Leonidas of Sparta 01

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Leonidas of Sparta: A Peerless Peer 

Copyright © 2011 Helena P. Schrader. All rights reserved. No part o 

this book may be reproduced or retransmitted in any orm or by any means without the written permission o the publisher.

Published by Wheatmark ®

610 East Delano Street, Suite 104Tucson, Arizona 85705 U.S.A. www.wheatmark.com

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-60494-602-4Library o Congress Control Number: 2011926396

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Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgements vii Map of Leonidas’s World xii

Prologue 1

1 The Boar Slayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Sparta and Her Allies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Domestic Aairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 The Importance o Being Pretty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785 First Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856 The Runaway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1157 Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

8 The Heir to the Throne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1589 The Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16210 Homecoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19011 Athens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20012 The Stone Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23913 Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25114 A Map o the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27315 Trial by Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

16 Full Citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31917 The Grain Fleet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34718 A Political Expedient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38219 Artemis o the Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

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20 Growing Threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42821 The Hereditary Foe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45122 The Price o Honor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Historical Notes 497Presumed Organization of the Spartan Army in 480 BC 509Glossary of Greek Terms 517 Also by Helena P Schrader 525

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introduCtion and

aCknowLedgements

Leonidas is  arguabLy  the most famous o all Spartans. Numerous works o art depict him. He was the hero o two Hollywood lms.There is even a line o chocolate conectionery named ater him. Butno serious biography has ever been written, and what is most otenportrayed is his death. Leonidas is remembered or commanding the Greek orces that deended the pass at Thermopylae against aninvading Persian army. He is revered or reusing to surrender despitebetrayal that made deeat absolutely certain. Thus Leonidas came tosymbolize the noblest orm o military courage and sel-sacrice. The

events leading up to the three-day battle and the death o Leonidas with three hundred other Spartans and seven hundred Thespians atThermopylae have been the ocus o historians, writers, and artistsrom Herodotus onward.

But Leonidas was not a young man at the historic battle wherehe gave his lie. He had lived close to hal a century (i not more) andreigned or ten years beore he took command o the Greek alliancedeying Persia. It was those years preceding the nal conrontation with Persia that made him the man he would be at Thermopylae. Tothe extent that we admire his deant stand, learning more about hisearly lie and tracing the development o his character is important.

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viii introduction   and  acknowLedgements

 Yet so very little is actually known about his early lie that historianshave been discouraged rom attempting a biography.

Novelists, ortunately, enjoy more reedom, and what we do

know about Leonidas’ early lie is enticing. In the rst novel in thistrilogy, A Boy of the Agoge , I built upon known acts about his birthand amily situation and Sparta’s unique educational system to con-struct a plausible picture o Leonidas’ boyhood. In the second book o the trilogy (which can also be considered in its entirety as a three-part biographical novel), I ocus on the next stage o his lie, the years when he was a common citizen beore he became a king. This is the

period in which he married his niece Gorgo and gained experiencein battle and politics. Building on the ew known acts, listening tothe sayings attributed to Leonidas and Gorgo, and knowing how Leonidas met his destiny at Thermopylae, I have written this novel. While based on all the known acts about Leonidas, Gorgo, and thesociety in which they lived, the novel goes beyond the bare boneso the historical record. It interpolates rom these acts a reasonablehypothesis o what Leonidas and Gorgo might have been like and

 what they might have done, thought, and elt.The characters that emerge are greater than the historical input.

Leonidas is consciously portrayed as the quintessential archaic Spartan,because that is what he has become in legend. Gorgo, likewise, epi-tomizes that which set Spartan women apart rom their contempora-ries, without robbing her o individual traits and personality. The twoprincipals are surrounded by a large cast o secondary, largely ctional

characters, each o which is unique and complex. In short, this novelis quite candidly ction.This book, like its predecessor, contains a number o Greek terms

that are specic to Leonidas’ time and culture. Some o these termsare explained in context; all are dened in the glossary at the end o this book. Appendixes also outline the presumed organization o theSpartan army o the time and explain a number o other aspects o Spartan society. A list o key sources is provided or those who wish

to do more research.I wish to thank Paul Bardunias or reading the manuscript with

an eye to historical detail and accuracy that added an additional layero authenticity to the manuscript. He meticulously pointed out even

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ix introduction   and  acknowLedgements

the slightest anachronism in phrase, image, or deed, and this manu-script has beneted immensely rom his knowledge and insight. Ialso wish to thank my editor, Christina Dickson, or patiently correc-

ting all my persistent spelling errors and inconsistencies in orm andusage. I wish to thank my cover designer, Charles Whall, or putting up with my changing visions and my nitpicking o his highly eectiveand evocative design. Without their hard work, this book would nothave been nished. I look orward to working with all three o theseproessionals on the last book in the trilogy, Leonidas of Sparta: ADispensable King .

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  M A  C  E  D  O

  N  I A

 THRACEByzantion

 THESSALY

Athos

 Thasos

IMBROS

LEMNOS

Artemisium

 THERA

DELOS

SAMOS

CHIOS

LESBOSSardis

CRETECARPATHUS

RHODOS

Miletos

Halicarnassus

ANDROS

PAROS NAXOS

MELOS

KYTHERA

MESSENIA Sparta

Elis

ELIS

ACHAEA

Delphi

LACONIA

BOIOTIA

Athens

ATTICA

Argos

ARGOLID Tegea

Olympia

ARCADIA CORINTH

EUBOEAEretrea

LACEDAEMON

Gytheon

 Thermopylae

PERSIAN

EMPIRE

Epidauros Limera

Corinth

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proLogue

how  do  you choose men for  sacrice? The question seemed tohang in the stagnant summer air, thick with the dust kicked up by the herds o sacricial beasts driven into the city or the start o theKarneia. Leonidas had looked into the eyes o the passing steers, and

they had looked back at him with recognition and understanding.“We are part o the same raternity,” the our-legged sacrices seemedto say as they nodded their heads and moved on, ficking their tailsat fies.

But Leonidas had come to terms with that. He had been selectedby the Gods. He was a descendant o Herakles. He had taken up theburden o kingship with the conscious intention o leading Sparta to

a better uture. At the time, he had pictured dierent challenges, buthe knew now this was his destiny. He would not ail.But what about the others?Leonidas looked about the empty streets. At this time o day on

a holiday, the city seemed abandoned. School was closed and thechildren had been sent home to their amilies. The soldiers o Sparta’sarmy were urloughed. The stalls in the market and the workshops o cratsmen were boarded up. The racecourses, palaestra, and gymnasia 

 were deserted. Only on the edges o town and along the backstreets,behind the shuttered windows and closed doors o the houses, amiliesrested in the noonday heat, gathering their strength or the athleticand choral competitions scheduled or later in the day and week.

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Pleistarchos would be taking part in the sporting contests or the rsttime, and Agiatis had been selected to perorm in one o the dances.Leonidas wanted to be there or them, cheering and applauding—but

not i the price was that the next time they perormed it would be asslaves or a Persian master!

The Persians were advancing aster than expected. Sparta couldnot wait until the end o the Karneia to deploy the army. By thenit might be too late—particularly with hal o Hellas in Olympia sticking their heads in the sand!

For a moment, the anger fared up in his chest. Two-thirds o the

Gerousia and two o the ephors were as stupid as all the other Greeks, who thought Persia would respect the Olympic peace. They reusedto see that this struggle was like none that had gone beore. They reused to understand that Sparta and her allies could not wait or a convenient time to respond. They had to march now . I they didn’t,they would come too late—as they had at Marathon.

The argument in the Council still echoed inside his aching head.The ghostly voices o his counterparts and the even more ghostly 

 whispers o what he should have said had kept him rom his sleepthroughout the night. Leonidas elt acutely his ailure to prevail inCouncil. He had mustered all the intelligence they had on Persianstrength in men, ships, and horses. He had described in detail theterrain between the Persian host and Lacedaemon, underlining theadvantages o a deense at Thermopylae. He had reminded them ingruesome detail o the costs o ailure. And he had stressed until his

throat was raw that too little, too late, could be atal or all they helddear. At length the Council agreed that Thermopylae, although ar

north o Sparta’s sphere o infuence and beyond the usual range o operation or her army, was the ideal place to make a stand. They agreed urther to ask the Assembly to call up ve classes o reserves,increasing the strength o the active army to three thousand men,and they agreed this orce must deploy “as soon as possible.” But the

Council stubbornly insisted there could be neither an Assembly nora deployment until the Karneia was over. To do either would be aninsult to the Gods.

That was when Leonidas had taken a desperate gamble. Since a 

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king could take the Guard anywhere he ordered, Leonidas had madea last attempt to orce the Council’s hand by announcing that i they  would not give him the army at once, he would march north imme-

diately with the Guard alone. To his dismay, they had agreed.Three hundred men against a million! Well, three hundred Spartiates and maybe twenty times that

number o allies against the million. A stray cat trotted purposeully but with lowered head along the

side o the nearest barracks, disappearing into the next alley. A mousehung limply rom either side o her mouth. It was still twitching 

and let a trail o blood on the cobbles. Yet even a mouse, Leonidasthought, when cornered will stand and ght. They would ght.Still, since he was allowed only three hundred Spartiates to hold

Thermopylae until the army arrived ater the Karneia, he couldn’ttake the Guard. They were all young men, the majority unmarried,all but a handul childless. Casualties were inevitable while waiting or the promised three-thousand-strong army to arrive. Leonidas didnot want to have the extinction o any amily on his conscience. So he

had asked permission to substitute Guardsmen with volunteers romamong the citizens with living sons. The ephors had agreed.

Leonidas expected about a thousand volunteers. He calculatedthat i he had a thousand men to choose rom, he would be able toput together the balanced orce he needed. He needed both canny veterans and enthusiastic youths. He needed men good at doggeddeense, but also men capable o a quick sortie or a night raid. He

needed men who cared more about the reedom o their amilies thantheir own lives, and that meant men who loved  their amilies. Heneeded men who were prepared to die—but only ater taking a heavy toll on the enemy rst.

Oh, yes, he knew what he needed in principle, but how was heto select the men in act? How was he supposed to walk down a line o men he’d known rom childhood—men who’d sweated andbled beside him in the Argolid, youths he’d mentored as eirenes, men

 whose daughters sang and danced with his own, and men whose sons went to school with Pleistarchos—and decide who he was going tothrow in ront o the Persian host like bait?

Eventually, they would all ght. They would all take blood or

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blood when the time came. And every one o them—no matter whom he chose—was a trained soldier.

But because he’d ailed to prevail in Council, only three hundred

 would be squinting into the sunlight to watch or the darkening that indicated a new volley o arrows. Only three hundred wouldstand in the murderous sun, shield to shield, while sweat pouredrom their straining bodies until their eet were churning mud ratherthan the dust o summer-baked earth. Only three hundred would besplattered with blood amid the screaming and the groaning o thedying—risking their limbs, their eyes, and their lives while the others

remained with their wives and children, singing paeans and cheering the grape-runners and easting in the nine ceremonial tents o theKarneia …

 Was he supposed to pick the three hundred men like the helotschose a sacricial lamb? For the beauty o their bodies? Was hesupposed to select the best Sparta had to oer? Or should he do theopposite, and take with him those that Sparta could best aord tolose?

Leonidas realized he was not prepared to risk the latter. I he took the worst and they ailed when it mattered most, Gorgo and Agiatis,no less than all the other women and children o Sparta, would pay the price. No, he had to take the best, to ensure they could hold Ther-mopylae until the ull army reinorced them.

He picked up the pace and turned the corner to enter TyrtaiosSquare, where he had requested the volunteers to muster. Instantly 

he was taken aback by the glare o sun refected rom bronze. Thevolunteers had drawn up across the square in ull panoply. Althoughthey stood at ease, with hoplons resting on their knees and helmetsshoved back to expose their aces, they wore bronze ghting armorand red cloaks. The sti black horsehair crests bristled proudly romtheir helmets.

Magnicent as they appeared, however, they were a merehandul—ar ewer than the one thousand men Leonidas expected.

Making a quick count o the ranks and les, he realized that exactly three hundred men awaited him. That could be no coincidence.Someone had made the selection or him. He rowned. He did not

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intend to let whoever it was get away with that! He would demand tosee the complete list o volunteers.

He had been spotted. A voice called the men to attention. With

remarkable unison or an ad hoc unit, the shields came to the ready.But Leonidas was now close enough to distinguish the aces underthe helmets o the ront rank. He halted abruptly, unable to move a step closer.

Dienekes stepped orward smartly. “Sir. May I present the threehundred volunteers o your Advance Guard, all athers o living sons.”

“And all my riends. Is not one o my enemies willing to deend

Greece?”“On the contrary, sir. Even your brother Brotus and your nephew Pausanias volunteered, but we turned them away.”

“Just how many volunteers were there?” Leonidas looked at himsuspiciously.

“1,359—not counting these men.”“You sent 1,359 men away?”“That’s right, sir.”

