The Oath

16

I got up all the same the next morning before the sun was too high on the horizon, so I wouldn’t give the servants and handmaids, my dear nurse and even my own parents, too much reason to speculate about what had gone on that night.

I found my father hoeing in the garden, as he sometimes took pleasure in doing. He stood up straight, wiped away his sweat and walked towards me.

‘Son, I must tell you that you’ve brought an exemplary bride to this house, respectful and modest; you would never know she was the niece of Tyndareus and Leda, the sovereigns of Sparta. And I’m proud of you, Odysseus. The news of what you accomplished has already reached my ears. . yes, it was Nestor’s men; they told me. You’ve made the impossible happen: you’ve restored peace and unity among the sons of the Argonauts before a quarrel with disastrous consequences could even get started.’

‘Father, I-’

‘Do you know what this means for me? It means that soon I’ll be able to retire to my farm in the countryside to plant grapevines and prune olive trees, because you will be able to govern in my place with far more wisdom than I’m capable of.’

‘No, atta,’ I replied, ‘you’ll sail the seas and sit on the throne of Ithaca for as long as you live. There are still a great number of things I need to learn before I even think about taking your place.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll always be with you if you need my advice. And so will your mother. Look, here comes Euriclea with your breakfast, nice and abundant from what I can see,’ he said with a wink.

Our hearts laughed, with a joy that knew no shadows. The sun shone brilliant on our island, the air was sweetly scented. I had my parents and my wife who loved me, and I loved them. The people all over the island were absorbed in their daily occupations. .

‘You’re missing something; you know that, don’t you?’ my father said abruptly. I was sure he could read my thoughts.

‘What is it, atta? What could be lacking in my life?’

‘I don’t know, but your grandfather certainly does. In fact, he’s sent a message that he’s expecting you to come and pick up your wedding present.’

‘Grandfather. . Of course! I’ll leave with the new moon, in five days’ time.’

‘Tomorrow, pai. That cantankerous old man doesn’t like to be kept waiting.’

‘Tomorrow?’

He nodded.

When Penelope learned about it, she was surprised, or more likely peeved, but she said nothing and came to say goodbye at the port when I weighed anchor with the same comrades who had come with me to Nestor’s Pylos. ‘I’ll be thinking of you every moment,’ she whispered in my ear. And then she added, smiling: ‘Once good and once bad.’ I smiled as well and kissed her.

During our crossing, we spoke at length of what had happened in Sparta, and my friends all wanted to know the same thing: ‘How beautiful is Helen?’ Once that was out of the way, they queried me as to how enormous Ajax of Salamis was, and if Peleus’ son, Achilles of Phthia, was truly invincible.

‘No man is invincible,’ I replied, ‘but for now it doesn’t look like there’s anyone capable of beating him.’

They didn’t mention the bride I had brought from Sparta, nor did they ask any questions. For the sake of respect. They already treated me as though I were a king and, if on one hand I quite enjoyed it, on the other hand I was sorry.

We arrived at port that very same night, thanks to a stiff, steady westerly wind. My uncles were waiting for me, with a couple of servants who offered abundant food to my comrades on board the ship. We barely said hello. They’d become no less taciturn with the passage of time. I got on the chariot and we headed up to Autolykos’ stronghold. The sun was setting into the sea at our backs, staining the mountains in front of us red. For a moment everything around me took on a red tint, and I became quite uneasy. There was something in the air and in the sky, in the ground and the rocks looming nearby that I could not understand. Until I was brought into the presence of the lord of the fortress of Acarnania: Autolykos walked up to me smiling. From within came the fragrance of roasting meats and fresh bread. He embraced me and all my fears vanished.

‘Pappo!’ I said. ‘Here we are again!’

‘Yes, it seems just yesterday that we were out hunting together and you were just a boy, and here you are married now with a princess of the most powerful dynasty of Achaia. You’re a grown man! I know what you did in Sparta and I’m proud of you. But. . don’t you want to see your present, pai?’

‘Certainly,’ I replied. ‘Isn’t that why I came?’

Autolykos laughed, took me by the arm and led me to the stables where he kept the horses.

‘Here he is: his name is Argus, he’s three months old, and he’s yours.’

A puppy! Tawny-coated, with a lighter spot between his eyes.

‘He’ll be a great hunter, like his father and his mother,’ continued grandfather. ‘They’re from a very sturdy, long-lived breed that comes from Thrace. Go on, pick him up, you have to become friends.’

