Authors: Gore Vidal
Creation
“AMBITIOUS ... LEARNED ...
IT ENTERTAINS
by giving a bystander’s view of great events
and men.”
The New York Times Book Review
“A RICH, COLORFUL AND FULFILLING
TAPESTRY ...
One of the finest books of this decade, even
with almost nine years ahead of us.”
The San Diego Union
“HIGHLY LITERATE, STYLISH,
ENTERTAINING AND PROVOCATIVE.’
The Wall Street Journal
“FEW AMERICAN WRITERS CAN DISPLAY
THE VIRTUOSITY OF GORE VIDAL ...
In recent years, there has been no historical novel
remotely like
CREATION
.”
The New Republic
“COMPELLING ...
Vidal is one of the great writing talents
of our time.”
Los Angeles Herald Examiner
“A MOST AMBITIOUS AND REMARKABLE
RECREATION
of a time as much shrouded in legend as it is
recorded in history.”
King Features Syndicate
“VIDAL IS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT
OF AMERICAN MEN OF LETTERS.”
The Associated Press
“VAST, COMPELLING, AND
TUMULTUOUS ...
An adventure of mind and body during a
dramatic, significant era, Vidal’s creation is
confronting, stimulating, amusing and unique.”
Vogue
BOOKS BY GORE VIDAL
NOVELS
Williwaw
In a Yellow Wood
The City and the Pillar
The Season of Comfort
A Search for the King
Dark Green
,
Bright Red
The Judgment of Paris
Messiah
Julian
Washington
,
D
.
C
.
Myra Breckinridge
Two Sisters
Burr
Myron
1876
Kalki
Duluth
Lincoln
SHORT STORIES
A Thirsty Evil
PLAYS
An Evening with Richard Nixon
Weekend
Romulus
The Best Man
Visit to a Small Planet
ESSAYS
Rocking the Boat Reflections upon a Sinking Ship
Homage to Daniel Shays
Matters of Fact and of Fiction
The Second American Revolution
A Novel
BALLANTINE BOOKS • NEW YORK
Copyright © 1981 by Gore Vidal
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-5528
ISBN 0-345-34020-5
This edition published by arrangement with Random House, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Ballantine Books Edition: February 1982
Eighth Printing: May 1986
Map by Raphael Palacios
FOR THOMAS PRYOR GORE
(
1870-1949
)
Herodotus Gives a Reading at the Odeon in Athens
.
2
In the Days of Darius the Great King
.
2
The Passing of the Awesome Royal Glory
.
2
Why the Ganges River Turned Red With Blood
.
2
The Golden Age of Xerxes the Great King
.
2
To the people of the fifth century B.C., India was a Persian province on the Indus River, while Ch’in was only one of a number of warring principalities in what is now China. For clarity’s sake, I’ve used the word India to describe not only the Gangetic plain but also those regions that currently enjoy the names Pakistan and Bangladesh. Since China would be a real misnomer at this period, I’ve used the archaic word Cathay to describe those states between the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. Whenever possible, I have chosen the contemporary word in English for such entities as the Mediterranean and Confucius; on the other hand, I prefer to call unhappy Afghanistan—and equally unhappy Iran—by their ancient names, Bactria and Persia.