Author's Note

Historians are constantly reminding us that in 480 BC, when the great Persian Empire invaded Greece, King Xerxes planned to expand his dominion to the Atlantic Ocean, and if Greece hadn’t repulsed the invasion, Western Civilization, as we know it, together with its democratic institutions, would not exist. Indeed, today we would be Oriental. Much has been written about the invasion, but little concerning heroic women. According to Herodotus, feminine influence in the form of the goddess Demeter was a deciding factor in the famous battles of Salamis, Plataea, and Mykale. Thus, the female spirit played an unheralded role in the salvation of democracy.

The story I’ve written here concerns this feminine influence as personified by the priestess of Demeter and her daughter. They represent the essence of the great Mysteries of Eleusis, the spiritual underpinning of the ancient Greek religion. By being initiated into the Mysteries, the ancient Greeks found their way to the Elysian Fields and lived eternally with the gods. Sophocles, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were all initiated. The secret initiation rites were so closely guarded that even today the epiphany, the essence of the initiate’s moment of divine reckoning, remains unknown. Revealing it was punished with death.

Throughout, I’ve tried religiously to let antiquity speak for itself, using antiquity’s words, phrasing, and even setting up scenes using ancient texts as a template. I have tried to preserve the feel of the old Greek language and manner of speaking. I realize that taking something from a translation of one of the tragic poets does not result in a true representation, since they wrote in what was called “high-poetry,” unlike the way they expressed themselves in daily life. But Plato is more realistic, and I’ve been influenced most by him and also by the voice of Herodotus.

© 2009 David Sheppard. Site created by Artstudios.