I did pick him up and it was love instantly. He licked me and wagged his tail as if we’d known each other forever.

‘Thank you, pappo, it’s a wonderful gift. I like him so much and he likes me too, doesn’t he?’

‘How long are you staying?’ he asked me.

‘Not long. I’ve only been married two days.’

‘I understand, but I’m happy you made it.’

‘So am I, pappo,’ I answered.

We were silent for a while and then we walked back to the house. ‘Let’s go to dinner now and speak of happy things. You know. . I think this will be our last.’

‘Why, pappo? You’re strong as a bull and not afraid of anybody.’

‘Not because of me, pai. Because of you.’

This caught me unawares and I didn’t know what to say. I felt a sudden surge of fear, what they call green fear; you can’t even defend yourself from it. My happiness from the days before vanished in an instant. The old wolf had spoken to me with a firm, tranquil tone of voice. I had to answer him the same way: ‘I know that a man can die young, before his parents and even before his grandparents. I’m ready.’

‘No, that’s not what I mean. I simply don’t think you’ll be back to see me again before I die. I can feel it. And that’s why you’ll find a chest on your ship with my true wedding gift. Don’t tell anyone it was me who gave it to you, don’t open it until you’re back in your own home and don’t let your men open it either. Sailors are curious. You can’t trust them. And now, listen well. Whatever happens, make sure it never leaves your home. Never.’

‘Pappo, before we go in and get drunk I have to ask you something.’

‘If I’ve ever been to the Sanctuary of the Wolf King?’ he said, baring his teeth in a grimace. He still thought it was funny to scare me. ‘Yes, and I don’t know what kind of meat it was I ate, but don’t worry, I never grew a tail. Let’s just say that this story helped earn me a certain respect.’

We entered and he had me sit on his right. He broke bread and carved a slice of the best meat for me. I watched him and wanted to think that he’d told me the truth, because that was the most natural thing to believe. On the other hand, I knew that lying was the art he loved best. Argus yelped now and then at my feet and I’d throw him a bit of boar skin or a bone with a little meat to gnaw on. I think that our bond of reciprocal loyalty was born that night.

When grandfather was so drunk he rolled, burping, under the table, the uncles took him to bed, and I never had the chance to say goodbye. We had said everything there was to say and he’d given me my gifts, and so there would be no reason to see him the next day. He hated farewells anyway and I thought I knew why. He preferred for us to picture him alone in his den, snarling at the whole world.

As soon as they saw me, my comrades were quick to point out that something had been delivered for me, pointing to a sealed wooden chest sitting at the stern, near the helmsman’s post. They were greatly disappointed when I left it there without even touching it; they didn’t dare even ask me if I knew what was inside.

The voyage back turned out to be more difficult, because there was a northerly wind which abruptly whipped out from in between the islands, striking the right side of the ship. We even had to haul down the sails at times and use the oars. When we arrived it was quite late and nearly dark. No one was there waiting because they surely thought we’d be arriving the next day. Two of my comrades bound up the chest with a rope and knotted it at the sides to create a couple of handles and carried it home for me. It wasn’t so heavy, but long and very bulky. I held Argus in my arms so that he wouldn’t get lost.

At the palace everyone was sleeping except for Penelope, who was up waiting and apparently not in a good humour. Things did not improve when she saw the puppy.

‘You’re not thinking of keeping him here with us in the bedroom, are you?’ she said.

‘We can leave him outside but you’ll hear him yelping all night and no one will get any sleep.’

She gave up, but it wasn’t easy to wrap her up in my arms. She was afraid that the dog was watching.

After we’d made love, my bride fell asleep and I left the room barefooted without making a sound: the floor planks had been fitted and nailed so precisely that they didn’t creak or groan under my weight. Argus lifted his head and padded down the stairs after me, to where the chest had been placed. I went into the corridor and lit an oil lamp, put the chest on the floor and broke the seals securing it.

A bow!

A huge, magnificent horn bow. The bowstring was loose: it was made of bull’s tendons cut into strips and wound up into a fine, thin braid. I took the bow out of the chest and grasped the top end with my left hand. Leaning my knee against the grip, I held the end of the string fast with my right hand, straining to pull the two together, until the top ring of the string hooked on to the end of the bow. How long had it been since that weapon was strung? I tested the string: a first light touch at its middle produced a dull rumble that became more strident when I pulled it tauter and let go. This had to be a tremendously powerful weapon. Argus yelped softly as if he had an idea of what the object was used for.

