Judith Starkston has spent too much time exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Their myths and clashes inspire her fiction and open gates to magical realms. She has degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories, and her novels imbue fantasy with the richness of ancient worlds. The first book in her Trojan Threads Series, Hand of Fire was a semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennett’s Award for Historical Fiction. Priestess of Ishana, the first in her historical fantasy Tesha series, won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award. Judith is represented by Richard Curtis.
Did the Great Kings (and Queens) of the Bronze Age get together for royal visits? Or did they depend solely on diplomatic letters? In terms of my fiction, did Tesha ever sit down for a feast with Pharaoh? The evidence is tantalizingly fragmentary.
This week, in the company of fellow authors in search of new readers, I’m bringing you two ways to load up on Fantasy novels for free. Both collections are large enough so everyone should be able to find what suits your fancy.
Among his myriad tomb treasures, Tutankhamun’s dagger made of iron has long intrigued archaeologists and the public. The mysterious knife has an elaborate gold hilt and sheath. Clearly a treasure worthy of a king. But how did someone forge an iron weapon during the Bronze Age? Who did the work, and how did it get into Tutankhamun’s grave?
When I visited the site in Turkey that archaeologists generally agree is Homer’s Troy, I felt a sizzle of excitement to be surrounded by the remains of a place so dear to my heart. But, I’ll confess, imaging Troy in its grandeur isn’t easy when you visit. It’s a complicated joy that can benefit from knowing the history of the site, which makes me welcome this enjoyable introduction in the Smithsonian’s recent article “In Search of Troy.”
I bring you a delightful change of pace: a guest interview with Simon Rose, author of The Stone of the Seer, a YA historical fantasy adventure set in the English Civil War.
For a writer, assembling the precise details regarding the magical medicines of a Hittite healing priestess can be a challenge. There’s an abundance of mentions in ancient texts, but too often we don’t know what the words actually refer to. Here’s a clever detective story of how scholars identified one of these “lost” plants used in medico-magical rites.
My current fiction project, the 4th book in the Tesha series, has taken me to Hattusa, the Hittite Empire’s capital. The archaeology presents a complicated picture. This city, lost to human memory, began its gradual rediscovery in 1906. A lecture by Andreas Schachner, director of the German Archaeological Institute’s excavations at Hattusa since 2006, gives enjoyable insight into this vast archaeological dig.
One of the most unexpected details of life among the Hittites and Sumerians that I learned early on was that people drank beer through straws. Recently, I was able to fill out how communal beer drinking with straws really worked in the ancient Middle East. Learn to party like a Sumerian or Hittite.
Archaeological news about ancient games always catches my eye. Games of strategy and puzzles play a significant role in my historical fantasy novels where I created one named Sphinx and Griffin. In Oman, archaeologists found a stone game board dating roughly to 2500-2000 BCE.
Griffins are my favorite mythical beast. So, a 4th century BCE Scythian archaeological find of silver griffins perched around divinities caught my attention.
