Killer of Men Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Glossary

  Part I - The Lovely Bloom of Youth

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Part II - Some Made Slaves

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Part III - Freedom

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Part IV - Scattering the Leaves

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Part V - An Equal Exchange for Fire

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Part VI - Justice

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also by Christian Cameron

  THE TYRANT SERIES

  Tyrant

  Tyrant: Storm of Arrows

  Tyrant: Funeral Games

  OTHER NOVELS

  Washington and Caesar

  Killer of Men

  CHRISTIAN CAMERON

  Orion

  www.orionbooks.co.uk

  AN ORION EBOOK

  First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Orion Books

  This eBook first published in 2010 by Orion Books

  Copyright © Christian Cameron 2010

  The moral right of Christian Cameron to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All characters and events in this publication are fictitious, except for those already in the public domain, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is

  available from the British Library.

  eISBN : 978 1 4091 1192 4

  Orion Books

  The Orion Publishing Group Ltd

  Orion House

  5 Upper Saint Martin’s Lane

  London WC2H 9EA

  An Hachette UK Company

  www.orionbooks.co.uk

  For the Plataeans

  These were urged on by Ares, and the Greeks by flashing-eyed

  Athena, and Terror, and Rout, and Discord that rageth incessantly,

  sisters and comrades of Ares, killer of men.

  Homer, Iliad 4.440

  Glossary

  I am an amateur Greek scholar. My definitions are my own, but taken from the LSJ or Routledge’s Handbook of Greek Mythology or Smith’s Classical Dictionary. On some military issues I have the temerity to disagree with the received wisdom on the subject. Also check my website at www.hippeis.com for more information and some helpful pictures.

  Akinakes A Scythian short sword or long knife, also sometimes carried by Medes and Persians.

  Andron The ‘men’s room’ of a proper Greek house – where men have symposia. Recent research has cast real doubt as to the sexual exclusivity of the room, but the name sticks.

  Apobatai The Chariot Warriors. In many towns, towns that hadn’t used chariots in warfare for centuries, the Apobatai were the elite three hundred or so. In Athens, they competed in special events; in Thebes, they may have been the forerunners of the Sacred Band.

  Archon A city’s senior official or, in some cases, one of three or four. A magnate.

  Aspis The Greek hoplite’s shield (which is not called a hoplon!). The aspis is about a yard in diameter, is deeply dished (up to six inches deep) and should weigh between eight and sixteen pounds.

  Basilieus An aristocratic title from a bygone era (at least in 500 BC) that means ‘king’ or ‘lord’.

  Bireme A warship rowed by two tiers of oars, as opposed to a trireme, which has three tiers.

  Chiton The standard tunic for most men, made by taking a single continuous piece of cloth and folding it in half, pinning the shoulders and open side. Can be made quite fitted by means of pleating. Often made of very fine quality material – usually wool, sometimes linen, especially in the upper classes. A full chiton was ankle length for men and women.

  Chitoniskos A small chiton, usually just longer than modesty demanded – or not as long as modern modesty would demand! Worn by warriors and farmers, often heavily bloused and very full by warriors to pad their armour. Usually wool.

  Chlamys A short cloak made from a rectangle of cloth roughly 60 by 90 inches – could also be worn as a chiton if folded and pinned a different way. Or slept under as a blanket.

  Corslet/Thorax In 500 BC, the best corslets were made of bronze, mostly of the so-called ‘bell’ thorax variety. A few muscle corslets appear at the end of this period, gaining popularity into the 450s. Another style is the ‘white’ corslet seen to appear just as the Persian Wars begin – re-enactors call this the ‘Tube and Yoke’ corslet and some people call it (erroneously) the linothorax. Some of them may have been made of linen – we’ll never know – but the likelier material is Athenian leather, which was often tanned and finished with alum, thus being bright white. Yet another style was a tube and yoke of scale, which you can see the author wearing on his website. A scale corslet would have been the most expensive of all, and probably provided the best protection.

  Daidala Kithairon, the mountain that towered over Plataea, was the site of a remarkable fire-festival, the Daidala, which was celebrated by the Plataeans on the summit of the mountain. In the usual ceremony, as mounted by the Plataeans in every seventh year, a wooden idol (daidalon) would be dressed in bridal robes and dragged on an ox-cart from Plataea to the top of the mountain, where it would be burned after appropriate rituals. Or, in the Great Daidala, which were celebrated every forty-nine years, fourteen daidala from different Boeotian towns would be burned on a large wooden pyre heaped with brushwood, together with a cow and a bull that were sacrificed to Zeus and Hera. This huge pyre on the mountain top must have provided a most impressive spectacle; Pausanias remarks that he knew of no other flame that rose as high or could be seen from so far.

