The Sacred Land

Hellenic Traders #3

by H.N. Turteltaub, Harry Turtledove

IT'S A HARD DAY'S WORK,
HUSTLING FOR AN HONEST DRACHMA

Menedemos and Sostratos, those dauntless traders of the third century B.C., have set sail again--this time to Phoenicia. There Menedemos will spend the summer wheeling and dealing, while cousin Sostratos travels inland to the little-known country of Ioudaia, with its strange people and their even stranger religion.

In theory, Sostratos is going in search of cheap balsam, a perfume much in demand in the Mediterranean world. In truth, he just wants to get a good look at a part of the world unknown to most Greeks. And the last thing he wants is to have to take along a bunch of sailors from the Aphrodite as his bodyguards.

But Menedemos insists. He knows that bandits on land are as dangerous as pirates at sea, and he has no faith in scholarly Sostratos' ability to dodge them. Meanwhile, it turns out that the prime hams and smoked eels they picked up en route are unsalable to Ioudaians. (Who knew?) And then there's the olive oil they've been rooked into taking on board, as they set sail for a part of the world that makes the stuff. Compared to these kinds of headaches, mere bandits seem like a trivial problem. But greater dangers lurk ahead....

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Historical, Fantasy, Middle East, Greece

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Pseudonym of Harry Turtledove.

Reviews

[Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

HN Turtletaub is, of course, Harry Turtledove, of alternate history fame. Under the Turtletaub name he writes historical fiction, principally the adventures of Menedemos and his cousin Sostratos, ship captain and traders on "the wine dark sea." The novels are not exactly plot-free, but they contain a wealth of information about life in the 4th century BCE. I just love them and eat up all the detail on the history of the day. I don't think many others do, but if you like this era, like to read about trade in the Med, and want to follow the adventures of a ladies man and his much more staid cousin, you just might like this series, too.

The third book in the series.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Greek trading pair go in new direction as hinted at in the previous book. The author does a good job of showing Israelite culture from an outsiders and non-understanding point of view. The main characters show a some maturing, but they are a work in progress as are all of us. Good adventure on sea and land. Fun historical series. :)

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the third in the series, is the best one yet. I really like the first two books and was hoping for more of the same. What I got was even better than I expected.

[Leonardo Etcheto · Rating 4 out of 5]

The travels continue. This time south to Cyprus and on to Judea to try to cut out the Phoenician middle men for balsam. The Greek superiority attitude to languages etc. is very amusing seen through the lens of history as is how they view Jerusalem and the Jews.
The special trade good this time is real silk from China, though they know only that it comes from farther away than India. They also end up doing a surprisingly good on selling high quality olive oil, though it is troublesome since everyone makes oil. It is bought individually by garrison soldiers.
The tables turn in this one where Menedemos is the one pursued and Sostratos is the one chasing a married woman. The Greek men lived very much with the spirit of the free love '60s. Not the women though, oh no. One more unfair thing when might makes right is the governing philosophy.
Thank the one unseen god that we live in more enlightened times.

[Blind Mapmaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 A good deal fresher than the last volume with - finally - some character development in the two cousins Menedemos and Sostratos. The journey over land in Phoenicia and Iudeaa makes for a nice change of pacing too and the closer encounters with Antigonos' soldiers and logistics are fun to read as well as the asides about famous kitharists, conceited scholars and tight-fisted merchants. The volume also shows nicely how the Mediterranean trade networks tied in with routes further afield, sometimes even a lot further afield. Still could use a little more tension, but then these are traders and not soldiers.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again we join Menedemos and Sostratos as they sail around the Med. This time they head to Phoenicia and Israel. I was very curious what a pre-Hellenized Isreal would be like and what our Sostratos would think about the Isrealites. As usual it was a fun journey through history with our usual cast of characters. By this point in the series you should know whether or not you enjoy this writing which is centered on philosophical debates, traders haggling, and Hellenic partying and sexual escapades. It's more of the same which is exactly what I wanted.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely the best of the series so far - our two main characters get a lot more interesting character development than they had in the previous books, and Turtledove does a good job of making a few familiar concepts feel unfamiliar.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Solomon Zehnwirth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depiction of ancient Jews is somewhat unfavorable, but that is not surprising considering the secular Jewish author based his depiction on Hellenistic sources. Aside from that, it's a very good read

[Liz V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travel along the Anatolian coast, to Cyprus, then on to Phoenicia and inland expand the Hellenic cousins' exposure to the so-called barbarians sharing the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and inland areas.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Swanson gave me this book. The third in the series of books set in the Hellenistic Greek world, this one follows our Rhodian heroes all the way to Ioudaia. I think the writing gets better as the series goes on. Attention to detail slips a bit - "Turteltaub" uses a modern obscenity instead of its Hellenistic equivalent a couple of times - but that is a minor conmplaint at worst.

[Kayeb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish the book and gave it 100 or so pages to "entice" me...... the writing style was the problem for me...stilted conversation, no real sense of going anyplace or even having started anyplace.

[John Love IV · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good book if you like stories about normal traveling. There's not much action. Basically, traders sailing/rowing around the Eastern Med. about 305 BC. Some travel in Palestine and such. Lot's of talk about philosophers.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned about trade in the Eastern Mediterranean in the era after the death of Alexander the Great. Plot is actually pretty minimal, but I did find the information interesting.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventure in the series. A few things in the narration got repetitive, but I enjoyed the book overall and will read the next one.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Further adventures of the sailing traders. 304 B.C. 15 years after Alexander died in the eastern Mediterranean. They go to Iudea (Judea) and Phonecia.