In most schools, we learn about Ancient Greece, Socrates, Plato, and the birth of democracy. But we rarely learn about Archaic Greece, the pre-Socratic era, when tyrants ruled the various city-states with diverse styles of leadership. Around 600 BC, Sappho, the renowned Poetess from Lesvos, was at the peak of her fame. Greece was in transition from an oral tradition to the written word. Reputations could be enhanced or destroyed by the words of poets. In fact, Aesop, with his fables, was her contemporary. There were many poets and philosophers sharing their ideas through the new "social medium" of paper/papyrus. A woman's fate was often determined by her place of birth. In Athens, a wife was confined to domestic chores while her husband enjoyed the local brothels. In Sparta, women also received military training and marital ties were flexible. In Lesvos, some women could enjoy education, fashion, music, and property.
Cleis, a young girl from Athens, goes through the necessary rite of passage and is forced into an arranged marriage. But Cleis refuses to follow the tradition of her mother. With help from friends, she escapes. The boat she uses for her flight belongs to Charoxos, the brother of Sappho, the famous Poetess of Lesbos.
Sappho maintained her thiasos, her conclave in honor of Aphrodite, atop the acropolis in Skala Eressos. Her acolytes, whom she called her "sparrows", laughed and cried, loved and grieved, trained and played, in their pursuit of all aspects of Love. Sappho may be the first real feminist!
Lesvos maintained close ties with Anatolia (modern Turkey) and the Black Sea. From Pontus, bands of Amazons roamed the region. Croessus, King of Lydia, succeeded in uniting Anatolia. He often relied upon consultants like Aesop and the archon Solon in his international relations. Solon was also a poet and was inspired by Sappho.
Through the novel, the characters struggle with the myths of gods and goddesses. The contradictions in tales of Aphrodite, Artemis, Iphigenia, Hera, Apollo, and others, are pursued with healthy skepticism. Sappho believes the primal energy of life is Love. She seeks to restore the goddesses from the modifications of male authors. She teaches men to, "make love like women". Doricha, the haetera from Egypt, steals the heart of Charoxox, and introduces Sappho to the Egyptian pantheon. Aesop remembers Doricha as the priestess who released him from past trauma.
Starting with carefully researched history and the remnants of the poetry of Sappho, Alcaeus, and others, I connected the dots to render a old tale new that resonates for our current age. The heart-rending tale of Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, occurs near the conclusion of this historical novel. Some of the issues facing contemporary lives are echoed in archaic Greece: Oligarchy, the treatment of women, income inequality. The erotic moments are described with compassion and sensitivity.
