The Etruscan by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 10th, 2022 in Stories

Surely my guardian spirit must have watched over me and caused Hanna to awaken at dawn and creep away. I myself awakened only when Arsinoe, with Misme in her arms, kicked me in the ribs and then in the head with her silver-ornamented sandal.

At first I could not believe my eyes and thought I was dreaming. But there she stood, nor did it take me long to realize her treachery. I myself had wondered how anyone could sail westward in the evening. Xenod-otos and Arsinoe had, of course, laid the scheme together, hoping that I would join them at the last moment. When I had not yielded, they had cruised before the harbor all night and brought Arsinoe to shore in a fishing boat. Xenodotos, however, was wise enough not to remain behind but had continued his voyage eastward with a brisk west wind.

When Arsinoe had given vent to her anger she suddenly turned humble, cast her eyes down and said, “Turms, did you really think that I could give you up so lightly? After all, I have no other life but you since the goddess has bound us to each other. You don’t know very much about love since you were ready to let me go because of your foolish omens.”

My trembling body and groping hands placated her and she smiled. The beauty of her face brightened the dirty ship like sunshine and she said in a low voice, “Now, Turms, summon a south wind, you who think you rule the winds. Summon the wind, for it, like the storm, is already in me.”

Hanna had approached us on bare feet and stood petrified at sight of Arsinoe. Guilt shone on her face, but fortunately Arsinoe could not even have imagined that she had a competitor, least of all a bare-footed girl in a tree-bark dress.

She mistook Hanna’s shock for mere surprise, thrust Misme into her lap and snapped, “Feed the child, change her clothes to something appropriate to this filthy ship and disappear from sight. We want to be alone to summon the wind.”

A violent glow spread through me, I felt my strength and in looking at Hanna I could no longer understand how I could have been attracted to the dark-skinned girl even for a moment while Arsinoe was in the same world with me. The magic of the goddess seized me and I ran to shake awake the Etruscan and his limping helmsman and drove the head-scratching slaves off the ship.

“Make haste to pray for wind with your men,” I ordered. “I intend to fly your boat to Rome on the wings of a storm faster than you have ever sailed before. Make your sacrifice quickly, for by midday we will raise the sail.”

In a drunken stupor the Etruscan obeyed me. It was good that he did, for otherwise I would have thrown him off his own ship so that I might be alone with Arsinoe. Eagerly we ran into each other’s arms. She had a scorching wind in her body and I had a storm in my blood.

An ecstasy came over me, the holy dance began twitching my limbs and I vied with Arsinoe in calling for the wind. Three times, seven times and twelve times I summoned the south wind, until we stood at the stern, hand in hand, shouting for the wind in a holy frenzy. I don’t know how long it lasted and whence the words spilled into my mouth, but we did not cease until the air had blackened, the wind turned and the clouds, black-haired and with the glint of lightning in their eyes, had begun to roll over the hump-necked mountain of Panormos to the sea. Beyond Panormos the mountain peaks of the land of Eryx darkened and whirlwinds swept up the merchants’ shelters and baskets in the market place, we heard the slam of gates even from the city, and clumps of reeds, torn from the roofs by the wind, began swirling in the air.

Only then we ceased. Our holy frenzy died down and we looked around in amazement. We saw the merchant and his men run toward the ship with fluttering clothes as the Carthaginian soldiers and customs men stood on the shore, staring at our ship with hands over their mouths.

Just as the Etruscan reached the ship a strong eddy flung the stern from the shore into the water. Quickly he shouted to his men to raise the sail and seize the steering oars to keep us with the wind. The Phoenicians on shore flew black strips of cloth as storm warnings and raised a shield to prevent our departure. But the wind snatched the shield from the arms of the man holding it and carried it out to the foaming sea. Swaying and slapping the water under its round prow, the ship sped to the open sea, drawn by its patched sail.

As the waves rumbled against the sides of the ship and the wind whistled in the ropes, Misme began to weep in terror and Hanna crouched among the cargo. But Arsinoe was not afraid now that she had found me. I myself saw how sturdily the ship responded to the waves and noticed that the Etruscan’s helmsman knew his trade. Laughingly I showed him the black stone sea horse in my palm and indicated that he could easily give us more sail.

But despite my ecstasy I bore such a grudge against Xenodotos that I suddenly wished that the southerly gale would blow out to sea and endanger his sleek ship. The wind did in fact blow him off his course, driving him along the Italian coast as far as Poseidonia. Only there was he able to land and he suffered great humiliation because of his Persian trousers. Hence he left his ship there for repairs and traveled by land along the old trade route of Sybaris to Croton and from there to Rhegion where he met Skythes.

But all that I learned only much later. I myself sailed northward in a creaking ship on the wings of a storm, as the omens had ordained. After helping the Etruscan and the helmsman in holding the steering oars, I went to see how Arsinoe felt. As I swayed with the movement of the ship among the cargo, my eye was caught by a smooth pebble which had clung to one of the bundles on shore and had dropped loose only on the ship. Without realizing what I did I stooped to pick it up and remained holding it in my hand. Its gray-and-white color reminded me of a dove. I knew then that it was intended for me, and I put it into my pouch with the other pebbles as well as the golden hand and the stone sea horse.

They were my only possessions as I left Sicily, for Arsinoc’s scheme had benefited her at least to the degree that she had all my money. But it did not trouble me, for I had strong faith in Hecate.

I no longer looked behind at the mountains of Eryx as I sailed from Sicily. I looked only ahead and to the north.