Glyn Iliffe - King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

‘And you chose Helen as your payment?’ Mentor asked. ‘I’ll wager a gold piece he wasn’t happy to hear you say that.’

‘That’s what’s so strange,’ Odysseus protested. ‘Even I wouldn’t be so bold as to ask for Helen’s hand in marriage. He offered her to me! And the most ridiculous thing about it is that she told him she wanted me.’

‘By the gods,’ Eperitus exclaimed. The blood turned cold in his veins as he realized Helen had acted on his suggestion and somehow convinced Tyndareus to choose Odysseus as her husband. The others looked at him expectantly. ‘What Odysseus says is true,’ he explained. ‘She told me she wanted to run away with him and live on Ithaca, so I said she should speak to her father about it.’

Odysseus, Mentor and Halitherses stared at him with incredulity. Behind them another round of sword practice had begun, but as Damastor no longer had a partner he had left the group and was sitting nearby. Eperitus thought of moving out of earshot, but Halitherses interrupted his thoughts.

‘And why would the most prized woman in Greece discuss her marriage with a soldier? Are you dreaming, Eperitus, or just drunk?’

‘I swear it by the gods,’ he answered sternly. He explained to them the circumstances of their meetings. ‘It’s nothing physical, don’t fear. She just wants a friend to talk to, someone from outside her normal life.’

‘So she does want to marry me,’ Odysseus mused. ‘But why?’

Eperitus shared with them the things Helen had said to him, how she hated palace life and longed for a less complicated existence. He felt like a traitor as he revealed the secrets of her heart to his friends, but was consoled by the knowledge that his words brought satisfaction to Odysseus, whose previous doubts were now washed away by understanding. However, he remained unusually solemn.

‘I’ve told Tyndareus I need a short time to think it over,’ he announced.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Mentor laughed. ‘Marry her! That’s why we came here.’

‘What’s to think about?’ Eperitus agreed, smiling along with Halitherses and Mentor. ‘Accept the offer and ask Tyndareus for a Spartan army to escort you back to Ithaca. Eupeithes and his Taphians will die of fright before we can put a foot on shore. And if anyone ever tries to take your rightful place again, you’ll have the word of every lord in Greece to come to your protection.’

Halitherses shook his grey head. ‘I never thought there’d be an end to all this feasting. And I never, ever thought the final feast would be in your honour, Odysseus. Do you realize this means we can actually go home? I was starting to believe we’d never see our own hearths again, but now we can do it. Zeus’s beard, I still can’t believe it.’

Odysseus sighed. ‘The problem is, I don’t love Helen.’

Mentor rolled his eyes heavenwards. ‘Since when were you a follower of Aphrodite? I remember you used to despise the Cyprian and all her arts. But if love is a condition of your marrying Helen, I’m certain one evening with her will satisfy you of that. That girl could overcome any man’s shyness.’

‘What I mean, Mentor, is that I don’t love Helen because I love another.’

The smiles fell from the faces of Mentor and Halitherses. Even Eperitus, who already knew of Odysseus’s other love, was surprised the prince seemed ready to abandon his mission for her sake.

‘Who?’ Mentor said, a hint of impatience in his voice. ‘No, don’t tell me. Just answer me this: can marrying this girl give us an army, or friends enough to win back Ithaca? Can it? Or are you prepared to sacrifice your home – our home – for the sake of a woman? Be reasonable, Odysseus. I don’t think Helen is a bad second best. Do you?’

‘It’s Penelope, isn’t it?’ Eperitus said.

Odysseus smiled wryly. ‘Yes, Eperitus, it’s Penelope.’

‘Penelope?’ Mentor echoed. ‘But she’s . . . She’s hardly Helen, is she? Odysseus, my friend, I implore you in the name of the people of Ithaca to accept the generous offer of Tyndareus. Penelope is a fine woman, but Helen is like a goddess.’

‘I don’t even know whether Penelope would have me,’ Odysseus replied, annoyed by Mentor’s reaction. ‘Up until now she’s been as cold as a mountain stream, so perhaps I don’t have a choice in the matter anyway.’

‘Then marry Helen so we can go home to Ithaca,’ Mentor said.

‘Ithaca?’ Odysseus scoffed. ‘I haven’t heard any of you mention Ithaca for weeks now. You were all so busy eating Tyndareus’s food and drinking his wine that I thought you’d forgotten about our home. And yet I’ve wrung my heart out over that island every moment of each day since we left her shores. Don’t any of you speak to me of home when you’ve already pushed it out of your own hearts.’

Mentor’s face darkened with anger, though he did not refute the indictment. ‘I can bear your accusation, Odysseus, because you’re my friend and will one day be my king. And there’s truth in your words, which no Ithacan can deny. But here’s another truth: your choice is not between Helen and Penelope, but between home and love. We act only to fulfil the destiny set out for us by the gods, but as long as that remains a secret I advise you not to decide too hastily.’

With that he turned and crossed the courtyard to the palace. Halitherses patted Odysseus’s arm, then went to rejoin the men, calling Damastor back to his feet on the way. Eperitus made to follow him, but Odysseus put a large hand on his shoulder.

‘Stay a moment, Eperitus.’

‘What is it, my lord?’

‘You stayed quiet whilst Mentor did all the talking, but I want to know what you think. Would I be mad to turn Helen down?’

Eperitus looked across the courtyard as Halitherses barked a series of orders. The Ithacans threw their wooden swords into a pile and formed a double line behind their captain, before following him out of the palace gates at a gentle run. Part of him wanted to be with them, to enjoy the simple pleasures of physical exercise and escape the burdens that weighed on him. But he also sensed Odysseus’s internal struggle, and had to earn the trust the prince had placed in him.

‘If you marry Helen, your fame will spread across Greece,’ he began. ‘You’ll have powerful allies and the means to win back your homeland.’

‘But if I choose Penelope,’ Odysseus picked up, ‘and can persuade her to marry me, then our ability to win back Ithaca will be limited to whatever power Icarius holds. Even assuming it’s enough, I’ll return to being an obscure prince, eventually to rule over a small kingdom of poor islands. Not much of a choice, is it?’

‘She’d make a wonderful wife though,’ Eperitus said.

He liked Penelope, who had always made a point of talking to him whenever they met, whether it was in the palace grounds or at the nightly feasts. At first she had been polite and somewhat formal, but that was just the veneer she applied in public and it soon wore off as their conversations became more frequent. Underneath he had the pleasure of discovering a woman full of active emotions and animated thought processes, constantly observing and digesting her surroundings. She was also witty and clever, even to the extent of being cunning. Eperitus had watched with pleasure how, on several occasions, she had skilfully repulsed the attentions of Little Ajax, who had developed a liking for her. She would frustrate his advances with tricks and deceptions that would always allow her to escape from his odious clutches – a characteristic that was suited to Odysseus’s quick mind.

‘And didn’t the oracle say you should marry a Spartan woman to chase the thieves from your house?’ he continued. ‘Penelope is a Spartan, too, though you might have to equip her with a shield and a spear if marrying her is to free Ithaca from Eupeithes.’