NationStates Jolt Archive

Em hotep nefer, Rulers of Greece

Pharaoh (Teppicymon) wishes to extend his greetings and well-wishes to you, the sovereign nations of Greece, and to share with you the fine luxuries of Petbe. For this purpose, we wishes to invite you to attend his palace in the city of Petbe, where there will be had much fine dining, entertainment and discussion of matters economic and political.
The Pharaoh also invites an exchange of knowledge. For most of its existence, Petbe has been a great importer of knowledge, and with its repository of Egyptian wisdom, this has resulted in a formidable collection of papyri, which a number of scholars are already working on translating into the Greek tongue, although the Pharaoh has employed several oral translators to assist those not schooled in the Egyptian language.

May the Blessings of Apollo-Ra and Zeus-Amun Be Upon Your Peoples,

(Teppicymon IV) Pharaoh of Petbe, Son-of-the-Sun, Rightful Lord of the Two Lands, Charioteer of the Sun, Delight of the Eye of Ra, Greatest General of Montu, Dispenser of the Wisdom of Ma'at, Favored of Wadj-wer, Favored Craftsman of Ptah, Whose House is Blessed of Bast, Received of the Knowledge of Thoth, His Soul is Protected by Anubis, Servicer of the Sacred Cow of Heaven, Blessed of the Gods, Savior of Egypt, King of Nubia, King of Judea, Lord of the Sinai, Ruler of the Western Desert, Slayer of Eastern Barbarians.

Zypha walked calmly about his winter palace, as the winter months approached the King would settle into his new home seated closer to the coast on a rocky hilltop not far from the actual city.

The king had recently returned from an attendance at one of the Helestici camps, watching the forces train these full time soldiers were the elite of the King's army and were viewed with great prestige by other members of Tharian society.

So far the dispatches sent out weeks ago had turned up little, much to the dissappointment of the King who had hoped to branch out and establish relations with nearby peoples.

As the King sat comfortably upon one of his chairs enjoying his favorite dish of goat meat, sweet wine and an assortment of vegetables, a peaceful fire warmed the room from a large central brazier a young boy no more than 15 years old entered the chamber bowing several times.

"My lord a courier brings word from a foriegn land."

Zypha sat up, this news caught his attention and he beckoned the boy to him waving his hand.

The young servant kneeled before Zypha presenting to him a piece of parchment wrapped in cloth.

Zypha took the parchment from the boy, handing him two copper pieces and an apple before waving him away, slowly unraveling the scroll the King read over the document, written in broken greek.

[Em hotep nefer, Rulers of Greece

Pharaoh (Teppicymon) wishes to extend his greetings and well-wishes to you, the sovereign nations of Greece, and to share with you the fine luxuries of Petbe. For this purpose, we wishes to invite you to attend his palace in the city of Petbe, where there will be had much fine dining, entertainment and discussion of matters economic and political.
The Pharaoh also invites an exchange of knowledge. For most of its existence, Petbe has been a great importer of knowledge, and with its repository of Egyptian wisdom, this has resulted in a formidable collection of papyri, which a number of scholars are already working on translating into the Greek tongue, although the Pharaoh has employed several oral translators to assist those not schooled in the Egyptian language.

May the Blessings of Apollo-Ra and Zeus-Amun Be Upon Your Peoples,

(Teppicymon IV) Pharaoh of Petbe, Son-of-the-Sun, Rightful Lord of the Two Lands, Charioteer of the Sun, Delight of the Eye of Ra, Greatest General of Montu, Dispenser of the Wisdom of Ma'at, Favored of Wadj-wer, Favored Craftsman of Ptah, Whose House is Blessed of Bast, Received of the Knowledge of Thoth, His Soul is Protected by Anubis, Servicer of the Sacred Cow of Heaven, Blessed of the Gods, Savior of Egypt, King of Nubia, King of Judea, Lord of the Sinai, Ruler of the Western Desert, Slayer of Eastern Barbarians.

Upon finishing the document Zypha rose, yelling out down the halls of his palace his personal bodyguards following behind him as they usually did, Zypha continued on down the lavishly decorated halls made of imported marble and trimmed in gold and silver. Summoning a rider with his bellowing voice.

