Thais of Athens: Difference between revisions

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''[[Thais of Athens (Literature)|Thais of Athens]]'' (Russian: "Таис Афинская") is a [[Historical Fiction]] novel written by the Soviet paleontologist and SF writer [[Ivan Yefremov]] and set around the time of [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquests. The eponymous heroine Thaïs is a famous [[Ancient Greece|Athenian]] [[High Class Call Girl|hetaera]], whom history remembers for burning the Achaemenid Persia's capital to the ground and later reigning as queen of [[Ancient Egypt|Ptolemaic Egypt]]. The novel takes these facts and [[Historical In-Joke|fills in the gaps and gray areas between and around them]] with invented characters and events that Thais encounters in her journey across the Ecumene. The result is both a compelling story and an epic panorama of [[The Greatest History Never Told|life in the Hellenistic world]] during the late fourth century BCE.
''[[Thais of Athens]]'' (Russian: "Таис Афинская") is a [[Historical Fiction]] novel written by the Soviet paleontologist and SF writer [[Ivan Yefremov]] and set around the time of [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquests. The eponymous heroine Thaïs is a famous [[Ancient Greece|Athenian]] [[High Class Call Girl|hetaera]], whom history remembers for burning the Achaemenid Persia's capital to the ground and later reigning as queen of [[Ancient Egypt|Ptolemaic Egypt]]. The novel takes these facts and [[Historical In-Joke|fills in the gaps and gray areas between and around them]] with invented characters and events that Thais encounters in her journey across the Ecumene. The result is both a compelling story and an epic panorama of [[The Greatest History Never Told|life in the Hellenistic world]] during the late fourth century BCE.


Although the novel was first published in Russian in 1972, it was only [http://www.thaisofathens.com/ recently translated] to English, almost forty years later.
Although the novel was first published in Russian in 1972, it was only [http://www.thaisofathens.com/ recently translated] to English, almost forty years later.
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* [[Dashed Plotline]]: Skips of one to three years take place between most chapters, culminating in a nine-year skip in the middle of the last chapter.
* [[Dashed Plotline]]: Skips of one to three years take place between most chapters, culminating in a nine-year skip in the middle of the last chapter.
* [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: In the novel, Thais names her and Ptolemy (historical) son Leontiscus after the (fictional) Thessalonian cavalryman Leontiscus, who was her long-time admirer and was KIA shortly before her son's birth.
* [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: In the novel, Thais names her and Ptolemy (historical) son Leontiscus after the (fictional) Thessalonian cavalryman Leontiscus, who was her long-time admirer and was KIA shortly before her son's birth.
* [[Death By Disfigurement]]: Combat fitness is a ''very'' [[Serious Business]] for Spartans.
* [[Death by Disfigurement]]: Combat fitness is a ''very'' [[Serious Business]] for Spartans.
* [[Designated Love Interest]]: Ptolemy for Thais. Kinda of a [[Foregone Conclusion]] if you know your history books.
* [[Designated Love Interest]]: Ptolemy for Thais. Kinda of a [[Foregone Conclusion]] if you know your history books.
* [[Does Not Like Men]]: Hesione {{spoiler|until she meets Nearchus}}. Eris, too.
* [[Does Not Like Men]]: Hesione {{spoiler|until she meets Nearchus}}. Eris, too.
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* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Thais and Eris. Men come and go but those two stick together.
* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Thais and Eris. Men come and go but those two stick together.
* [[High Class Call Girl]]: Thais and Aegesichore.
* [[High Class Call Girl]]: Thais and Aegesichore.
* [[Historical Domain Character]]: Thais, Alexander, Ptolemy, Hephaestion, Nearchus, Cleitus, [[Aristotle (Creator)|Aristotle]], and Lysippos. Also, Thalestris... kinda.
* [[Historical Domain Character]]: Thais, Alexander, Ptolemy, Hephaestion, Nearchus, Cleitus, [[Aristotle]], and Lysippos. Also, Thalestris... kinda.
* [[Historical Fiction]]: While the novel is [[Shown Their Work|extremely faithful]] to history books (with one exception<ref>The author himself acknowledges that he pushed the creation of Venus de Milo two centuries earlier to be used in a discussion of Greek sculpture.</ref>), it has a number of clearly fictional plot lines, such as Thais' initiation in various ancient mysteries and her rocky romance with Alexander.
* [[Historical Fiction]]: While the novel is [[Shown Their Work|extremely faithful]] to history books (with one exception<ref>The author himself acknowledges that he pushed the creation of Venus de Milo two centuries earlier to be used in a discussion of Greek sculpture.</ref>), it has a number of clearly fictional plot lines, such as Thais' initiation in various ancient mysteries and her rocky romance with Alexander.
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: 90% of the text.
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: 90% of the text.
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* [[Power Blonde]]: Aegesichore.
* [[Power Blonde]]: Aegesichore.
* [[The Promise]]: Ptolemy's promise to become a king and make Thais his queen in the first chapter.
* [[The Promise]]: Ptolemy's promise to become a king and make Thais his queen in the first chapter.
* [[Rape As Drama]]: Part of Hesione's [[Backstory]].
* [[Rape as Drama]]: Part of Hesione's [[Backstory]].
* [[Rescue Romance]]: Not quite this, but Thais and Menedem get a [[Relationship Upgrade]] after he saves her life in the temple of Sobek.
* [[Rescue Romance]]: Not quite this, but Thais and Menedem get a [[Relationship Upgrade]] after he saves her life in the temple of Sobek.
* [[Second Love]]: Spans the whole novel as a motif. Let's see...
* [[Second Love]]: Spans the whole novel as a motif. Let's see...
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