The Queen of Sparta (37 page)

“But …” Alexander interrupted, “do you actually think he convinced Queen Gorgo to come here with him all the way from Sparta? I find that hard to believe.”

“As do I,” responded Kautilya. “Were it not for this.”

He led Alexander to a cypress grove. Beneath the tallest tree was a grave, simply marked in Greek:
PLEISTARCHOS BASILIEU SPARTIATIKON KAI GANDARION
– ‘Pleistarchus, King of the Spartans and the Gandharans’.

As Alexander looked at the grave in astonishment, Kautilya pointed to the limestone hills on the horizon in front of them. “Somewhere at the base of those hills is another grave with a headstone with a strange inscription, part Greek, part Scythian. The writing has almost faded now, but people believe that the translation of the original inscription on the headstone began:
Here lies Gorgo, Queen of the Sakas and the Spartans. Daughter of a King, Wife of Kings, Mother of Kings …
”

And then Kautilya gazed at the hills above and said, “… and it was on top of those very hills that Sherzada finished writing his book …”

CHARACTERS

Aeschylus
, Athenian playwright.

Agathe
, Helot chambermaid of Gorgo

Alexander I
, son of Amyntas – King of Macedon; ancestor of Alexander the Great

Alexander III “the Great”
– King of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire in the 4th Century B.C.

Aranth Telumnas
, Etruscan ruler of Veii

Ariadne of Taras
, Greek courtesan and spy

Arimnestus
, Spartan general

Aristeides“the Just”
, Athenian general and politician

Aristodemus
, Spartan warrior, the only Spartan survivor of the battle of Thermopylae

Artabaz
(also
Artabazus
), Persian general

Asopodorus
, Theban cavalry commander

Aulus Antonious
, Roman military officer

Burbaraz
(also
Bubares
), Persian Prince and general; cousin of King Xerxes

Callias
, wealthy Athenian businessman and politician; husband of Elpinice.

Cato, Marcus Porcius
, Roman senator

Cimon
, son of Miltiades, Athenian general and politician

Cincinnatus, Lucius Qunictius
, Roman military officer

Cleandridas,
Spartan conspirator

Cleomenes
, Agiad King of Sparta, father of Gorgo

Cleonice
, a young Byzantine woman captured by the Persians

Cleophis
, Saka Queen of the Ashkayana tribe in the Swat Valley

Damon
, Spartan conspirator

Demaratus
, former Eurypontid King of Sparta, and advisor to King Xerxes of Persia

Decius ‘Mus’
(the Mouse),
Publius
, Roman centurion

Doreius
, older brother of Leonidas and younger half-brother of Cleomenes

Elpinince
, daughter of Miltiades and half-sister of Cimon

Eurybiadas
, Spartan Admiral and confidant of Gorgo

Evaeneutus
, Spartan general and relative of King Leotychidas

Euryanax
or
Euro
, Spartan Prince, cousin of Gorgo

Gygaea
, Princess of Macedon, sister of Alexander I and wife of Prince Bubraraz

Gorgo
, Queen of Sparta, daughter of King Cleomenes, widow of King Leonidas and mother of the child-King Pleistarchus

Gunnarr
, Scanian warrior, father of Rán

Hild
, Scanian-scythian
Valkyrie
squadron commander

Iason
, Deputy Commander of the Company of Knights

Ione
, a young Spartan woman, daughter of Aristodemus

Kautilya,
(“the Crafty One”) also known as
Vishnugupta Chanakya
, Indian philosopher and politician

Khorrem
, son of Mashista and nephew of Xerxes, a commander of the
Anusiya
– the Immortals.

Lampito
, Eurypontid princess, daughter of King Leotychidas

Leonidas
, Agiad King of Sparta, husband of Gorgo

Leotychidas,
Eurypontid King of Sparta

Magnas
, Spartan reactionaries

Marcus Fabius Vibulanus
, Roman Consul

Mashista
or
Masistes
, Persian Prince, brother of Xerxes.

Mashistiyun
or
Masistius
, Persian cavalry commander at Plataea

Mardonius
, son of Gobryas, Persian viceroy in Greece and cousin and brother in law of Xerxes

Melissa of the Aristomenidae
, wife of Euryanax

Menander
, Helot servant of Gorgo, father of Agathe

Nicomedes
, brother of Pausanias

Pheidippides
, Athenian envoy and Olympic champion

Phaenippus
, Athenian Ambassador, and former Head of State of Athens

Pleistarchus
, Agiad King of Sparta, son of Gorgo and Leonidas

Pericleidas
, Spartan naval officer, friend of Archidamus

Pausanias
, Regent for Pleistarchus, cousin of Gorgo

Rán
, Scandian-Scythian
Valkyrie
, Sherzada’s first love

Sherzada
, Crown-Prince of the Sakas of the Indus Valley

Sthenelaidas
, Spartan reactionary

Themistocles
, Athenian statesman and general, credited as the genius behind the Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis

Theras
, Commander of the Company of the Knights

Velia Vellai
, Etruscan ruler of Velathri

Xanthippus
, Athenian statesman and admiral; political opponent of Cimon

Xerxes
or
Khashayarshah
, Persian King of Kings, son of Darius.

