The Voyage of the Cleitonauts - Part 1

Part 1

We departed from the eastern shore of Atlantia as the rosy-fingered dawn rose into our faces out of the sea. There were fifty-five of us; eighteen men for each of our three ships, arranged in three shifts of six, plus myself as their leader. The woman whose company I had been keeping, Thronia the mapmaker, fervently wished to accompany us on our journey so as to refine and expand her maps. But I thought it unwise to have a woman on board among so many men, especially one with such pleasing proportions, lest it lead to unrest among the men. So we set out toward the east to explore, and perhaps find that land whose people were said to dominate all of the lands around the east end of the Middle Sea, called Orchomenos or Mycenae, with cities said to be at Tyrins and Pylos. The plan was to establish trade there, and to gather information on the whereabouts of the fabled Ring of Gyges.

I myself was in in charge of the expedition and of my great ship, the Cleito, with my good friends, Agelaus and Myrto, as captains of the other ships, the Mytilene and the Tyro.

The weather was fair, and once we had rowed out of the harbor and the sails set, the winds were favorable, so it was not long before the panorama of our homeland sank below the horizon. The sailing was easy, the winds steady and from abaft; our helmsmen and sail-trimmers having only to make minor adjustments all that day. Our course proceeded with ease as we sailed toward the Pillars of Hercules.

That night, our first night at sea, I went to my cabin, giving the command to Heptos, the helmsman of the shift. He sailed on by the light of the moon. The next day passed uneventfully as well, and once more I retired, this time leaving Petros in charge.

The third day we sailed between The Pillars. Thence I kept the line of the northern shore in view as long as I could, but near the end of the second day after the Pillars, it veered away from our eastward course so severely that we had to abandon its reassurance. We thus ventured out into the largely uncharted reaches of the Middle Sea. The winds continued to be favorable, and we made good easting that night and the next day.

It was near dusk of that day, the rosy fingers of the setting sun's rays tickling at our sails from behind, when Telemetros, on watch, opened his mouth and cried out, reporting land ahead, land which had not previously been charted. It proved to be an island, and we proceeded to navigate to its south. Most of the land was rocky and clifflike, but partway around it we found a natural harbor. I chose to overnight in this sheltered place and explore the interior at dawn the next day. In the gathering dusk, we dropped sails and rowed the three ships in, there being little wind within that refuge. Then, we hove the ships close together and we thanked the gods of wind and water for the gift of this find with a feast. Not knowing who or what lived on the island, we kept our feasting quiet, even though a great amount of wine was consumed. I ordered an early end to our feast, citing the work we had planned for the next day. And then I retired to my cabin.

Long before the sun's blazing face rose above the horizon, when it had just grown light enough to see, I was wakened by a pounding at my cabin's hatch. The voice of the watch was calling me to arise and come to the rail. Fearing an attack, I turned from my berth's warmth, arose quickly and grabbed my sword where it hung, not even bothering with my tunic. I sprang, naked but armed, from my cabin to see what might be amiss. Many of my men were already gathered at the gunwales of the ship.

Lined up on the shore were a number of inhabitants of the island, not brandishing weapons to threaten us, but gazing with obvious curiosity at our small flotilla of ships. I felt rather foolish, having rushed from my berth naked and armed only with my sword and the morning wood, nonetheless I put down the weapon and waved. Several of those on shore waved back. I went to the opposite rail, relieved myself and returned to my cabin, hung up the sword and dressed.

After conferring with my crew over breakfast, I elected to take our small boat to shore with a handful of men. So it came to pass that I stood in the prow of our boat while four oarsmen propelled the boat to shore. As we shoved off from the ship, I waved to shore in what I hoped would be taken as a friendly manner. Two of the watchers on shore broke off from their group and hurried away, I assumed to inform their leader. I watched closely as my oarsmen steadily made for shore.

As I expected, before we had rowed half the way, the leaders, or emissaries thereof, drove down to the beach. There were four of them, each in a horse-drawn chariot. Or, better said, I took them for horses at first. As we came closer, however, I noticed that these horses were lacking the greater portion of their bodies, having but two legs. How strange, I thought, what an odd sort of horses they have here!

