Ivan Yefremov - Thais of Athens

Egesikhora and Eositeus spent the next day walking and exercising the horses, who were now clean and brushed despite the frequent gusts of wind and rain. As soon as the weather improved and the sun dried the slippery mud, the Spartan asked Thais to go with her to visit the capital of Lacedemonia.

The long road across the Eurot valley was famous for its easy horse travel, and two hundred and forty stadiums split into two stages weren’t much of a challenge for Egesikhora’s runners. The carriage holding Eositeus and Menedem constantly lagged behind the mad foursome. Thais was so caught up in the lightning ride to the capital, holding on tight when they roared around turns, that she almost didn’t look around.

The closer they came to the city, the more people greeted Egesikhora. At first Thais thought the exclamations and gestures of greeting were addressed toward Eositeus, a strategist and a nephew to king Agis. But people ran enthusiastically toward their carriage even when the soldiers’ carriage fell far behind. They entered a grove of mighty oaks whose crowns converged so thickly that the grove was wrapped in twilight. Dry soil had been covered by a thick layer of leaves accumulated over hundreds of years. The place had a grim feeling to it, as if it were a desert, and was called Scotita by the Spartans.

Once they had passed through the grove, the carriage headed to the city. Egesikhora stopped only once, near the statue of Dioskures, at the beginning of a straight street or alley called Dromos: Run. Spartan young men frequently used Dromos to race against each other. Passersby gazed upon the carriage in amazement, appreciating the four splendid horses and two beautiful women. While in Athens such a sight would have assembled a crowd of a thousand people, in Sparta the visitors were surrounded only by a few dozen soldiers and youths, enchanted by the beauty of the women and horses. When their companions caught up with them, they rode together into a broad alley shaded by giant sycamore trees. Shouts and greetings followed them along the way.

Eositeus stopped near a small sanctuary, built at the end of the sycamore grove. Kneeling, Egesikhora poured oil and wine for the gods and lit a piece of fragrant resin from a sacred shrub. Menedem explained to Thais that this temple was dedicated to the memory of

Kiniska, the daughter of Archidemos, who was a king of Sparta. Kiniska was also the first woman in the entire Hellas and all of Ecumene to win the tetrippa race during the Olympic games. This was a dangerous competition which required great skill with horses.

“Was she a sister of Agis? The sanctuary looks ancient,” Thais asked.

The Spartan soldier smiled childishly and a bit naïvely. “It’s not the same Archidemos who was the father of our current king, but the one from the ancient times. This was a long time ago.”

The Spartans must have seen an heiress to their heroine in Egesikhora, because they brought her flowers and showered her with invitations to their homes. Eositeus declined all invitations and led his beautiful companions into a large house with a sprawling garden. Numerous slaves of all ages ran out to tend the horses while the Spartan captain took his lover and her friend into the modestly appointed inner rooms. The girls were left alone in the female portion of the house, which was not nearly as strictly separated from the male portion as it would have been in Athens.

Thais watched her friend. “Tell me, why do you not stay here in Sparta, where you are treated like a daughter and everyone loves you?”

“That will only last as long as I have my foursome, my beauty and my youth. Then what? Spartans are poor. Even the king’s nephew has to hire himself out as a mercenary into a strange country. That is why I am an Athenian hetaera. My compatriots, it seems, became too carried away with physical perfection and military upbringing, and that is no longer enough to be successful in this world. It used to be different in the ancient times.”

“Are you saying that the Laconians traded education and mental development for physical prowess?”

“Even worse. They gave up their world of feelings and intelligence for military supremacy and immediately fell under brutal oligarchy. During endless wars they brought death and destruction to other people, never willing to give in to anyone. And now there are a lot fewer of my compatriots in Sparta than there are Athenians in Attica. Spartan women even give themselves to their slaves just for the sake of bearing more boys, but fewer and fewer are born.”

“I’m so sorry to learn of this. Now I understand why you do not wish to stay here. Forgive me for my ignorance,” Thais said. She hugged Egesikhora, and the other clung to her, the way Hesiona had before.

The Spartans didn’t want to let their charming guests go so quickly. They made them postpone their departure day after day. Finally, Thais told them her people would run off and that she needed to sort through her possessions, assembled so hurriedly before the road.

Their return trip was much longer. Thais wanted to take a good look at the strange country. Egesikhora and Eositeus took the foursome and rode ahead, leaving Menedem as Thais’ driver. They traveled slowly, sometimes turning off the main road to look at a legendary spot or an old temple. Thais was struck by the great number of temples of Aphrodite, Artemis and the nymphs. Temples of modest size were hidden in sacred groves, scattered all over Lacedemonia. The worshiping of female deities in Sparta made sense in light of the high position of Spartan women in society.

The women of Sparta were able to travel and walk alone wherever they wanted, without male chaperones. They could even take distant trips on their own. The participation of young women in gymnastic exercises, athletic competitions and public celebrations, competing alongside young men did not surprise the hetaera. She had heard about it before. She watched as local celebrations assembled not only nude young men to demonstrate their athletic skills, but also girls, walking proudly past the crowds of admiring spectators to perform sacrifices and sacred dances in temples.

All hetaerae of the highest Corinthian school considered themselves dance experts. They frequently mentored young students, or auletridae. Aristocles’ ancient thesis on dance was memorized by each of them. However, it was only in the Laconian capital that Thais saw fantastic dance performances by large groups of people right in the streets. Completely nude girls and youths danced Cariotis, a proud and imperious dance in order of Artemis, considered there to be the goddess of flawless health. She also saw them dance Lamprotera, the dance of purity and clarity. Dance Gormos was also performed, this time by slightly older people. Nude men and women spun in a circle, holding hands, representing a necklace.

The hetaera was completely enraptured by Yalkade, a children’s dance that included goblets of water. Through tears of delight she watched the rows of lovely Spartan children, full of health and self-possession. All this revived traditions of ancient Crete in Thais’ eyes, as well as the legends of celebrations in honor of Britomartis, Cretan Artemis.

The influence of the ancient religion, with its female deity supremacy, could be felt more strongly here than in Attica. In Sparta there were fewer people, but more land. Laconians could set aside more space for meadows and groves. Thais saw more herds of livestock along the way than she would have in the same space on the way from Athens from Sounion, which was the cape at the tip of Attica where they were erecting a new temple of the Blue eyed Maiden on top of the terrifying shore cliff.

Menedem and Thais reached Giteyon after sunset. They were met with wishes of long life and many children, customary wishes made during a nymphius, a marriage celebration. For some reason, Menedem became upset by them. He was about to leave the circle of his merry comrades when a small Messenian man, a hunter, appeared and declared that all was ready for the next day’s hunt. The officers cheered, from strategist Eositeus himself to the last decearchos.