Glyn Iliffe - The Oracles of Troy (The Adventures of Odysseus)

–

former queen of Sparta, now wife of Paris

Helenus

–

son of Priam and Hecabe

Hephaistos

–

god of fire; blacksmith to the Olympians

Heracles

–

greatest of all Greek heroes

Hestia

–

the goddess of the hearth

Hippodameia

–

wife of Pelops

I

Idaeus

–

herald to King Priam

Idomeneus

–

king of Crete

Ilium

–

the region of which Troy was the capital

Ilus

–

founder of Troy, grandfather of Priam

Iphigenia

–

daughter of Eperitus and Clytaemnestra, sacrificed by Agamemnon

Ithaca

–

island in the Ionian Sea

K

Kerosia

–

Ithacan council meeting

L

Laertes

–

Odysseus’s father

Lemnos

–

island in the Aegean Sea

M

Menelaus

–

king of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon and cuckolded husband of Helen

Menestheus

–

king of Athens

Mentor

–

close friend of Odysseus, given joint charge of Ithaca in Odysseus’s absence

Mycenae

–

most powerful city in Greece, situated in north-eastern Peloponnese

Myrmidons

–

the followers of Achilles

Myrtilus

–

King Oenomaus’s charioteer

Mysia

–

region to the south-east of Troy

N

Neoptolemus

–

son of Achilles and Deidameia

Neriton (Mount)

–

highest point on Ithaca

Nestor

–

king of Pylos

Nisus

–

Ithacan elder

O

Odysseus

–

king of Ithaca

Oenomaus

–

king of Pisa, killed in a chariot race against Pelops

Oenops

–

member of the Kerosia

Omeros

–

Ithacan soldier and bard

P

Palamedes

–

Nauplian prince, executed for treason

Palladium

–

sacred image of Athena’s companion, Pallas

Pandion

–

murdered king of Alybas

Paris

–

Trojan prince, eldest remaining son of King Priam

Parnassus (Mount)

–

mountain in central Greece and home of the Pythian oracle

Peisandros

–

Myrmidon commander

Peloponnese

–

southernmost landmass of Greek mainland, named after Pelops

Pelops

–

grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus

Penelope

–

queen of Ithaca and wife of Odysseus

Penthesilea

–

queen of the Amazons, slain by Achilles

Pergamos

–

the citadel of Troy

Philoctetes

–

Malian archer, deserted by the Greeks on Lemnos

Pisa

–

region in the north-western Peloponnese

Pleisthenes

–

youngest son of Menelaus and Helen

Podaleirius

–

famed healer, son of Asclepius

Polites

–

Ithacan warrior

Polyctor

–

member of the Kerosia

Poseidon

–

god of the sea

Priam

–

king of Troy

Pythoness

–

high priestess of the Pythian oracle

S

Scamander

–

river on the Trojan plain

Simöeis

–

river on the Trojan plain

Sthenelaus

–

companion of Diomedes

T

Talthybius

–

squire to Agamemnon

Taphians

–

pirate race from Taphos

Telemachus

–

son of Odysseus and Penelope

Tenedos

–

island off the coast of Ilium

Teucer

–

famed archer, half-brother and companion to Great Ajax

Theano

–

priestess of Athena and wife of Antenor

Thebes

–

northern Greek city, sacked by Diomedes

Thetis

–

chief of the Nereids and mother of Achilles

Trechos

–

Argive soldier

Troy

–

chief city of Ilium

X

xenia

–

the custom of friendship towards strangers

Z

Zacynthos

–

southernmost of the Ionian islands under Odysseus’s rule

Zeus

–

the king of the gods

BOOK

ONE

Chapter One

L EMNOS

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, stood at the stern of the galley, his short legs planted firmly apart on the deck and his muscular, top-heavy torso rolling gently with the subdued motion of the sea. His green eyes were impassive as they studied the walls of dense fog that surrounded the ship, seemingly unconcerned at the possibility they could be creeping towards their doom on a rocky shoal or drifting past their destination altogether. King Diomedes showed less patience, beseeching and cursing the gods with alternate breaths as he stood at Odysseus’s left shoulder, his blue cloak swept back to reveal a gleaming breastplate and the golden pommel of a sword hanging at his side. Eperitus, captain of the Ithacan guard, was at Odysseus’s other shoulder, his eyes on the crew as they pulled at the oars.

‘What do your senses tell you, Eperitus?’ Odysseus asked, his smooth voice amplified by the silence. ‘Are we near to Lemnos?’

Eperitus stared out at the thick mist, raising his chin a little as he focussed his hearing on sounds that were beyond the gentle creaking of the long oars in their leather loops and the swish and trickle of water across the blades. As he concentrated he began to hear things the others could not, noises diminished by distance that took a few moments to understand. With them came odours and aromas, and different tastes carried on the air, all of them delicate and insubstantial, but nevertheless distinct to his raised perceptivity.

‘I can hear crowds of gulls,’ he began, ‘squabbling and cawing like they used to on the cliffs and hillsides around Ithaca. And waves crashing against rocks. There’s a stink of seaweed and wet stone, but with a hint of soil and vegetation. It’s definitely land, though I can’t say whether it’s Lemnos or not.’

‘It is,’ Odysseus said confidently. ‘Which way?’

Eperitus pointed at an angle to the bearing they were travelling along. Odysseus gave a satisfied smile and glanced back over his shoulder.

‘North a little, Antiphus.’

The man at the helm nodded, a determined look on his face as he leaned the twin steering oars to the left.

‘I’m going to the prow,’ Odysseus announced. ‘I remember the rocks the first time we came here, and the last thing I want is one of them popping up out of this fog and tearing a hole in the hull.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Eperitus said.

‘No need,’ Odysseus replied, placing an arresting hand on his broad chest. ‘Why don’t you stay here and make sure the anchor stones are ready? You can prepare the boat, too, while you’re at it.’

The fact the anchor stones and the small rowing boat could be quickly readied by any of the seasoned crew made Eperitus suspicious, and when Odysseus added one of his reassuring smiles he felt sure he was hiding something. Not that there was any point in questioning him; after twenty years as the king’s friend, Eperitus knew he would not reveal anything he did not have a mind to.

Odysseus bent down to pick up a bundle of fur and a wooden club that were stowed beneath one of the rowing benches.

‘That’s Agamemnon’s lion’s pelt, isn’t it?’ Diomedes said.

‘I borrowed it from him,’ Odysseus explained innocently.

‘What in Athena’s name do you want that for? And what’s the point of the club? If you’re planning to beat Philoctetes to death, don’t forget Calchas said we need to bring him back to Troy alive.’