King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

‘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.’

Odysseus smiled. ‘That’s why I place so much trust in you, Eperitus. You say the things I want to hear. But you forget Athena said Helen would marry Menelaus.’

‘Then all the more reason to choose Penelope. If Tyndareus is prepared to offer Helen to you, I’m certain you could ask his help to marry Penelope instead.’

‘That isn’t my point. Don’t you see, Eperitus: I have the power to break my own destiny. The goddess says I’ll not marry Helen, and that Zeus himself has decided she will be given to Menelaus. And yet Tyndareus offers his daughter to me, and Helen is willing! What if I accepted his offer?’

The thought hit Eperitus like a bolt of lightning. It made his flesh creep and the hair on his neck stand up because the consequences were too frightening to contemplate. He looked at Odysseus and found his intense eyes staring straight back at him.