Goat Song

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Goat Song (1967) is a novel by Frank Yerby describing ancient Sparta and the Peloponnesian War with Athens.

[edit] Plot summary

Ariston, a Spartiate, is the hero cursed and blessed by a matchless beauty that was the Hellenic ideal. This was a time of burgeoning culture and festering decadence, of excessive cruelty and sexuality. Here are found the battlefield and the helot slave market, the temple and the brothel, the discourse of Socrates and the Dionysian revel of Alcibiades, the brutal code of Sparta and the brilliant sophistication of Athens. Ariston is enslaved and brought to Athens where he earns his freedom and fortune only to face Sparta as an Athenian.

[edit] Literary significance and reception

Yerby judgementally imposes early 20th century mores on Greek social and sexual practices. His interpretation is in contrast with other works dealing with the same period and culture, such as the novels of Mary Renault.