The Etruscan by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 10th, 2022 in Stories

Xenodotos remained in Rome while I journeyed to Tarquinia to meet Lars Arnth Velthuru. Despite his youth he immediately understood the importance of the matter and the opportunities that it offered for reviving waning Etruscan sea power and crushing Greek competition.

He said, “The inland cities have young and ambitious men who are dissatisfied with the old. There are also hardy shepherds and farmers who dare place their lives at stake to win more with one blow in a war than they could hope to obtain by a lifetime of serving others. Although our large islands can hardly release their vessels, which are needed to guard the mines, the iron families of Populonia and Vetulonia will realize what is for their own good, and Tarquinia will provide us with at least ten warships.”

He took me to see his father, Aruns Velthuru, who respected tradition to such a degree that he did not permit himself to be called a Lucumo but had Tarquinia ruled by a council instead. A more august man I had never met. Despite his position he received me courteously and understandingly once I had reached his presence. With the aid of a map I explained the plan for the Persian king’s military expedition and repeated Xenodotos’ contention that a more opportune moment for vanquishing the Greeks would hardly arrive.

He listened carefully, his face slender and ageless, and said finally, “I do not believe that it is the gods’ intention that only one man or one nation rule the entire world. Nations keep one another in balance. They grow and progress as the result of mutual competition. All nations are equal and human suffering is the same, no matter whether the person be Etruscan, Greek, or black. Nations rise and recede in cycles and each nation’s growth, blossoming and fading has been measured. Etruscan cities are no better or more important than Greek cities, although we perhaps know more about the gods than the other peoples. A human can redeem ten additional years from the gods and a nation or city one hundred years, but by more than that none can prolong existence.”

His words of wisdom made a deep impression on me, but Lars Arnth became impatient and said, “My father, you are old and do not understand the new times as well as we who are younger. The question of Greek influence on land and sea is for us a matter of life and death. If Carthage feels that it is compelled to go to war, we must support Carthage. And if we support Carthage we must do so with all our resources.”

His father sighed and said, “You are still very young, my son Arnth. Whosoever clutches the sword dies by the sword. We no longer offer human sacrifices to the gods.”

Arnth clenched his slender fingers and gritted his teeth, but bowed his proud head before his father who then smiled the beautiful, sad smile of an old Etruscan.

“This is a political matter and as such must be decided by the council. If you consider it so important, you yourself may journey to Volsinii in my stead in September. Why should I become involved in something that I cannot prevent?”

Thus did Lars Aruns elevate his son to the regency of Tarquinia. After all, his tomb was completed and decorated with the eternal paintings of the artist Aruns, and he had no wish to redeem from the gods an additional ten years of life, which for a ruler can prove more burdensome than joyous.

After the conversation had had such unexpected results, Lars Aruns rose, placed his hands lightly on my shoulders and said, “I am happy to have seen you, Turms. Remember me when you enter into your kingdom.”

His words surprised Lars Arnth as much as me, although Lars Alsir had once used the same words in Himera, but I considered them merely an old greeting which was used as a special indication of friendship. Only later did I realize that old Lars Aruns Velthuru knew and recognized me and considered me a herald of the gods in that matter. Thus it was that he relinquished his power to his son rather than become involved in a matter which was distasteful to him.

No longer did I have to struggle on Xenodotos’ behalf, for Lars Arnth took the matter as his own and journeyed himself and sent his friends to the distant Etruscan cities to prepare the ground. I, however, decided not to go to the holy cities but remained in Tarquinia to await the decision of the league.

At the sacred celebration twelve days were devoted to the gods, seven days to internal political matters and three days to problems of foreign policy. The decision was that each city could decide for itself whether it wished to aid Carthage or not, and whether to do so in the name of the city or merely by enlisting volunteers. The holy Lucumones of both Volterra and Volsinii announced immediately mat their cities would not permit even the raising of voluntary recruits. But they were inland cities, and in such a matter the decision of the coastal cities was of greater importance.

