<em>Athens, 15 years earlier.</em><br/><br/><strong>"You should see where you are walking"</strong>, Orion complained loudly as two other teenage boys hit his both arms, causing a dozen of scrolls to fall to the floor. It was not an accident, but an act of provocation.<br/><br/>The poor Orion was lowering himself to catch the scrolls, when one of the boys came and kicked his butts. Orion lost the balance and his face touched the muddy path. All the other young Greeks did the same as their leader.<br/><br/><strong>"Swallow your words, Orion! We do what we want!"</strong>, the 15 year-old hunky Ephestus mocked at Orion. All the other boys laughed and decided to kick the scrolls away.<br/><br/><strong>"I hated these scrolls! Thank Zeus we are done with them!"</strong>, the equally strong Minur replied.<br/><br/><strong>"True, only the stupid Orion continues in the academia."<br/><br/>"This is because he is afraid of becoming a real warrior".<br/><br/>"Sissy boy, maybe we should sell you as slave"</strong>, Ephestus added as he stomped on Orion's lower back.<br/><br/>Minur grabbed Orion's hair and pulled it backwards - the tall, skinny Orion could not resist: he was weak and had no muscles at all. Orion was feeling humiliated, but he did not moan. Neither did he show any sign of pain. That was his last defense line: if he moaned in pain, he would loose all his dignity to his own eyes.  It was not the first time that happened. Neither would it be the last time, the realistic Orion presumed. Somehow, he was resilient to his situation as nothing indicated any change ahead.<br/><br/>The gang was not stopping had not Plato arrived. The white-bearded Greek scholar was very respected, even among the young people, because he had educated three generations of the Athenians. and managed to stop the unfair aggression.<br/><br/><strong>"I am sorry for having ruined some scrolls"</strong>, Orion spoke sadly, avoiding direct eye contact with Plato, as he tried to stand up on his own feet. Helped by Plato, Orion began to pick the scrolls in silence: never had Plato witnessed on scene like that, even though the wise man then knew that sources of scratches and bruises in Orion's body. Athens was no longer the same since the Roman took it over and the old companionship among the fellow citizens was falling apart.<br/><br/><strong>"I think you should give more value to your physical education, Orion. This is the best way to defend yourself against the unfair aggressions"</strong>, Plato spoke while he picked up some scrolls.<strong>"It is natural to defend yourself."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"But once you spoke about the value of <em>corpore sanus in intelectus putrefatus</em>. I remember that ..."</strong><br/><br/>Before Orion could complete his sentence, Plato laughed.<br/><br/><strong>"Young Orion, I think you did not pay attention to the class very well. The Athenian belief is <em>mens sans in corpore sano</em>, not the contrary. I was just being rhetoric, using an <em>ad absurdum</em> argument.</strong>" Then, Plato enthusiastically lectured for long 30 minutes about the advantages of looking after the human body, the benefits for the health and intelligence. Orion did not believe he could have behaved in such a foolish ways just for having taken a brief nap during the theoretical part of the physical education classes. Fortunately, the scholar was so pervasive that Orion, who was refractory to any kind of exercise, went straight to the gymnasium after finishing his tasks.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, Orion stopped at a certain distance from the gymnasium. Both Ephestus and Minur were walking there. Worse than that, all the other bullies seemed to be together in the same place. Anticipating what would happen if he entered the gymnasium, Orion stepped back slowly. None of them were seeing Orion, but Orion feared them so much that the mere sight mad him behave hesitatingly. After some steps, he swallowed dry and ran desperately back to the academia.<br/><br/>Orion had wasted too much time and there was no way of going back. At least, not in Athens. Living there would be an endless humiliation and he could never recover. No parents, no family: everyone had perished when pirates ransacked the small village some kilometers from Athens during the last pirate raid before the Romans pacified the Egean Sea. In that same evening, Orion was accepted as a training sailorman in a small galley bound to distant lands, where he had never dreamed of going.<br/><br/>Interestingly, Orion was not sad. No material goods were left behind, no real friends would remain in Athens. He was just another lonely outcast living in Athens for pure charity of the noble people. All that he would bring was what he learned with Plato. Nothing more, nothing less. Sighing relieved, he boarded the small galley and looked Athens over his shoulders for a last time.<br/><br/>And Athena he did see. A girl of his approximate age, flourishing beautifully in the splendor of her teen years. Orion was always impressed by how the girls flourished for life earlier than boys, but that girl was different. For a moment, their gazes locked and he even thought she was Athena. That moment seemed to last for hours to the eyes of Orion. It did not though. Probably it lasted less than one second. Certainly, the girl did not have the same impression on Orion as she had on him. It did not matter. That girl's image would be the lasting image of Athens in the coming years.<br/><br/><strong>"Eirene, come here with your father! The harbor is a dangerous place for women"</strong><br/><br/>The magic moment was over. Orion' ship was leaving the harbor. Lots of work were waiting for Orion.<br/><br/>This is their story.