Greece in the 5th Century
BC

Italy and Sicily in the 5th Century
BC

GLOSSARY

Agiadae
– one of the two royal houses of Sparta

Agoge
(Greek) ‘upbringing’ – Spartan military education and training system

Agora
(Greek) – marketplace

Ahura-Mazda
(Persian) – Supreme Zoroastrian Deity

Alae
(Latin) – ‘wing’ – military unit of between 3,000 to 5,000 men

Alpha
(Greek) – first letter of the Greek alphabet

Alopex
(Greek) – ‘fox’

Amarygian
(or
Haumavarga
) Sakas – Asiatic Scythian tribe whose home base was north of the Oxus River in Central Asia

Amylcae
– one of the five villages or districts of Sparta

Andreia
(Greek) – ‘bravery’ or ‘courage’

Androphogoi
(Greek) – ‘Man-Eaters’ – a tribe existing on the north-western edges of the Scythian domains

Anusiya
(Persian) – ‘The Companions’ – elite bodyguard of the Great King of Persia, formed entirely from the ranks of the nobility. The Greeks called them the ‘Immortals’

Arachosia
– ancient land straddling the mountainous area between what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan

Arta
(Persian) – ‘truth’ or ‘righteousness’

Ashkayavana
(Sanskrit) – ‘Horse Greeks’ (a tribe of the northern Indus Valley)

Assur
– land of Assyria

Assyrians
– ancient kingdom that ruled much of the Near East before the rise of the Persians

Bastarnae
– Germanic tribe, located in the 5
th
Century
BC
on the western Baltic coast

Black Cloaks
– mysterious tribe existing to the west of the Scythian domains; possible ancestors of the Alans who later invaded the Roman Empire

Caelian
– one of the Seven Hills of Rome

Carneia
(Greek)
–
Spartan / Greek religious festival

Cissians
– Persian-speaking inhabitants of Elam [see:
Elam
]

Cushites
– an African people originally living on the upper Nile valley who had been driven westward by ancient Egyptian invasions into what is now Ethiopia and Somalia.

Crypteia
(Greek) – Spartan secret assassination squad comprising new military graduates

Dadicans
– tribe living in what is now north-western Pakistan

Dahae
– Asiatic Scythian tribe which spoke a dialect similar to Persian

Dardania
– a Balkan region straddling modern Eastern Serbia, Kosovo and western Macedonia

Deimos
(Greek) – ‘terror’

Elam
– southern region of ancient Iran (straddling the modern regions of south-eastern Iraq and south-western Iran)

Eleutheria
(Greek) – ‘freedom’

Ephor
(Greek) – [
Literally
: Overseer]; one of five elected senior magistrates of Sparta

Epirote
– a person from Epirus, an ancient Balkan kingdom controlling a region shared today between north-western Greece and southern Albania

Epynomous Archon
– in Athens, the title of the senior
Archon
(Ruler) who was elected for a one term as Head of State

Europontidae
– one of the two royal houses of Sparta

Gandhara
– ancient kingdom spanning the Kabul and Swat River valleys (in South Asia)

Gedrsosia
– ancient kingdom corresponding to the Baluchistan regions of Iran and Pakistan

Gerousia
(Greek) – [
Literally
: The Council of Elders]; the highest law-making body in Sparta comprising of legislators who were over the age of 60

Haliskomenoi
(Greek) – captive or conquered people

Hegemon
(Greek) – ‘leader’

Helots
(Greek) – collective slaves of the Spartan state

Himation
(Greek) – shawl or outer covering draped over a dress

Hippeis
(Greek) – [
Literall
y: horsemen]; ‘The Knights’ – Sparta’s elite cavalry unit which also served as the Kings’ bodyguards

Homioi
(Greek) – ‘similar ones’ or ‘those who are alike’. Also interpreted as ‘peers.’ This was another word to describe the
Spartiates
, the full citizens of Sparta

Hubris
(Greek) – ‘extreme pride’ or ‘arrogance’

Hyacinthia
(Greek) – Spartan religious festival

Hypomeiones
(Greeks) – [
Literally
: the inferiors]; Spartans who had lost their civic rights

Illyrians
– a people inhabiting what is now the south-western Balkans including parts of Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and southern Croatia

‘Invincibles’
(
Shikast Napazir
in Persian) – Persian military unit comprising victorious veterans.

