Creation: A Novel by Gore Vidal

Author:Gore Vidal
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Ancient, Iran, Xerxes, Iranians - Foreign Countries, Foreign countries, Iran - History - to 640, Fiction, Athens (Greece), Historical fiction, Historical, Greece, Ambassadors, Iranians, History
ISBN: 9780375727054
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 2002-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

In those days Xerxes liked to wander about Babylon in disguise. He would wear a Chaldean cloak in such a way that the hood covered the telltale square-cut beard. With face covered, he looked like a moderately unsuccessful young merchant from some upriver village. When Atossa remonstrated with him about these adventures, he would say, “If they are going to kill me, they will kill me. If it happens, it happens.” Eventually, it happened.

In our youth, thanks to Atossa, Xerxes was never entirely on his own. Wherever he went, guards were always close at hand. Even so, I must say that those expeditions always made me uneasy. “Why expose yourself like this?”

“I enjoy it. Anyway, since no one ever knows in advance just when I plan to vanish—including me—that rules out ambush, doesn’t it?”

Xerxes and I vanished the day after my conference with Shirik. My heralds and guards were dismissed, while Xerxes’ personal guards were dressed to resemble farmers come to market. Then, contentedly, Xerxes led me through the quarter of those privately owned brothels which are far superior to the temple establishments. In a good private house, it is possible to dine well, listen to music, enjoy the resident girls who come from every part of the world. The girls are often lovely; and always clean.

Xerxes’ favorite house was in an alleyway between the back wall of the temple of Ishtar and the camel market. The owner and mistress of the revels was a bewhiskered woman who had no idea who we were. But she always remembered with simulated fondness the handsome gray-eyed young Persian who paid her well and made no trouble. At the door she greeted us with her usual “Gallant young princes, you are like the sun in a dark place! Enter, enter!”

Somewhat incongruously, she spoke the language of the old Babylonian court, where she had spent her childhood as, she claimed, a concubine of Nabonidus. But the other house owners in the district assured us that she had been not a concubine but a cook. Babylonian malice is always elaborate and amusing if one is not the butt.

“By now,” said an aged competitor, “the old thing really believes that she was queen of Babylon. But she was the lowest of the low. I can’t think why you nice lads go near her place. She has every sort of disease. And, of course, she’s a eunuch. Didn’t you know? Haven’t you noticed the little beard?”

As always, we paid in advance, which delighted Xerxes. He enjoyed pretending that he was an ordinary mortal. As always, I paid for both of us. The crown prince may not carry a purse. We were then shown into a large room at the top of the house, where we lay side by side on a low divan.

Remembering Xerxes’ preference for Helbon wine, our hostess sent us a dozen flagons. Each was delivered by a different girl—an amiable way of showing us the house’s wares. In another room, Phrygian music was played.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.