The Find at Ephesus [Paperback]

Richard Geldard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

A devastating earthquake in Western Turkey near the famous sanctuary of the Earth Mother in Ephesus, draws two unlikely souls together in an adventure of spiritual and psychological discovery. Maia Spiros, Greek scholar and tour guide, struggles in the midst of a personal crisis when she meets young Tonio Fletcher, an American graduate student studying in Athens. Drawn together by forces unleashed in Turkey and on the island of Crete, Maia and Tonio find themselves tangled in a complex web of religious and archaeological intrigue.

Richard Geldard, author of The Travelerís Key to Ancient Greece and Heraclitus Remembered, has traveled throughout the Mediterranean in search of the ancient pagan spirit still living in the brilliant light, powerful land and seascapes, and ancient sanctuaries of the gods. His evocation of the Earth Mother Goddess,along with the psychic forces that swirl around her sacred places, combined with a retelling of the Christian legends surrounding Mary Magdalen in Ephesus, remind us that forces greater than our own limited perception still have power to move and mold the human spirit in deep and mysterious ways.

To read more about Richard and his book, please visit the author's web site.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In addition to being the author of The Find at Ephesus Richard Geldard is the author of five other books, three of which explore the spiritual philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson, America's prominent seer and visionary. Two other works reflect Geldard's interest in ancient Greek and early Christian cultural and religious experience. The first, The Traveler's Key to Ancient Greece, was originally published by Alfred Knopf and has recently been reissued by Quest Books. Also, a new commentary and translation of the fragments of Heraclitus of Ephesus, entitled, Heraclitus Remembered, is due this spring from Lindisfarne Press. Geldard earned his PhD from Stanford University in Drama and Classics. He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York with his wife, the artist and author Astrid Fitzgerald.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

When he looked up again he saw that a group was entering the theater precinct. In the heat, they moved slowly among the trees, staying in the shade and gradually gathering near the foundation stones of the Dionysus temple. It was a group of twenty or so boys and girls, high school age, it looked like, in the company of two adults and a guide. One of the adults, a teacher no doubt, was wearing an actual pith helmet, for Gods sake. The guy sat down on a column drum and fiddled with his camera. The guide entered the theater orchestra and stopped exactly where the ancient altar would have marked the center. The guide was, maybe, a young man, but then again maybe not. He/she was thin, boyish, dressed in sandals, khaki shorts, over-sized white tee not tucked in, and a white cap with a blue visor. It became clear shortly that the figure was definitely female as she raised an arm and motioned the group into the orchestra. She gestured towards the tiers of seating with graceful turns of her arm, an ethereal waving effect as if her arms had no bones. It was a beautiful motion, mesmerizing. He stopped breathing, stopped chewing. A piece of lettuce hung from his mouth. The students followed the guides gestures with slow movements of their own arms and heads. They turned and merged, by ones and twos, into the orchestra, gathering around her. She was literally conducting the group as if it was a tragic chorus. She turned and looked up the slope, seemingly right at Tonio, although he couldn't be sure. Then, she turned back to the group and began to speak. He could hear nothing above the bus noise. At Epidaurus, in the quiet and perfection of that space, he would have heard every word, even at the back of the theater. But, then, he was in Athens.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552123146
• ISBN-13: 978-1552123140
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,394,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Geldard is a full-time writer and lecturer living in New York City and the Hudson Valley. He is married to the artist and writer Astrid Fitzgerald.

Before turning to writing he was an educator, teaching English and philosophy at both the secondary, undergraduate and graduate levels. Before turning to full-time writing, he was a member of the faculty at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpenteria, California, where he taught the Greek Mystery Religions. Prior to that he taught Greek Philosophy and The Science of Mind at Yeshiva College in New York. Presently, Dr Geldard is a member of the faculty of the University of Philosophical Research in the Online Masters Degree Program. (see uprs.edu)

Geldard is a graduate of Bowdoin College, The Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College and Stanford University, where he earned his doctorate in Dramatic Literature and Classics in 1972. He has also studied at St. John's College, Oxford and was a Visiting Fellow at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece.

Geldard is the author of ten books, including studies of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Greek philosophy and culture. He is also a frequent lecturer. In June, 2003, and September, 2003, he was a featured speaker at Faneuil Hall in Boston as part of the Emerson Bicentennial Celebrations. In June, 2005, he was the Keynote speaker at the re-instatement of the Delphic Games in Delphi, Greece.


Geldard delivered the Annual Flora Levy Humanities Lecture at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on October 14, 2009


Dr Geldard has a web presence at rgbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fabulous book!, January 8, 2010

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This review is from: The Find at Ephesus (Paperback)

How is it that I am the first to write a review of this amazing book?
My husband and I were about to leave for a trip to Ephesus and I thought it would be great to find some sort of reading material to take along. I couldn't believe that my sweetie grabbed it first and simply couldn't put it down.
This author truly understands both women and men, and he writes really well. There is just the right amount of dramatic tension to keep one turning pages. Best of all, he wove an immense amount of history and archeology into the story. What a wise and kind human being he must be.
Definitely should be made into a blockbuster movie!