Hello Alexander, glad to welcome you in the City, and thank you for bringing the dead home. the person who spoke was not very mobile, and he looked intently at the prince, I would like to provide my house for you and the retinue. Share my modest meal with me. Its not according to our custom to come to the master of peace without a gift, said Argead with his sonorous voice, Take from your heart a gift horse from our herd, and Alexanders squire brought the pedigree Thessalian stallion to Demad,
Thank you, prince, a rich gift, Lets go to the city, be guests at my hearth. But it is better to leave these horses with the warriors, I have a small house
We understand, Alexander told the lingering archon with a smile, our legs are worn as well, and in response the friends laughed at the joke, so the Macedonians moved into the city on foot.
Inside, the city was not too different from other Hellenic cities a narrow street between rows of manor fences made of uneven stone, alternating wickets for a turn, and a house with blank walls to the street, and looking out over the fences of fruit trees of home gardens. But over the city stood the Acropolis with the majestic statue of Athena. Finally, they entered the house of Demade, quite considerable in size, also built of stone and covered with plaster. The servants of the Eters and Alexander were taken to the Lads, and the host led all the guests to the garden for dinner, where a treat was already prepared, and the beds were arranged. The butler led the guests to their places, the servants brought tables with delicate dishes and fine wine, only Nearh had seen such feasts at his fathers house.
I am glad to the guests, although I am not happy about your visit to our city, but I still consider you to be my and our friends, and war is a common misfortune. Lets drink to the world! Demad delivered a heartfelt speech, looking around at the makedonians, and they lifted the filled bowls, and pouring wine on the ground in honor of the gods on the ground, drank wine as a sign of agreement and blessing of the spoken words. Everyone considered war a misfortune.
The guests paid tribute to the archons dishes extraordinary fish from Euksinos pontos, boneless and excellent taste, tuna, the best treat, seasoned cheese, and pickled fish, terrible in smell and unusual for the connoisseur. They had already drunk four cups each, and the wine hit my head slightly, the archon rang the bell, inviting flute girls and dancers.
The music was magnificent, but the eyes of the Eters were riveted to a naked girl, with curled black hair, she was thin, without too much heaviness, which attracted Praxitela. The lines of her body were commensurate, the movements were polished and charming, the matte roundness of the shoulders and hips was emphasized by long black hair, and the beauty of her face corresponded to the perfect shape of a small breast. When the dance was over, Alexander invited the sitter to sit on his bed, seeing this, Demad smiled rather, believing that he had pleased the prince.
What is your name, dear, asked the young man with interest.
Tais, hetera, the beauty replied without a shadow of constraint and attempts to hide behind or move away.
Your art is beautiful, you look perfect, looking at it with visible pleasure, he told her, but he did not try to touch her, which surprised Athenians, he was clearly puzzled, and looked with incomprehension.
Alexander felt the warm and floral scent of the body next to him, which pleased him, and felt the purse on his belt, and took out a handful of dariks and put it in the girls palm, covering her hand with his.
This is for you, beauty similar to the Harits. I would like to come to you, said the young connoisseur of beauty.
Come, you will find Thais house, she answered fervently,
Not only me, but friends will come.
Then there will be a good society, I will invite artists, poets, philosophers. But I would like to see you alone, said Thais, and slightly curving, smiled slyly and became even more beautiful, to talk about medicine.
Everyone could not stand it and laughed, and Alexander, who looked at friends with incomprehension, laughed himself, and Tais, bending over, hugged him with his left hand and kissed him on the lips, the prince did not move away, and the dancer stood up and fluttered out of the garden.
Neverh, said Ptolemy in a whisper, tomorrow I will need a brothel. Yes, and others too.
The sun had already set, and the stars lit up, it became cooler and much nicer, the garden exuded evening aromas of flowers, and Alexander cheered up, in a strange city he didnt feel very good, but now Athens no longer crushed him with his greatness and beauty.
They drank some more wine, and recovered to rest, the butler parted the guests rooms. I slept restlessly in a new place, and the eters woke up early, they brought water for washing, and quickly ate, was already the usual meal of tortillas, cheese and diluted wine.
Are you escorting us, Demad? asked the prince, Inspect the Acropolis, and Alexander carefully looked at his friends, and they talked about something with the servants of Demad.
