William Mott

Athens Rising: A tale of Harmodius and Aristogiton William Mott

Spurred on by a passionate love affair, two legendary Greek firebrands-Harmodius and Aristogiton-sacrifice their lives to bring about the fall of Hippias, the last Tyrant of Athens. Revered throughout the ancient world as the true 'Fathers of Athenian Democracy' and the subject of civilization's first public portrait statues, these two gay lovers were sadly relegated to footnote status with the coming of the Christian era. Athens Rising tells the story of two 5th century B. C tyrannicides whose foolhardy actions were said to have inspired Brutus and Cassius' assassination of Julius Caesar. Filled with colorful details of Athenian life in the tumultuous years just prior to the city's 'Golden Age', Athens Rising also paints a long overdue portrait of the much-maligned culture of Greek male love-the Eros-charged world of 'erastes' and 'eromenos' lover and beloved.