  The cultic legend that was offered to account for the festival ran as follows. When Hera had once quarreled with Zeus, as she often did, she had withdrawn to her childhood home of Euboea and had refused every attempt at reconciliation. So Zeus sought the advice of the wisest man on earth, Kithairon (the eponym of the mountain), who ruled at Plataea in the earliest times. Kithairon advised him to make a wooden image of a woman, to veil it in the manner of a bride, and then to have it drawn along in an ox-cart after spreading the rumour that he was planning to marry the nymph Plataea, a daughter of the River God Asopos. When Hera rushed to the scene and tore away the veils, she was so relieved to find a wooden effigy rather than the expected bride that she at last consented to be reconciled with Zeus. (Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology, p.137 – 38)

  Daimon Literally a spirit, the daimon of combat might be adrenaline, and the daimon of philosophy might simply be native intelligence. Suffice it to say that very intelligent men – like Socrates – believed that god-sent spirits could infuse a man and influence his actions.

  Daktyloi Literally digits or fingers, in common talk, ‘i
nches’ in the system of measurement. Systems for measurement differed from city to city. I have taken the liberty of using just one, the Athenian units of measurement.

  Despoina Lady. A term of formal address.

  Diekplous A complex naval tactic about which some debate remains. In this book, the Diekplous or through stroke is commenced with an attack by the ramming ship’s bow (picture the two ships approaching bow to bow or head on) and cathead on the enemy oars. Oars were the most vulnerable part of a fighting ship, something very difficult to imagine unless you’ve rowed in a big boat and understand how lethal your own oars can be – to you! After the attacker crushed the enemy’s oars, he passes, flank to flank, and then turns when astern, coming up easily (the defender is almost dead in the water) and ramming the enemy under the stern or counter as desired.

  Doru/Dory A spear, about ten feet long, with a bronze butt spike and a spearhead.

  Eleutheria Freedom.

  Ephebe A young, free man of property. A young man in training to be a hoplite. Usually performing service to his city and, in ancient terms, at one of the two peaks of male beauty.

  Eromenos The ‘beloved’ in a same-sex pair in ancient Greece. Usually younger, about seventeen. This is a complex, almost dangerous subject in the modern world – were these pair-bonds about sex, or chivalric love, or just a ‘brotherhood’ of warriors? I suspect there were elements of all three. And to write about this period without discussing the eromenos/erastes bond would, I fear, be like putting all the warriors in steel armour instead of bronze …

  Erastes The ‘lover’ in a same-sex pair bond – the older man, a tried warrior, twenty-five to thirty years old.

  Eudaimonia Literally ‘well-spirited’. A feeling of extreme joy.

  Exhedra The porch of the women’s quarters – in some cases, any porch over a farm’s central courtyard.

  Helot The ‘race of slaves’ of Ancient Sparta – the conquered peoples who lived with the Spartiates and did all of their work so that they could concentrate entirely on making war and more Spartans.

  Hetaera Literally a ‘female companion’. In ancient Athens, a Hetaera was a courtesan, a highly skilled woman who provided sexual companionship as well as fashion, political advice, and music.

  Himation A very large piece of rich, often embroidered wool, worn as an outer garment by wealthy citizen women or as a sole garment by older men, especially those in authority.

  Hoplite A Greek upper-class warrior. Possession of a heavy spear, a helmet, and an aspis (see above) and income above the marginal lowest free class were all required to serve as a hoplite. Although much is made of the ‘citizen soldier’ of ancient Greece, it would be fairer to compare hoplites to medieval knights than to Roman legionnaires or modern National Guardsmen. Poorer citizens did serve, and sometimes as hoplites or marines, but in general, the front ranks were the preserve of upper class men who could afford the best training and the essential armour.

  Hoplitodromos The hoplite race, or race in armour. Two stades with an aspis on your shoulder, a helmet, and greaves in the early runs. I’ve run this race in armour. It is no picnic.

  Hoplomachia A hoplite contest, or sparring match. Again, there is enormous debate as to when hoplomachia came into existence and how much training Greek hoplites received. One thing that they didn’t do is drill like modern soldiers – there’s no mention of it in all of Greek literature. However, they had highly evolved martial arts (see Pankration) and it is almost certain that hoplomachia was a term that referred to ‘the martial art of fighting when fully equipped as a hoplite’.

  Hoplomachos A participant in hoplomachia.

  Hypaspist Literally ‘under the shield’. A squire or military servant – by the time of Arimnestos, the hypaspist was usually a younger man of the same class as the hoplite.

  Kithara A stringed instrument of some complexity, with a hollow body as a soundboard.

  Kline A couch.

  Kopis The heavy, back-curved saber of the Greeks. Like a longer, heavier modern Kukri or Ghurka knife.

  Kore A maiden or daughter.

  Kylix A wide, shallow, handled bowl for drinking wine.

  Logos Literally the ‘word’. In pre-Socratic Greek philosophy the word is everything – the power beyond the gods.

