The Mask of Apollo

There are three elements that make this a great novel. First is Renault's ingenious device to critique Plato and Dion through the eyes of an actor. Plato's greatest intellectual flaw, to many, is his devotion to logic at the expense of the passions. The actor, who earns his bread through the inspiration of passion, can see instantly the weaknesses and where they will ultimately lead.Second, in this book more than any other, Renault makes you feel the presence of the gods. She does this with subtlely, and one is always left wondering whether Nikeratos the actor is imagining (or, indeed, scripting) the voice of Apollo coming from his mask. But in his heart the reader knows that the voice is genuine and that it always leads Nikeratos to his best self.Third, this is the novel in which Renault really situates herself in a past, present and future. She even makes subtle jokes about it. (Nikeratos, in a fever, dreams of playing Hamlet -- although if you didn't know Hamlet you'd never get the joke.) In this novel, much more so than in those that preceded it, she makes up her mind that all Greek history leads to or from Alexander. This is the novel she wrote just before Fire From Heaven and she has already decided where she is going.

This was a beautifully written novel. The pervasiveness of homosexual relationships depicted in the story eloquently exposes our own society's morals as arbitrary. Our customs were not established at the dawn of time nor are they immutable as we might suppose. Also the gods were portrayed as spirtually significant powers that really shaped lives. I have thought of them as entertaining mythical fantasies and assumed that the ancients, at least the educated, did as well. But their gods were as powerful and real to them as our God is to us. The colorful caste of characters- Roman soldiers, Gauls, Sicilians, and a few famous figures - really brought the ancient Mediterrannean world to life in all its variety.

One of the things that make Mary Renault such a great historical novelist is that she opens doors you never thought existed and gets you wanting to explore and learn more. I had to read several Greek plays in high school but they were always kind of ho-hum until Renault brought them vibrantly to life in "The Mask of Apollo" in the character of Nikeratos, an Athenian actor in 4th-century BC Greece who learns his craft from the ground up and brings us onstage and backstage into his world of great drama. Nikeratos travels from Greece to Sicily and back, acting in plays by such immemorial dramatists as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and bringing life to his art and art into his life and the lives of those he interacts with. Parallel with the story of Nikeratos is the story of Dion of Syracuse, a real historical figure who successfully brought down the dictatorship of Dionysios the Younger, only to install his own dictatorship in its place. "The Mask of Apollo" brings to life historical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Speusippos (an enigmatic character I would have liked to know more of) and many others that we only read about in history texts, and makes them become real and personal. She also makes us live in ancient Syracuse with its sights and sounds, its political intrigues and dangers. (Contrary to what one reviewer said, however, Renault gave only one line in passing to the Athenian defeat at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War and the tragic aftermath; that was treated at length in "The Last of the Wine" but not in this book.) After finishing this book, I headed straight to the bookstore for a good translation of "The Bacchae" by Euripides, which I'd never heard of before Renault relates how brilliantly Nikeratos acts the leading role, and devoured it at one sitting. Renault does her readers a double favor: she not only gives them a gem of a book, she sends them on a treasure hunt to find some more.

I began reading Mary Renault's novels at the age of 17, having found her book about Theseus by chance in my school's library. As fast as I could I read all her other Greek novels and have never found another writer who comes close to Renault's fascinating depiction of the ancient world. I have learned so much from her novels; however, not only are they superbly written with magnificent characterisations, they are a joy to read and I have re-read them all many times. This novel's depiction of the Athenian disaster at Syracuse and the subsequent treatment of the Athenian prisoners is superbly drawn but just one high point in the book. Reading through the other reviews, I just wish I had been lucky enough to study this kind of book at school, but do feel a certain level of maturity is required before tackling them. As it was, Mary Renault's novels are a major reason for me undertaking Ancient History at college and she has instilled in me a lifelong love of Greece.I would recommend this and indeed any of her Greek novels without hesitation.

As a foreigner reader, I would like to state my view on "The Mask of Apollo". Wonderful book, almost from first to last line. Nikeratos, the protagonist, has a sweet and accurate way of talking about his relationships, and they are among the biggest world has ever seen: Platon (Plato), Aristotle (a dull figure) Alexander, Aristophanes, Dionisyus and Dion of Siracuse. It is a book that tell stories of friendship , love, adventures (no Rambos, please!); of people who lived a life worth living. Renault tries to tell us that ancient Greece was all but dull, the first time men (and women) had the right to exist for themselves, eventhough they were no kings or Pharaohs. Renault's books should be read by everyone who believes in democracy and the surviving of humans on earth.