I obtained a second-hand version of this, having enjoyed a recent re-read of the author's "Priam's Daughter". It is the story of the hero known variously as Bellerophon and Perseus, the man's original name being Hippolochus (who in some legends is the son of Bellerophon but a foreword explains the reasoning behind the scheme followed in the novel). As there are elements in common to both heroes, such as the appearance of the winged horse Pegasus, the author theorised that they were actually stories about the same person, since the names Bellerophon and Perseus are both able to be derived from titles or nicknames.

The frame of the tale is that he is wandering as a despised elderly man, blind and trying to obtain food and occasional lodging by telling his tale as a bard. Knowing his life is near its end, he sets out his life story as it actually happened and not as the exaggerated stories which began to be circulated when he was much younger.

The period is one where the worship of the Hellene gods is taking over and gradually ousting the worship of the old Goddess, although there are still plenty of adherents to the latter which originally had an emphasis on the power of women and the sacrifice of the King. As per the previously read book, the Bronze Age setting is well realised, with no literal appearances of gods: people believe wholeheartedly in them and interpret events in that light, but the only supernatural elements as before are the possession by certain individuals of psychic abilities, mainly a knowledge of the future albeit vague and erratic. Pegasus, for example, is a horse with which Hippolochus forms a bond and is able to jump fences on - as no rider has ever managed this before, the story is exaggerated and Pegasus is talked about as a flying horse, aided by his later depiction on the sail and figurehead of the ship called Pegasus and on the helmets etc of the hero's close companions. The other uncanny elements in the hero's exploits are similar exaggerations of non-supernatural events.

The story is episodic, with the various travels, including a three year sea voyage to Britain known then as Hyperborea, to slay the 'Gorgon' Medusa, in this a formidable rogue Amazon with a group of followers who have been outlawed by the Goddess' priestesses. The nicknames Bellerophon and Perseus are acquired at different points in the character's life and refer to particular events. He is brave but not the brightest person, relying on his good friend Nereus, and other friends acquired along the way including Orpheus, the legendary bard. Eventually, he is undone by hubris and his unlucky closest friends and wife along with him.

I found it a bit of a slog in places, and it does come across as rather a travelogue, so I broke off in the middle of it to read something else. It is interesting in places to see the author's alternative interpretation of the supernatural elements of the original stories, but the treatment of women is problematic. Apart from an Amazon - and even she starts showing signs of going a bit soppy about Perseus as he then is, before departing before she can contravene the Amazon code (sex with men is only to produce more Amazons) - the other women he is involved with are pretty and fairly insipid, and the descriptions of Andromeda descend into mawkishness. The characterisations even of the male characters remain sketchy throughout. The book was rather a disappointment after the author's retelling of Cassandra's story and so I can only give this an OK 2 stars. ( )