“That was not what I told you to do,” Leonidas told him in a low,ominous voice. “I told you to muster the volunteers—not to usurpmy prerogative o selecting the Advance Guard.” Leonidas was begin-ning to get angry, and his voice carried to the ront rank.

“Leo.” Alkander broke ranks to come up beside Dienekes. “It wasour decision,” he said sotly.

“Who do you mean by that?” Leonidas snapped back. He did

not want Alkander to come north with him. The risk was too great.He wanted him here in Sparta so he could be with Gorgo, Pleistar-chos, and Agiatis when the news came that he was dead. He wanted Alkander to be the ather Agiatis would need when she was oldenough to marry. He was counting on Alkander standing by Gorgoand Pleistarchos in the years to come, when Pleistarchos would be a boy king with too ew riends and too many enemies. And even aterhe was a man, Pleistarchos would need the advice o the utterly loyal

and prooundly trustworthy Alkander.“The men in the ront rank,” Alkander answered.Leonidas glanced at them again. The others were still standing at

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attention, eyes xed straight ahead. They were each in their way thebest Sparta had to oer—even battered Prokles.

 Alkander continued. “We chased Brotus away with insults and

mocked Pausanias. A couple hundred others let with them to protestour rudeness. Then we put our case to the remaining men. We saidthey would all have the chance to show their courage soon enough. Ater all, the main body o troops—three thousand strong—is dueto march out at the end o the Karneia; that’s only ten days away. We pointed out that this Advance Guard was in eect your personalguard, and that it was only right that the men closest to you be

allowed to serve in it.”“Why?” Leonidas asked. “Do you think I want to drag all o youdown to Hades with me?”

“No. But nor will we let you ace your death alone.”“I’ll hardly be alone among three hundred Spartiates—not to

mention the perioikoi and allies!” His distress made his deep voicerough; to the rankers at the back, who could not catch his words, itsounded like the growl o an angry lion.

 Alkander did not answer directly; he just shook his head. “Youmay have made the decision to die on your own, but you have noright to tell us we cannot be beside you when it happens.”

“Damn it! I am your king! I’ll choose my own damn bodyguard!”Leonidas growled more loudly still.

“For the better part o your lie you have been one o us—andproud o it,” Alkander countered calmly. He had oreseen this reaction

and was prepared with his arguments. “As Brotus has never orgottenor orgiven, you are king because we made you king. No matter how much o Herakles’ blood runs in your veins, or how important it isto you that your son becomes the next Agiad king, you are still one o us. We turned away men who wanted to serve their king —in order toretain those who wanted to serve you. We will go with you, Leonidas,and die with you i need be, not as your subjects—but as your peers.”

It took a moment or Leonidas to get sucient control o his

emotions to be sure he could speak. Then he nodded, took a deepbreath, and managed to say: “You are right. The best part o my lie I was no more and no less than a Spartan Peer.”

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C hapter 1

 the Boar sLayer 

“but it  wouLd  be exciting to go to war!” Chambias admitted tohis riend Lychos with a grin, as he let his stallion stretch out his neck.

The two Corinthian youths, sons o leading amilies, were retur-ning rom Acrocorinth, where they had been trying to get a glimpse o 

the Spartan army. The Spartans had invoked the deensive treaty withCorinth and her other allies that required the allies to ollow whereverSparta led. For days now, allied contingents had been pouring intoCorinth in response to the Spartan summons. Punctually at the starto the ull moon, the Spartans themselves arrived.

 As the sons o wealthy men on the brink o manhood, Chambiasand Lychos were enrolled as ephebes in the Corinthian cavalry, and

they took a keen interest in the impending war. They were particu-larly curious about the Spartans, because they fattered themselvesthat they understood “a thing or two” about things military, and thereputation o the Spartan army was unmatched anywhere in Hellas.They wanted to see it or themselves.

 And so, taking their fashiest, most high-strung horses andcarrying their javelins to underline their status as combatants, the twoyoung men had set out to inspect the Spartan camp. They dressed in

bright, patterned chitons to show o their status and wore their shortcavalry capes, called chlamys, which futtered straight out when they galloped They also wore broad-brimmed leather hats and boots thatlaced halway up their shins—all o the best quality.

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They were soon disappointed. Unlike the troops o the otherPeloponnesian allies, the Spartans set up a camp outside the ortressand then put up sentries that prohibited entry to the camp. Lychos

and Chambias had been turned away.The day being young and the weather good, however, they elected

to ride around the back o the camp into the surrounding countrysideto get away rom the bustle, dust, and stink o the overcrowded city.They galloped a bit to wear o some o their rustration and energy,but now they let the horses walk on a long rein so they could talk.

Lychos didn’t share Chambias’ enthusiasm or the impending war

because his ather, the chie polemarch o Corinth, had returned roma symposium the previous night uming that the Spartans wantedto invade Attica and bring down Athens’ democratic government.Lychos eagerly explained to his riend what he had learned rom hisoutraged ather. “The only reason or this war is King Cleomenes’injured pride—or his loins. My ather says there are rumors that Cle-omenes has his eyes on the wie o the Athenian leader, Isagoras.”

“I thought Cleomenes was married to the most beautiul woman

in Sparta! Didn’t people talk o a second Helen?” Chambias counte-red.

“That was years ago! She’s had several children and is probably atand sagging now,” Lychos retorted with the wisdom o his nineteenyears, his views refecting the sum o his experience with women—hismother, grandmothers, and aunts.

Chambias nodded agreement, his experience being no dierent.

Lychos had inherited an interest in politics rom his ather,however, and he continued intensely, “What I don’t understand is why the Spartans have kings at all—much less two!”

“That’s because they are so pious,” Chambias answered, echoing his ather, chie priest o Apollo. “The Spartan kings are descendentrom Herakles, ater all, and to cast them out would be an insult tothe Gods.”

“But how can you have two men in command o an army? That

 would be like having two captains on a ship!” In addition to being thechie polemarch o Corinth, Lychos’ ather owned a trading empirethat depended on a feet o over a hundred ships. Lychos had sailed with his ather oten enough to understand command at sea. “What

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i the two kings disagree?” Lychos asked rhetorically, adding: “My ather says the present Spartan kings hate each other. Demaratus isvery jealous o Cleomenes, who he thinks is vain and takes too much

credit or everything.”“Which one was which?” Chambias asked. “They all looked the

same to me.” Chambias was thinking o the ranks o Spartan soldiers,all wearing red chitons under their bronze armor and red cloaks. Eventhe shields were identical, all bearing the lambda o Lacedaemon—except or those o the ocers, who had individual shields and whosecrests, rather than black, were white or striped.

