Three Greek Children (Yesterday's Classics) by Church Alfred J

Author:Church, Alfred J. [Church, Alfred J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781599150819
Publisher: Yesterday's Classics
Published: 2010-11-08T16:32:44.546000+00:00

CHAPTER XI

A Family Sacrifice

THE next day was to be a very important one for Hipponax, for he was to be present for the first time at a family sacrifice. Leon was descended from the old Athenian hero, Theseus; and once a year all his kinsfolk used to meet at the hero's temple (which may be seen still standing), and sacrifice a white bull. The time for doing this had come round, and Hipponax was now thought old enough to be there. Leon and he started before it was quite light, for the sacrifice was to be at sunrise. When they got to the temple, it was already nearly full of people. There was a fire blazing on the altar and a priest was standing by it dressed in white robes. The first thing done was that the priest called out in a loud voice to the people: "Be silent." (What he really said was, "Speak only lucky words"; but people thought that the best way of doing this was to say nothing at all, for they did not know what might chance to be unlucky.) Then some servants of the temple brought in the bull; it had wreaths of flowers over its neck and shoulders, and its horns were gilded. It came up quite quietly to the altar. Indeed it was thought a most unlucky thing if it made any disturbance. Perhaps the priests used to give the creature some kind of drug to keep it quiet; but if they did, they kept it a secret, for they wanted the people to think that the creature came willingly. Then one of the servants struck it on the head with a heavy axe, and killed it at one blow. This again was thought to be a most important thing. It would have been very bad luck indeed to have had to give more than one blow. Another servant cut its throat with a knife, and a third held a broad flat dish underneath to catch the blood. Perhaps you will think that this was not a very nice thing for the little boy to see, and indeed you are quite right. Hipponax turned quite pale when he saw the poor creature killed, but his father had warned him that he must not show any sign of being afraid or of not liking it. So he thought to himself it was like being in a battle for the first time, and he kept up his courage very well; and when his turn came to do his part in the sacrifice, which was to pour some drops of wine into the fire out of a golden cup, he did it with a hand that did not tremble at all. His kinsfolk all said afterwards that he had behaved very well. Then the priest said a prayer in which he asked Theseus to help and protect the house of Leon the son of Hipponax and all his kindred, to keep them safe abroad and make them happy at home.

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