The shore party managed to speak to some Parians, but with no more conclusive results than we had had at Naxos. We left as soon as they came back. That night we sailed on. I had managed to suppress my erotic longings for Erinna, or I thought I had. I was sure she didn’t feel like that about me, and I knew that I wanted to increase her excellence, as Plato says, so it was all right for me to love her as long as I didn’t act out of lust. Mostly it was nice to just think how much better the world was because she was in it, and to see her sometimes, adjusting the sails or teaching people how to steer. When she smiled at me, my heart turned over.

We came to Delos at sunrise on the fifth day out from home. I was at the mast-top, in the crosstrees where there was a little platform for sitting. There was a huge wing of thin cloud in the eastern sky, striated like wool pulled out for carding, and the sun had lit it pink and then gold. The sky was paling from pink as we came into the natural harbor of Delos and dropped anchor there below the temples. I could feel somebody climbing the mast below me so I scooted over to make room for whoever it was. My heartbeat faster thinking that it might be Erinna. I was surprised when it turned out to be Father.

He looked out over the island. “It’s such a long time since I’ve seen it,” he said. “No lions yet.”

“It looks deserted. Or is everyone still asleep?”

“It’s only used for the festival at this date. There’ll probably be a few priests, I should think.”

“The temples look like proper buildings.”

He smiled his kouros smile. “They may have had inspiration.”

“But not those poor villagers on Naxos and Paros?”

He looked impatient. “I can’t be everywhere taking care of everything all at once. Yes, I could spend all my time curing people of boils and teaching them to read, but instead I set up centers of healing and learning, to teach doctors and scholars. I gave Greece an oracle where they could come and ask their questions. I sent Sokrates a daimon to watch out for him, but I can’t do that for everyone. I’m constantly inspiring people, but only people who can do something with the inspiration. I do the best I can within what Fate allows. Don’t confuse me with Ficino’s ideas of God, Arete!”

“Sorry,” I said.