Arden by: dnrock(dnrock@rock.com)
Just in, across your author's desk today 2/2/10: 2000 year old bones in Italy reveal east Asian ancestry. This find was in the southwest part of the country. Just a reminder to the reader much of the scholarship related to plot is more sound then you may imagine. In several popular press articles, this find seems to be a surprise to many archeologists/anthropologists. It is no surprise to me and should not be to you. As I recall the Asian character is not due to show up for a few chapters yet. You will remember Arden is quite well acquainted with rice and tea. It should be remembered that Alexander the Great brought more then rice from Asia and trade between Asia and the Mediterranean is even older then that. Only North America and Australia were unknown to the Greeks and other by at least ±400 BCE.
51: The Weddings
1319, 9th month, day 19:
We four met with the General and Raffaele. The General is preparing a text book on defensive strategies. It has three parts: one is a historical review of famous battles from the defensive view; the middle section on methods, arms, structures, geography and so on; the third on how to analyze ones position and apply the first two sections. For Parga he is writing a separate companion book that looks only at Parga and is written only for our military. It's last section will make specific recommendations. Iason asked him to include a discussion to when or how to identify the need to modernize arms and strategies that result from new or improved weapons. The General agreed and indicated adding other advances like signaling would be a good idea.
Kastor thought he should work with the General and Raffaele on a separate treaties that examines how to identify when preemptive strikes might be useful, what follow up would be required, why and thirdly the role of military power in our foreign affairs.
"Well it is often said the best defense is a strong offense," the General said. "I don't always recommend that and for a small state like Parga, probably never. If a small or weak state needs, it had best to strike first, fast and hard. I take it you are examining the possibility of some preemptive action against the pirates?"
Yes, that thought has crossed my mind more than once but not so much preemptive as punitive. "I saw the account of the kidnapper's trial. I assume Bejaia is your target?" We do not believe they will respect our sovereignty until they respect our military power and our ability to apply it directly against them.
"You are quite correct in that belief. I assure you that is the case. Naples and Sicily suffer from just that lack of respect. In their situations it is real. The cost is much to high for the expected return. In Parga's situation, what reward do you expect?"
Poly replied, "We expect them to realize not respecting our sovereignty will cost them dearly and not just in ships far removed from their sight."
We plan a three component attack. First we will lay waste to Bejaia and destroy every ship or boat in their harbor. Second we will tell the world just what we have done. Third we will invite others to follow us, closely enough to make advantage of it. I would like to see some other power come in behind us and plunder the place.
"I see you plan to sail to Bejaia, burn it down and sail away. That would leave them open to attack from others, being weakened sufficiently."
"Yes, that is the essence of it," Iason said.
"I take it you plan to use those rockets?"
We outlined our plan. All the while Raffaele sat quietly. When we had finished he spoke. "I am amazed that you four are so vindictive and punitive against the people of Bejaia. That is not like you. Surely there is another way or a modification of your plan, to direct the punishment where it belongs."
"Raffaele is correct but for the wrong reason. It is not vindictiveness that presses your punitive action. It is the need to demonstrate your power, since that is all these people seam to understand and once getting their attention, your proposed solution can and will be fairly considered. The velvet glove over the iron fist. Right now they see only the velvet glove, they need realize the iron fist is inside that glove. They now realize a straight on attack is doomed to failure. It was foolish for them to have even attempted it.
I see four military targets, three strong points and the pirate galleys. You need only send two or three Prince Class ships. The long boats can cary the skimmers and archers to the breakwater. The Prince Class ships can launch rockets against the three strong points. Let us examine them: The towers at the shore end of the breakwater can be attacked in two ways. First aim rockets to drop down on the tower from above, this will set the roof on fire. Second, rockets directed against the doorway, once a fire is started and the door is breached, the tower will become a chimney. If your aim is good, 6 or 7 rockets will do the trick. The second strong point is the customs house. Use the rockets against this at point blank range, as if another ship. 10 to 14 rockets should reduce it to smoldering rubble. Do not try and drop rockets from above. To many will miss. The third is the Sultan's castle. You need not do anything more than hit it repeatedly, with as many rockets as possible in the time available. Some may miss and hit non military targets but this will be minor and unavoidable. The people of Bejaia will realize this. It is important that these people believe you are only trying to attack military targets and not them. Showing that you can confine your wrath to military targets and deliver your power from a distance, will be sufficient. As to the pirate ships let the skimmers do their job on them. If all are not sunk no great loss. The fishing boats and foreign merchants are of no interest anyway. If their galleys can not prevail against Prince Class ships, they would be totally foolish to even try with smaller.
