Lydia

1
Lydia
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• Written by
• Brent F.
• David L.
• Kelsey H.
• Libby V.

3

• Once upon a time,long ago in ancient Sparta,
  there was a poor, but happy family. Shortly
  after the newest member of the family was born,
  the mother died from giving birth. Though the
  father and his daughters were full of grief for
  their mother and wife, the father felt it best to
  remarry.

4

• Across the river lived a rich widow named Helen
  with her daughter Alexandria. So Philip, the
  father, decided to ask Helen for her hand in
  marriage.Soon after the wedding, Philip turned
  sixty and joined the council of elders,because of
  that he wasnt home very much.

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• As soon as the father left Helen, the stepmother,
  made Philips two daughters, Persephone and Lydia
  do all the work around the house. Alexandria
  would lay around watching them, while eating
  cheese and olives. Persephone and Lydia had to
  share a small room upstairs.

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• They shared the same
• bed, had barely enough
• to eat, and the room was
• dusty and full of
• cobwebs. They wore
• rags except when their
• father was coming
• home. While Lydia and
• Persephone were being forced
• around like servants, the
• assembly was electing five new
• ephors.

7

• One day Philip, the father came home for a while
  and told them about the two celebrations for the
  newly picked ephors, everyone was invited. Soon
  the night of the first ball arrived, Lydia and
  Persephone were rushing around trying to get
  Alexandria and Helen prepared. Finally their
  carriage arrived.

8

• Once Helen had left, Lydia decided to sneak off
  and watch the ball. At the ball she saw one of
  the newly picked ephors, Cleisthenes. She fell
  madly in love with him. Soon the ball was
  ending, Alexandria looked through the window, at
  the same time Lydia saw Alexandria looking at
  her.

9

• Lydia fled from the ball, and reached her bed
  just as Helen and Alexandria walked through the
  door. The next day, Lydia found out that
  Alexandria had told Helen that she was at the
  ball. Helen scolded Lydia for going to watch the
  ball, she wouldnt let Lydia leave the house.

10

• Again the night of the ball arrived, Helen and
  Alexandria were getting prepared for the ball
  with the help of Lydia and Persephone. Soon
  after they left, a ray of light shown through the
  window, and into the house.

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• Angels with harps were singing and they were
  followed by Aphrodite, a Greek goddess, (Lydias
  fairy godmother).She said, I know you love
  Cleisthenes, so Im going to help you win his
  heart.

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• So, she gave Lydia a beautiful gown, a carriage,
  horses, coachmen, golden sandals, and a bath.
  Lydia thanked Aphrodite and rode to the ball.
  When she got there Cleisthenes saw her and fell
  madly in love.

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• They danced until dawn. Suddenly Lydia realized
  Helen and Alexandria would find out what she had
  done. She fled from the ball and got home and
  started her chores barely before Helen and
  Alexandria arrived. The next day when Lydia was
  working in the market at a fruit stand
  Cleisthenes saw her.

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• When Lydia finished her shift and was walking
  home, Cleisthenes decided to follow her. When
  Lydia got to her house, Cleisthenes was about to
  say hi when she accidentally slammed the door in
  his face. So, Cleisthenes came back the next
  day, knocked on the door and asked Helen if he
  could see her daughter or daughters. Helen said
  she only had one daughter and showed him
  Alexandria.

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• Cleisthenes asked if she had any other daughters.
  Helen said,
• No! Right when Persephone walked past sweeping
  the floor. Cleisthenes asked Persephone if there
  were any more women in the house.

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• She said, Yes, my sister, Lydia is upstairs.
  Do you want me to get her?
• Yes, please do, said Cleisthenes. They
  recognized each other at once, except Cleisthenes
  didnt know she was the lady he had danced with,
  he thought she was just the girl from the market.
  

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• Lydia said, Just a second, sir. Then she ran
  upstairs, hoping Aphrodite would be there with
  her ballroom dress. Aphrodite wasnt there, but
  her dress and sandals were. So, Lydia put them
  on and fixed up her hair. Then she ran
  downstairs. When Cleisthenes saw her, he
  remembered her from the ball.

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• Then he asked her to marry him. Lydia said,
  Yes! They held the wedding the next day at
  Cleistheness house. It was a magnificent
  wedding, even Helen and Alexandria found it in
  their hearts to be nice to Persephone and Lydia,
  and they forgave them.

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• Helen sold her house, and after Cleisthenes
  served his duty as an ephor. They all lived
  happily ever after in his mansion.

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THE END
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Bibliography

• World Book Encyclopedia
• http//www.richmond.edu/ed344/webunits/greecerome
  /Greecegeog1html
• http//members.aol.com/Donnclass/Greek-life.html
• http//www.firstnethou.com/annam/costhist.html/anc
  ient.html/index.html
• http//www.richmond.edu/ed344/webquests/cin-derel
  la/Cinderella.html

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• wysiwyg//72/http//www.britannica.com/
• bc/article/printable/4/0,5722,70794,00.
• htm
• http//www.richmond.edu/ed344/webunits/greecerome
  /Greecearch1.html
• Hope,Thomas, Costumes of Greeks Romans Dover
  Publications, Inc. New York, N.Y., 1962
• Loverance, Rowena, Ancient Greece page 12 13
  Viking New York, 1993