Eteocles had returned to Athens in ruin.
404 BC had seen the uproot of power in Greece. The Athenian navy had fallen with the addition of the Persian force in the great Peloponnesian War, and soon the city of Athens itself was near starvation, its people desperate and at the end of their ropes. There had been no other option but for Athens to turn tail and run, seceding victory to the Spartan forces and ending the war after over 30 years of sporadic and inconsistent battle. Peace suited Athens better, but they would never see the glory of the time before the war, making many question what had caused the Gods to remove their favor so. They were fickle in their favors, the Gods, and the Athenians had been naïve to assume they would retain that …show more content…
While her sisters flit to one another about the men on either side of the road, she keeps her eyes forward and on the King 's household which they approach with haste and ceremony. It is not long before the procession arrives in the courtyard, and Eteocles dismounts, wearing the uniform he reserves for ceremonies and not actual battle. By this time, the King himself, Agis II, one of two in Sparta, is present with his son and his son 's shadow.
Agis the II is one of two kings, and both serve to lead armies and nothing more, powerful generals in their own right. Annual elections produce the five men of the Ephors, and those are the rulers with regards to politics and just about anything else. There is also the Gerousia, the Spartan Senate, which consists of twenty-eight members all over the age of sixty. Below that, there is the Apella assembly, which consists of every Spartan man over the age of …show more content…
As it is, Nikanor does not have the right to keep his new wife in his own bed. As the King 's son, he is not bound to the typical traditions of marriage, as he does not live in the barracks, despite his age below 30, but this rule must be obeyed. Rhea does not know it, but he will visit her nightly in apparent secrecy, in order to trick the evil eye, before leaving her again. She will be spared the brutal tradition of sheering her hair, but it is simply an act of diplomacy, not kindness. And if Nikanor proves himself unable to conceive, which his father has suspicions of, the man has vowed to complete the task himself, a tradition common among the men of Sparta.
And so Agis assesses Rhea as she climbs from the charriot with the assistance of an attendant, and he is pleased by her appearance and his decision. Agis ' own aging queen is not the prettiest to look at any more, so he is glad to have something so lovely to look at in the castle, even if she belongs to his young son. However, as he has often observed of Athenian women, they appear so very useless. He doubts that this one is any
404 BC had seen the uproot of power in Greece. The Athenian navy had fallen with the addition of the Persian force in the great Peloponnesian War, and soon the city of Athens itself was near starvation, its people desperate and at the end of their ropes. There had been no other option but for Athens to turn tail and run, seceding victory to the Spartan forces and ending the war after over 30 years of sporadic and inconsistent battle. Peace suited Athens better, but they would never see the glory of the time before the war, making many question what had caused the Gods to remove their favor so. They were fickle in their favors, the Gods, and the Athenians had been naïve to assume they would retain that …show more content…
While her sisters flit to one another about the men on either side of the road, she keeps her eyes forward and on the King 's household which they approach with haste and ceremony. It is not long before the procession arrives in the courtyard, and Eteocles dismounts, wearing the uniform he reserves for ceremonies and not actual battle. By this time, the King himself, Agis II, one of two in Sparta, is present with his son and his son 's shadow.
Agis the II is one of two kings, and both serve to lead armies and nothing more, powerful generals in their own right. Annual elections produce the five men of the Ephors, and those are the rulers with regards to politics and just about anything else. There is also the Gerousia, the Spartan Senate, which consists of twenty-eight members all over the age of sixty. Below that, there is the Apella assembly, which consists of every Spartan man over the age of …show more content…
As it is, Nikanor does not have the right to keep his new wife in his own bed. As the King 's son, he is not bound to the typical traditions of marriage, as he does not live in the barracks, despite his age below 30, but this rule must be obeyed. Rhea does not know it, but he will visit her nightly in apparent secrecy, in order to trick the evil eye, before leaving her again. She will be spared the brutal tradition of sheering her hair, but it is simply an act of diplomacy, not kindness. And if Nikanor proves himself unable to conceive, which his father has suspicions of, the man has vowed to complete the task himself, a tradition common among the men of Sparta.
And so Agis assesses Rhea as she climbs from the charriot with the assistance of an attendant, and he is pleased by her appearance and his decision. Agis ' own aging queen is not the prettiest to look at any more, so he is glad to have something so lovely to look at in the castle, even if she belongs to his young son. However, as he has often observed of Athenian women, they appear so very useless. He doubts that this one is any