But when he held out the oar to demonstrate the mistake, he saw how it might indeed have been taken for the kind of wooden paddle that the harvesters use to make the draught that separates the wheat from the chaff when the time comes to winnow the garnered crop.
The man smiled at him then. ‘Don’t you know who I am, Odysseus?’
Astonished that this Libyan should know his name, Odysseus peered more closely into a face that was neither strange to him nor yet quite familiar.
‘It’s been a long time since we last met, but surely you haven’t forgotten me?’ The smile broadened into a familiar grin. ‘I stole a flower for you once.’
Looking more closely into a dark face that had been much younger the last time he saw it, Odysseus said, ‘Hermes?’
‘Who else? Don’t you know that you’d be lost without me? And it seems you need my help again. Harvest time has come and there are things to be done. Here’s what you have to do. Take this winnowing fan that used to be an oar and plant it deep in the ground; then offer up a ram, a bull and a breeding-boar to Poseidon. A tree will grow from your oar. A tree even stronger than the one from which you built your marriage bed.’
And with that Hermes gave a little chuckle, shook the white-ribboned wand that he now held in his hand, and disappeared.
Having listened in wonder to Penelope’s account, I said, ‘So it was truly the god in his dream!’
‘And perhaps also at Zarzis, and again on Aiaia, and while he was building his boat on Ogygia.’
‘But was it clear to Odysseus what his dream must mean?’
Penelope smiled. Haven’t I said that it formed the root of our life together? Where he had once used only the oar to steer his life, always questing outwards, not searching for what lay hidden within, now he had begun to make use of the winnowing fan. He sorted the wheat from the chaff in the granary of his heart; and then, as Hermes had bidden him, he freely made an offering of the wild energy that had driven him for so long. In so doing he became a deep-rooted tree. After that, there was no more talk of roving.’
Penelope stood up, gathering the folds of her dress. ‘Now if you will forgive me, Phemius, I wish to be alone.’
And with her customary grace, she stepped through the hall’s noisy heat to pray for the voyaging soul of Odysseus in the silence of the night outside.
Glossary of Characters
Deities
Aphrodite Goddess of many aspects, mostly associated with Love and Beauty
Apollo God with many aspects, including Prophecy, Healing, Pestilence and the Arts
Ares God of War, twin brother of Eris
Artemis Virgin Goddess of the Wild
Athena Goddess with many aspects, including Wisdom, Power and Protection
Boreas God of the North Wind
Dionysus God of wine
Eris Goddess of Strife and Discord, twin sister to Ares
Eros God of Love, son of Aphrodite
Hephaestus God of fire and craftsmanship
Hera Goddess Queen of Olympus, wife of Zeus, presides over marriage
Hermes God with many aspects, including eloquence, imagination, invention. A slippery fellow
Neith Libyan Goddess of Lake Tritonis
Persephone Goddess of the Underworld, wife of Hades and daughter of Demeter
Poseidon God with many aspects, ruler of the Sea, Earthquakes and Horses
Zeus King of Olympus, ruler of the gods
Mortals
Acamus Argive warrior, son of Theseus
Acastus King of Iolcus
Achilles son of Peleus and Thetis, leader of the Myrmidons, father of Neoptolemus
Aeacus King of Aegina, father of Peleus and Telamon
Aegisthus son of Thyestes, cousin to Agamemnon and Menelaus
Aeneas Prince of the Dardanians
Aeolus King of Aeolia, father of Canace and Macareus
Aesacus priest of Apollo at Thymbra
Aethra mother of Theseus, once Queen of Troizen, now bondswoman to Helen
Agamemnon son of Atreus, King of Mycenae, High King of Argos
Agialeia Lady of Tiryns, wife of Diomedes
Aias Locrian captain
Ajax Argive hero, son of Telamon, cousin of Achilles
Alcinous King of Scheria, father of Nausicaa
Amphinomus prince of Dulichion, son of Nisus, friend and suitor to Penelope
Andromache wife of Hector
Antenor counsellor to Priam
Anticleia mother of Odysseus, wife of King Laertes
Antilochus son of Nestor
Antinous son of Eupeithes, suitor to Penelope
Aerope Queen of Mycenae, wife of Atreus and mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus
Arete wife of King Alcinous and mother of Nausicaa
Astyanax son of Hector and Andromache
Atreus King of Mycenae, brother of Thyestes and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus
Axylusa Zacynthian sailor
Baius helmsman on The Fair Return
Briseis Dardanian maiden captured by Achilles
Calchas Trojan priest of Apollo who defects to the Argives
Calypso priestess of Aiaia, sibyl at Cuma, and lover of Odysseus
Canace daughter of King Aeolus and sister of Macareus
Capys son of King Priam
Cassandra daughter of King Priam
Cheiron King of the Centaurs
Chryseis daughter of Apollo’s priest in Thebe, captive of Agamemnon
Cinyras King of Cyprus
Circe High Priestess of Aiaia
Clitus sailor on The Fair Return
Clymene Andromache’s serving woman
Clytaemnestra Queen of Mycenae, daughter of Tyndareus & Leda, wife of Agamemnon.