"Summon Admiral Helephicus, ready a fleet for I am sending Magistrate Vestuvius to meet with this man named Pharaoh who rules the lands of Petbe."

"As you wish my lord"

The rider saluted and bowed before rushing off to the stables to carry out his orders, within three days Vestuvius and a supporting fleet to be laden with trade goods would be dispatched to the lands of Petbe

The port of Petbe was not the largest on the island, but was the best looking. Built some years after the foundation of the city-state, and had been designed more for receptions and as a place for nobles to store yachts than trade. It was, however, big. Massive blocks of limestone and marble had been manhandled into place, monolithic statues of Wadj-wer, the personification of the Mediterranean, as well as various other gods of different aspects of the sea and sea travel, could be seen as well.
Having been sighted at some distance by lookouts stationed on the ports lighthouse, the Greek ships were met by a delegation at the harbor. A crowd of several thousand had assembled to take a look at the strangers, and were currently being variously shoved or beaten back by the city guards. Despite the rough treatment, the occasion seemed to have an almost festive air. Cups of beer were passed around, and the citizens appeared to be exchanging good-natured jeers with the guards, who generally responded with a sharp jab from the blunt end of their polearms. A few Greeks were visible in the crowd as well, although most of them appeared to be wearing Egyptian-style linens or loincloths.
In the area cleared by the guards, the Petbe delegation stood or, variously, sat. Two scribes, with small, portable tables were seated on cushions on either side of the open area, constantly scribbling.
The remainder appeared to be nobility and a small crowd of servants. The nobles were decked out in silks and fine linen, wearing more gold than could possibly be good for the back, and, by Greek standards, rather a lot of makeup.
Of course, by Egyptian standards they were essentially going about in bare skin. The lack of the brutal sun of their traditional homeland meant that excessive makeup was no longer practical and only made you hotter.
The men seemed to have a preference for large torcs by way of shirts, whereas the women seemed to favor ankle-length tunics of light linen. A pair of priests, for only priests had that special priestly bearing (and their clothes were better than everybody elses), and they had staves marking their office anyway. The servants seemed to be mostly wearing bleached-white loincloths.
The little crowd of nobles looked slightly more serious than the crowd, perhaps because they had been roused from their mid-day relaxation to receive a bunch of Greek barbarians who probably didn't even know what a dentist was.
They smiled anyway.

ooc: For future ref might want to seperate text.

Vestuvius looked around him at the crowds of oddly dressed people, his guards clad in their bronze armor their assorted colors of plumes adoring their helms and the city crest born upon their shields as well as other members of Vestuvius' entourage sent to meet with this Pharaho shared the puzzled thoughts and intrigue Vestuvius had with this new culture, surely great things could be learned from these peoples.

Vestuvius paused nodding his head towards the group of better dressed and probably those of higher social status

"Greetings, I am Vestuvius, Magistrate of the Kingdom of Tharo, on behalf of my King Gennadius Zypha I bring you gifts as an offering of peace and his wish to form a friendship between our two peoples."

Waving his hand several slaves carted up seveal wagons laden with fine cloth, fresh fruits and pieces of Tharian coinage.

A half-dozen trim well-built triremes glided towards the port of Petbe, the rhythmic strokes of their oars punctuated by the beat of the bosun's drum. As the harbor loomed near, the men aboard leaped to their assigned duties, battening the ships down in preparation to lie at anchor while the hoplite marines in the white and black livery of Kynokephalai helped each other don their bronze armor. Only one man stood idle at the prow of the lead trireme, staring intently at their approaching destination: he was Telemachos Pankratos, second son of the Kynic tyrant Philomachos Pankratos, and he was the leader of this diplomatic mission.

A second much older man wearing a woolen cloak over his chiton hobbled up behind the young noble. "A leader leads by example," he harshed disapprovingly. "What if every man was mooning over the bow like you are, eh? Affairs of state aren't run by daydreaming about fornicating with nereids."

Telemachos turned and flashed a disarming smile, which he knew would only incense the old man further. "Relax, Nikephoros! The men know their tasks well; I'm merely trying to get a good look at our destination."

