Lion of Macedon

Author's Foreword

The world of the ancient Greeks was one of turmoil and war, intrigue and treachery. There was no Greek nation; the divided land was ruled by scores of city states which fought continually for domination.

For centuries the great cities of Athens and Sparta battled across land and sea for the right to become the leaders of Greece. Thebes, Corinth, Orchomenus, Plataea — all changed sides time and again and Victory flew between the warring factions, always the harlot, moving on, sweet with a promise she would not keep.

The Greek wars were financed by Persia, fearful that a united Greece would seek to dominate the world. The Persians grew rich and their empire flourished across Asia and Egypt, their power felt in every city of the civilized world. But still their wary eyes watched events in Greece; for twice the Persians had invaded the Greek mainland, and twice had suffered terrible defeats.

The Athenians and their allies crushed the army of Darius on the field of Marathon. Darius' son, Xerxes, then led a massive army, numbering more than a quarter of a million men, to subdue Greece once and for all.

A small Spartan force blocked their way at the pass of Thermopylae and held them for days. The Persians won through at last, sacking the city of Athens and ravaging the countryside, until finally they were decisively beaten in two battles. On land 5,000 Spartans, led by the general Pausanius, inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Persian horde, while at sea the Athenian admiral Themistocles destroyed the Persian fleet at Salamis.

Persia would never again invade, seeking instead to rule by intrigue.

The events detailed in Lion of Macedon (i.e. the taking of the Cadmea, the battles at Thermopylae, Leuctra and Heraclea Lyncestis) are all historically based. The main characters (Parmenion, Xenophon, Epaminondas and Philip of Macedon) all walked those ancient mountains and plains, following their own paths of honour, loyalty and duty.

But the story of the Lion ofMacedon is my own. History has all but forgotten Parmenion. No one can know whether he was the king of the Pelagonians, a Macedonian adventurer or a Thessalian mercenary.

Yet, whatever the truth, I hope his shade will smile in the Hall of Heroes when this tale reaches him.

David A. Gemmell

Hastings 1990