In the story of the great lyric poet Simonides, Mary Renault brings alive a time in Greece when tyrants kept an unsteady rule and poetry, music & royal patronage combined to produce a flowering of the arts. Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood thru a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they travel thru 5th century BCE Greece, Simonides learns not only how to play the kithara & compose poetry, but also how to navigate the shifting alliances surrounding his rich patrons. He is witness to the Persian invasion of Ionia, to the decadent reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates & to the fall of the Pisistratids in the Athenian court. Along the way, he encounters artists, statesmen, athletes, thinkers & lovers, including the likes of Pythagoras & Aischylos. Using the singer's unique perspective, Renault combines her vibrant imagination & formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century.