THE SEA KING'S DAUGHTER
By: Barbara Michaels
Berkeley Books: New York
1989 (pb)
Looking through a box of books stored in the basement
for the better part of two decades, I came upon a little gem that I recalled
enjoying when I first read it so many years ago. I found Barbara Michaels’
(aka Elizabeth Peters; real name, Barbara Mertz) The Sea King’s Daughter
to be even more enjoyable (and complex) now than my past reading.
This slim volume explores, through its various
protagonists, how we are all captives of history—our own as well as wider
cultural and “public” history we share. While The Sea King’s Daughter
is a romance/mystery/thriller (Michaels is a master of the genre), it
does remind one of Faulkner’s observation that “The past is not dead. In
fact, it’s not even past.”
Sandy Bishop, whose birth name was Ariadne Frederick,
is introduced to the reader an athletic, decidedly non-intellectual young
woman who grew up as something of a tomboy in the carefree home of her
mother and loving stepfather. She knew little of her real father, other
than the vague notion conveyed by her mother that he was a classical
archaeologist who loved his work more than he loved them.
A series of coincidences, not the least of which was
the notoriety that Sandy and her stepfather received after exploring a
sunken treasure ship off the coast of Florida, results in her father, the
brilliant but marginalized archaeologist, requesting her help in diving off
the coast of the island of Thera in the Aegean Sea. Her initial reluctance
at joining the imperious and coldly unemotional Professor Frederick gives
way to the promise of adventure and the beauty of the Aegean. Frederick’s
isolation within the community of classical scholars is due to his stubborn
belief that the story of Atlantis was more than a myth in Plato, but rather
a real place in historical time. Frederick’s belief that Thera was the
origin of the Atlantis mythology was now being supported by recent
scholarship regarding the 15th Century volcanic eruption of Thera
and the destruction of the highly-evolved Minoan civilization on Crete.
Once re-united with her father on Thera, Sandy learns
that her diving expertise is needed because Frederick believes an entire
fleet of Minoan trading ships were sunk as they tried in vain to escape the
fury of the erupting volcano some 3500 years before. She is also introduced
to an array of island residents, including the inevitable young and handsome
archaeologist, Jim Sanchez, who is working for Sir Christopher Penrose—her
father’s scholarly rival. She also encounters two mysterious figures who
appear to hold the native inhabitants of the island in a state of awe and
fear. They are the mysterious “Colonel,” rumored to have been a German
officer during World War II, and his constant companion, the flamboyant
Madame Kore. Just as Sandy’s given name, Ariadne, refers to the legend of
Theseus’ hunt for the Minotaur, made possible only with the aid Ariadne –the
Sea King Minos’ daughter—so Kore was another name for Persephone, the
daughter of Demeter, the goddess of grain and vegetation, who was cursed to
spend half the year in the underworld (winter) and half the year above
ground with her mother during the growing season. The contemporary Ariadne
(Sandy) was to find out, much to her horror, that her namesake was not only
the daughter of the Sea King, but also a goddess of vegetation who died in
the fall only to be reborn in the spring.
Earth tremors and rumblings from within the
still-active volcano provide a sinister backdrop to the mysterious
activities of Kore and her village followers—a group of women who seem to
easily assimilate the teachings of Christianity with the old pagan gods.
Adding to the unsettling sense of doom and danger that pervades the island
and the archaeological investigations is the slowly unfolding history that
seems to link the Colonel—who in fact is a retired German officer named
Jurgen Keller—and Sandy’s father, as well as Sir Christopher and even
the young Jim Sanchez. The link is the execution of a young
archaeologist/spy and that event—more than thirty years in the past just as
World War II was beginning—could result in more deaths on contemporary
Thera.
Sandy/Ariadne is caught up in both mysteries as she
tries to elude the clutches of village women who seem dedicated to
resurrecting the ancient rituals of human sacrifice as propitiation to the
gods, while at the same time struggling with the possibility that her father
was responsible for the execution of the young archaeologist decades
before—a young archaeologist who was Professor Frederick’s friend and
comrade—and Jim Sanchez’s uncle!
As always, Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters delivers a
great tale. Her expertise and ease with archaeological subject matter never
fails to give a sense of reality to even the most romantic of stories.
Three trowels for this wonderful little story of love, honor and
redemption—as well as ancient myth, contemporary tragedy and archaeology!
Back to Review Page
|
