The lipiad

Chapter 4 - the amazones are tempted

The next morning, the sun rose upon the Amazonian camp,
and Penthesilea and her women exited their tents. Like
youths in the gymnasion, they slept and exercised naked,
and imitated Danaän men in all practices. Their camp was
outside the walls, and they felled trees and built tall wooden
walls around it to seal themselves in, so no man may enter.
They pledged to tear down the walls and emerge when it
was time for them to fight. This was also done to protect
their burdened queen, who confided in her women the curse
that vindictive Aphrodite placed upon her.

As they exited their tents, in the center of their camp sat a
magnificent feast, fit for the funeral of a great Achaian king
or the wedding of a wealthy Achaian woman. There were
barley-cakes, fresh breads, lentil soups, baked onions and
leeks, fig in honey, bowls of olives, fish, quail, ducks, legs
of rabbit, whole lambs, paunch and tripe stews, boiled beef,
pork, black and white sausages, soft and hard cheeses,
yogurts, pails of milk, dishes of butter, cups of water, and
an amphora of honeyed wine for each woman.

They stared at the feast in awe, confused as to who brought
it in. Penthesilea spoke to them: "Sisters, though this food
may seem generous, we do not know how it got here. The
vengeful Aphrodite, still bitter over her shame, may have
placed it here as a trap, so we grow indolent like her and
her priestesses. Do not touch this food for now."

Penthesilea spoke thus. The Amazones went to train in their
field, running and boxing all day, and stopping to eat when
their stomachs roared. But their amphorae of water soon
ran dry, and there was no well in their camp, and all they
had left to eat were salt pork and dried fish. The hours set
on, and with the sun at its peak, they were
soon driven mad by thirst.

Clonië was the first to fall to impulse, and spoke to her
queen as such: "Righteous Penthesilea, if I have been a
dutiful soldier, I beg you change your mind! It is as if we are
in a Libyan desert, our brows swelter beneath Helios's gaze,
and our water has gone dry! If we do not drink something,
we shall surely perish and turn to dust!"

Penthesilea made answer: "Very well. You may quench your
thirst with the wine. But do not drink the milk, for it surely
must have spoiled in the sun."

So thirsting Clonië approached the feast, grabbing an
oinochoe and filling it with wine. She downed it quickly, and
it felt like nectar to her parched tongue. But then she saw
that the milk which sat in the sun was uncurdled and cool
to the touch. Reasoning that her wise queen was only
worried about the milk if it was spoiled, she grabbed a cup
and filled it from the pail. It was rich and creamy, and sat
heavy on her tongue. To clear her mouth, she tore a bit
of bread from a loaf and swallowed it.

Her mouth graced by the delicious bread, foolish Clonië
sat down and grabbed a barley-cake and tasted it too.
She sampled the lentils, she sampled the olives, she
sampled the figs, she sampled the sausages, and soon
she was feasting in the way of a Greek woman.

The other Amazones saw this and cried out at her, asking
why she disobeyed her queen. Furious Polemousa walked
to her and opened her mouth to bellow insults at her, but
while she did so Clonië placed a grape in her mouth.
Overtaken by the sweetness and juiciness, Polemousa
asked for another, and soon joined her comrade in eating.
Upon seeing that the food was not poisoned, the starved
Amazones joined at the feast as well. They dined on all
that their arms could reach, paying no regard to manners
or stains or scraps.

Only wary Penthesilea, fearing a trap, refused to eat from
the feast. She continued to train alone and sate her hunger
with the stock of salted meat. But as the day continued,
delirious hunger and thirst set in. She watched her women
eat and felt envy; though their bellies swelled as with child,
it seemed a better option than to be flat-bellied and in pain.
Her desire soon morphed to fear that the food would run out,
then anger that her fair share was being stolen.

She ran up to her sisters and bellowed: "Cease your eating,
women! I am your queen, how dare you feast and not let me
eat my fill first! You bloated wineskins! Learn to share, lest you
turn into Argive women!" She spoke, and she sat at the table
and joined in feasting with them.

Greedy Penthesilea ate the breads and the barley-cakes,
the figs and the olives, the fish and the quail, the soups
and the stews, the beef and the pork, the cheeses and the
wines, and all other food that was in reach. Soon, her belly
began to swell as if with child also; though her women had
started feasting earlier, Penthesilea was driven by a greater
hunger and greedy indignation.

When the sun had set, the table was clear of all food and
the Amazones realized what they had done. They swore they
would go to sleep and train harder tomorrow to reduce their
bellies, to eat only their salted meat, and to never fall for the
daughter of Hera's tricks again.