Odysseus: The Oath

by Valerio Massimo Manfredi

  Tears came to my eyes.

  ‘See?’ I said to Penelope. ‘I told you my parents would be honoured to have you.’

  The sailors lowered the gangplank onto the wharf made of oak boards and poles and we walked onto dry land, Penelope and I. I bowed in front of my father, kissed his hand and greeted him, then bent my knees in front of my mother and kissed her hand as well. I said: ‘Father and mother, I beg you to welcome my betrothed, Penelope, daughter of the noble Icarius of Sparta, with benevolence and affection, and to bless her so she may gladden our house with children.’

  ‘My daughter,’ my father said to her.

  ‘My child,’ said my mother, embracing her and kissing her on the eyes and cheeks, ‘you are most welcome here. We will love you.’

  ‘We will love you,’ repeated my father.

  Behind them I caught a glimpse of my nurse Euriclea, who was weeping tears of joy, continually dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief without managing to keep them dry.

  On the ships, the sailors were waiting for a signal from the herald. When it came, they all lifted their oars from the sea at once, raised the blades and pounded the rowing benches with the handles, making the hollow of the hull resound with a deep rumble, sounding like the thunder roaring down from the mountain peaks and descending on the sea.

  We got onto a cart pulled by white bulls, and hundreds of warriors holding lit torches escorted us to the palace, the walls and windows of which were already brightly illuminated.

  A beautiful celebration awaited us. All of the noble families of the kingdom were invited and the great hall had been adorned with flowers and garlands of pine, myrtle and juniper twigs. Meats of all the best cuts were roasting on spits and baskets were filled with freshly baked breads. There were even flute players and dancers who had been called from the mainland.

  Everyone’s eyes were on Penelope. But she was looking at me and I at her.

  THE NEXT DAY my father took me to the side of the palace that faced east and said to me: ‘This is where you will build your wedding chamber. I would have taken care of it myself but I could not imagine that you would return already engaged! To such a flower, if I may say so. Look, here she is, coming this way. An early riser! She hasn’t seen us yet.’

  ‘Thank you, father. Don’t worry. If you can spare a few servants to help me, I’ll get the work done in no time. Woodcutters, first of all, so we can get rid of that olive tree that’s taking up so much room.’

  ‘In no time . . .’ replied the king, smiling. ‘You must be very eager to bring her into your wedding chamber.’

  No sooner had he said this than the servants arrived, with two hardy woodcutters. They were already lifting their axes when Penelope spotted us and shouted: ‘Stop them, I beg of you!’

  I had a flash: the dream I’d had of a water bird alighting on an olive tree in my house.

  I raised my hand to stop the axes as Penelope reached my side. ‘It’s so beautiful, that olive tree. Please, don’t destroy it. Let it live. Do it for me,’ she said.

  ‘I will do it for you, gladly. This fulfils the destiny that was revealed to me in a dream.’

  I turned to my father then: ‘You know, atta, when I saw her for the first time she was in a garden of apple and olive trees and she was gathering flowers.’

  IN THE DAYS that followed, I used white flour to mark the borders of the walls, ordered stones to be squared and sent for expert stone-cutters. Others were already at work carving out the foundations with pickaxes. All around the olive tree that Penelope loved they built walls, straight and well connected with big cornerstones. Enough room was left inside to install the ceiling beams that other craftsmen were smoothing and squaring. And I left big openings for the windows. In spring and summer, the sunlight would pour in and light up every corner; I would close the shutters only in winter, to keep out Boreas’ breath. Then I was ready. I sent all the workers away so that I could finish the work myself. No one was to see what I was doing.

  I raised the ceiling beams into place and secured wooden boards over them, using bronze nails. I fitted them carefully to leave an opening big enough for the olive trunk to pass through, and I left room for the stair as well. The moment had come to carry out my plan. I removed the tree’s biggest branches with a saw and trimmed them with clippers, leaving only the lighter boughs all around. When I’d finished I used a chisel to make openings in the cut branches where I’d be able to fit the legs of our wedding bed. The legs were secured, so they would never budge, with long wooden pegs that I hammered into horizontal openings I had drilled from one side of the branch to the other. I nailed four big wooden planks onto the legs and on this framework stretched strips of cowhide, interweaving and pulling them with great force so that they would provide support and not sag when weight was set upon them. On top of this web I placed the mattress that the maids in the house had already prepared, made of pressed, quilted wool covered with linen fabric. Then I laid out sheeting made of finely woven wool whitened with ash. Lastly I put a precious purple bedcover over the mattress and pillows. It had been part of my mother’s dowry when she entered Laertes’ house as a young bride.

  Our wedding was celebrated as soon as our abode was ready, before the priestess of Hera who protects hearth and home. I lifted my bride in my arms and carried her over the threshold of my house. Then, when evening came, the maidservants arrived with lit torches to prepare her and accompany her to the door of the bedchamber upstairs. After she had entered, they retired.

  When I heard her cries of wonder and joy, my heart filled with a happiness I had never felt before. From the darkness downstairs where I’d been waiting alone, I looked up now, to the opening at the top of the stair, from which the rosy glow of an oil lamp filtered. The pounding of my heart was almost suffocating me, and I had to wait to catch my breath before I went up to the perfumed wedding chamber where the woman I loved was waiting for me.

  She was smiling, lying on the purple cover, her glossy raven-black hair spread over the pillow, her divine body barely veiled by a light weave that felt the night breeze. She was crowned all around by tiny olive branches; their shiny green leaves stood out against the bright purple. Penelope’s eyes gleamed fire in the darkness.

  ‘You made me a nest in the branches of a tree! No other man in the world would have even thought of such a thing. If it were only for this, I would love you forever,’ she whispered.

  ‘A water bird settled on an olive tree in the house of Laertes. You were given to me by the gods, my love.’

  She opened her arms to me and I lifted the delicate veil to contemplate my bride, to caress her as she closed her eyes and the desire for love overwhelmed her.

  Never in my life have I been so happy, never has my heart beat so hard, never again has a mortal woman or a goddess given me as much pleasure as my bride that night, gentle, smooth, ardent. The aurora found us still intertwined. I darkened the bedchamber and sleep fell on our eyelids. The scent of her filled my dreams.

  I heard her voice whispering: ‘The gods will envy us for this. The immortals will never be able to understand the intensity and fire of our ecstasy, splendid Odysseus, prince of Ithaca, my husband.’

  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 w
ith 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 s
he 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.