For my history class I was assigned a project to write a journal from the point of view of a certain ancient greek citizen, or slave, living in the polis (city-state), Sparta. p.s. sorry for anyone who read this previous to 5:54 on the 8th of May, I accidentally published the non-final draft, but I have now changed it, so here you are:
This
Journal Belongs To:
Elektra Ioanaidis
*Dialogue:
mother vs. me: 5th of May 435*
My
life has changed so much in just two years. If I’m going to
dedicate this entry to my parents I might as well start from the beginning. My
mom and dad met in the market, haggling for a pretty necklace. My dad was
buying it for his mom, my mom for her sister. We kids always complained that
what happened next made all their arguing so pointless and was incredibly
stupid. We just felt bad for the stall owner. What happened? They played tug
and war for it, breaking it in half. You would think they were 5 not 12. How
could that happen? A Spartan may ask. That boy should have been in the
Barracks. Was it a holiday? No, sir, it wasn’t. My father was actually born in
Crete. His father, Phillip Papadopoulos, was a traveling merchant and moved
every couple of years. When my father was 9, Phillip sent them all on a voyage,
island hopping until they reached Sparta, or when my father was ten. The
authorities didn’t even know they were there until he was eleven, when they
officially became free non-citizens. It wasn’t until after the incident with my
mom, aged twelve, did they put him into the barracks. After that, my mom and
dad kept in constant contact, and eventually married, strangely taking my mom’s
maiden name. They lived happily ever after, with a wonderful family and farm, until
the sad death of my mom in 432.
“ELEKTRA!”
“….”
“Excuse
me, young lady, I spoke your name, now answer and respect your elders.”
I smile at
“young lady”, thinking, you only wish.
She glares at me warily. Sticks her chin up in defiance, I mimic her, and I
speak.
“Yes,
my master.”
“No
need to get snarky dear, but we need your help in the fields–AFTER–you finish
your lessons.”
“If
you need my help, why do I have to do these lessons?”
“Because
we still have plenty of other helots helping us, plus there’s your father. We just
thought that you needed to get some experience in the field, so we asked you to
help.”
She answers my next
question making me pause. My dad walks in, taking a break, since he’s older and
doesn’t have as much stamina. Thinking this must be a sign I close my eyes and
thank the gods.
“Dad,
you look tired, why don’t you let me take your place in the fields. We can kill
two birds with one stone, I can get stronger like my fellow Spartans, and you
can rest while spending some quality time with mom.”
Mom and Dad knowingly
glance, I sigh, and can already hear what he is about to say. So much for a
sign from the Gods…
“Just
listen to your mother, Elektra, you’re only sixteen and your mother always
knows best.” She smiles lovingly; they
kiss and he goes back to work. My sister, Alkestis, walks in, and out like a
wisp of a scent in the air, sweeping her way through.
“Now,
Elektra, go to the living room your teacher is waiting.”
I walk to my dreaded
teacher, with his creepy crawly spectacled eyes, stained shirt, and hair less
head, as my elder tells me to. Because, what else is there for me to do?
–Dialogue,
conversations, they intrigue me, and I like writing this way. How do you like
my writing now, teacher! HA! Like he would ever read this.....Ah, my mother,
how I wish to laugh with her about all of this someday. Our daily arguments are
like a comedy show booked for two: us.
*Scene
and Dialogue: The Stall: 15th of May 432*
All
year round, the market place holds an open market where the local business’
advertise and set up carts selling their products. However, my family, only
owning a local farm goes on the fifteenth of every month for we don’t always
have something to sell. I am always sent out with Alkestis. We are like two
parts to a whole, one would not do nearly as well without the other. She is the
pretty flower that attracts the customers, while I am the cheap old man in
charge, badgering them for a bargain that will pay the rent. I wake up at
sunrise, the pretty pink and purples mixing together, lulling me back to my
pillow. But I always resist; my six year old brother, Iraklis, said that’s
because I’m cold hearted enough to resist the god’s daily wakening gift to man.