Ctesippus son of Polytherses, suitor to Penelope
Deidameia daughter of King Lycomedes, mother of Neoptolemus by Achilles
Deiphobus son of King Priam
Demodocus bard of Scheria
Demonax captain of The Swordfish
Demophon brother of Acamas. Son of Theseus
Diomedes Lord of Tiryns, Argive hero
Diotima wise woman on Ithaca
Dolon fisherman of Ithaca
Doricleus counsellor at Mycenae
Electra daughter of Agamemnon & Clytaemnestra
Elpenor Ithacan warrior and sailor on The Fair Return
Eteoneus chief minister of Sparta
Eumaeus farmer and herdsman of Ithaca
Eupeithes a nobleman of Ithaca and father of Antinous
Eurybates Herald of Ithaca
Eurycleia servant of Anticleia, formerly nurse to Odysseus
Eurylochus lieutenant to Odysseus
Eurymachus suitor to Penelope
Eurynomus son of Aegyptius, suitor to Penelope
Glaucus captain of the Nereid
Grinus Ithacan warrior and sailor on The Fair Return
Guneus Thessalian warrior and captain
Halitherses soothsayer of Ithaca
Hanno nomad of the Garamantes
Hattusilis Emperor of the Hittites
Hecuba Queen of Troy, wife of Priam and mother of Hector
Helen daughter of Tyndareus/Zeus and Leda. Queen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus.
Heracles hero
Hermes Libyan boy
Hermione daughter of Menelaus and Helen
Hylax Phoenician trader
Icarius Spartan nobleman, brother of Tyndareus, father of Penelope
Idas Counsellor in Mycenae
Idomeneus King of Crete
Iliona Queen of Thracian Chersonese, wife of Polymnestor and daughter of Priam
Ilus Grandfather of King Priam
Iphigenaia daughter of Agamemnon & Clytaemnestra
Irus Ithacan beggar
Jason hero, leader of the Argonauts
Laertes King of Ithaca, father of Odysseus
Laodice daughter of King Priam
Laomedon King of Troy
, father of Priam
Leodes priest of Apollo in Ithaca, suitor to Penelope
Macareus son of King Aeolus and brother of Canace
Marpessa serving woman to Clytaemnestra
Mastor Ithacan warrior and sailor on The Fair Return
Meda Queen of Crete and wife of Idomeneus
Medon Ithacan herald
Meges leader of the Dulichians
Melantho serving woman to Penelope
Memnon Trojan ally, leader of the Ethiopians
Menelaus King of Sparta, husband of Helen, brother to Agamemnon
Menestheus Argive captain, King of Athens
Mentes Taphian ambassador
Mentor nobleman of Ithaca
Molossus son of Neoptolemus by Andromache
Mopsa woman of Aiaia
Nauplius King of Euboea, father of Palamedes
Nausicaa daughter of King Alcinous
Neoptolemus son of Achilles, also known as Pyrrhos
Nereids fifty daughters of the sea-god Nereus
Nestor King of Pylos
Nisus King of Dulichion and father of Amphimonus
Odysseus Lord of Ithaca
Orestes son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra
Palamedes Prince of Euboea, son of King Nauplius
Paris son of King Priam, lover of Helen
Patroclus son of Menoetius, beloved friend of Achilles
Peiraeus friend of Phemius and Telemachus
Peisenor herald of Ithaca
Peisistratus son of Nestor
Pelagon bard of Mycenae
Pellas Samian suitor to Penelope
Pelopia daughter ofThyestes and second wife of Atreus, mother of Aegisthus
Pelops father of Atreus and Thyestes, grandfather of Agamemnon
Penelope daughter of Icarius, cousin to Helen and Clytaemnestra and wife of Odysseus
Perimedes sailor on The Fair Return
Phemius bard of Ithaca
Philoctetes Aeolian archer
Philoetius herdsman of Ithaca
Philona friend of Nausicaa
Phoenix Myrmidon warrior
Polites Ithacan Lieutenant and sailor on The Fair Return
Polydamna wise woman to Helen
Polydorus youngest son of King Priam
Polymnestor King of Thracian Chersonese
Polytherses Lord of Same and father of Ctesippus
Polyxena daughter of King Priam
Priam son of Laomedon, King of Troy, also known as Podarces
