dogs back home, but hunger has made palatable. To watch the carrion birds circling the fields and feeding on the dead not yet retrieved and knowing that your final fate may rest with them. To be set upon at night by the hoards of rats that feasted on the dead and the injured. To hear the screams throughout the night of injured men being cared for by men that barely knew their trade. To see dear friends struck down with limbs severed or guts spilled upon the ground, knowing that nothing can done for them but swift dispatch. To go into battle with the fear that you may show cowardice or fail your fellow warriors or even fear that you will be crippled by wounding. To realize that you may never see your beloved wife and child again and they you. To spend nights alone thinking of home and worrying about those you love back home. The chance of death is always present; an arrow cannot distinguish its target between low and high born, great warrior and common soldier. All these thing and many more prey upon a warrior whether King or camp helper. There are men that glory in the fight, like Achilles and Ajax, but they do not represent those that fight in the ranks, who die in obscurity without their loved ones even knowing. War is not glorious except for those that revel in the gore. I will not deny that I too sought glory for both my son and myself, but the price is high and many times beyond paying.
CHORUS: And yet men are drawn to it like insects to the flame of a candle, to be extinguished in a puff of smoke.
EUMELUS: Battle is an experience like no other. As battle approaches, anxiousness gives way to an anger and lust for the blood of your enemy. Then the rush with spear and shield toward the opposing warriors, war cries ringing in your ears. The lethal grabbling when you attempt to impale your opponent upon your spear and his attempt to do the same to you. You look directly into his eyes and see the determination that you know shines in yours. The fight against a worthy opponent lasting for what seems hours, though in reality only minutes, as each of you seek the mistake or weakness that will led to a fatal blow. Then the thrust into his body, the flow of blood that seals his fate and makes you the victor. There is nothing like the elation of your victory in single combat and your escape from death; it is beyond any imagining by those who have not experienced it. Though the horrors of war are numerous, this feeling of having overcome another in mortal combat still draws men to fight. It is only later when blood has cooled that thoughts of those that you have killed come back to haunt you. Was he a father like yourself? Did he have a loving wife? Was he a good man? Their faces float through your dreams like ghosts and remind you constantly of your own mortality.
CHORUS: Our men were not out for glory and did not fight for honor. They went in obedience to their King. To tell us of these horrors only makes our losses greater. This is little comfort to us who have lost our loved ones. What is to become of us?
EUMELUS: Enough of this. Go back to your spinning and looms. You are furies sent to harass me for concerns over which I have no control. No longer darken my return with complaints. Be gone.
The Chorus leaves the King’s presence, and Teuthras quickly approaches the King.
TEUTHRAS: Oh King, I need to speak of a matter of great importance.
EUMELUS: I have to hurry to prepare for the feast, I do not have time for idle discussions.
TEUTHRAS: This is not an idle matter, my King, but one of life and death; one that affects our kingdom and your fate.
EUMELUS: Were you not the close friend of my son, Admetus, while growing up? The gods were not favorable to you; you were injured while riding and could not accompany us to Troy.
TEUTHRAS: Yes, that is I. The message I have to convey will not be to your liking but I swear by the gods that I overheard this just before your triumphant arrival. I ask that the messenger not be punished for the content of his message.
EUMELUS: I so swear. What message of such dire consequences do you wish to relate?
TEUTHRAS: As I stood outside this palace a few hours prior, I overheard a conversation between Queen Iphthime and Prince Promachos. They talked of the fate of the young prince should Admetus, my friend, become King. Promachos believed his life would be ended by Admetus as a potential rival for the throne, even though no treason was in his heart. To avoid such fate, mother and son decided to poison my friend near the end of the festivities and blame his subsequent death upon the excesses of the revelry. However unwilling, the Queen herself agreed to administer the deadly dose to Admetus’ wine cup to save her true son.
EUMELUS: Be gone. I cannot believe my loving Queen would do such a thing to a child she raised as her own and beloved by me. This cannot be true.
