Alex Keemen’s "Birth of the Gods:
The Impossible" Summary

This book is the third in a series about an alternative history of antiquity, created in 2021. The protagonist, a modern man named Alexei, finds himself in Ancient Greece. With access to future technology, the young man attempts to prevent an epidemic in Athens. The novel stands out for its detailed description of the introduction of medical and military innovations into ancient society. The author depicts ancient life without embellishment. The text conveys the filth of city streets, political intrigue, and the brutality of war. The plot draws on the works of Herodotus and Thucydides, interweaving a fictional character with real historical events.

The Search for Knowledge and the Return to Athens

Alexius and his friend Theodore travel upstream along the Tanais River. The hero searches for hidden treasures from his time. Locals show them strange objects, and Alexius buys all the finds. In the forest, the young man unearths hidden packages. He finds a solar battery, an electronic reading device, seeds for new agricultural plants, and geographical maps. A magical tablet is powered by sunlight. It holds great knowledge of the future.

After studying ancient historical texts on the device, the hero learns of the imminent outbreak of a great plague in Athens. The coming epidemic is expected to physically kill tens of thousands of people. To save the inhabitants, Alexius decides to return south. The death penalty inevitably awaits him there, but the young man is willing to risk it. Theodore sets off for the Macedonian city of Dion to plant seeds. Alexius sails to Attica alone, intending to warn the generals of the impending catastrophe.

Alexius arrives in Athens. The young man attempts to meet with the influential Pericles. His longtime enemy, the wealthy young aristocrat Alcibiades, accidentally spots him on a crowded street. The aristocrat orders the guards to seize Alexius. The hero is sent to the silver mines of Laurium. The work deep underground exhausts him. Alexius suffers from hunger and the bitter cold. He soon organizes an escape. The young man hides from night patrols in mountain crevices.

Meanwhile, Pandora learns of Alexius’s tragic fate. She breaks off her lucrative engagement to Alcibiades. Her father, Tophon, is furious and forbids his daughter from going outside. Pandora disobeys her father and runs away from her parents’ home. She unearths Alexius’s hidden silver near the foot of the Acropolis. Pandora goes to the greedy priest Buthos. The rescued Alexius receives official status as a servant of the god Poseidon.

Prophecy and preparation for the siege

Alexius shows the astonished Tophon and Pericles the text of a terrifying prophecy. The text is written on papyrus in the language of the great historian Thucydides. The strategist doubts the veracity of this strange prediction. The hero gradually gains the politician’s trust. The young man requests that the port of Piraeus be closed for a strict quarantine. He calls for a large-scale collection of wood ash throughout the city-state. This ash is essential for the soap factories.

Alexei gathers experienced physicians in the bouleuterion. Among them are the renowned physicians Hippolochus and Chrysamis. The young man demonstrates a real microscope. The astonished physicians see living microbes in a tiny drop of water. The hero teaches how to boil water and wash hands. Pericles gives the go-ahead for the mass production of soap. The skilled blacksmith Clytius makes a copper alembic. The hero begins brewing a liquid antiseptic from spoiled grain heavily contaminated with ergot.

Battle with the Peloponnesians and rescue from captivity

The Peloponnesian army lays siege to Athens. The enemy sets up heavy siege engines opposite the Acarnian Gate. Alexius advises Athenian strategists to use wooden trebuchets, fustibals, and leather cavalry saddles with stirrups. During the pitched battle, the Athenian cavalry crushes the enemy’s light infantry. Heavy stone missiles pierce the bronze-clad Spartan phalanx. The army of the Spartan king Archidamus is defeated on the battlefield.

Alexius commands a patrol detachment atop Mount Lycabettus. The young man skillfully uses the sniper scope of his crossbow. He spots an enemy ambush. The detachment repulses an attack by Spartan peltasts. Alexius lights bright signal fires. The Athenian cavalry manages to repel a treacherous Boeotian flanking attack just in time. The Peloponnesian army retreats to its fortified camp. Alexius’s detachment is ambushed. The sudden ambush changes the situation. The hero ends up captured by the Spartans.