You must not make it to easy for others to follow you, as tempting as this may be. If others are not prepared to do this on their own, they are not prepared to make good or full use of your opportunity. You must consider this as a raid and nothing more," the General counseled.
"And if they still do not get the message." Poly asked?
"Then you go back again and this time you destroy the Castle, not just damage it. And if that fails you destroy the town. From the foreign relations point of view you will have gained nothing by destroying the town. The critical point here is a measured response to their provocations or lack of response. Archimedes can build special rockets that are capable of delivering great damage to a structure like the sultan's castle. You must remember that should this happen, others will soon copy it and even your castle could become a target. My sense is, few have the foresight or skills to build these. If you show them the way however, many are very good followers.
The publication of each step or stage is important. These sultans are a most prideful group. They also depend on support from within and from without, to stay in power. They dare not appear to be weak or impotent. They can often be goaded into action. I know you have tried to do this, it has just been the wrong action."
Kastor told him about our current little prank. The General did not feel it would accomplish much toward our final objective; it could cause some difficulties for the Crown Prince if he was behind the kidnapping attempt and certainly for who ever it was if he wasn't. "If not the Crown Prince, I would guess who ever it was will loose his head. First rule of service, never embarrass your leader." [TN: I used Crown Prince here and above in references to the Sultan's oldest son. Arden used oldest son but he means the next in line or Crown Prince.]
"In any event, I think it best that everyone be on extra guard for the next few weeks. It would not surprise me at all if the sultan or his minions try to embarrass Parga by somehow disrupting the weddings." Raffaele said.
You mean another opportunity for us to reverse the situation and give greater embarrassment to him. Everyone laughed at my joke but the advice is sound and will be acted on.
We then speculated on what action Bejaia might try to take against us. We would immediately begin guarding the Ganymede statue. This is something the Argoanuts can do.
1319, 9th month, day 21:
The little stealth fleet returned late this afternoon. They accomplished their mission with only one minor problem. Panther and Corrado reported to us. The four teams left 35 copies of the document at: mosques, coffee shops, markets and any place people will gather. On the gate to the palace of all places, they painted "Prince Arden watches you" and they hung my ensign on the customs house flag pole. At other places they painted "Parga Knows" or "Parga sees all".
The moon was almost full so they had reasonable light to move about. They were able to do all that was needed in two hours. They encountered almost no one and those they did see went about their business as did our members. All were dressed in local costume and as long as the Greek speakers let the other do any talking, they looked like young men out on the town.
The one minor problem occurred on the way back to the boats, they encountered several solders viciously beating a man. These solders were making much noise and not paying attention to other then themselves, our marines snuck up on them. The marines promptly killed the solders and brought the victim, a run away slave, with them. He is recovering from his wounds.
Hadi came later, his report was much less formal and much more emotional. He told me the salve was just 15 and had run away from a very cruel master. Eparchos Corrado told him he could neither leave that boy to be killed by the solders and could not leave the solders alive to raise an alarm. The marines simply snuck up and three, acting as one jumped out and slit their throats. The Argoanuts are caring for him. He was so badly beaten that the marines had to cary him. Two of them took his arms and legs and ran all the way to the beach. Something I could not do, all I carried were some of the dead solders weapons. Hadi was much impressed and expressed a desire to become an Elite Marine. I assured him he would have an opportunity to test for them at 18. "The adventure was good and being at sea again was also good, coming home to Parga was the best of all." I think Hadi should be transferred to Lyuben's house and train with him. I know it is Lyuben's desire to be the next Eparchos of the Elite Marines, he will drag all that are willing with him.
1319, 9th month, day 23:
On the 22nd day Odo took time away from the wedding and composed a long epic poem about the Stealth Mission and its purpose.
We have lost Iason's assistance for the next couple of weeks, as his attention is focused on the weddings. Lugo and Dario arrived this afternoon. We princes are all sitting for the new family portrait, which will include all the princess and Alexandros. Fortunately we only needed to spend a short time all together being sketched. Each person is painted separately and then combined into the huge painting that will hang in the castle.
