The novel is presented as a memoir dictated by the elderly, blind Spitama to his nephew in Athens. This framing allows Vidal to challenge the "father of history," Herodotus , by presenting the Greco-Persian Wars from a Persian perspective.
: Encountered in India, he is portrayed as self-involved, with his concept of Nirvana dismissed as useless nihilism by the worldly Spitama. Gore Vidal - Creation
: The only thinker Spitama respects, viewing him as a practical "political animal" focused on social order rather than abstract mysticism. The novel is presented as a memoir dictated