See Delphi and Die
First edition cover
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| Author | Lindsey Davis |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Marcus Didius Falco |
| Genre | Historical mystery crime novel |
| Publisher | Century, Mysterious Press |
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Publication date
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2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 354 pp (Paperback edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 131428046 |
| Preceded by | Scandal Takes a Holiday |
| Followed by | Saturnalia (book) |
See Delphi and Die is a 2005 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 17th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome and Roman Greece between September and October AD 76, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial agent. As with many of the other Falco novels, See Delphi and Die uses a "modern" idea – in this case, the holiday package tour – as a device around which to build the story. The title refers to the deaths which take place at tourist attractions in Ancient Greece, including the sanctuary at Delphi, while paraphrasing Goethe's "See Naples and die", which refers to the grandeur of the capital of the Two Sicilies under the House of Bourbon; it also refers to a quote by one of the characters in the novel, addressed to Falco, as well as summarizes the fate of another character.
Through his brother-in-law Aulus, Falco hears details of two young Roman women who have died in Greece while seeing the sights of the ancient world. Falco and his wife, Helena, travel to Greece to meet up with the tour party which included one of the women, seeking clues to her murder, passing through Olympia, Corinth, Delphi and the oracle of Trophonius at Lebadeia before finally arriving at Athens.
The wayward Aulus is playing truant in Greece where, instead of studying law at Athens, he is investigating the death of Valeria Ventidia, a newly married Roman girl at Olympia, as well as another death which occurred three years ago around the same area. Falco's mission has two objectives: to send Aulus back to school, and solve the mystery behind the deaths at Olympia. Eventually, a connection between the two deceased women is deduced: both had joined tours provided by Seven Sights, a tour company of dubious reputation, currently operating in Greece.
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