Tom Holt's `Olympiad' is a fascinating satire that jabs its humorous finger into the ribs of ancient Greece and gives legendary occurrences a sense of wry life that makes it all the more readable. Sharp and witty, Holt's foray into the world of the historical novel leaves the reader wanting more. His prose style and grasp of his subject matter is fused into a perfect mix of historical fact and literary fiction to create a novel that is truly impressive.
Olympiad, in true Platonic style, takes the form of a conversation between a visiting Phoenician trader and a group of old men in the Greek town of Elis. The story is primarily narrated between blind Cleander and digitless Cratus, two brothers who know the true story behind the founding of the ancient Olympic Games (or Elean Games as they were auspiciously known on their inauguration) and in a length narration give both the versions of events.
The story commences with an ill-fated war against the Triphylians which turns out badly for the perfect King Leon and the brothers' family. As a result of the funeral Games, Cleander suggests to the King that he hold a Games to celebrate no deaths and call the greatest Games players in all Greece to attend. Leon agrees to this splendid idea and promptly packs Cleander, Cratus and three others - their uncle Sarpedon, who has a penchant for violence, Dusa, their overly confident sixteen year old sister, and Tachys, the only man who'll agree to the insanity - off as heralds to announce the Games. What doesn't help is that King Leon's other son, Prince Oeleus, in an attempt to prevent the Games being held and his older brother benefiting from them, is desperate to prevent the games so he sends Alastor to go to all the towns ahead of the fellowship and prevent them from being welcomed.
The first part of the journey has mixed results: our group get in a fight, discover Tegea has become prosperous, discover Pylos has been razed, have a pointless but nice time with the Spartans etc. Eventually, they rescue Pentheus of Aegina, who just happens to come from a family of Gamesplayers who excel (Dusa also manages to fall in love) who narrates his own story of the funeral games held for Phorbus and their family's Games contest against the visiting Corinthian Laops family. During the chariot race a crash killed both their sister Actis and one of the Corinthians and led to a fight and subsequent blood feud.
After taking Pentheus along with them they wind up in Argos where the Argives have actually commenced their own Games. After watching the displays and determining to ask them back to Elis, they're promptly forced to run for it after Alastor and Tachys (who has now joined him) falsely accuse Pentheus of sacrilege.
After sailing the wrong way and ending up in Megara, a dosage of flour secures Pentheus a chariot army with which to regain his Aegina island kingdom. Pure chance ends up with one dead Pentheus and one Sarpedon taking over a King of Aegina. This provides the perfect excuse to hold some funeral Games and lure the best from Athens, to then ostensibly recruit for the Elean Games - though in a moment of pure hilarious farce they have a massive pyre but forget the body.
After managing to make it back to Elis (Cleander being cuckolded in the meantime) they finally create their Games stadium and no one arrives until they conscript a pirate ship for a great footrace that, ultimately, achieves its objective.
Holt's characters play off each other perfectly, bickering just like any family, but also showing great flashes of intuition and always able to help each other out. The philosophical debates on how one can truly record history and how people achieve greatness that regularly appear as the aging Cleander and Cratus pause in their story to the Phoenician drive home a valuable exercise in logical thinking and perception. For this reader, I cannot praise Holt's novels highly enough and I only wish I had discovered this marvellous author a lot sooner.
A must read.