I say that it is because I am a farmer.
My
mother is up cooking breakfast for my dad, and my sister is hogging the
bathroom again getting ready for her big show in the market. I wonder on days like
these when she looks her best, why she doesn’t have a boyfriend or even a
fiancé yet. I just mystify at the fact that no boy has called dibs on her, like
they always do with their favorite practice bows. Thirty minutes later, I’m done waiting for my
sister, and we head off to town a few miles away. I set up my stall and watch
as everyone else does the same. Alkestis watches the growing crowd for any
potential customers; I watch too waiting to see what kind of people I will meet
today.
We
had brought one of our helots, Agatone, to help bring up some of the products.
Around mid-day though, I saw him go off into an alley way and disappear. I
don’t really mind because I have it all under control. But I wonder what he’s
up to. I wish him the best in every
adventure that blows his way. (My father always told me to not hate the
conquered. They were just in the wrong place, wrong time. The same thing
could’ve easily happened to any one of us.)
Later
that afternoon, I see Agatone walk back to the stall with a pretty lady,
probably a helot, and put three eggs and a small jar of jam into her basket. “How
muc-” She begins, but falters as if she recognizes me. Clearing her throat she
begins again asking, “How much for the three eggs and the jar of jam?”
Only
now understanding what Agatone was doing, I smile, and meaning no disrespect I
say, “Oh! Hello! Agatone, you brought a new customer? Or
is she a friend of yours?"
He
chuckles slightly, “I suppose she is a new friend of mine. This is Korinna Giannopoulous.”
What
a pretty name to suit such a pretty girl I think to myself. Wait…that last name
seems familiar. Right! How could I have forgotten? That’s my aunt’s last name.
She must be her helot, amazing, such a coincidence. I smile brightly towards
her, wanting to begin my bargaining strategy. But she is Agatone’s friend and
my aunt’s helot. It would be rude to make her pay as much as the others. So I
have her pay three coins. Alkestis, hearing this turns around and gasps
"Elektra? Not haggling for a price! My! Agatone, you saw this too right?
People will think I'm crazy if I tell them with no other witness!" She
laughs and was going to begin to try to sell beauty products to the maiden but
she recognizes that her natural beauty is far better than one a product can
give. Embarrassing Agatone, she even asks him if he agrees….I’m cracking up on
the inside, but oh poor Agatone. She winks at him while I let a giggle escape
my lips. I glance over at Agatone fidgeting and repay him with the rest of the
day off. He thanks me and the two of them disappear once again. The rest of the
day goes extremely well, and our profit is good.
*Scene
and dialogue: Draco and the Harvest Festival: 22nd of October 432*
Today
is the day of the festival, where we celebrate the end of a good harvest. The
date changes every year, but always occurs in the month of September or
October. Booths fill up the streets, kids run around, soldiers, this one day,
can finally come home, it is a happy time. I am hanging out with my little brother;
Fovios aged ten, who came back with the other soldiers today. He always loves
this festival. All of us siblings walk around playing games, talking, being
obnoxious, acting as if nothing had changed, while the adults hang around in
the back watching. After hours of quality family time, I find myself wandering
around the games by myself, I guess I got lost somewhere but I don't know how.
When
I met him, he was hanging around the tents, and muttering to himself some nasty
stuff about the important people walking around. I couldn’t help but laugh, it
was just too true, and too funny. He glances over at me and smiles. I smile
back. “Hey.” We say at the same time. I chuckle, ok, giggle, and raise my hand
to his.
“My
name’s Elektra Ioanaidis. You a soldier here for the festival?” With his
military collar around his neck it wasn’t hard to figure out but I had to make
sure, besides, it’s polite conversation.
“Yea,
how’d you guess?” I smile again and we start talking some more. It sounds so
un-romantic and a little silly, but by the end of our three hour meeting, we
had decided to go out. I officially had a boyfriend. It went a little like
this:
“So,
Elektra, you have a betrothed?”
“Nope,
not yet. You?”