I closed it back up in the chest and went back to lie down next to Penelope but I couldn’t close my eyes in the dark. Autolykos’ gift and his words of warning filled my mind: ‘It must never leave your home: never.’ Both he and my mother had a gift: they couldn’t exactly foresee what would happen, but they would feel things a long way off, like when animals feel an earthquake before Poseidon shakes the ground with his trident. I don’t have the gift and so I couldn’t understand the reason for his words. When the time came, I would understand.

I got up early and darkened the windows so Penelope could sleep as long as she liked, then went out with Argus and got him some fresh milk from the stables. My father came out soon afterwards and instantly saw the dog.

‘Is this your grandfather’s gift?’

‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘You’re good at lying, just as he is. I heard a bowstring vibrating last night. I know the voice of a weapon like that one. How often they sowed death among my comrades when we descended from the ship to plunder some unknown land!’

‘This is my grandfather’s gift,’ I repeated, pointing at Argus.

‘Show it to me. I heard its voice last night. Every bow has his own and this one strikes terror into a man’s heart.’

I couldn’t continue denying the truth: I took him to the room where I kept the chest and opened it in front of his eyes. Laertes the hero was stupefied at the sight and held out his hand to stroke the horn, black and shiny.

‘This weapon comes from very far away,’ he said. ‘Perhaps the gift of a chieftain or a king, perhaps a spoil won in the sacking of a foreign city.’ His hand closed over the grip.

‘Grandfather told me this weapon must never leave this house. What did he mean by that?’

‘It means that it must never be taken to sea; it must remain on the island. Perhaps it’s a talisman, a magic object that can keep misfortune at bay. Your grandfather has been generous. This is a gift worthy of a king, my son.’

My life resumed quietly again on the island. Mentor often journeyed to the mainland and brought us news about what was happening there. In Mycenae, Atreus had been killed by his brother Thyestes and the story Mentor had to tell recounted such an atrocious chain of vengeance that certain parts of it were actually hard to believe. Agamemnon had managed to banish his uncle Thyestes from the city with the help of his brother Menelaus and it was said that he wanted to claim the throne for himself. Menelaus and his wife Helen were still living in Sparta. King Tyndareus was hoping that upon his death his two twin sons, Argonauts Castor and Pollux, would reign together in Sparta.

Argus was growing fast, well fed thanks to the abundant leftovers from the banquets we frequently held for visitors and guests. I had started to take him hunting. I always carried the great bow that grandfather Autolykos had given me. I’d learned to handle it well; it felt like it had always been mine. Even Damastes was amazed at how light and manageable it became in my hands: it was as if the bow gave me strength and not the opposite. Argus had learned to drive deer to where I lay in wait. I never missed a single one.

One day Damastes came to see me as I was skinning a buck and cutting the meat into pieces so that the cooks could purge it of its gamey odour and prepare it for roasting.

‘I’ve come to say goodbye,’ he said. ‘I have nothing more to teach you, my prince. If I stay I’ll only end up becoming bored or feeling useless.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I answered. ‘I owe you so much. The days we’ve spent together have been full of adventure, and of hard work as well! You forged the boy who was put in your charge into a man. If you wish, I’d like you to stay here with us as a member of the family and as my counsellor. Think about it, please. You’d be happy with us.’

‘I thank you. But as I’ve just said, my prince, I would only become bored waiting to grow old. It’s best that I return north, to my home on the mainland, to live among the bold horsemen and adventurous sailors who dwell there. I come from the land of the centaurs, you know. A man like me cannot wait for the sun to set forever; I have to chase after it, remain in a beam of its light until my strength serves me, and then die on my feet, if I can.’

My rough and ready instructor knew how to speak like the most learned sage and his words would remain in my heart for the rest of my life. My father rewarded him with ingots of copper from the mines of Cyprus, along with a sword taken from his personal armoury, made of sharpened bronze with an ivory hilt, and gave him a ship that would take him home. Argus barked loudly as he watched the ship leaving the port as if to say goodbye, and Damastes replied with a wave of his hand. I never saw him again, but I liked to imagine him walking through the dense woods and the rugged mountainside, waiting in silence in the evenings for the centaurs to descend from the heights and drink at the springs. My youth went with him. That evening Penelope told me she was carrying my child.