“The two kings wear cross-crested helmets,” Lychos explained.“Crests that go rom ear to ear. They rode ahead o the Guard. Cle-omenes was on the right.”

“On the white stallion?” Chambias could picture him now.“Yes, exactly.”Chambias nodded thoughtully. As the sons o aristocrats, they 

 were both cavalrymen and connoisseurs o horsefesh. There was nodenying that the Spartan kings had been exceptionally well mounted:

something that surprised Chambias, who had always thought o theSpartans as inantrymen.

Lychos continued showing o his knowledge. “Cleomenes wason the fashier horse, but Demaratus won in the our-horse at the lastPythian Games, driving himsel. My ather predicts he will win againat Olympia.”

“They weren’t at all as I expected them to be,” Chambias

admitted, looking over at Lychos uncertainly. Lychos was a air youth with even eatures over a lithe body, toned to perection in the gym-nasium. Chambias was plumper, poorer, and not so sure o himsel.Chambias had only had one love aair, with a senior priest, and ithad been rather short and vaguely humiliating. Lychos, in contrast,had attracted a very rich, witty Athenian, the kind o lover who drew attention and could be politically useul in the uture. Chambias elta touch o jealousy. Lychos had everything: he was the heir to one o 

the greatest ortunes in a rich city, he was attractive, he was healthy and bright, and his ather adored him. Chambias had spent most o his lie trying to keep up with Lychos and always coming up short.

“What do you mean?” Lychos asked.

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Chambias shrugged uncomortably. He didn’t like Spartans. Hedidn’t like men who were so disciplined and unimaginative, men whodid everything in groups, men who were arrogant and sure o them-

selves. But until the day beore yesterday, he had never actually seenone. “Well, you know, they’re supposed to be taciturn and dour, butthey were laughing and singing even as they marched. And today they fooded the bathhouses just like everyone else. They don’t even—”

Chambias did not get a chance to nish his thought. Without warning his horse leaped sideways, reared up, and then spun aroundon its haunches, dumping Chambias on the ground. The youth

landed on his knee with an audible crack and blinding pain shotupward, but he had no time or it. A massive boar with coarse black hair and gigantic tusks was charging at him with such orce that theearth shook under his hooves.

Chambias saw his death in the malicious eyes o the black beast.Lychos fung himsel o his horse, grabbing his cavalry javelin

rom his back. He landed between the boar and his riend and hurledthe javelin with all his strength. It was a gallant but utile gesture. The

cavalry javelin was not designed to penetrate the tough hide o a boar.The javelin glanced o the boar’s shoulder without even slowing 

him down. An instant later, the boar rammed his tusks into Lychos’belly, and the youth crumpled orward.

The boar lited his head with Lychos draped across his now bloody tusks and shook his head rom side to side, with slow delibe-rate shakes. The beautiul gored youth screamed in agony as his guts

 were ravaged by each jerk.Chambias staggered to his eet, screaming. He tore his chlamyso his back and tried waving it at the boar in a renzied attemptto distract him. His riend’s blood was splattering everywhere as he waved his arms and legs helplessly and screamed in agony rom wherehe lay across the tusks o the boar.

Chambias could barely stand because o his shattered knee. Hisown two javelins had spilled onto the ground when he ell, and

they now lay out o reach. He had no other weapon on him but hisknie—a weapon ar too short to damage a boar o this size, even i he could have thrown it with accuracy. He knew he had no chance o saving his riend or himsel.

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Out o nowhere, two men appeared on the run. They pausedonly long enough to grasp what was happening, and then reversedtheir spears rom an underhand to an overhand grip and started

to advance on the still-raging boar with a deliberation that madeChambias scream at them. “Hurry! He can’t last much longer!Hurry!”

The two men ignored him. His riend was dying with each shakeo the boar’s massive head, yet the two men approached only with wary deliberation. Then, with a single exchanged glance, they raisedtheir spears in a double-handed grip. The sun glinted briefy on the

tips o the spearheads, and they brought their arms crashing down inalmost perect unison.The boar saw the danger too late. He managed to toss the limp

body o Lychos into the nearest gorse bush and turn toward his attak-kers, but by then they had already struck. The boar crumpled ontohis right haunch, but he was ar rom dead. Grunting his outrage, theboar shook his bloody tusks and failed wildly with his orelegs, trying to regain his ooting.

From out o the underbrush, the Spartans were suddenly joinedby a hound. She threw hersel into the ray without a second o hesi-tation. While the men impaled the boar, pinning it to the earth withthe weight o their bodies, the dog leaped onto the boar’s back andtried to bite down on the spine just behind the boar’s head. Yet the wild animal was not subdued.

It was now evident to Chambias that his rescuers had not come

prepared or boar hunting. They had attacked with ordinary warspears. These did not have a cross guard and were thinner, less sturdy.Chambias groaned in horror as he heard the unmistakable crack o a spear breaking.

“Hold him!” the man with the broken spear shouted urgently to his companion. The latter fung his weight orward onto his ownspear a second time, while his riend stepped back, reversed his spear,and used the butt end—the “lizard sticker”—to gore the boar a 

second time.This, too, ailed to kill the boar, who with an abrupt, twisting 

motion sent the dog catapulting through the air. The man with thelong spear gave a shout o alarm, realizing he could not hold the

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boar alone much longer, and instantly the man with the broken spearabandoned it to draw his sword.

 With alarm Chambias registered that the sword was ridiculously 

short; yet that did not deter the swordsman. The man lunged orwardand sideways—not, as Chambias expected, or the jugular, but to thrustthe sword deep into the chest cavity o the boar rom behind the rightelbow. He ran the sword in all the way to the hilt. The boar thrashedviolently with his orelegs one more time; but then the lie went out o his eyes, and he sank down on the ground with an audible thud.

The two strangers were breathing very hard and dripping sweat,

as they stared at the massive beast they had only with diculty managed to dispatch between them. Their red chitons and hima-tions identied them as Spartans, but Chambias could think only o his riend. “Lychos! Lychos!” He staggered orward, dragging hisinjured leg.

His cries and sobs o pain drew the attention o his rescuers, andthey went over to where Lychos had been fung. Together they retrie-ved the bloody body rom the bushes and stretched it out in the small

clearing. The hound, having recovered rom her toss into the bushes,ran rantically around them, panting in evident agitation.

