lesson of the day. He had done well for the first part of the day. He had redeemed himself with Amynterius, allowing him to rest easy. More importantly, he had made extra time for Pankration later on in the day.

Doors slamming together interrupted Constantine’s dream, announcing that Leonidas had entered the room. "Good afternoon child."

Constantine sat up straight, his eyes puffy and reddened from sleep. "Good day teacher." He returned to the work before him, reminding himself of the personal deadline he had set for himself earlier.

Unlike Amynterius, Leonidas was not as strict about Constantine’s studying of other materials in his presence. He allowed Constantine a few minutes to finish his arithmetic assignment. That way, the tutor knew the boy was more apt to focus his full attention on the history lesson.

Leonidas folded his arms across his white chlamys and stood in front of a map on the wall. He was a short stocky man, with a black beard and ponytail. He was a Spartan, named after an infamous Spartan king. He had been raised, however, not in the battlefield but in the schools. He was a Spartan of a different nature, one who despised death, destruction and danger. He was gentle and soft spoken, a philosopher and lover of the arts. He had never laid a hand on any child.

"Shall we get started?"

Constantine shuffled the papyrus sheets in organized piles. "Yes, I’m ready." The child lied out of courtesy for his second favorite instructor.

"We spoke of Alexander the Great, his campaigns, tactics, and influence. We covered quite a bit in a short time, so do you have any questions?"

Constantine contemplated a question he had thought of the other morning, but was hesitant to ask.

Leonidas continued. "Very well, we’ll move on to literature in the--"

"Wait. Yes, why was he given the title, ‘the Great’?"

The tutor ran his fingers through his black beard. "Ask yourself this question."

"I have and I think that it was because he had such a vast empire."

Leonidas shook his head as if to add something, but was cut off by the child. "He also used revolutionary new tactics, and employed men from the corners of the world to fight in his armies. Alexander the Great was great because he conquered so many different people?"