I was a stranger to the island of Minos. The island was the center of trade for the entire eastern Mediterranean, and as such, the wealth of the world went through her streets. I traveled from my home in Tyre to the palace at Knossos and arrived on the winter solstice, which happened to be the local day for the festival of Persephone.
I followed most of the people of the city up to the palace of the King and into a large arena. The priestess of Persephone, dressed in nothing but a short skirt that barely covered her hips, intoned a sacred speech and the people responded. I would have been more surprised except that all Minoan women wore a colorful skirt and a top that closed under their breasts leaving their bosoms open to the air and the eyes of all. No one else seemed to pay much attention. I knew little of this worship and so followed as I could. Several youngsters came into the arena, dressed only in a small loincloth, even the girls whose breasts were not covered like the Priestess. The arena was cleared of all others and a large bull was released into the arena. The crowd shouted. I found myself shouting thinking these boys and girls had no chance against this great beast, as they had no weapons. They must be a sacrifice to the Goddess.
One boy, the tallest, stood in the middle shouting at the bull, which with a turn of his mighty head saw the stripling youth and charged. I knew I was about to see the boy gored then trampled. As the bull lowered his mighty head, lowering his great horns at the boy, the youth leapt up over the bull's lowered head, planted his hands on the bull's back and continued over his vast back to land behind the charging bull.
I was astounded. The crowd cheered lustily. The boy ran from the arena, cheered the whole time. The bull, stopped his charge, turned and shook his head, I think as surprised as I at what had happened. Another youth, a girl this time took her place in the center. Again the beast charged, again, the daring leap at the last possible moment, and pushing off the beast's back as her hair flowed wildly in the air, and the bull passed under her, to land behind the still charging bull.
'All the Gods,' I thought. These young men and women are trained for this. What a spectacle! One by one, each boy and girl leapt over the charging bull to land on their feet behind the beast, displaying courage and a nimbleness that defied the imagination. The crowd roared with each pass of the bull and roared approval as each victor skipped from the arena. As the last boy left, the bull was roped and led from the arena, defeated and confused.
Where's the blood sacrifice, I wondered? My own people demanded the blood sacrifice to appease the Gods. Would the Goddess reappear to bring Spring with no sacrifice? Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of fertility; without her, nothing grows. One day, Persephone was eating a pomegranate when Hades , the God of the Underworld, spied her beauty and made bold to steal her for his wife, making her the Queen of the Dead.
Demeter, her mother, withheld her fertility from the Earth and it was plunged into a winter, a winter without end. The other Gods, seeing this, convinced Hades to allow Persephone to return to the upper world for half the year. During this time Demeter showers the world with her fertility and the other half, when Persephone returns to the Dead, she withholds it. Thus, the winter solstice is the day Persephone comes up from the Underworld and the Earth returns from its own small death to begin to live again.
At this moment, a man came out into the arena and shouted a challenge. He was the Champion of the festival and asked if anyone had the courage to seek to be champion. I had no desire, being a stranger. But, my luck was typical for me. The crowd around me parted and left me standing as if alone. All eyes turned towards me. The man in the arena shouted, "Yo, look! The Goddess has sent a stranger to our land on this propitious day. Come! Come down, Stranger!"
At that, many hands began 'helping' me forward and down the steps to the arena. A fellow handed me a fighting stick. Again, I was surprised. No blood sacrifice? These Minoans certainly were different. I was relieved. Like all traders in these piratical days, I knew how to use a sword and spear but I was no expert. But the fighting stick? I grew up with one in my hands. All of the boys in my city did.
"How does this end?" I asked the man.
"One yields or is knocked out," he said smiling, obviously looking forward to the later, and expecting me to be the unfortunate one.
And into the arena I was pushed. Well, a bash on the head is better than a sword in the guts. I took a close look at my opponent. He had the look of an experienced fighter and not a nice one at that. This argued for caution. I started on the defense, letting him expend himself on the attack while I slowly retreated around the arena, parrying his blows and conserving my energy.
