Read of mighty Rome and learned Greece. Read of the majestic, prolific gods of the times like Apollo, Pallas Athene, Venus, Furtuna, and Neptune. Read of a time of magnificent wealth and distinguished philosophers. And then read of the humble beginnings of a small and despised sect of blasphemers...the Nazarenes.
Emma Leslie's book, Glaucia the Greek Slave, is set in Rome and Greece of approximately 59-64 A.D. Glaucia and Laon are to be sold as slaves in Rome to pay off their dead father's debts. Glaucia becomes the property of a Roman philosopher's family while Laon is desperate to earn the money to redeem his sister from a life of slavery. They both hold a secret about their missing and shamed mother that no one will speak to them of. Meanwhile, the Nazarenes, the name given to early Christians as Jesus was known as "the Nazarene," are spreading their unpopular message of one true, all-powerful God...a God for both the freeman and the slave, the aristocrat and the lowly, the powerful and the weak.
My final verdict: The beautiful reality of God's Living Word is that it speaks today just as it has from before time. Glaucia the Greek Slave was originally published in 1874, but it brings the message of God's redemption through Jesus Christ that is just as relevant now as it was then! The same worship of idols occurs today as described in the book. Though you won't see many images of Lares and Penates or statues of Pan or Pomona in the modern home, you will still see the same self-worship, self-indulgence, and superstition that rule people's hearts. This book, recommended for ages 10-adult, is a great fictional read to better understand the moral and spirtual attitudes of ancient Rome and Greece and to see the early Christian response to it. May we be as bold and courageous in our modern Christian walk! Glaucia the Greek Slave is available in both hard and softcover from Salem Ridge Press. Read the entire first chapter of Glaucia the Greek Slave.
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