Alex Keeman’s "Birth of the Gods II:
The Illustrated Novel" Summary Automatic translate

This book is a continuation of the historical adventure saga created in 2023, which recounts the adventures of a modern-day man set in Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War. The protagonist, a skilled engineer and historian, finds himself embroiled in global political and military conflicts, attempting to survive and change the course of time through technological innovation. The book is notable for its detailed descriptions of everyday life in antiquity and the philosophical confrontation between the progressive rationalism of the visitor from the future and the traditional worldview of the Greeks.

Captivity and technological breakthrough

The events begin at the edge of a forest near besieged Potidaea, where Athenian peltasts detain a suspicious youth. The captive identifies himself as Alexius, a Rus’ian. He is identified by the young aristocrat Alcibiades, who had previously encountered him as a slave in the house of Tophon. Lochagos Socrates, the future great philosopher, decides to retain the youth as a state slave. Alexius, seeking to improve his situation, offers the Athenians a way to end the protracted siege. He designs and builds a trebuchet — a powerful stone-throwing machine previously unknown to the Greeks.

Construction progressed slowly, causing skepticism among the soldiers. However, after a successful test, when four-talented stone balls began to shatter the city gates, the soldiers’ attitude changed. Alexius warned Alcibiades of the possibility of a sortie by the besieged, but he ignored the warning. That night, the Potidaeans attacked the camp and set fire to the car. Alexius was wounded in the skirmish.

The fate of Pandora and the salvation of Sana

The story of Pandora, the daughter of the Athenian citizen Tophon, unfolds in parallel. Finding herself penniless in the allied city of Sana’a, she is forced to accept the aid of Alcibiades, who places her in the house of the courtesan Phryne. Pandora finds work assisting the physician Alcmaeon in the hospital, where she later finds the wounded Alexius. A conspiracy of aristocrats plotting to defect to Sparta is brewing in the city. The fisherman Dorion warns Phryne and Pandora of the impending massacre of the Athenians.

Alexius, Pandora, and several wounded soldiers organize a defense. The protagonist devises a plan: Pandora must break through the southern gate on horseback to the Athenian camp for reinforcements. Despite her lack of bareback riding skills, she agrees. Thanks to her courage and Alexius’s cunning, who manages to negotiate with the captain of the guard, help arrives just in time. The rebellion in Sana’a is suppressed, and the Athenian garrison is saved.

The Fall of Cities and Philosophical Debate

Potidaea capitulates after a massive use of trebuchets. Pandora receives a house in the captured city as a reward for her heroic deed. She invites Phryne and Alexius, who still remains a slave, to her home. In Potidaea, the heroes host a banquet, attended by Socrates. The philosopher discusses the ideal state, where sages govern society and marriages are arranged by lot for the good of the polis.

Alexius enters into an open debate with Socrates. He argues that man is a free being who creates himself through choice, and that the foundation of society should be love, not coercive expediency. He demonstrates the "blind spot" experiment, proving that feelings can deceive a person, and only practical experience leads to truth. This debate makes a strong impression on those present, including Alcibiades.

Intrigue and desecration of shrines

Alexius embarks on a commercial venture: he buys captured wool from soldiers and sets up a spinning workshop. To speed up the process, he constructs a spinning wheel. Alcibiades, consumed by jealousy and fearing the slave’s influence over Pandora, hatches an intrigue. That night, someone smashes the herme’s face outside Pandora’s house. Alexius is accused of sacrilege. To save the hero from execution, Pandora makes a sacrifice: she publicly declares that the slave spent the entire night in her bedroom. This saves Alexius’s life, but damages the noblewoman’s reputation.

The authorities launch an investigation. Alexius is forbidden to leave the city. To regain the gods’ favor, equestrian competitions are held in Potidaea in honor of Athena. Alcibiades is confident of victory, but Alexius is preparing a counterattack. He crafts a saddle and stirrups for Pandora’s horse, Asterope, giving the rider a colossal advantage in stability and maneuverability.

Leaps and triumphs of technology

At the competition, the priests refuse to allow a slave to participate due to accusations of sacrilege. Socrates invites Pandora to mount the saddle herself. Using the stirrups, the girl achieves the impossible: she outshines all the male riders and defeats Alcibiades. This event is perceived by the people as a sign of divine forgiveness. However, Alcibiades is not prepared to give in. After the banquet, he attempts to seduce Pandora, but is rebuffed.

Alexius, under the influence of an aphrodisiac elixir laced with wine by Phryne, enters Pandora’s room. They share a declaration and experience their first real intimacy. In the morning, Pandora realizes the gravity of her situation and fears pregnancy, but Alexius promises to protect her.

Alchemy and poison

Alcibiades is captivated by the idea of creating gold from mercury, suggested to him by the Persian magician Nabonidus. Pandora persuades Alexius to intervene. The hero realizes that the magician is a fraud, using toxic mercury vapor to eliminate witnesses. In an abandoned bakery where the "transformation" is being performed, Alexius interrupts the ritual, saving Alcibiades and Pandora from fatal poisoning. One of the soldiers, Archias, dies in the hospital, having confessed to Pandora before his death that he was the one who smashed the herm on Alcibiades’ orders.

Alcibiades sets out in pursuit of the escaped magician, taking Alexius with him. Along the way, they intercept a messenger from Olynthus carrying a coded letter. Alexius helps Alcibiades crack the code, revealing that Olynthus is ready to surrender. This knowledge allows the Athenians to quickly capture the city. However, during a skirmish with bandits, Alcibiades sends Alexius for a physician and, without waiting for his return, leaves.

The Finale and Parting

Theodore, Alexius’s Macedonian partner, arrives in Potidaea and reports that their estate in Macedonia is being restored. Alexius hopes that Pandora will leave with him. However, Pandora receives a letter from her father, Tophon, who has returned to Athens. It turns out that Alcibiades has fabricated new accusations: the magician Nabonidus, under pressure, has confessed that Alexius was his accomplice.

The council of strategists, considering the hero’s merits, gives him 24 hours to leave Athenian lands, or face arrest. Pandora grants Alexius his freedom as his mistress, but refuses to accompany him. She admits that her intimacy with him was not an act of love, but the fulfillment of a vow to the gods for saving her father. She remains faithful to her duty to her family and plans to marry Alcibiades to fulfill the ancient prophecy of the savior of Athens.

Alexius, devastated and losing faith in his own happiness, leaves Potidaea with Theodore. He decides to abandon his attempts to establish a life in the civilized world of the Hellenes and heads north, to the shores of Tanais. His goal now is to seek new knowledge and resources that will allow him to return in the future with a force capable of subjugating the entire ecumene. The book ends with the friends galloping headlong into the unknown.