Ilium/Olympos

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Ilium/Olympos is a series of two science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. The events are set in motion by beings who appear to be ancient Greek gods. Like Simmons' earlier series, the Hyperion Cantos, it is a form of "literary science fiction"; it relies heavily on intertextuality, in this case with Homer and Shakespeare as well as references to Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu (or In Search of Lost Time) and Vladimir Nabokov's novel Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle .

Contents

As with most of his science fiction and in particular with Hyperion , Ilium demonstrates that Simmons writes in the soft science fiction tradition of Ray Bradbury and Ursula K. Le Guin. Ilium is based on a literary approach similar to most of Bradbury's work, but describes larger segments of society and broader historical events. As in Le Guin's Hainish series, Simmons places the action of Ilium in a vast and complex universe made of relatively plausible technological and scientific elements. Yet Ilium is different from any of the works of Bradbury and Le Guin in its exploration of the very far future of humanity, and in the extra human or post-human themes associated with this. It deals with the concept of technological singularity where technological change starts to occur beyond the ability of humanity to presently predict or comprehend. The first book, Ilium, received the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction novel in 2004. [1]

Plot introduction

The series centers on three main character groups: that of the scholic Hockenberry, Helen and Greek and Trojan warriors from the Iliad; Daeman, Harman, Ada and the other humans of Earth; and the moravecs, specifically Mahnmut the Europan and Orphu of Io. The novels are written in first-person, present-tense when centered on Hockenberry's character, but features third-person, past-tense narrative in all other instances. Much like Simmons' Hyperion where the characters' stories are told over the course of the novels and the actual events serve as a frame, the three groups of characters' stories are told over the course of the novels and their stories do not begin to converge until the end.

Characters in Ilium/Olympos

Old-style humans

The "old-style" humans of Earth exist at what the post-humans claimed would be a stable, minimum herd population of one million. In reality, their numbers are much smaller than that, around 300,000, because each woman is allowed to have only one child. Their DNA incorporates moth genetics which allows sperm-storage and the choice of father-sperm years after sexual intercourse has actually occurred. This reproductive method causes many children not to know their father, as well as helps to break incest taboos in that the firmary, which controls the fertilization, protects against a child of close relatives being born. The old style humans never appear any older than about 40 since every twenty years they are physically rejuvenated.

Moravecs

Named after the roboticist Hans Moravec, they are autonomous, sentient, self-evolving biomechanical organisms that dwell on the Jovian moons. They were seeded throughout the outer Solar System by humans during the Lost Age. Most moravecs are self-described humanists and study Lost Age culture, including literature, television programs and movies.

Scholics

Dead scholars from previous centuries that were rebuilt by the Olympian gods from their DNA. Their duties are to observe the Trojan War and report the discrepancies that occur between it and Homer's Iliad.

Others

Science of Ilium/Olympos

As much of the action derives from fiction involving gods and wizards, Simmons rationalises most of this through his use of far-future technology and science, including:

Weapons

Miscellaneous

What follows is a definition of terms that are either used within Ilium or are related to its science, technology and fictional history:

Literary and cultural influences

Simmons references such historical figures, fictional characters and works as Christopher Marlowe, Bram Stoker's Dracula , Plato, Gollum, the Disney character Pluto, Samuel Beckett, and William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming", among others. As well as referencing these works and figures, he uses others more extensively, shaping his novel by the examples he chooses, such as 9/11 and its effects on the Earth and its nations.

Ilium is thematically influenced by extropianism, peopled as it is with post-humans of the far future. It therefore continues to explore the theme pioneered by H. G. Wells in The Time Machine , a work which is also referenced several times in Simmons' work. One of the most notable references is when the old woman Savi calls the current people of Earth eloi , using the word as an expression of her disgust of their self-indulgent society, lack of culture and ignorance of their past.

Ilium also includes allusions to the work of Nabokov. The most apparent of these are the inclusion of Ardis Hall and the names of Ada, Daeman and Marina, all borrowed from Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle. The society that the old-style humans live in also resembles that of Antiterra, a parallel of our Earth circa 19th century, which features a society in which there exists a lack of repression and Christian morality, shown by Daeman's intent to seduce his cousin. Simmons also includes references to Nabokov's fondness for butterflies, such as the butterfly genetics incorporated in the old-style humans and Daeman's enthusiasm as a lepidopterist.

Mahnmut of Europa is identified as a Shakespearean scholar as in the first chapter he is introduced where he analyzes Sonnet 116 in order to send it to his correspondent, Orphu of Io, and it is here that Shakespeare's influence on Ilium begins. Mahnmut's submersible is named The Dark Lady, an allusion to a figure in Shakespeare's sonnets. There is also, of course, The Tempest's presence in the characters of Prospero, Ariel and Caliban. There are also multiple references to other Shakespeare works and characters such as Falstaff, Henry IV, Part I and Twelfth Night . Shakespeare himself even makes an appearance in a dream to Mahnmut and quotes from Sonnet 31.

Proustian memory investigations had a heavy hand in the novel's making, which helps explain why Simmons chose Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle over something more well-understood of Nabokov's, such as Pale Fire . Ada or Ardor was written in such a structure as to mimic someone recalling their own memories, a subject which Proust explores in his work À la recherche du temps perdu. Orphu of Io is more interested in Proust than Mahnmut's Shakespeare, as he considers Proust "perhaps the ultimate explorer of time, memory, and perception."

Simmons' portrayal of Odysseus speaking to the old-style humans at Ardis Hall is also reminiscent of the Bible 's Jesus teaching his disciples. Odysseus is even addressed as "Teacher" by one of his listeners in a way reminiscent of Jesus being addressed as " Rabbi ," which is commonly translated as "Teacher".

