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Title: The Olympian

Subtitle: A Tale of Ancient Hellas

Author: E. S. Kraay

Narrator: Alistair McKenzie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-07-14

Publisher: Eugene S. Kraay

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In the 75th Olympiad by Greek reckoning, the strongest, fastest, quickest, and most agile men in Hellas gathered at Olympia to celebrate life through athletic competition. That same year, 480 BCE by our reckoning, the Persian emprie ruled the known world save for that small peninsula dominated by a dozen democratic city-states.

To avenge the defeat of his father on the plain of Marathon 10 years earlier, Xerxes, the great king, amassed an army a million men strong to bring these free states to heel. Amid the cheering crowds, the sweat, dust, and blood on the Elisian fields of friendly strife, and threatened by the impending clash of armies with the fate of Western Civilization in the balance, two men, one a boxer, the other a poet, come to the revelation that the true worth of a man is based on more than what he does for himself.

The Olympian explores a little known reason why only 300 Spartans faced a million men in the Thermopylae Pass, and stands as tribute to those extraordinary warriors who waged a battle that saved Western culture.

Members Reviews:

An Excellent Tale from an Unusual Perspective

"The Olympian" is set roughly ten years after the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae but the main subject is the events of the summer of 480 BC and the impact they had on the two main characters. What makes this book exceptional and good reading is that it is not, except for one short chapter, the retelling of the familiar story of blood and gore and courage, but rather the story of a Thasian athlete seen through the eyes of others who knew him. The book is told in the first person from the perspective of the poet Simonides of Cos.

In Delphi, Simonides chances upon a party of men from Thasos, who have sought the advice of the Oracle about how to end a drought oppressing their island. Simonides, after hearing the oracle delivered to them, believes he can interpret it for them. He explains that it concerns righting wrongs done to a certain Thrasian athlete, Theagenes, who competed at the Olympic games in 480. He promises to explain himself by telling the story of Theagenes as the party makes its way back to Thasos.

The book moves at the gentle pace of a journey on foot and the story teller unravels his tale slowly, but as a result the voice seems all the more authentic, and at no time was I bored or tempted to leave the book unfinished. The story was, in its leisurely way, compelling. The characters took shape convincingly and their behavior is consistent and believable throughout. Particularly well drawn is the first-person narrator, Simonides himself. In fact, the use of the aging poet as narrator is one of the most engaging features of this novel. It is refreshing to have an aging, unattractive poet rather than an exceedingly handsome hoplite telling a story about, eventually, Thermopylae. The use of Simonides as story-teller also enables the book to be more reflective in tone, while adding wonderful authenticity through homilies and judgments that would seem out of place in another narrator or if this character were not so well-drawn.

Kraay's historical research must have been first class also. He adds brilliant touches like allowing Simonides to quote Hesiod in appropriate ways and places. I also liked his use of small details - the food eaten, the scars left on boxers - to give the entire book texture and color.