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| Plot Summary of The Athenian Murders |
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"Heracles Pontor, Decipherer of Enigmas in ancient Athens, is asked to investigate the death of Tramachus, the son of his old friends. It appears the young man was attacked by wolves while out hunting, but Diagoras, his tutor at Plato's Academy, insists he was terrified of something and was consequently murdered. Heracles takes the case, mainly to satisfy his own curiosity about the state of the corpse.
Heracles and Diagoras question the dancer Yasintra at Piraeus, then go to the gymnasium to interview Tramachus's friends Antisus and Euneos. All seem nervous but deny any knowledge. By all accounts Tramachus was a normal young man, both virtuous and religious, participating with his family in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Heracles later discovers that Antisus and Euneos are performing in forbidden plays and attending orgiastic parties at a sculptor's studio. He deduces that Tramachus was silenced to prevent him from revealing this shameful secret.
Euneos's body is discovered on waste ground near the studio. It is said he slashed himself to death in a drunken frenzy. Heracles observes that the body was re-dressed and moved after death, which suggests murder. Dinner at the Academy leads to a confession and a rational explanation. More deaths seem only to confirm the guilt of the logical suspect and the case goes to trial. But Heracles is dissatisfied.
Haunted by doubts and dreams, Heracles finds his rationality challenged by his old schoolfellow Crantor, who once burnt his own hand to prove that reason does not rule human conduct, and by the sculptor poet Menaechmus who asserts the vitality of creativity against the sterility of the Platonic Realm of Ideas.
Alongside the main narrative, displayed as a series of footnotes, another story emerges, set in a later time. The translator of the Greek novel about Heracles Pontor is convinced a secret message is hidden in the story. He sees surreal images running riot in the text, often unnoticed by the characters themselves. He comes to believe the message directly relates to his own life, and that he is in imminent danger. "
Maureen Evans, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Athenian Murders |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- ancient greece
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Special suspect?
- lover
Murder of certain profession?
- students/teachers
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- quite fatty
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Greece
City?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of sex
- descript. of breasts
- descript. of male nudity
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Click here for more information about this book
Jose Carlos Somoza Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Maureen Evans
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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