The fighter quickly grew angry that all I did was retreat and became less cautious. I waited and he over swung. I took the opportunity to gives his forward knee a hard smash sending him to the dirt. He bounced right up, realizing I had been playing him, though the anger didn't leave him. The pain only increased his anger.
Then the real fighting began. Now the cheers and shouts were almost deafening as we fought. He caught me good on the off shoulder; it stung like Hades. I got his hand, and he almost dropped the stick. Instantly, I seized the opportunity and swung a great blow up high. His hand lost it's grip as he tried to parry with his damaged hand and I caught him solidly. He was asleep as he stood there. He went over backwards and lay still. The crowd went wild.
The Priestess reappeared and all went silent in reverence. She motioned me to her. "Well, Stranger, the Goddess must desire you to be her champion this year, for you to defeat Arudara so easily. Come, follow me. You must do as I say so that the Goddess is satisfied with our sacrifice."
That worried me. "What sacrifice, Priestess?"
She looked at me, "Do not worry, it is not your blood that will be sacrificed. It is the girl's."
As she led me into the great door of the Temple, a young girl was led by the other priestesses all in the pomegranate color of Persephone. Poor girl, I thought. I hoped I wasn't the one who would have to thrust home the blow to draw her blood. I would soon find out I was the one.
The procession of priestesses along with the High Priestess wound through rooms and into the heart of the temple. Before an altar to the Goddess, the Priestess began a chant, answered by the other priestesses who had dropped their robes only to wear the short kilt like the High Priestess. The girl was brought forward and her robe removed. I found myself admiring her. Unlike the priestesses, she was completely unclothed beneath the robe. She looked comely indeed and I could not help but desire her.
There, with Persephone looking down over the sacrifice, the girl lay waiting her time. I felt the priestess behind me lifting my clothes and started to protest. The High Priestess admonished me to be calm and quiet. The assistant Priestess continued removing my clothes until I stood naked as the girl. They led me over to a basin and proceeded to wash the grit and dirt, the sweat of the arena from me, head to toe, a pleasant diversion. Then they dried me with fine cloths.
The Priestess stood before the Goddess and chanted the story we all knew so well. She asked the Goddess to reappear so that her mother, Demeter, would bring life to the world and offered the girl to the Goddess. The women led me over to the girl who now look anxious and tense. 'Oh no,' I thought. 'I was the one.' I wondered what they would do to me if I refused.
The Priestess came over and said, "Now is the time to shed her blood for the Goddess." I stiffened as the thought of killing this lovely young maiden chilled me. The Priestess eyes widened in surprise. "Ho, Stranger, you blanch. Our custom is for the maiden to offer her hymeneal blood for the Goddess. That is the sacrifice."
"Her... Hymeneal blood?" I asked. She nodded a smile now on her face. Oh, stupid me. They want me to take this girl and shed her virgin blood. A blood sacrifice, verily, but a most pleasant one indeed.
The girl looked nervous, and turned her head slightly away, as if she didn't want to watch her own deflowering. Looking down at this creature I felt the blood pour into my staff. Two of the assistants took her legs and spread them wide. I glanced at the Priestess.
"Yes, Stranger, we must witness the sacrifice to the Goddess."
Oh well, I was not accustomed to an audience but I knew many cultures had no such scruples. It is said the Etruscans all lay on couches with their women during dinner and take them as all do the same.
Another of the assistants spread some oil on my staff, "To help," said the Priestess.
I lay between the girl's legs and felt my staff rubbing against her heat. "All the way in one stroke," said the Priestess. I complied with a single long thrust. The girl winced and the breath whooshed from her body. "Now, pull out, all the way," the Priestess commanded. As I did, the women turned me and the Priestess with a pure white cloth wiped the blood from my staff and more from the girl. She held it up, "The blood sacrifice for the Goddess."
Hurrying with the others, she went to the base of the Statue and offered it to the Mighty Goddess, chanting the wish of all of Minoans for the Goddess to bless them with another summer of life.