After the assembly the Carthaginian emissaries approached the delegates and rulers of the various cities and sought their promises of aid. Veii promised two thousand heavily armored men, Tarquinia its cavalry and twenty warships, Populonia and Vetulonia each ten warships, and the inland cities each at least five hundred men complete with equipment. Everything indicated that it would be the Etruscans’ most extensive sea expedition since their fleet had destroyed the vastly larger Phoenician fleet off the shore of Sardinia a lifetime ago.

When I returned to Rome I had only good news for Xenodotos and felt certain that the Etruscans would support Carthage as decisively as possible despite their old doubts. From Arnth I had received a copy of the secret list of commitments. Xenodotos was highly pleased to see it and declared that it exceeded his highest hopes.

“And all this you bring as a gift to me!” he exclaimed. “Now what shall I do with the golden bull’s-heads that I have transported with me with such effort?”

He had brought with him some bull’s-heads molded in the ancient Cretan manner which weighed a talent and were used as currency in Carthage. They had been hidden at the mouth of the river lest the Senate’s suspicions be roused by such immense wealth, and I laughingly urged him to take them back with him and said proudly that this was the Etruscans’ own war and that no one was bribing or compelling them to participate in it.

But Xenodotos declared that he would be suspect and his information considered worthless if he were to return the bull’s-heads. “This wealth is a sheer burden to me now that I have accomplished my task,” he lamented. “It is troublesome to transport and might even subject me to robbery. I could not have believed that everything would proceed so smoothly.”

Realizing that no benefit would be derived from awkwardly transporting the gold back to Susa, I suggested that we purchase a few shiploads of iron from Populonia, have it made into weapons, and hire someone to smuggle them to the Siccani. True, Hiuls was but a half-grown. boy and I had heard nothing about him during all these years, but the iron would strengthen his position among the Siccani and as the son of Dorieus he would know best how to use it. The Siccani might either serve the Carthaginian army as guides or tie up the Greeks by attacking Agrigentum. I suggested that Xenodotos might also send a few bull’sheads to Lars Arnth, who was an intelligent youth and could use the money to build several modern warships.

That was our decision, but he insisted that I accept one talent of gold as a present, if only to provide for unexpected expenses. So, after a night of drinking to the Etruscans and the Persian king, we parted as friends.

The council of Carthage had chosen Hamilcar as its military leader and bestowed upon him the powers of an autocrat for the period of the war. The son of that famous seafarer Hanno under whose direction expeditions had explored the ocean beyond the Pillars of Herakles, Hamilcar was an ambitious man. He also possessed the ability to plan, and during the winter he had recruited forces from the backwoods of all the Carthaginian colonies and even from Iberia, so that many lands and skin colors were represented in his army. Further, each nation was accustomed to fighting in its own manner and with its own weapons, and this, together with the various languages and eating habits, caused great confusion.

The Greeks’ equipment, on the other hand, was uniform, they were trained to fight in an open field as a moving front, and their heavily-armored soldiers had metal cuirasses and metal shields. And all during the winter Gelon and Theron vied with each other in building new triremes. We heard that Syracuse alone had almost one hundred triremes at sea that spring on maneuvers.

The worst surprise, however, was that the Roman Senate unexpectedly broke its agreement with Veil and had a bloody spear thrown into Veian territory. The Roman emissaries mentioned certain border violations, but that was merely a pretext, for agreement could have been reached just as it was every spring in the litigations between shepherds. Rome’s attack on Veil and its threatening movements near Caere and Tarquinia were the greatest misfortunes that could have befallen the Etruscan cause, for it made it necessary to cut the Sicilian expedition to an insignificant size. We sailed for Sicily only when we realized that in one way or another the Greeks had succeeded in inciting Rome to war against the Etruscans and that the Romans were deliberately engaged in raids to tie up Veian troops. We were forty light warships, two triremes and a number of cargo vessels with several thousand men, most of them heavily armored and trained to use a sword, shield and spear in the Greek manner. But we had no cavalry whatsoever and Lars Arnth was unable to accompany us. Tarquinia needed its cavalry to guard its borders against Rome.