Alexander, as the senior Garpal turned, you know, it turns out that the graves of the ancestors are located here, and we would like to examine them. Niarc and will you come with us? He looked at Cretnin, winking imperceptibly,
Where are I from? surprised kuret- I was from Crete, I dreamed about the Parthenon for a long time, and to explore the Acropolis with Alexander and Hephaestion is an honor for me.
However, Hephaestion, also went to look at the wonders of Athens, while the other Eters disappeared unnoticed. With the prince went two more servants with drinks, and the visitors of antiquities went through several stages and began to climb the Propylaea, looking upwards at the Acropolis rock, at the visible copper roofs of the temples. To the right of Propiley was the temple of Niki Apteros, but Alexander considered it inappropriate to visit this place. White marble marble rasps, and the roof is also made of Pentélicon marble, and decorated with statues of horsemen, and when they passed, the Propylaea saw at the entrance to the Sacred place as guardians the statue of Hermes and the statue of Harit. Here the site was met by a priest and a priestess from the Kekrop clan, Butatida.
Hello Alexander, hello to you, Hephaestion, the priest turned to him, And you are Nearh, having looked at his clothes, and having seen a ring on a finger, hello to you, he smokes. None of you has been here since the days of Epiminides.
Hello, Alexander, Hephaestion and Nearh, in turn the priestess addressed them, -My name is Kallia, and the priest is Kallia. I am his daughter, and we are taking you around the Acropolis.
To the right of the entrance is the temple of Artemis Bravronia, a small but beautiful temple with a statue of Artemis by Praxitele and her especially Noarh studied it with all the attention, the face of the goddess was very interestingly executed by the artist, then Kallia led them into Pinakothek. Hephaestion walked incessantly with Alexander, and he, too, was very interested.
This is a repository of rare and pictures of Athens, lets go, you will see beautiful pictures of Polygnot., She convinced them. They came in and saw The Boy Carrying the Jug with Water and The Wrestler., The picture of Thimenet, as well as other paintings depicting Achilles, Odysseus, and other ancient heroes, depicted with warmth in wax paint on primed wood.
Hello Alexander, hello to you, Hephaestion, the priest turned to him, And you are Nearh, having looked at his clothes, and having seen a ring on a finger, hello to you, he smokes. None of you has been here since the days of Epiminides.
Hello, Alexander, Hephaestion and Nearh, in turn the priestess addressed them, -My name is Kallia, and the priest is Kallia. I am his daughter, and we are taking you around the Acropolis.
To the right of the entrance is the temple of Artemis Bravronia, a small but beautiful temple with a statue of Artemis by Praxitele and her especially Noarh studied it with all the attention, the face of the goddess was very interestingly executed by the artist, then Kallia led them into Pinakothek. Hephaestion walked incessantly with Alexander, and he, too, was very interested.
This is a repository of rare and pictures of Athens, lets go, you will see beautiful pictures of Polygnot., She convinced them. They came in and saw The Boy Carrying the Jug with Water and The Wrestler., The picture of Thimenet, as well as other paintings depicting Achilles, Odysseus, and other ancient heroes, depicted with warmth in wax paint on primed wood.
Then they examined the giant statue of Athena Promakhos (Warriors), the work of Phidias, whose spearhead is seen by seafarers, and the golden shield and helmet shine brilliantly in the sun, the face of the goddess is beautiful and imperturbable. Callia and Callius led them to the majestic Parthenon, the frieze of which adorns the image of the birth of Athens, as a product of Zeus and eight columns greeted visitors with unshakable power and beauty. The servants were left outside, and four went into the temple, and Callia showed visitors a statue of the hero Iphicrat, whose image was installed in a temple lit by bronze lamps, the statue of the goddess herself, made of gold and ivory, is beautiful and amazing, the goddess is sculptured in a helmet, long chiton to toe, with a spear in his hand. Here Alexander brought a bloodless sacrifice to the goddess, and from the back side they examined the copper statue of Apollo, and the frieze of the temple, depicting the Attica dispute between Athena and Poseidon. Alexander began to behave strangely next to the altar of Athens and the stone of Dionysus, he stroked the stone for a long time, whispered something, and Notarh heard only: The second time I was here, how everything changed ", the Cretan did not understand what the prince was talking about, because he had not visited the Acropolis before.
