Olympias confronts Leonidas

Leonidas is a relative of Olympias so that the she understood that while he may be an excellent disciplinarian for Alexander to learn self-discipline from she did not like his trying to starve her favorite son. * She bore down on him one afternoon when she learned that he had suspected that she was feeding Alexander sweets and delicacies. * Dressed in a dark green gown plaited at the waist, she looked the role of a Grecian goddess. Long strands of auburn hair danced in ringlets on her shouldes as she quickly raced to Alexander's room to see if Leonidas was there. "Leonidas," she called in a sultry low voice. " I understand that you have been searching Alexander's chests to see if I am sneaking pastries into his room." * Leonidas shrugged his shoulders indifferently as he peered at the beeautiful young woman and said,"So what if I am? I am trying to teach your son self control and self discipline. You are not helping me one bit when you think that you can override my decisions." *"But Leonidas, my dear cousin," she said softly, "Alexander is a very special son to me. He must not be denied the right to his own meals which you so often attempt to do."*"Olympias, my darling cousin,"he responded quickly and tartly. " You hired me to tutor your your son to be prepared for the life of a militant. You are trying to spoil him while I am trying to correct him. *Leonidas, you are not a Spartan despite being named for the famous King," she continued," and I do not want Alexander to be deprived of nutritious meals. He is a growing boy. He needs to develop into a healthy young man, not a frail, abused, fearful brat. His father will demand that he be fit to serve in the military sooon and I must insist that you feed him properly." "All right, Olympias, you are his mother, but remember that I have the responsibility to ensure that he learns self discipline as well as obedience and authority." Leonidas remarked saltily. "Philip is at war now, and he does still need the guidance of a male in the household besides those who work the stables and the gymnasium." * "Well, how is he doing in his lessons?" Olympias then inquired. " Do you have any problem with him ragarding his studies?""No, not at all. He is an avid reader. He learned much from Lysimachos that has aroused his interest in reading poems, plays, and even in dramatizing them. Someday you should join us at the theatre to watch how well he performs in some of these plays, even at his young age. I admit he is very precocious and very bright, but he does have a natural curiosity that is quite unusual for someone his age.""Tell me exactly what you mean. How is he so different from others?" Olympias asked.*Do you realize that he knows all the cooks in the kitchen, all the stable hands by name, even the gardner who he seems to adore?"asked Leonidas. "Well, yes, I knew that he was acquainted wth them, but I had no idea that he spent time with them." she responded. * "You, my dear, are too involved in all your religious rites to sometime notice what your children do," Leonidas chided sharply. * "Now Leonidas, that is not fair. You know very well that I am a devotee and am trying to instill the same devotion into Alexander that I have. He occasionally discusses some of his chats with me, but I have never talked with the cook or the gardener about it. How do you happen to know of it?" she retorted. "I had to discuss with them the matter of his diet and meals since I wanted him on a regimen of my own making. That is how I learned of it. They spoke very kindly about him to me. I wondered whether you knew of it or not. They told me that you had a special diet of your own for him. I wanted to be sure that he is not being spoiled by your luxurious designs." Leonidas answered. "Well, Leonidas, for Alexander's sake as well as my own, I want to feed him properly. Don't try to judge me or my husband by your standards." she continued. "That will be all today. Let me know how he is doing in his schooling, but let me decide what he can eat or not eat. I am ordering you to obey my commands." "Yes, my dear Olympias," he answered. " I hear you. I will do as you wish."