Part 24 (1/2)

That night there was a great banquet. This served a double purpose.

Quarrels were made up, and some other difficult relations of the army to its neighbors were satisfactorily adjusted. The fact was, that the Greeks, partly from their want, and partly in the hope of filling their pockets after a long and profitless campaign, had been plundering right and left. The natives, on the other hand, had not been slow to retaliate. Plundering cannot be done satisfactorily in company; but any who ventured to do a little business on his own account ran a great chance of being cut off. Under these circ.u.mstances both parties thought it might be possible to come to an agreement. If the Greeks would not plunder, the natives would leave them unmolested and even furnish them with supplies. The chief of the country, accordingly, sent an emba.s.sy, with a handsome present of horses and robes of native manufacture. The generals entertained them at a banquet, to which, at the same time, they invited the most influential men of the army. The chief's proposals would be informally discussed, and proposed in regular form at a general meeting the next day.

The generals did their best to impress their guests. Meat, bread and wine were in plenty; and the eparch of Trapezus sent one of the magnificent turbots for which the waters of the Black Sea were famous.

All the plate that was in the camp was put into requisition to make as brave a show as possible; and, at the instance of Callias, some handsome vessels of gold and silver were lent by the town authorities.

But, in the eyes of the guests, the most impressive part of the entertainment was in the performances which followed it. The libation having been made and the hymn, which supplied the part of grace after meat, having been sung, some of the Thracian soldiers came upon the platform which had been prepared for the performers. They wore the usual armor of their country, a helmet, greaves, light cuira.s.s, and sword, and danced a national dance to the sound of a flute, leaping into the air with extraordinary nimbleness, and brandis.h.i.+ng their swords. One pair of dancers were conspicuous for their agility. Faster and faster grew their movements, and with gestures of defiance they alternately retreated and advanced. At last, one of them, carried, it seemed, out of himself by his rage, thrust at his fellow with his sword. The man fell.

”He is killed!” screamed out the guests, and rose from their seats.

Indeed, the man had fallen so artistically and lay so still that any one would have thought that he had received a fatal blow. The Greeks, however, looked on unmoved, and the strangers, not knowing whether this wonderful people might not be wont to kill each other for the entertainment of their guests, resumed their seats. The dancer who had dealt the blow stripped the other of his arms, and hurried off, singing the Thracian national song:

”All praise to Sitalces, Invisible Lord, The spear point that errs not, The death-dealing sword, The chariot that scatters The close ranks of war, Red Ruin behind it, Blind Panic before!”

When he had left the stage a party of Thracians appeared and carried off the fallen man, who had remained without giving the slightest sign of life.

Another dance in armor succeeded, performed this time by aeolian tribesmen from the Menalian coast. A man came on the stage, and, laying aside his arms, made believe to drive a yoke of oxen, and to sow as he drove. Every now and then he looked round, with an admirable imitation of expecting some unpleasant interruption. This came in the shape of another armed man, who was supposed to represent a cattle-lifter. The ploughman caught up his arms, and ran to encounter him. The two fought in front of the team, keeping time as they struck and parried to the sound of the flute. At last the robber appeared to vanquish his adversary, to bind him, strip him of his arms, and drive off the team.

The next performer was a Mysian, who danced, again in armor, what we should call a _pas seul_. He had a light s.h.i.+eld in each hand, and seemed to be fighting with two adversaries at once; his action was extraordinarily life-like and his agility almost more than human. In curious contrast with his performance was the stately movement of some Arcadians heavy-armed, who, with all the weight of their armor and accoutrements upon them, moved to the tune of the warriors' march with as much ease as if they had been perfectly unenc.u.mbered.

”Good Heavens!” cried one of the envoys to his next neighbor, ”what men these are! Their armor seems not one whit heavier to them than a s.h.i.+rt, and they carry their swords and their spears as if they were twigs of osier.”

One of the Mysians, whose dialect was not very different from that of the speaker, overheard the remark. ”Ah!” he said to himself, ”we will astonish these gentlemen still more.”

He drew one of the Arcadians who had just performed, aside. ”Send Cleone on the stage,” he said.

Cleone was a dancing-girl, famous for her agility.

By good luck she was at hand, having indeed expected to perform for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the company. The Arcadian made her put on a light cuira.s.s of silvered steel, which she wore over a scarlet tunic. She had a short gilded helmet, buskins of purple, and sandals tied with crimson strings.

In her left hand she carried a small s.h.i.+eld, and in her right, a light spear. Thus accoutred, she came on the stage and danced the Pyrrhic dance with tremendous applause from all the spectators.

The astonishment of the native guests was beyond all expression.

”What!” cried their chief, ”do your women fight?”

”Of course,” said the General whom he addressed, ”of course they fight, and very pretty soldiers they make.”

”Women soldiers!” gasped the man.

”Why,” said his host, ”did you not know that it was the women who routed the Great King, and drove him out of our camp?”

FOOTNOTES:

[76] The examination of accounts (euthuna) was one of the most important const.i.tutional usages in the Athenian commonwealth. All magistrates on coming out of office, and amba.s.sadors returning from a mission had to undergo it. The existence of this usage would make the difference in the eyes of an Athenian between a const.i.tutional and a despotic government.

The other Greek States, though we know but little of their internal arrangements, probably had some similar inst.i.tution.

[77] Rather more than 400.

CHAPTER XXVI.