The Trojan Generals Talk

The Trojan Generals Talk Book Description

"In the manner of Robert Graves, Parotti extrapolates events from Homeric epic and vividly recreates scenes of the Trojan war from the viewpoints of lesser-known players. This companion book to The Greek Generals Talk: Memoirs of the Trojan War comprises dramatic monologues in which 10 aged veteran commanders nurse their war wounds in far-flung locations around the Mediterranean, while assessing the fall of Troy. They discuss errors of strategy and bemoan the war's carnage and the loss of loved ones. The style of their retelling echoes Homer, yet the idiom is contemporary. Many offer opinions of Helen, the "Spartan whore." Medon, savoring a cup of bitter Thracian wine, believes that Helen was not the cause; this was really a trade war, waged to wrest control of the sea from Priam. Pyracchmes, former leader of the archers, finds himself mining silver in Mt. Laurion in Attica. Hate, back home in Alybe, says Paris should have been executed as the prophecy had urged. Parotti, professor of English at Sam Houston State University, provides a note on the legends of Bronze Age Troy (whose site is in modern Turkey) and its downfall in 1250-1185 BC There are maps, a glossary and a gazetteer. This book will be especially prized by readers familiar with Greek myth and epic."--Publishers Weekly