Dionysius, “in gratitude for the peaceful and good-natured way that we have begun the division of our spoils.”
That, we felt, was right and just, so we consecrated some copper tripods, copper pots and a bronze Phoenician ram to the various Himeran temples, and a Persian shield to the temple of the Carthaginian merchants.
4.
The entire day passed without our seeing Dorieus. When darkness fell and the stars were lighted in the alien sky over Himera I could no longer restrain my uneasiness.
I said to Mikon, “We must return to Tanakil’s house no matter how reluctantly. Something has happened to Dorieus and I would not be surprised if that proud woman had punctured his throat with a hairpin as he slept to avenge the loss of her honor.”
“As a physician I can assure you that in this condition, with his head still thick from wine and a sickening taste in his mouth, a man exaggerates his misdeeds and imagines that he will never again be able to look a decent person in the eye. What did we actually do that was so bad? I seem to remember your dancing the Phoenix dance on the table to show off your agility to the girls, but chiefs and councilors have done the same under the influence of wine and it hasn’t blackened their
reputation.
“Dorieus is a dangerous man,” Mikon went on, “and, like most soldiers, limited to thinking that problems can best be solved by killing. He was born to create dissension and I would not grieve if we were obliged to arrange an honorable funeral. But I think that in your moonless mood you are a little premature. Therefore let us courageously find out what is wrong and at the same time bring gifts to Tanakil in gratitude for her hospitality.”
The plan cheered me greatly. “You are the wisest man I have met. In truth, I am not greedy and I care little for valuables. The goddess Artemis has appeared to me in the guise of Hecate and promised, with upraised poker and black dog barking at her feet, that I will never know want. So let us give Tanakil this ten-mina chain that I stole. I don’t know myself why I slipped it into my robe, but it must have been for the reason that we may now placate Tanakil with it.”
When we reached the market place we saw that many merchants were still at their stalls. We shared a small skin of wine and it cheered me immeasurably. We also ate some fish and some of the good Himeran ash-surfaced bread. Then we continued on our way, stumbling through the dark streets to the western end of the city. Fortunately a torch was flickering feebly at the entrance to Tanakil’s house. From that we knew that she was expecting us, so we opened the creaking gate, entered the house, hung our weapons in the entrance hall and stepped into the lighted banquet room.
There on a convivial couch lounged Dorieus, fully alive although glowering, and clothed in such magnificent Phoenician garments that at first glance we did not recognize him. Opposite him, on another couch, lay Tanakil looking equally unhappy. Her cheeks were sunken and her eyes were shadowed although she had tried to improve her appearance with color. Between the couches stood a bronze-legged table with food, and the mixing vessel on the floor was half filled with a yellowish wine. The room had been cleaned, the mosaic floor washed, and the household god righted.
“Tanakil,” I begged, “please forgive us our shameful behavior of last night. Your hospitality was overwhelming and we exhausted wretches, unaccustomed as we were to mint wine, could not stand it.”
Tanakil looked at Mikon with her hand before her mouth and asked, “You are a Greek physician, aren’t you? Tell me, can new teeth be made to replace those that a person has lost?”
Horrified, I demanded, “Has Dorieus in a drunken fit knocked out some of your teeth?”
Dorieus cursed. “Don’t talk nonsense, Turms.” With trembling hands he filled a cup from the mixing vessel and drank deeply, spilling some of the wine on his
That, we felt, was right and just, so we consecrated some copper tripods, copper pots and a bronze Phoenician ram to the various Himeran temples, and a Persian shield to the temple of the Carthaginian merchants.
4.
The entire day passed without our seeing Dorieus. When darkness fell and the stars were lighted in the alien sky over Himera I could no longer restrain my uneasiness.
I said to Mikon, “We must return to Tanakil’s house no matter how reluctantly. Something has happened to Dorieus and I would not be surprised if that proud woman had punctured his throat with a hairpin as he slept to avenge the loss of her honor.”
“As a physician I can assure you that in this condition, with his head still thick from wine and a sickening taste in his mouth, a man exaggerates his misdeeds and imagines that he will never again be able to look a decent person in the eye. What did we actually do that was so bad? I seem to remember your dancing the Phoenix dance on the table to show off your agility to the girls, but chiefs and councilors have done the same under the influence of wine and it hasn’t blackened their
reputation.
“Dorieus is a dangerous man,” Mikon went on, “and, like most soldiers, limited to thinking that problems can best be solved by killing. He was born to create dissension and I would not grieve if we were obliged to arrange an honorable funeral. But I think that in your moonless mood you are a little premature. Therefore let us courageously find out what is wrong and at the same time bring gifts to Tanakil in gratitude for her hospitality.”
The plan cheered me greatly. “You are the wisest man I have met. In truth, I am not greedy and I care little for valuables. The goddess Artemis has appeared to me in the guise of Hecate and promised, with upraised poker and black dog barking at her feet, that I will never know want. So let us give Tanakil this ten-mina chain that I stole. I don’t know myself why I slipped it into my robe, but it must have been for the reason that we may now placate Tanakil with it.”
When we reached the market place we saw that many merchants were still at their stalls. We shared a small skin of wine and it cheered me immeasurably. We also ate some fish and some of the good Himeran ash-surfaced bread. Then we continued on our way, stumbling through the dark streets to the western end of the city. Fortunately a torch was flickering feebly at the entrance to Tanakil’s house. From that we knew that she was expecting us, so we opened the creaking gate, entered the house, hung our weapons in the entrance hall and stepped into the lighted banquet room.
There on a convivial couch lounged Dorieus, fully alive although glowering, and clothed in such magnificent Phoenician garments that at first glance we did not recognize him. Opposite him, on another couch, lay Tanakil looking equally unhappy. Her cheeks were sunken and her eyes were shadowed although she had tried to improve her appearance with color. Between the couches stood a bronze-legged table with food, and the mixing vessel on the floor was half filled with a yellowish wine. The room had been cleaned, the mosaic floor washed, and the household god righted.
“Tanakil,” I begged, “please forgive us our shameful behavior of last night. Your hospitality was overwhelming and we exhausted wretches, unaccustomed as we were to mint wine, could not stand it.”
Tanakil looked at Mikon with her hand before her mouth and asked, “You are a Greek physician, aren’t you? Tell me, can new teeth be made to replace those that a person has lost?”
Horrified, I demanded, “Has Dorieus in a drunken fit knocked out some of your teeth?”
Dorieus cursed. “Don’t talk nonsense, Turms.” With trembling hands he filled a cup from the mixing vessel and drank deeply, spilling some of the wine on his
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