Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi Read Free Book Online Page B

Kleomenids are well known even in Athens and it is a great honour for me to sit at your table.’
    ‘The honour is mine, Philippides. My house is proud to receive the champion of Olympia. You triumphed over the best of our youth and the Spartans respect such a worthy adversary. I regret
that my table is so sparse; I have no refined dishes to offer you. I know that you Athenians often joke about our cooking, especially our black broth. As you can see, I have spared you its
acquaintance.’
    ‘I’m sorry about that, Aristarkhos, I’d have been quite curious to taste it.’
    ‘I’m afraid it wouldn’t have been a very pleasant experience for you. I still remember the face of Aristagoras of Miletus when he tasted it at a dinner our government hosted in
honour of his mission to Sparta eight years ago. A mission that, as you well know, met with very little success. He asked our kings to send five thousand of our warriors to support his revolt
against the Great King of the Persians. Five thousand warriors meant the bulk of our military forces: to send them across the sea was a risk that we couldn’t take.’
    ‘Indeed, you refused him any aid, contrary to what we in Athens decided to do. We’re still paying for that gesture. But at that time the assembly felt that all possible aid should be
sent to the Hellenic cities that had rebelled against the Great King.’
    ‘Should I conclude that you judge our government’s refusal of Aristagoras’ request negatively?’
    ‘Not exactly, Aristarkhos,’ said the Athenian, realizing that he had pushed his sensitive host too far. ‘I appreciate that it wasn’t easy for you Spartans to make such a
far-reaching decision.’
    ‘That isn’t the point, Philippides. At first, that man seemed to be moved by noble ideals: he decried the conditions of the Greek cities in Asia under the Persian yoke. It seemed
that his only desire was to liberate them. In his speech in front of the assembly of the equals, he spoke with such vehemence that our warriors were fascinated. You know that we Spartans are not
used to such eloquence: we are simple people of few words, but we are not fools. The ephors who govern our city along with our kings were well aware of Aristagoras’ attempt to subjugate the
island of Naxos, which was populated by Greeks, using Persian troops. It was a bid on his part to gain favour in the eyes of the Great King Darius, who was then in Thrace fighting the Scythians
across the Ister river.
    ‘The inhabitants of Naxos repelled the attack and the Persian officers laid responsibility for the failure on Aristagoras. Terrified as he must have been at the thought of having to face
the ire of the Great King, he took advantage of an incident between Persian and Greek officers, and proclaimed a revolt. He was supported, naturally, by the Asian Greeks. This certainly
demonstrated their desire to be liberated from the Persians, but Aristagoras was only acting in his own personal interest. If he cared so much about the freedom of the Greeks, why did he try to
subjugate the island of Naxos? We have good reason to believe that he set off the revolt against the Persians solely in order to shield himself from the anger of King Darius when he returned from
his expedition against the Scythians.
    ‘You must admit . . .’ he continued, pouring wine into his guest’s cup, ‘you must admit that it’s not easy to trust a man who’s caught in such a difficult
situation, and yet insists that he is animated only by his passion for freedom. But I’m telling you things that you know better than I do.’
    ‘Certainly, I’m acquainted with the situation,’ answered Philippides, ‘but, please, continue. I’m interested in knowing your thoughts on the matter.’
    ‘Well,’ Aristarkhos went on, ‘the equals present in the assembly may have been convinced by his pleas, but the fact is that the final decision rested with the ephors and the
kings, and Aristagoras had made quite