My husband, I have become unmarried, she said with a blush on her cheeks,
The young man hugged her and kissed her
Very good, and I am guilty before you, I will soon leave you, he said bitterly
There is no ones fault, fate, the will of the gods, and I am glad that I met you. Ordinary men are afraid of priestesses, and they could not marry me, she said, shaking her head, We are happy, what more could you want? She spread her arms and hugged him and kissed him tightly.
We have to tell the father and mother,
Yes, and my parents too, my wife agreed. Lets go, breakfast time.
They came, everyone had already gathered for a meal, and Kallifena said this news to Androtim in his ear, he brightened and exclaimed, raising his hands: Glory to the gods! Gorgo asked: What is the matter?.
Then, then, the archon replied, Lato didnt leave us, takes something, but also rewards.
A week passed in gathering, Nearh turned out to be an impressive pack of good, and he accompanied his fathers goods to Macedonia-oil, saffron, Egyptian flax, and the ship was his father, he had a monthly voyage on the sea, from island to island, right up to Amphipolis. captured by Philip Port on the Strymon River. The ship was well equipped, it was a merchant ship, sailing, and stood in Latos harbor. When Nearch and Kallifena were boating on the island of Voulismeni, named after Ulla defender, they saw this vessel. Wife, priestess, but she was a true Cretan girl, and she loved the sea and the ships, and when it was possible, before the pregnancy, she and the young men loved to swim in the sea, then she seemed to Almostarchus almost nude, beautiful, with flowing long curly hair.
So the sad day of farewell came, the Lords luggage was carried away by the servants to the ship, and one of them went with him to Macedonia, because it is inappropriate for a noble person to travel alone. All the family accompanied him to the ship, Androtim and Gorgo walked in front, and behind them walked hand under the arm of Kallifen with Nearh, who from time to time looked into his eyes, as if trying to remember better. They walked along a street paved with hewn stone, until the heat descended on the proud, the sun had just risen over the endless sea, and its golden rays illuminated the endless expanses of the kingdom of Poseidon.
Well, goodbye, son, said Androtim, hugging him, the goddess chose you, and you have to do what is necessary,
Come back soon, Gorgo told her son, crying and swallowing tears, not trying to hide them, just wiping them with a handkerchief, We will take care of the child, she repeated, hugging him, and kissing him good-bye.
Mother, let go of your son, smiling father remarked, -Let him and his wife say goodbye, he does not forever swim away.
Good luck, I know you will not die there, come back to me soon, Kallifen told him, also wiping her tears,
Dont cry, Nearhs whispered in her ear, Everything will be fine, and in a year you will take you to Amphipolis,
She threw red eyes at him, and smiled a little:
Then, okay, but after a year I wont be able to, and I stroked my stomach, it is better in two.
Here, and agreed, said the delighted young man that his wife stopped crying.
Nearh rose along the gangway on the ship, the servant was already on board, the sinks untied the ropes, and the boat prepared to drag the ship to the raid. The young man saw his father waving his hand, and he wanted something good, and his mother and wife waved their handkerchiefs, in memory about Athena-Elicia, covered with its cover of the Hellenes, as a sign of its protection, and the wilted sea. His ship, Horse of the Sea, went to the raid and dismissed the sail, the wind was fair, and drove the ship driven by an experienced pilot, to the north, to the new, unexplored distance, leaving the beloved city astern. The voyage took place in good weather, but Nearh did not immediately get used to the shuttering, at first it was swaying well when the ship dived down, and then climbed the wave upwards, the sailors improperly joked at it, an inexperienced navigator. Soon the helper took him into training, and continued the instructions of Androtim, taught how to keep the ship in different directions of the waves, so that the sea would not hit the side of the ship, how to navigate the ship through the stars at night. Here the young man was simpler, the constellations, their names, his wife forced him to learn when he was studying in the Cave of Idea. The helmsman, he is the captain, bore a name very suitable to him Navkratios, it was a strong, forty year old man with a small beard, which he wore, just not to shave. The servant of the Nearhs bore a good swim, and he and the sailors were addicted to catching tuna, in which he showed himself to be a master, prepared the bait, and deftly hooked the fish on the hook with a net. The fish was cooked when the ship pestered into the small coves of the Cycladic islands, past which they walked. At sea, there were other ships that went past them, some to Athens, some to Eritrea, and some to Megaras or Byzantines. Soon Skyros appeared, where there is also Mount Olympus, this is the place where the legendary Achilles was hiding and where she found the death of the hero Theseus, and from this island to Euboea stages, some of the initiated believed that this was the island of Scherias, the island of Blessed. Half of the way was covered, and now Navcratios was heading along the coast of Euboea, just in those places where the fleet of Xerxes was plowing the waters of the Aegean Sea. Sometimes the helmsman called Nearh to the helm, he would have breathed, and the young man happily took control of the ship, he liked how every movement of the ship was given, the waves pushed against the side, the rolls from waves to waves, and the salt spray that sometimes but ve was equally sad about mother and father, and about Kallifen, whom he left shortly after the wedding. Day went by, and they went around the coast of Euboea, passed by Halkidiki, and approached the mouth of Strymon. The river was divided into many branches, and an experienced pilot, who boarded the Horse of the Sea, skillfully chose the right channel, which led them to the city. The water of the river was very clean, although it was overgrown with a cane, and the current was weak, so it was not hard for sailors to climb up the river bed at oars. The crew of the ship saw the already famous Golden Mountains of Pangeon, which gave fabulous wealth to the Macedonian king Philip. Twenty stages separated them from Amphipolis, and the ship overcame them in an hour. They arrived safely, so Nearh watched the unloading of goods into Androtims proxenos warehouses, the sailors worked efficiently, used tackles in the work, hooking nets with the goods, and dropping the harbor to the ground, so the proxenos servants didnt have to grunt, and the documents were drawn up, and the transaction was completed, and a part of the money remained with the young man, and part of the income of Navcratius had to bring a Cretan father, and in Sast they bought goods in Amphipolis, it was shert, skin, the famous Macedonian honey. In the meantime, Nearh wrote two letters to his father and wife.
