Gemmell, David – Lion of Macedon 01

‘That is the point, my friend. I am not a general in the Spartan army – and it is Sparta’s King who dies.’

‘Hush!’ whispered Hermias. ‘You should not say such a thing. Put it from your mind. It is not an omen at all – you

were dreaming of the General’s Games, that is all. It has been on your mind for so long, and has caused you such grief. Forget it, Savra. Do not speak of it again. Anyway, I have some news that will cheer you … I promise.’

‘Then tell it, my friend. I do need cheering.’

‘Leonidas spoke up for you today on the training ground, so did Lepidus. Leonidas admitted he had played badly and that you deserved to win. Others were saying you cheated -but he spoke up for you. Isn’t that wonderful?’

‘I can almost hear the gods singing with joy,’ remarked Parmenion.

‘But don’t you see? It means that the beatings will end. You are free of it.’

‘We’ll see. I’ll judge it by how many attend my victory celebration.’

‘I do have other news that is less cheering,’ said Hermias sadly. ‘There is no easy way to say this, Savra, but there will be no victory ceremony.’

Parmenion laughed grimly. ‘Now there is a surprise!’ His face set, he jumped down from the block and turned to look up at the stone goddess.

‘What have I done, Athena, that the gods should hate me? Am I evil? Perhaps I am . . . But one day I will repay them for their cruelties. I swear it!’

Hermias said nothing, but he felt a sudden stab of fear as he gazed at Parmenion’s face and saw the icy hatred in his eyes. He clambered down and moved to Parmenion’s side.

‘Do not hate me too!’

Parmenion blinked and shook his head. ‘Hate you, my friend? How could I ever hate you? You have been a brother to me, and I will never forget that. Never! Brothers we have been, brothers we shall be, all the days of our lives. I promise you. Now I have to go to Xenophon’s house. I will see you later. Come to my house this evening.’

‘I will. Take care.’

‘Why should I take care?’ responded Parmenion. ‘Did you not say the war was over?’

*

Xenophon led Parmenion to a wide room in the eastern part of the house, where it was cool and bright. ‘Well?’ asked the general, lounging on a divan. ‘Do you have the answer to Plataea?’

Parmenion nodded. ‘Thermopylae put thoughts of defeat into the hearts of the Persians.’

‘Good! Good! I am well pleased with you. I have told you that war is an art – and so it is. But the art is to win the battle before the sword is drawn, before the spears are levelled. If your opponent believes he will lose – then he will lose. That is what happened at Plataea. The Persians – who could not face a mere 300 Spartans- panicked when faced with 5,000. A general must work on the hearts of men, not just his own but the enemy’s.’

‘Does this mean that you will teach me?’ Parmenion asked.

‘It does. Do you read?’

‘Only poorly, sir. My mother taught me – but it is not a skill that is cared about in the barracks.’

‘Then you must learn. I have books that must be studied, strategies you must memorize. A general is not unlike a blacksmith, Parmenion. He has many tools and must know the value and the purpose of each.’

Parmenion took a deep breath. ‘There is a question I must ask, sir. I hope it will not offend you.’

‘We will not know until you ask it,’ replied the general, smiling.

‘I am neither wealthy nor well liked. It is likely that when I come of age no Senior’s Mess will admit me. So, sir, much as I would like to be taught by you, what is the point?’

Xenophon nodded gravely. ‘There is much in what you say, young strategos. At best you will be a First Ranker, at worst a line warrior. But you have it in you to become great, to be a leader of men. I know; there is no better judge of this than I. But your future may not be in Sparta — which will be Sparta’s loss. What do you desire?’

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *