Book Review: The Olympic Charioteer by Helena P. Schrader
The Olympic Charioteer, ISBN 9780595367825, iUniverse, 398 pages, Paperback by Helena P. Schrader.
This is a well researched novel of the very early days of Grecian history and the events leading up to formulation of the first non-aggression pact ever recorded between two adjacent warring factions. It deals fundamentally with three protagonists and the inter-involvement of the three and their City/States.
The story begins with the main protagonist as a quarry slave in one of the City-States of ancient Greece. It gradually unfolds as he is purchased by Antyllus, a wealthy statesman of the city who also is a horse breeder of renown within the country. Gradually the new owner discovers the true identity of the slave and adopts him as a replacement for the son he lost in the last war between his City-State and Sparta, and together they begin training a team for the next Olympics.
The story then shifts to Sparta, which we have discovered had been the original home of the slave, and the third main character, Teleklos. Another plot begins to develop here that not only involves Teleklos, Antyllus and the former slave, but the two cities as well.
The third portion of the book deals predominantly with the main protagonist, the former slave, and his position of rising importance in both the forthcoming Olympic Games and the welfare of the two City/States.
In the final portion of the book, numerous other characters assume positions of importance in the interplay among the various plots and sub-plots both within, and between, both cities. The manner in which these characters, and the political and physical factors, are intermingled is beautifully handled, and moves in a most satisfying manner to a coalescence of all plots and subplots to culminate with the Olympic Games, the climatic chariot race and the intra- and inter-city violence.
The book is replete with material and descriptions of artifacts and customs of the period that, for lovers of historical novels, are a welcome font of knowledge. Helena Schrader has produced a most enjoyable tale that will keep the reader in a sustained period of enjoyment.