Movie adaptation

In January 2004, it was announced that the screenplay he wrote for his novels Ilium and Olympos would be made into a film by Digital Domain and Barnet Bain Films, with Simmons acting as executive producer. Ilium is described as an "epic tale that spans 5,000 years and sweeps across the entire solar system, including themes and characters from Homer's The Iliad and Shakespeare's The Tempest." [6]

Awards and recognition

Ilium  Locus Award winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2004 [1] Olympos  Locus Award shortlist, 2006 [7]

Related Research Articles

Dan Simmons is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works which span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes within a single novel. Simmons's genre-intermingling Song of Kali (1985) won the World Fantasy Award. He also writes mysteries and thrillers, some of which feature the continuing character Joe Kurtz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hector</span> Greek history hero

In Greek mythology, Hector is a Trojan prince, hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's Iliad, where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing countless Greek warriors. He is ultimately killed in single combat by Achilles, who later drags his dead body around the city of Troy behind his chariot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odysseus</span> Legendary Greek king of Ithaca

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trojan War</span> Legendary war in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prospero</span> Character in William Shakespeares The Tempest

Prospero is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him to sea on a "rotten carcass" of a boat to die, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda had survived and found exile on a small island. He has learned sorcery from books, and uses it while on the island to protect Miranda and control the other characters.

Caliban, son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

<i>Ilium</i> (novel) 2003 science fiction novel by Dan Simmons

Ilium is a science fiction novel by American writer Dan Simmons, the first part of the Ilium/Olympos cycle, concerning the re-creation of the events in the Iliad on an alternate Earth and Mars. These events are set in motion by beings who have taken on the roles of the Greek gods. Like Simmons' earlier series, the Hyperion Cantos, the novel is a form of "literary science fiction" which relies heavily on intertextuality, in this case with Homer and Shakespeare, as well as periodic references to Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu and Vladimir Nabokov's novel Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle. In July 2004, Ilium received a Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of 2004.

Miranda (<i>The Tempest</i>) Character in The Tempest

Miranda is one of the principal characters of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. She is the only female character to appear on stage.

<i>Prosperos Books</i> 1991 British film by Peter Greenaway

Prospero's Books is a 1991 British avant-garde film adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, written and directed by Peter Greenaway. Sir John Gielgud plays Prospero, the protagonist who provides the off-screen narration and the voices to the other story characters. As noted by Peter Conrad in The New York Times on 17 November 1991, Greenaway intended the film “as an homage to the actor and to his 'mastery of illusion.' In the film, Prospero is Shakespeare, and having rehearsed the action inside his head, speaking the lines of all the other characters, he concludes the film by sitting down to write The Tempest.”

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trojan War in literature and the arts</span>

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<i>Olympos</i> (novel) 2005 novel by Dan Simmons

Olympos is a science fiction novel by American writer Dan Simmons published in 2005; it is the sequel to Ilium and final part of the Ilium/Olympos series. Like its predecessor it contains many literary references: it blends together Homer's epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, Shakespeare's The Tempest, and has frequent smaller references to other works, including Proust, James Joyce, Caliban upon Setebos, Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Shakespearean poetry and even William Blake and Virgil's Aeneid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Returns from Troy</span> Greek myths about the warriors voyages home

The Returns from Troy are the stories of how the Greek leaders returned after their victory in the Trojan War. Many Achaean heroes did not return to their homes, but died or founded colonies outside the Greek mainland. The most famous returns are those of Odysseus, whose wanderings are narrated in the Odyssey, and Agamemnon, whose murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra was portrayed in Greek tragedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sycorax</span> Character in Shakespeares The Tempest

Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded.

Prayer features prominently in the works of Homer. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, gods are portrayed as coexisting and often interfering with the world of the human characters, who often communicate with the gods through prayer. Gods usually hear, often react to and sometimes grant human prayers.

<i>Iliad</i> Epic poem attributed to Homer

The Iliad is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the siege's final weeks. In particular, it depicts a fierce quarrel between King Agamemnon and a celebrated warrior, Achilles. It is a central part of the Epic Cycle. The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature.

Ariel (<i>The Tempest</i>) Character in The Tempest

Ariel is a spirit who appears in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Ariel is bound to serve the magician Prospero, who rescued him from the tree in which he was imprisoned by Sycorax, the witch who previously inhabited the island. Prospero greets disobedience with a reminder that he saved Ariel from Sycorax's spell, and with promises to grant Ariel his freedom. Ariel is Prospero's eyes and ears throughout the play, using his magical abilities to cause the tempest in Act One which gives the play its name, and to foil other characters' plots to bring down their master.

<i>The Tempest</i> Play by William Shakespeare

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, the rest of the story is set on a remote island, where Prospero, a complex and contradictory character, lives with his daughter Miranda, and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster figure, and Ariel, an airy spirit. The play contains music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island. It explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, and family. In Act IV, a wedding masque serves as a play-within-a-play, and contributes spectacle, allegory, and elevated language.

<i>Caliban by the Yellow Sands</i>

Caliban by the Yellow Sands is a play by Percy MacKaye, published in 1916.

References

  1. 1 2 "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  2. Clute, John (2003-06-16). "Excessive Candour: Arena Iliad". Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  3. Shindler, Dorman T. (2003-08-18). "Science Fiction Weekly Interview with Dan Simmons". Archived from the original on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  4. Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr. A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich .
  5. Simmons, Dan. Olympos, p. 626.
  6. Marc Graser; Jonathan Bing (8 January 2004). "'Ilium,' 'Olympos' optioned for pic". Variety. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  7. "2006 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-16.