Glyn Iliffe - King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

Odysseus’s sense of smell had been weak ever since boxing lessons as a boy and he was barely able to appreciate the aroma from the tiny petals.

‘Why don’t you stick it in your belt,’ Tyndareus suggested, ‘and get rid of that dried-up husk you’ve been wearing since you got here.’

Odysseus patted the chelonion gently. ‘I couldn’t do that. My sister gave me this as a memento of Ithaca while I’m away. I keep it to remind myself that my people are suffering under a false king, and I must one day return to free them. All my men wear a sprig as a reminder of home.’

‘You’ve been here for some time now. You must worry constantly about your homeland.’

Odysseus frowned. ‘Constantly, but it’s the burden of nobility, Tyndareus. What about your problem: have you thought of a solution yet?’

The king laughed. ‘Solution? Only one springs to mind, but dividing Helen into thirty pieces would be a waste of a beautiful daughter.’

‘Maybe I can help,’ Odysseus offered nonchalantly, trying once more to detect an aroma from the flower.

‘You’ve hinted as much on several occasions, my friend. But for all your cleverness I don’t see how you can prevent them from slaughtering each other. They’re all proud, and with Ajax and his vicious little friend amongst them I fear the worst.’

Odysseus cocked an eyebrow at Tyndareus. ‘What will you offer me if I can give you a practical answer?’

‘What’s the price of peace to an old man?’ Tyndareus replied. ‘I’ll give you anything that it’s in my power to give.’

‘Anything?’

‘Yes: gold; women for you and your men; even land if you want it. But only if I agree to your idea, and it works.’

Odysseus offered him his hand, which Tyndareus took. ‘That’s settled then. I shall take your offer of anything I wish, but first I’ll honour my half of the bargain. Agamemnon’s council of war will take place in two days’ time, when he expects your guests to support his raid against Troy. It won’t work of course, but that’s another matter altogether.

‘When the suitors are gathered together, and before any disagreement can begin, you must demand that they take an oath. As you said, they’re proud men and therefore you can be sure an oath will bind them. And to ensure they consent to the oath, tell them you won’t consider any man as a husband for Helen unless he agrees.’

‘But what oath?’

‘Simple,’ Odysseus smiled. ‘You must make them swear to protect Helen and her husband against anyone who would come between them. That’s the only way you can ensure they don’t fight each other for her, now or in the years to come. And if anyone breaks the oath, the others will be compelled to protect your daughter and the winning suitor. It’ll need to be accompanied by the most compelling sacrifice that your priests can devise, of course, but you shouldn’t have any problems after that.’

‘Yes,’ Tyndareus agreed as the easy brilliance of Odysseus’s suggestion grew on him. ‘Yes, that should do it. Even Ajax will obey an oath, for all his brute strength and his confidence about Helen. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself. You’re cleverer than you look, Odysseus.’

Odysseus smiled benignly. ‘Thank you, my lord. But what about my price?’

Tyndareus gave him a cautious look. ‘Well, I’m an honourable man, what do you want? You’ve sorted my problem out, so let me sort yours. Is it the land you want – you’ll be welcome to settle in Sparta.’

‘No,’ Odysseus said. The thought of not returning ultimately to Ithaca had never crossed his mind. ‘My price is a woman in your palace.’

‘Any woman?’

‘No. A princess.’

‘I thought you might say that,’ Tyndareus sighed, realizing he had been outmanoeuvred. ‘Well, you might be surprised to know she’s attracted to you, too.’

‘I am!’

‘No offence, my son, but so am I. Apparently she’s been thinking about you since she first saw you. Wants a simple life on Ithaca, she tells me. My only problem is how to explain it to Agamemnon. We had an agreement, you see.’

Odysseus had no idea why Tyndareus and Agamemnon should have an agreement about Penelope, but he was more surprised to learn she reciprocated his own feelings. After they had fallen out in this very same garden she had shown him nothing but hostility, even contempt, and he expected to have to drag her kicking and screaming from Sparta. He had long ago struck on the idea of an oath to keep the peace between the suitors, and soon after had thought of using it to employ Tyndareus’s influence in winning Penelope. But he had also lost sleep over the thought of marrying her against her will. It was customary that women were given away by their parents, to men they either did not know or did not have any passion for. For the most part they came to accept their lot and got on with their lives, and in the majority of cases familiarity bred love. But Penelope was different. She had an independent character that, he guessed, would not easily be tamed to love. So the news that she already loved him was a revelation and a wonderful blessing.

He smiled broadly. ‘And what about Icarius? What does he say?’

‘Icarius? What in Hades does he have to do with it? Helen’s my daughter, and if she wants to marry you, Odysseus, then you should thank the gods and take her.’

Chapter Twenty

THE GREAT OATH

The Ithacans were training as usual when Odysseus came striding across the broad courtyard, shouting for Halitherses. Eperitus glanced across whilst fending off blows from Damastor’s mock wooden sword and received a painful blow in the ribs for his lapse of concentration.

‘Never drop your guard, Eperitus,’ Damastor admonished him, before stepping back to prepare for another attack. But before he could renew their contest Halitherses called a halt to the drill. The two lines of sweating soldiers lowered their sticks and sat down in the well-trodden dirt.

‘Mentor, Eperitus, I want you too,’ Odysseus said, waving them over. He appeared unusually concerned. ‘The gods have shown me their favour, at last, but I need your counsel.’

Halitherses put Antiphus in charge and went to join the huddle about Odysseus. The prince folded his arms and gave them a sober look.

‘I needn’t remind you that we came here for Helen,’ he began.

‘We came here to win friends and make alliances,’ Mentor corrected. ‘We all know the prince of a small kingdom doesn’t stand a chance of winning Helen, not against men like Menelaus, Ajax and Diomedes.’

‘Maybe so, but things have changed. Tyndareus has offered me Helen for my wife.’

They looked at him in disbelief and for a moment nobody knew what to say. Then Halitherses cocked his head to one side and narrowed his eyes at the prince.

‘Is this another of your tricks?’

Odysseus smiled. ‘I can understand your disbelief, old friend, but I’m telling you the truth. Ever since the Ajaxes arrived Tyndareus has been worried. He thinks a fight will break out between Helen’s suitors when he announces her husband.’

‘Oh, I see now,’ Mentor said. ‘He’ll announce you as her husband so the rest of the suitors can kill you first.’

‘I’m serious, you idiot. He came to me for advice; he’s at a loss about how to stop them killing each other, and in return for a solution he offered me anything it was in his power to give. The answer was an easy one, of course – I simply told him to make the suitors swear to protect Helen and her husband from anybody who would come between them.’

Halitherses nodded. ‘An oath? That’s clever. No man of honour will break his sworn promise, however deeply hurt his pride may be.’