That Monday I told Deinomache, Alcibiades and his girlfriend Hipparete that I would meet them down in the dining hall for lunch and then went looking for Helen. Once found, I escorted her to the cafeteria where we saw the three already seated at a table with their lunches.
Getting into the lunch line, we received our food trays with Baked chicken with orzo and a lemon-herb sauce, Lentil soup with lentils, vegetables, and olive oil and for dessert Spanakopita; A savory pie made with spinach, feta cheese, and filo pastry.
Heading over to the groups table, I laid my tray down beside Deinomache and Helen set hers next to mine, and then I introduced Helen “Everyone this is Princess Helen Agiad of Sparta who is in her Junior Year and unofficially my Fiancé, please welcome her as one of our own.” And then I went around and introduced everyone, giving Helen some background on who they were and what role they had in my life.
Princess Helen did a perfect curtsy and presented herself “Nice to meet all of you, please just call me Helen, as all of you are my Seniors, and I am sure we will all be spending a lot of time together.”
With that we both sat down to have lunch, and the girls went into excruciating detail asking questions about how we met and why we decided to get married, especially focusing on any romantic details. Alcibiades and I just looked at each other and shook our heads, both of us knowing the situation was hopeless.
Having been away from the city mansion pretty much all weekend, I knocked on the door of Taygete’s room after dinner on Monday night. Being told to come in, I found Taygete at her desk under the front window of the house, working on her homework.
Sitting down on the edge of her bed, which was next to her desk, I began “Taygete, there is something very important I need to talk to you about. Friday night I was at a party hosted by my longtime friend, Prince Cleomenes Agiad of Sparta, and a Senior at the Academy. He expressed that he was deeply fascinated by you, as my cute little sister, Taygete, and wants to meet you for the purpose of discussing a potential marriage. Compared to that low level noble who got you drunk during the Freshman Welcome Party and then tried to abscond with you to a love motel to deflower you, the prince has got a lot more going for him, not to mention he is a perfect gentleman.”
Taygete, with a look of amazement, exclaimed “What, the Prince of Sparta is interested in me, why?”
Sighing, with a sense of exasperation, I explained “Taygete, you may not get this, but you are a Princess of Athens, just like Deinomache your cousin. First, our Father, Xanthippus, is the eponymous archon which is the ruler of Athens that holds the highest political office in the city-state. Our mother, Agariste is the great-granddaughter of the tyrant of Sicyon, and the daughter of Megacles of the Alcmaeonid clan. Grandfather Ariphron Alcmaeonidae, is also a member of the Alcmaeonids, who are a branch of the Neleides who are descendants of Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nestor, son of the god Poseidon. Essentially, that means you are a descendant of Poseidon.
“The nobles of Athens are all like this, having some link to the Gods. The original Royal House of Athens was descendant from Erichthonius, Earth-born son of the god Hephaestus and maybe Gaia, but more likely Athena, who actually raised him, but was probably too embarrassed about having a relationship with Hephaestus to admit it. The nobility in this town all have some sort of link to the gods through Erichthonius. This is why, the nobility, as descendants of the gods, have the divine right to rule.
“Prince Cleomenes Agiad of Sparta himself is a descendant of Heracles, the son of Zeus, which is the source of his divine right to rule.
“That all being said, I think that marriages should be a mutual decision between the participants rather than an arranged engagement. Rather than have our fathers force you two in to something, I think the two of you should meet and decide whether or not you like each other and try dating. Optimally, the two of you shouldn’t marry until you graduate from the Academy, or at the very least, considering how important the connections you gain and the education you receive are, I would like to see you graduate from the Academy regardless. So, with all that in mind, I would like to set up a dinner date with the two of us and Cleomenes and his sister Helen who is my fiancé, which will also give you the chance to meet your future sister-in-law.”
Astonished, Taygete exclaimed “What?! You’re getting married! Why didn’t you tell me! Of course I’d love to meet her!”
With consternation, I queried “What about your potential future husband, aren’t you looking forward to meeting him too?”
With indifference, Taygete commented “Well sure, I guess. We’ll see if he measures up.”
Slapping my forehead, I frustratedly asked “You probably don’t have an attractive dress of high enough class or quality for a state visit, do you?” to which she shook her head no. “Okay, then, I’ll go shoe and clothes shopping with you Wednesday after Last Bell at the Academy.”
That night I was hanging out in my room with Aethusa, reading some of my class material while she worked on some knitting, and she suddenly alerted me “Pericles, I’m really worried about my mother Alcyone. I think she is starting to get really depressed. Your father almost never comes home during the week, and she keeps talking about not being able to figure out what she did wrong. Can you help my mother figure this out and fix whatever the relationship problem is between her and your father?”
Objectively regarding her, I observed “I’ve been worried about my father for some time now. He completely overworks himself, doesn’t take care of his health, and is the perfect example of a workaholic. I’ve notice he hasn’t been coming home much either, and I’m just as worried.”
Continuing, I related “I’m also worried about my little brother Ariphron. He also almost never comes home and hangs out with trifling people that are partiers and complete goof-offs. I’m starting to think something is really wrong with him too.”
Aethusa, then informed me “Maybe you should talk to him and ask him about it.”
Mustering some resolve I replied, “I think you are right, I’ll talk with him, next time he is home.” Generating a smile out of her.
Tuesday in Home Room Class, the next morning I discussed with Prince Cleomenes about having marriage talks over dinner Friday Night at a sea food restaurant down in the port district, warning “Cleo, it’s not good, she was more interested in meeting your sister, my fiancé, than meeting you. You are really going to have to work to impress her. I recommend you take her to someplace upscale, with good food and either a flashy or romantic vibe. A couple places come to mind, but the one with the best combination of those is the Zorbas Mikrolimano down in the Piraeus Harbor District, near Votsalakia Beach.”
With a wry grin, Prince Cleomenes agreed “Well, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Let’s pull out all the stops and meet there for dinner Friday night at seventh bell.”
Nodding my head in approval, I asked “I assume you are bringing the boys and their wives. Do you mind if I bring Alcibiades and his girlfriend Hipparete, they should make things more relaxed?”
Smiling, Cleo answered in approval “The more the merrier, looks like a plan!”