The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies by Martin Millar

Author:Martin Millar [Millar, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780349407159
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2015-04-01T21:00:00+00:00

Luxos

Luxos arrived home, very depressed. ‘I was so close to having my poetry heard! A plague on Alcibiades and his aristocratic drunken revelry.’

He sat down heavily on one of the two rickety wooden chairs in his single room. ‘I’m going to complain to Aristophanes.’

Metris looked dubious. ‘That might not be the best idea. I think he was annoyed because everyone thought he invited you to the symposium.’

‘How do you know that?’ asked Luxos.

‘I heard him say “Now everyone thinks I invited that idiot Luxos to the symposium”.’

‘Oh.’

‘At least we got food,’ said Metris brightly, emptying the bag of supplies they’d filched from the party.

Luxos slumped in his chair. It had been a relief to eat, after a long period of hunger, but that pleasure had now worn off. ‘Maybe everyone’s right. Maybe I don’t deserve to be a poet. No one’s ever going to listen to me.’

‘Could you put on your own play?’

Luxos shook his head. He was normally an optimistic youth but his optimism had been crushed by the evening’s events, and by the pervasive cloud of unhappiness that now lay over Athens. The presence of Laet was having a baleful influence on everyone.

‘You need money to pay for the chorus and the costumes and everything. The city only gives you funds if you’re the right sort of person.’

‘Right sort of person?’

‘Not the grandson of a slave and son of an oarsman.’

‘Oh.’

They sat in silence. In the peace of the night they could hear the tide lapping around the harbour outside. Metris smiled. Uniquely in the city, the nymph was unaffected by Laet. Her good humour had not dimmed.

‘It would be so good if you could do the reading before Aristophanes’ play. Maybe you could ask him again?’

Luxos shook his head. ‘He’ll never give me that spot. He’s already offered it to Isidoros.’

‘Then what about one of the other comic poets? They might let you read before their play is staged. Or maybe Eupolis needs a good lyric interlude?’

Luxos looked thoughtful. His frown eased. ‘That’s not a bad idea. Maybe I’ve been wasting my time with Aristophanes. He is a fellow Pandionis, but it’s not like he’s ever been that helpful. I should offer my services to Eupolis and if he says no I could try Leucon and Cratinus.’

Metris ran her fingers through his tousled blond hair.

‘Why did you do that?’ asked Luxos.

‘I just felt like it.’ Metris embraced him, and they lay down together on the small bed, an ancient item which, Luxos noticed, had never felt as comfortable as it did when he lay there with Metris in his arms.

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