The classical Greek intellectual tradition pervades nearly every aspect of our modern Western civilisation. Our logic and science, our philosophy, politics, literature, architecture, and art are all indebted to the ancient inhabitants of the small mountainous Mediterranean country.
Taking as his starting point many of the famous tourist sites in the Peloponnese where the stories are set, John Spurling, winner of the 2015 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, freshly imagines key narratives from the Greek canon, including tales of the doomed house of Atreus; of the god Apollo; Theseus, scourge of the Minotaur; the Twelve Labors of Heracles; and Perseus, rescuer of Andromeda.
Stories of murder, power, revenge, love, and traumatic family relationships are made new again for our time, while staying true to the spirit of the original myth, with wit and relish by a gifted author.