The Odyssey Book 4

Viking Saga Style

Sparta, sparkling,
 saw the princes,
with mirth and marriage
 for Menelaus' brood.
The two partook
 and tasted the feast
and Menelaus, master,
 made them welcome.

Of Troy the king talked,
 telling of endings,
of slow circling years,
 of Cypress and Nile.
Mourning he mouthed
 of a murdered king,
and Odysseus, away,
 his heir left lonely.

Telemachus' tears
 tore from his eyes.
Surely, the sire said,
 I see my friend's son.
His likeness beheld
 by Helen the queen too,
she took Telemachus
 unto her fair side.

"Into Troy's walls,
 he took disguise,
a beggar, beaten
 in base attire.
None marked the man
 but me alone;
I bathed his body,
 bound to silence."

Remarked Menelaus
 more of his father:
"The horse was hollow,
 in hiding we lay,
Odysseus's answer
 to enter the city.
Troy fell to our trap,
 but troubles came still.

"Our paths back prodigious,
 Proteus found me.
Your father's fate
 was foretold with ours:
My brother's blooding
 by wife and fell rival,
Ajax's ending
 in angry sea.

"Odysseus also
 angered the gods.
Wandering weary,
 wave-tossed he bides.
In Calypso's cave,
 a captive he dwells,
his dreams so distant,
 of dear beloved home."

 * * *

At home in the halls
 of the hero's dwelling,
the suitors now sought
 to slay the prince.
A boat they brought
 to bide in ambush:
in Asteris' aisle,
 attack to come.

Penelope, pale,
 prayed for son's safety.
Athena's aspect
 aimed for her dream.
In glowing guise of
 her great sister,
Pallas' protection
 was promised her son.

The Odyssey Book 5

Book 4 Synopsis

Telemachus and Pisistratus arrive on Sparta during a double wedding feast, for the marriages of Menelaus’ son and daughter. After they eat, Menelaus talks of Troy and of Odysseus and the plight of his son Telemachus, and when tears come to Telemachus’ eyes, is sure he is Odysseus’ son. Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife and queen, tells a story of Odysseus at Troy. Menelaus tells stories of Troy and his journey afterward, in which he meets the Old Man of the Sea, Proteus, who tells him of Odysseus’ imprisonment on Calypso’s island, among other things.

Meanwhile, the suitors learn of Telemachus’ journey, and plot to ambush his ship on its way back to Ithaca to assure one of themselves the inheritance of all Odysseus’ property. Penelope learns of this plan and despairs, but her distress is eased by Athena in a dream, who, in the guise of Penelope’s sister Ipthime, assures Penelope that she will protect her son.

---

Probably one or two more illustrations here would be good. I feel obliged to at least portray Helen of Troy talking to Telemachus. While she’s 20 years older here than when her beauty launched a thousand ships, she should probably still be conveyed as incredibly beautiful. I’m thinking somewhere between solo-album era Gwen Stefani and later Marilyn Monroe would work for modern palates.