Demeter's Gold

by Meghan Ray

“A chamber pot. I needed something heavy but still easy to throw. It was the first thing that came to hand.”

  “Nice touch,” he said, looking around. “I don’t think it’s going be easy to explain what we are all doing here. We need to find some place else to hide. Let’s tie these up to buy ourselves some time.”

  Themis nodded, “We could go back to my house. It isn’t exactly hiding but it should be safe for now. They might think of it but it should take a while, at least as long this group are out of the action,” gesturing at the prone men. They dragged the men into the andron and tied them securely. Then they made their way to Meno’s where everyone tried to get some sleep. But Phil was troubled and restless.

  He needed to find a way to tell his story to all of Athens at one go so that a cover-up would be impossible. He needed some place so public the conspirators wouldn’t be able to control the situation, somewhere…Phil felt an idea start to take shape in his mind. It was something Leonidas had said. “No, it was too crazy. But still… maybe they needed something crazy, Zeus knew they had tried everything else. ‘All theatrics and solo performances,’ was how Leonidas had accused him of behaving. Well, why not. As he let his imagination fill in the details, he noted that, outlandish as it was, the plan itself was pretty straightforward. He would go to the theater of Dionysus when everyone was there to see the plays, uncover the conspiracy in front of the entire city, go home, and get some sleep, simple.

  The theater was the perfect place. Athenians loved the theater. Everyone went when the plays were put on. Even the poor could attend thanks to the theater patrons and city subsidies. And the festival was just beginning. He would wait until the tragic competition in two days. His fevered brain was already composing the speech. He scribbled it out onto scraps of parchment and finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

  -13-

  The next morning, after they had moved again this time to the home of a friend of Meno’s, he told his plan to a skeptical Themis.

  “I don’t think it’s going to work, Phil. No one is going to take it seriously.”

  “They will, Themis. Athenians are democrats, they’re used to being persuaded by speeches and this speech will have the attention of the whole city.”

  “Their attention maybe but to get them to take it seriously, that’s going to take some fast talking….”

  “Well, I grant you that it may not be the perfect plan but it is the best plan I can come up with. If you have something better, I am happy to hear it.” Themis shook her head. “Okay, then. Let’s get started.”

  During the festival of Dionysus, the plays were put on at a rate of one playwright per day. Most of the time, four plays were acted from morning to dusk. The theater was sited on the south slope of the Acropolis with seats stretching all the way up the side of the hill to allow for maximum occupancy. It afforded the audience excellent viewing and acoustics. The tragic contest was in honor of Dionysus the god of wine and bad behavior, and since he was originally a Lydian deity, Phil had always had a special fondness for him. It seemed like a good omen.

  The plays were a really big deal in Athens and the prestige attached to the winner was enormous. Like most things in Athens, the process of judging was complex and political. First the Archon chose the three poets who would participate. Any playwright who wished to be considered had to submit his four plays, a tragic trilogy and a satyr play for comic relief. Then the judges were called, each of the ten Athenian tribes contributed fifty men. The plays were performed, starting at sunrise each day and usually lasting all day. When the presentations were completed one name for each of the ten tribes was drawn and then of those, at the very end, five of these were chosen by lottery. So five hundred men were called so that five judges could pick the best play. Sure, it was overkill but it put a stop to any jury fixing since not even the richest man in Athens could bribe five hundred potential jurors. Then the winner was chosen and there was much rejoicing.

  Phil and Themis spent the time leading up to the dramatic competition working on the speech, missing the processions and sacrifices of the early part of the festival. If the plan worked, Phil thought Dionysus would forgive him. He had originally thought he could deliver the speech himself. It seemed simple enough, he figured he would just wait until end of the last play and step onstage while the audience was still in their seats and tell them what he had to say. But, when he started to imagine giving his speech in front all of Athens, a foreigner and a banker besides, he knew he would have to come up with a better option. Not only was he an unsympathetic character, he was no trained orator. In the end, he paid an actor to do it and the guy was worth every penny. He learned the lines the day before and was letter perfect on the day.

