I humbly thank pueros for his dedication. The saga of Bicillus is very enjoyable in itself, but it is also a more remarkable achievement when one considers the ease with which the author has brought to life the world of Rome and Greece, and the dedicated scholarship to which his pages testify.

Pueros' writings have another special resonance for me: As a Greek I had to sit through history lessons concerning 'the glory of the ancients'. While the evocation of their world fired me I, like millions of other kids, only got the aseptic version of that past, one approved by the Orthodox church and harmonised with it. That version bemoaned the Hellenistic decadence, drew a veil over slavery and 'corrected' the blasphemous readings of homosexual liaisons and (horror) the sexual aspects of mentorship. Even now, my illustrious compatriots are all hot under the collar about Oliver Stone's film which suggests that Alexander was bisexual, thus tarnishing his reputation as a military leader !(??)

I agree. It's a great story, sucking the reader into the time and place. Pueros manages to involve all the senses - you can even smell ancient Rome. What's even better is that the story is historically quite accurate. While I have a few quibbles over some of the points, they are minor ones where I'm certain he has made the changes for plot reasons. Even so, it's more accurate than most standard history texts.

Please note today's post of the corrected and font-tastically corrected version.

I again thank Jesus and Stan for their kind comments about 'Nero', which I'm temporarily resting again for about a month in order to write two other shorter (5 -part) stories of the ancient world, namely 'Tribute' and 'Shadows of the Caesars', which I also hope both will enjoy.

Thanks also to Paolo for spending some of his valuable time in sorting out my font problems for me!

PUEROS