The Three Paradises Read online

  Lysimachus carried on his bloody work, slicing through fur and muscle. ‘And you think that we can avoid war on our side of the Hellespont? With that witch Olympias always looking for a way back to power?’

  Antipatros shrugged and held the belly open as Lysimachus pushed his hands in. ‘Perhaps there’ll be war in Europe but it’ll be a small-scale affair; it won’t completely ravage the country as it would if one of the huge Asian armies became involved. Let them stay here and fight it out amongst themselves. Antigonos, Ptolemy, Seleukos and whoever else; they can do what they want as long as they don’t do it in Europe.’

  Lysimachus looked down at the pile of steaming innards spread on the grass. ‘I take your point. And, for my part, in being married to your daughter I can guarantee that you won’t try to march into Thrace from the west so technically, in your eyes, I would just have the south to defend. But then there is my northern border: the Danubus. Do you ever consider what’s in the north?’

  ‘Barbarian tribes?’

  ‘Lots of them, stretching beyond imagination. I fight against, or deal with, the closest of them, but the rumours I hear of what is beyond those could make our plans of defending Europe from the south irrelevant.’

  Antipatros frowned. ‘What rumours?’

  ‘The tribes to the north are being pushed by a movement that is bigger than ever before, and that’s according to prisoners I took the last time I fought the Getae, as well as a Scythian king with whom I was negotiating a treaty; have you ever heard of the Galatai and the Gallaeci, two tribes of a people known as the Keltoi; huge people, all at least half a head taller than us?’

  Antipatros thought for a few moments and then slowly nodded. ‘A few years ago, Alexander of Epirus crossed to Italia to come to the aid of Terrentum – he managed to get himself killed for his troubles. Anyway, obviously I had spies in his army and they told me of an invasion of Italia seventy or eighty years previously by a people call the Galli, huge men who tower over us; would they be the same?’

  ‘More than likely if they’re also giants.’

  ‘Apparently they sacked many towns in the north of the peninsula as well as Roma, which is the city that seems to be the coming power in the region; they were eventually beaten back and settled vast tracts of land in the north. I’ve also heard from agents in Massalia, a Greek colony on the coast beyond Italia, that another migration of them has crossed the mountain range that borders the Iberian peninsula. And Pytheas the explorer told me, on his return from his voyage in the northern seas, four years ago, that others went north and some even crossed into Hyperborea, if you can believe it exists; although Pytheas assures me that it does and that it’s an island. He claims to have sailed around it.’

  Lysimachus’ expression conveyed a complete lack of geographical knowledge of lands so far removed. ‘Well, it seems that another migration, who have yet to find land to settle, are slowly moving south and east; towards us.’

  ‘How long?’

  ‘Oh, a few years yet, decades even; they’re not a horse-people, they move slowly and only if threatened by other tribes equally as barbarous. But they will come; and from what I hear there are tens of thousands of them. You won’t live to see it and I’ll be a lot older.’

  Antipatros wiped his hands on the flanks of the buck and then held them out for a slave to pour water over them. ‘I’m pleased to be spared the worry, but I fear for my children.’

  ‘You are right to. Anyway, it seems to me that we need to be prepared so I’ve instigated a fortress-building programme. The Danubus is no barrier to all of them as those that invaded Italia are to the south of it; however, there are more to the north of the river in the great forests of the interior. So I’m going to build a series of forts along the river to try to prevent the two arms of the migration from joining up and then I shall build a fortress overlooking the Succi pass which is the only viable way over the Haemus Mountains into southern Thrace. If they cross that then Macedon and Asia will be at their mercy.’ Lysimachus stood and wiped his hands on a towel held by a slave. ‘But this will all cost a lot of money.’

  ‘I see; you’re asking for a considerable dowry to come with Nicaea.’

  ‘It’s not for me; it’s for Macedon and her empire. If they come and we can’t stop them, we’re finished. We’ll be slaves in our own lands.’

  Antipatros looked thoughtful. ‘As has already happened to the people of the north of Italia and, no doubt, Hyperborea too.’ He shook his head at the thought of such an outlandish-sounding place being a physical reality. ‘Very well, Nicaea will come with a dowry that will help you to build your forts.’

