The Mask of Apollo

Ha egy görögökről szóló jó történelmi regény ismérve, hogy az ember egy picit görög akar lenni utána, akkor ez egy jó történelmi regény. Mary Renault a műfaj klasszikus hagyományaiból építkezik – regénye egyfelől útikönyv egy eltűnt időről és helyről, gusztusos időutazás, másfelől pedig egy jelentős (bár nem feltétlenül közismert) történelmi esemény eredeti interpretációja. És nem mellesleg celebspotting, amiben a jelenkori olvasó belebámulhat bizonyos azóta elporladt hírességek sorsába is. E könyv fő celebje maga Platón, a cselekmény gócpontjában pedig az áll, ahogy a kaporszakállú bölcs megkísérli filozófiai elméletét az államról a valóságba integrálni, és a show more vajgerincű, gyenge jellemű szicíliai zsarnok, Dionüsziosz mentoraként kialakítani a tökéletes kormányzatot. Itt már tetten érhető a kötet első ellentétpárja: a letisztult filozófia meg a racionális ész áll szemben az egyéni gyarlósággal, no meg a politikai machinációk, a kétszínűség futóhomokjával. Akik vettek részt ókortörténeti vagy filozófiai szigorlaton, talán emlékeznek, sikeres volt-e a platóni nekifeszülés, a többieknek meg elspoilerezem: nem. Hihetetlenül érdekes téma, remek diktátor-arckép, sallangmentes ábrázolása annak, mit tesz a hatalom az ember lelkével, és hogy rágja le róla mindazt, amit a jó szándéknak addig sikerült felépítenie.

Mindez azonban csak egy lyukas garast érne (lyukatlant semmiképp), ha az elbeszélő személye nem lenne ilyen jól megcsinálva. Renault hőse Nikératosz, aki athéni és aki színész – ezzel a két jelzővel pedig a szerző újabb ellentéteket is beemel a szövegbe. Egyfelől Nikératosz athéniként demokrata, és ösztönösen ellenérzésekkel viseltetik a zsarnokság mindenféle megnyilvánulása iránt (igen, még Platón esetleges zsarnoksága iránt is), másfelől meg színész, ami azért is praktikus, mert így 1.) van ürügye végigturnézni az akkori ismert világot 2.) módot ad Renaultnak arra, hogy fitogtathassa széles körű tudását a korszak színművészetéről, amely színművészet baromi érdekes dolog ám. De ami a legfontosabb: Nikératosz emellett talpig becsületes is, mentes az irigységtől, elkötelezett mind barátai, mind hivatása iránt – és ha ez a két elköteleződés szembe kerül egymással, akkor nem rest bátor döntést hozni, olyat, ami ha kényelmetlen vagy veszedelmes is, de mindig felismerni benne a lelkiismeret parancsát. Minden ízében szimpatikus fazon, én nagyon bírtam.

Jól össze van rakva a könyv, számos olyan síkot futtat, amiben öröm volt elmerülni. Ahogy az egyszeri moly-értékelő mondaná: „fogok még a szerzőtől olvasni”. show less

Following the life of actor Nikeratos and his various adventures touring the classical world, in particular his friendship with Dion of Syracuse and Plato the philosopher as they try to forge a Republic in Syracuse.

Once again Renault creates and inhabits a character who seems to in turn inhabits and evokes his world perfectly, and more than that who lives and breathes the theatre, which informs every aspect of his life and outlook. It's a breathtaking achievement, seemingly effortless, utterly absorbing the reader and bringing the ancient world to life. It's odd, though that the tone of a book about art and which views art as a mode of worship of he gods, should feel so pragmatic and grounded in the craft of the actor and the show more mechanisms and logistics of production and touring, in contrast with the Theseus novels, about heroism and kingship, which have an almost dream-like quality to them with the feeling that of the divine ready to manifest around every rock and tree. Niko communes with Apollo via an old mask, and often feels the eyes of the god upon him and receives oracles as he wrestles with issues of conscience and obligation, but Niko makes his offerings to a god, he doesn't feel and act as if he is half a god himself.