“Is he alive?” Chambias asked, hobbling over painully.“Yes,” came the succinct answer; and then as Chambias got

nearer, he could hear and see or himsel that his riend moaned and writhed, trying to stanch the bleeding and pain in his abdomen.The two Spartans, meanwhile, had opened Lychos’ belt and sliced

through the Egyptian linen o his bright yellow chiton to get a look at the wound. Chambias tasted his lunch in his mouth as his riend’sinnards slithered out o the gaping wound. The Spartan who haddispatched the boar detly shoved the innards back inside the woundand held it rmly closed in a grip that made his knuckles go whiteunder the blood o boar and man mixed together. Meanwhile, theother set about tearing one o their red cloaks into bandage strips and winding these rmly around Lychos’ torso. Lychos screamed in pain

as they worked, but they ignored him or his own good. When they nished, a broad band o scarlet held the wound closed and slowedthe hemorrhaging. The second man then yanked o his himationand covered Lychos with it, tucking it in all around him and even

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 winding it around his head so that he looked like a corpse, with only his ace exposed.

“Will he live?” Chambias asked.

The Spartans looked over their shoulders and up at Chambias.To Chambias’ astonishment, the two men looked hardly older thanhimsel. One possessed the kind o classical eatures that the sculptorsliked to put on statues o Apollo. He had short, curly blond hair,bright blue eyes, and gentle lips. Chambias couldn’t help thinking he must have had lovers ghting over his avors as a boy. The other was less beautiul, with light-brown, coarse hair and green-gold eyes;

but he was taller and broader than his companion, and he was theone who had thrust his short sword deep enough into the boar to killit. It was also this young man who now replied. Without answering Chambias’ question, he stated, “You’d better sit down and let us tendto your knee.” He nodded toward Chambias’ leg, already discoloredand swelling.

Chambias didn’t have the strength to protest. He hobbled towarda large boulder where, with an involuntary gasp, he eased himsel 

down. The Spartans ollowed, the blond already working detly to ripup what was let o his cloak.. When he started bandaging Chambias’knee, however, the pain was so intense that Chambias had to bitedown hard to keep rom crying out. Everyone knew the Spartansscorned anyone who couldn’t endure pain with equanimity, andChambias did not want to disgrace himsel or his city. Despite whathe wanted, however, he was trembling all over, and he could not hide

that. He stammered an apology, “I don’t know what’s the matter withme. I’m not usually like this.” While the blond Spartan continued with the bandaging, the

other tossed Chambias a smile and remarked, “Hopeully, you don’tregularly get yoursel nearly killed! Don’t worry about it.”

Chambias elt guilty or his earlier hostility to the Spartans.“Thank you. We would both be dead i you hadn’t happened along.”

The Spartan’s expression grew serious again. “Your riend needs a 

surgeon. Are you rom around here?”Chambias nodded and then, remembering his manners, added,

“I’m Chambias, son o Pytheas; and that is Lychos, son o Archi-lochos.”

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The Spartans finched—as i they recognized the name—butmade no comment. The spokesman merely asked, “Will your horsesrun home and alert someone about the accident, or should we chase

ater them?”“Mine will probably run home. Lychos’ mare is better about

staying.”“I’ll see i Beggar and I can catch her,” the darker Spartan said to his

companion; and whistling to his hunting dog, he set o. She was oneo the big Kastorian hounds bred in Lacedaemon and admired aroundthe world or their acute sense o smell, tenacity, and intelligence. This

one had an ugly white patch on her ace that would have made a  wealthy Corinthian scorn her, Chambias noted; but she had certainly attacked the boar earlessly. Now she bounded ater her master with aneagerness and agility that was both beautiul and touching.

Chambias watched man and hound disappear behind the stuntedtrees and then turned awkwardly to the remaining Spartan. He oundit disconcerting that because Spartans all wore identical red chitonsand cloaks, he could not tell i this young man was rich or poor, the

son o someone powerul or powerless. All his lie up to now he hadbeen able to tell at a glance whether he was dealing with someone o consequence. Now he could not.

The strange young man drew a goatskin o his back and oeredit to Chambias, who accepted grateully, only now conscious o how thirsty he was.

“Are you with the Corinthian army?” the Spartan asked.

“Not yet; we’re both ephebes—in the cavalry,” Chambias addedproudly. “And you?”“Peers,” the Spartan answered simply—and inadequately rom

Chambias’ point o view—but the yapping o a dog distracted themand they turned in the direction o the noise. A ew moments laterthe other Spartan reappeared, leading Lychos’ black mare. “I you canclimb up on that rock,” he suggested to Chambias, “you should beable to mount despite your leg.”

Chambias looked at the indicated rock, at his riend’s sweating andclearly nervous mare, and then down at his knee. The mere thoughto trying to mount and ride with this knee made him nauseous. I the horse spooked and he was thrown a second time, it would be

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unbearable. He shook his head. “Can’t either o you ride or help? Ican direct you to my ather’s house. It is directly behind the Templeto Apollo; he is the chie priest.” Chambias elt it was important that

these Spartans realize that even though he was not as rich and impor-tant as Lychos, he was not a nobody.

The Spartans glanced at one another, and or a moment Chambiaseared that neither o these ordinary Spartans was capable o riding;most Corinthian oot soldiers had little skill with horses. But then thedarker o the two decided, “You had better go, Alkander. Beggar andI have a better chance o ghting o any predators.”

The Spartan addressed as Alkander, the Apollo-like blond,rowned and seemed inclined to contradict, but the other Spartanshook his head once and the blond accepted the decision. Wordlessly and eortlessly he vaulted onto the mare beore turning to Chambiasor more instructions. These given, he trotted away, leaving Chambias with the other Spartan.

The latter went at once to check on Lychos, but quickly turnedback to Chambias. “Could you lend your riend your chlamys? He is

dangerously cold.”“O course.” Chambias was ashamed he had not noticed himsel.

The Spartans had, ater all, already shredded one o their cloaks orbandages and wrapped Lychos in the second. Chambias pulled hisshort cape o his back and the Spartan came and took it rom him.The Spartan seemed to hesitate as he noticed that the garment was o the nest wool, dyed a costly turquoise blue with an elaborate border.

It was obviously very expensive. “It’s all right,” Chambias insisted.The Spartan returned to Lychos and, kneeling on one knee besidehim, careully tucked the chlamys around him.

Now that he was without a cloak, Chambias noted that the sun was behind the western mountains and it was getting chilly. He lookedagain at Lychos, who was rolling his head back and orth in evidentpain. Chambias registered or the rst time that it could take hoursor someone to get here with a stretcher or litter. By then Lychos

might be dead. Even i the bleeding had slowed, only the Gods knew  what damage had been done to his insides. It would also soon be dark and, as the Spartan had already hinted, there were other wild beaststhat might be drawn by the smell o blood.

