Chapter 5
RomeOn his way to Britain, the Greek, Demosthenes, broke his journey in Rome. Because he was a priest of Orpheus in his homeland, the Orphic community in Rome, some of whom were Greeks themselves, warmly welcomed him. One, an old friend called Spiros, took him into his own home and prepared a feast for him.
“What makes you go to such a distant and barbaric place?” he asked when told that Demosthenes was on his way to the British Isles. “The people have not been civilized for long and I hear they are quick to rebel most savagely. Besides, the climate is perpetually moist and cold. Stay with us! We have need of more Greeks in Rome.”
“I cannot. Orpheus himself has told me to go.”
Spiros looked at him in surprise. Like many priests, he told his flock that the god would speak to t