Callifene from Nearch hi.
Beloved wife, I got to Amphipolis well, on the way I saw a lot of interesting things, delivered the goods, and bought what was ordered for my father. You, as a Cretan girl, you know, the magic of the sea. Sorry you are not with me, and it would be even better. Narch.
Androtyma from Nearchus. Father, reached Amphipolis in good order, nito did not die, the ship was intact, the goods were handed over to the proxen at an agreed price, and took the goods from him according to the list and agreed price, and send twenty minutes of silver with Navcratia.
Callifene from Nearch hi.
Beloved wife, I got to Amphipolis well, on the way I saw a lot of interesting things, delivered the goods, and bought what was ordered for my father. You, as a Cretan girl, you know, the magic of the sea. Sorry you are not with me, and it would be even better. Narch.
Androtyma from Nearchus. Father, reached Amphipolis in good order, nito did not die, the ship was intact, the goods were handed over to the proxen at an agreed price, and took the goods from him according to the list and agreed price, and send twenty minutes of silver with Navcratia.
Letters in which he wrote only what happened to him during the voyage, but not what was in his heart, the young man sealed it with his ring and gave it to the captain, and gave him also ten drachmas for the writings to the captain.
It took several hours, and soon the ship was ready to sail to Crete, back to the beloved city of Lato, through the winds and expanses of the sea.
Proksen was called Athenaeus, and he took Nearh to his home to spend the night, and the young man and his servant, Frig, who was loaded with packs, set off. Gates passed, the proxen interchanged with the guards, and the travelers moved further along the street surrounded by a deaf fence of estates on all sides. He conducted the host and the guest to the garden, where everything was covered for dinner, Nearh, walking through the house, but did not notice anything special, an ordinary house, from several rooms, with a tiled roof, made of clay and covered with clay, with a small garden for servants, and a pair of outbuildings, everything is like everywhere in Hellas.
Pass, Nearh, I will introduce you to my wife, Aglaya, and to the daughters Antus and Diante and Chrysante.
Take me hostess at home, Nearh said, bowing, Your names fully correspond to your beauty, the young man bowed his head once more, the little girls giggled rather and hid behind each other, Aglaya smiled modestly.
Come in, sit down, young man. Shared a meal with us, invited him to Athena, Nearh, first we eat on the dining-bed, gave presents to the children and the wife of the proxen, these were ointments and rubbing from Crete, they were very much appreciated, and wooden dolls of very good work in beautiful dresses prepared it caring Kallifena, and once more, Nearh remembered her with warmth. Homework was very happy with the gifts, and the girls lost all interest in the guest, and fled to the nursery, to consider the presents. The owner of the house with visible pleasure watched this action, and after waiting for his wife to leave, and the servant began to pour wine into cups and laid out the treat, he said:
It is unlikely that Aristodim came up with gifts, which means that you are very lucky with Your wife, Nearh, he said holding a silver cup in his hand, if you had not been a wife, forgive my bluntness, you would only take one of your daughters, daughters of the youngest eight, just someone would have liked it when they grew up, he added laughing, but its not for nothing that they married you, he looked around the guest again, well, sorry, he saw that Nearh was all right, and his lips were tight In line, you can eat better, heres a beautiful eel, and our wine is not bad, he added. Liu as a sign of worship, and the Cretan did, too. Nearh ate fish with gusto, on the ground there is still much easier, and the wine was not bad.
Tomorrow you will go to Pella with a caravan, and bought a horse for you and a mule for a servant.
Thank you, I will give the money now, replied Host Nearch.
Not necessary, your father has already paid for everything before. He and you paid for the house in Amphipolis, if you want, look at the house nearby, bought it, because you will be at the court of the prince, but your house is necessary for the person of your position.