  Lysimachus shook his head. ‘Not help to build but build entirely.’

  ‘I have to finance the whole project?’

  ‘Not you personally but the empire; it’s for all of us. And I suggest that you start by stopping giving away so much of its wealth in bounty.’

  Antipatros considered his prospective son-in-law’s remark and then held out his hand. ‘You make a persuasive case, Lysimachus, we will look to the north and hope that between them, the Danubus and the Haemus Mountain range can keep us safe. You will get your money.’

  ‘Then I will marry your daughter.’

  ‘It gives me great joy.’

  ‘Out of interest: who do you plan to marry Phila to now that Krateros has seen fit to make her a widow?’

  ‘Antigonos’ son, Demetrios.’

  ‘But she’s more than ten years older than me,’ Demetrios protested as he stood before his father and Antipatros.

  ‘Then she might just have the stamina to keep up with your sexual excesses,’ Antigonos said, enjoying the way his son was, for the first time in his memory, showing signs of fear.

  ‘She’s not a virgin.’

  ‘Oh, stop being silly. Neither are you and I don’t suppose she’ll be complaining. Far from it as she’ll know that she might have a puppy for a bed-mate, but at least the whelp has some idea what to do with her.’

  ‘It’s of vital importance that we tie our families together,’ Antipatros insisted in the face of Demetrios’ defiant look. ‘And you will do what your father and I tell you to otherwise there is a strong chance of us becoming enemies and that would help no one’s cause.’

  ‘It’s for all our good,’ Antigonos reminded his son, trying to keep a straight face at the now-naked terror in his eyes. ‘To paraphrase Euripides: One must become a spouse, despite oneself, for the sake of gain.’

  ‘Yes, but the original quote is slave, Father. Slave not spouse; I’ll be an older woman’s slave. She will never bow to my will.’

  ‘Ah, so that’s what the problem is, is it? You’re afraid that you’re not man enough to take on this formidable woman?’

  ‘I didn’t say that.’

  ‘Then what are we arguing about! I don’t want to hear another word about it; you marry the woman and that’s that. Now get out before I take my belt to you as I used to.’

  As the door slammed, both Antipatros and Antigonos waited a few moments and then burst into laughter; belly-bursting, throat-constricting, tear-spurting mirth.

  ‘I wouldn’t like to be Phila on the wedding night,’ Antipatros managed to get out, eventually.

  Antigonos wiped his eye. ‘No, the little brat is going to have a few points to prove, that is for sure.’

  ‘Yes, in the morning it’ll take her slaves twice as long as normal to make her look presentable, the poor girl. But as she is my daughter you can bet she’ll consider it worthwhile. Now if you’ll excuse me, Antigonos, before we sit down again, I need to speak in private to Seleukos.’

  SELEUKOS.

  THE BULL-ELEPHANT.

  SELEUKOS SAT BACK in his chair, only half listening to Antipatros as the regent confirmed those who had remained loyal to his cause in their satrapies and replaced those whose allegiance could not be counted upon with those whose could. He vaguely noticed Eumenes’ removal from Kappadokia and his replacement by Antipatros’ son, Nicanor; and a
s he sank deeper into thought he barely registered surprise as Kleitos the White replaced Menander in Lydia and Arrhidaeus was rewarded with Hellespontine Phrygia, a far greater plum than, surely, he deserved.

  The expression on both Antigonos’ and Kassandros’ faces when they heard that Antipatros had appointed his eldest son as second-in-command of the Royal Army passed completely unnoticed, which was a shame as Seleukos would have particularly enjoyed the sight of Kassandros being forced to do something against his will and that of Antigonos registering outrage at the fact that, despite the forthcoming marriage of their offspring, his own ally had so blatantly put a spy in his camp.

  But Seleukos had more pressing concerns and he barely managed a nod of gratitude as his satrapy of Babylonia was reconfirmed, such was his puzzlement at his meeting with Antipatros just before the conference resumed. The old man must either be going senile or there is something that I am just not seeing. And why would he ever think that I would be happy to divorce my wife?