Callius led the Macedonians to the Erechtheion, the temple-palace, the temple-riddle, Nearh anticipated the sight of the rarity of Athens.
Look, the priestess caught the attention, This is the altar of Zeus the Most High, she pointed out with her hand, and the prince laid flowers on the altar,
The Erechteion is like a palace in Pella, Nearh said Neisarch in a whisper,
The entrance to the temple was decorated with sculpted images of the maidens, supporting the heads of the pediment of this beautiful building.
So here are also hidden things in the basement, the prince answered in a whisper,
And this, she solemnly pointed out, pictures of the exploits of the priests, the Kings of the Butadids, descendants of Kekrop. All the main priests and priestesses of Athens of our kind. Next come the secret place of Athena, and the secret place of Poseidon. Only priests can see them, but you are both dedicated, you smoke Nearh, and you are Alexander of the royal family, as we are.
And she led them to the inside of the Erechteion sanctuary, where the mysterious mist covered the secret hall of Athena, where the procession began during scyrophorion, making the Athena Pallas fee, they went through the twilight, illuminated only by oil lamps, and finally reached the cloister of Athens-Pallas, illuminated by the uneasy Alexander and Nearh watched this miracle incessantly with the lamp of the greatest Kallimachus, made of gold, until Callia led them out, pointing to the closed salt water well in the temple that led to Persephone monastery and the place, the hatchway to the secret basement, where the crypt is hidden from everyone, where, according to legend, lives Erichtonius the Serpent, the father of the Athenians and a kind of priests Butadids. Nearby was the palace of Poseidon. Nearh looked and recalled, shown by Elicia, and everything came together the sacred source leading to the habitations of Elishia, the Serpent-Kronos lair, and something else
Listen, madam, is there a sacred tree on the Acropolis? Asked the priestess to smoke.
You by chance, did not the great Epiminid teach, smoke? asked Kallia in a half whisper and her eyes widened, and a fright shadow appeared on her face, The consecrated olive of Athena grows next to the Athenian altar. And remember the oaths that you gave, but the Lady will not forgive.They also looked at the sanctuary of Zeus Polyei, and the priests led them from the Acropolis, going back to the Propylaea, they turned left, to visit Eleusinian, a sanctuary connected with the cult of Persephone and Eleusis, once a year, they bring a mysterious cargo to Eleussion. Kallia led them to the temple, and showed a statue of Artemis Levkofrina (white-browed), Nearh could not take his eyes off her, the image of this figure reminded him of something already seen.
They went, Nearh, and then the goddess will steal you as a Phaeton, Alexander laughed. She would have liked you, and Callia flashed her eyes at him.
If you are marked, you are hers, she said in a whisper, so she only heard her smoking, and he remembered the mark on her shoulder, and she wouldnt take it anyway.
Thank you, madam, Nearh worshiped her, and his legs became wadded, and thought that perhaps he would be lucky.
Thank you, Kallia, and you, Kall, Alexander said confidently and proudly. Receive a gift from me for a good memory, and he took the fine silver bowls from the servants and handed them over to the Butadids.
May the blessings of the gods be with you, said mother and father to friends and said goodbye, the Macedonians went to the house of Demad, and the Butadids climbed the Acropolis. The three Macedonians, on their way to the house of Demad, discussed what they saw, and everyone agreed that the Athenian Acropolis is something extraordinary and unforgettable. It was already dusk, and the archon invited them to dinner, it was also an ordinary, but hearty meal, bread, fish, wine. Friends ate, and got ready for bed, and it was just that the Eters came with Ptolemy at the head.
How did you find the Athenian Acropolis, Nearh? Interesting? asked his bodyguard of the prince.
Many terrific, especially the fire of Kallimachus, who is unbecoming, replied smoking,
Like this? Whole year burns and does not go out? Interesting. Well, we cant think about anything after Taiss dances, went and found some girlfriends.
Okay, I sleep, Ptolemy, Nearhar said, yawning, and went to his room, but could not fall asleep at once, recalled the words of Callia, but fortunately, the fatigue took its toll.
The sun rose again above the beautiful Athens, and the rays fell on houses and streets, and the statue of Athia Promachos again shone from the light of Helios. All stood up and ate, and gathered in the gymnasium, as the servant came with a letter from Thais for Alexander.
The prince broke the wax on the papyrus scroll, and read the writing.