Amazon Moon (15 page)

When Queen Aspasia finished her account, the gathered Amazons applauded. The time grew late and women began retiring for the night. Hella the Home Queen explained to the visitors that male slaves in our village are ordered into the beds of Amazons. She offered my services to Aspasia or Edena, but both said they were fatigued from the long day of riding and preferred to sleep alone.

21

On the second day of her visit, Queen Aspasia met with our village council, and I recorded the proceedings. It was agreed that the two Amazon communities would form an alliance for mutual aid. It was further agreed that raiding should continue, to liberate women under bondage.

"My group was scheduled for sale in the slave market at Seltis," Aspasia noted. "Perhaps we should visit that market and free its women."

Applause followed. The council quickly approved. A plan was drawn. The raid was scheduled seven days hence, when a full moon would make night travel easier. It was agreed that Saria would bring ten warriors plus extra horses for the freed women, and Aspasia likewise would bring ten from her colony. The two parties would meet at dusk at an aspen grove north of Seltis, then slip to the slave market at night to release the female prisoners.

To gain divine favor upon the raid, Priestess Eila sacrificed a white goat with ribbons decorating its horns. After the sacrifice, Queen Aspasia and Edena departed for home.

The War Queen trained her fighters vigorously for the coming mission. Mitha was not selected for the squad, and her self-respect suffered. She was dejected as she joined Litha and me for noontime food on the creek bank.

"I have grown strong and my archery has become accurate. I feel hurt that they don't rank me among the ten best."

Litha soothed her: "Deep in your heart, Mitha, you still are not a killer. Saria can see it. That's why she posts you often to sentry duty. As your sister, I know you completely and love you for what you are. It is better that you avoid bloodshed unless it is absolutely necessary."

The War Queen led her unit from the village and the rest of us resumed our daily routine of dawn-to-dusk labor. We wondered how the slave market attack was proceeding.

Seven days later, Saria returned with all her warriors plus three freed women. As the village flocked around, she announced proudly:

"It was easy. Our plan worked perfectly. The slave market was at the edge of the city, with only one sleeping guard, who was eliminated without noise. Only thirteen slaves were locked in the women's chamber, and all of them chose to ride to freedom with us. We also unbolted the chamber for male slaves so they could flee as they wished. Seltis and its militia didn't awake.

"Ten of the women chose to go with Aspasia's group, because her village is closer. Three decided to make the longer trip back to the Thermodon with us. Before our two groups separated, we agreed that Leeantha and I will return to their hidden farm at the next full moon to plan further actions.

"On our return trip we often rode in creeks or grassy fields or rocky flats, to leave no tracks in case Seltis soldiers tried to follow us."

The three freed slave women were welcomed, fed, and shown to quarters.

* * *

Day followed day in the village. My afternoon classes—which had dwindled after most of the women and girls learned to read and write Greek as well as I—swelled again with newcomers from the Balaris brothel raid and the Seltis slave auction rescue. Like their predecessors, the new females learned rapidly.

On some days I was assigned to light duty: patrolling the vineyard to scare birds away from the ripening grapes until it was time to pick them, stomp them in a vat at the winery, and pour the juice into sealed urns for the mysterious change into wine. My nights followed their usual pattern: On evenings when I wasn’t ordered to an Amazon's bed, I rushed to sleep with Litha in the novice quarters, sharing the joy we felt with each other.

As the next full moon approached, the War Queen and Leeantha set out on horseback for Aspasia's colony near the Hellespont. They were gone six days. Then they returned to our village with somber faces, and with a wounded young woman riding double behind Leeantha. We gathered around them in silence.

"We have bitter news, very bitter news," Saria declared. "Soldiers from Seltis evidently tracked Queen Aspasia's group home from the slave market raid. When we reached the Amazon farm, we found only death. Eleven bodies were on the ground. Aspasia and Edena were among them. The rest of the women had been hauled away to slavery. Leeantha and I lay the bodies side by side in a stone hut like a mausoleum. As we started to leave, a voice called to us from the granary and we found this survivor with an arrow through her leg."

