The reception of the heroes of the Golden Fleece was quite exceptional. Great celebrations were organized. People sang, danced, hailed the heroes. And already their adventures were spreading by word of mouth, like a legend. Having made the most of this triumphant return, Jason assembled the Argonauts one last time on the beach before the moored Argo. Orpheus played one last tune, Echion told the story of their long epic. They all listened in silence to the narrative of the conquest of the Golden Fleece. Hermes had taken advantage of the darkness in order to come close. He saw many smiles and many tears that night. A little before the day rose, Jason called each man in turn and held him tight in his arms, weeping. They had faced so many dangers together; this separation was painful for all of them. Each, however, had to follow his own path from now on. Hermes was proud of his sons. He looked at his children walk away in the distance, and he saw that they had become men.
Jason remained alone on the beach beside the hull of his ship, which had now become useless. It was then that Medea approached and laid her hand on his shoulder.
“There is one thing left for you to accomplish: recover your crown and avenge your parents. I can punish your uncle Pelias, if you wish it. It is because of him that you embarked on this adventure.”
Jason did not have his heart set on vengeance. He sighed and said:
“Without that tyrant Pelias, I would never have experienced what I have just lived through; I would never have met my companions. And all these trials have made me into a different man.”
Medea insisted: “Even if you have succeeded in the trial he forced upon you, even if you have brought back the Golden Fleece, Pelias will not give you back your kingdom.”
Jason remained silent for a moment. Medea always knew his secret desires. He turned towards her and he said to her in a strangled voice: “Do as you wish.”
To be continued…
EPISODE 93
IN WHICH A TERRIBLE VENGEANCE TAKES PLACE
Previously: The Argonauts returned triumphantly to their homeland and then they parted company. But Medea is preparing a terrible vengeance against King Pelias.
At dawn, Medea slipped inside Pelias’ palace wrapped in a great red cloak. No one saw her shadow steal towards the rooms of the king’s daughters. The young women were already out of bed and they were having fun together when Medea pushed their door open. They did not feel at all suspicious towards this long-haired woman. In a few words, they were completely seduced.
“Your father Pelias is growing old, isn’t he?” asked Medea.
The young girls sighed: “Alas, yes, he is getting old…”
“I am an enchantress,” Medea then said, “I can rejuvenate your father. With my magic herbs, I can restore youth to anyone who wishes it.”
The young girls were innocent and gullible. They let out cries of astonishment. Only one of them, Alcestis, still kept back. Something about Medea’s ways caused her fear, but she did not know what. Suspicious, she asked:
“Oh, really? Well, first of all prove to us that you are a sorceress.”
Medea smiled and asked for a great cauldron full of water to be fetched and also for a very old ram. Once the servant girls had brought all these things, Medea boiled the water in the cauldron. The daughters of Pelias had made a circle around her, very excited. Medea closed her eyes and cast a few magic herbs into the cauldron. Then she killed the old ram, cut it into pieces and threw the pieces into the cauldron. Silence fell. All of them had their eyes screwed on the cauldron. Many long moments passed and then they saw a very young lamb emerge from the boiling water. Mesmerized, the young girls clapped their hands.
“I leave you this cauldron and the magic herbs,” said Medea. “You only have to do the same thing to your father Pelias and then thanks to you he will recover his youth.” With these words, she disappeared.
Furtive steps were heard along the corridors of the palace, where everyone was still asleep. They belonged to the daughters of King Pelias, who were going to their father’s room. They loved their father and they could not bear the idea of seeing him soon grow old and then die. Medea’s proof had convinced them. Only Alcestis resisted. She too had a passionate love for her father. But she could not resign herself to killing him, even if it meant that he would be reborn young by the process. And, what is more, she actually loved his wrinkles and the way his hair had turned white with age. Her sisters, however, would not listen to her. Which of them had struck the first blow? Which one had cut Pelias to pieces? Which was the one who cast the pieces of her father’s body into the magic cauldron? No one can recall, for no one saw them act. Alcestis was sobbing in a corner of the room; the gleam of light shining in her sisters’ eyes frightened her. Time passed. The young girls were staring fervently at the cauldron in which their father was boiling. But he was not being reborn.
