Ariike spent her whole life serving Apollo. An ugly and unruly girl, she was a burden to her family, who feared they would not be able to marry her off. But Ionides, the high priest of Delphi, recognized her gift and took her to the oracle to become the Pythia, the voice of Apollo.
Ariike is now old. The oracle, which once determined the fates of the world, has also declined, just like all of Greece, which will soon be subjected to the Romans. And Ionides' scheming against them only brings destruction a little closer...
The last novel of Nobel laureate William Golding, left unfinished and published after his death, speaks of what it is like to believe while doubting, to be a woman in a man's society, to live in a dying world. A work of historical accuracy and psychological depth, with an enigmatic, unique beauty.