The rider behind Leeantha wore bloody wrappings around her thigh. She addressed us in flawless Greek:

"I am Pendilee. I was among women freed from the Seltis market. Two days after we arrived at Queen Aspasia's village, soldiers stormed out of the woods and struck us so swiftly that only a few women had time to resist. When the arrow entered my leg, I fell into bushes and crawled under shrubs to hide. I heard the soldiers killing wounded women and taking the rest away. The commander said they would be sold in the great slave market on the island of Delos, a terrible place where I once was sold. After all was silent, I crawled out and lived on grain from the granary and water from a tiny creek, until I heard your friends' voices."

Amazons helped Pendilee dismount and escorted her to food and a bed.

A morbid mood pervaded our Thermodon village. Our new friends were dead, and we saw clearly what would occur if Greek soldiers discovered our hidden location.

22

When Pendilee's leg had healed enough for her to walk with a cane, she went before the Amazon council to introduce herself. I recorded her account:

"My father was captain of a small cargo ship plying the great sea beyond Crete. With a crew of five men, he hauled wheat to the eastern shore and returned with Arabian horses. During his absences, my mother tended my little sister and me in our home in the seaport of Piraeus. When I was thirteen, Father brought Mother, sister and me along on a sea voyage. We slept on the floor of his cabin beside his bunk.

"One sunny afternoon a larger ship approached. No pirates had been seen in these waters for years, yet Father suspected brigands. He steered for land but it was futile. The approaching ship scraped against us and was made fast with hooks. Twenty armed pirates climbed over the railing. Father's small crew didn't resist, because it would have been fatal. All of us were dragged to the larger ship and locked in its hold, where we found ten other captives. Some pirates remained on Father's ship, keeping it as booty.

"For several days we lived in the dark hold, aware of little except the slap of waves against the hull. Pirates brought us bread and buckets of water. For our bodily functions we had a hole through the lower deck into the bilge.

"Finally the ship stopped and we were led out into blinding daylight. The vessel was in a harbor, tied to a pier. Thongs around our necks connected us in a human chain and we were lined up on the wharf. A rich-looking man with armed guards arrived and examined us thoroughly. Slowly we understood that we were at the island of Delos, home of the world's largest slave auction. The pirates were selling us to a dealer. Bags of coins changed hands and we were led away.

"Our pathetic procession stopped beside an enormous building made of stone from the rocky island. Guards disconnected some of our neck thongs, separating men and women into two chains. Father called out to the dealer: 'I am a ship captain. I have Greek cousins with money. They can ransom me, my wife, and our daughters.'

"The dealer eyed him with no more feeling than a fishmonger selling a carp: 'I have heard your plea before. If I kept you for ransom, months would pass and no money would arrive. But I can have a fine profit tomorrow in the auction.'

"The men couldn't resist because they were surrounded by guards with swords. Bound by their necks, they were led through a doorway. That was the last time we saw Father.

"Our female string was led into the cavernous structure, past many small stone rooms with bolted doors. We were shoved into an empty room and the bolt clunked behind us. In the darkness, all we could do was sit on the floor and talk. We concluded that slaves were locked in separate chambers in small groups so that we could not form a mob large enough to overpower guards and escape. Finally we slept on the hard stones.

"Next morning we were fed bread and water by the slave merchant's guards and led to a bathing chamber. Our garments were stripped off and we were washed down with sponges, like livestock about to be displayed at a fair. The guards brushed our hair and inspected us. Mother, I, my small sister, and the other women stood helpless, naked, still tied by our necks. Through a doorway we could hear voices and the chant of an auctioneer.

"Our group went on sale. A woman's wrists were bound before her, then her neck was untied and she was led nude to the auction hall. After the auctioneer's prattle ceased, guards returned for another woman. Mother looked agonized as she was taken. She glanced back at her two daughters and sobbed.

"My turn came. I felt vulnerable and degraded as I was led naked into the grand arena. A large circle of men surrounded the auction block. I looked in vain for Mother, but she had been sold and led away. I soon realized why my wrists were tied: so I could not wrap my arms around myself to cover my body. My wrist thong was hooked over a high peg, stretching me at full length before the bidders. I was hung up like a side of beef.