TEUTHRAS: I stood hidden and unbeknownst to the two when these words were spoken. It is not a tale related to me by others, but one witnessed while being discussed. The idea was Promachos’ and only reluctantly agreed to by the Queen. Her love of the son from her womb is greater than the son born from a previous wife, though raised by her and son in all but birth. The motherly instinct is powerful and little can stand in its way, whether husband’s desires or own reluctance. They wish no harm to you as father and husband.
EUMELUS: But even talk of this nature is treason and punishable by death. How can such a monstrous deed be accomplish without suspicion? I still cannot believe that this it true. How could I punish my beloved wife and son based upon the ranting of one individual without proof of such crime?
TEUTHRAS: Sire, you know of my aristocratic heritage. I come from a loyal and great family. I would have no purpose in creating a story as I have related. This is not the rantings of a slave or a common man. The proof you need may be acquired during the feast. The Queen, hiding the vial of foul liquid in her clothes, will await the opportunity to poor its contents into Admetus’ cup. If should she be stopped during the execution of this deed, said vial would be proof of quilt, and my word no longer questioned.
EUMELUS: As Zeus is my witness, my doubt of your words is strong, but the life of my first-born cannot be risked should your words prove true. Due precaution will be taken to protect him, and any plot against his life revealed and foiled. You have related that Promachos is the instigator of the plot and my wife but a reluctant accomplish?
TEUTHRAS: Yes, concern for his fate after your death and the succession of Admetus to your throne was the motivation for Promachos’ actions. As with your accession, so many years ago when you were forced to put to death those related to you that could become leaders of opposition, he believes that brotherly love would not suffice to protect him from assassination.
EUMELUS: I was forced into my actions against those in my family because of the rivalries for the throne. I did not foresee conflict over the succession of my throne to Admetus. The line is clearly drawn. Admetus would not kill his brother whom he loves dearly. I would forbade the spilling of brotherly blood.
TEUTHRAS: A King’s power cannot be extend from the Underworld; the power dies with the man. Once King, Admetus would make his own decisions based upon circumstances as he sees them, as you did when starting your reign. A look upon the history of your own and your Queen’s families provides ample examples of actions taken upon the transfer of power.
EUMELUS: This is true, but I did not realize that such examples would be applied to events yet to happen. You are right that I must catch the Queen in execution of the deed, for she is beloved by the people and sufficient evidence must be procured to justify her and our son’s imprisonment. Only by these means can we obtain the truth. If found to be true, you will be rewarded, but if found to be false, you will take the place of those accused.
Eumelus and Teuthras enter the palace.
CHORUS: Hours of the feast have past, and now, as Eos rises from her home in Oceanus, there is a commotion from inside the palace.
Eumelus, Admetus, and Teuthras exit the palace.
TEUTHRAS: It was as I said. The Queen at the instigation of her son was to poison you, Admetus.
ADMETUS: I owe you my life, good friend. Without your warning, I would now be crossing the river Styx to join those who died at Troy. I would neve
r have suspected my beloved stepmother of such a deed. During the great festival to celebrate our return, as roast oxen and wild boar were consumed, and wine flowed freely, the Dionysian revelry was great. But for us, the smiles were forced and faded quickly; the drinks not as deep. There were many toasts to the King, the men of Pherae and Iolkos, the Atreus brothers, Achaea, and the gods. And as Mother Night progressed on her journey and revelers succumbed to inebriation, the deceitful plan was set in motion. Father and I, though feigning drunkenness, were alert and captured the Queen in the very act of poisoning my cup.
EUMELUS: My Queen and youngest son have been placed in chains and will remain there until judgment on the crime of treason has been rendered. I had prayed to the gods that what you claimed, Teuthras, was not true. But having caught my Queen with the deadly vial was proof of your words. Now I must decide on how to deal with this crime. Even wise Nestor or Odysseus would be challenged by my dilemma, for I have much love for these two and cannot bear the thought of their loss, even worse if executed by my own order.
ADMETUS: Any father and husband would be truly grieved at the instigation of punishment of loved ones, but the King is also the
The House of Admetus: Eumelus, The Lost Trilogy of Plays by Agathon Page 5