"You'll have a look when we get into port," Nikephoros grumped. "Right now you should be directing those good-for-nothing slaves. They slack off every chance they get when they think the master isn't watching." Telemachos knew of no one in Kynokephalai older than the aged priest of Hermes, who had been an adviser to Telemachos' grandfather Philaos and his father Philomachos after him. How he had managed to not be exiled or executed over his long career Telemachos did not know, but whatever it was, the old man knew it full well and took every opportunity to criticize and upbraid his Pankratid superiors. He had a deft talent for driving people to the point of tearing their hair, but Telemachos found this endearing more than anything else.

"Go take your auspices again, old man," Telemachos said jestingly. "I think I saw a wave crest funny."

Nikephoros scowled and thrust a crooked finger at the young man. "You had better hope that the gods do not hear of your irreverence. They will tear down the polis around you if you test their tempers."

Telemachos held up his hands. "All right, grandfather, all right. I have gotten a good enough look; let's go thrash these lazy slaves' hides into shape." He had no intention of even picking up his staff of authority, since they both knew there was no need - slave crews were a common Kynic convention, and worked well - but Nikephoros would continue to caw and flap his wings at him unless he did something.

The sun continued to beat down upon the little fleet as the drum continued to beat its steady tattoo, and the Kynic delegation soon entered the jaws of Petbe harbor.

The Egyptian nobles regarded the wagons intently. Much like the Romans of the future, they had a taste for anything new and different. Being rich, yet living on an island like this one, meant that one grew bored quickly.

A servant was intently speaking to one of the priests in Egyptian, who had stepped forward from the crowd. Once he had finished, the priest turned his attention to the Greeks and began speaking himself. The Servant translated as he went.

"The High Priest Ankhkhenemery bids you greetings in the name of Ra, he who is above us all. He hopes that Zeus-Amun has blessed your journey with good weather and fair wind. He hopes that Ptah has blessed your craftsmen an-" The priest had finished some time ago by this point. Egyptian had specialized language for this sort of thing, wheras it had to be set out specifically in Greek. The priest jabbed the servant between the shoulder blades with his staff. "Ah-...and the various other blessings of the gods be upon you."
"My lords bid you to attend the palace where his majesty the Pharaoh awaits, for while the blessing of Ra comes upon us, it does not do to bask in the glory of the Disc of the Sun for too long, lest we be overcome. Should you require it, palanquins will be summoned for your comfort. Once at the palace there may be a small wait, as further groups arrive. Please be assured that you will be well taken care of."

While the servant finished, the priest gestured to a number of dockworkers, who moved forward to take the wagons. While this occurred, the priest stepped around the interpreter, placed both hands on the opposite shoulder and bowed and spouted off a long sentence, which, by the tone, was a very formal 'thank you'.

Another group of servants, this time bearing a number of palanquins, had appeared.


A pilot boat was quickly sent out to intercept the new arrivals and direct them to a separate dock where, already, another crowd had gathered. Despite its status as one of the largest single cities on the Aegean islands, it was a fairly quiet town in terms of fancy delegations of foreigners. Merchants just weren't as entertaining.

A similar delegation, this time headed by the local high priestess of Bast, greeted the arrivals. She was sweating slightly, having just conducted the words fastest ceremonial blessing of the homes of the city, followed by a run down main street, where she had successfully impeded the progress of the High Priest of Hapi by hurling a sacred cat at him. She was, she rationalized, allowed to do this because all the sacred cats were hers anyway, and Bast wouldn't mind, because having the honor of receiving a foreign delegation would greatly increase her influence and, thus, Bast's. She had just beaten one of the lesser priests of Imhotep to the scene, and he was presently at the back of the little crowd of nobles, scowling.

She smiled brightly at the Greeks.

"I am Djeseret, High Priestess of Bast. I hope the gods have blessed your voyage and that Bast has blessed your homes." Her Greek was nearly perfect, a requirement for her job, since about a third of the islands residents were Greek and spoke broken Egyptian at best. She was also one of the islands best midwives, and led one of the factions of physicians as well. Egyptian religion was active, to say the least. A fat Egyptian priest or priestess was a rare sight.

