Today, my guest has come from a long time ago to share some things with us. I met Aristomenes a few weeks ago when I read the story that he features in.
Zeus Of Ithome, by T.E.Taylor, is a novel I loved reading. It's a story full of Ancient Greek mythology, history, geography - a tale of a young man called Diocles who matures very quickly into a leaader of his people. Aristomenes played quite a part in that.
Let's see how Aristomenes manages to answer my usual set of Familiarise Friday questions...
Hello and welcome to my Familiarise Friday slot, Aristomenes. Some of these questions might appear a little strange to you, but see what you can do for my readers, please.
Describe yourself using only 6 words.
Messenian rebel, getting on a bit.
A rebel? I think we need to learn more about that! Can you describe where you are currently living?
In the cellar of a ruined house on Mount
Ithome in Messenia.
Eight foot by twelve. No running water,
furniture or windows. Heated by an open
fire. The occasional rat for
company.
That doesn't sound very pleasant, and not particularly comfortable. Have you been there all of your life?
No, I have been all over the place. I was born in the town of Naupactus,
in Locris on the north shore of the Gulf of Corinth.
My family and other Messenians were settled there by the Athenians after an
unsuccessful revolt in my grandfather’s time. Since the Spartans threw us out of Naupactus after
their war with Athens, I have been wandering all
over Greece - and beyond, to
Italy and Sicily.
But I suppose this is where I feel most at home. Ithome is the historic sanctuary of the
Messenians, and our patron God, Zeus Ithomatas, dwells here still, even if his
temple is in ruins.
What’s your main occupation just now?
I suppose I’d call myself a vagabond, though I am not a
beggar. I support myself by hunting
hares and other small animals with a sling and gathering fungi and
berries. And occasionally I impose on
the generosity of friends, when I’m on my travels.
Does your lifestyle make you happy?
Happy? That’s not a
word I use much. I suppose I’ve got used
to this life. By now, I probably
wouldn’t be comfortable living in a fine house in a town, though I sometimes
think it would be nice to give it a try.
As a young man did you think you’d end up in this situation? If not, how did you view your future?
Did I think I would be doing this forty years later? Absolutely not. I thought that I would be fighting to
liberate Messenia from Spartan domination, and
later helping to build a new Messenian state.
The sad fact is that, throughout all these decades, that has always been
what I wanted to do, and still is, though there is little to show for it.
What’s your favourite reading material?
You don’t get to read much in this kind of life. On those rare occasions when I do get the
chance, I like to read about history, especially the history of my own people,
the Messenians. It makes me angry when I read about how the Spartans seized our
country for themselves and turned us into helot slaves, but it keeps the fire
burning in my belly.
If your life was in a bit of a rut, what would you do first
to change it?
“If?” I have been in a rut for decades! If I had known what I could do that would
change it, I would have done it by now. There
have been signs from the gods that things really are about to change, that it
will soon be time for Messenia to seize its
freedom. If only I knew where to
begin. I have recently acquired a
companion - Diocles, a runaway helot. He
has a lot to learn, but perhaps he was sent to me by the gods to stir me out of
my inactivity.
Who, or what, is the love of your life?
The only woman I ever loved was Eirene, the daughter of a
local Locrian family in Naupactus. We
were engaged to be married, then forced to separate when I was expelled from
Naupactus with the rest of the Messenian community. I never really got over it, nor did she, I
suspect – she died not long afterwards.
What is your favourite way to travel?
I have been in ships a few times. I don’t get seasick, so it is a lot more
pleasant than tramping around Greece
on foot.
What is your biggest goal in the coming months?
The same as it has always been – to instigate revolt in Messenia and free the country from the Spartans. But more immediately, to obtain guidance from
the Oracle of Delphi on when and how I should do this.
Quick answer section. Which do you like best?
Meat or fruit? Meat.
City or countryside?
Countryside.
Reading
or walking? Reading?
Are you having a laugh? I get to
do a lot of walking, though I don’t do it for fun.
Travel or stay at home? Travel. If I stayed in this place
for too long, I’d go mad. Probably mad
already, some people would say.
It's been wonderful talking to you today, Aristomenes. I hope your scribe, Tim Taylor, has had lots of people reading the story of your time with Diocles. Thank you so much for coming all this way to Scotland to meet me. You are such a nice man (Most of the time that is, though you do have a few questionable moments in the book).
Tim Taylor was born in 1960 in
Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent - home of Josiah
Wedgwood, Robbie Williams, Phil 'The Power' Taylor (no relation) and
Lemmy. He grew up just outside the city
in Brown Edge, then at the age of 11 moved to Longsdon, near Leek.
Tim went to Newcastle-under-Lyme
High School, then studied Classics at Pembroke College,
Oxford. After
graduating he moved to London
and spent a couple of years playing guitar in a rock band. When it became clear
that he was never going to be a rock star, he sadly knuckled down and joined
the Civil Service, where he did a wide range of jobs, including
Chief Executive of the Veterans Agency.
Tim married Rosa Vella in 1994 and
their daughter Helen was born in 1997. In 2001 they moved to Meltham, near Huddersfield, to be nearer family, and have lived there
ever since.
While still in the Civil Service Tim
wrote two unpublished novels and studied part time for a PhD in Philosophy at
Birkbeck, University
of London, finally achieving
it in 2007. A period of illness in 2007
caused him to re-evaluate his priorities.
He took a career break in 2009 in order to spend more time writing, and
subsequently left the Civil Service altogether in 2011.
Tim now divides his time between
creative writing, academic research and part-time teaching and other work for
Leeds and Huddersfield
Universities.
As well as fiction, Tim writes poetry, which he often performs on local
radio and at open mic nights (where he also plays the guitar). He is involved with several local writing
groups. He also likes walking up hills.
Find Tim at:
See Tim's Website/blog at: http://timetaylor.wix.com/tetaylor
Three Hundred Years of Slavery. Greece, 373 BC. For three centuries, the
Messenian people have been brutally subjugated by their Spartan
neighbours and forced to work the land as helot slaves. Diocles, a
seventeen-year-old helot, has known no other life but servitude.
After an encounter with Spartan assassins, he is forced to flee, leaving behind his family and his love, Elpis. On Mount Ithome, the ancient sanctuary of the Messenians, he meets Aristomenes, an old rebel who still remembers the proud history of their people and clings to a prophecy that they will one day win back their freedom. A forlorn hope, perhaps.
But elsewhere in Greece, there are others too who believe it is time that the power of Sparta was broken.
After an encounter with Spartan assassins, he is forced to flee, leaving behind his family and his love, Elpis. On Mount Ithome, the ancient sanctuary of the Messenians, he meets Aristomenes, an old rebel who still remembers the proud history of their people and clings to a prophecy that they will one day win back their freedom. A forlorn hope, perhaps.
But elsewhere in Greece, there are others too who believe it is time that the power of Sparta was broken.
Slainthe!
Fabulous interview It's good to hear from someone from another time!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit, Di!
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