Aphrodite's Riddle: A Novel of Goddess Worship in Ancient Greece [first edition]

As a publisher, I'm often asked why I chose to make certain books available to the pagan community. The answer to Aphrodite's Riddle is simple: because we loved this story and it invoked Something Greater Than Us. When I was a child and not yet able to read, I hid under my twin bed and stared longingly at the pictures of Gods and Goddesses in my Christian family's encyclopedia. The first stories I remember were tales of Greek mythology, though as much from memory as from reading. This novel brought back those early moments of discovery-and more. In Aphrodite's Riddle, the setting is as much a character as Aphrodite, Demeter, Persephone, or even Aila and Bereus. Author Jennifer Reif enriched this story with extensive research on Ancient Greece, Goddess worship, and temple life. Jennifer even research ancient Greek weddings at the J. Paul Getty Museum Library, which is a small private library in a museum complex. "It was a wonderful experience to sit a t luxurious bond wood desk with special soft lighting and explore rather old books," Jennifer told me. And it's a wonderful experience to live her research through the eyes of two young lovers devoted to the Goddess of Ancient Greece.