Vestuvius nodded as he waved his hand dismissing several guards to watch over the ships before he and the remaining group followed the Egyptians onward towards the palace where this Pharaoh lived.

Scribes were busy documenting things such as terrain, design of buildings, the way people dressed and talked. All would be presented to King Zypha upon Vestuvius' return.

At Telemachos’ order, five of the triremes remained at anchor out in harbor while his proceeded to the dock. Sailors shouted back and forth in rapid-fire Greek as they tossed hawsers back and forth and secured the trireme to the quay; Telemachos, Nikephoros and the trireme’s 50 hoplites disembarked, and suddenly found themselves confronted by crowd of merchants, fishermen, peddlers and curious locals. Telemachos hesitated, unsure about what to do next, when the crowd parted and a lavishly dressed woman approached them and greeted them in excellent Greek.

"I am Djeseret, High Priestess of Bast,” she said with a friendly smile. “I hope the gods have blessed your voyage and that Bast has blessed your homes." Telemachos was amazed to hear such good Greek from the lips of a barbare, but covered his surprise and stepped forward.

“I am Telemachos Pankratos, second son of Philomachos Pankratos, the Tyrant of Kynokephalai,” he said to the priestess. “Hail and rejoice. My father has sent me to represent our great polis and discuss matters of diplomacy with the Pharaoh.”

Behind him, Nikephoros harrumphed and spat. Perhaps it was not the smoothest of greetings, Telemachos was ready to admit, but he doubted the old man would have shown approval even if pure nectar had flowed from his mouth.

(OOC:
I thought the Greeks always considered the Egyptians at least as civilized as themselves :P)

Vestuvius and his party were quickly conveyed to the palace, where another reception, this one somewhat more lavish, awaited them. The Pharaoh had apparently commissioned some citizens to be present to cheer, rather than just gawk. Flowers were thrown and general festivity went on.

The architecture of the palace was quite advanced, although the rock underneath was rough hewn, it was almost entirely covered with plaster, the only spots that weren't were either covered by wood or metal. The murals were mostly depictions of the triumphs of the Teppicymon dynasty, as well as the past glories of Egypt. Most of them seemed to involve smiting various minorities. Samaten's typically featured heavily in this activity.

Besides the murals, the many columns of the entrance hall were heavily decorated as well, mostly with depictions of Egyptian and Greek flora. Here and there the designer had splurged, going all-out with finely made metal grapevines, complete with glass grapes.

The outer hall was roofless, the only shade coming from the artificial boughs of trees which extended from the tops of the columns supporting the traceries above. This area was obviously quite well trafficked, although it was difficult to make out its exact use, because somebody had filled it with soldiers.

Filling virtually the entire space except for a fairly wide corridor (enough for three men to comfortably walk abreast), the soldiers were mostly the palace guards. Decked out in their parade armor, gold leaf helmets, purple cloaks, finely crafted, sculpted breastplates over chainmail tunics of bronze. They all carried traditional Egyptian shields (rectangular, with a rounded top), heavily decorated with various symbology. On this occasion, for uniformity, they all bore a Greek-style dory, although most wore a khopesh as a sidearm. All of them were standing at perfect attention, staring straight forward, and doing their best to avoid blinking.

Entering the inner hall, after passing up a flight of steps, more guards were visible, although now offset somewhat so as to avoid clutter. Various statues of gods lined the space leading up to the throne of the pharaoh, most of a polished, black, stone, and all heavily inscribed with hieroglyphs. A few had adopted some Greek features, for instance, Ra now bore a halo quite similar to Apollo's.

Further viewing of the hall was blocked by a number of curtains which dropped down from the high ceiling, effectively obscuring the remainder of the hall and the throne itself. The Greeks were shuttled off to the side and into what looked like a small lobby, with a number of couches and cushions in place, as well as a table and a few servants. They were informed, politely, that another group of Greeks had arrived and, to avoid insult, the Pharaoh would be meeting them all at once. Further conversation informed the group that, should they wish for anything at all, the servants would be happy to bring it.


Djeseret smiled some more before shifting her priestly cowl slightly and gesturing, "Blessings upon you and your house, Philomachos Pankratos of Kynokephalai. May Bast gift you with good health and many children." She paused, observing the effect this had. It typically gave men a brief moment of panic and was an excellent way to discourage potential suitors, "Now, if you will follow me, I shall take you to the palace. Mind the cats. They think I have food. If they get in the way just push them with your foot."

