High on the back of the palace, there was a portico adjacent to the royal quarters. From there, one could look out over the south reaches of the city, away to where Ortygia trailed off into a narrow, rocky peninsula, and beyond that nothing but the Great Sea. There the queen could enjoy sunlight and fresh breeze in peace.

Queen Kassandra of Danassos, third of her name, hegemon-protector of the Dorians and Ionians of Sikania, Pasiphaë-priestess of the Goddess, the most powerful woman in al...