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Site Library Library of Rome

article 5

Associated to Place: articles -- by * Laurels Curius (18 Articles), Social Article

for Decius

Post 1; see in action

Cornellia was flying low over Hellas, enjoying skimming through various Greek valleys and ravines, when an arrow suddenly flew up and lodged in her side. She lost control of her broom.

"AAAaaaah!" she screamed, diving straight down.

Clunk.

"Ow!" Cornellia found herself lodged in an olive tree. "Good thing I have my chainsaw!" she told herself. Pulling it from its holster, she was disheartened to find an arrow sticking right through the gear shaft. "I was wondering why I didn't feel any pain." She pulled the cord, but the chainsaw only made an alarming groan and leaked oil. "Drat. Now how do I get down?"

Somewhere below her someone pushed through the low Greek brush.

"Geia saV!" a masculine voice called. "Is anybody there?"

"Get me down!" she called.

"Just a minute…" A ladder thunked against the tree. A muscular Greek man with hair like frosted night appeared, a bow slung over his shoulder. "I am sorry, pretty lady. I thought you were a turkey."

"I didn't think those were native to this region," she said with surprise.

"Hm. Maybe that is why I've not found any." He offered her a broad smile, exposing white teeth, and helped her climb down. "My name is Zorba."

"Do you hunt non-native fauna as a profession?" she asked as she looked around. She was in an olive grove. Beyond that she could not tell. "Where am I, anyhow?"

"This is Crete. I, Zorba, am a chef, a miner, and player of the santuri. Also I work as a tour guide."

"A tour guide!" She smiled. "Thank Jot! Just the man I need. I am on a quest."

"Ah, a quest! An endeavor worthy of a hero. Of course I will help the pretty lady with her quest. But first let me offer you hospitality, as an apology for shooting at you." He offered her his arm.

"I don't know, this quest is sort of important."

"So is hospitality. Come, come!"

She was led by her newly acquired guide to a small cottage, where he insisted on preparing for her an elaborate meal.

"First, ouzo." He poured her a glass. It tasted exactly like liquid licorice. When her host was busy over the stove she poured it into a planter.

"You finished the ouzo, eh?" he said, turning back. "Well it doesn't go so well with this fried calamari anyway." He poured her a glass of wine. "Try retsina. It has a unique flavor." She tried some. "Ack. Yes, that's… unique," she sputtered. It tasted rather like turpentine. But it was better than ouzo.

"Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Aleppo Pine resin," Zorba told her. "There's nothing more Greek!" He stuffed her with food. Many kinds of food. Fish, chicken, lamb, assorted olive products, stuffed grape leaves, feta cheese… she ate until she could barely move.

"I'm afraid your broomstick is a total loss," he apologized. Cornellia had missed him stepping out. "And I disposed of what was left of that chainsaw. The motor was busted, and it was never going to cut again." He washed his hands. "Now, for dessert, baklava and some Greek coffee."

Cornellia couldn't help herself.

"Aren't both of those actually borrowed from Central Asian Turkic culture?"

Zorba gave her a nasty look.

"Of course not."

They were good, so she didn't argue.

"Could we discuss my quest?" she asked between sips of coffee, vaguely afraid her host would insist on serenading her with his musical skills.

"Of course." He pulled up a chair. "What do you seek?"

"I'm looking for eternal life, and unlimited wealth." Zorba stroked his chin in thought.

"Well," he said after a moment. "The most usual way Greeks of myth and legend obtain immortality, it is said, is to be taken up to Olympus to live among the Gods themselves."

"But I live on Olympus already!" she told him. "If that worked, wouldn't we know?"

"A point, this is true. There is an alternative. But I am not sure it is what you would really want."

"What is the alternative?"

"You could ask Zeus for immortality. It is said Eos, goddess of the dawn, asked Zeus to grant immortality to a Trojan prince named Tithonus. And he granted her request."

"That sounds promising."

"Except she forgot to ask for eternal youth. He just grew older, and older, until he had no strength left to move his limbs. Some say he became a cicada, eternally living, but begging for death to overcome him."

