Essays on the Greek Romances

by Elizabeth Hazelton Haight

The next day Calasiris and Cnemon heard all Nausicles’ story from himself, saw Chariclea and made a plan to ransom Theagenes. After Nausicles had celebrated a sacrifice in the temple of Hermes, the god of gain, Calasiris on request continued his narrative of the voyage from Delphi. At Zacynthos a deaf old fisherman Tyrrhenus gave them lodging. The Tyrian merchant who won the victory at the Pythian games now sued for Chariclea’s hand. Tyrrhenus discovered an ambush of pirates waiting for the Phoenician ship to sail. Calasiris without revealing this persuaded the Tyrian captain to sail that night. The pirate crew under Trachinus pursued them and engaged them in a terrible battle so finally the Phoenicians had to surrender. Trachinus demanded marriage with Chariclea and she deceitfully promised her hand if he would spare Calasiris and “her brother” Theagenes. With difficulty the pirates maneuvered the boat to land near the mouth of the Nile. Trachinus told Calasiris that he proposed to marry Chariclea that day. Calasiris, ingenious as ever, persuaded him to let Chariclea go on the ship to attire herself for the wedding and be left undisturbed there. Calasiris then plotted with Pelorus, second in command of the pirates, telling him Chariclea loved him. Pelorus since he had been the first to board the Phoenician ship demanded, as his right of first choice of the booty, the girl. A terrible battle ensued in which Trachinus was killed, Pelorus wounded by Theagenes and put to flight and Theagenes badly wounded. In the morning Egyptian pirates arrived and carried them both off. Calasiris had spent his days mourning for them until this present recovery of Chariclea.

The next day Calasiris, Cnemon and Nausicles set out to find Theagenes. An acquaintance informed Nausicles that Mithranes had sent his troops on an expedition against the men of Bessa, commanded by Thyamis, because they had stolen a captive Greek youth. So Nausicles and his friends returned to Chemmis and told all to Chariclea. Nausicles gave a farewell dinner-party since the season favorable for navigation compelled him to sail for Greece. Cnemon after a struggle with himself decided to go with him and was permitted to marry his daughter, Nausiclea.

Calasiris and Chariclea disguised as beggars started for Bessa to seek Theagenes. Near Bessa they found many corpses lying on the ground. An old woman told them there had been a battle between Mithranes’ forces and the men of Bessa in which the men of Bessa had been victorious and Mithranes had been killed. The victors had now set out to Memphis against Oroondates. The old woman had lost her son in battle. That night Calasiris and Chariclea secretly watched her magic rites by which she raised him to give her news of her other son. The shade also revealed that there were two witnesses to her wicked necromancy; that Chariclea should be happily reunited with Theagenes and that his own mother would meet her death by the sword. This soon happened, for she fell on an upright sword on the battle-field.

Calasiris and Chariclea arrived at Memphis just as Thyamis and his brigands began a siege of it. The people of Memphis in the absence of Oroondates consulted the queen Arsace about the wisdom of going out to attack the enemy. Thyamis had been driven into exile by the slanders of his brother Petosiris who swore there was an amour between Thyamis and Arsace. Petosiris had then succeeded his brother in the priesthood of Isis. Arsace after looking at the enemy from the wall ordered a single combat between Thyamis and Petosiris to decide the war. In this combat Petosiris was forced to flee. As he was running around the city walls the third time, Calasiris arrived and saw the combat between his two sons that an oracle had foretold. Rushing between them he ended the contest.

Chariclea discovered Theagenes and suddenly threw her arms about him. Her hero disgusted at her beggar’s rags threw her off and did not recognize her until she whispered: “Pythias, have you forgotten the torch?” Then he took her to his arms, while Arsace and the other watchers on the wall marvelled at the scene as though it were on the stage. So peace was made by the father and the lovers were reunited. All went to the temple of Isis. Calasiris restored his son Thyamis to the priesthood.

Arsace had fallen madly in love with Theagenes on seeing him twice and confided this to her aged maid, Cybele. This maid on going to the temple of Isis to offer prayers for her mistress learned that Calasiris had died there during the night and that no one except the priests could enter the temple for seven days on account of the funeral rites. Thereupon Cybele craftily secured permission to entertain the two young Greeks who were staying there in Arsace’s palace and took them home. When they found that they were in the palace, they became suspicious for they had noticed the queen’s interest in Theagenes the day before. So at Chariclea’s suggestion, Theagenes said they were brother and sister. Cybele went to Arsace’s apartment to tell her all, locking the guests in their room. In her absence, her son Achaemenes came home, listened at their door and from their talk and from a glimpse at Theagenes realized that this was the very youth who had been taken from him by Thyamis.

As the days passed, Arsace tried to win the love of Theagenes first through subtle allurement, then through open confession of her passion and at last through domination. Achaemenes finally told Arsace who they were so the queen informed Theagenes that they were now her slaves as they had been the captive slaves of Mithranes and he must obey her. Then in the presence of Cybele Theagenes promised himself to Arsace on condition that she would never give Chariclea to Achaemenes, who had demanded her. He confessed that Chariclea was not his sister but his fiancée. On hearing this Achaemenes rode away to inform Oroondates of all.

Oroondates was engaged in a campaign against Hydaspes, King of the Ethiopians, who had got possession of Philae. On hearing Achaemenes’ report Oroondates despatched his eunuch Bagoas with fifty horsemen to Memphis to bring Theagenes and Chariclea to his camp. He sent two letters to this effect to Arsace and to his chief eunuch. Achaemenes he kept with himself.

In Memphis Thyamis had been unable to procure the release of the young Greeks from Arsace. Moreover the frustrated queen had begun to try imprisonment and torture on Theagenes. When he was still obstinate, Cybele advised getting rid of Chariclea to free his heart and she prepared to poison the girl. Fortunately a maid exchanged the goblets. Cybele herself drank the poison and expired, but with her last breath she declared Chariclea had murdered her. So Arsace threw the girl into the prison where Theagenes was and had her tried. In the court-room Chariclea pleaded guilty, for this was the plan that she and her lover had agreed on in the prison, that they might die together. The Supreme Council ordered that she be burned alive. Chariclea was saved by a miracle, for the flames on the pyre refused to touch her person. Arsace then consigned her again to prison on the ground that she was a witch.

In prison, Chariclea and Theagenes had a long talk about the dream-visions they had each seen. To each Calasiris had appeared and given a metrical prophecy. To Chariclea he had said: