Ancient Diplomacy Gone Hairy (historical, 660 words)
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06 Dec 2012, 9:49 pm
This silly quasi-vignette short story takes place in ancient Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, but Tte protagonist Pelagios comes from the Greek city-state of Mycenae. Any feedback will be appreciated!
Quote:
Pelagios strutted into the Egyptian palace's audience hall with his chest raised forward. His golden-brown muscles, smeared with oil, glistened with the same brilliance as his bronze armor. The moment he first clipped his sandals onto the room's floor tiles, drums throbbed and women sang. All the courtiers turned their heads to gaze at him. Running his hand back over his raven hair, Pelagios grinned. Even in the heart of Egypt, so far away from his native Mycenae, people gave him the attention a prince like him deserved.
The errand he would carry out in his father's name at first sounded simple, even boring, until he came to this country. The audience hall alone, lined by painted columns taller than whole temples in other lands, displayed Egypt's unrivaled wealth, as did the gold and gems decorating the courtiers' bodies. Gaining such a powerful and ancient empire's support could only benefit Mycenae in both the short and long runs. Such a diplomatic victory would earn Pelagios a special place in his city-state's entire history, if not that of all Greece, and he merely needed to use his charismatic talents to achieve it.
Additionally this mission would give him an opportunity every other man in Mycenae would envy, an opportunity apparent when he reached the audience hall’s opposite end.
Pharaoh Amenhotep sat on a gilded throne atop a dais which spearmen guarded. His Great Wife Tiye stood right next to him with an arm over his shoulder. Her dark brown-skinned body, slender except for a full derriere, showed through her thin linen dress. A ball of kinky black hair large enough to cover the ears crowned her head. When Tiye’s eyes met Pelagios, she curved her luscious lips into a smile. Hopefully that meant more than simple friendliness.
He bowed at the waist before Amenhotep. “I, Prince Pelagios of Mycenae, feel more honored than ever to stand in Your Divine Majesty’s presence, O Pharaoh,” he said. “Even more pleasurable is casting eyes upon your Great Wife. In truth, Aphrodite herself would seethe with jealousy upon seeing her.”
Amenhotep raised an eyebrow, but Tiye laughed. “I thought you Greeks frowned upon that kind of hubris?” she said.
“Yet only hubris can do enough justice to you.” Pelagios knelt at Tiye’s feet and kissed her hand. “You have a most curious hairstyle though. Do you simply let your hair grow out?”
“Actually, I comb it out to make it look bigger.” Tiye brushed the top of her hair with her hand.
“I didn’t know your race could comb hair to look bigger. Its texture reminds me of sheep’s wool. May I touch it?”
Amenhotep furrowed his brows and curled his lips back into a snarl. “You touch my Great Wife’s hair at your life’s risk, Greek dog.”
“Oh, he won’t do it any harm,” Tiye said. “Let him indulge his curiosity.”
Pelagios reached out his hand and sank his fingers into Tiye’s hair. The courtiers gasped. “It feels rather coarse and springy,” he said. “I wonder how you wash such kinky hair?”
Amenhotep bolted off his throne, clutched his hands around Pelagios’s shoulders, and yanked him back. “How dare you defy me and molest my beloved’s hairstyle!”
Spinning around to face the Pharaoh, Pelagios shoved him forward. “And how dare you manhandle a prince of Mycenae! Show some hospitality!”
Amenhotep slapped Pelagios on the cheek, flushing it red. Pelagios growled and retaliated by thrusting his foot into the Pharaoh’s groin. Amenhotep’s agonized roar echoed off the columns as he fell to the floor. The crowd exploded into booing.
The guards around the dais closed in on Pelagios and surrounded him with spears pointed at his neck. Pelagios raised his hands up.
“Throw him to the crocodiles,” Amenhotep said. “From now on, no man of Mycenae shall come to this country and live!”
Pelagios may have come to Egypt hoping to strengthen the bond between their countries, but instead he had severed it. And all it took was to touch a woman’s hair.
The errand he would carry out in his father's name at first sounded simple, even boring, until he came to this country. The audience hall alone, lined by painted columns taller than whole temples in other lands, displayed Egypt's unrivaled wealth, as did the gold and gems decorating the courtiers' bodies. Gaining such a powerful and ancient empire's support could only benefit Mycenae in both the short and long runs. Such a diplomatic victory would earn Pelagios a special place in his city-state's entire history, if not that of all Greece, and he merely needed to use his charismatic talents to achieve it.
Additionally this mission would give him an opportunity every other man in Mycenae would envy, an opportunity apparent when he reached the audience hall’s opposite end.
Pharaoh Amenhotep sat on a gilded throne atop a dais which spearmen guarded. His Great Wife Tiye stood right next to him with an arm over his shoulder. Her dark brown-skinned body, slender except for a full derriere, showed through her thin linen dress. A ball of kinky black hair large enough to cover the ears crowned her head. When Tiye’s eyes met Pelagios, she curved her luscious lips into a smile. Hopefully that meant more than simple friendliness.
He bowed at the waist before Amenhotep. “I, Prince Pelagios of Mycenae, feel more honored than ever to stand in Your Divine Majesty’s presence, O Pharaoh,” he said. “Even more pleasurable is casting eyes upon your Great Wife. In truth, Aphrodite herself would seethe with jealousy upon seeing her.”
Amenhotep raised an eyebrow, but Tiye laughed. “I thought you Greeks frowned upon that kind of hubris?” she said.
“Yet only hubris can do enough justice to you.” Pelagios knelt at Tiye’s feet and kissed her hand. “You have a most curious hairstyle though. Do you simply let your hair grow out?”
“Actually, I comb it out to make it look bigger.” Tiye brushed the top of her hair with her hand.
“I didn’t know your race could comb hair to look bigger. Its texture reminds me of sheep’s wool. May I touch it?”
Amenhotep furrowed his brows and curled his lips back into a snarl. “You touch my Great Wife’s hair at your life’s risk, Greek dog.”
“Oh, he won’t do it any harm,” Tiye said. “Let him indulge his curiosity.”
Pelagios reached out his hand and sank his fingers into Tiye’s hair. The courtiers gasped. “It feels rather coarse and springy,” he said. “I wonder how you wash such kinky hair?”
Amenhotep bolted off his throne, clutched his hands around Pelagios’s shoulders, and yanked him back. “How dare you defy me and molest my beloved’s hairstyle!”
Spinning around to face the Pharaoh, Pelagios shoved him forward. “And how dare you manhandle a prince of Mycenae! Show some hospitality!”
Amenhotep slapped Pelagios on the cheek, flushing it red. Pelagios growled and retaliated by thrusting his foot into the Pharaoh’s groin. Amenhotep’s agonized roar echoed off the columns as he fell to the floor. The crowd exploded into booing.
The guards around the dais closed in on Pelagios and surrounded him with spears pointed at his neck. Pelagios raised his hands up.
“Throw him to the crocodiles,” Amenhotep said. “From now on, no man of Mycenae shall come to this country and live!”
Pelagios may have come to Egypt hoping to strengthen the bond between their countries, but instead he had severed it. And all it took was to touch a woman’s hair.
By the way, the hairstyle Tiye wears here is an Afro based on this ancient bust of her.