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The Spartan seemed to sense what was going through Chambias’head, because he abruptly broke in on his thoughts. “Alkander is a good rider, and we visited the Temple to Apollo this morning. He

 will nd your ather’s house without trouble. Meanwhile, it’s a nenight. The only thing I’m worried about is that the carcass o the boarmay draw scavengers.” He pointed to the wheeling vultures overhead.Finishing his thought, he added, “I’ll build a re to warm your riend,keep the wild animals away, and help Alkander nd us again. Do youhave bears or wildcats here?”

“No bears; but the cats, although small, are very vicious. And

there are wolves, o course.”The Spartan nodded and started to collect dried wood, o whichthere was plenty. As he worked, Chambias noticed that he was holding his let arm cradled at his waist and worked only with his right hand.

“Are you hurt?” Chambias asked as the Spartan went down onone knee to build the re, still cradling his let arm.

“The boar broke my let orearm as I went in or the kill. That’s why I sent Alkander or help.”

Chambias was ashamed to think that they were both suering rom broken bones and the other was doing all the work. “Can Ihelp?” he asked.

“I you could strike the fint it would be a big help,” the Spartanadmitted with a smile.

Chambias looked blank.“It’s here. In my hip pouch.” The Spartan indicated the leather

pouch that hung rom the right-hand side o his belt.Chambias hobbled over, reached inside, and withdrew the fint;but the Spartan had to explain how to use it, and it took Chambiasseveral tries beore he managed to strike a spark. It took many moretries beore he ignited the pile o dry leaves and twigs the Spartan hadso careully prepared. “I’ve never done this beore,” Chambias said,deensively excusing his obvious incompetence. “We have slaves tolight our res.”

The Spartan nodded ambiguously, blowing gently to stoke there and then eeding it rom the pile o kindling he had collected.Only ater it was going solidly did he again turn his attention to theCorinthian, suggesting, “We might as well eat some o that boar.”

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This was going too ar. It wasn’t just that Chambias hadn’t theaintest idea o how to go about faying a carcass; he also did notthink it a proper task or a youth o his station. No priest sullied his

hands with the meat o the sacricial beasts. His ather employed noless than three proessional butchers to fay and let the sacricialanimals. They were skilled men, but all were slaves or ormer slaves.

The Spartan apparently understood his look o outrage andshrugged. “I you aren’t hungry, we don’t need to bother. I can go without.” He then settled down to eed the re.

“Have you spent the night out in the open beore?” Chambias

asked, glancing nervously at the darkening sky.“Many times; haven’t you?”Chambias shook his head. It had never occurred to him that

spending the night out in the open might be something desirable.In his experience only beggars, vagabonds, and shepherds slept outat night. It was a mark o status that he had never done so—butsomehow this Spartan had managed to turn things on their head andmake it sound like a decit o some kind.

So they sat in silence, the Spartan eeding wood to the re withone hand while his bitch gnawed happily at the carcass, and Chambiasmiserably listening to his best riend die.

 8 

“Master! Master! A catastrophe!” The slave burst into the sympo-sium, at which his master was hosting a dozen important guests. “A 

horrible accident!” the slave gasped out. Archilochos’ symposia were amous or the quality o the ood,entertainment, and conversation. Wealthy, well-traveled, and activein politics, Archilochos prided himsel on employing the best cook and serving the most coveted wines in all Corinth, because he oundboth useul bait to pull men into his circle. He was, at the moment,exceedingly pleased to have snared one o the Spartan kings, Dema-ratus.

King Demaratus was not a handsome man. He was short andbowlegged and had a very large nose. Aware o this, he was not vainabout his person, and he dressed in the practical clothes o a commonranker in the Spartan army, without any hint o his royal status. He

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braided his hair rom the roots, as was custom, and bound the tips with tarred twine like marines did.

Despite the supercial dierences between Demaratus and the

elegant and cultured Archilochos, they ound common ground in theiropposition to the other Spartan king’s plans to make war on Athens.They met tonight to discuss ways o putting an end to the ill-advisedadventure; and Archilochos deplored the unprecedented interruptionby a slave, who had no business in the symposium or any reason.

“Stop babbling!” Archilochos snapped.But the old slave was Lychos’ tutor, the man who had watched

over him when he was growing up, and he was ar too distressed tocalm down. “Lychos has been gored by a wild boar. They say he wastossed around in the air, speared on the tusks o the boar, and his guts were spilling out o him!”

“Who says? What are you talking about?” Archilochos started toocus on what the man was saying.

“Master Lychos is bleeding to death! He—”“Calm down and give me a coherent report!” Archilochos ordered,

alarm rather than outraged propriety lending his voice an edge now.Except or Demaratus, Archilochos’ guests were all Corinthian

aristocrats who knew their host’s son personally; they exchanged hor-ried glances. Even Demaratus knew that his host had lost one son atsea, and guessed that this youth was Archilochos’ heir.

“He was riding beyond Acrocorinth when his horse shied at thesight o a boar, and he was thrown to the ground, and the boar gored

him!” The slave was trying desperately to get his master to do morethan stare at him in horror.“Where is he?” Archilochos demanded.“In the orest on the ar side o Acrocorinth!”“He’s still out there? But how did you hear o this?” Archilochos

demanded, rearing up rom his couch.“A Spartan! A Spartan ound him and killed the boar, but he

could not bring him back. He only just managed to capture his horse

and ride to Pytheas or help.”“Pytheas?”“O course!” The slave was impatient with his master’s slowness.

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“Lychos was riding out with Chambias, and Chambias gave instruc-tions to his own house.”

“Why didn’t he come himsel?” Archilochos demanded in ter-

ried outrage, his anger an expression o his unathomable ear. Hecould not lose this son, too!

“Chambias broke his knee alling rom his horse. Lychos—”“They let him out there? Bleeding to death?” Archilochos was

grabbing or his himation, umbling or his sandals.Demaratus had never seen a grown man look so lost and helpless.“The other Spartan and Chambias stayed with him, but we must

get help to him! Master, we must get the surgeon!”“Don’t give me orders, slave!” Archilochos snarled back, and only then remembered his guests. He turned to them, unseeing, muttered“excuse me,” and was gone, the old slave in his wake.

The other men collected their himations and slipped their eetinto their sandals. The owner o the fute girls shooed them away  while they chattered excitedly like a fock o chickens. Demaratus,however, took his time. While the other guests departed, he tied his

own sandals and deliberately wrapped his thick red himation aroundhim. Then he set his cross-crested helmet on the back o his head, thenosepiece on his orehead, and ollowed the others out.