Large delegations from Venice, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Athens and Byzantium are all due to arrive in the next two weeks. All of the Prince class ships will be at sea on patrol. The Princess Class ships will be along our shores and greeting all visitors before they enter the harbor. Any that are suspect or carrying sickness are being directed to the salt gathering islands. Since we have limited harbor space, many of the large ships that wish to stay for any length of time, will need do so in the outer harbor.
Iason has had our fancy clothing refurbished and those that did not have them now do. This includes all the princes. Even Lysandros. I must say he is proud to dress like his older brothers, Umar and the other boys, like daddy and Uncles.
The boy's choir and the other palace choirs are all getting ready.
Weddings are very important things in all societies, no less so in Parga. For a young girl, marriage rites marked three phases: separation from her family (oikos), transition to a new home, and integration into her new roles as daughter and wife within a new family. For Sophia it also means she takes on special status in the castle and state. She changed from (a parthenos), a maiden, to (a nymphe), a married woman without children, when she married and then finally to (a gyne), an adult woman, when she bore her first child. For Sophia she also becomes a princess, for Eudoxia she is still a princess but now has the added duties of wife and soon mother. (TN: I have included some of the Greek nouns as they often cary a deeper meaning than the translated term.)
The entire set of marriage rites focused on the bride and her relocation to a new family and home, the most important transition in her life. A typical marriage consisted of Several parts. The ceremony itself was marked by the physical transfer of the bride to her new home. Obviously not in this event or for either of these women. Eudoxia will continue to live in the castle for some time yet and Sophia is already here. The wedding is a process that takes several days, affectes much of the community and affirmes new relationships both inside and outside her former family. Again a little different for these two. We will compress it into two days and the transfer from one family to another and one home to another, will be symbolic.
In preparation, the bride will spend a final few days with her mother and female relatives, friends and servants preparing for her wedding at her father's house. This pre-wedding ritual is one of the few events in which women were allowed to participate and celebrate actively. Here at the castle things are a little different but the women will all have a chance to spend that time together, without us men.
To begin, a ceremony and feast would be held at the house of the bride's father. The bride would make various offerings to different gods; the offerings would generally include her childhood clothing and toys. This act served two purposes for the bride. It signified the separation of the bride from her childhood, freeing her to enter a new life; and it established a bond between her and the deities who she hoped would provide protection for her during the transition to her new life. In modern Parga, some do and some don't make these offerings. Sophia and Eudoxia will make symbolic offerings at places of worship as they choose. We man are not involved in this. The feast in this case will be at the castle, with Sir Sosigenes and Father as co-hosts.
In the old days sacrifices to Atriums, goddess of virginity and of transition, would likely include locks of hair, in the hope that she would ease the bride's passage from virginity. On occasion the bride would sacrifice to Hera as the exemplar of the divine bride. The bride and groom would both make offerings to Aphrodite for a fruitful, child-rearing life. If the bride or groom was unable, for some reason to make the ceremony, the bride's father or, in some instances, her mother would perform the ritual instead. The wedding ceremony's focus on the bride's passage to marriage and her sexual initiation to become clarified during the following two days. Today if this is done, it is in privet, as the state is secular in all ways.
The actual wedding day, begins with a nuptial bath, in the women's quarters. We are a very clean people, are we not. Outside the castle water is drawn from a river or spring and carried in (a loutrophoros), a vase shape reserved for funerary purposes ... used mainly as a grave marker. Now why this, I have no idea and the scholars could offer little but speculation. It is just the tradition handed down for thousands of years.
(TN: During the fifth century its purpose seems to have been confined to ritual uses, such as weddings (where it was frequently used to carry the water for the bridal bath) or the funeral of an unmarried person. Vases of this shape are commonly decorated with scenes of mourners or wedding processions.)
A specially appointed child carried the bath water, which was thought to provide a purification of the bride as well as to induce fertility, showing that the bride and her sexual initiation were the focus of this aspect of the ceremony. Here a small vase is ceremoniously carried by a young girl, Melitta in this instance, from the lake to the ladies bathing pool.