Thank you, I agree. Tomorrow Ill come. And bought the servants? he said laughing
This is your wife, clever-prudence thought about everything. And about the manor, and about the servants, about everything. There is even a well in the house, it is a rarity here.
Néarh just sat with his head down, and a faint grin touched his lips, which one he is still unreasonable compared to his wife.
Okay, Proxen, I will try to do everything as it should for my family, answered the young man, and Athens clapped his shoulder approvingly, touching the bracelet,
What have you got? Proxen was surprised,
Who are you? At sixteen?
Nearh instantly jumped off the bed, being next to the owner of the house, changed in the face of fear,
Swear, Proxen, you know my father, its profitable for you to trade with us, and we never lied to you, its not evil for you or the royal family, I swear to you by Ullis the Savior and Elicia the defender, and then Nearch cut himself hand and dropped a drop of blood on the ground as a sign of oath. Do you believe me?
I believe and I swear by the gods Olympians, that I will not reveal your secret, replied that, so you are a priest, and also an initiate? In your years? he said in a whisper.
So it happened. Except you, no one has figured it out yet, replied with a shrug that he smokes.
Thats fine, but its time to sleep, otherwise tomorrow you will be on the road, remarked the merchant.
They parted, a servant came to escort the guest into the room, he walked with a lamp along the corridor, and opened the door, where the bed was already made, and he went to bed. The dream came immediately, even if it was in a strange house. Rustling the cicadas, the scent of the garden, the flowers and the fruits of the earth that began to ripen came to the window, the bed was excellent, and the straps were taut, the straw in the mattress was fresh, so Nearar slept well, the servant brought a jug of water and a basin that the young man would clean up, he did, called for breakfast. Breakfast was also usual flat cakes, cheese, honey, dry apricots, washed down with diluted wine, and soon the meal was over, and Athena and his servant went on a cart to accompany Neararch to the gate of Amphipol, where a caravan was waiting for him, going to Pella. They drove past the nonarchov house, the fence was beautiful, recently whitened with lime, they knocked, the gatekeeper quickly opened it, and the married couple approached the house, Nearh greeted them, gave instructions that they would keep order, and Atheny promised to keep an eye on the property son of the archon. Soon we reached the gate, behind which a caravan was already assembled, these were three dozen mules with luggage, five carts, and ten mounted guards, two merchants and their servants. The young man took out a bow and a quiver of arrows from a bag, and the dagger hung on his belt next to the purse, and the servant was armed with a club, and he had a staff. The young Cretan man shook Athenaeuss hand in farewell, and reminded him of the oath. The senior merchant ordered to get under way, and the travelers set off along the road. The terrain was very picturesque, drove past a lake of a large lake, the trees of the role of ze fue are lake-like than in the rest of Greece, but in fact it was not Hellas, but Thrace, and besides, it was necessary to take care not to please the robbers, but not a few of them roamed here, mostly Thracians and peons, though guard towers with several dozen garrison equestrians were built along the road, although, to be more precise, a man of thirty is no more. There were inns along the road, but its not too often. Eight horsemen, armed with darts and swords, moved at the head of the caravan, and a small round shield was behind each of them, then carriages moved, and behind them mules with luggage, merchants with servants drove with them, and this system Neararch with servant. We moved for several hours in a row, giving rest to the horses and people in the middle of the day, and then we went to see how it began to get dark, then they set up camp, set up carts in a circle, and the guards changed, guarding the luggage and people, and the rest quietly had supper and rest. So four days passed, during this time, Nearh managed to communicate with both merchants, they were called, no matter how ridiculous Levkon and Melon were, and I must say, their names corresponded to their appearance, Levkon was bright, and Melon had a black head of hair, they were both from Amphipolis. But the next day did not start well, and ended even worse. The servants harnessed the mules into one wagon incorrectly, tightened the clamps too much, and they became obstinate, began to harnessed to the cart, and broke the wheel, it fell to the side, the goods flew to the ground, began to collect the scattered bales, Levkon and Melon ran to deal with the disorder, and All this took a lot of time. Finally they set off, but impatient guards galloped forward, and the Thracians were ambushed, so everyone heard only the screams and neighing of horses, three of ten horsemen escaped and rode back, and at that moment fifteen lightly-armed mountaineers attacked the tradesmen. Thracians Pelttachs shouted something and darting aptly, so they killed two drivers and three servants, but Nearh quickly pulled out his bow, and remembering with gratitude the lessons of Diokles in Crete, he kissed, pulled the arrow, and one Thracian was already rolling on the grass, whirling around in terrible pain, and sending an arrow after an arrow struck four more, the other attackers hid behind a boulder fifty paces from them. And already several darts flew into Nearh, and it was very good that I noticed them in time, and they stuck into the side of the cart next to the Cretan, and one of them scratched the young arrow and cut the sleeve of the chiton.Both merchants with swords and shields crawled over to the young man, and Levkon patted him on the shoulder approvingly, leaned out from behind the wheel and received a dart in the forearm, dropping the sword from his hand and moaning deafly at the same time.