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Ασπασία
455 π.Χ. Η εικοσάχρονη Ασπασία, μια πανέμορφη νέα απο τη Μίλητο, έρχεται να εγκατασταθεί στην Αθήνα,τη λαμπρότερη πόλη του αρχαίου κόσμου, φιλοδοξώντας να γίνει εταίρα. Είναι γυναίκα με ξεχωριστή μόρφωση και ρητορικές ικανότητες ποου μπορούν να συγκριθούν με αυτές των πιο δεινών ρητόρων της εποχής. Πιστεύει στο δίκαιο που επιτρέπει στη γυναίκα να αποφασίζει αυτή για τη ζωή της. Άποψη επαναστατική σε μια εποχή που οι γυναίκες είναι υποχρεωμένες να μένουν περιορισμένες στο σπίτι. Στο σπίτι της συγκεντρώνονται όλοι οι σπουδαίοι ρήτορες και φιλόσοφοι της εποχής. Ο Σωκράτης τρέφει γι' αυτήν απεριόριστο θαυμασμό κι ο Φειδίας θέλει να τη χρησιμοποιήσει σαν μοντέλο για το άγαλμα της Αθηνάς που θα στολίσει το Παρθενώνα. Αυτή τη μοιραία και σπουδαία γυναίκα θα ερωτευτεί παράφορα ο μεγάλος στρατηγός Περικλής, ο άνθρωπος που όταν μιλούσε, σιωπούσαν τα πλήθη.
311 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 6, 2020
Aspasia was born in 470 BC in Miletus and came to Athens as a young adult under unknown circumstances. Many historians believe her to have been a prostitute (hetaerae)/brothel keeper, although some other historians disagree. What they all agree on tho, is that she was an incredibly bright woman, mostly known for her friendship with other prolific people and her relationship (or marriage) with Pericles, an Athenian general and the leader of the democratic party.
This is a historical fiction book, about her life, starting from her journey to Athens, and going on to portray her relationship with several famous people of ancient Greece (i.e. Socrates, Alcibiades and Feidias) her life with Pericles and the way the people of Athens treated her.
Despite this book's very interesting subject, things didn't go as expected.
I can tell the author is very fond of Greek history and she wanted to express her admiration by writing about a famous woman, who lived at the peak of ancient Greece's greatness and for whom not many things are known.
But the writing was mostly immature and amateur and I didn't like how some things were handled.
For example, there were six whole pages about the sexual tricks of a couple of prostitutes that "supposedly" were the reason for the Peloponnesian war. Like, seriously, there is a war going on, and you're elaborating about a rumour? Or, did you really have to dedicate half a chapter to describing the plot of the play Oresteia? It stops the plot dead and you know, we can actually read it or watch it.
Another example, I disliked how many characters who were never properly introduced, appeared all of a sudden and the author was like "no, they were there this whole time, you just didn't know it." Case and point, Pericles' two oldest sons. They were introduced, for about two pages, disappeared and reappeared a few pages away from the ending, just so they could die.
And a final example, while talking about why Pericles Jr didn't like girls his age (he was supposed to be 9 during that scene) those girls are described as kinky and sex crazed.
These are children we are talking about.
And of course, there were many instances where simple disagreements were blown out of proportion, while actual conflicts were half-adressed and half-assed.
For example, Feidias and Anaxagoras were accused of whoring out girls to men and heresy. Those crimes were punishable by death (well, at least heresy was) back then and those two were recurring characters throughout the story. How is that handled? The whole matter is "resolved" within three pages, when Feidias dies in jail and Anaxagoras runs into exile to escape the death penalty. And that's that.
And later on, where the same thing happens to Aspasia, and she is put on trial with the possibility of getting the death penalty, this whole thing is resolved in one page and things go back to normal. Like, this woman was disliked and slandered for years, don't you want to spend more time on that conflict?
Also, the dialogues were not great either.
I don't care about Aspasia being desperate to have her bikini-area waxed and talking about that with Leto, her servant. I don't care about reading pages upon pages of what was going on in Aspasia's symposiums and deep (but actually very shallow and stupid) conversations between artists, philosophers and politicians. And finally, has the author ever heard a toddler or child speak? Because it seems unlikely. For some reason, even as a kid, Pericles Jr. talks like an adult and everyone expects him to have the mental capacity of an adult.