Stunned, they continued to wait, without understanding. Alcestis then began to howl: “Madwomen! Madwomen that you are! You believed that sorceress! And she bewitched you! But now look, look at your crime. You have killed our father, and never shall he be reborn from this vile stew!” The screams and the wailings of Alcestis woke up the entire palace. The young girls, seized with horror at what they had just done, fled running. They left the island for ever. Already the frightful Erinyes were setting out to pursue them for the rest of their days. One could already smell the monstrous stench of these righters of wrongs. Misery to all who kill their parents.
All alone on the beach, Jason could not guess the appalling crime that Medea had once more committed for his sake. He had closed his eyes and had let this woman in love take action. The beautiful enchantress joined him silently. She simply whispered in his ear: “You have been avenged.” Jason did not turn his head round to face her. He did not reply. He was thinking of his companions, and of his youth, which had just come to its end. He took Medea’s hand in his and with his other hand continued to stroke the Golden Fleece on his shoulder. Hermes was looking at the couple formed by Medea and Jason and he could not help feeling worried about them. He had appreciated Jason’s strength and bravery but he now dreaded his weakness and his cowardice. He had liked the passion of Medea but he was appalled by her cruelty. He could tell that she was likely to topple over into rage and folly.
To be continued…
EPISODE 94
IN WHICH MEDEA SINKS INTO MURDEROUS FOLLY
Previously: Medea has committed another murder so that Jason can recover his throne: she has killed Jason’s uncle Pelias, who had sent him on the quest for the Golden Fleece.
Before leaving Jason and Medea, Hermes could not resist trying to find out what their future would be. He knelt down and threw his small pebbles into the water of a fountain. What he saw then confirmed his darkest forebodings.
An image appeared, that of a woman in tears kneeling before a window. This woman’s back was turned. White hairs shimmered among her long, dark tresses, which fell in disarray on her shoulders. She raised her head and Hermes recognized Medea. Perhaps because he had never seen her crying, perhaps because of the few wrinkles that had fixed themselves in the corners of her eyes, perhaps because for the first time she actually seemed fragile, he was quite overcome to find her like this. The distress expressed on Medea’s face was overwhelming. Hermes followed Medea’s gaze to see what was causing her so much suffering. The window gave on to a garden. In the garden, a man was embracing a very young woman. That man was Jason. Hermes recognized him immediately, even if he too had silver threads among his black curls. He observed the blonde hair of the young girl whom Jason was kissing, he heard her laughter, saw her fresh and firm skin, and an infinite sadness invaded him. How could Jason be disloyal to the one who had sacrificed everything for him? Was his word of honour of so little substance that he could betray the woman who had made him into a victor? The voice of the young girl reached Hermes’ ears:
“Daddy has told me that you have promised to leave your wife and marry me, Jason, is this true?”
“What Cr
eon has told you is correct,” replied Jason, smiling.
With a slight note of anxiety in her voice she continued: “But how will your wife Medea react to this?”
Jason’s smile was extinguished. He made a gesture of annoyance: “She can say what she likes.”
Upon hearing these words, Hermes turned his head sharply towards Medea, who was still by her window. She was no longer kneeling. Her tears had run dry. Erect and proud, she was looking at Jason. But in her gaze there shone a light so terrible that Hermes began to fear the worst.
In Medea’s eyes Hermes could now only see hatred. He saw her take out from a great wooden chest a long white dress and pronounce some strange words; she then summoned her maidservants and ordered them: “Go and take this dress to the young girl in the garden. Tell her that it is a gift from me.” She remained alone for a few moments. Then Jason entered her room. She lifted up her eyes and waited for him to speak. But Jason turned his eyes away and went out again without uttering a single word. Medea made a gesture towards him to retain him. He was already gone. Suddenly, piercing screams were heard. Then the noise of a stampede. Silent laughter shook Medea’s body. At that instant, Hermes saw that Medea was no longer herself. She had the eyes of a madwoman.
Hermes saw then that the young girl had put on the white dress that Medea had offered her. The dress had instantly gone up in flames. She was now trying to wrench away the dress that burned her, but she could not take it off. She caught fire with it. And little by little the entire palace was overrun by the blaze. Hermes then saw the most horrible thing in the world, the thing he would never have wished to see. He saw Medea, devoured by madness, pounce on her children, the two sons she had had with Jason, and kill them with her own hands. She was howling: “Jason! Jason! Such is my vengeance! I destroy everything, everything! I destroy all that you hold dear! I destroy the flesh of your flesh since you have destroyed me!” Hermes shut his eyes. He blocked his ears. He did not want to see anything any more, nor hear anything. He threw far away his little pebbles which allowed him to read what was to be. Hermes wanted to have nothing to do with this particular future.
