Publisher's Synopsis
In 4th century B.C. Greece, faced with the imminence of being subjected to a forced marriage to a man she doesn't even know, Lastenia of Mantinea hastily leaves home. Her immediate destination is the nearby temple of Artemis, run by the priestess Cleo, whom Lastenia trusts. On her advice he goes to the Pythagorean community of Fliunte. There she befriends Axiotea, a girl initiated into the Pythagorean mysteries who is burning with the desire to devote herself to philosophy after falling into her hands with Plato's Republic, the book in which the famous philosopher argues that women and men have the same abilities and rights. This assertion, as unheard of as it is fascinating, draws the two young women to the Platonic Academy. However, to their disappointment, the doors of the schools of philosophy are closed to women. With determination and astuteness, the girls will try to outwit the prejudices of philosophers made to forge beautiful fantasy worlds that have nothing to do with men and women of flesh and blood. In their endeavor, Lastenia and Axiotea will have the help of two doctors who are fighting for the right to practice medicine, a field that is also forbidden to them.
