by Mary Renault (Author)
Alexias, a young Athenian of good family, grows up just as the Peloponnesian War is drawing to a close. The adult world he enters is one in which the power and influence of his class have been undermined by the forces of war, and more and more Alexias finds himself drawn to the controversial teachings of Sokrates. Among the great thinker's followers Alexias meets Lysis, and the two youths become inseparable, wrestling together in the palaestra, journeying to the Olympic Games and fighting in the wars against Sparta. On the great historical canvas of famine, siege, and civil conflict, their relationship captures vividly the intricacies of classical Greek culture.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Arrow
Published: 06 May 2004
ISBN 10: 0099463555
ISBN 13: 9780099463559
Book Overview: Stunningly detailed, thrillingly plotted, and filled with characters who live and breathe on the page, The Last of the Wine is a masterpiece of the art of historical fiction from one of its greatest practitioners.