But then I noticed that these horses, despite that they had flowing tails and proud heads, had very feminine-looking breasts! And my jaw dropped in amazement as the realization struck me; these were not horses at all, but women, naked, wearing horse-shaped headdresses and drawing those chariots!

My men, rowing with their backs to the beach, were unable to see the incredible scene before me. Thus, in order that the rowers not display shock when they turned around and thereby make us appear to be unsophisticated rubes, I opened my mouth to speak, giving them warning and describing to them what I saw.

My warning description notwithstanding, when they turned, my men fairly gawked and nearly forgot to secure the oars and drag the boat up onto the shore, but again I opened my mouth and spoke a quick reprimand urging them to their task as I waded up to greet the locals. In defense of my men I must admit that these ponygirls were not only most unusual to view, but were very sightly and pleasing to the eye. As our boat ground onto the sandy bottom close to shore, one by one the charioteers exited from their cars and paused to speak a word or two to the draft-women, and gentled them with a hand caressing their attractive rumps much as one of our riders might stroke his horse upon dismounting.

With my hands held forth, showing that they were empty of weaponry, I strode directly to the driver with the most elaborate headgear and opened my mouth to address him in a manner that was polite but not subservient, using the languages that I knew. To my pleasant surprise, he responded favorably in Phoenician, a language that I had learned from eastern traders and in which I had become fluent. His speech was quite understandable, even though it was oddly inflected and structured. We launched into conversation immediately, and the other charioteers engaged in lively conversations with my men in the same tongue as well. They wished to know all about us; where we had come from, what trade goods we had brought, and curiously, whether we had any animals on board our ship.

For my own part, I was most curious about the women that they employed as we might employ horses, but I did not wish to appear to pry, lest we insult them and incur their wrath. I also wished to see the faces of the women, to determine whether they were as pleasant to look upon as their bodies. They were nearly naked, but the horse-head shaped headgear prevented all but a cursory view of their visages and the bridles and bits in their mouths distorted what little could be seen. Aside from the headgear and bridle, each also wore a thin leather strap about her waist. Attached to this strap were two fine leather cords which attached to cuffs on their forearms, preventing them from raising them. Their hands were otherwise unencumbered, for it was with them that they held the shafts by which they drew the chariots along. On their feet they wore most unusual shoes; not like the sandals of the others; their footgear encased the entire foot, shaped so as to force them to go on tiptoe and the whole resembling the pasterns and hooves of horses. But what mystified me and most drew my attention, aside from their hidden faces, were the bushy horse-tails that each sported, for no straps or other means were at all visible as means of attachment to their bodies. Less reasoning men than I, indeed some of my shipmates, might believe those tails to be a natural part of them.

After the introductory conversation, we were invited to repair with the islanders to their village that stood nearby. I signaled to those still aboard our ships in the harbor that all seemed well, that they were to wait aboard, and I climbed onto the chariot beside their headman. The men from my ship joined the other charioteers. The remaining islanders followed on foot.

The way was serpentine, reducing the slope to one that was easily managed. We were escorted to a large hut or lodge in the village, standing on a hill overlooking the harbor. The chariots were drawn up neatly before the wooden structure and we were conducted into it. Evidently, it was not considered proper to wear headgear within it, for our hosts doffed theirs, so we entered bare-headed as well.

Inside, we were invited to sit or recline on broad pillows that served instead of chairs or lounges, and slaves brought fruit and drink for us and for our hosts. I assumed them to be slaves, for they were all quite naked but for sandals and that the men were castrated. This shed some light upon the question of the poygirls; they must also be slaves. In my conversation with Glaukos, for that proved to be the native leader's name, conversation now grown cordial, my assumption was soon corroborated; that indeed the servants and the "horses" were slaves.

The women, now devoid of their headgear, bridles and footwear, entered into the lodge to serve us as well. The faces of the women proved to be worthy of the curiosity I had felt, for they were uniformly well-formed and beautiful. The mystery of the tails was also unraveled; the women bending to serve the men made it evident that the "tails" were attached to plugs the women wore in their anuses. I later learned that these plugs, pear-shaped and well-oiled for insertion, served not only to provide pleasure for the eyes of the men, but also pleasure for the wearers as well, for every movement they made provided them with stimulation.

