relationships, but eventually found an easy way to write the 10 or so books she did set in the Ancient/Classical world (among others). Second, I think in my academic fervor, for lack of a better word, I had returned to adopt the oh so beloved dismissive air of judgment against historical fiction as being “unworthy,” when in fact it was true that in the past I had enjoyed and respected at least more than one book that could rightly be labeled as such. Nonetheless, disabusing myself of both notions that Renault was a subpar author and that historical fiction a subpar genre, I decided to read The Praise Singer, of all her books, because I happened to find it at a garage sale. Thank you once again Fate for handing me the things I ought to be handed. At any rate, I probably should have read the ones about Plato first since Plato is my guy, but this one came from Fate so there's really no questioning that. And to give Fate a little credit, my first love was Homer, not Plato. And since there are no Renault books about Homer, Simonides of Keos will have to do.
So what did I think? I really enjoyed the book! For a classical/ancient/Homeric Greece fanatic like me I loved every bit of it. Contrary to what you might expect there wasn't ever a moment where I said to myself, “Bullocks! No ancient Greek would ever say that. All of this is wrong. WRONG.” or “How dare she depict x historical figure in such a manner? Disgraceful!” I recently had a much much milder reaction like this to Colm Toibin's book House of Names (which is still a very good book, check out my review). I think this book is another example of what happens when a modern novel just happens to be set in the past. Renault mines her historical resources well, but also doesn't flout them. I think she's pretty temperate when it comes to pillaging the salacious moments in history. And she transforms them into events in the life of, our narrator, Simonides, affectionately known as Sim. So as far as the protagonist, the world, the narrative frame, the chapter pacing, the historical events and figures, the setting, and the fictionalized characters-everything is spot on. I've heard that Renault's depiction of women is not so great and while I can kind of see what critics are getting at, I'm not so sure this novel has that as a prominent flaw. I would really have to read more of her oeuvre to get a feel for the criticism myself. I don't have much in the way of criticizing her prose either. It's measured, tight prose that lends itself to its protagonist. Perhaps not as flowery as I truly delight in, but not enough that I feel like ranting about it. It is pretty clever in general.
Some strengths:
The characters and their relationships to Sim are engaging and vivid. He has a difficult, to put it lightly, relationship with his father, an overbearing but silent man. And the opposite is true with his god-blessed, amiable brother. I loved when he encounters historical figures like Pythagoras, Anacreon, and Pisistratus and his sons (Hippias and Hipparchus). Heraclitus gets a noteworthy, but very brief mention.
There is some talk of poetry and composing oral poetry in a period where writing was returning to be a useful technology for poets. Simonides has a gift for memory and subscribes to the old thinking that writing things down spoils the skill of the mind to remember. There are dinner parties and symposia. There's a chariot race and choral performances. Lots of cool historical scenes like that.
I found the intrigue of the book not to be gratuitous at all, but skillfully subtle. Like so many Greek tragedies, the most climactic action scenes happen off stage.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to try some historical fiction set in ancient Greece. You'll get a free pseudo-history lesson about the period. And it might just inspire you to read some actual history (or at least a wiki-page or two). For classicists, you might find some details frustrating, but if you have a generous heart like me-ha!-you might just end up enjoying them like I did. The book is certainly accessible to people outside the field, as might be obvious.
The one actually serious thing (and I haven't gone on about how she uses various details of the life of Simonides that we don't know are quite true, but they're interesting. Just one example, Simonides is supposed to have invented the whole "memory palace" thing which comes up in Sim's thoughts on writing as a technology for poetry. On the whole Renault brings these details into her story well, as I've said) is that Pindar never shows up! I think she should have had a whole thing with Pindar. Coulda been great. Oh well.
Quotes:
(Sim and his father)
“All in all I had been living very well; it had been foolish to let my accounting to my father hand over me for a month beforehand. He had a way of fidgeting while I spoke, so that I felt something was coming without knowing what. I had sometimes lied to him, but only about small things for the sake of peace; and to his profit, not his loss. yet these trifles had oppressed me, almost as if I were a boy who could still be beaten, even when I had just come from Athens with gold in my belt and praise in my ears. I went home after the funeral feeling as if a heavy mortgage had been paid off.”
*
“No matter. The Sight is rare. But the bonds of souls are for all men, as for every creature. Leave, when you can, your honorable grief. I foresee that you will live long. Even before your soul departs its present habitation, his in its new one may return, and you can repay your debt to him, as he, you may be sure, repaid to you some ancient kindness. In such ways we lift each other towards the light”
~ ~
“Not ours. We look for music, first in the heavens”–he pointed to the astrolabe–”then on earth in the laws of its creatures, chiefly in man; in himself, in his dealings with his fellows, in his body politic. That is as displeasing to tyrants as a doctor’s advice to a drunkard. Well, we have work to do, which we need to pursue in peace. There is a piece of coastal land in Italy, good land unused; I traveled there to find it. My students are coming with me. He will be glad to see us go.”
--Pythagoras
June 25, 2025
Mary Renault had a gift for telling history from the perspective of a single distinct character; in this case, the poet/singer Simonides. Born to a landholding family on Keos, he was an ugly baby marked with a dark birthmark on his face, with siblings who were beautiful. Feeling himself an outcast in his own family, he tended his flocks and made songs to ease his soul... until he heard a visiting praise singer, and boldly asked for an apprenticeship.