  Phil had started off to the theater early but not early enough to get a good seat since he had waited, counting on getting lost in the thousands steaming into the theater. He sat through the plays without hearing a word. At the end of the performances, he sat back in his seat and listened to the rich, well-trained voice of his actor as he took the stage. “Athenians,” the man began, “there are men here today who want to take your rights from you. They believe that they know what is best for Athens and they believe that they should rule instead of you.” And so it went, the resonant voice outlining the conspiracy, naming the conspirators, outraging the audience with the crimes committed against their fellow citizens. Phil had made sure to describe the attacks against Nicias and Meno in lurid detail, to the great appreciation of the crowd. He left out the attacks against himself, since he was a banker and wasn’t even a citizen, and knew the audience would think that he probably deserved whatever happened to him.

  Then with a dramatic flourish the actor produced the list and invited all those present to help him deliver it to the Tholos in the Agora where Athenian democracy could take its course. The audience, wound up by the speech and excited to have a part in the drama, rose from their seats and filed out after the actor. Phil wasn’t sure that he would be safe at the council, even now, so he remained behind at the theater. Ironically, the men named in the conspiracy also failed to rise up and join the crowd, preferring to remain at the theater and waiting to disappear quietly after everyone had gone.

  So Phil was left surrounded by his enemies. He didn’t think it was likely that the men would move against him, especially without their hired henchmen. And they had enough to deal with, facing their own problems. But still, he figured it would be best to make his exit while he had the chance. He was walking toward the side of the theater, intending to leave through the passage to the right of the orchestra, when he saw the man from the Eleusinium, the one who had been with Cleitus when he was being held prisoner. He had looked familiar at the time but now Phil recognized him from Glaucon’s shop. He was the man who had been with Glaucon on that first day in Athens. Gods, that seemed a long time ago.

  Phil approached him as he was leaning casually against the building. He was lean and athletic with very short-cropped hair and an alertness that made Phil wary.

  “Waiting for me?” Phil thought the direct approach would be best.

  “Yes, I was. I was hoping we could have a word.” The man seemed relaxed and pretty calm for someone whose conspiracy was just blown through the roof.

  Phil raised an eyebrow. “You want a word with me? I’m surprised. I would think I’d be the last person you’d want to speak to.”

  The man smiled a slow smile, “Well, I’m a pragmatist and so is my boss. If one thing doesn’t work out, then you try something else. It’s been our policy for hundreds of years and it has served us well.”

  Phil smiled his slow smile back, “Sure, I put a few things together in my spare time. You don’t have to be a philosopher to see the hand of the Persian king and his agents. But I still don’t see what business you have with me. Unless of course, you’re still planning to kill me?” Phil looked carefully at the man across from him. He was staying wary despite the other’s apparent friendliness.

  The man shook his head
, still relaxed. “No, although I admit, it is tempting. This is a year of work that you have ruined so casually. I worked hard on this project and there will be a price to pay, you can be sure.”

  Phil shook his head, “I wasn’t being casual, I promise you that. I care about this city, and I take care of her, just like anyone else would.”

  The Persian spy shook his head in a fair imitation of Phil, “I am a Greek working in Persia. You are a Lydian working in Greece. I think we have something in common. You are not a citizen here and you will always be treated like a foreigner, a barbarian. I can offer you a lucrative partnership. My king doesn’t care about Greek politics. He just distrusts the democrats. He finds them unreliable and unpredictable. He used to like dealing with Sparta. They have a conservatism he found most agreeable. However since Sparta has lost power, he is looking for a new king or even an oligarchy, just someone he can trust, easy to deal with. He doesn’t care which city it is in. You are a smart man and you know it would benefit Athens to be the city that speaks for Hellas. The Persian king still wields a lot of power. Whoever he backs rules Greece. It has been that way since he sponsored Sparta in the Peloponnesian war. You can help to make Athens the leader of Greece once more.”