Now, let's move to the characters.
Let's start with the first character that pissed me off. Or rather, the depiction of that character pissed me off. Hippodamus.
He was Aspasia's first lover when she was 15 and here, she moves to Athens to marry him. But her dreams are crashed when he comes out as.... gay (GASP!)
Make no mistake, I have no problem with LGBT people. I have a problem tho, when they are treated as cartoonish stereotypes.
Because that's the case with Hippodamus. He is depicted almost as a sex addict with very feminine appearance and mannerisms, which he adopted only AFTER HE TURNED gay. That's right folks, because sexuality is a choice! (Not.)
Oh, also, he despises women (all except Aspasia) because, of course gay men turn gay because they hate women! (Also not.)
What's his personality like, besides that? I don't know! You don't know! The author doesn't seem to know! Plus, at some point he is stops being written for reasons unknown.
The second character whose depiction pissed me off, was that of Aspasia.
She is gorgeous, and I mean GORGEOUS. Like, even the gods would be jealous of her gorgeous. And smart. Like, really smart. She is so well spoken and smart, that Nicola Tesla would be jealous.
And to be honest, I have no problem believing she is hot. But I have a problem believing she is smart. And smart enough to teach other philosophers for that matter. And that's for the sole reason we never see that, even though we are told.
The author describes how amazing, educated and passionate she is while teaching the art of rhetorical speech, but damn, I have no idea what she even tells her students.
And in true perfect heroine fashion, every guy falls in love with her on the spot.
The author wants to present her as the ideal version of femininity and wisdom, but that attempt falls flat. The author couldn't even decide if she was a prostitute in this one or not, let alone creating an interesting main character...
The rest of the characters are pretty much plain and impossible to identify and sympathize with, I don't know what more I could say about them...
And finally, I didn't like how the story ended.
The point the author chose to end it, felt really weird and abrupt. Because even if this is about Aspasia, the book ends with her married to Lysicles (her second husband) and literally, the last scene is him wondering if she actually is in love with him, and Pericles Jr. thinking that he will never accept his step father.
Like, if you don't want to carry on with the story and end it with her death, at least end it with her still as the main focus!
These were my thoughts and problems with this book. I hope I didn't left anything out. To be honest, it didn't drive me as mad as other 1 star books have done before, but reading it was a big constant eye roll.
In case you are wondering why I gave it that extra point 3 star, it was because the part where the plague in Athens was going on and Pericles died, was a bit more interesting than the rest.
If you made it this far, congratulations! 'Til next time, take care :) :) :)
This is a historical fiction book, about her life, starting from her journey to Athens, and going on to portray her relationship with several famous people of ancient Greece (i.e. Socrates, Alcibiades and Feidias) her life with Pericles and the way the people of Athens treated her.
Despite this book's very interesting subject, things didn't go as expected.
I can tell the author is very fond of Greek history and she wanted to express her admiration by writing about a famous woman, who lived at the peak of ancient Greece's greatness and for whom not many things are known.
But the writing was mostly immature and amateur and I didn't like how some things were handled.
For example, there were six whole pages about the sexual tricks of a couple of prostitutes that "supposedly" were the reason for the Peloponnesian war. Like, seriously, there is a war going on, and you're elaborating about a rumour? Or, did you really have to dedicate half a chapter to describing the plot of the play Oresteia? It stops the plot dead and you know, we can actually read it or watch it.
Another example, I disliked how many characters who were never properly introduced, appeared all of a sudden and the author was like "no, they were there this whole time, you just didn't know it." Case and point, Pericles' two oldest sons. They were introduced, for about two pages, disappeared and reappeared a few pages away from the ending, just so they could die.
And a final example, while talking about why Pericles Jr didn't like girls his age (he was supposed to be 9 during that scene) those girls are described as kinky and sex crazed.
These are children we are talking about.
And of course, there were many instances where simple disagreements were blown out of proportion, while actual conflicts were half-adressed and half-assed.
For example, Feidias and Anaxagoras were accused of whoring out girls to men and heresy. Those crimes were punishable by death (well, at least heresy was) back then and those two were recurring characters throughout the story. How is that handled? The whole matter is "resolved" within three pages, when Feidias dies in jail and Anaxagoras runs into exile to escape the death penalty. And that's that.
