Over the Wine Dark Sea

'I'll do that,' Aristagoras said. 'Meanwhile, you and your cousin are welcome to take supper with me and to spend the night here if you care to.'   'We'll do that, and thank you kindly for it,' Menedemos said.   Sostratos added, 'Would you send one of your slaves by the Aphrodite now, to let our men know where we'll be in case of trouble?'   'I suppose so, though you seem to worry about every little thing,' the wine merchant said. The comment made Sostratos feel like breaking an amphora over Aristagoras' head, but he refrained.   As Aristagoras was instructing the slave, Sostratos managed to murmur a few words to Menedemos. 'I'm glad you came along when you did. I managed to get him angry at me, and we wouldn't have had a bargain.'   'Don't let it trouble you,' Menedemos replied. 'I almost queered the deal with Xenophanes, down on Kos. As long as things work out one way or another, who cares how?'   More often than not, Menedemos wouldn't say any such thing. More often than not, he would grab all the credit and leave all the blame for Sostratos. He might do that yet, on this very journey. For now, maybe the thanks-offering to Poseidon had left him feeling more charitable than usual. Sostratos could think of nothing else to account for it. Whatever the reason, he was glad his cousin answered lightly.   Supper included some splendid tuna steaks, enough to warm the heart of the most jaded opsophagos. Supper also included a very pretty serving-girl, with whom Menedemos wasted no time in coming to an arrangement. Aristagoras chuckled. 'I'll make sure the two of you have separate rooms. Do you want a girl for yourself tonight, Master Sostratos?'   'No, thank you,' Sostratos said. Menedemos looked at him as if he were daft. Aristagoras shrugged. Sostratos didn't regret his choice. The wine seller probably wouldn't have another girl as good-looking as this one, and a slave ordered to go to bed with him wouldn't show much enthusiasm, while the serving-girl seemed about ready to climb up onto the couch with Menedemos and ravish him on the spot.   That all made good sense to Sostratos till he and Menedemos went to bed. Whether from efficiency or cruelty, Aristagoras put them in adjoining rooms. The wall wasn't very thick. Sostratos got to listen to the fun Menedemos was having next door. By the noises he and the girl made, they were having lots of fun. Sostratos wrapped his chiton around his head. That did next to nothing to block the amorous racket. Eventually, he fell asleep in spite of it.   The clear poo-poo-poo call of a hoopoe woke Menedemos somewhere around sunrise. He started to sit up, and discovered he couldn't: the serving-girl's warm, bare body was draped over his. He smiled to himself as he patted her backside. It had been quite a night.   Her eyes came open. 'Good day, Leuke,' Menedemos said.   For a moment, she looked confused. He wondered how many of Aristagoras' guests she'd slept with. Better not to wonder something like that, he thought. Leuke didn't stay confused long. 'Good day,' she purred, and stretched languorously.   'One more before I have to go?' Menedemos asked. She hesitated. Menedemos gave her a silver coin, a half-drakhma. 'For you either which way,' he said,