The Spartan commander Brasidas, captured by the Athenians, becomes a highly prized hostage. Pandora leads him beyond the city walls. She risks her own life to save the young man she loves. She leads the Spartan lochagos directly to the camp of the formidable King Archidamus. Archidamus demands a duel to the death. Alexius duels Brasidas with short swords.

The hero defeats a highly experienced warrior. The young man strikes a completely unexpected blow to the enemy’s wounded leg. The priest Proclus demands that the fallen enemy be finished off. Alexius refuses to kill Brasidas. He delivers a fiery speech about the desired peace and unity of all divided Hellas. The astonished Spartans release the strange youth. Alexius and Pandora return to the safety of Athens.

Fighting a terrible epidemic

An outbreak of an unknown disease begins in the port. The disease spares no one. Absolutely no one. Piraeus is sealed off with a ring of armed guards. The sick Tophon dies in the local asclepion. Pandora violates the ban. She enters the quarantine zone and also contracts typhus. Alexei spends days nursing the sick girl. He uses silver medical syringes. The young man infuses the patient with a healing saline solution.

Alexey finds the necessary medication. He discovers ciprofloxacin in his comrade Nicomedes’ old medicine cabinet. This antibiotic helps overcome the illness. Pandora makes a full recovery. She begins assisting the experienced doctor Chrysamis. She cares for other seriously ill patients in the overcrowded asclepion. Alexey institutes strict rules of general sanitation and hygiene.

He orders all contaminated springs and wells to be covered with earth. The mortality rate in Piraeus falls rapidly. The hero commissions the play "Loimos" from the renowned playwright Euripides. This new tragedy is intended to persuade the distrustful townspeople to maintain sanitary conditions. Sailors on the fast ship "Paral" bring a shipment of sacred fluffy cats from Egypt. These agile predators are needed to exterminate rats. Pandora cares for these pets.

The final trials and the path to a bright future

The epidemic recedes from the city. The orphaned Pandora is taken over by her uncle Anytus. This relative seizes all of the deceased Tophon’s wealth. Anytus decides to forcefully marry his young niece. He wants to keep the enormous dowry for himself. Pandora begs Alexius to flee to distant Macedonia. The young man refuses to surrender his enormous influence in Athens.

He dreams of changing this cruel world. The girl decides that ambition is more important to him than true love. She drives him away. Alcibiades tracks Alexius down near a deserted city wall. The aristocrat attacks the young man with a long, sharp spear. Alexius defeats the powerful foe in hand-to-hand combat. The hero employs ancient judo techniques.

He takes the secret letters from the stunned Alcibiades. The letters contain direct incriminating evidence from the Persian nobleman Hydarnes. Alexius forces the aristocrat to swear a terrible oath of unbreakable loyalty. Alcibiades promises to support all of Alexius’s endeavors in the Athenian People’s Assembly. The day of Anytus and Pandora’s wedding arrives. The People’s Assembly grants Alexius honorary Athenian citizenship for his great services.

The strategist Pericles arrives at Anytus’s court with the supreme archon. The influential politician announces a completely new law. Marriages between any close relatives are now prohibited. Alexei convinced the townspeople to support this law. He demonstrated to everyone present that incest inevitably leads to physical degeneration and genetic diseases. Anytus is forced to retreat in great disgrace.

Alexius takes Pandora as his lawful wife. The book ends with a joyful scene on the wooden deck of a trireme. The heroes sail to distant Byzantium, accompanied by a powerful navy. They plan to establish complete control over the important Black Sea straits. Alexius intends to build a united and strong state on new principles. He draws on the profound scientific knowledge of his time. Alexius creates an optical telegraph system on the numerous islands of the Aegean Sea.