And later on, where the same thing happens to Aspasia, and she is put on trial with the possibility of getting the death penalty, this whole thing is resolved in one page and things go back to normal. Like, this woman was disliked and slandered for years, don't you want to spend more time on that conflict?
Also, the dialogues were not great either.
I don't care about Aspasia being desperate to have her bikini-area waxed and talking about that with Leto, her servant. I don't care about reading pages upon pages of what was going on in Aspasia's symposiums and deep (but actually very shallow and stupid) conversations between artists, philosophers and politicians. And finally, has the author ever heard a toddler or child speak? Because it seems unlikely. For some reason, even as a kid, Pericles Jr. talks like an adult and everyone expects him to have the mental capacity of an adult.
Now, let's move to the characters.
Let's start with the first character that pissed me off. Or rather, the depiction of that character pissed me off. Hippodamus.
He was Aspasia's first lover when she was 15 and here, she moves to Athens to marry him. But her dreams are crashed when he comes out as.... gay (GASP!)
Make no mistake, I have no problem with LGBT people. I have a problem tho, when they are treated as cartoonish stereotypes.
Because that's the case with Hippodamus. He is depicted almost as a sex addict with very feminine appearance and mannerisms, which he adopted only AFTER HE TURNED gay. That's right folks, because sexuality is a choice! (Not.)
Oh, also, he despises women (all except Aspasia) because, of course gay men turn gay because they hate women! (Also not.)
What's his personality like, besides that? I don't know! You don't know! The author doesn't seem to know! Plus, at some point he is stops being written for reasons unknown.
The second character whose depiction pissed me off, was that of Aspasia.
She is gorgeous, and I mean GORGEOUS. Like, even the gods would be jealous of her gorgeous. And smart. Like, really smart. She is so well spoken and smart, that Nicola Tesla would be jealous.
And to be honest, I have no problem believing she is hot. But I have a problem believing she is smart. And smart enough to teach other philosophers for that matter. And that's for the sole reason we never see that, even though we are told.
The author describes how amazing, educated and passionate she is while teaching the art of rhetorical speech, but damn, I have no idea what she even tells her students.
And in true perfect heroine fashion, every guy falls in love with her on the spot.
The author wants to present her as the ideal version of femininity and wisdom, but that attempt falls flat. The author couldn't even decide if she was a prostitute in this one or not, let alone creating an interesting main character...
The rest of the characters are pretty much plain and impossible to identify and sympathize with, I don't know what more I could say about them...
And finally, I didn't like how the story ended.
The point the author chose to end it, felt really weird and abrupt. Because even if this is about Aspasia, the book ends with her married to Lysicles (her second husband) and literally, the last scene is him wondering if she actually is in love with him, and Pericles Jr. thinking that he will never accept his step father.
Like, if you don't want to carry on with the story and end it with her death, at least end it with her still as the main focus!
These were my thoughts and problems with this book. I hope I didn't left anything out. To be honest, it didn't drive me as mad as other 1 star books have done before, but reading it was a big constant eye roll.
In case you are wondering why I gave it that extra point 3 star, it was because the part where the plague in Athens was going on and Pericles died, was a bit more interesting than the rest.
If you made it this far, congratulations! 'Til next time, take care :) :) :)
March 1, 2013
ιστορική βιογραφία με λογοτεχνικές προεκτάσεις, ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα!
March 12, 2026
Η ιστορία ξεκινά περίπου το 455 π.Χ., όταν η εικοσάχρονη, πανέμορφη και μορφωμένη Ασπασία φτάνει στην Αθήνα από τη Μίλητο. Σε μια κοινωνία όπου οι γυναίκες ήταν περιορισμένες στο σπίτι και είχαν ελάχιστα δικαιώματα, η Ασπασία ξεχωρίζει ως εταίρα —μια μορφωμένη γυναίκα που συμμετέχει ενεργά στα πνευματικά και κοινωνικά δρώμενα.
