Last of the Wine - Mary Renault

The Last of the Wine is the first of three Mary Renault novels set in Ancient Greece being re-released by Virago this week. Written in 1956, the novel focusses on Alexias, a young man coming of age in the Golden Age of Athenian culture. A bestseller on its release, The Last of the Wine remains an interesting glimpse into an age: the surprise is that modern readers can learn as much about 1950s England as pre-Christian Greece.

I first encountered Renault’s writing at university, where The Charioteer was a set text on the Sexual Dissidence course. That novel, published in 1953, was controversial for its unveiled depiction of homosexuality. The Charioteer’s reception may have influenced the Ancient Greek setting of The Last of the Wine: in antiquity, Renault had a society in which homosexual characters could be portrayed without a sense of shame, or threat of persecution. There are similarities between the two books. Both feature rather gauche protagonists who form romantic bonds with older, more experienced men, and both are set against a backdrop of conflict: World War II in the former, and the Peloponnesian War in the latter.

Alexias, the narrator of The Last of the Wine, is a somewhat awkward youth, despite his beauty and athletic prowess. Renault emphasises his lack of finesse, as he struggles to express himself in words or through his body language. It is only when he comes under the influence of a lover, Lysis, and a teacher, Socrates, that he begins to express his headstrong character more effectively. Lysis, a wrestler, is particularly important in helping Alexias to achieve manhood. The pair hunt, train and go to war together, and Alexias is greatly impressed by the older man’s dignity and moral sureness. The novel is a bildungsroman in which intimate same-sex relationships are the catalysts for development.

As an adolescent, Alexias is treated rather like a debutante, courted by eligible adult men in a ritual style. He grows up in a strongly homosocial environment, in which there are places where ‘women cannot go’, and where female babies are often exposed by families who cannot afford a dowry for them. Renault is keen to stress the differences between ancient Greek society and her own.  Here, men woo each other through public courtship displays and graffiti, and those who do not join in are pitied by their friends; Alexias asks himself whether one contemporary ‘lacked the capacity for loving men at all’. Another admits that 'it used to disturb him sometimes, when he read the poets, that he seemed incapable of that love which they praised as the noblest'.

Morality and civic virtue are major concerns for Renault throughout the text, and she is keen to assert that homosexuality is compatible with both. Although Socrates and Plato both appear in the text, the most notable public figure in the narrative is Alkibiades, a beautiful, extravagant and dissolute young man. A prominent member of society, his status is undermined by talk of his ‘erotic feats’ and ‘extravagance’ and, with Athens on the brink of war, he is expelled from the city. This begins a period of extraordinary tumult, as Alkibiades sides with the Spartans to attack Athens.

Renault makes numerous references to hubris throughout The Last of the Wine, and the Athenians’ rejection of Alkibiades is the most notable example of this: the assumption that the city can do without the brilliant military leader is ruthlessly punished in the decades of turmoil that follow, whilst she shows that Alkibiades’ sexual behaviour has no negative bearing on his strength as a leader. A subplot follows Alexias’ relationship with his father, whose pride and domineering nature also lead him into catastrophic military and political situations.
 

As with the best historical writers, Renault makes her setting feel fresh and vibrant. Alexias is a young man surrounded by exciting developments. There is popular debate about the best form of government, and modern styles of painting are being developed. Alexias is able to travel to compete in the Olympic Games, and keeps abreast of the latest developments in the theatre. This is not an antique world, but a lively and exciting society.

The Last of the Wine is rather slow moving at times, as Renault’s desire to create a wide-ranging overview of Athenian life occasionally results in the plot meandering. There are plenty of strong set pieces however, such as a blow by blow account of an Olympic wrestling match, and some fascinating cameos, including the appearance of the young Plato. The writing has aged well; there’s nothing to be shock, but the openness with which Renault writes of homosexual love, still illegal at the time, is still impressive and interesting today.