He swore then as he saw how much blood was spattering from him. He looked at Xanthippus, seeing no sign of mercy or humour. The strategos had come back from war much darker than he had left. Some always did. Xanthippus was no longer the young man Themistocles had sent into exile, nor even the one who had taken charge of the fleet and devised signals and tactics for Salamis. They were all different men. Themistocles shook his head. His wounds were really hurting. The war was over, but it had taken their youth and all that was good.

Part Four

Part Four

‘I know how men in exile feed on dreams of hope.’

– Aeschylus, Agamemnon

33

The Assembly that gathered in the pre-dawn light numbered more than twenty thousand, all who could possibly fit on the Pnyx. People of Athens camped on the slopes and all around, drawn by the importance of the war inquiry. Scribes wrote furiously, producing as many pages as they could. They sold for four or five times the normal amount, a bounty compared to before the war.

No women were allowed on the stone benches. They gathered instead across the Agora below. Those who had coins paid slaves or messenger boys to shove through the crowds and then report back whatever they heard. For most, it would be the only chance to hear the personal fate of their husbands, spoken by those who had witnessed their deaths. Sometimes, it was just the name of a ship seen on fire or rammed, or an officer’s death confirmed by those who had fought at his side. Families waited for news they could hardly bear to hear. In clusters of sisters, aunts and children, they stood with heads bowed and babies held close, mothers hard-faced and cold to all sympathy. There were thousands of those, drawn from their demes across the city and around, there to hear all they could.

The past was only one part of their concern. When the Assembly gathered in such numbers, the law itself was decided by their vote. In moments, justice was called and abruptly decided, without appeal. For many of those present, it was a chance to weigh the acts of those who had led them – and to decide whether to reward or censure the actions brought into the light. Every court in the heart of Athens was filled with jurors, administered by the council of tribes and chosen by lot. There had been a rush of petitions for the state to return wealth taken during the war. Others were brought before a jury on accusations of theft, rape, murder or giving succour to the enemy in time of war. Those were a grim business. Lesser crimes could be punished with a fine, but the crowd often wanted more. Executions were carried out swiftly. Three men were chained for a night to a beam in the Agora, tormented by passers-by until only bloody wrecks remained.