Then Glaukos explained that one of these women was assigned to each of us visitors. In his speaking, he told that they were to provide for all our needs, as was their way of hospitality. And indeed, they did serve us, placing the fruits and goblets of wine to our mouths. After the fruit and wine was consumed, Glaukos and his men left us, the women slaves remaining to attend to us.

Observing the switching of their tails, the pleasing aspect of the rounded buttocks surrounding those tails, and the rest of their well formed naked bodies as well, combined with the week of celibate sailing, had produced a certain noticeable stiffness beneath the togas of myself and my men, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the women. Nor had I any intention of being celibate, despite the absence of Thronia, if it could be helped. I increased in that thinking – as well as in other ways – when Poulxeria, which was the name of the buxom slave assigned me, slid a hand under my tunic. So I quickly raised that garment and lay down beside her despite that the pillow was really too narrow for two. She also spoke the oddly accented Phoenician that my host had spoken, so I opened my mouth and did speak to her, pointing out the manifest qualities of the large and hard pleasure-rod that I proposed to confer upon her for our mutual pleasures.

In any case, I was surprised that the little Siren repulsed my advances. I naturally assumed otherwise, from the speech of Glaukos, and insisted. She continued to rebuff my offer, claiming that, like her "sisters." she was to remain a virgin, but counter-offered to ease my affliction manually. She uttered this proposal while encircling my throbbing shaft with her long, thin fingers. I was going to continue to petition her for a more intimate activity, but her clever hands, that she coated liberally with oil from a nearby flask, put their cleverness to use; use that fairly robbed me of further coherent speech, although I noticed that my men were being similarly attended.

She did not merely tug at me. The tips of her clever digits teased at the sides of my shaft, danced over the head, and drew the collar of foreskin back and forth. I was reduced to mute jelly, and could only lie back on the pillow and moan. She positioned herself between my wide-spread knees and fondled, then stretched my testicles with one hand while continuing to stroke the tender underside of my now exposed mushroom with the soft pad of the thumb of the other.

Returning the attention of both hands to my pole, she spent long minutes stroking it with only the soft tips of her fingers, running a fingernail over the head, and encircling it warmly with both palms. She formed a ring of the thumb and forefinger of one hand, encircled the shaft with that ring, and ran it up and down the shaft while the other hand pulled at my balls. She cupped her palm over the head and rubbed it. Holding the pole between her fingers and palms, she rubbed the underside of the head with both thumbs.

Evidently realizing that I was approaching the breaking point, she wrapped her hands around it and rapidly stroked my length until it spat my seed into the air like lava spewing forth from a volcano. Poulxeria continued to minister to it until it was completely spent and shrunken. Then, smiling, she lay down by my side, still holding my genitalia in her hands.

When I had recovered sufficient wit to be able to engage in conversation, I spoke with her, opening my mouth to ask about the need of these women to remain a virgin. But her answers made no sense, and were interrupted by the return of the chieftain and his minions. I exchanged pleasantries with Glaukos, and reached an agreement that the next day we would bring more of my fellows and some of the trade goods, and begin the transacting of trade.

After a restful night, and much anticipation, three very full boats were rowed to shore, carrying men and goods. Once more we were greeted on shore by charioteers whose cars were drawn by naked women in horse-costume. I thought that I recognized Poulxeria, and was rewarded by a furtive wave of her hand.

The bulk of the day was spent on the beach, the islanders examining the items we had brought ashore. In turn, they brought island goods to exchange for them. There were many items that we had not seen before, or that were rare in our lands. For these we eagerly traded, spurning items that were easily available from the Phoenicians. At the end of the day, our boats returned to the ships laden with the exchanged goods. My captains and I, along with several other trusted sailors, remained on the island to join the islanders for feasting and giving thanks to the gods for our mutual good fortune.

Once more, we went to their lodge. Glaukos offered thanks to the gods by slaughtering a young lamb, but then the animal was roasted, and became part of our feast. There, in their lodge, we joined with the islanders to feast upon fruits and meats and many other delicious items of the local food, some of which were new to our palates, but nonetheless delicious. The castrated slaves and the women of the tails did their best to see that we had our fill of the food and strong wine.

Continued in Part 2