Niko is a good and decent man trying to do right by his own talents and maybe contribute something to the larger events he finds himself a small part of. His voice is bold and confident and self-assured and his first and second-hand accounts of the story of Syracuse and Dion and Plato are wonderful. Another brilliant book by Renault. show less

In one quintessentially Greek moment from this superb novel, the narrator recalls the story of a father of two Olympic champions. At the moment when his sons are crowned, the crowd chants to him to "Die now," because, of course, no moment of his life could ever again be so good.

So, in finishing The Mask of Apollo am I tempted to chant to myself: "Give up reading historical fiction now."

'Nuff said.

My introduction to Mary Renault was The King Must Die, the first of two novels about Theseus--it was actually assigned reading in high school. What impressed me so much there was how she took a figure out of myth and grounded him historically. After that I quickly gobbled up all of Renault's works of historical fiction set in Ancient Greece. The two novels about Theseus and the trilogy centered on Alexander the Great are undoubtedly her most famous of those eight novels, and I'd add The Last of the Wine, about the Peloponnesian War, as among her best.

By that standard this is one of Renault's, lesser, not as memorable, works. In a way, this feels like a sequel to The Last of the Wine. There Socrates was an important character, here it's show more Plato. I definitely got the feeling from Renault's novels that she had two historical passions: Alexander the Great and Plato, and the idea that the first was the embodiment of the second's ideal--or would have been, had he had a chance to shape him. The main focus of this novel though is Nikeratos, an Athenian born into the acting trade. And it's certainly interesting seeing the portrait of ancient Greek theater. And compared to much of historical fiction, this is still a marvel. I'd probably recommend The King Must Die as an introduction to Renault, then read the sequel, The Last of the Wine and the Alexander works before hitting this one--but this is definitely a pleasure. show less

Top notch fun! A real page turner that had me up well past my bed time, that took me back to Plato's world and helped me understand some of those issues. I'm no classical scholar so I can't judge the historical accuracy, but on the other hand I have read a few of Plato's dialogues and this book seemed to catch the right flavor.

Curiously relevant to modern times, too, sad to say. Politics doesn't really change over the millennia, nor human nature.

This was my introduction to Mary Renault. I am just delighted to have this territory open up for me!

I love the fiction of Mary Renault and this is the first of her novels that I read. At the time I already had begun to acquire a passion for ancient Greece from a wonderful Latin teacher in high school. Luckily for us in addition to teaching us Latin our teacher imbued in us an interest in learning about everything classical that grew for me into more reading and led me to the discovery of Mary Renault and her historical fiction set in ancient Greece. The story of The Mask of Apollo involves the world of live theater and political intrigue in the Mediterranean at the time.

The narrator, Nikeratos is a successful professional actor, and Renault vividly evokes the technologies and traditions of classic Greek Tragedy. With detailed show more recreations of what might have been involved in the staging of a theatrical production of the time, she describes the music, scenery, mechanical special effects devices, and especially the practice of the three principal actors sharing the various roles in a performance, along with authentic gossip involved in these casting decisions.

Nikeratos, is an invented character, but real historical figures such as Dion of Syracuse and Plato make appearances. It is Renault's seamless blend of real historical characters within her fictional stories that makes her novels come alive for me. I even sometimes think, being an inveterate play-goer, what would it be like to pray or prepare a sacrifice for the success of the play before-hand. Some plays could use the help. I would recommend Mary Renault's novels of Ancient Greece to anyone who has an interest in our classical Greek heritage. show less

One of the first novels that truly started me on the path to what would become a life long love with reading. The protagonist, a tragic actor, is so likeable with his catty attitude that he takes you on a trip to a very new & different world. And, his boyfriend is a joy, too. Mary Renault was a genius. She bravely presented the LGBTQ community, as well as she & her partner. I've committed myself to collecting her entire collection of writings. It has been 20-year's since we lost her and her writing still holds up.