I loved her even more then, if such a thing were possible. A child would crown our perfect life. It would be such a gift to see how much of me and how much of his mother would come alive in him! I wanted a son, but a little girl who resembled the only woman I’d ever loved in my life would fill me equally with joy. Euriclea was more attentive than ever to Penelope, fretting that she’d lost weight or that she looked pale, and nagging her to take better care of herself. At the end of the year, when the day of the birth was drawing near, I built another bed on the ground floor with the pretext that it would be easier for Penelope not to have to go up and down the steps all the time. In reality, both of us were jealous of our wedding chamber, and we wanted no one to discover our secret. Only Euriclea was allowed in.

A boy was born, and I gave him his name, before someone else could show up and give him a name I didn’t like. I called him Telemachus, because one day he would become an archer and I would leave him the bow that grandfather Autolykos had given me, the most powerful and extraordinary weapon in all the palace. All of the men in the house said he looked like me, all the women that he looked like my mother, and everyone agreed that he would be a handsome boy. One day I went to the peak of Mount Neritus to offer a sacrifice to Athena: a lamb that I’d had my shepherds choose as the fattest in the flock. I immolated the lamb on a rock in the centre of a clearing full of blue flowers and red poppies and made a burnt offering of its flesh. My mother made a sacrifice to Hera, who assists women in childbirth, to thank her that all had gone well.

Argus immediately adapted to the new arrival and often, when he wasn’t out hunting with me, he would curl up at the foot of the cradle and whenever the baby let out a wail he would put his paws on the side of the bed and lick Telemachus’ little hand, as if to say, you aren’t alone, there’s someone here watching out for you.

Penelope chose a nurse from among the maidservants to make sure the baby got the best care possible, but she liked to keep him with her as much as she could. Sometimes they even kept me company on my boat when I went out fishing.

One day, as we were sitting on the palace steps and watching the sun set over the sea, she said to me: ‘You’ve paved the way for a long period of peace in Achaia, so that your son will live as long as possible in a world without bloodshed. The bad omen in your name has never come true. Look at the sun sinking into the sea, listen to the voices of the children playing in the village! I’m so happy that I veiled myself for you, Odysseus. We’ll be able to go back to Sparta soon, and my father will understand that it’s not power and armies that make people happy, it’s wanting the same things, living in peace, watching your children grow so they can have a better life than you had.’

I took her hand between mine and held it there until the sun had disappeared into the sea and Euriclea had called us for dinner. But Mentor told us that my father had important matters to discuss with me and Penelope preferred to have her dinner served in the women’s quarters. My father and I ate together in the great hall.

Some of my friends were there too, the ones who had come with me when I visited grandfather on the mainland: Eurylochus, Perimedes, Elpenor and Euribates. My father’s advisers were also present, as were his gamekeeper and Mentor. I was sorry that Damastes’ place was empty. Lamb on a spit was served, with toasted bread, olives and partridge eggs, and good red wine from Messenia. Nestor always remembered to send it to us, every year, and we thanked him with sheep and goat hides and pork sausages.

When the tables were cleared after dinner, Mentor turned to the king and said: ‘Prince Odysseus, our guests and I are all anxious to hear what you have to tell us.’

My father had wine poured for everyone and then began to speak: ‘At the end of the summer you, Mentor, will summon all the people of Ithaca to gather in the main square of the city. Each of you present here will convince all those you know to be present. The herald will visit every household to announce the date of the assembly. I wish you all a serene night.’

I glanced at him to try to gauge from his look just what he was thinking, but I didn’t ask questions. A buzz ran through the room. Everyone was wondering what could have happened to cause the king to call for an assembly of the people and what would happen next. But since my father had dismissed us, there was no excuse to linger and everyone said goodbye then left to go to their own homes. Once all our friends had left, only Mentor and I remained with my father, who poured more wine with his own hand and continued.

‘Son,’ he said, ‘you’re a man now and have shown that you can handle great responsibility. .’

I shot an inquisitive glance at Mentor, but it didn’t seem that he had any idea of where my father was going either.

‘. . on your mission to Sparta you showed great sagacity and skill. All of Achaia should be grateful to you. You refrained from courting the most beautiful woman in the world, but chose the bride who was most beautiful in your own eyes, most judicious and deserving of you. You built your wedding chamber with your own hands, you possess a formidable weapon which attests to the consideration and esteem of the most irascible and arrogant man I’ve ever met, your grandfather. And finally you have generated a son, you are the head of a family. You can be the head of your people

‘No, atta!’ my heart cried out, but no voice came from between my teeth. My father stared, with those iridescent blue eyes of his, into the depths of my soul.

‘. . You can be the king of Ithaca!’