It was the age of tyrants, before the word became a pejorative or accusation. Many were patrons of the arts, and Simonides and his brethren were able to make good livings crafting their poetry, keeping the old songs and stories alive committed to memory, performing in festivals, for rites for the gods, and for victors' celebrations at the Olympics and other games.
Simonides witnesses the deaths of tyrants in Samos and Athens, and the dual rules of Athenian brothers Hippias and Hipparchos after the death of their respected father Pisistratos. The praise singer saw Greece just before the Persians arrived... a last glowing time prior to a fall.
If I have to have Greek history, this is how it should be served.
I've read this at least three times. It will remain on my shelf until I am gone, no doubt.
It was the age of tyrants, before the word became a pejorative or accusation. Many were patrons of the arts, and Simonides and his brethren were able to make good livings crafting their poetry, keeping the old songs and stories alive committed to memory, performing in festivals, for rites for the gods, and for victors' celebrations at the Olympics and other games.
Simonides witnesses the deaths of tyrants in Samos and Athens, and the dual rules of Athenian brothers Hippias and Hipparchos after the death of their respected father Pisistratos. The praise singer saw Greece just before the Persians arrived... a last glowing time prior to a fall.
If I have to have Greek history, this is how it should be served.
I've read this at least three times. It will remain on my shelf until I am gone, no doubt.
January 2, 2024
In the first read-through, this is a 3 star book. That said, this is one of those books you sort of HAVE to re-read in order to really have a grasp on what the author is trying to say. When that happens, I can see myself upping the rating quite a bit, which is pretty unusual for me.
I read a Jo Walton post on Tor about this book before I read it, and she's right on the money when she says that this is a historical fiction book for fantasy readers. The world building is so darn interesting, and even though our MC is basically there to float from major event to major event, it doesn't feel like it in the moment. You *want* the MC the move around more, just so you can keep up with the delicate political balance being discussed. ITS a neat trick, and not something a lesser author could have pulled off.
I read a Jo Walton post on Tor about this book before I read it, and she's right on the money when she says that this is a historical fiction book for fantasy readers. The world building is so darn interesting, and even though our MC is basically there to float from major event to major event, it doesn't feel like it in the moment. You *want* the MC the move around more, just so you can keep up with the delicate political balance being discussed. ITS a neat trick, and not something a lesser author could have pulled off.
June 22, 2023
I’ve read all of Mary Renault’s Ancient Greek fictions except Apollo’s Mask, and I enjoy them more as I’ve gotten older. The hardest part of reading her is she so often refers to ancient events in such an oblique manner that if you don’t know the history, you don’t know what she’s talking about. Reading her makes keeping your phone or google next to you an imperative. I don’t know if Ancient Greek history was taught more in depth in the 1930-1940’s, but I had a minor in classical history, and still hadn’t learned many of these events she discusses.
Also, she uses a more Hellenistic spelling so it took me a while to catch on that Kyros was actually the Persian King Cyrus.
Her books would be better with an informative foreword in the beginning but if you don’t mind researching as you read (which I don’t), the stories are pretty good.
Also, she uses a more Hellenistic spelling so it took me a while to catch on that Kyros was actually the Persian King Cyrus.
Her books would be better with an informative foreword in the beginning but if you don’t mind researching as you read (which I don’t), the stories are pretty good.
October 31, 2018
Classic Mary Renault: a historical novel of (early) classical Greece in the time just before the Persian invasions, filled with strong characterization, wonderfully evoked setting, lots of gay and straight eroticism, and not a ton of plot. Maybe slightly longer than it should be, but a very fun read.
July 10, 2023
I loved the way Mary Renault describes life in Ancient Greece, even though it seems a touch too romantic.
My problem with the book is that it is unfocused - until the end I thought that I was reading a story about the poet’s life, but the last few pages turned it into a story about the fall of tyranny. I wish I could follow the rest of Simonides’s life instead.
My problem with the book is that it is unfocused - until the end I thought that I was reading a story about the poet’s life, but the last few pages turned it into a story about the fall of tyranny. I wish I could follow the rest of Simonides’s life instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2022
Brilliant account of the life of the classical Greek lyric poet, Simonides.
June 16, 2025
Fantastic one-off, covers some history of Athens before the sack by the Medes.
June 6, 2026
A decent book. A very interesting idea imo; nice allusions to lyric fragments. Unfortunately it’s not entirely clear where the plot is heading to, so it meanders unnecessarily. I lost the interest towards the ending. The prose is a bit dull sometimes.
April 18, 2024
First person narrative of the Greek poet Simonides, circa 600BC, and his account of the rule of the Pisistratos and his two tyrant sons; foundational characters in the history of Athens. Renault is one of the few historical authors who fully embraces the pre-christianity mindset, and tells her story from that fascinating vantage. This is a lesser work compared to her remarkable volumes on Theseus and Alexander, but still a joy for her fans. The story is not as epic, nor the throughline as well developed, as those works, but still this is an interesting read for Renault fans.
March 6, 2017
We lay at sundown, Aphrodite's rites performed, watching the last light shine gold on the vine around the window, sharing a flask of Thracian wine cold from the well, lazily talking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews