It is Carneia, the annual festival honoring Apollo. The festival includes duels, drinking, feasting and the agon. Daphne is being challenged by her brother Lykou as King Melenaus and Queen Helen watch. Paidonomos Leonides gives both of them a dory, a spear used by Spartan soldiers. A glancing blow is enough to end the duel and declare a winner. After a short battle, Daphne's dory grazes Lykou's side, tearing part of his black chiton. She has won this duel, her win acknowledged by the king. As she leaves, Daphne is reminded by Paidonomos Leonides to pay her respects to the king and she kneels briefly before him. Lykou praises Daphne for her victory, telling her she has shown that the Spartan army needs women warriors like her.
The time arrives for the agon, the climax of the Carneia. In this event, "...five unmarried men are chosen by Sparta's five ephors to chase a deer. If it is caught, the year will be a superb one for the harvests and army. And if not...disaster awaits." It is especially important they succeed as Menelaus and Helen are to meet with the mad king of Crete.
Daphne's brother,Pyrrhus has been chosen as one of the five men to run the agon. He believes he will easily win the race and brags about it to Daphne during the party. However, when the racers are summoned with the call of a horn, Daphne is shocked to see Pyrrhus hasn't shown up. So amid gasps of dismay, she steps forward to take his place. A deer is brought out, with a garland of laurel branches and flowers around its neck. King Melenaus tells the runners they must retrieve the garland before dawn to prevent the failure of Sparta's crops, the Eurotas from drying up, and disaster befalling the Spartan army. The race is to ask for Apollo's divine favour and his strength. The winner will receive many gifts, including a beautiful dory.
Daphne along with Castor and Lykou and two other runners make for the Taygetus Forest. But once inside the forest, in a moonlit glen, Daphne comes upon the deer as well as the goddess of hunt, Artemis who reveals that her powers and that of her family, the gods of Olympus are dying. Just then Pyrrhus emerges into the glen, his face bloodied and bruised begging Artemis to forgive him. She turns him into a stag and turns on Daphne, slicing her with a golden arrow that was a gift from her Uncle Hephaestus.
Artemis reveals to Daphne that something very dear to her father, Zeus has been stolen and without it, the powers of Olympus will fail. This will mean disaster for humans, and the armies of Greece will be overrun. Only one person knows who stole them and where they are hidden. To be certain Daphne won't betray her, Artemis drives the golden arrow into her abdomen causing a solid gold line to begin to form. This, the Midas Curse, blossoms and slithers across Daphne's torso, binding her to Artemis, but threatening to kill her too. If she cannot find where the Olympian powers have been hidden away, she will die as will her brother Pyrrhus. She gives Daphne the laurel to claim the prize of the Carneia, telling Daphne she has until the harvest moon to meet her obligation to Artemis.
As winner of the agon, Daphne receives the dory from Queen Helen who along with King Menelaus return to the palace while the Carneia continues. Daphne sets out on her journey, asking Ligeia, her handmaid, to make an explanation for her sudden disappearance. Her promised escort turns out to be Artemis's twin, Apollo who tells her they are travelling to Mount Kazbek where "an old friend...has the answers...". Apollo is accompanying her in an attempt earn his father's favour and forgiveness.
Soon Apollo discovers Daphne's friend, Lykon has been following them. To prevent his interference, Apollo turns Lykon into a wolf but allows him to accompany them. They arrive at the foothills of Mount Kazbek after seven days. While Lykon stays with the horses, Daphne and Apollo climb the rocky, treeless mountain. At the top, Daphne finds Prometheus chained between two stone columns. But when she questions him about what was stolen from Olympus and where Apollo can find it, he refuses unless Apollo leaves.
Prometheus reveals that nine things were stolen from Olympus and must be returned because these "pieces" are the power of the gods. Whoever has them can harness this power, making it dangerous. He tells her a traitor took them. After showing her a vision of the circumstances of her birth and the death of her mother, Prometheus gives her several clues. In the vision, Daphne learns that "three have been traded to the anax of Crete as playthings for his unruly son... three more have been given to the plague of Thebes as a sacrifice so that the power may never return..." and that "Their only salvation lies behind doors opened through a test of wit and words." Finally, the god tells her, " A sacrifice will reveal two at the limits of Okeanos, mean to sow dissent, their fates bound to the river of the dead. And the last, the most celebrated, joins Tantalus, demanding body and soul."
Soon Apollo discovers Daphne's friend, Lykon has been following them. To prevent his interference, Apollo turns Lykon into a wolf but allows him to accompany them. They arrive at the foothills of Mount Kazbek after seven days. While Lykon stays with the horses, Daphne and Apollo climb the rocky, treeless mountain. At the top, Daphne finds Prometheus chained between two stone columns. But when she questions him about what was stolen from Olympus and where Apollo can find it, he refuses unless Apollo leaves.
Prometheus reveals that nine things were stolen from Olympus and must be returned because these "pieces" are the power of the gods. Whoever has them can harness this power, making it dangerous. He tells her a traitor took them. After showing her a vision of the circumstances of her birth and the death of her mother, Prometheus gives her several clues. In the vision, Daphne learns that "three have been traded to the anax of Crete as playthings for his unruly son... three more have been given to the plague of Thebes as a sacrifice so that the power may never return..." and that "Their only salvation lies behind doors opened through a test of wit and words." Finally, the god tells her, " A sacrifice will reveal two at the limits of Okeanos, mean to sow dissent, their fates bound to the river of the dead. And the last, the most celebrated, joins Tantalus, demanding body and soul."
