Parmenion shook himself clear of such sombre thoughts and stared at the ten-foot-square killing ground, shaped in sand. The carved wooden soldiers stood in ranks beside it. Gold on the left, Blood on the right.' Unpainted and unadorned, yet still they were handsome. Reaching down, he picked up the first Gold hoplite line; it had been carved in white wood, but the years had stained it yellow. There were only ten figures pinned to the small support plank, but these represented 100 heavily armoured warriors bearing round shields, spears and short swords. They had been carved with care, even down to the leather kilts and bronze greaves. Only the helms were now outdated; full-faced and plumed, they had been discontinued thirty years before. But these carvings were old and almost sacred. The great
Leonidas of legend had used them when he won the Eleventh Games.
Parmenion replaced the Spartan file and moved to the Sciritai. These were less well carved and not as old. The men here carried no spears, and wore round leather caps.
A shadow fell across Parmenion and he glanced up to see a tall man wearing a yellow tunic edged with gold. He had rarely seen a more fine-looking warrior: his hair was golden, streaked with silver, his eyes the blue of a summer sky.
The man smiled at him. 'You would be Parmenion. Welcome to my house, young general.'
'Thank you, sir. It is an honour to be here.'
'Yes, it is,' Xenophon agreed, 'but you have earned that honour. Walk with me.'
Parmenion followed Xenophon into a shaded alcove decorated with a magnificent display of purple flowers which draped the wall like the cloak of a king.
'The straws have been drawn and you will make the first move. Now tell me the first three orders you will give,' said Xenophon. Parmenion took a deep breath. For the first time his nerves seemed to fail him and he found himself staring back at the crowd in the courtyard. In a real battle, once the fighting started it was almost impossible to change the strategy swiftly, not when thousands of men were struggling together with swords and shields clashing. That was why, in the Game, the first three orders were given to the judges so that no competitor could suddenly change his mind if faced by a superior move from his opponent.
'I am waiting, young man,' whispered Xenophon. Parmenion turned his pale blue eyes on the handsome Athenian. Then he told him, watching the older man's reaction.
Xenophon listened without expression, then he sighed and shook his head. 'It is not for the Senior Judge to offer advice, therefore I will say only that if Leonidas chooses any of four — perhaps five — options you will be routed catastrophically. You have considered this, of course?'
'I have, sir.'
'Have you also considered the question of tradition and of Spartan pride?'
'I merely wish to win the battle.'
Xenophon hesitated. Already he had exceeded his duties. Finally he nodded and returned to the ritual. 'May the gods favour you, Sparta,' he said, bowing. Parmenion returned the bow and watched the Athenian stride across to where Leonidas waited. He swallowed hard. If the general was a friend to Leonidas and should impart even a clue as to Parmenion's battle plan. .
Do not even think it! Xenophon is a great general, Parmenion chided himself, and would never stoop to anything so base. This was the man who, after the defeat at Cunaxa, had seen his friends brutally assassinated, and had taken command of a demoralized Greek army and fought his way across Persia's vast empire to the sea. Xenophon would not betray him.
But he is also the father of Gryllus, thought Parmenion, and a friend to the family of Leonidas.
The crowd rose and Parmenion watched as Agisaleus entered, flanked by his generals and two of his lovers. The King bowed as the crowd applauded him, then limped to his seat at the centre of the first row, directly beside the sand-pit. Parmenion's mouth was dry as he walked to where Hermias stood, averting his eyes from the cloak.
Xenophon called the other two judges to him. For some minutes he spoke to them, then took his seat beside the King. The first of the judges — an elderly man, with short-cropped white hair and a closely-trimmed beard — approached Parmenion.
'I am Clearchus,' he said. 'I will place the army as you have commanded, general. You may ask my advice on matters of time delay, but nothing else.' He opened a pouch at his hip and removed from it three knuckle-bones. In the six indentations on each bone were painted numbers, from three to eight. 'To decide losses, I will roll these bones. The highest figure and the lowest figure will be removed and the remaining number will be regarded as the fallen. You understand?'
'Of course,' Parmenion replied.
'A simple yes is required,' Clearchus stated.
'Yes,' said Parmenion. Clearchus moved to stand alongside the yellow wood army as the second judge positioned himself on the other side of the pit by the red wood soldiers.
For the first time Parmenion locked his gaze to Leonidas. The other youth grinned at him, his eyes mocking. Leonidas was considered beautiful, but despite the yellow-gold hair and the handsome mouth Parmenion saw only the ugliness of cruelty.
As was the custom, the two combatants walked around the pit to face one another.
'Will you give ground to the Spartan Gold?' asked Parmenion, following the ritual.
'The Spartan Red never gives ground,' replied Leonidas. 'Prepare to die.'
The crowd applauded and the King rose, raising his hands for silence. 'My friends, today I offer a special gift to the victor: one of the seven swords of Leonidas the King!' He held the iron blade aloft, where the sunlight caught it, turning it to silver. A great roar went up.
Leonidas leaned in close to Parmenion. 'I will humble you, mix-blood.'
'Your breath smells worse than a cow's arse!' replied Parmenion, enjoying the flush of colour which leapt to Leonidas' cheeks. Both youths returned to their places.
'Begin!' ordered Xenophon.
Clearchus stepped forward. 'The general Parmenion has ordered the troops into Lysander's Fifth formation, with the Sciritai on the left, sixteen deep, the Spartans at the centre, sixteen deep, and mercenary javelin throwers behind the cavalry on the right. The general positions himself behind the centre.' Parmenion saw several warriors in the crowd shaking their heads in disapproval and could guess their thoughts. No general could expect his men to fight for him if he did not have the courage to stand with them in the front lines.
Three helots moved forward, lifting the ranks of wooden soldiers into place on the sand.
The second judge addressed the crowd. 'The general Leonidas has ordered the Third Agisalean formation, the Spartans on the right, ten deep, the cavalry in the centre, Sciritai and javeliners on the left. He positions himself in the second line of the centre.' Applause went up and Leonidas bowed. As a Spartan general should, he had chosen to place himself close to the front rank.
The crowd leaned forward, staring intently at the formations. It was obvious that Parmenion was planning a defensive battle, ready to repel a frontal assault. Leonidas had stretched his line and was planning the traditional angled attack from the left, while moving to encircle the enemy. Much would now depend on the rolling of the knuckle-bones to decide casualties.