  Unlike the rest of his contemporaries who had been forced to take Persian wives at Susa, Seleukos loved his Apama and had no intention of renouncing her for a Macedonian of status. More to the point, she had borne him two children, a daughter named after her and a son, Antiochus, named after Seleukos’ father who was now dead and much missed; to repudiate her now would be, to his way of thinking, the act of a callous, ungrateful man. Although she came from the wildlands of Sogdiana, way out in the east, Apama was not an untamed harpy in the mould of Roxanna. Far from it: she was, naturally, beautiful and always elegantly attired but she also had the distinct advantage of being moderate and reasonable in her behaviour and, above all, she was not grasping, which made Seleukos want to grant every one of her few wishes. In short, he knew that he would never find a woman so suited to his needs in combination of her beauty, character and family, for she was of eastern royal blood and that would be of great service to him should he think of expanding his influence over the eastern satrapies in the future; being a man of great ambition this was an object of prime importance to him as the troops those satrapies could provide would help him secure his portion of the west.

  But that was the future, the near future to be sure, and a great factor in the long-term plan that had been formulating in Seleukos’ mind ever since Alexander had looked unlikely to survive his illness. Now, however, he was trying to fathom the present and Antipatros’ news: his receiving of Babylonia would not to be as straightforward as he had hoped. According to Kassandros, who had just returned from the city, Docimus had fled back east, to Babylon after Perdikkas’ death and, killing Archon, had proclaimed himself satrap. As Seleukos had no army of his own other than what was now in Docimus’ hands in the satrapy he had stolen, that left him, Antipatros had rightly pointed out, somewhat disadvantaged. Antipatros had offered to provide him with a modest army, indeed, he would be only too pleased to, but on one condition: that he divorce Apama and marry Kleopatra, Alexander’s full-sister. This would by no means give him a claim to the throne of Macedon, Antipatros had explained, as it would have done Leonnatus and Perdikkas for they were possessed of some Royal blood; it would, however, do Antipatros the big favour of getting Kleopatra out of the way as well as giving Seleukos some legitimacy for whatever he planned to do, the regent had added with a knowing look. What good would Kleopatra do me? Apama is a far more useful consort when dealing with the east. Yet why did he make me that offer? He had, of course, refused it out of hand for he had no wish to divest himself of the woman whom he loved for a woman who would see herself as his superior, if, indeed, she could be persuaded to marry him at all. No, it just did not make sense and the fact that it evidently had made sense to Antipatros and he, Seleukos, could not see why, worried him immensely, even more than the prospect of having to oust Docimus without the benefit of an army.

  Sighing inwardly, he resolved to just let the problem percolate in the back of his mind and hope that an answer would come to him.

  ‘On your way back to Caria, Asander,’ Antipatros was saying as Seleukos brought his attention back to the proceedings, ‘I want you to remove Alketas from Pisidia and send me his head and his men.’

  Asander looked less than thrilled at the prospect. ‘But I don’t have enough men.’

  ‘You’ll get men; just do it. March hard and fast and take the bugger by surprise.’

  I can’t say I think much of your judge of character; Alketas is more than a match for that pleasure lover.

  Antipatros stared Asander into submission and then returned his attention to the meeting. ‘And that, finally, brings me to the issue of Ptolemy, who has seen fit not to join us in our deliberations.’

  Our deliberations, old man, there has hardly been any “our” about it.

  ‘He has asked me to speak on his behalf,’ Arrhidaeus said from down the end of the table.

  Antipatros looked as if that was not news to him. ‘Did he? Well, go on then, speak.’

  ‘He asked me just to say this: he sends his greetings to his brothers-in-arms and wishes nothing but the best for you all. He would hope that in the new spirit of cooperation we would all leave him alone and recognise his right to Cyrenaica as a spear-won land, something that Perdikkas refused to do. He asked me to particularly stress that this would be very important to him and, along with one other condition, would encourage him to keep his eyes looking west and not east.’

  Antipatros almost choked. ‘The insolent young puppy making conditions: is he threatening me with his bringing an army east if I don’t let him have Cyrenaica?’