It was late summer when we sighted the Sicilian shore but the Carthaginian fleet which we had joined at sea managed so well that we made directly for Himera without being bothered by the Greeks and softly pulled our vessels ashore. Hamilcar had seized the harbor and the mouth of the river and laid siege to the city, thus sparing his disgruntled mercenaries an exhausting march through the land of Eryx to Himera by way of the Siccanian mountains and forest. There were more than thirty thousand Carthaginian mercenaries and their encampment stretched around Himera as far as the eye could see.

Off from the others, in the woods, were a thousand Siccanians and, leaving the Etruscan chiefs to confer with Hamilcar, T hastened to their camp. My heart melted at my first sight of the black-, red- and white-striped faces and arms. The Siccanians were greatly surprised when I spoke to them in their own language and brought me quickly to their sacred rock. Around it were gathered the chiefs of the various tribes with their wooden masks. Among them I saw a stalwart boy carrying my own shield and, recognizing him immediately despite his mask, I ran to embrace him.

Hiuls was not yet thirteen, and his youth made him suspicious. He retreated before me and the Siccanian chiefs shouted angrily at me for so disrespectfully daring to lay hands on their Erkle. But when he realized who I was Hiuls took off his mask, asked to have meat and fat brought for me, and thanked me for the weapons that I had sent him.

He explained, “Hamilcar of Carthage is a mighty warrior and with him are powerful Baal and many other gods. We Siccanians are leaving our forest as an organized army for the first time to support him against, the Greeks. But we worship only our own gods and are not bound to the Carthaginian or Elymian gods. The battles will benefit my people by teaching them how to fight in a real war, and we shall grow wealthy from the booty. But after the war we will return to our forests and mountains and have nothing to do with the Carthaginians or Elymians.”

“You are Erkle,” I said. “You must decide for your people. Whatsoever happens, think only of the good of your people. I will not thrust my advice upon you, for you are the king, not I.”

Seeing that I did not attempt to advise him or demand gifts for the weapons I had sent, Hiuls relented and seated himself cross-legged on his shield. He sent his men running by with their weapons, ten at a time, and contentedly observed how accurately they could toss their spears.

Meeting the Siccani warmed my heart. I even drank a drop of the poisonous potion with their chiefs and was once again able to see through tree trunks and rocks. I spent the night with them on the bare ground, but my body had grown flabby and accustomed to the comforts of life, with the result that I caught a bad cold. Thereafter I thought it best to spend the night on an Etruscan vessel.

We had to conquer Himera first and thereafter decide whether we should turn upon the Greeks in terrain of our choice or fortify ourselves in Himera and wait for them to attack. The only disturbing factor was that the Carthaginian vessels at the mouth of the strait had not yet made contact with the Syracusan fleet. The Greek triremes had disappeared from the sea and Hamilcar feared that they would attempt to cut his supply line. He declared that he dreaded that more than a battle with the small Greek land forces.

Although he respected the Etruscans’ fame as soldiers so highly that he asked us to form the center of his front, he reproached us for being so few that we broke the Etruscans’ promise concerning the number of troops they would send. And he had reason to censure us, for our forces no doubt were more troublesome than helpful. But what had happened had happened and could not be changed. For our part we asked the Etruscan chiefs to express our amazement at Hamilcar’s purple tent, ivory couches, gold and silver dishes, images of deities and great number of slaves, all of which had taken up most of the space on several cargo vessels. I myself said that the Carthaginians appeared to have devoted more time and effort to making their lives comfortable than to fortifying the camp.

Hamilcar called on Baal and other gods, shouted that his Negroes and Libyans were not accustomed to digging pits in the ground, and said it was far better for his troops to trust to the Carthaginian gods with full bellies and happy minds.

When I explained that the Romans were in the habit of digging trenches as soon as they had made camp, Hamilcar said stiffly, “My way of waging war is the Carthaginian way. I think that I understand my own troops better than you, stranger.”

In talking to the brutal and belligerent mercenaries who were tired of their inactivity I realized that they were completely ready to storm Himera. They burned with desire for loot and were prepared to risk their lives for the chance to plunder and rape as much as they pleased in a Greek city. Slowly I began to suspect that Hamilcar had a political reason for hesitating outside Himera’s wall.

