Dear Commons Community,
Last October, my wife, Elaine, and I visited Athens, Greece for ten days. It was exhilarating visiting the various ancient sites and monuments. We stayed in Plaka, the old city of Athens, where we had a magnificent view of the Parthenon and the Acropolis. Since returning home, I have had on my must read list any book of the period during which the Parthenon was built. Hence, Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece, by Yvonne Korshak
It did not disappoint. Korshak did a fine job relating the story of Pericles and his life-long companion, Aspasia, with whom he had a son, “Little Pericles.” The book makes clear that the two had a very close and loving relationship. But an important subplot in the story is the construction of the Parthenon. The financial negotiations with the Athenian Assembly tested Pericles patience and oratory skills. The detailed exchanges between him and Phidias, the chief sculptor of the statue of Athena and the friezes, are insightful. Korvak also includes commentary on gender customs and the politics of democracies versus autocracies which are as important today as they were three thousand years ago.
In sum, this is an excellent novel based on true characters and events. I highly recommend it if you have any interest in this period of ancient Greece.
Below is a brief review from Goodreads.
Tony
Goodreads
Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece
Yvonne Korshak
PERICLES AND ASPASIA —THE LOVE STORY THAT SHAPED HISTORY
Two lovers crest the wave of the golden age of Pericles, statesman and general, and Aspasia, his courtesan, a philosopher’s daughter, and a brilliant woman in her own right. In a world of hierarchies, he is at the top when she arrives as little more than flotsam cast up on Athenian shores. Their love transcends social sanctions, enduring and deepening despite the grave threat it presents to Pericles’ reputation as a leader of the Athenian democracy.
The novel unfolds against the background of the arts and history of the Golden Age, seen through the eyes of two individuals who lent their particular brilliance to make it “golden”: Pericles, the great orator and visionary of democracy, and its most influential woman, Aspasia. Their story takes them from the Agora-Athens’ marketplace to the Acropolis, from the raunchy Athenian Port Piraeus mercantile across the Aegean Sea to East Greece. Pericles and Aspasia—together and apart—navigate treacherous paths from venal calculations to impassioned philosophical inquiry, from high-stakes sea battles to the passions of family life.
Pericles and Aspasia engages issues that are vital today—the paradoxes of democracy, the tensions of hierarchy, the ironies of gender, and others—but this novel is immersed in classical Athens: the city, its sunshine, its physical presence, its people, and their struggles and aspirations.
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