The character of Myrto, as the second wife of Socrates, will surely imprint for good all those who discover her in this delightful book. As a young girl without a dowry, Myrto could easily have fallen between the cracks of ancient Greek society. Instead, when Socrates volunteers to take her as a second wife, Myrto undergoes an initiation, not just into wife- and mother-hood, but also into the life of an independent thinker. She becomes a woman of great spiritual power, especially after the death of her husband when she chooses how to live without her beloved guide and husband.
What I loved most about this book is how the author resists the temptation of the romantic master narrative. Myrto develops great strength as she learns to think for herself. In fact, I've never seen a better depiction of growth in a young woman -- from vulnerability and anxiety to confidence and courage.
Socrates and Plato, two of the other chief characters are finely drawn also. Indeed, Socrates is the catalyst for the amazing growth of his young wife. His refusal to tell her what to do and to think and his probing questions have a transformative effect over time. She even finds a way to understand the famously difficult Xanthippe, Socrates' first wife.
Along the way the reader picks up many facts of Greek life and history, but the research doesn't show on the surface. It's embedded and can be discovered just the way Socrates himself would have approved. Without discovery learning is mere memorization. With it, learning lives in the place of the gods, the spirit.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient Greek culture and in a riveting story of female empowerment.
~ Shirley Hershey Showalter , author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. She was president of Goshen College and Vice-President-Programs of the Fetzer Institute.