"The Praise Singer"

[fiefoe]

It's an elegant little book by Mary Renault. The woman must have breathed ancient Greece, much like Lindsey Davis with ancient Rome.

1/3 way into the story, the plot is a familiar one to any fantasy reader: a sensitive misfit, (a shepard boy, no less), goes off with his kind mentor to study his craft and test his fortune.  It is a historical novel though, so one is treated to a rather detailed account of the making of a bronze statue. (The trick is to melt away the thin wax layer sandwiched between clay, and pour bronze in instead.) Also, tyrant was just a title.