With these clues, Daphne, Apollo and Lykon set out for Crete knowing they must enter the palace of King Minos whose "unruly son" is known as the Minotaur. There they will learn more about the missing "pieces", who is responsible and who is working to thwart them. Their battle with the Minotaur will be the first of many brutal battles as they work to restore the powers of the gods!
Discussion
Daughter of Sparta is a remix of Greek mythology that includes most of the Greek gods and goddesses and their stories. In Greek mythology, Daphne was a naiad, a nymph who becomes a victim of Apollo's infatuation as a result of a curse made by Cupid on the god. She was pursued relentlessly by Apollo. When he finally caught her, Daphne prayed to her father, the river god Peneus, who changed her into a laurel tree. In Daughter of Sparta, the myth of Daphne is re-imagined, transforming her from a victim of the gods to a fierce warrior.
Andrews writes in her Author's Note that her " goal was to bring to light the often-underappreciated women of Greek myth and history..." Instead of "...the jealous wives and damsels - here are strong, nuanced women who tell their own stories. Women in ancient Greece were allowed very few, if any liberties; places like Sparta, where they were allowed many more privileges and rights, were the exception, and make for some exciting storytelling, both in historic and contemporary writing." As a result, Andrews does mess with timelines and stories a bit: Daphne kills the Minotaur instead of the Athenian hero, Theseus, who in turn is later killed by King Minos instead of Lycomedes, King of Scyros
Daphne's quest is truly Olympian in nature and breadth. She initially doesn't know what the "pieces" are that have been stolen from Olympus, nor who has stolen them and betrayed the gods. Her escort, Apollo insists that this task is now his responsibility but he doesn't divulge why. It is in the palace of King Minos that Daphne learns the truth about her task: it isn't objects that have been stolen but the nine Muses from Olympus. The Muses, who "are the sacred caretakers of the Hesperides, the source of all the power of Olympus", are under the protection of Apollo who somehow lost them. Daphne realizes that Apollo knew all along what was stolen.
Although Daphne has fulfilled her duty to Artemis - to obtain clues from Prometheus, she decides to help Apollo despite his deception. She angrily tells Apollo, "You and Artemis never intended for me to save all the Muses. You just wanted to use me to get Prometheus to speak." As they travel to Thebes, Daphne learns through a vision that Ares stole the Muses, that their efforts have been betrayed by Hermes, and she eventually learns how Apollo lost the Muses from the Garden of the Hesperides.
During her quest, Daphne engages in many battles: she fights the Minotaur (whom she slays), she also battles the Kentauroi of Foloi who are led by Eurytion and allied with Nyx, goddess of the night, she fights the Sphinx in the Cithaeron mountains, out witting and slaying her, she kills King Minos and the two demons who attempt to avenge the Minotaur's death, and she takes on Ares, stabbing him. In fact there are so many bloody battles that by the time the novel gets to the climax, which involves Daphne confronting Nyx to free the last Muse, the events are almost anti-climactic and the reader somewhat battle-weary.
At times Daughter of Sparta reads like a romance novel, as Daphne's feelings for Apollo grow throughout their journey. Eventually the two kiss. "Warm and sweet, our lips fold together in a warm embrace. A fire erupts inside me, turning my fears and doubts to ashes. And from the ashes rises a wanting so intense my entire body aches....." In the end however, Daphne, furious at his betrayal, repudiates the god, telling him he has to earn her trust again.
Although this novel isn't true to the stories in Greek mythology, it should appeal to those who enjoy this genre and who grew up on the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson novels and who have read the D'Aulaire's Greek Mythology. For those who have a more limited knowledge of Greek mythology, a Glossary of the Greek gods and goddess as well as a cast of characters would have been very helpful. Andrews does include a map of ancient Greece and a Greek Glossary of some of the words used throughout the novel.
Daughter of Sparta is the first novel in a trilogy. The conclusion sees Zeus asking Daphne to become the Storm of Olympus. He promises to give her the means to become the greatest warrior in Sparta, but Daphne only will agree if they will protect her family. Because Nyx is only wounded, Zeus tells Daphne that she will continue to be hunted by the goddess of the night. He tells he they will empower her to take on Nyx but only if she becomes their "emissary to the realm of men." Persephone and Hades give Daphne tokes of the debt they owe her, telling her she can claim then when needed. Athena offers her the answer to a much needed question in the future, while Aphrodite and Hera refuse to offer even their thanks. Dionysus offers Daphne a drink of wine, Hephaestus promises weapons and armour designed just for her, while Artemis offers nothing. Hypnos, son of Nyx also offers Daphne help in the future, betraying his own mother. Andrews has fashioned a fitting ending, open to Daphne's new adventures in the next book in the series.
Book Details:
Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews
New York: Jimmy Patterson Books, Little, Brown and Company 2021
375 pp.
New York: Jimmy Patterson Books, Little, Brown and Company 2021
375 pp.
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