AustLit

This collection weaves ancient and modern Greek history, focusing on the Battle of Thermopylae and the Peloponnesian War, which are parallelled to the two recent wars. Through Nikolaos, we experience the sheer horrors of warfare- death and destruction, atrocities against women and children, famine, disease and the brutal 'brother against brother' of the Communist partisan insurgency. Towards the end of both wars, Nikolaos finds himself struggling with his sanity, his alcoholism and his faith. He realises that even good moral men are capable of horrendous crimes, a contrast to the Homeric glorification of war he was brought up with. Nikolaos symbolises the truths of war, and what it means to be human- fear, love, hate, weakness and the desire to stay alive whatever the cost in order to see one's family and home again. (Publisher's Blurb)