The Pericles Commission (32 page)

Nico has his work cut out for him.

In the next book Nico will step inside the Persian Empire to meet Themistocles, who has defected to the enemy. A secret awaits him there, and he’d better be ready to deal with it, because he’ll be inside enemy territory with no one to help him. No one, that is, except a priestess from Mantinea.

Agora.
The marketplace. It’s located immediately to the northwest of the Acropolis. The Agora and the Acropolis are connected by a path called the Panathenaic Way. The Agora is where everyone goes to hang out.

Amphora.
The standard container of the ancient world. Amphorae come in many sizes. An amphora mildly resembles a worm caught in the act of eating far too big a mouthful: wide at the top, tapering to a pointy bottom. Amphorae are used to hold wine, oil, water, olives, you name it. Tens of thousands of ancient amphorae have survived to this day.

Andron.
A room at the front of the house reserved for the men and their male visitors.

Archons.
The city executives. There are nine archons: the
Eponymous Archon,
the
Polemarch,
the
Basileus,
and six others who serve as magistrates. The archons are elected for a year.

Areopagus.
A low hill of rock alongside the Acropolis. Home to the
Council of the Areopagus
.

Attica.
The area of southern Greece controlled by Athens. Most of Attica is rural, very hilly farmland. People often say Athens when, strictly speaking, they mean Attica. For example the right to vote and hold office belongs to all the citizens of Attica, not merely Athens.

Aulus pipes.
A recorder-like instrument but with two pipes which form a V at the mouthpiece.

Basileus.
The archon in charge of religious festivals.

Boule.
A committee of five hundred citizens, fifty from each
tribe
, elected annually to manage the running of the
Ecclesia
. The Ecclesia has thousands of members, so without the Boule it would be too unwieldy.

Chiton.
The chiton is the usual garment of a wealthy citizen. The chiton is a large rectangular sheet, or two sheets pinned together, wrapped around the body from the right, wide enough to cover the arms when outstretched and fall to the ankles. The sheet is pinned over both shoulders and down the left side. Greek clothing is neither cut nor shaped, so there’s a lot of spare material below the arms. The chiton is belted at the waist so the extra material doesn’t flop around. The chiton is worn with a
himation,
a bit like a stole, across the shoulders. The chiton is for men with no need to labor. A middle-class artisan might wear an
exomis.

Chitoniskos.
A little
chiton
, as the name implies.
-iskos
is a diminutive. A boy or young man might wear his wealthy father’s cast-off chiton, cut down to size, thus becoming a chitoniskos. A chitoniskos is cut to end at the knees, but it is still pinned over both shoulders and fully covers the torso.

Choregos.
The producer of a choral festival show. The choregos funds the chorus.

Council of the Areopagus.
Prior to the democracy, the ultimate decision-making body of Athens. Often referred to as simply the Areopagus, or the Council. The Areopagus had the sole power to decide foreign policy, and could nullify laws made by the
Ecclesia.
After the democracy, the Areopagus became a court for murder and heresy. Membership of the Areopagus consists of
archons
who have completed their term of office.

Deme.
A deme is like a combination of suburb and sub-
tribe
. All of
Attica
is broken up into demes.

Drachma.
The standard coin of Greece. The average workman earns about a drachma a day. One drachma is worth six
obols
. All coins are stamped with the famous owl of Athens.

Ecclesia.
The assembly of all the citizens of Athens, managed by the
Boule
. After the reforms of Ephialtes, the Ecclesia became the world’s first democratic parliament.

Eponymous Archon.
The archon in charge of the affairs of citizens. He is something like a city mayor. Often referred to as simply the Archon. The Eponymous Archon is the one after whom the year is named. This story takes place in the Year of Conon.

Exomis.
The exomis is the standard wear of middle-class artisans. The exomis is a sheet of linen wrapping around from the right, slightly wider than the shoulders of the wearer, and falling to knee-length. The corners are tied over the left shoulder, which is all that prevents the exomis from falling off. This leaves both arms and legs free to move without hindrance.

Herm.
A bust of Hermes, Messenger of the Gods. Hermes is the protector of travelers and his bust is placed at every street corner.

Hetaera.
A combination of salon hostess and high-class call girl. The hetaerae are free women of great beauty. Hetaera parties are very popular with the men, but you have to be wealthy to get an invite.

Himation.
A stole or cloak worn with a
chiton.
The himation is made of wool and worn across the shoulders and down an arm.

Hydria.
A ceramic jar used to store water. All ceramics are made by potters in the
deme
called Ceramicus, hence the modern word.

Krater.
A large bowl that sits on the ground and is used to mix wine and water.

Metic.
A resident alien in Athens. Metics can run businesses and they pay taxes, but have no say in public affairs. A modern equivalent would be residents of the United States with green cards. Metics are the economic backbone of Athens.

Obol.
A small coin. Six obols make a
drachma.

Polemarch.
The archon in charge of the affairs of
metics.
In ages past, the Polemarch had been the war archon, but military command has now passed to the
strategoi.

Pornê.
A common hooker. The word means
walker,
because like their modern colleagues the pornoi had to walk the streets. There is a world of difference between the pornê and the upper-class
hetaera
.

Psyche.
A human spirit.

Strategos.
A military General. Ten strategoi are elected each year, one from each
tribe
.

Trapezai.
Bankers are called trapezai because their work tables are covered in trapezoids: straight-sided irregular shapes. The bankers do complex financial calculations by running knotted string along the sides of the shapes, whose lengths are in known ratios.

Tribe.
Every citizen of
Attica
belonged to one of ten tribes. Each tribe is in turn divided into many
demes
. The tribes are handy groupings for civic administration. Almost everything is organized by tribes and demes.

This book exists because my wife, Helen, backed me throughout the clearly insane process of writing it. She’s also the first line of defense for punctuation: you have Helen to thank for half the commas and all of the semicolons. Our daughters, Catriona and Megan, likewise have coped brilliantly with a Daddy who writes.

Anneke Klein and Bill Kirton read multiple versions of the manuscript and gave valuable criticism. Vicki Skarratt provided an outstanding author photo and Catherine Hammond critiqued an early version of the manuscript.

Professor Margaret Miller very kindly read the manuscript and pointed out a number of errors and improvements. You have Margaret to thank for the characters wearing correct clothing. Any errors that remain are all my fault, and I wish you joy of finding them.

There would be no book were it not for my agent, the inimitable Janet Reid, and the good people at FinePrint Literary Agency. Joanna Volpe, now a successful agent in her own right, edited the manuscript before submission and has been one of my most enthusiastic fans.

Straight after I queried Janet with my manuscript, I very cleverly shut down my e-mail and Web site. This created the bizarre case of a writer who disappeared from the face of the planet the moment a literary agent became interested; not something you see every day. Janet’s loyal blog readers came to the rescue for a spot of real-life sleuthing, in particular Rachael de Vienne, who tracked me down, using her excellent research skills, to an old e-mail address. Thank you all!

Finally, thanks to Kathleen Conn at Minotaur for her editorship and for coping with a debut author.