Ismenian Band
– Theban military unit named after the sacred spring of Ismene near Thebes

Khopesh
(Ancient Egyptian) – sickle-sword originating in Egypt and North Africa

Kyniskus
(Greek) – ‘Puppy’; nickname of Archidamus’ father

Kynosoura
– one of the five villages or districts of Sparta

Lacadaemon
– official name of the Spartan domains

Laconia
– eastern province of Sparta, where the city itself was located

Lambda
(Greek) – Greek alphabet, equivalent of the letter ‘L’

Laukhme mi
(Etruscan) – my King

Legatus
(Latin) – ‘ambassador’

Libertas
(Latin) – ‘liberty’

Libyans
– ancient name for all Berber-speaking peoples

Limnae
– one of the five villages or districts of Sparta

Lion Guard
– elite military unit that protected the Lion Gate – the main entrance to the citadel of Mycenae

Lycurgan Code
– legal code enacted by Lycurgus (who lived between 820 and 730
BC
), the law-giver of Sparta

Lydia
– a powerful ancient kingdom in what is now western Turkey

Mahasigareis
(Iranic dialect) – double-handed battle-axe

Mard-Khwaar
(Iranic dialect) – ‘Man-Eaters’ [see:
Androphogoi
]

Megas
(Greek) – ‘the Great’

Medes
– people from Media, a former kingdom once located in what is now north-western Iran and northern Iraq

Mesoa
– one of the five villages or districts of Sparta

Messene
– western province of Sparta, a formed kingdom seized by the Spartans around the 9th Century
BC
and, subsequently, a scene of frequent Helot uprisings

Metis
(Greek) – ‘cleverness’ or ‘cunning’

Mleccha
(Vedic Sanskrit) – ‘Barbarian’ or ‘foreigner’

Molon Labe
(Greek) – ‘come and take (them)’

Monophthalmus
(Greek) – ‘one-eyed’

Mothax
[Plural:
Mothoi
] (Doric Greek) – ‘bastard’, son of a Spartan father and a helot mother

Navarch
(Greek) – ‘commander of the ships’, admiral

Neuri
– tribe living in the forests of Carpathia – one of many associated with the origins of the werewolf legend

Pactyans
– a people living along what is now the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan – possibly the ancestors of the Pashtuns

Paean
(Greek) – song of praise or triumph; also a battle-cry

Parthia
– a region in north-eastern Iran

Patria
(Latin) – ‘country’

Patrician
(Latin) – ‘person of high birth’ or ‘nobleman’

Peplos
(Greek) – body-length women’s dress in Ancient Greece made of long tubular cloth; popular in Sparta

Perioiki
(Greek) – Outlanders; people living on the edges. The Perioiki dwelled on the edges of Spartan territories. They were free people, but without political rights. They were engaged in trade, handicrafts, and agriculture. They were also required to provide troops for Sparta in time of war or crisis

Phobos
(Greek) – ‘fear’

Peltasts
(Greek) – Greek infantry that served as light infantry

Pitana
– one of the five villages or districts of Sparta

Plebians
[From:
Plebes
] (Latin) – the common people of Ancient Rome

Puraparaseanna
(Ancient Persian) – ‘land beyond the mountains’; what is now northern Pakistan

Pythioi
(Greek) – the two Spartan special ambassadors (one chosen by each king) to the Oracle of Apollo at Deplhi

Ra’senna
– name by which the Etruscans referred to themselves

Sakas
(or:
Sacae
) – Eastern or Asiatic Scythians who spoke an Iranic dialect related to ancient Persian and Sanskrit

Sarmatian
– European Scythian tribe, famed for their armoured horsemen

Scandians
– Germanic tribe settled in what is now Denmark and southern Sweden

Scytale
(Greek) – [
literally
: baton]; in Spartan military cryptography this was a tool used to perform a transposition cipher, consisting of a cylinder with a strip of parchment wound around it on which the secret message was written

Scyths
or
Scythians
– nomadic Indo-European peoples of Iranic origin who roamed the great Eurasian plains

Skiritae
(Greek) – inhabitants of the northern borders of Spartan territory; served as border rangers in the Spartan military structure

Spartiates
(Greek) – Spartan citizens with full rights and obligations. Another word to describe the
Homioi

Strategos
(Greek) – ‘general’

Sublician
– bridge in Rome where the legendary Roman officer Horatius held off an attack by the forces of the Etruscan warlord Laris Pu-ra’senna (Lars Porsenna)

Suraseni
– a people populating parts of Punjab, in what is now Pakistan and India

Symposion
(Greek) – [
Literally
: drinking party]; a party where men could pursue intellectual discussion and other pleasures

Syssitionoi
(Greek) – [Singular:
syssitia
]; Dining halls where Spartan men, presumably from the same military unit, dined together – a precursor to future military messes

Tigrakhaudas
– tribe of European Scythians famous for their pointed hats

Trierarch
(Greek) [
Literally
: commander of a
trireme
warship] – the equivalent of a naval captain

Xenia
(Greek) – Code of guest-friendship (See
Xenos
).

Xenos
(Greek) – [
Literally,
stranger]; ‘guest-friend’, a stranger who was hosted by a Greek and treated as a member of the family

Xiphos
(Greek) [Plural:
Xiphé
] – double-edged short sword, preferred by the Spartans

Yavanas
(Sanskrt / Indic dialects) – ‘Greeks’

Zilath
(Etruscan) – ‘Ruler’