The bride will then dress in the same room in which she bathed. The most important part of the bride's costume is the veil, which symbolized her virginity and is not removed until she is handed over to the groom. The bride would have a (numpheutria), a bridal helper, who, with the bride's mother and other women, would preside over the preparations for the meal and sacrifices, and who would accompany the bride to the banquet hall. There, sacrifices would be offered to the gods of marriage by both the bride and groom. I am to help Iason and two of the female pages will assist Eudoxia and Sophia along with their mothers, my birth mother, Lady Lucia and I have no idea how many others. It will be a large group.
The preparations for the meal are in the hands of our stewards. As far as I know Iason has no plans to sacrifice anything to any god, I believe he is planning on some symbolic sacrifice to any and all gods, not naming specific ones.
The wedding feast will follow, most often the feast would be given by the bride's father, but it could also be given by the groom's father or even the groom himself in certain situations. Regardless, both families would attend. Guests at the feast would include the couple's friends, who would serve as witnesses. In the old days, this was one of the few public events women were permitted to attend, men and women sat at different tables. Not in Parga, we are more modern and we sit together and dance together. We have many public events and festivals shared by men and women. It is one of the best ways for boys and girls to meet and get acquainted.
Delicacies, such as sesame seeds mixed with honey, will be available. I look forward to this as it is my favorite.
Entertainment is normally provided by professional singers. The songs play a very important role in the ceremony, encouraging the couple in their new relationship and future children as well as complimenting the couple through comparisons with the gods. Here we will sing and play and we will have professionals and amateurs and in some instances all will join in. I am sure Iason has this well planned.
A libation is offered at the beginning of the songs. Towards the end of the feast in the evening comes the most important part of the ceremony, (the anakalupteria), the unveiling of the bride. This act is significant because the bride is handed over to the groom.
The procession from the bride's house to her new home then begins. An amphithales, a male child with both parents still alive, is chosen to escort the bride. He represented prosperity and good luck for the couple, and symbolizes their eventual child. The amphithales distributes bread to the guests; the bread is another symbol of the final product of this union, a child; furthermore, the basket in which the bread is carried represented the ancient baby cradle. The amphithales also utters the words "I fled worse and found better," and he wares a crown of thorns and nuts, reminding the couple of the threatening proximity of wild nature, as the acorn was the food of primitive man while the winnowing fan or basket suggested implements of civilized agriculture.
For us this is all changed. We will have a large party and feast with singing, music, dancing the so on. The amphithales is not used and the bride will not be escorted anywhere as she is already home. Father will say some words to both couples and pronounce the sanction or blessing of their union. He will bless their union and so will Sir Sosigenes and King Iason. Each father will present his daughter to her husband. That is when the vales are lifted. Then we eat a meal and drink and dance and sing more. Toward the end of the evening we brothers and guardians escort the couples to the door of their quarters.
On the next day we will have another large party where the couples will greet all the guests and again we will feast, drink, dance and sing together. Our traditions have much more to them but non applies here. For us men and women, when we were bound, it was much simpler. We had a big feast. We simply stood and declared our love for each other and asked our guests to witness it. We received blessings from our Fathers and Uncle.
I know that Iason is planning a large production on the second day. I suspect that is when the bagpipers and trumpets will be used. If I know him he will stage some kind of grand entrance for both couples and then hold court. As I wrote before, this will be a ballizien like no other. I also believe he is planning to have the Argoanuts escort both couples in a procession through the town singing and playing the marching songs Odo wrote for the national wedding day, this is how things get started. If there are other weddings to take place at this time they too will be part of the procession, I am sure of it.
Many other weddings will be happening in the city and the country at the same time. Some at churches and temples, privet homes, public squares and so on.
1319, 9th month, day 24:
I have asked the scholars to recorded in some detail the customs of Parga as related to things like weddings, funerals and other celebrations. In these journals I have often captured some of the these or my opinion of them. I know many have not been discussed. I think it important for us as a society, to make records of our practices and the meanings of the symbols. Our modern state is not the same as our great grandfathers. I think it much different in their time than their great grandfather's, too.
I fear that if we fail to recorded such things, our children will find themselves wondering why this or that has become traditional. Because something is a tradition does not mean or should not mean, it must not changed. It is important to know the what and the why, so important parts can be preserved and non important parts can be modified or discarded. In other places the traditions have often been replaced by invaders or new religions. This leaves the people with no foundation. A sovereign people need know where they came from and how they got to where they are. Only then can they judge the usefulness or importance of things in their lives. In the life of the society.