Ivan Yefremov - Thais of Athens

Alexander looked tired and glum. The high priest beckoned a young temple servant who spoke good Coyne and served as a translator.

“Conqueror of kings, please turn your benevolent gaze upon the woman up front carrying the silver mirror. She is the daughter of the noblest family, more noble than even the Akhimenides. She is portraying Sharan, the one close to goddess Ishtar.”

Alexander had already noticed the tall girl. She had amazingly white skin and snakelike thin black braids which hung almost to the floor. He abandoned his thoughts and nodded to the priest, who smiled with insinuation. “Say but a word of desire, oh conqueror and ruler. She will expect you this very night at the hour of bat on a splendid bed of glorious Ishtar in the upper rooms of the temple. You will be taken there,” the priest said, then paused, seeing Alexander’s gesture of refusal.

“Does the love of a noble servant of Ishtar not attract you?” the priest said, clearly disappointed.

“It does not,” the Macedonian replied.

“Forgive me, oh ruler, if I dare ask of the forbidden as I am ignorant of your divine ways,” the priest said, then paused again. The interpreter stopped abruptly, as if having stumbled.

“Continue,” Alexander said. “I do not punish for awkward words. You and I are from different people, so it is important that we understand each other.”

“They say the only woman you’ve chosen here is an Athenian whore. Do nobility and virtue blessed by a deity mean nothing to you?”

“The one of whom you speak is not a whore as you understand it. That is, she is not a woman available to anyone for a certain price. In Hellas, all free women are divided into wives, ladies of the house and mothers and, on the other side, the hetaerae, female friends and companions. Hetaerae know many different arts: dance, ability to dress well, to entertain with a conversation or poetry, they know how to host a party-symposium. Hetaerae are surrounded by artists and poets, who draw inspiration from their beauty. In other words, hetaerae give a man the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of life, shaking off the monotony of everyday things.”

“But they offer themselves for money.”

“Yes, and great money at that. Art and long education are worth a lot, and natural talent even more. We understand that well. A hetaera is free in her choice of men. She may give herself for a great price, she may refuse, or she may take no money at all. In any case, Thais cannot be simply obtained on a divine bed the way you are offering your ‘virtuous’ Sharan.”

The priest quickly dropped his eyes to avoid betraying his anger. The conversation was over, and Alexander remained glum and indifferent through the remainder of the ritual ceremony.

Thais spent the entire week trying to convince Ptolemy to take her along for the march. Ptolemy warned the hetaera of the incredible dangers of the journey through the unknown mountains, populated by savage tribes, as well as the difficulties of a march under the speed set by Alexander. She needn’t experience all these hardships, though, since she could travel comfortably within one of Parmenius’ carts. Thais believed that at least one Athenian woman had to be present during the conquering of the sacred and, until now, invincible capital of the Persians. These were the same people who had decimated Hellas and sold tens of thousands of its daughters into slavery. Men could stand for themselves, but she was the only woman capable of making this journey, having hardened along the way and owning a splendid steed.

“Why else did you give me such a wonderful pacer?” she asked Ptolemy mischievously.

“That was not what I dreamed of,” Ptolemy fumed. “Everything is turning out differently. I don’t see the end to this journey.”

“Is Alexander not going to spend the winter in the warm Parsa?”

“Winter is only two months long around here,” Ptolemy grumbled.

“You have become completely unreasonable. Why don’t you just say you are afraid of Alexander’s wrath?”

“It is a small pleasure when he becomes enraged.”

Thais paused to think, then suddenly perked up. “I shall go with the Thessalian horsemen,” she said. “I have friends there, and they will hide me from Alexander. Leontiscus, their leader, is a soldier, not an army leader, and he is unafraid of anyone or anything. There. It’s decided. You don’t know anything, and I’ll take care of the meeting with Alexander in Persepolis.”

Ptolemy finally agreed. Thais’ greater challenge was convincing Eris to stay in Babylon without her. Hesiona came to her rescue. The two former priestesses found something in common in each other and Eris’ resistance was finally overcome with the Theban’s help. Hesiona promised to join her friend should she stay in Persepolis, and bring both their slaves and Salmaakh.

Thais had only a few days to prepare for the journey, and she had to consider many things. She would have failed had it not been for Leontiscus and her old friend the lokhagos, who rejoined the ranks of the same detachment with which Thais was planning to travel.

A march this long and at this great speed would have frightened her in the past. But now, having covered an even greater distance on her pacer, Thais didn’t feel the slightest bit of hesitation and was not at all worried. Finally, one morning in the late fall, she kissed Hesiona goodbye, hugged the silent Eris, and sent Boanergos along the deserted streets of Babylon, his black tail flowing in the wind. She was to meet the detachment of Thessalians beyond the Urash gates, along the road to Nippur.

Susa was built on a series of hills, with a high central area similar to the Athenian Acropolis. It reminded Thais of her homeland. She wished she could spend at least one day breathing the blessed air of Hellas, ascending the marble staircases of temples, hiding from the sun in Athenian galleries aired by the clean breath of the sea. She was further reminded of the past during a celebration and a run with torches. It had been allowed by Alexander, despite his impatience to continue moving further south toward Persepolis, where the main treasury of the Persian state was located. Alexander had to arrive to Persepolis before Darius managed to gather and bring his troops there. The army commander set the example of tirelessness, both in the saddle and on foot, abandoning his horse from time to time and walking a parsang or two with his infantry men.

When snow-covered peaks appeared in the east and the valleys became steeper and rockier, the Macedonians ran into strong resistance from Persian troops. On a mountain range known as the Gates of Parsa, which squeezed between steep slopes on both sides, Alexander’s army was obstructed by a hastily built rock wall. There, the Persians deflected one Macedonian attack after another until Alexander eventually stopped. The shorter mountain route turned out to be impassable.

The great army leader dispatched Philotas and Kenos with a part of the army. He sent them down the lower road to capture the crossing and build bridges across the river Araks, the last big obstacle on the way to Persepolis. Alexander himself traveled down the mountain paths with getaerosi, Thessalian horsemen, Silver Shields and Cretan archers, and with the assistance of local mountain tribes, whom he spared. He even forgave their initial attacks on the Macedonians. Alexander ended up at the back of the detachment, guarding the Gates of Parsa. Attacked from two sides, the Persians retreated, which meant the way to the river was open.

Thais and two hundred Thessalian horsemen traveled in Philotas’ detachment, which was attacked by a horde of Asian riders that appeared seemingly from nowhere. Initially, the Macedonians didn’t even realize with whom they were dealing.