Greek / Greece
Periklēs kai Aspasia. Mikra Gatika
(Perikles and Aspasia. Short cat stories)
Pipinē, Argyrō
(Pipini, Argyro)
(text)
Kamperē, Iphigeneia
(Kamperi, Ifiyenia)
(illus.)
Athēna: Patakēs, 2018. – 62 p.
(Series: Mikra gatika; 1 / Seira Kolimpri)
ISBN 978-960-16-8186-3
Pericles | Athens | History 5th century BC | Cat
Reading age: 5+
White Ravens issue: 2019
It is common knowledge that Aspasia was the most beloved partner of Greek statesman Pericles (5th century BC). Wrong! She was merely the second Aspasia – the “very second”, as Pericles’s cat clarifies, whose name was also Aspasia, and who considered herself the first and thus true Aspasia. In this first volume of a new book series that claims that it were cats, not women, who stood behind great men in history, renowned author Argyro Pipini introduces readers to the life of Pericles and the golden age in Athens, and last but not least, to the glorious life of cat Aspasia, who served as a muse for this great man of Greek antiquity. Full of wit and written in a refreshing, accessible language, the book enriches historical facts in an imaginative way without perverting them. The illustrations by Ifiyenia Kamperi complement the text in a humorous manner and make numerous intertextual allusions. Two other titles in this original series are “Anthony and Cleopatra” and “Napoleon and Josephine”.