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The Poison in the Blood book cover
The Poison in the Blood
2006
First Published
3.59
Average Rating
84
Number of Pages
The book tells the story of the poisoned arrow that shot Paris (as in Helen of Troy). In the beginning, Earth created monsters. One of these was the Hydra. Heracles killed it, then dipped his arrows in the venom of its blood. Years later, when his wife was abducted by a centaur, he killed the rapist with one of these arrows. The dying centaur told Heracles' wife to dip a robe in his blood, and give it to Heracles as a token of her love. Heracles put on the robe, and was burned alive by the poison. He built himself a funeral pyre, but no one would light it. Finally, a small boy named Philoctetes did as Heracles asked, and Heracles left him his arrows as a reward. It was with one of these arrows that Paris was shot. Dying, he was taken into the woods where there lived a goddess who had once loved Paris, and had the power of healing. But she refused to cure him, and sent him away. Repenting, she then hurried after him, but it was too late.
Avg Rating
3.59
Number of Ratings
107
5 STARS
22%
4 STARS
26%
3 STARS
42%
2 STARS
7%
1 STARS
3%
goodreads

Author

Tom Holland
Tom Holland
Author · 19 books

Tom Holland is an English historian and author. He has written many books, both fiction and non-fiction, on many subjects from vampires to history. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. Holland was born near Oxford and brought up in the village of Broadchalke near Salisbury, England. He obtained a double first in English and Latin at Queens' College, Cambridge, and afterwards studied shortly for a PhD at Oxford, taking Lord Byron as his subject, before interrupting the post graduate studies and moving to London. He has adapted Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio 4. His novels, including Attis and Deliver Us From Evil, mostly have a supernatural and horror element as well as being set in the past. He is also the author of three highly praised works of history, Rubicon, Persian Fire and Millennium. He is on the committee of the Society of Authors and the Classical Association.

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