The Bronze God of Rhodes is a historical novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1960, and in paperback by Bantam Books in 1963.[1] A trade paperback edition was projected by The Donning Company for 1983, but never published.[2][3] The book was reissued with a new introduction by Harry Turtledove as a trade paperback and ebook by Phoenix Pick in June 2013.[4][5] It is the second of de Camp's historical novels in order of writing, and fourth in internal chronology.
The novel is written in first person, purporting to be the memoirs of Chares of Lindos, the sculptor of the Colossus of Rhodes. It concerns his return to Rhodes, his attempts to set up as a sculptor, his struggles with his family's wishes that he enter their bronze foundry, his experience as a catapult artilleryman during the Siege of Rhodes (305 BC), and his complicated adventures in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Rhodian portions of the story are enlivened by the presence of Celtic foreigner Kavaros, who rises from Chares' slave to fellow soldier, friend, and sculpting assistant, and ultimately saves his former master's life. The atmosphere of the novel is lightened by Kavaros' entertaining, pointed and improbable tales of his supposedly superhuman ancestor Gargantuos (presumably de Camp's nod to the giant Gargantua, a character in the works of François Rabelais). The planning and building of the Colossus in commemoration of the city's successful defense occupies the closing portion of the book.
De Camp brings in numerous other historical personages of the era, notably Chares' sculpting mentor Lyssipos of Sikyon, the mathematician Eukleidēs, Babylonian historian Berossos (initially as a member of the sculptor's catapult crew), Rhodes's antagonists Demetrios Poliorketes and Antigonus, Egyptian historian Manethos, Egyptian king Ptolemaios, and Demetrios of Phalerum, reputed founder of the Library of Alexandria. A number of the book's characters are introduced in a symposion Chares attends early on, conducted by a group dubbed "The Seven Strangers," modeled on de Camp's own real-life social club the Trap Door Spiders.
Henry Cavendish, writing for the Chicago Daily Tribune, called the book "something of a modern masterpiece ... one of the most pleasantly informative [and] sheerly entertaining books in too long a while."[6]
Robert Payne in The Saturday Review deems the difficulty in setting a novel in the Hellenistic era "to find a central character who will represent the quintessence of those times," a problem "de Camp has brilliantly solved ... by choosing Chares of Lindos, ... a sympathetic character [with] the charm of a character in a good picaresque novel." He finds de Camp "in his element" in the Rhodian scenes, noting that "[w]henver he writes of Greeks and purely Greek affairs, he writes masterfully," but considers "[t]he Egyptian adventure ... pretty terrible."[7]
Elizabeth C. Winship in The Boston Globe calls the book "a slow starter [it] but picks up tremendously," with "the battles ... many and lively and the engines of war highly ingenious." She feels the "long trips to Syria and Egypt ... extend this rich picture of life around the Mediterranean over 2000 years ago" but thinks the speech, "[a]s is the case in many historical novels, ... a bit stilted, sprinkled with 'forsooths' and 'impudent rogues.'"[8]
Richard Match in The New York Times calls it a "fine novel" and "a lively picaresque tale," noting that "[w]hen a man writes a historical novel without a conventional love story (as Mr. de Camp has here), you can be sure he's dedicated. His dedication is to the age of Alexander the Great, which is rapidly becoming his private literary preserve. ... For the discriminating minority of readers who are inclined to care too, 'The Bronze God' will be an unusual treat."[9]
Notes
↑ Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p.29.
The picaresque novel is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt a realistic style. There are often some elements of comedy and satire. While the term "picaresque novel" was only coined in 1810, the picaresque novel originated in Imperial Rome during the 1st-2nd century CE, in particular with works such as the Satyricon of Petronius and later, and more particularly with authors such as Apuleius in Roman Numidia. It would see a revival in Spain during the Spanish Golden Age in 1554. Early Spanish contributors included Mateo Alemán and Francisco de Quevedo, who were influenced in particular by Apuleius' 2nd century work. Other notable ancient influences of the modern picaresque genre include Roman playwrights such as Plautus and Terence. The Golden Ass of Apuleius nevertheless remains, according to many scholars such as F. W. Chandler, A. Marasso, T. Somerville and T. Bodenmüller, the primary influence for the modern Picaresque genre. Subsequently, after the revival in Spain, the genre flourished throughout Europe for more than 200 years for the first time since the Roman period. It continues to influence modern literature.
The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to celebrate the successful defence of Rhodes city against an attack by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who had besieged it for a year with a large army and navy.
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius. The denomination 280 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Demetrius I, also called Poliorcetes, was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty and was its first member to rule Macedonia. He was the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Stratonice.
Lindos is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 178.9 km2. It lies on the east coast of the island. It is about 40 km south of the city of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Charaki.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, or the Nike of Samothrace, is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beginning of the 2nd century BC. It is composed of a statue representing the goddess Niké (Victory), whose head and arms are missing, and its base in the shape of a ship's bow.
