The Book of DieselThe Light Before the Gospel“The ship turned toward Croton. Behind him stood a Greek island under Persian sky; before him waited students who would call his teachings Pythagorean. Between the two lay all the names history would forget.”
The Book of Diesel · Gospel Threshold Edition v4.5
Historically anchoredThe setting or public event is documented; dialogue, motives, and recurring characters are invented.
Traditional chronologies place Pythagoras back on Samos after the island had entered the Persian imperial sphere, before his later move to Croton. Details of his movements remain uncertain.
The Persian official, the letter, and the final conversation are fictional.