then burning Lakonia. At that news most of the Spartan garrisons fled. But then even more thousands of the southern helots rose up and boasted that they had cut down five hundred
The column of liberators was now surrounded on both sides by cheering helots. They threw the men bread, onions, and cheese as they passed by. Here and there they had a bound Spartan who was stripped, helot-style, shaved bald, and slapped as he was dragged through the two long lines of the beating crowd. On a few bare trees there were Spartans hanging-strung up by their own red capes and swaying in the hard north wind. Some had placards around their necks, declaring DOULOI TON MESSENION-slaves of the Messenians. In the bedlam, Melon turned to Ainias and yelled over the din, “Begin the work of Proxenos. Remember, thousands to feed. Where is the genius of Alkidamas? Where is Chion? Time is short if we don’t want riot and murder on our hands.”
Ainias viewed all he saw with an icy heart, but he noticed far more than did his generals. “I see no starving helots, but plenty of food and markets. Someone again has been doing our work for us. Marshal these men as I did the workers at Thespiai. Tomorrow we will have Epaminondas parley with the officers and get the builders to organize the work brigades. We get the walls up-and then never have to come back.”
The next day a group of Messenians made their way to Epaminondas, who was already this first day issuing orders to mark out a camp. Thousands of the army to the rear who were still on the foothills of Taygetos would find shelter and food when they arrived in the black cold night. A fat fellow in a dirty wool cloak and hood walked up to the head of the column, with a taller dark man at his side, who had neither beard nor hair. The heavier one started, “I am Lelex. My bald friend is Tisis. Messenians we claim to be, and leaders as well. We look for Epaminondas of the Thebans, and the Argive Epiteles. These generals sent word these last months to assemble here at Ithome. We did that. Look, thousands of us wait. Neto of Thespiai, whatever world she is in, said that only these two can found the new capital at Messene. And that it must be on Ithome, here where we have assembled to build our city. Ten days ago we rushed the Spartans. When Antikrates fled last month, much of his army did, too. Lord Kuniskos was left on his own to get out with the young and old hoplites. Most of them went nowhere. Whether Kuniskos escaped into the upper forests, no one knows. But a new man-eater roams on foul Taygetos and may have him in his belly. The last few days fewer hike up the mountain as in the past-and even fewer return.”
Epiteles was sent for, back with the Argive
Lelex slowly replied. “Neto had told us there is an urn, a stash somewhere with the sacred books of the ancient hero Aristomenes who left directions how to build the city of his visions. Only she and you and Epiteles know the whereabouts of these plans. But we can’t begin raising this polis until these written prophecies are found.”
“Yes, I know,” Epaminondas answered. “Epiteles tonight when the moon rises will walk the slopes and find this sign, as Artemis has told you. Your Nikon and Doreios will help. Then look for us tomorrow at midmorning here where we will pitch our permanent camp.”
The Argive generals under Epiteles joined Epaminondas for their late meal of garlic, dried apples, and, for the Dorians, some salted goat. As they parleyed, Ainias went out among the company commanders. “Women must cook. Make shelters as the men cut and drag the stone down the hill. We hear there are a thousand oxen and as many horse. I see they have wagons and rollers, all hidden away on the mountains and already coming down.” The more Epaminondas noted the organization, the food, the quiet here, the more he puzzled how the man-foots had routed the Spartans and made themselves so ready to start to build. He turned to Pelopidas. “This is all the work of Alkidamas. For a sophist he seems to know something about stone. He plans to drag and roll the blocks down from the quarries, right up to the walls. Our Proxenos figured that we could cut our rock on Ithome and have the downhill walls up in three months and be home before the grain heads droop.”
Epiteles scoffed. “They’ll all loot. So we better kill the first hundred to remind the others we’re hoplites, not dancing girls. Do it the Argive way. Hang a few of ’em from that oak over there as a sign to the others. The Spartans left, and about ten thousand no-goods will come out of the shadows, wolves from the hills to butcher the sheep. They’ve been killing hoplites this year, and they won’t stop just because we’re freeing them. Whether they kill enemy Spartans, or their benefactors the Argives, they care little. Blood is blood to these waylayers. So we kill the worst of them, peace returns, and the city builds. Do it right at the very beginning and
Epaminondas let him go. “We need more brutes like that. Our Ainias counts as only one, and he needs help to bang a few heads.” Then a silence came over the meeting as all turned toward a procession of torches coming into the camp from Ithome way. In walked priestesses, a half-dozen women in hoods, accompanied by ten or so Messenian hoplites and dancing in unison to the tune of pipes.
CHAPTER 32
The women then threw off their capes. They cried out that the Spartans had all been killed or scattered in fear of the arrival of Epaminondas. “Our thousands chased down their hundreds. Ask the priestesses of Artemis how many have been hunted down and gutted. The bodies of our masters are scattered all over Ithome. Talk to Alkidamas. Look, our Alkidamas is here. We have the plans of the city and are ready to have the gods bless the founding-and start tomorrow.”
Bedlam followed as the celebrants lit more torches. The drummers took up the strain. Thousands of Messenians came out of the shadows and mingled in with the Thebans and Argives. Then Alkidamas came forward with a sickly sort of fellow at his side. Ephoros waved as the man addressed the throng. “Patience, silence, my guests. We sleep now. Soon the high priestesses return from Ithome and Eva with the gods’ nod about our city’s founding. So for now, sleep, our Argive and Theban guests. Lay out your camps and tents. Sleep in peace, we of Messenia have food and peace for you-and a city to build tomorrow.” Then the tribal leaders of the Messenians went into the camp of Epaminondas and waited for his arrival.
On the next morning Epaminondas called Lelex back to the camp of the generals. Epiteles was at his side, and he was calmer now, since a thousand of his men had found the night quiet and most helots asleep around Ithome and Eva. Lelex and Doreios, along with Nikon and some others, sat down as Epaminondas threw down a bag of scrolls taken from the sack of Proxenos. By rote he claimed, “Here. We found them. Just as it was fated that the urn of old Aristomenes would be uncovered when the Spartans left. In it are the plans of the new Messene, buried on the slopes of Ithome since the time of the great ones. The priestess Neto once told us where the goddess had hidden the plans of our city. We have brought the ancient scrolls back from the crypt on Ithome.”
Lelex went dumb. Before him on the ground of the tent was a pile of Proxenos’s papers, with charts of towers, and four gates, and drawings of the mountain Ithome and the saddle to Eva surrounded with walls running up the sides of Ithome-which he believed had been unearthed from a crypt just dug from the ground of the mountain, written, he thought, hundreds of years earlier. “Artemis of Ithome. We are where we should be. We are standing on the city walls of our grandchildren. So we will start today with the quarrying. Tisis here will organize the companies.” For the rest of their second day in Messenia, the Boiotian generals divvied up the protection of the Messenians with the Argives. One myriad would guard the workers. The other ten thousand would join with the Messenians laying the foundation trenches, some thirty stadia of them. Fifty thousand Messenians were to stay up