OOC: Egyptians were a non-Greek-speaking people, therefore they were barbaroi. Sophistication of civilization didn't enter into it. That's all the term really meant to the Greeks, it didn't really carry the negative connotation that it does today.

IC post tomorrow.

Telemachos nodded cordially. "Please lead on, Priestess." Whether it was from naivete or something else, the subtext of the blessing went over his head. The Kynic delegation fell in behind their leader and his guide as they threaded their way out of the harbor district towards the Pharaoh's palace. Nikephoros looked around waspishly at everything, muttering unintelligible things to himself, while the 50 hoplites remained silent and did their best to look like a deadly and disciplined fighting force, while keeping an eye on the crowd and their prince. If any harm befell one of the heirs of Pankratos, it would be their lives.

ooc: my party will await discussions and such, I dont see the point in posting them waiting around in a chamber..

(OOC:
Sorry about that. Had a rough day with the allergies on Monday and spent Tuesday on some allergy meds that, while they solved the allergy issues, made me very tired and generally apathetic to just about everything. Blargh.)

With the Kynokephalai escorted to the palace the Djeseret left the group, bowing politely and wishing them luck with the Pharaoh.
Both groups of Greeks were rounded up and brought to the main hall, which was now somewhat more crowded, Petbe's court having assembled. One of the court magicians, out of view of the Greeks, was throwing an alchemical concoction into the braziers to produce mystical smoke, which clung to the ground and, if you breathed it, would cure a sore throat and expel influences of negative spirits from the body. Mostly it was used for the mystical smoke effect, though, because there were better cures for sore throats that didn't involve sticking your head in a brazier.
At the Greeks approach the curtains were drawn back by some unseen power (actually servants in chambers off to the side of the hall, which is probably symbolic of something), the heavy curtains towards the front, typically of a plain variety, gradually gave way to the thinnest of fine linen and the lightest of silks, usually dyed with a variety of colors and featuring gold inlays.
The last curtain, once drawn, revealed the inner court, where some designer had apparently been allowed to go berserk with all manner of paints, dyes, curtains, gold, silver, and jewels. The four main features were the statues. Each one acted as a pillar to hold up the hall itself, easily a dozen meters in height. If the Greeks could read Egyptian, they would have known that the statues bore the features of Teppicymon's I-IV, the most recent Pharaoh having commissioned them as a tribute to his forefathers (and himself). They were of black marble, polished to such a sheen that they virtually blowed, and, while no jewels or gold broke the solid black mass, a number of blessings and wards against evil were visible in hieroglyphic form on their surfaces. They also apparently acted as heat sinks, radiating cold as the Greeks passed them.
The Pharaoh himself was seated on what was, compared to the rest of the hall, a fairly simple bench. It was apparently of cedar, with a gold inlay picking out the various designs on it.
Beneath the throne, and extending to the edge of the final curtain where the Greeks entered, the floor was of white marble, ending abruptly in what appeared to be a trench filled with sand, about two meters wide and five meters long. From this a line of sandstone encircled the throne. The remainder of the floor appeared to be of a fairly plain stone, perhaps local granite or basalt. This was mostly visible now because the priest was old and had quickly gotten tired of running around throwing powder into fires. The mystical smoke had mostly dissipated.
Compared to the rest of the court, who were dressed much as the receptions at the dock had been, although perhaps their clothes were of slightly better quality, the Pharaoh dressed somewhat simply. The famed Dual Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the sekhemti, complete with Uraeus, that is, the likeness of the goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt, a rearing cobra and a vulture, standing out on the forehead. Besides this and a Greek-styled chiton, he wore no visible jewelry. He did bear what appeared to be a stylized flail, which, as he stood, was handed to a nearby priest.
The Pharaoh bowed, very, very, slightly, hands crossed over his chest.
"Em hotep nefer, my guests. I am pleased that you have decided to accept my invitation."
He stepped forward, over the sand-pit and appeared to wait just beyond its edge, apparently awaiting a response from the Greek parties.