Athena's Shield

A novel of the Spartacus Slave Revolt

By: Lizzi Wolf

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The Roman Republic. 73 B.C.E. The Spartacus Slave Revolt, seen through the eyes of a teenaged girl -- daughter of the famed gladiator and rebel leader Spartacus -- as she and her friends carry out missions of reconnaissance, espionage, and sabotage.

“Athena’s Shield is as meticulously detailed, accurate, and colorful as a Roman wall-painting." --- Richard P. Martin, Professor of Classics, Stanford University

"A real page-turner!" --- Judith Rose

Excerpt:

I sat in my usual spot, my back against the sun-warmed wall of the women’s entrance to the public bathhouse. A sign above my head, scrawled in blood-red paint, announced:

Spartacus The Thracian
Vs
Ferox The Giant

Two Men Will Enter the Arena.
One Man Will Leave.
Place your bets now!

My heart pounded painfully in my chest, as if I alone were facing the deadly Ferox, unarmed and helpless. Ever since I could remember, I had felt this raw terror, each time I saw my Pater’s name emblazoned on a wall: Spartacus the Thracian. I had turned twelve a few weeks earlier but felt no different now than I did when I was five and first learned to read his name.

. . . . Above the entrance, an announcement in black and yellow read:

Death by Devourment!
Heraclio the Numidian
Versus
A Ravenous Lion
Don’t Miss It!

Before escaping and being recaptured, Heraclio had been Doctore—coach and trainer at the Batiatus Gladiator Academy. My pater revered him as a Mentor and I loved him like an uncle. I had rejoiced when I learned of his escape a week earlier and was devastated by the announcement that he had been captured and sentenced to being eaten alive by a hungry lion. . . . .

Lizzi's Wolf's other novels include Meager Mercies: A novel based on the true story of an 8-year-old boy who spent 9 months in solitary confinement (2023) & The Versailles of Sadness: A novel of Gothic Psychiatry (2022) & The House of the Red Shield: A novel of the Jewish Enlightenment (2023). To learn more about Lizzi, or to contact her, check out her Amazon author page or her web page at Lizziwolf.com (or search: Lizzi Wolf Ph.D.).