AUTHOR
A coming of age tale set against the
historical backdrop of Ancient Greece
A story of awakening passions, lost innocence, love, faith, and the acceptance of the fate the Gods have decided for us.
428 BC: Fleeing an earthquake sent by the God Poseidon that destroys their home in Miletus, Anatolia, a young girl is taken by her father’s concubine Eurydice to the great Greek city of Athens. Here she meets her half-sister, Aspasia, the widow of the powerful statesman Pericles, and is plunged into Athenian life. She is schooled by Aspasia and also learns much from the philosopher Socrates.
On the cusp of womanhood she is captivated by the charismatic Alcibiades who awakens sexual feelings in her. Fate also delivers her father’s young slave, the lyre player Lampros - a strikingly beautiful, red-haired young man - back into her new world and she wrestles with the growing love she has for him as she navigates her way into adulthood.
A transformative event reveals that the Gods have given her the power of prophecy. Amazed and frightened by this ability to foresee the future, a decision is made that she should travel to the sacred site of Eleusis where she will live and train to become a priestess, learning the secrets of the Greater Mysteries which are enacted there. She encounters an elusive priestess, Chryse, who has been forbidden to practise the religious rites in the Temple of Demeter and hides a devastating secret. After a dramatic revelation they travel together to Delphi to consult The Oracle and discover the truth about the prophecies that haunt our young heroine.
The answer leads her back to Athens where she will face the tragedy of loss, but finally learns where her true destiny lies.
AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK & KINDLE EDITIONS
REVIEWS
The descriptions of the characters and the ceremonies read very authentic. The author has got the feel of the times just right.
MARTIN SILK,
PHARMACIST
As someone who has lived in Greece and studied the classics, I found 'The Lyre and the Terracotta Cup' engaging and very well written. The narrative is pacey and the end fantastic.
SARA SHARPE,
WRITER
An exciting plot and vivid characters set against the historical background of Ancient Greece.
CHERRY ROE,
TEACHER (Ret.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.R. Howlett has enjoyed an eclectic life. With the Diplomatic Service, the British Embassy in Paris followed by a couple of years flying with a European airline. A coup de foudre the first time she saw Athens. Later she and her husband lived there for a number of years, and where she worked for a Greek shipowner.
On returning to London she became a director at Operation Raleigh, a youth development charity running worldwide expeditions for young people.
Other travels: In her late thirties a solo tour throughout America for several months using the ubiquitous Greyhound bus system, and in her forties joining a number of expeditions including one to the North West Frontier of Pakistan and a journey alone in the Hindu Kush. More recently she has organised conferences in many unusual and exotic places.
But Athens is her favourite city and her love for Greece, its culture and people have remained a constant.
She has been writing for a number of years.