  Longche A six to seven foot throwing spear, also used for hunting. A hoplite might carry a pair of longche, or a single, longer and heavier dory.

  Machaira A heavy sword or long knife.

  Maenad The ‘raving ones’ – ecstatic female followers of Dionysus.

  Mastos A woman’s breast. A mastos cup is shaped like a woman’s breast with a rattle in the nipple – so when you drink, you lick the nipple and the rattle shows that you emptied the cup. I’ll leave the rest to imagination…

  Medimnoi A grain measure. Very roughly – thirty-five to a hundred pounds of grain.

  Megaron A style of building with a roofed porch.

  Navarch An admiral.

  Oikia The household – all the family and all the slaves, and sometimes the animals and the farmland itself.

  Opson Whatever spread, dip, or accompaniment an ancient Greek had with bread.

  Pais A child.

  Palaestra The exercise sands of the gymnasium.

  Pankration The military martial art of the ancient Greeks – an unarmed combat system that bears more than a passing resemblance to modern MMA techniques, with a series of carefully structured blows and domination holds that is, by modern standards, very advanced. Also the basis of the Greek sword and spear-based martial arts. Kicking, punching, wrestling, grappling, on the ground and standing, were all permitted.

  Peplos A short over-fold of cloth that women could wear as a hood or to cover the breasts.

  Phalanx The full military potential of a town; the actual, formed body of men before a battle (all of the smaller groups formed together made a phalanx). In this period, it would be a mistake to imagine a carefully drilled military machine.

  Phylarch A file leader – an officer commanding the four to sixteen men standing behind him in the phalanx.

  Polemarch The war leader.

  Polis The city. The basis of all Greek political thought and expression, the government that was held to be more important – a higher god – than any individual or even family. To this day, when we talk about politics, we’re talking about the ‘things of our city’.

  Porne A prostitute.

  Porpax The bronze or leather band that encloses the forearm on a Greek aspis.

  Psiloi Light infantryman – usually slaves or adolescent freemen who, in this period, were not organised and seldom had any weapon beyond some rocks to throw.

  Pyrrhiche The ‘War Dance’. A line dance in armour done by all of the warriors, often very complex. There’s reason to believe that the Pyrrhiche was the method by which the young were trained in basic martial arts and by which ‘drill’ was inculcated.

  Pyxis A box, often circular, turned from wood or made of metal.

  Rhapsode A master-poet, often a performer who told epic works like the Iliad from memory.

  Satrap A Persian ruler of a province of the Persian Empire.

  Skeuophoros Literally a ‘shield carrier’, unlike the hypaspist, this is a slave or freed man who does camp work and carried the armour and baggage.

  Sparabara The large wicker shield of the Persian and Mede elite infantry. Also the name of those soldiers.

  Spolas Another name for a leather corslet, often used for the lion skin of Herakles.

  Stade A measure of distance. An Athenian stade is about 185 meters.

  Strategos In Athens, the commander of one of the ten military tribes. Elsewhere, any senior Greek officer – sometimes the commanding General.

  Synaspismos The closest order that hoplites could form – so close that the shields overlap, hence ‘shield on shield’.

  Taxis Any group but, in military terms, a company; I use it for sixty to three hundred men.

  Thetes The lowest free class �
�� citizens with limited rights.

  Thorax See corslet.

  Thugater Daughter. Look at the word carefully and you’ll see the ‘daughter’ in it …

  Triakonter A small rowed galley of thirty oars.

  Trierarch The captain of a ship – sometimes just the owner or builder, sometimes the fighting captain.

  Zone A belt, often just rope or finely wrought cord, but could be a heavy bronze kidney belt for war.

  General Note on Names and Personages

  This series is set in the very dawn of the so-called Classical Era, often measured from the Battle of Marathon (490 BC). Some, if not most, of the famous names of this era are characters in this series – and that’s not happenstance. Athens of this period is as magical, in many ways, as Tolkien’s Gondor, and even the quickest list of artists, poets, and soldiers of this era reads like a ‘who’s who’ of Western Civilization. Nor is the author tossing them together by happenstance – these people were almost all aristocrats, men (and women) who knew each other well – and might be adversaries or friends in need. Names in bold are historical characters – yes, even Arimnestos – and you can get a glimpse into their lives by looking at Wikipedia or Britannia online. For more in-depth information, I recommend Plutarch and Herodotus, to whom I owe a great deal.

  Arimnestos of Plataea may – just may – have been Herodotus’s source for the events of the Persian Wars. The careful reader will note that Herodotus himself – a scribe from Halicarnassus – appears several times . . .

  Archilogos – Ephesian, son of Hipponax the poet; a typical Ionian aristocrat, who loves Persian culture and Greek culture too, who serves his city, not some cause of ‘Greece’ or ‘Hellas’, and who finds the rule of the Great King fairer and more ’democratic’ than the rule of a Greek tyrant.