Η ευφυΐα και η γοητεία της τραβούν την προσοχή του Περικλή, του χαρισματικού ηγέτη της αθηναϊκής δημοκρατίας. Παρά τις κοινωνικές συμβάσεις και τις έντονες αντιδράσεις, η Ασπασία γίνεται η σύντροφος και σύμβουλος του Περικλή. Το μυθιστόρημα εξερευνά τη θυελλώδη σχέση τους, τον τρόπο που η Ασπασία επηρέασε τον Περικλή και την πολιτική του, καθώς και την αντιμετώπισή της από τους Αθηναίους πολίτες, οι οποίοι συχνά τη χλεύαζαν και την κατηγορούσαν ως αιτία πολέμων ή ως ανήθικη.
Η πλοκή καλύπτει τη "Χρυσή Εποχή" της Αθήνας . Η Ασπασία παρουσιάζεται ως μια γυναίκα μπροστά από την εποχή της, που διεκδικεί τη θέση της στον ανδροκρατούμενο κόσμο της κλασικής Αθήνας.
Η συγγραφέας τονίζει τον ρόλο της Ασπασίας ως μιας γυναίκας που κατάφερε να αποκτήσει επιρροή και σεβασμό μέσω της ευφυΐας της, παρά τον στιγματισμό της ως εταίρας.
Η σχέση της Ασπασίας με τον Περικλή περιγράφεται με ευαισθησία και ρομαντισμό.
Είναι ένα ευχάριστο και ενδιαφέρον ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα.
Σύσταση:Η ατμόσφαιρα του βιβλίου με απορρόφησε απόλυτα.
Η ευφυΐα και η γοητεία της τραβούν την προσοχή του Περικλή, του χαρισματικού ηγέτη της αθηναϊκής δημοκρατίας. Παρά τις κοινωνικές συμβάσεις και τις έντονες αντιδράσεις, η Ασπασία γίνεται η σύντροφος και σύμβουλος του Περικλή. Το μυθιστόρημα εξερευνά τη θυελλώδη σχέση τους, τον τρόπο που η Ασπασία επηρέασε τον Περικλή και την πολιτική του, καθώς και την αντιμετώπισή της από τους Αθηναίους πολίτες, οι οποίοι συχνά τη χλεύαζαν και την κατηγορούσαν ως αιτία πολέμων ή ως ανήθικη.
Η πλοκή καλύπτει τη "Χρυσή Εποχή" της Αθήνας . Η Ασπασία παρουσιάζεται ως μια γυναίκα μπροστά από την εποχή της, που διεκδικεί τη θέση της στον ανδροκρατούμενο κόσμο της κλασικής Αθήνας.
Η συγγραφέας τονίζει τον ρόλο της Ασπασίας ως μιας γυναίκας που κατάφερε να αποκτήσει επιρροή και σεβασμό μέσω της ευφυΐας της, παρά τον στιγματισμό της ως εταίρας.
Η σχέση της Ασπασίας με τον Περικλή περιγράφεται με ευαισθησία και ρομαντισμό.
Είναι ένα ευχάριστο και ενδιαφέρον ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα.
Σύσταση:Η ατμόσφαιρα του βιβλίου με απορρόφησε απόλυτα.
October 21, 2018
Μυθιστορηματική βιογραφία της γυναίκας του Περικλή, χωρίς κάποιο ιδιαίτερο στοιχείο.
"Πόσο θα της άρεσε να συμμεριζόταν τις πεποιθήσεις του, να την απασχολούσε ο φόβος των θεών, να αντλούσε δύναμη από μια πίστη που την έχουν και άλλοι..."
"Και όμως ο Περικλής που καταγόταν από επιφανή οικογένεια, πάντα πίστευε ειλικρινά πως κάθε άνδρας μπορούσε να φτάσει στ' ανώτατα αξιώματα της διακυβέρνησης μιας πολιτείας, ανεξάρτητα από την καταγωγή και την περιουσία του."
"Πόσο θα της άρεσε να συμμεριζόταν τις πεποιθήσεις του, να την απασχολούσε ο φόβος των θεών, να αντλούσε δύναμη από μια πίστη που την έχουν και άλλοι..."
"Και όμως ο Περικλής που καταγόταν από επιφανή οικογένεια, πάντα πίστευε ειλικρινά πως κάθε άνδρας μπορούσε να φτάσει στ' ανώτατα αξιώματα της διακυβέρνησης μιας πολιτείας, ανεξάρτητα από την καταγωγή και την περιουσία του."
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