Circle of Peace

For fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe and Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne comes a Greek mythology adventure about a woman’s fight for peace in the face of chaos.

In this captivating retelling of the Greek story, Perse—Circe’s mother and Helios’s wife—returns to her husband with a bold demand: a grand hall of her own in exchange for aiding his troubled sister, Selene, who has enraged Zeus by engaging in an affair with a mortal. Perse succeeds in her mission, but the House of Helios is soon plunged into sorrow when Clymene and Helios’s son, Phaethon, ignores all warnings and commandeers Helios’s chariot to initiate the day for the world. Unable to control the formidable horses, Phaethon inadvertently sparks wildfires on Earth—and Zeus intervenes with a lethal bolt of lightning.

In the wake of Phaethon’s death, a pall of grief falls over his family’s household. And there is darkness beyond the palace walls as well: war has erupted, casting a shadow of turmoil. But amidst the chaos of a world fraught with conflict, a glimmer of hope blossoms within the House of Helios as Perse, fired up with power and determination even in the face of tragedy, emerges as a champion of peace. A stand-alone installment in Kouidou-Giles’s series of Greek mythology–inspired stories, Perse explores loss, resilience, and the enduring quest for peace against all odds.

Sophia Kouidou-Giles was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and university educated in the USA. Her work has appeared in Voices, Persimmon Tree, Assay, The Raven’s Perch, Story Wits, Women Writers Women Books, The Fantasy Hive, and The Blue Nib. Her poetry chapbook is Transitions and Passages. Her work has appeared in anthologies, including The Time Collection, Visual Verse, and Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis. She is also the author of the memoir Επιστροφ? Στη Θεσσαλον?κη/Return to Thessaloniki, published in Greek (Tyrfi Press); Sophia’s Return: Uncovering My Mother’s Past (She Writes Press); and the novella An Unexpected Ally (She Writes Press). Giles loves music, walking outdoors and travel. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, near her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons.