John couldn’t help wondering if he detected a glimmer of young Alexis, always ready to desert his responsibilities for some mischief. “I am sorry if my servant further strained your resources. I hope you will accept a small payment.”
“Thank you, John, but I would not expect to be compensated for kindness. To tell the truth, the hospice has enlarged our treasury considerably. Those who enter into our care often turn their worldly possessions over to us and families give us generous donations. It would be better if they showed their gratitude by doing the work of the Lord, but they mean well. We simply need to build an addition. But let us not become bogged down in business. We were speaking about old religions? You inquired about the temple on your estate. I’m happy to see you share some of my interest in such antiquities.”
John murmured his assent, hoping the abbot would not inquire too closely about his personal religious beliefs.
“I showed you that fragment because it is rare, as originating locally, but there is a certain amount of information regarding Demeter worship, generally. But nothing too detailed or reliable since it was a secret cult.”
“I understand,” John said truthfully, since his own religion, Mithraism, kept its rites secret from all but initiates.
“She is an agricultural goddess. In this area, in particular, she was known as the giver of sheep and worshiped as the one who inspired the raising of sheep.”
“I can appreciate the importance of that. I have never seen so many sheep as hereabouts.”
“It is also said our thriving pig-raising industry resulted originally from the use of sacrificial swine in her worship.”
John observed that the goddess had certainly left her impression on Megara.
Alexis nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes. Very much so. You’ll doubtless remember the rock known as Recall where the goddess is said to have sat, calling her daughter to come back from the underworld?”
“Near the marketplace, yes. The one Leonidas fell off.” John replied. “Though in those days you were more curious about, shall we say, more earthy rites?”
Alexis laughed quietly. “But of course. Were we then not boys as yet uninitiated into the mysteries of women?”
“Given this long-held interest, I confess to some surprise you entered the church.”
“You’re not the only one, John. My library is famous-or should I say notorious?-and a number of local residents have made it plain they consider my studies to be not quite proper. My reply is always to say it is wise know thy enemy.”
“I found that to be true in Constantinople, although there it is hard to know who your enemy might be.”
“In my line of endeavor I have no such problems. But as to this pagan enemy I have made it my business to know: Demeter. Your surmise on the significance of the sacred basket found by Theophilus’ body would seem to be correct.”
Shadows had begun to advance across the high-ceilinged room, fingering their blind way along the floor, gathering in corners as the light began to soften and turn gray.
“Peter said he was told that the pit he fell into may have been dug by treasure hunters. It occurred to me that I might have dug the pit myself when I was a boy. Has that old legend come back to life again?”
“Yes, it seems to have caught people’s imaginations lately.”
“It certainly caught our imaginations, but we were only children. And what is your opinion now? Have your studies revealed anything?”
“A foolish legend. You know the story. In fact, Alaric and the Goths did loot Corinth and burn it down so there would have been reason for someone to want to smuggle valuables away. But there is no evidence it happened.”
“But if there was such an attempt, what would have been hidden?”
“The church treasury, or priceless icons, or perhaps a hoard of Corinthian bronze which would be worth more than the other two combined, given the very process by which it was made has been lost. What few references I’ve run across are nothing but rumors. The authors obviously didn’t know anything more than we did when we searched.”
John smiled. “I do remember that time in the woods when we were digging under the ledge and Leonidas broke through into a kind of hole. We were excited.”
“And even more excited when the fox burst out! And nothing has changed. No one knows where the treasure is, most likely because there never was one. From time to time a hopeful hunter asks permission to dig on the monastery grounds. Naturally I refuse. Sometimes they return and dig after dark anyway. I also take the opportunity to explain that the wish to locate it is caused by the desire to obtain riches without work. However, it does not seem to stop people from digging here and there. If only they put as much energy into their spiritual lives, they would be much happier, if less wealthy!”
Alexis made a sweeping gesture indicating the codices and scrolls in their wall niches and on tables and shelves. “Ignore all these pagan gods and goddesses. The most evil of all idols, and the most worshiped, is wealth. But, then, you aren’t here to listen to me preach, John. Truthfully, this monastery would benefit from any windfall. For one thing we could enlarge the hospice and for another-but no, I must not continue. I am falling into a different sort of pit, if you’ll pardon my pun!”
“I should not keep you away from your duties.” John stood.
“We’ll have ample opportunity to renew our acquaintance. Being nearby, the monastery does quite a bit of business with the estate. We used to rely on it for much of our olive oil, but the groves have been neglected. Stephen generally dealt with your overseer, but perhaps we could deal personally?”
“Certainly. However, before leaving I must ask about the monk who rescued Peter. I would like to question him, in case he observed anything in the vicinity of the temple that night.”
“As it happens it was Stephen who found your servant.”
***
Stephen was gathering herbs. Their delicate scents filled the twilight in the inner courtyard.
“I should not have ventured out without permission,” he told John. “Abbot Alexis reprimanded me, with justification. I couldn’t contain my curiosity. I have prayed for the strength to control my impulses in the future.”
“In this instance, it is fortunate for Peter that you failed to do so,” John said. “I must thank you for bringing him back here and caring for him.”
“Anyone would have done the same, sir.”
The young man shared the bland family features. The older Leonidas had reminded John of Leonidas’ father, the son reminded him of the boy who had been John’s friend. The overlapping of past and present was unnerving. The similarities were not entirely physical either, for while Stephen’s father devoted much of his time to recreating far corners of the world which remained invisible to him from Megara, Stephen had sworn allegiance to something that was invisible to everyone.
“We have often seen lights at the temple during the night these past few months,” Stephen continued. “But that night the place was ablaze. I could see the sky lit up over the hill, as if there were a great fire.”
“The City Defender’s men were out in force. What time did you go to investigate?”
“After evening devotions. I was curious to see what was going on.”
“What did you suppose might be going on?”
Stephen snapped twigs off a low bush and transferred them to his basket, enveloping both John and himself in a cloud of fragrance, which, John thought, Hypatia would be able to identify. Or his mother, in the old days, for that matter.
“I don’t know. There’s been talk of rituals. Not that I believe the stories about you and your family, sir. You can’t know everything that goes on everywhere on your land at every hour.”
“It seems not. How did you find Peter?”