Ivan Yefremov - Thais of Athens

Crateros arrived on time with his army, women and elephants. His detachment, having traveled a longer route, did exceptionally well. He had no losses among people or animals and no significant delays along the way. Crateros was a passionate hunter and had allowed himself a few forays away from his main route, remembering Alexander’s request to look for the terrible beast “man eater”. The animal had been mentioned in Ktesius’ descriptions of India. Those descriptions were wrought with many improbable stories but included evidence from many witnesses. The Persians were clearly terrified by the beast and called it martichorus, or swallower of people. Its huge size, terrible maw, hard scaly armor and spike-covered tail made the beast sound like something between a crocodile and a behemoth. Crateros himself had heard these stories, but similar to the borius of the Libyan desert, no one could point out its exact dwelling, and Crateros’ search turned out to be in vain.

There was no news of Nearchus. Alexander waited patiently, refusing to believe that the Cretan was dead, and not wishing to go on without his friend. From time to time he dispatched carriages and riders to the river delta and to the bay, but no one had heard of the fleet. Three months passed, autumn ended and the month of Gamelion began. One day the spies’ carriages returned bearing five emaciated vagrants, among whom Alexander recognized Nearchus and Archias. The king hugged the Cretan, amazed that he had managed to make it there and remain alive after losing the fleet. Now it was Nearchus’ turn to be surprised. The fleet was fine, he said. They lost only five ships out of eighty. The ships were waiting in the river delta. He had rushed to the meeting point in order to get provisions for the starving sailors. Alexander was overcome with joy.

Nearchus, clean and rubbed down with fragrant oils, was given a gold necklace and wreath, then headed a celebratory procession. The most beautiful girls, nude save for garlands of flowers, danced around him and sang, glorifying his victory over the sea. It was a grand victory indeed. Eight thousand stadiums along a wild deserted shore, inhabited only by the ichtiophages, the fish-eaters who only ate cured fish, mollusks and crabs which they baked in the sun. Helonophages, or turtle-eaters, were only marginally better, as they avoided raw food. They tossed out the precious turtle armor as if it were garbage. Nearchus ordered the men to gather as many as possible.

All along their voyage they saw not a single city or temple, though they occasionally saw cabins built from the enormous bones of sea monsters. The sailors got to see the monsters in their living state and said the huge black beasts tossed up whistling fountains of water.

Nearchus kept a detailed journal of the distances they crossed, landmarks and observations of the phases of the moon.

Before Nearchus, these seas had been traversed by the envoy of Darius the First Skilak, whose journey was successful. However, the Cretan did not trust Skilak. Having visited the Indus, Skilak described it as a river flowing to the east. How many troubles and losses could have been avoided had Alexander known from the beginning about the Persian Gulf and the true direction of the Indus? Aristotle himself believed that the origins of the Indus and the Nile were located in the same country because elephants lived both in India and in Libya, but not in any other country. Considering Skilak to be a liar, Nearchus set out on his voyage with great reservations. However, this time, Skilak’s information turned out to be correct.

Halfway through their voyage, the ships reached Astola, the island of Nereids, who were mermaids from the Finikian legends. The brave Finikians didn’t dare approach the enchanted place. However, Nearchus’ ship had a Helenian crew, and everyone wanted to explore the island and meet the beautiful sea maidens. The Cretan ordered them to drop anchor some distance from the shore and went to meet the mermaids on a boat. Much to the disappointment of Nearchus, Archias, Deynomachus and their companions, the island was bare and completely deserted. There was nothing but two half-ruined cabins made of bones and bits of turtle shells, evidence of helonophages’ temporary stay on the island. Another tale of distant seas was put to rest.

Onesikrit swore that the island really was inhabited by the Nereids, but the gods turned people’s eyes away from the sacred land, leading the fleet to a completely different place. Nearchus, calm and skeptical, chuckled into his long, wild beard as he listened to these fanciful tales.

Onesikrit had nearly played a fateful role in the fate of the fleet. When they saw the prominent cape of Arabia [38] Modern Oman , he had insisted on docking there. Nearchus ordered them to turn in the opposite direction and enter the Harmosia bay [39] Ormuz gulf . From the Harmosia bay and the Amanis delta, Nearchus decided to lead the fleet to the delta of the Euphrates, then to Babylon, examining the shoreline of Arabia that came close to the shores of Karmania, right next to the bay. Alexander wanted to sail around Arabia and find a route to Ethiopia; however, he agreed with Nearchus that a mission like that would require a different fleet made up of large ships that could carry great stores of water, provisions, and wood for repair. One of the main difficulties along the way from India was the absence of good wood required for fixing damage to the ships. Thankfully, after the Pleiades had set, the weather near the shoreline that month was calm. Had the voyage taken place during the stormy months, many more ships would have been lost.

Alexander’s army was split into three parts again. Hephaestion led the army, the caravan and the elephants along the shoreline to Pasaragdes and Susa. Alexander and the cavalry rode in the same direction through Persepolis. Eventually they would all be in Susa.

“My Nearchus will be sailing by on his way to Babylon. I would very much like to meet him here, which is why I am in such a rush,” Hesiona said, finishing her long story.

The Theban’s hopes were not to pass. They arrived at Babylon long before Nearchus, and stayed at Hesiona’s for two weeks. The city was in a frenzy over the news of Alexander’s return, and the streets were filled with crowds of newcomers arriving from everywhere. For the first time Thais saw the slender Libyans with the skin the color of dark copper. The Athenian looked pale next to these dwellers of Lydian steppes, despite her coppery tan. The Etruscans from the Italian shores were an unprecedented sight: powerful, stocky people of average height with sharply-outlined profiles of Egyptian type. Lysippus had read historic books by Timeus and Teopompus and had heard stories of travelers of how the Etruscan’s wives enjoyed incredible freedom even compared to the Spartans. They were stunningly beautiful and took great care of their bodies, frequently appearing in the nude. During meals they sat next to their husbands and other men and carried themselves with unheard-of liberty. Men often shared the love of women between them: such was their custom.

“If such are the Etruscan customs, then they do not have hetaerae and I would not have been popular with them,” Thais said half-jokingly.

“They really do not have hetaerae,” Lysippus agreed, then added thoughtfully. “All their women are hetaerae, or rather they are the same as our women were in the ancient times. We did not need hetaerae because women were true companions of men.”

“Our compatriots are unlikely to agree with you,” the Athenian said, laughing. “Presently I am more interested in elephants than the Etruscans. A caravan of fifty of these animals arrived yesterday. Although,” she said, sounding puzzled, “it is strange to call an elephant an animal. They are something else entirely.”