Pylades son of King Strophius and friend of Orestes
Sinon cousin to Odysseus
Sthenelus King of Mycenae
Strophius King of Phocis and father of Pylades
Talthybius Argive herald
Teiresias Prophet at the Oracle of the Dead at Cuma
Telamon father of Ajax and brother to Peleus
Telegonus son of Odysseus and Circe
Telemachus son of Odysseus and Penelope
Terpis father of Phemius the Ithacan bard
Theano high priestess of Athena in Troy, wife of Antenor
Theoclymenus seer from Hyperesia
Thersites Argive soldier and kinsman of Diomedes
Theseus hero, King of Athens, conqueror of Crete
Thesprotus King of Sicyon
Thetis daughter of Cheiron, wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles
Thrasymedes son of Nestor
Thyestes brother of Atreus, uncle to Agamemnon and Menelaus, father of Aegisthus
Tyndareus King of Sparta, father of Clytaemnestra and Helen, husband of Leda
Acknowledgements
Because the truth of myth is subtler than the truth of fact, myths never take a fixed and final form. Even among the early poets and tragedians of Greece, there were many variations, both of detail and substance, in the way those powerful tales were told. So any reworking of such mythic material must either choose among the available alternatives or tell it differently again. For that reason, and because I wanted to tell this story in a new way for our own time, readers already familiar with Homer’s Odyssey, with the Oresteia of Aeschylus, and with the Trojan plays of Euripides, may have found that aspects of this novel ran counter to their expectations. Nevertheless my debt to those poets is immense, as also to Book VI of Vergil’s Aeneid, to Ovid’s account of Macareus in his Metamorphoses, and to Herodotus’ description of the various tribes of Libya in Book IV of his Histories. If this novel encourages readers to return to those incomparable sources, or to visit them for the first time, then perhaps the unscholarly liberties I have taken with them will be justified.
There are debts to contemporaries which should also be acknowledged. Once again Robert Graves proved a provocative guide through this mythic terrain, particularly in his comments on the story of Odysseus in The Greek Myths. I should have been quite unable to follow Odysseus on his journey through the underworld without R. F. Paget’s bold, pioneering work to uncover the Cumaean Oracle of the Dead, as recorded in his book In the Footsteps of Orpheus (The Scientific Book Club 1967), and without the further research into that important site reported by my friend Robert Temple in his Netherworld (Century 2002). For inspiration about the nature of the rituals on Aiaia, I drew on Normandi Ellis’s translations from the Egyptian Book of the Dead in Awakening Osiris (Phanes Press 1988), and I found Peter Kingsley’s illuminating study of Parmenides, In the Dark Places of Wisdom (Element Books 1999), to be an invaluable study of incubation rituals (as well as of so much else) in the Velian culture of Hellenic Italy. I strongly recommend all these books to those who wish to know more about the oracular and initiatory rites that lie behind this work of fiction.
Then there are other friends to thank: Sarah Tregellas, who sent me photographs of Ithaca, an island I hope to visit one day; Keith Sagar who generously shared his thoughts on the Odyssey; Jules Cashford who nurtured my faith in this enterprise, and John Moat whose wise good humour focussed my imagination. The encouragement of my editors Jane Johnson and Emma Coode was there for me throughout, as was, indispensably, the patient help of my wife Phoebe Clare.
L.C.
The Bell House
2004