As much as we admire ancient Athenian culture, the society that produced it was in many respects very different from our own. Attitudes concerning religion, women, and sexuality in The Mask of Apollo could shock and offend some readers. The issue of religion is probably the least troublesome since Greeks living in the fourth century B.C.

The role of women in Athenian society is portrayed as it was, and most people in modern society consider that reality unfortunate. The Mask of Apollo lacks important female characters because women, being allowed neither independence nor equality, would seldom have had even a passive role in the public events that make up most of the novel. Axiothea...