 Just as he had expected, he ound his host in the outer courtyard.By now Archilochos had sent or a surgeon and ordered his horsetacked up, while a crowd o slaves collected in the courtyard carrying stretchers and torches. Demaratus moved calmly into the maelstrom

o activity swirling around Archilochos. Archilochos scowled in annoyance at the Spartan king. “Forgiveme, but this must take precedence—”

Demaratus waved him silent. “O course. I merely wanted toreassure you. I two Spartiates were at the scene o the accident, thenyou can be sure they did all that could be done to save your son.”

“You don’t even know who they were! How can you be so sure?Ordinary soldiers are no surgeons!”

“Spartiates have gone through the agoge, and they are huntsmen.They know how to treat wounds caused by sword and spear, claws,teeth, and tusks, as well as how to handle other common injuries

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rom sprains to broken bones. They will have done all that is possibleor your son until a surgeon can see him.”

 Archilochos was in no mood to listen, so Demaratus stepped back 

and let him go, but he called or his own horse. His helot attendantcame orward at once. Having anticipated the order, he had already tacked both their horses. Demaratus swung himsel easily onto theanimal’s back and ollowed in the wake o Archilochos’ noisy party  with their many torches.

They did not have ar to ride. Just behind the huge Doric templeto Apollo, they stopped beside a house ablaze with torchlight. All the

neighbors had lit torches, too, and slaves lled the street; the womencrowded the balconies, shrouded in their shawls so that only theireyes showed.

 Archilochos was met at the door by a man with long white hairand a fowing beard, who assured Archilochos that his own rescueparty had set out a quarter o an hour earlier. Archilochos, however, was not calmed, and insisted on ollowing them. Proceeding at a  jogging pace along the long avenue leading out o the city to the

 west, they overtook the priest’s rescue party beore it had passed outo the city walls.

Demaratus tagged along, unseen by the others, until he suddenly cantered past the rest o the party to the young man who was leading them. He drew up sharply, his horse’s hooves skidding on the paving stones. “Alkander! You? You killed this boar?”

“It was Leonidas who killed him. I merely pinned him down.”

They gazed at one another while the Corinthians came to a haltin conusion.“What is this? We must hurry!” Archilochos demanded, riding up

beside Demaratus.“Indeed. And so we shall. Let me introduce my wie’s brother,

 Alkander.” Demaratus hesitated, but then he decided it would even-tually come to light anyway. “And you need not ear that your son’srescuers were ‘ordinary soldiers.’ The young man who killed the boar

is none other than Leonidas, son o Anaxandridas and brother toKing Cleomenes.”

 8 

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King Cleomenes was happy that Demaratus had accepted theinvitation to dine with the Corinthian polemarch. As a result, he was the only king present in the royal mess. This gave him undivided

precedence in everything, and enabled him to dictate what wine waspoured and in what proportion it was mixed with water, to choose what songs (i any) were sung, and to dominate the conversation.

Cleomenes was thirty-three. Like his co-monarch, he was not a handsome man, though it was harder to say why. Cleomenes wastall, with no obvious blemish, and yet neither his eatures nor hislimbs seemed to t together graceully. His orehead was too high,

his chin too short, his shoulders too narrow, and his arms too long.He had huge knees over weak calves. But the worst o his eatures wasthe way his eyes wandered, never settling on anything or long andrarely looking another man in the eye—as i he wanted to avoid thedisapproval, shock, or anger he so oten saw refected back at him inthe aces o others.

Tonight was no exception. He either did not notice, or did notcare, that the aces o the men around him were grim or disapproving 

as he drank more and more. Beore too long the others had ceaseddrinking altogether, and shortly thereater the ve regimental com-manders, the lochagoi, excused themselves one ater the other.

This let only two priests. Yet even as Cleomenes addressed Aste-ropus, the younger o the two priests, Cleomenes did not actually look at him. Instead he gazed at the tent wall over his head. “So what’s this I hear about the Corinthians having an omen oretelling 

Corinthian triumph?” Asteropus had a long, acne-scarred ace, and he stroked his shortbeard as he considered his king. Truth to tell, he did not like Cleome-nes. He thought the king impious, arrogant, and excessively tempe-ramental—although there was no doubt about his raw intelligence orhis high level o education. Cleomenes could cut through superfuousdiscourse like a knie through butter, and he hated illogical argument. Asteropus had learned to admire that, because he was an ambitious

young man and Cleomenes had oered him a rare opportunity—tobe the Agiad representative to Delphi.

 Asteropus had snatched at the opportunity not only because it was a ascinating job, but because he had not had many successes

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in his short lie. He had been one o those boys and youths who, nomatter how hard he tried, inevitably lost at contests o strength andspeed and dexterity. He was short-sighted and had spent most o his

years in the agoge slogging miserably behind the leaders. It had nothelped that he could not sing or dance, either, as those were skills theSpartans admired at least as much as skill at sports. Only his wits hadsometimes won him praise and respect; but once he had joined thearmy at age twenty-one, even that no longer mattered so much. Inthe army, skill at arms and physical courage eclipsed all other virtues. Asteropus hated army lie.

Cleomenes had rescued him rom it. He had reached out his boun-tiul hand and appointed Asteropus his representative to Apollo, androm that day orward Asteropus was exempt rom military service.

 Asteropus knew he had attracted the king’s attention because,despite his mere twenty-ve years o age, he had demonstrated anuncanny ability to read the omens o the Gods—as i his physicalshort-sightedness had been replaced with divine insight. When stillin the agoge, or example, he had predicted a disastrous thunder-

storm that killed ve boys during the Phouxir. And just this spring he had oretold the disaster that would strike Cleomenes’ hal-brot-her, Dorieus. The latter in particular brought him Cleomenes’ avor,because the Agiad king hated his brother Dorieus—even more thanhe hated his co-regent King Demaratus.

Dorieus had been born to Cleomenes’ ather, King Anaxandridas,by his rst wie—but only after the ephors had made Anaxandridas

take Cleomenes’ mother, Chilonis, as his second wie. Although Cle-omenes had been born a year beore Dorieus, Dorieus had been sucha paragon o manly virtue while growing up that there had been a action that supported his claim to the throne, saying he had prece-dence since he was son to the rst (and implicitly only legal) wie o their ather. At Anaxandridas’ death, the ephors and Council had ruledin Cleomenes’ avor and the Assembly had ratied the decision—albeit by a small (and some said dubious) majority. Outraged by the

slight, Dorieus let Sparta in a rage, unwilling to accept Cleomenes ashis king. He rst tried to set up a colony in Arica, but was expelledby the Carthaginians. The oracle at Delphi then advised him to go toSicily and ound a city in honor o Herakles, promising him success

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i he did so. With only a handul o Spartiates but many perioikoi, hedeparted. Cleomenes had been glad to see him go; but he also earedthat Dorieus, i successul abroad, might return to challenge Cleome-

nes at home—this time with an army at his back.Cleomenes’ worries increased incrementally as news o Dorieus’

successes ltered back to Sparta. Dorieus appeared to be growing richer and more powerul by the month. Soon alarming news arrived:Dorieus’ Spartan colony was considered so powerul that he had beenasked to assist in local wars—just as Sparta did at home. Cleome-nes could picture the feet that would land on the western shore o 

the Peloponnese and sweep through Messenia, rallying his subjectsto revolt against him. His nightmares became so dreadul that Cle-omenes consulted Sparta’s senior seer, Hekataios, but the answer wasambiguous and unsatisying. He had then, almost as an insult to theolder man, asked Hekataios’ barely mature son, Asteropus, what hethought Dorieus would do next.

In a fash o inspiration rom his “second sight,” Asteropus hadreplied without hesitation. “You have nothing to ear rom Dorieus,

or he will pay or transgressing the instructions o the oracle. He willleave his body on the eld o honor and be in Hades as soon as hetries to use his arms or a purpose other than that assigned him by  Apollo.” Within just two months a ship rom Sicily put in with thenews that Dorieus was indeed dead, and Asteropus had secured the job o Cleomenes’ personal representative at Delphi.

Unortunately, he had no fash o inspiration now. The Gods

 were ckle, ater all, and he did not have an answer that would calmCleomenes’ unease.“Well?” the king prodded impatiently, reaching again or his

 wine. “What is all this nonsense about? Our allies share our victoriesand deeats. The Corinthians cannot win a victory without us. Surely they can see that?”

“Undoubtedly—i only the signs we had were not so adverse.”“So why are they adverse?” Cleomenes demanded.

 Asteropus was relieved by the arrival o a helot messenger. Theman entered the tent and respectully came to a halt beore Cleome-nes, his eyes down and his hands by his side.

“What is it?” Cleomenes demanded irritably.

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“The surgeon sent me to inorm you that your brother has beeninjured by a wild boar, sir.”

“Which brother?” Cleomenes wanted to know. Even with

Dorieus dead, he still had two younger hal brothers, likewise sons o his ather’s rst wie, and so rom Cleomenes’ point o view untrust- worthy.

“Leonidas,” the helot answered.“Oh. Will he live?”The helot glanced up, startled. “He has only a broken arm, sir.”“So why the uss?”

The helot treated the question as rhetorical, and withdrew.“Fool!” Cleomenes commented to Asteropus with contempt. “Heshouldn’t be out hunting boar i he doesn’t know how to keep out o their way.” Cleomenes reached again or his wine.

But in that moment Asteropus had one o his fashes o inspira-tion, and he warned Cleomenes, “Do not underestimate Leonidas.He may prove ar more dangerous to you than Dorieus ever was.”

“Little Leo? Nonsense. Cleombrotus is the one to watch. He

covets my throne. Leonidas is as docile as a lamb. Lambonidas wouldbe a better name or him!” Cleomenes liked his own joke and laughedat it.

 Asteropus let it go. He did not eel it was his job to contradict theking. He had done his duty by warning him.

 8 

Cleombrotus was Leonidas’ twin brother. The news that Leonidashad killed a wild boar reached him in his tent, where he was dicing  with his seven mess-mates. Hearing that Leonidas had broken an armin the encounter, Cleombrotus snorted and remarked contemptu-ously, “Lucky someone was around to rescue him rom worse harm!”

 When they were little, Cleombrotus had been signicantly biggerand stronger than Leonidas and had used both advantages to bully his brother. In the agoge they had been separated and rarely met; but

Cleombrotus continued to excel, particularly at boxing, eventually  winning in the youth competitions at Olympia. He had won thehonors at the Feast o Artemis Orthia as well, and he carried thattitle and trophy or lie. Throughout these early years he had looked

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down on his smaller twin, sneering at him or ailing to be elected herdleader and or ailing to win honors or Olympic laurels. But last yeareverything had turned upside down and bitter, when both youths were

twenty-year-old instructors at the agoge, called eirenes. Cleombrotuslost his command ater a case o unprecedented insubordination by hisunit, resulting in its being turned over to his twin brother.

“That’s not what Alkander is saying,” noted the man who hadbrought Brotus the news.

“Alkander? That trembler! He p-p-probably shit at the sight o the b-b-boar and didn’t notice what was g-g-going on.” Cleombrotus

imitated the stutter that Alkander had had as a boy, to the amusemento his companions. When they stopped laughing, however, the messenger put him

right. “You’d better come see the carcass rst, Brotus. It’s huge! Ittook our men to carry it, and the tusks are at least two eet long. Alkander held it down with his spear while Leonidas stabbed it withhis sword. They weren’t hunting and didn’t have a proper boar spear with teeth—just their standard-issue war spears, which were still in it

 when Demaratus got there.”“Demaratus? What the hell was Leonidas doing hunting with the

Eurypontids?” Cleombrotus made it sound like treason.No one bothered to answer, because everyone knew that Leonidas

and Alkander had been riends since boyhood, long beore Alkander’ssister married Demaratus. “Come and see or yoursel,” Brotus’comrade suggested sensibly, and they all scrambled out o the tent to

take a look.Torches were orbidden in a Spartan camp, no less than in thecity o Sparta, but they didn’t have much trouble nding the source o commotion. It was, ater all, not yet late, and most men had not goneto sleep. The arrival o Demaratus with this immense trophy hadbrought many men out o their tents, and word had rapidly spreadthat Leonidas had killed it.

Despite himsel, Cleombrotus was impressed. The boar was the

largest specimen he had ever seen. Nor could he comort himsel thatthe beast was old, decrepit, or lame. Not a hair was gray, and there was not one other injury on its body besides the ones sticky withresh blood. The boar was muscular, with bristling black hair and

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eyes that—even in death—were ull o power and contempt or lessercreatures. How could Little Leo have vanquished such a beast? Forthe rst time in his lie, it occurred to Brotus that Leonidas might

have qualities he had ailed to notice up to now. Leonidas, he registe-red, might be more than he appeared to be.