The Eye of Cybele
This novel is set in Athens, roughly 430 BCE. The plot revolves around the hero, Alcibiades, a stuttering, physically beautiful general whose Olympic and battlefield successes have made him the darling of the masses. His political competition is the ruthless Nicias. A third central character is the lascivious Lysis, a beautiful, ambitious sacred prostitute. Finally, there is The Keeper of the Sum, a slightly deranged priest who starts a bizarre new religion. At the heart of the plot is the disappearance of a sacred jewel, the Eye of Cybele, and the search for it, around which the intrigues and conniving revolve.
Chavarria constructs a complex story portraying the political, social, and religious landscape of the time. It is a vibrant time, erotic and violent, and he leaves nothing out, including detailed descriptions of cult sex and torture. His style includes third person narrative and stream-of-consciousness, among others, that keeps the novel from sinking but can be distracting. He also includes a seventy-eight page glossary of “sundry reference to Ancient Greece” that is essential. For an immersion in the historical period, this is the book, but otherwise a reader could grow weary keeping names and action straight.
