Alexias, a young Athenian of good family, comes off age as the Peloponnesian War is coming to an end. The adult world he enters is one in which the power and influence of his class have been undermined by the forces of war. Alexias finds himself drawn to the controversial teachings of Socrates, following him even though it at times endangers both his own life and his family's place in society. Among the great teacher's followers Alexias meets Lysis, and the two become inseparable - together they wrestle in the palaestra, journey to the Olympic Games, and fight in the war against Sparta. As their relationship develops against the background of famine, seige and civil conflict, Mary Renault expertly conveys the intricacies of classical Greek culture.
