He Who Returned. Martin FieberЧитать онлайн книгу.
Now she had to think of something that had happened during her stay in Alexandria. Miriam had had a dream in which a bright being had appeared to her, which had informed her that she was to postpone her return to Nazareth for a few more months. She had not told anyone about this dream. Since then she had been carrying a burden and she was aware of the great danger hers on was to be in throughout his life on earth. The being of light had spoken of a dark power that would stop at nothing to attempt to slay Jesus before his time so that he would be prevented from carrying out his mission. Herod had had given the horrific order to kill all newborns back then, which is why the departure to Egypt had been undertaken quicker than originally planned. And this being had also informed her, that a second wave of violence was in planning and that it would take place in Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee, which was located only about an hour from Nazareth, where the family was to live again eventually. Joseph would look for construction work in Sepphoris and take Jesus along with him occasionally. Unfortunately what the forces of darkness had planned in this case could no longer be prevented from happening. So in order not to endanger the safety of Jesus, she was to remain in Egypt a few more months. She had only told Bakenor about it, so as to not worry anyone else. Since Joseph had always agreed with whatever she suggested, there was no problem there.
“Alright children, pay attention, we will be passing through the main gateway of the city in a moment.” Joseph brought Miriam back from her musings.
Miriam was excited, for she enjoyed seeing new sights and meeting new people. She had been looking forward to this trip to Sepphoris for along time. Although they had barely yet passed the town gate, many different fragrances already were wafting about them. The first fragrances to greet them were the smell of rosemary and thyme. They passed by a few narrow alleys where weavers, carpenters and potters had their quarters. Then they spotted a barrel-maker at work.
“Why does that man have a colorful cloth attached to his garments?” Joshua raised his eyebrows so much that Miriam had to smile.
“He is a dyer. The cloth he wears serves to inform others of his profession. Look, back there you can see a tailor. He has a bone needle attached to his garment, see? And over there is a carpenter.”
“And how can you tell what his profession is, Miriam?”
“He has a sliver of wood lodged behind his ear.” Miriam liked Joshua and his innate curiosity. He was a nice boy and obviously also a good friend for Jesus.
Finally they arrived at a large square full of countless people.
“The agora“, Joseph said. “That is what the marketplace is called in Greek, as I was once told by someone. I have heard that this one stretches a bit longer than most others.”
Miriam saw countless booths with various kinds of grain like wheat and barley. There were booths with bread, with the fine wine of Galilee which was even shipped as far as Alexandria. There were olives, grapes, pomegranates, dates and figs. Miriam could smell delicious baked goat cheese as well as stinking fish. As far as her eye could see there were booths and more booths. It had been a long time since she had been to the marketplace in Alexandria. While that one had of course been considerably larger, this market offered plenty of everything as well. Whatever one required could be found here.
Then they reached the area of the market which tended to attract women especially: the jewellery and clothing booths. Here in Sepphoris there were special offers as well as a high level of quality. She was surprised that the goldsmiths here also used integrated precious stones in their work. She loved gems and enjoyed looking at them although she had no desire to wear any herself. She would have only been given strange looks by here neighbours in Nazareth if she did anyway. They were keeping as low a profile as possible already regarding their true wealth. If the people of Nazareth knew how wealthy they truly were, their life would be made miserable by them. They had been given many precious gifts in Egypt for later on when Jesus would require means to finance his mission. Among them were precious stones. Wearing them here would only invoke the envy of the other women. Of course in Alexandria there would have been no such danger …
But what was most painful for Miriam to see was how many slaves there were in this town of Sepphoris. There were literally all over the place. Some were probably dressed as well as their lords, others looked unkempt and unloved. It had required great restraint on her part to tolerate the lifestyle of the citizenry of Alexandria without getting into arguments with them about it. Although Alexandria was located in Egypt, the city had a strong Greek orientation. Fortunately Bakenor was a wise man who shunned the superficial life offered there. He detested slavery as well as the excessive lifestyle in that largest of all cities. There were nearly 800,000 slaves, 50,000 prostitutes and only 150,000 free citizens among the one million inhabitants of that city. Thousands of travellers and merchants arrived there daily. Hence one could assume that the true number of inhabitants was even somewhat higher.
Miriam and Joseph bought fruit and some bakery goods dipped in honey. Then they sat down on a wall to rest a little while from their long journey.
“Father, what is the name of the play that will be performed at the theater when we visit?”, Jesus asked.
“I have no idea. You know me, I have a hard time remembering things like that.”
“Pardon me, may I interrupt your conversation for a moment?” A man with a long white beard stepped up to them. His garments had a few holes, yet aside from that he looked very neat and clean.
“Sure. Who are you?”
“My name is Daniel and I have lived in this city for a long time already. While I am a Jew, I have taken a liking to Greek philosophy. And since I just overheard your conversation by chance, I thought I would tell you about the play that is going to be performed today.”
“Oh yes dear sir, please tell us“, Rachel said impatiently, while still chewing on one of the honey pastries.
“It is going to be one of the works by the Roman poet Plautus. Tis said to be a comedy which goes by the title “The Glorious Captain“. Part of the play is set in Ephesus, a large city located in Asia Minor.”
“Ephesus? How interesting. This boy here will be moving to Ephesus in just a few months.” Miriam pointed toward Joshua.
“A beautiful city. I visited my brother there a few years ago He will surely like it there. A beautiful area, a large harbor and a huge temple, which is one of the wonders of the world, can be found there.” Daniel gazed into the sky dreamily. “But to return to the topic of the play: too bad that the lords of the city could not agree to show a play by one of the great Greek playwrights. For Sophocles, Aeschylus or Euripides, whose name I have only heard of recently, would surely offer more worthy material for an introduction to the potential quality of theater here in Sepphoris. And besides, the Greek language is far more melodic than Latin. But alas, Herod Antipas had his way and insisted on putting on a Roman play. Well, I have to get going now. Who knows, we may meet again if it is in our destiny. God bless you.”
“God bless you too, Daniel“. Miriam appreciated the kind and cultivated manner of the old man.
∞
In the afternoon, the family had to stop by the dressing rooms of the actors on their way to the theater, which was located directly next to the market. After all the doors were the handiwork of Joseph and his sons Jossi and Judah. He was hoping for the praise of his wife, and she immediately obliged him in that. The family was let in by the watchman, who led them straightway to the dressing rooms, although a few actors were already inside.
“You three truly did an outstanding job there“, Miriam said full of pride. “Although I do not know much about such things, I have to say that the decorations on the doors are truly wonderful.”
Jossi beamed, for that had been his part.
“The dressing rooms sure are huge. Are there that many actors?” Joshua was rather amazed.
“Well, it depends entirely on the play“, one of the actors present replied. “For example, today around fourteen actors and ten extras will be used.