"Um. Yes, let's not do that. How about unlimited wealth?"

"Oh, that is much simpler. The man you want is Midas."

"And where is he?"

"He's dead."

"That sounds less than helpful."

"Oh, he's not beyond reach…"

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Post 2: see in action

Cornellia and Zorba stepped down from the Minoan transport that had brought them to the Piraeus, port of Athens.

"I really like the white paint job on the ferry, with the red trim and stripe and the big green lettering declaring they're Minoan," she said. "Classy."

"Minoans are really the only way to get to or from the Greek islands. Unless you want to fly, but that takes Olympic help." Zorba shrugged. "That's always uncomfortable, expensive, and if they feed you it's not worth it. I always go with the Minoans, myself. It's only six hours from Heraklion to the Piraeus."

"Did we really need to come to Athens to get into the Underworld? I thought there were a dozen or more entrances scattered around."

"Well that is true. You can crawl through some cave and eventually get there. Or you can just take the Metro. It's faster. All those heroes and heroines trying to get there, they finally just gave in and built a metro stop." He gave her his broadest grin. "People were dying to get in."

Cornellia groaned, but followed her guide into the underground. The metro system from the port to the center of the city was old but reasonably speedy. After they passed the Acropolis they transferred at Syndagma Square to the newer line. Cornellia was amazed at Syndagma station.

"It's like a museum."

"Well when you build anything in Greece," Zorba said with a sigh, "you are always going to find antiquities. What else can you do with them?" He shrugged. Cornellia watched the stations go by. Syndagma. Evangelismos. Megaro Mousikis. Hades.

"This is our stop."

While the other station stops were clean, modern, and well-lit, this one was gloomy and oddly misty. "These are the five rivers of Hades," Zorba said sorrowfully. Then he looked down. "Oops. I'm standing in the Acheron, the river of sorrow." He stepped back onto the path. "I'd stay on the path. They built bridges. They cross the five rivers: The Acheron; the Cocytus, river of lamentation; the Phlegethon, river of fire; the Lethe, river of forgetfulness; and the Styx, river of hate. Once you cross the Styx you will reach the gates of Hades." He paused. "I'd like to leave you here, pretty lady. At the end of the path there is a dog, and I'm allergic to dogs."

Cornellia took her leave and left Zorba dejectedly wringing out his socks. As she walked on some water from the next river formed a heavy mist.

"My hair!" Cornellia cried. "This is going to totally ruin my 'do. Oh woe!" She passed a sign labeled 'Cocytus.' The next river burned with a fire that consumed no fuel. "Wow, this will dry out my hair… but I better not stay too long!" Cornellia ran over that bridge. The fourth bridge had a water cooler. A confused man stood there holding a paper cup. His eyes lit on Cornellia as she stopped to take a drink. "Whatever you do, don't drink the water!" he warned. Then he paused. "I can't remember why, though." Cornellia though that was sound advice and passed over the Lethe, still holding the paper cup of water.

Cornellia found a toll bridge blocking her way when she reached the last crossing, over the Styx. The toll booth contained a cranky, skinny old man and a radio playing rock music from the 1970s.

"Are you Charon?" she asked.

"Yeah. What's it to you?" he snapped. "Toll's one obol. Pay it or leave. I don't give change, I don't take credit, and I don't accept foreign money. Not even euros."

"Didn't you have a boat?"

"It sank. You going in or you going to yap?" Cornellia opened her purse, glad she'd stopped at a bank on the way to exchange some sesterces for local money. She handed him the coin. He raised the barrier on the bridge.

Cornellia strolled over the Cyclopean construction. She wondered where the dog was Zorba had mentioned. She liked dogs.

There was a snarl. Above her loomed the biggest, meanest canines she had ever seen. They belonged to three dog heads.

"Oh, drat!" Cornellia exclaimed as Cerberus advanced.

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Post 3: see in action

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~ Table of Contents ~

article 4
article 6
article 7
notes

article 5

article1
article2
article 3
article 8
article 10

Posted Oct 14, 2005 - 15:26 , Last Edited: Oct 17, 2007 - 00:07