Amber and Clay by Laura Schlitz (easy books to read TXT) 📗

frowned.

“But why are you here in the middle of the night?”

I had been standing that whole time.

I went to him and knelt down, setting the lamp on the floor.

It was the pose of a suppliant. If I had to,

I would kneel up,

and cup my hand around his chin,

and beg for mercy.

“Don’t tell on me, Lykos!

I came to look at the horse on the wall.

I always liked that horse. Remember that day — ?

We were playing Do-What-I-Do,

and you led us in here?

I saw that horse, and I couldn’t see how anyone could do that:

make a horse out of paint.

That man must have been like a god.”

“Like a god!

He was just a workman,

dirtying his hands to make a living!

His name was Parrhasius,

and he charged a pretty penny, Father says.

Is that really why you’re here?

You’d risk a beating to look at that horse?”

“Yes. But the beating’s up to you.

Are you going to tell on me?”

“No. I’m not a sneak!

But you’re lucky it was me that found you.

What do you want to do now?”

“Do?”

“Oh, come on, Rhaskos!

We’re both awake, and there aren’t any grown-ups.

We could sneak out of the house and go swimming.

No one would know!

There’s a bend in the river where the water’s deep.

Menon goes there with his friends —

We’d have fun.”

He was offering me his friendship,

treating me as an equal, almost.

I leapt to my feet. I was afraid he’d change his mind.

“I can’t swim, but I know the place.”

I blew out the lamp.

We rushed out of the andron

and into the courtyard.

We’d forgotten to whisper. All at once, I heard her voice:

Galene, his mother,

and mistress of the house,

Galene, who’d slapped me

and called me slave brat.

Her voice was a croak; she was half asleep.

“Lykos! What are you doing out of bed?

Come back to the house!”

I backed into the shadows.

Lykos shrugged, giving in.

He whispered: “Tomorrow?”

I nodded in the dark. I don’t know if he saw.

I went back to the courtyard the next night

and the next.

The third night, I didn’t go.

I don’t know whether Lykos changed his mind

or fell asleep.

I never spoke to him again.

A week later, the master was back.

There was fearful news: Apollo was angry,

and was shooting his arrows of plague

at the city of Larissa.

In a few days, Lykos was struck down.

He was buried by a nearby shrine.

Sometimes at dawn, I saw Galene,

bowed with grief,

coming from his grave.

Alexidemus was left with only one son:

Menon.

EXHIBIT 4

Red-figure oil jar (lekythos) found near Pharsalos, Thessaly, circa 400 BCE. Lekythoi are commonly found in graves and were often given as gifts to the dead.

The scene shown is Hermes leading a boy toward a boat. Hermes wears his characteristic traveler’s cloak and winged sandals. The youth behind him was originally labeled, but the inscription has been rubbed away; only the final two letters, ος (os), remain. Because Hermes was Guide of Souls, the scene may depict a voyage to the underworld. The man holding the oar is probably Charon, who ferries the dead over the river Styx.

TURN: LYKOS

I thought I had more time.

I thought I’d grow up

and be an athlete

crowned with olive leaves.

I wanted to grow strong

so I could pound Menon;

I wanted to go swimming with Rhaskos.

Instead I’ve come here —

this steep and crooked canyon,

darkening

forcing me forward

closing in.

It reminds me of something.

A sound in the dark:

the splash of rushing water.

There’s the boat for the dead

and that monster of nightmare:

Charon

the boatman — so hideous

with his red and feverish eyes,

I want to run. My feet

are rooted to the ground.

Music? Someone is whistling:

a god, boyish and radiant,

light-footed as a goat.

His skin sheds fragrance

and flakes of dazzling light.

I’m afraid of them both.

I’ve come to the land of gods and ghosts

and I don’t like either one.

I’m afraid of where they’re taking me.

And I’m afraid of the dark.

COUNTERTURN: HERMES

This is the fate of man:

to run out of time,

to pass from the earth

to the House of Death.

It’s time to say farewell

to everything you’ve known.

Now Rhaskos must go swimming by himself.

Keep on straight ahead;

follow the vanishing path,

narrowing,

squeezing you onward:

birth passage

into Persephone’s realm.

Listen! the river!

white water chattering —

Here’s your boat! The pilot

is that sour gondolier,

Charon.

I admit he’s not pretty —

rotten teeth and halitosis.

No style. And no manners.

And no conversation.

Buck up! I’m coming with you.

I am Hermes, the luck bringer,

giant killer, jaunty,

your friend and companion,

god of the golden wand!

I’ve come to show the way.

I’ll introduce you to gods and ghosts,

and keep you from getting lost.

There is no night that does not end.

And I can see in the dark.

EXHIBIT 5

Terra-cotta doll found in Kerameikos district of Athens, late fourth century BCE.

This finely crafted doll may have been part of a child’s grave goods. Unlike dolls from earlier periods, the doll is unclothed, and the legs are jointed at the knee instead of the thigh. The movable arms attach to the shoulders with twine. Traces of pigment show that the doll was brightly painted. One foot is missing and was not recovered during the excavation.

Though many toys were created in the home, Greek potters also made children’s playthings: dolls, tops, yo-yos, rattles, and pull-toys. The beauty of this doll suggests that it must have been a special gift for a much-cherished child.

Athena, goddess of war and defender of cities, stood on the Akropolis, surveying the city below. It was the third day of the month, a time set aside to honor her, and the smoke of sacrificial fire billowed in the air. The people of Athens were beseeching her for victory over the Spartans.

Sunlight flashed against her golden helmet as the goddess shook her head. Athena relished glory, and Athens had been glorious: an aggressive sea power, sublime in its arts, unmatched in genius. Now its glory was in decline. Athena had seen cities fall, and she recognized the signs: the scarcity of fighting men, the dread, the disease.

Her sea-grey eyes followed the city walls down to the harbor. Spartan ships prowled back and forth across the narrow bay, depriving the people of timber and grain. The Spartans had achieved a navy,