The Priestess looked over at me and said, "Come now stranger. The girl has done her part. Now make it pleasant for her," as the other women laughed. I lay back between the girl's thighs and my staff found her opening. This time the thrust was easier and soon we were making the beast with two backs as it sometimes called in my land. As I had been traveling for some time I was quickly feeling the need to finish but held off as long as I could until the girl cried out in her pleasure. That brought my own moment of joy.
Chattering, the women gathered round, welcoming and congratulating the girl on entry into the Priesthood of Persephone. They helped her up and took her over to the same basin, helping her wash, The Priestess took me over and they also washed me. Full of lassitude, I figured my part was over. I had drawn the bloody sacrifice and the Goddess would come again this year to bring her fecundity to the land.
"Don't look so satisfied, Stranger. Your duties have just begun," the Priestess said.
"Your Holiness?"
"This is only your first duty on this solemn day," she said.
The women quickly gathered up their robes and donned them including the young girl. Even the High Priestess donned a persimmon robe. They threw a robe over my shoulders as well. Then the High Priestess led us all back out to the arena where the entire mass of people waited. Once before the people, she held up the bloody cloth and the people cheered. The poor girl blushed the color of her robe and I felt a flush as well.
"The Goddess is well pleased," the Priestess intoned. "Go forth and know the Goddess today has returned to bring her blessings to the land." Another shout and the flock began to leave the arena. The Priestess led us all back inside, this time to a different room. This one looked more like the living quarters of the Priestesses.
As we entered the women all threw off their robes and looked to me with some expectation. I turned to the Priestess.
She laughed merrily. "You must learn our customs soon so you won't look like a puppy that has lost its mother."
I shrugged, "Yes?"
"You have become the champion of the festival for the rebirth of Persephone. That means you represent the God Hades, the same who seized Persephone and made her his wife. You must stand in for him now. You filled the first duty by initiating young Ariadneh into the Priesthood of Persephone just as Great Hades stole Persephone and made her his wife. By you taking her as the God, she is now married to him."
I nodded, 'Yes, I got all of that,' I thought.
She patted my arm, "But there are other priestesses here. And they too need a man to stand in for their husband who is the God of the Underworld. For they will never meet him until they pass across the Styx."
Like a lock suddenly open it all came clear. Several of the younger Priestesses were now blushing.
The High Priestess nodded towards the women, "Please Husband, choose one. They have all been looking forward to the day." And indeed, the women all had that look a women gets when she telling a man, Come! They were all lovely, but one girl not much older than Ariadneh caught my eye. I reached out to her and she grabbed my hand and pulled me off to one of the small rooms connected to this large one. She let a hanging drop across the opening and came into my arms pushing the robe off my shoulders, "Husband, show me your love."
That was all it took for my staff began to grow as her lips met mine. We fell onto the soft cushions and soon she had me between her thighs. And so it went thru the afternoon and into the night. Each Priestess would take me into her bed, even the high Priestess took her turn, calling me husband and making me show her a husband's duty.
Truthfully, by the last priestess it had all become a blur, a very pleasant blur.
I woke in the morning, sore and happy. The High Priestess found me awake and had food brought.
"I should leave," I said, thinking a man can only have so much good luck.
She shook her head. "No, as the champion you have to fill the role of the God, Persephone's husband. Only if you lose in the arena next year may you leave. To leave now would cause the Goddess to withhold her bounty from our land. No Stranger, if the people saw you leaving, well, they would not take such kindly," she said smiling.
"You mean, I have to stay here, in the temple..."
"Yes, filling the role of the husband," she said, a smile on her face.
"For all the girls?"
"Not every night," she said her hand on my arm, "But often as you think wise, great God of the Underworld, husband to us. There are worse things that could happen, having all of your needs fulfilled," she said, a mischievous smile on her face.
My second thought after thanking all of the Gods was, No wonder the previous champion defended his crown so vigorously. I needed to practice my fighting and become the best ever. I was sure there would be lots of fellows willing to take my place.
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