Stealing Athena

by Karen Essex

Book Overview

The author of the bestselling Leonardo's Swans traverses the centuries into the hearts of two extraordinary women to reveal the passions, ambitions, and controversies surrounding the Elgin Marbles.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385519710
• ISBN13: 9780385519717
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 452 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.7" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Quite enjoyable

I am am avid reader of historical fiction, and am surprised I missed this one somehow until now. Essex's novel focuses on the famous Elgin marbles, and is told in both first person and third. At first, I found this jarring, but after getting used to it, I settled in and very much enjoyed the story of Mary Elgin, whose husband is obsessed with preserving the Elgin marbles. However, my favorite part of the novel is when Aspasia begins narrating the book and we rediscover what Athens was thousands of years ago. Aspasia is a courtesan loved by Perikles, and though she experiences freedoms few other women in the city have - to go where she pleases, to discuss politics, and to talk with men freely - her profession also puts her in danger. A novel of both the Elgin marbles and the building of the Parthenon, this book with a rare find and a true jewel. Although my specialty is Egyptology, I do know a great deal about the rest of the ancient world, which made me appreciate this book even more, since it's clear the author did her homework.

The Elgin Marbles

Stealing Athena is a wonderful historical novel about two relatively unknown women from completely separate time periods. Mary Nisbet and Aspasia of Miletus may have lived more than 2200 years apart, but Karen Essex's new book shows the similarities between them, both in their lives and in their personalities. A slightly larger portion of the book is from Mary's point of view, and we are first introduced to Aspasia when Mary begins reading Plutarch's Life of Pericles. Aspasia was the lover of Pericles, who commissioned the Parthenon Marbles. Mary's life became forever intertwined with the Elgin Marbles, as they are also known, when her husband, Lord Elgin, set out on his quest to 'rescue' the marbles from Athens for the glory of Britain. Stealing Athena spans the entirety of Mary's marriage to Lord Elgin, including the years it took to obtain the Parthenon Marbles, and parts of Aspasia's life with Pericles. Essex's book gives very interesting insights in the women's relationships and how they assist their partners in their endeavors, despite the prejudices against women in both eras. We also are given a window into the cultures and beliefs of their society, which made it easy to understand what motivated them and their peers. Overall, it is a great book to read, for either the relationships and character dynamics, or for the historical settings and culture. I personally believe if you like historical fiction or character driven novels, you'll love this book.

The intertwined lives of two women and the men they lived for

Once again, Karen Essex takes her readers back to a time in history rich in controversy with bold characters who cry out for attention. In STEALING ATHENA, she intertwines the lives of an ancient Greek and an 18th century British earl, two men with opposing interests. Over 2,000 years ago, the famous Greek Pericles labored tirelessly to build the Parthenon, driven by his desire to erect a shrine to the powerful goddess Athena, namesake of his city. In doing so, he risked much: money, scorn, treachery. But to him, it was worth it. His lover, Aspasia, used her influence over the people of Athens to help him whenever possible. She could not deny her nature as a philosopher and a woman of strong opinions. Aspasia watched Pericles give himself over to this project, gently and subtly guiding him as much as she dared. Once, seeing that Aspasia was perplexed by her lover's obsession with the Parthenon, a wise woman told her, "Think about it. For the sake of fame, men will risk great dangers...Pericles' sons and their sons, like all progeny, will die within a few generations. His building projects, however, are a more perfect bid for eternal fame than his children because they will last through the centuries..." Aspasia patted her pregnant belly and smiled at the truth of these words. Over a thousand years later, as the 18th century turned into the 19th, the Scottish Lord Elgin had an obsession of his own: Save the Parthenon from looters and tourists by shipping it piece by piece back to England. But he needed help, a lot of it. He began by wooing the very desirable --- and very wealthy --- Mary Nisbet. Her heart was easily won. Following a short courtship, they were married, she was pregnant and, soon after, his bid to become British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire came through. The newlyweds felt their lives were charmed. Lord and Lady Elgin were on their way to Athens, where Elgin could begin his dream of deconstructing the Parthenon. As her husband went about his work, Mary played the diplomat's wife with style and grace, making friends with some unlikely people. A headstrong female in a land where the rules that govern the behavior of women are restrictive in the extreme, she also caused tongues to wag. Elgin seemed proud of his wife, but his mood swings made Mary wonder at times. Nonetheless, she flourished as a hostess --- and as a mother. Meanwhile, back when the Parthenon was in its infancy, Aspasia was building her own reputation as a hostess, since a man as influential as Pericles needed a strong presence in Athenian social circles. Some of her enemies, though, kept a jealous eye on her every move, keen for her to slip up. Society didn't afford courtesans much in the way of personal rights, nor did it wish to see them pretending to be on an equal tier with respectable ladies. There were people who wanted Aspasia brought down. But if Pericles and Aspasia had troubles, they didn't compare to those of Lord and Lady Elgin. Could it be that t

Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

If you have been to the British Museum in London you could not have missed the Elgin Marbles, those lovely white carvings taken from the Parthenon in Athens. What you might not have done is imagined the arduous task it was to move them there. In this historical novel Karen Essex has painted the picture for us of the personal lives of the people involved. In 1799 Lord Elgin was appointed ambassador to Constantinople. He was a newlywed and took his wife, Mary, with him to his post. He was glad to have been given the position because he was an architecture buff and believed that what the Ancient Greeks built was the pinnacle of architectural perfection. At the time, Athens was occupied by the Ottoman Turks. They were camped at the Acropolis and were smashing the marbles to use for building materials, using the core metal to make ammunition. He wanted to make moldings and have drawings done so that those historical buildings would not be lost forever. Mary was only twenty one and pregnant at the start of this odyssey. But she was a lovely, smart and charming young woman. She won the admiration of the Sultan and other high ranking Turks. The Turks put no value on the ancient buildings in Greece and, as a favor to Mary, ended up allowing the Elgins to remove whatever ancient item they desired from the country. Removal of the priceless ancient sculptures became an obsession for Lord Elgin. He spent an enormous amount of money extracting the artifacts, becoming deep in debt, causing transportation nightmares, ruining his health and his marriage. All the while competing with Napoleon and the French for artifacts in between the Napoleonic Wars. While we see the destruction of the Parthenon through Mary's eyes, the author also gives us a glimpse of it's construction through the eyes of Aspasia. She was the mistress of the man behind the building of the Parthenon, Perikles, and a philosopher in her own right. Through her the reader is given a window into the society of ancient Athens and their political structure, which shows us the roots of our own. Since that time the debate has raged: where do the marbles belong? The Greeks would like them back and have even built a new museum to house them when they return. The British Museum shows no sign of letting them go. It is questionable whether the marbles would even still exist now if they had not been removed when they were. This is a great historical novel with it's basis in fact. The author did extensive historical research and it shows in the story line. It is a fascinating story of two strong women who had the courage to take control of their own lives.

"The fact remains that she is but a woman, subject to the higher will of men."

Though I'd heard of Karen Essex, before "Stealing Athena" I had never read one of her novels. I was inspired to read this one because of the many mentions of the Elgin marbles in Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily mystery series and have always been interested in the controversy surrounding the huge amount of many (other countries') national treasures that reside in the British museum and so picked up this novel. All I can say is I enjoyed this so much that I am supremely happy to have found the first three Essex novels and added them on my too read stack. "Stealing Athena" is a divided novel telling the story of two young, smart and custom defying women who where heavily involved in the history of the Parthenon and the amazing sculptures which adorned it. Mary Elgin, the wife of Lord Elgin who harvested the marbles and brought them back to England and Aspasia, consort of Perikles who was responsible for funding and getting permission for the building of the Parthenon in the 5th century BC. But these women have more in common than the great structure-both are attached to men who sought an immortal glory-Perikles through the building of the Parthenon and Lord Elgin in the dismantling and "preservation" of it. And both find themselves struggling between the conventions of the time and their own personal happiness. We start with Mary, Lady Elgin, who is the focus of the book in third person. A newly married young woman on her way to Constantinople where her husband is to be the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Mary believes her marriage to be a love match. She doesn't know that her husbands seemingly innocent goal of making drawings and molds of the Greek artifacts on the Acropolis will soon become an obsession and search for immortal glory that will place her own health and wellbeing, along with that of her growing brood, at great risk and may destroy their marriage. Aspasia tells of her life with Perikles in Athens in first person. As a foreigner to the city Perikles is forbidden by a law he himself created to marry her, but their lives are filled with love and lively conversation. And as a "courtesan" instead of a proper wife Aspasia has freedom that most women in Athens do not-the freedom to move about the city freely, to attend men's parties, to give advice on marriage to men seeking wives and claim the title of philosopher. But her level of freedom insults the good people of Athens and even Perikles cannot protect her from banishment if she is convicted by citizens resentful of her and her lover of a crime... Though it beautiful illustrates the creation of the Parthenon and the beauty it was have held both in its infancy and later degraded state, the main theme in this novel is the difference in how men and women seek immortality. Mary and Aspasia are content with their children though they both find the marbles exquisite but Perikles and Elgin are determined to do whatever it takes in order to create (or preserve) monuments that will l