The Gates of Troy

The second installment in the Adventures of Odysseus trilogy takes him and his faithful companion, the warrior Eperitus, from a quiet life in Ithaca with his wife and infant son to the beginning of the long siege of Troy, the legendary battle instigated by Menelaus of Sparta when his beautiful wife, Helen, runs off with the Trojan prince Paris. Odysseus finds himself playing an essential role in the war, partaking in events key to Menelaus’s success, such as the search for the famed Achilles and the summoning of the young princess Iphigenia. Iliffe (King of Ithaca) displays his thorough knowledge of classical literature, vividly bringing to life the glories of Troy and the bloodiness of Bronze Age warfare, and revealing lesser-known facets of his unwieldy cast of heroes, like the sorrow of queen Clytaemnestra. A slow start yields quickly to a satisfying tale of politics, romance, and war under the shadow of the Olympian gods in this comprehensive retelling of the genesis of the Trojan War. Agent: Johnson and Alcock. (Jan.)