Part 3 (1/2)
But once in the safety of my own rooms, I shook with shock and fear They had turned on-their own father, seized the throne They had corave sin; it was the curse of the Ptole them to it
For we came from a very s as sickened the world Brother had killed brother, wife, acy I had prided eneration, were made of finer stuff Now it seemed that I was horribly mistaken
Father! Father had been deposed by his own daughters And ould they stop at? Me, Arsinoe, the two boys--would they destroy us all as well?
I had no one to confide in I was long since too old for a nurse, and no confidant had replaced her I felt utterly alone
There was only, as always, Isis
I was safe, for now They would allowenough to be har As if I could have!
And so I contented myself with my ”eunuchs and horses,” as they had contemptuously described them There were, in those days, flocks of eunuchs around the royal grounds Eunuchs were important in nearly every sphere of life; it is iine palace life without them In a world in which dynastic ambition ran riot, the eunuchs alone were exempt from suspicion They served as tutors to the royal children, as confidants to both kings and queens, as enerals A man whose earthly fortunes would end with himself was devoted to his master Curious how e without descendants And the popular, sneering prejudice about their condition meant that they could never seize open power, but ures behind their masters Ideal servants, then, for such as the Ptole line of eunuchs--no one ever clairandfather were eunuchs--but the practice of designating one's children to be eunuchs seemed more prevalent in so boys were selected--for as the point inthat sacrifice if the boy did not haveworldly success? Therefore, when one said ”eunuch,” one was also ient”
Most eunuchs in Alexandria were Greek, or Egyptians who had beco There were also Cappadocians, Phrygians, Bithynians, and such, likewise Grecophiles In Egypt there was no forced castration, or any castration of slaves It was entirely voluntary, which uilt-laden for those of us who employed the eunuchs
Usually the operation was done at a fairly early age Not in infancy, of course, because it was best to wait until the child had proved healthy Sometimes, in special circumstances, it was done later, even after a boy had started turning into a man, and then the eunuch was different froht be easily ht little about eunuchs, taking theranted It was only after I went to Rome that I discovered what it was like to live in a world without the after I embraced Alexander as my comfort Whenever I went to the tomb, I hoped to have it to myself But for several days in a row, a bulky little boy was always there when I went He would be kneeling before the sarcophagus, motionless--he must have had knees of iron--his head bent reverently Or he would be bending over the coffin, asort of look on his round face Truth to tell, he annoyed o away I could have ordered hi to be asked Day after day he was there My patience wore away I began to think he was deliberately interfering with ht I closed my eyes and tried to think of Alexander, this boy's head would always be sticking up so
The next day, as I descended into the crypt, I prayed he would not be there And for a ain!--that round for the coffin It was tooover to hi!” I could never get away in the early ; that was one of the busiest times in the children's quarters He could have Alexander all to himself then
He stood up ”I can't,” he said with quiet dignity He was taller than I was I had no idea he was a eunuch It does not become apparent until later
”Why not?” I demanded
”This is my only free tinize an order froe dignity ”You are Cleopatra the younger If you were Ro You are no slight personage”
”And who are you?”
”My name is Mardian,” he said ”I live in the Royal Quarters, Princess I a”
”Ohyou are a eunuch eunuch,” I said, suddenly understanding
”Yes,” he said, without flinching
”Why do you come here, day after day?” I could ask him that, whereas he could not ask me
”Because I wish to be like Alexander”
I burst out laughing at his answer, then felt bad when I saw his face He had not expected that blow from me ”There is no one like Alexander” I tried to cover it up ”Anyone who attehable to others Think of all the pitiful kings who have called themselves Alexander, tried to emulate hi hair, his turned neck No, we can never be Alexander” I was talking too fast, trying to apologize without actually saying the words
”So you, too, wish to be Alexander? You said 'we' ”
He had caught me ”Yes,” I admitted ”I would like to be like Alexander I suppose you would say a woman is an even ht But I can attempt to be like him in character And so around the palace grounds”
Alexander lay silent and golden in his coffin while our words flew back and forth over his head
”Yes! To me also!” Mardian said ”He helps me to bear it all When I'm teased or taunted, I just tell myself, Tomorrow you can take it all to Alexander' ” He looked a little e
”Tell me where you live in the Royal Quarters,” I asked ”Perhaps I can visit you there” I had alotten I had considered hi building directly across from the Temple of Isis, the one that overlooks the eastern sea”
I kneell: it was a busy place, with a school for scribes as well as the archives for war records
”Are there others--” I wanted to say ”like you,” but I hesitated
”No, I'roup,” he answered cheerfully ”There are about fifteen of us Our mathematics tutor, Derammatician from Athens and a rhetorician fro a face ”Our rhetorician is named Theodotos, and I hate him! He's sneaky and mean--like a snake”
”Snakes aren't sneaky, and they certainly aren't ravely He looked offended
”What do you mean?” Everyone knew that snakes had that nature, even if the cobra-Goddess Wadjyt protected the Pharaohs and rulers of Egypt, and the royal crown showed her with hood spread
”I have studied snakes,” he said ”They are different from what the snake-charmers want you to think You should see my animals; I have several pens of the enclosure for my snakes”
”What other animals do you keep?” My curiosity was stirred
”I had an ostrich for a while,” he said ”It grew too big for me So now I have only ss I'd like to get a baby crocodile”
”I'd like to see yourpaid much attention to him on this visit
Chapter 5
It was not many days before I found myself drawn to where Mardian took his lessons, and found him and his school and curiosity, but the lesson--on geo, from the back There were irls, and then--I recognized Oly on it so hard that it seeer now, and he had lost whatever roundness had still been in his limbs and shoulders when I o already? Now his -face was very lean,eyes even more noticeable He must be fourteen now, at least
When the class was over, I waited for Mardian to greetto one of his companions Finally I went over to him and said, ”Are you ashamed to know me, Mardian?”
He looked terrified ”No, no, Princess!” His companion withdrew as quickly as possible ”I did not wish to presu you, since it was only by accident that our paths crossed It would have been i that others in s that way A chancedid not constitute a friendshi+p ”Are we not brothers in Alexander?” Even as I said it, I realized that brothers brothers was an odd word to use, when neither of us was male in the physical sense Still, was an odd word to use, when neither of us was male in the physical sense Still, brothers brothers meant more than just the body meant more than just the body