This reason became apparent at a banquet the Carthaginian arrranged for us. Suddenly the purple drapes at the rear of the tent parted and in stepped Kydippe, leading her two small sons while the two older boys clung to her robe with grave eyes.

As a matured woman Kydippe was more beautiful than she had ever been as a maiden. Gold dust was sprinkled in her Aphrodite hairdress, and her neck, arms and ankles were weighted with heavy jeweled ornaments. Her lips still smiled temptingly and although she had given birth to four sons her waist was still slender and she wore her Phoenician robe tightly belted. We cried out in amazement upon sight of her and leaped from our couches to drink to her honor.

Hamilcar greatly enjoyed our surprise and said with a smile, “Our hostage, Kydippe, has accompanied us from Carthage with her children to guard the interests of Himera. We left Terillos in Carthage since he is politically incompetent. Indeed it might be best to leave Himera to Anaxilaos until one of the boys becomes old enough to rule the city.”

Even as he spoke I saw that Hamilcar’s face and expression betrayed his obvious infatuation for Kydippe. Who would not have become enchanted with that beautiful and ambitious woman who even as a young girl knew cold-bloodedly how to take advantage of men’s senses to gain her own ends? With a bright voice she urged us to continue our banquet and began moving slowly from one couch to another, addressing the Carthaginian leaders by name. We forgot our conversation and followed her with our eyes.

Finally she sat on the edge of my couch and began to talk to the Etruscan leaders. “I speak your language poorly, you incomparable warriors, but as civilized men you undoubtedly speak Greek. I was born and reared in Himera and in this river I swam as a maiden. That is why I am horrified by the thought that its houses will go up in smoke and its wealth will be destroyed. It has suffered enough already at the hands of the Syracusan soldiers. If you overcome the Greeks, Himera will drop into your lap without resistance.”

Hamilcar confirmed her words. “Anaxilaos of Rhegion asked for our assistance and left his wife and sons as hostages, binding himself to fight for Carthage and his own cause to the last man. We will benefit nothing if we destroy Himera but will only lose a prosperous trading center.”

I rose onto my elbow and said vehemently, “I also pity Himera and its residents, but the laws of war are merciless. The commander who deliberately places himself between two fires is mad. If we wage an open battle with the Greeks here, the Himeran garrison will attack our rear at the decisive moment.”

Kydippe raised her white hand to her mouth, turned to look at me, pretended to recognize me only then and exclaimed joyously, “You, Turms! How I rejoice to see your face once more. Let us drink a cup of wine together and not talk nonsense.”

She pressed the edge of her golden goblet to my lips and poured strong wine down my throat. As I coughed and swallowed she explained to the others, “Don’t be offended, but this fair man was my first love and I think I even kissed him once when I was a thoughtless girl. That is why I still feel a certain weakness toward him and all my girlhood memories return when I drink wine with him.”

When I still tried to say something she made her sons hug me and kiss my cheeks and placed her own hand on my neck so cleverly that a tremor passed through my body.

Hamilcar did not like it. His face darkened and he bit his lip. “Let us bar the gates of Himera with branches and logs and if need be set fire to them to prevent the garrison from attacking us. I have made preparations for all eventualities and the gods of Carthage still offer me favorable omens. The power of decision is mine and I will endure no criticism of my decision.”

Since Hamilcar was interested only in talk that pleased him, I ceased speaking and was content to watch Kydippe. She fingered my braid and whispered, “Truly, Turms, I still remember vividly how your mouth kissed mine and your hand caressed my body. I was certainly not indifferent although I pretended to be. At my age and as the mother of four boys I confess that I have never been able to forget you. Once on a moonlit night you even appeared beside my bed and I awakened with a start, but it was only a dream.”

As I held Kydippe’s hand and drank from her goblet, Hamilcar could no longer control himself but leaped from the couch of honor and declared in a trembling voice that Kydippe had already said enough for a hostage and a woman and bade her return to the protection of the eunuchs. I alone knew that Kydippe had deliberately encouraged his jealousy to demonstrate to herself her influence over him, for as she led her sons away, she glanced around the tent in triumph.