Ivan Yefremov - Thais of Athens

Alexander rose, pushing Za-Asht away. The hetaera gestured to both slave girls to leave.

“Are you hungry?” Thais asked, settling on the thick carpet. Alexander shook his head. Thais brought an ornate Persian goblet of wine, diluted it with water and poured it into two travel cups from green Cyprus glass. Alexander lifted his cup quickly, splashing slightly.

“To Aphrodite,” he said quietly.

“Wait one moment, Majesty.” Thais picked up the vial with a tourmaline stopper decorated with a star from a tray. “This is for me. Three drops,” she whispered, measuring three drops into her wine. “And this is for you. Four drops.”

“What is that?” the Macedonian asked. He spoke without caution, but with curiosity.

“A gift of the Mother of Gods. She will help you forget for tonight, that you are a king, a ruler and conqueror of people. She will take away the burden you have carried from the time you took the shield of Achilles from Troy.”

Alexander observed Thais carefully, and she smiled at him with that fleeting tinge of superiority the king had always found so attractive. She lifted the heavy glass vial and downed the tart and burning potion without hesitation. Thais poured him more wine, and they drank again.

“Rest a bit.”

Thais took Alexander to the inner room and he stretched on a bed. The mattress was made of leopard skins. Thais sat down near him, and placed a hot hand on his shoulder. They were both silent, feeling the inevitability of Ananka (fate) drawing them to each other.

Thais felt the familiar sensation of fire running up her spine and flowing through her chest and belly. Yes, this was the terrible potion of Rhea-Kibela. But this time she wasn’t frightened.

The beating of her own heart resonated in the hetaera’s head like tambourines of Dionysus. Her consciousness started dividing, setting free the other Thais. This Thais was not a human being at all, but a primal force, separate and at the same time inexplicably connected with every other sensation, sharpened to its limit. Thais moaned, arched her back and was caught by Alexander’s strong arms.

Through the thick blanket of sleep, Thais heard a vague noise, some subdued exclamations and a distant knocking. Alexander opened his eyes and slowly propped himself onto one elbow. The voices became louder and the hetaera recognized them as belonging to Leontiscus, Hephaestion, and Black Cleitus. The king’s friends and bodyguards froze in the doorway, not daring to enter the house.

“Hephaestion!” Alexander called. “Tell everyone to go to the ravens, including you. Don’t you dare bother me, even if Darius himself is attacking the city.”

All Thais heard in response were hurried steps down the stairs and away.

The great army leader came back to his senses only late in the evening. He stretched with a deep sigh and shook his head. Thais ran out of the room and came back with an armful of clothes, which she placed silently before the king.

“This is mine,” Alexander exclaimed with surprise. “Who brought it?”

“They did,” Thais replied, meaning the Macedonian’s friends.

Eris and Za-Asht had managed to tell her about the terrible panic that had ensued the morning after Alexander did not come back after swimming. His friends and bodyguards had eventually arrived at Thais’ home after scouring the entire city looking for their king.

“How did they manage to find me here?” Alexander wondered.

“Leontiscus figured it out. He knew I went swimming in the Euphrates at night and heard that you did the same.”

Alexander chuckled quietly. “You are dangerous, Athenian. Your name and death begin with the same letter [28] Greek god of death is Thanatos. . Last night I felt how easy it was to die in your arms. I still feel light and transparent, without desires or cares. Perhaps I am already a shadow in Hades.”

Thais lifted the king’s heavy hand and pressed it to her chest. “Oh no. You are still filled with flesh and power,” she assured him, kneeling on the floor at his feet.

Alexander studied her for awhile, then said, “You are like me on the battlefield. You are filled with the same sacred power of the gods and the divine madness of the effort. You do not possess the first basis of care, which preserves life.”

“Only for you, Majesty.”

“So much the worse. I cannot do that. One time I allowed myself to be with you, and a day is completely ripped out of my life.”

“I understand. Do not say anything more, beloved.” This was the first time Thais had addressed the king this way. “The burden of the shield of Achilles.”

“Yes. The burden of the one who decided to know the limits of Ecumene.”

“I remember that, too,” Thais said sadly. “I shall not ask you anymore, even though I’ll be here. But then do not ask me, either. Chains of Eros are forged faster for women and hold them stronger. Promise?”

Alexander stood and picked up Thais as if she were a feather. He held her against his broad chest for a long time, then suddenly tossed her onto the bed. Thais sat up with her head lowered and started braiding her tangled hair. Alexander leaned forward and picked up the golden chain bearing a star and letter mu in the center.

“Give it to me as a memory of what took place,” the king asked. The hetaera picked up her chain belt, thought about it, then kissed the ornament and held it out to Alexander.

“I shall order the best jewelers of Babylon to make you another in two days. It will be made of precious red gold with a star of fourteen rays and a letter xi.”

“Why xi?” Thais lifted her long eyelashes in surprise.

“Remember. Nobody can explain this to you, except me. The ancient name of the river in which we met is Xarand. In Eros you are akin to a sword, xyphos. But for a man to be with you is epi xyron ehestai, as if on the blade of a razor. And also, xi is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. [29] Ivan Yefremov does not provide an explanation as to the significance of this statement. The number fourteen could be associated with the fourteen gods of Olympus. The letter xi is also associated with bearing fruit — Alexander could be implying that Thais might become pregnant by him. ”

The Athenian’s eyes dropped under the king’s long gaze and her pale cheeks flushed.

“Poseidon the Earth keeper. I am so hungry,” Alexander exclaimed suddenly, smiling at the quiet hetaera.

“Then come. Everything is ready,” the Athenian said, perking up. “Then I’ll see you to the south palace. You can take Boanergos and I’ll ride Salmaakh …”

“No. I’ll take one of your Thessalian guards.”

“As you wish.”

Thais spend the entire day alone in her bedroom. She came out only in the evening, ordering Eris to bring kiura from the stash prepared with the unforgettable Egesikhora back in Sparta.

Eris reached out and touched the Athenian’s wrist with her warm fingers. “Do not poison yourself, Mistress,” the black priestess said.

“What do you know about this?” the hetaera asked sadly, but with conviction. “When something like this happens, Gaea is unstoppable. And I do not have the right to allow myself to have a child of the future ruler of the Ecumene.”

“Why, Mistress?”

“Who am I to make my son an heir to the great empire? He will get nothing from the fate except slavery and early death, because it plays with all people that harbor thoughts of the future, be they dark or light.”

“And what if it is a girl?”

“Alexander’s divine blood must not experience the cruel destiny of a woman.”

“But a daughter would be as beautiful as Aphrodite herself.”

“All the worse for her.”

“Do not fear, Mistress,” Eris said firmly, changing her tone. “You won’t have anything. Don’t drink kiura.”