  Phil clapped his hands slowly, “Very nice. Well done, applause all round, we are in the theater after all, but what you’re suggesting won’t happen. Athens is the sum of her parts, good and bad, and if you take away her democracy then she’ll be less. I won’t help you. I am an Athenian even if I am only a metic and an outsider.”

  “Then you will lose. Athens won’t withstand the future. In the coming days, no city-state will be strong enough on its own. Empire is the way of the future.”

  “That may be, but no matter what, she won’t be a colony of the Persians either. I am willing to let Athens take her chance.”

  The Persian spy shrugged and turned away, leaving Phil with the bitter satisfaction that comes from having the last word but losing the debate.

  -14-

  A few days later Phil sat in Meno’s room, recounting events for Meno and Nicias who had both missed the action for one reason or another. Meno was lying in bed, because even though he was much better than he had been, he was still bed-ridden. Nicias, his arm bound in bandages, sat pale but attentive, winking every now and then at Phil to show he was paying attention. “So that guy was a Persian spy you say, well that’s the last time I trust Lysias to bring a friend to one of my symposia. I knew something was wrong the minute they surrounded us and stabbed me in the arm.”

  Phil made a face at his friend, “You should be thankful that your men were alert and the enemy was so reckless and unskilled, otherwise we might not be enjoying your company now.”

  Meno, who had been looking at Phil, sat up, “I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Leonidas. It came as a complete shock to me.”

  Phil looked at a spot on the floor, “Yeah, well, I am getting used to the idea. It’s funny. Leonidas knew I had figured out that he was involved in the conspiracy and I knew that he knew but even then I didn’t think he would try to hurt me. I guess I really didn’t know him.” He shook his head, “At least it seems that no one else did either. Makes me feel a little less stupid…but not much.”

  A hush fell over the room as Themis walked in. “Stop it, all of you. I know what happened, I was there. Remember? You can talk in front of me.”

  Phil grinned, “We know we can but since you were there, what’s the point? I for one am tired of going over the same story. Suppose we talk about something else for a change.”

  Themis curled her lip, “What else is there. The conspiracy and that speech at the theater are all anyone can talk about.”

  Phil looked around, “Well, not me. I have some new news. There was a message waiting at home for me from my father. He wants me to go to Sardis. Says he needs my help with something, something that he couldn’t put it in the message. It seems like I have to leave right away.”

  Overall, Phil was glad for the excuse to leave town. Even though most people didn’t know the details of the conspiracy, they did know that he was involved in some way and they were treating him with more suspicion than usual. It would all blow over eventually but it wouldn’t hurt to be out of sight for a while. He was sorry to leave Themis. He had a feeling that something was starting to happen between them. But he also had the impression that she was stubborn enough that, if she was interested in him, which he still wasn’t entirely sure she was, she would wait until he got back to see how things turned out.

  He said good-bye to the others and Themis walked him to the door. He put a hand on her arm, “I’ll be back in a few months, you know.”

  She turned to look him in the face, “Okay.” She shrugged,” It’s a pretty good bet that we’ll be here.”

  He felt awkward. “Maybe when I get back we could….”

  He was drawing a blank. But Themis burst into laughter, “go to a symposium? Sorry, Phil, I’ve already done that and I think I’ve had enough for a while. Just come by to say hello. Meno will be glad to see you. And, if I’m honest, so will I.” She smiled as she turned away and then walked back into the house before he could say anything.

  He went home to close up the house and pack a few belongings. He gave instructions to his indifferent slaves, paid some people to watch after the business and was surprised at how little it took to manage it all, how few people would miss him. He booked his sea passage to Smyrna. From there he would travel overland to Sardis. So he was off to his homeland, a place he’d never even seen. He would see why his father needed him and maybe take a look around the country, visit his family and see some of the very minor and somewhat tawdry marvels that he had read about in Herodotus. If nothing else, he thought, it would be nice to have some peace and quiet after last few weeks.