Lysippos was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic period. Problems confront the study of Lysippos because of the difficulty of identifying his style among the copies which survive. Not only did he have a large workshop and many disciples in his immediate circle, but there is understood to have been a market for replicas of his work, supplied from outside his circle, both in his lifetime and later in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Victorious Youth or Getty bronze, which resurfaced around 1972, has been associated with him.
The siege of Rhodes in 305–304 BC was one of the most notable sieges of antiquity, when Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I, besieged Rhodes in an attempt to make it abandon its neutrality and end its close relationship with Ptolemy I.
Chares of Lindos was a Greek sculptor born on the island of Rhodes. He was a pupil of Lysippos. Chares constructed the Colossus of Rhodes in 282 BC, an enormous bronze statue of the sun god Helios and the patron god of Rhodes. The statue was built to commemorate Rhodes' victory over the invading Macedonians in 305 BC, led by Demetrius I, son of Antigonus, a general under Alexander the Great. Also attributed to Chares was a colossal head which was brought to Rome and dedicated by P. Lentulus Spinther on the Capitoline Hill, in 57 BC.
Rhodes is the principal city and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It has a population of approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Rhodes has been famous since antiquity as the site of Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The citadel of Rhodes, built by the Hospitalliers, is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. The Medieval city is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Colossus of Rhodes is a 1961 Italian sword and sandal film co-written and directed by Sergio Leone. Starring Rory Calhoun, it is a fictional account of the island of Rhodes during its classical period in the late third century BCE before coming under Roman control, using the Colossus of Rhodes as a backdrop for the story of a war hero who becomes involved in two different plots to overthrow a tyrannical king: one by Rhodian patriots and the other by Phoenician agents.
An Elephant for Aristotle is a 1958 historical novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in hardback by Doubleday, and in paperback by Curtis in 1971. The first British edition was published by Dobson in 1966. The book was reissued with a new introduction by Harry Turtledove as a trade paperback and e-book by Phoenix Pick in March 2013. It is the first of de Camp's historical novels in order of writing, and the third chronologically.
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate is a historical novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1961, and in paperback by Lancer Books in 1968. The first trade paperback edition was issued by The Donning Company in 1982. The book was reissued with a new introduction by Harry Turtledove as a trade paperback and ebook by Phoenix Pick in September 2013. It is the third of de Camp's historical novels in order of writing, and earliest chronologically. It is set in 466-465 BCE, the last years of the reign of King Xerxes I of Persia.
The Golden Wind is a historical novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1969, and in paperback by Curtis in 1972. The book was reissued with a new introduction by Harry Turtledove as a trade paperback and e-book by Phoenix Pick in July 2014. It is the fifth and last of de Camp's historical novels, both in order of writing and chronologically. The novel has also been translated into German.
The Arrows of Hercules is an historical novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardback by Doubleday in 1965 and in paperback by Curtis Books in 1970. The book was reissued with a new introduction by Harry Turtledove as a trade paperback and ebook by Phoenix Pick in April 2014. It is the fourth of de Camp's historical novels in order of writing, and second chronologically, set in the time of Dionysios I of Syracuse at the end of the 5th and beginning of the 4th centuries BC.
The Glory That Was is a science fiction novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the science fiction magazine Startling Stories for April, 1952, and subsequently published in book form in hardcover by Avalon Books in 1960 and in paperback by Paperback Library in March 1971. It has since been reprinted in paperback by Ace Books in July 1979 and Baen Books in April 1992, and in trade paperback by Phoenix Pick in September 2014. An E-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form; a second e-book edition was issued by Phoenix Pick in September 2014. The book has also been translated into Italian, German and Greek.
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the ninth largest island in the overall Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 50,636 inhabitants in 2011. In 2022, the island had a population of 125,113 people. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens. Rhodes has several nicknames, such as "Island of the Sun" due to its patron sun god Helios, "The Pearl Island", and "The Island of the Knights", named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who ruled the island from 1310 to 1522.
The Colossus of Rhodes is a 1954 oil painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. It is one of a series of seven paintings he created for the 1956 film Seven Wonders of the World, each depicting one of the wonders. The work shows the Colossus of Rhodes, the ancient statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun, Helios. The painting was not used for the film and was donated to the Kunstmuseum Bern in 1981, where it remains.
Salamis is a historical novel written by Harry Turtledove), It was first published in trade paperback and ebook by Arc Manor under its Caezik SF & Fantasy imprint in November 2020. It is the fifth book of the "Hellenic Traders" series of historical novels, previous volumes of which were originally issued under Turtledove's pseudonym H. N. Turteltaub.
The Halieia or Halia was one of the principal festivals celebrated on the island of Rhodes in honour of their patron god Helios, the Sun. It was held every year in summer, with gymnic and musical contests and a great procession.
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