RESEARCHING ANCIENT GREEK VASES

In THE DEADLIEST FEVER, scheduled for release next fall, a visiting sage from the Holy Land comes to Alexandria with his daughter and her fiancé. But the fiancé is not so easy for Miriam to catch up with in this fourth Miriam bat Isaac mystery. The daughter explains:

“He’s at the library. He goes most days, you know. A student of ancient Greek pottery. The vases, I mean. Has been for years. Well, several anyway, I think.” Her tapering fingers picked at the threads of her tunic as she spoke. “Studies the decorative figures on the finer vases, you know, to understand their lives, their civilization.”

Made of terracotta (fired clay), ancient Greek pots and cups, or “vases” as they are normally called, were fashioned into a variety of shapes and sizes depending upon their intended function. Inasmuch as pottery is virtually indestructible, though it may break into sherds, scholars through the ages have studied these vases, sherds, and their painted decorations to make inferences about the lives and beliefs of the ancient Greeks.

Each Miriam bat Isaac story is independent, but just in case Miriam wants to hire you as her second-in-command, read the first three mysteries now. Just click here: