Walker Books (2023) 208pp £25 (ISBN 9781406394740)
Gorgo, the daughter of Cleomenes, King of Sparta, discovers from an early age that her people are in danger from the Persians, and spends the next decade preparing for war. H. sets the scene with Gorgo as a child exploring the tales and myths of her people with her maid Lampito who patiently explains everything to her—very helpful to any readers who may be new to Greek mythology and their gods.
As she grows up, she witnesses the cheese game where Spartan men get whipped as they try to seize as many cheeses as possible to be the winner. This serves as a wake-up call to the severity of the Spartan way of life, helping the reader to really understand what kind of people they were, a crucial feature of the book. Further, Gorgo meets the gods in real life, beautifully capturing the essence of what it must have been like to see Artemis and her nymphs out hunting.
Another aspect of the Spartan world is illustrated by the hostile reception Gorgo gets from men as she steps up into her father's shoes when he is away at war. Her determination to help her people comes through strongly, no matter who tells her she is not strong or smart enough. But she is tested to the full when, in a twist to the plot, her level-headed and fearless father goes mad. Gorgo then marries her uncle Leonidas—a strict reminder of how different things were then!
The grand finale of the book comes with the Persian Wars and the battles Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea. This does full justice to the description of the beauty and power of the Persians which Gorgo hears from her friend Themistocles earlier on in the book. H. presents an enticing picture of their cities, their extravagance, wealth and military capabilities. The detail of the battles, capturing both the brutality of the Greeks at war and the intelligence of their tactics, not forgetting the gods’ interventions, is extremely well done, but since it is the climax of the book it should have been much longer!
H.’s thrilling tale, mixing myth and history (mainly from Herodotus) and brilliantly illustrated by Jason Cockroft, presents a fascinating picture of the variety of the ancient Greek world and of Gorgo’s (to me) inspiring behaviour. Thoroughly recommended for schoolchildren of my age (14).
Helena White
Cherwell School, Oxford