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Deciding to write this story as a novel crystallized in my mind on a cool night in August in Cape Cod. My friend Henry, professor of humanities at The Hill School in Pennsylvania, had just lifted his glass in toasting my 64th birthday. True to his nature, he chose not to let the moment lay without some dramatic pontification of his most recent opinion as to origins of this or that clue usually found in some classical manuscript or work of art.

The theme for the night was centered on the right lower corner of the famous Raphael painting titled The School of Athens. Henry explained the power of concentration demonstrated by Archimedes as he focused on geometric symbols drawn on slate, even as he was about to be murdered within minutes.

Such a classical moment, I thought, could not be wasted or hidden in a museum. i found myself compelled to research the historical meaning of such an event, and dissatisfied with available history written on the subject, I decided to write my own. Thus, this novel generated in my mind.

It is what I prefer to have been the truth behind Archimedes’ murder and mysteries.The historical facts are real, but the fantasy behind them is my creation. Except for Archimedes and Marcellus, none of the characters in this book are real. The others are my creations, using bits and pieces of observations and experiences.

This book is dedicated to mulligan, which is the name you use when you achieve a less than desirable first golf shot. With mulligan, you get to have another chance to hit the ball, believing that the first shot didn’t count at all.

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