“Me
neither…..” He glances away.
“You
wanna go out then? No ‘until death do us part’ pressure. Just us, we are amazing
people, and amazing people gravitate towards one another right?” I smile and
cringe on the inside for actually saying that.
He
smirks and silently chuckles, shrugging his shoulders as if saying ‘what the
hell’, “Yea…I guess you're right. Let’s date. Since I can’t get out of the
barracks much, we will send letters by post to keep in touch, ok?”
“Ok.”
I hear my name in the distance. “I think that’s my family. I should go, see you
Draco.”
“Bye,
Elektra.”
*Scene:
Ianthe, my mom, and me: 28th of December 432*
Family
always sticks together, they're like glue. That's what my momma, Cliantha use
to say whenever my siblings and I fought. Then she'd always add when she
thought no one was listening: wonderful in tough situations, but horrible when
ever nothing's wrong. But she always said she got her great sayings from her
sister, Ianthe. Ianthe can only be described as a kind and wonderful person.
She has her faults, but in this world filled with experiments created by the
Gods, who doesn’t? After my mom passed, she consoled me the way no one else
could. It’s not that no one else tried. It is just that, her words clicked.
They made sense to my mind filled with anger, pain, sadness, confusion, and most
of all, regrets. I always thought. Why didn’t I say this? Why did I have to act
like that? Why didn’t I just say I love you one last time? Why couldn’t I see
it? My mom died two weeks after the Harvest festival of 432. She had caught a
deadly, painless disease and by the time our farm doctors figured it out the
battle was already lost. I feel the worst for my dad, who loves to protect his
family, because he knew about the disease and knew he couldn’t do anything
about it. But I also think I feel worse for the survivor, their pain lasts the
longest. The question: Could I have done something to save them? Is always lingering
in the back of their head. I should know. That’s how I felt. Every day, for
what felt like years. Sitting alone, not eating, and solely wallowing in
self-pity and my loss, completely immune to the world around me. That is, until a month ago, the 28th
of November, when Ianthe roughly pulled me out of the water, and down from my
high pedestal, crashing me into the ground. We have been nearly inseparable
ever since. I always go over to her house no matter what, mainly because it is
peaceful (somewhat), and new. I still
love the farm and living there with only me, Alkestis and dad isn’t so bad,
different but not bad.
*Scene
and Dialogue: Memories; Parents: 5th of March 430*
Now,
it’s war time, and my life has drastically changed.
Draco
and I are engaged, but he’s off at war. I pray every day for his safety, and
Spartan’s victory.
Alkestis
has moved into a new home that, once the war is over and everyone comes home,
she will share with her husband.
My
mom is up and away with the gods, like she always told me she one day would be.
My
Dad is too off at war, looking after Draco, the “little rebel”, and protecting
his country, and therefore, family, just as he always wishes too. I, of course,
pray for his safety too. I’m not sure I could handle losing him as well so
soon.
Fovios,
and Iraklis are off training in the barracks, giving the teachers hell with
their loud mouths and strong opinions. Remind me of anyone? I’m chuckling as
I’m writing to myself…….is that healthy? Well anyway, they adore Draco, and are
just like him, or at least wish to be. They also wish to be in the war with
their father and brother in laws. That just shows how unprepared for war they
truly are.
Me?
Well, I’m pretty much alone all the time, Agatone visits sometimes but I don’t
think he could ever think of me as a friend even after I freed him and the
other helots once the war started. Besides he has a family to take care of now,
living with his adorable son and wife: Eros, and Korinna. I spend much of my
time switching between Ianthe’s and Alkestis’ home. I’m still getting my lessons,
and I help in the fields everyday now, my old helots helping me keep this farm
alive even though I set them free. I’m building
up my strength to become a strong mother and wife…Wow, never thought I’d say
that. I never expected a lot of things…
But that’s just what life is right? “Never expect things in life, my dear,
you’ll just get disappointed.” –by Cliantha and Ianthe Ioanaidis.
No comments:
Post a Comment