House of the Muses

The Latter Days of Sappho of Lesbos

created, written and illustrated by

Pam Harrison

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4/19/2009

About the Series:

Scholars have for centuries set aside one perplexing poem inexplicably written in Spartan dialect from the Ennead, the nine books authored by Sappho. Why Sappho kept this poem in her collection has never been explained. Sappho had among her students a girl named Mnasidika, a Spartan name that means, 'In Remembrance of Justice'. Another translated restoration of a little-known poem of Sappho’s, shredded by the early Church and left in fragments because of its ‘offensive’ subject matter revealed a haunting tale of ‘immortal lovers’. The details of this novel are derived primarily from the works of Alkaios, not Sappho, in his recounting of their early youth during the Civil War in Mytilene, the War with Athens, and the activities of the House of Penthilos. Many are unaware--or their understanding uncertain--about the part the Poetess of Mytilene played in the court intrigues, political upheavals and assassination plots of the time.

ISBN Log Book

ISBN-13 ISBN-10 Title Pub Date

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-0-5 ISBN 10:

0-9816500-0-7 House of the Muses #1: The Phokaian
Publication date: November, 2007

Mnasidika of Sparta, adopted into the house of Athenaios, witnesses goings on at a Symposium welcoming Peisandros, Athenaios’ banished nephew, back into the family as a business partner.
The welcome turns sour when Peisandros hints that his uncle is instead the responsible party for the murder that got him banished from Athens. Athenaios and Isthia’s plans for Dika’s marriage are threatened when she meets the lovely Timas of Phokaia, an unexpected guest at the Symposium.

House of the Muses TM and © Pam Harrison. All rights reserved.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-1-2 ISBN 10:

0-9816500-1-5 House of the Muses #2: The Quality of Hatred
Publication date: May, 2008

Dika knows Eurykles’ vicious attack is a warning to keep Athenaios held hostage. Despite the threats against her life and those she cares for, Dika is drawn headlong into a deadly conspiracy that threatens everything she holds dear.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-2-9 ISBN 10: 0-9816500-2-3 House of the Muses #3: Legacy of the 42nd Olympiad
Publication date: January, 2009

The god Poseidon takes a hand in Dika’s fate and delivers the grievously-injured girl to the island of Lesbos, where a group of women carries her to safety upon a shield. Dika’s abilities as an oracle manifest and while she lies unconscious, she is beset by a series of visions from the distant past. When asked about what ordeals she endured in those days after she disappeared from Athens, she swears that she cannot remember. Then Timas introduces her to Mika.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-3-6 ISBN 10: 0-9816500-3-1 House of the Muses #4: Immortal Lovers
Publication date: May/June 2009

As Dika transitions into Sappho’s school, the bookish Spartan girl doesn’t manage well at Gymnasium. She is teamed up with the athletic Hero of Gyaros. It’s soon clear that Hero has much more than a passing interest in Dika. When Dika’s nightmares worsen, Sappho and Isthia visit Ephesus to beg a consultation with the Priestesses of Kybele. A gifted priestess at the temple takes Dika to herself for the day and helps the Spartan girl come to terms with her abilities and who she really is.

Author’s note: Many, many thanks to Laura Seabrook, whose intensive research on the Priestesses of Kybele greatly enriched this issue of House of the Muses.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-4-3 0-ISBN 10: 9816500-4-X House of the Muses #5: House of Many Kings
Publication date: January, 2010

An unexpected guest makes a visit to the House of the Muses. Gorgo of the House of Penthilos tells Sappho that she has opened a school for girls of her own in the city of Mytilene, with Andromeda, the daughter of Pittakos, as headmistress. The woman asks Sappho how interesting would it be if the people of Mytilene were reminded of her part in the assassination of the tyrant Myrsilos so many years ago. Sappho orders Gorgo to leave, but the damage has already been done.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-5-0 ISBN 10: 0-9816500-5-8 House of the Muses #6: Last Child of Herakles
Publication date: June, 2010

Euneika tells Dika that she has seen their father Lykomedes in the marketplace in Mytilene. Dika plots to create a ruse that will rid them of him once and for all. His response is unexpected. On bended knee, he offers Dika her brother’s sword and departs once more. Late one night the sword whispers to her. She wants to pull it from its sheath and let it tell her its secrets, but she is afraid. She remembers full well what happened the LAST time she laid hands upon her brother’s sword….

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-6-7 ISBN 10: 0-9816500-6-6 House of the Muses #7: Andromeda's Pretty Bargain
Publication date: January, 2011

Over the passing months, a shift in attitude of some of Sappho’s students is noticed. As Gorgo’s school grows in popularity more rumors begin to circulate about Sappho’s colorful past. Finally Sappho’s school erupts in dissension and a number of her students announce that they are leaving and going to Gorgo’s school. Atthis breaks ties with Sappho, who in despair gives her famous exclamation: “Well! Andromeda has driven a pretty bargain!”

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-7-4 ISBN 10: 0-9816500-7-4 House of the Muses #8: A Viper in the House of Muses
Publication date: June 2011

Sappho fights back against Gorgo and Andromeda’s scheming and slander, and Mytilene is turned upside-down by the renewal of the feud between Sappho, Alkaios and the House of Penthilos.
When Anaktoria is forced to return to Sardis, Sappho lets go, but her losses have plunged her into a deep and miserable depression. The machinations of the House of Penthilos do not slow, and as time goes by, events come together in a most deadly fashion that changes Dika’s life forever.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9816500-8-1 ISBN 10: 0-9816500-8-2 House of the Muses #9: Pleistodika: Ultimate Justice
Projected publication date: January, 2012

Mnasidika tries to pull her life together, but her friends can clearly see that she cannot. The morning Sappho’s body washes ashore on the beach in Mytilene, that very night Dika finds those responsible for Sappho’s death and metes out her own brand of justice. Dika is arrested and brought before the Tribunal to be sentenced for murder and branded with a new name: Pleistodika, “Ultimate Justice”. Though all agree she did what was necessary, Dika is exiled from Mytilene for what she has done.

Read the incredible conclusion in House of the Muses #9, projected to go on sale January 2012.