  ‘Not at all; Cyrenaica is non-negotiable, he’s keeping it whatever happens; he just wants you to recognise it. He says that he won’t bring an army east to take southern Syria if you give him Cyprus, as he only needs one or the other.’

  Seleukos choked back a laugh into a fit of coughing – he was not alone in this. You have to admire him. He risked a look at Antipatros and was unsurprised to see the old man puce with indignation.

  The explosion came. ‘I’ve given him one of my daughters and this is how he treats me? At my age? How dare he make demands? I’ll strip him of Egypt. I’ll…’

  Seleukos watched, amused, as Arrhidaeus sat with his eyes lowered until the storm passed and he could once again make himself heard. ‘He said to point out, in the event that you should react as you just have, that he has the largest fleet in the sea and all it would take him to do is make an alliance with Attalus in Tyros, combine their two fleets under his command and Cyprus would be his within a month. But he doesn’t want to do that as he knows that it would upset you and that’s the last thing he would wish to do to his dear father-in-law.’

  This was too much for Antipatros; he slammed the table with both fists, inchoate with fury as those who had been Ptolemy’s companions during the conquest of Asia, and knew him well, tried but failed to hide their amusement.

  ‘This is no laughing matter!’ Antipatros roared as soon as he was able to formulate words. ‘If Ptolemy dares to—’ But what Ptolemy should not dare was lost as Antipatros’ eyes opened in pain and, clutching at his heart with one hand whilst leaning on the table with the other, he sat down.

  All laughter ceased as the old man struggled to draw breath, gasping and choking. It was Kassandros who reacted first, taking his father and laying him on the ground as the others in the room gathered around, anxious as they looked down at the man who could keep them united. ‘Someone, fetch his doctor,’ Kassandros ordered as he placed a cloak beneath his father’s head.

  And yet, despite of his outward concern, Seleukos noticed a predatory look in Kassandros’ eyes. Don’t die now, you old bastard, not before I’m safely in Babylon.

  But Antipatros, in spite of his years, was strong and not long after the obviously nervous doctor had slipped a draught down his throat, his breathing became more regular and his eyes focused. ‘What are you all looking at?’ he growled at the concerned faces looking down at him. ‘Stop gawping and help me up.’

  Man
y hands lifted the old regent to his chair, where he fought off the doctor’s entreaties to retire to his bed, pushed Kassandros away, insisting that the conference should continue and once all were again seated he carried on as if nothing were amiss. ‘If Ptolemy dares to bully me into giving him Cyprus, then he is sadly mistaken with his choice of tactics.’

  ‘We have no choice in the matter,’ Antigonos said from across the table. ‘What he says is quite true. His ships, combined with Attalus’, will be more than a match for Kleitos’ fleet. If we were to resist Ptolemy’s claim then he would carry out his threat and annex Cyprus nonetheless; we would be unable to resist him thus making us look weak and putting ideas into the head of anyone who fancied building on their power.’

  The Resinated Cyclops just turned his eye on me as he said that; he either wants my support in this or he thinks that I am one of those who might wish to imitate Ptolemy. I’ll play safe and, besides, Antipatros isn’t the only one with troops to dispense; if Ptolemy hears I supported him…‘I agree with Antigonos. Ptolemy could easily take both Cyprus and southern Syria, so it’s best to give him just the one he asks for and keep at least a semblance of peace between us all; which is what we need as we fight Eumenes.’

  Antipatros looked around the table to see many of the heads nodding in agreement. ‘You can’t seriously think that we should give Cyprus to Ptolemy?’

  PTOLEMY.

  THE BASTARD.

  ‘HA! IT’S TAKEN three months but I knew the old man would be forced to agree, eventually.’ Ptolemy slapped the letter between his palms, directing his exuberance to the cat that dozed in the shaded corner of the terrace where he sat, breakfasting. ‘Although I feel that Seleukos is rather exaggerating the parts he played.’ He returned to the letter as the cat was clearly not going to venture an opinion either one way or the other, content as it was to snooze in the cool January breeze wafting in from the great harbour of Alexandria.