"Buyers approached and felt my body for firmness. My breasts had barely grown, yet they were checked repeatedly. Two buyers opened my mouth and examined my teeth. One knelt and poked into my crotch to verify my virginity. They wanted to assess the merchandise before venturing their money. The auctioneer began his rapid spiel and bidders raised their hands.

"A thick-set man with a ragged beard made the highest offer for me. I was led to his holding pen at the rear of the hall. It contained three other women he had purchased, but no men. We stared at each other, pondering our fate. I didn't see my sister sold. I never saw her or Mother again.

"We learned that we had been bought by an Ionian leather merchant who wanted only women workers for his tannery because he feared that men might revolt. His three sons, wearing short swords, became our guards. Our garments were fetched from the bathing chamber and we dressed. We were tied again by our necks and marched back to the wharf, where we boarded a vessel and sailed to Ionia.

"The vile-smelling tannery was on the outskirts of Ephesus, well away from people's homes. We were lodged in slave huts and assigned the filthy task of scraping hides from the slaughterhouse, stretching them in the sun, then soaking them for months in vats containing a dark broth of water and oak bark. Fumes from the vats were sickening. The merchant's sons, armed and carrying leather whips, policed us constantly.

"During our work, the merchant or a son frequently took a woman by the arm, led her to the wash room, stripped and bathed her, then took her to a bed chamber in the merchant's villa. Any hint of reluctance on the slave's part brought a sting of the lash. Thus I lost my virginity to one of the sons on my third day at the tannery.

"Older slave women told me to beware of the merchant because he enjoyed whipping his sex partners. I soon learned the accuracy of their warning. Among ourselves, we slaves made bitter jokes about which was worse: the smelly tanning vats or the smelly masters. Raw humor provided our only relief.

"One day a full-bodied slave woman spotted a deadly asp in weeds behind the tannery. With a forked stick she pushed it into a leather pouch and drew tight the cord. She looked at me grimly and said: 'The next time he lashes me in his bed, I will give him a special gift.'

"It happened the following day. From our work posts we heard the merchant shriek and saw the woman run naked from his door. But she did not get far. Two sons seized her while the father staggered from the villa with a dagger. He stabbed her to death, not thinking of the money wasted in losing a slave. The nude woman lay in the dirt, her legs twitching in death spasms. Then she was still. The sons carried their father back inside, where he died.

"In coming months the tannery business slumped. Unsold leather slabs overflowed their racks. Our work pace slowed. Some of the women said it was because the sons were incompetent merchants. Others said it was because a rival tannery rose in Ephesus.

"Finally the sons decided to recoup losses by selling six of us at the Seltis slave market. On horseback, a son led us in a human chain on a three-day walk to Seltis, where he received a bag of gold coins from a dealer. For a second time I was locked in a small room with other women, waiting to be stripped naked and put on the auction block, to be prodded and inspected by buyers. But you Amazons rescued us in the darkness before it happened.

"Since my capture at sea I have known only abuse and degradation. Now I want my life to have purpose. When my leg heals, I beg that you let me train as a warrior. I want to ride with Amazons so that I will have a reason for living."

Women of the council stood and applauded.

23

A hillside behind the village contained a ragged cliff. At its base lay a deep pile of flat stones that had fallen from the outcropping over many years as tree roots dislodged them from the strata.

The War Queen, quite realistic about the life expectancy of combat fighters, decided that a stone vault should be built to house her body, in readiness for the day when she didn't survive an armed clash. For her final resting place she chose a dry, elevated spot not far from the cliff.

During a lull before harvest time, we slaves began tomb-building. We heaved the flat rocks onto our shoulders and carried them to the vault site. Since one-legged Octos couldn't carry, he served as mason, sitting while he fitted the stones together. After he made a smooth floor, he began the walls. From our brickmaking pit on the creek bank, Ankus carried gummy clay for mortar. Day after day we proceeded, under supervision of Saria the War Queen, and the tomb walls rose.