King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

wealthy Ithacan noble

L

Lacedaemon

–

Sparta

Laertes

–

king of Ithaca

Leda

–

unfaithful wife of Tyndareus

Locris

–

region in north-eastern Greece

M

Menelaus

–

brother of Agamemnon

Menestheus

–

king of Athens

Mentes

–

Taphian warrior

Mentor

–

close friend of Odysseus

Messene

–

city in south-western Peloponnese

Mycenae

–

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

Myrmidons

–

the followers of Achilles

N

Neaera

–

Helen’s body slave

O

Odysseus

–

prince of Ithaca, son of Laertes

Oechalia

–

city in Thessaly, northern Greece

Olympus

–

mountain home of the gods

Orion

–

legendary hunter

P

Palamedes

–

suitor to Helen

Pandion

–

murdered king of Alybas

Parnassus (Mount)

–

mountain in central Greece and home of the Pythian oracle

Patroclus

–

friend of Achilles and captain of the Myrmidons

Peisandros

–

Myrmidon spearman

Peloponnese

–

southernmost landmass of Greek mainland

Penelope

–

Spartan princess, daughter of Icarius

Philoctetes

–

shepherd who lit the pyre of Heracles, for which he was awarded the hero’s bow and arrows

Phronius

–

Ithacan elder

Polybus

–

henchman of Eupeithes

Polytherses

–

twin brother of Polybus

Poseidon

–

god of the sea

Priam

–

king of Troy

Pythia

–

home of the chief oracle in Greece

Python

–

giant serpent, guardian of the Pythian oracle

Pythoness

–

high priestess of the Pythian oracle

R

Rhodes

–

island in the south-eastern Aegean

S

Salamis

–

island in the Saronic Gulf, west of Athens

Samos

–

neighbouring island to Ithaca, also under the rule of Laertes

Sparta

–

city in the south-eastern Peloponnese

T

Taphians

–

pirate race from Taphos

Taygetus Mountains

–

mountain range to the west of Sparta

Teucer

–

half-brother and companion to the greater Ajax

Thebes

–

city in central Greece

Theseus

–

Athenian hero who slew the Minotaur

Thrasios

–

priest of the Pythian oracle

Tiryns

–

city in north-eastern Peloponnese

Tlepolemos

–

prince of Rhodes

Troy

–

chief city of Ilium, on the eastern seaboard of the Aegean

Tyndareus

–

co-king of Sparta and father of Helen and Clytaemnestra

X

xenia

–

the custom of friendship towards strangers

Z

Zacynthos

–

southernmost of the Ionian islands under Laertes’s rule

Zeus

–

the king of the gods

book

ONE

Chapter One

MOUNT PARNASSUS

It was a chill dawn on the foothills of Mount Parnassus. The sun rose slowly in the east, infusing the dark, empty skies with a pale radiance. A collar of mist clung to the upper reaches of the purple mountainsides, shifting restlessly with the morning breeze. Eperitus shook the stiffness from his limbs and sniffed the air, which was sharp with the savoury prick of smoke. Pilgrims, he guessed, warming themselves by freshly made fires before the trek up to the oracle.

He decided against the luxury of heat. After a frugal breakfast of cold porridge he gathered his few possessions and followed the bank of a stream that fed down from the hills. The sloping route was crooked and stony, but it gave an even footing and its steep banks were topped with twisted olive trees that hid his progress from unwelcome eyes. In his right hand he carried two ash spears, their shafts smooth and black. He also kept a sword slung in a scabbard under his left arm, its blade sharpened to a keen edge. Hanging from his shoulder was his grandfather’s ox-hide shield, given to him by the old man before his death, whilst for added protection he wore a shaped leather corselet and greaves. A bronze helmet hid his long, black hair, its cheekguards tied loosely beneath his clean-shaven chin. His only other possessions were a thick cloak of brown wool, a bag of oats and stale bread, a skin of water and a pouch of copper pieces.

For a while as he walked the only sounds were the clear water washing over the stones of the riverbed and the sighing of the wind in the trees. Birdsong greeted the winter sun as it edged above the green hilltops, and he felt a lightness in his mood that he had not sensed since leaving his home in the north. The journey to Mount Parnassus had taken several days, during which he had walked alone with sombre thoughts, pondering the fateful events that had forced him from his home. But now, with his goal only a few hours’ march away, his spirits were reviving with every step.

His peace was suddenly disturbed when harsh shouts erupted from the other side of the river, followed by the angry clash of weapons. Men cried out in fear and confusion before, as suddenly as it had occurred, the din of combat ceased and left a ringing silence in its wake.

Like most young Greek nobles, Eperitus had been taught to fight from an early age and this training came to the fore as he crouched low and glanced about himself, his spears clutched tightly in his sweating palm. Taking up his shield by its handgrip, he strained his ears for further sounds of battle. Although he had yearned to see combat for as long as he could remember, as battle lurked unseen amidst the troughs and swells of the landscape opposite he felt his mouth grow dry and the blood pump thicker through his veins.