Gore Vidal: “Creation” Introduction Gore Vidal is rapidly assuming the proportions of a legend: writer, sometime actor, political gadfly and always witty, his works are a pleasure to read. This paper discusses Vidal’s novel Creation. Discussion Creation is a monumental work that ranges throughout the world of the 5 th century B.C., which may have been the greatest and most interesting period in world history: ―The Buddha was alive, and so were Confucius, Herodotus, Thucydides, Pericles, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Protagoras, Anaxagoras, Socrates and Aristotle‖ (Theroux). Among those who had only recently died were the great Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu and the religious leader Zoroaster, both of whom had left their students behind to carry on their work (Theroux). In India, the caste system has just been created; Darius I was king of Persia and would be succeeded by Xerxes who won the title ―King of Kings‖ (Theroux, 1981). The century seems crammed with some of the most monumental and important events in human history, and Vidal has plopped his protagonist down right in the middle of it. The book is narrated by Cyrus Spitama, the Persian ambassador to Athens, and one of Xerxes’ greatest friends (Vidal). Xerxes’ son Artaxerxes sent ―the friend closest to the bosom of his late father‖ to the Athenians, where, it turns out, he is despised, insulted and talked about incessantly (Vidal). As the book opens, he is listening—much to his displeasure—to a six-hour lecture on the ―Persian Wars‖ by the historian Herodotus (Vidal). Herodotus was an actual historical figure, known a