To be continued…
EPISODE 95
IN WHICH HERMES BECOMES THE FATHER OF PAN
Previously: By reading the future with his white pebbles, Hermes has discovered the horrible conclusion to the story of Jason and Medea. For the first time Hermes hopes that his pebbles have lied to him. Devastated, he returns to Olympus.
Life holds many surprises in store, even for gods. And this is how Hermes discovered that he had once more become a dad. It was a morning with a sky so clear, so blue, that it was a joy to behold. Having been warned that his companion was about to bring a baby into the world, Hermes was hastening to the place where she was to give birth. He had almost arrived there when a great scream was heard. A scream of terror. Hermes hurried quickly. He just had time to see the mother of his child fleeing, running until she was gasping for breath. And there, on the grass, wrapped in big leaves, was the baby, left alone and whimpering softly. There was no enemy in sight, nothing which could justify the mother’s flight. Hermes approached the child. He gently folded back the leaves which enveloped it and gave a startled jump: the baby’s body was covered with black hair, from its forehead protruded two horns and instead of human legs he had the two hind legs of a billy goat! This baby was monstrous. It was his ugliness that had driven his mother to flight. In discovering the baby, Hermes too recoiled instinctively. No, it wasn’t possible, he couldn’t be the father of such a monster! But the baby looked at him, grinning, with an eye that was full of mischief. Hermes remembered for a fleeting moment the birth of his brother Hephaestus, so ugly and deformed, that his mother had rejected him. So he took out of his bag a hare’s hide, wrapped the baby in it and decided to bring it to Olympus.
When he arrived at the palace, Hermes appeared before the assembly of the gods. He set the baby down beside Zeus and declared:
“Here is my latest-born son!”
The baby was pulling faces. It stuck out its tongue and puffed its cheeks in such a funny way that, upon seeing him, all the gods broke into enormous laughter. And the more the gods laughed, the more the infant continued his antics. There had never been such gaiety on Olympus!
“We shall call your son Pan, which means ‘all’, because he has gladdened all our hearts!” proclaimed Zeus, laughing until tears came to his eyes.
But Hermes only half appreciated this massive, crazy laughter. He thought that people were making fun of his son, and he decided to keep him away from Olympus. He took the child to Arcadia, to the region where he himself had been born. Because half of Pan’s body was like the body of a billy goat, he made him the protector of the shepherds and the flocks. It became usual to come across him galloping in the woods and the forests with a great shepherd’s crook in his hand. If he was in a good mood when he met someone, that person would suddenly be overcome by mad, uncontrollable laughter. But when he was in a foul mood, Pan caused an equally uncontrollable fear in those who crossed his path. This is why we call this great fear a “panic”.
Hermes had transmitted several of his talents even to this son, who was so very different from himself. He possessed most notably the gift of music. One day, Pan fell in love with a young nymph. Every time he came across her in the woods where she lived, his heart beat like mad. But the nymph did not like him the least bit. Every day Pan would return to her. Every day the nymph would flee, running. The nymph did not know any more how to get rid of this burdensome lover. So one day, as Pan was running after her once more in the woods, she decided to transform herself into a reed. “No! Don’t do that!” cried Pan. But it was too late. The nymph had chosen to stay for ever beyond Pan’s reach. In despair Pan cut the reed, so he could keep it for ever with him in remembrance of his fair maiden. He cut it in lengths, attached the lengths together and began to blow gently into them. This is how he invented the instrument that we call pan pipes.
Hermes, who had himself invented the first flute, felt proud of his son. He was content with his choice. Pan led a far happier life in the midst of the woods and fields than he would have had among the mocking gods of Olympus.
To be continued…
EPISODE 96
IN WHICH HERMES INADVERTENTLY BECOMES A FATHER
Previously: Hermes has had a new son, called Pan. This son is very ugly and deformed. He causes frenzied laughter or terror and he lives as a shepherd among the flocks.
At the beginning of this month of May, as he did at the same time every year, Hermes went to pay a visit to his mother, because on his birthday he liked to hold Maia tight in his arms. Even if he had long ceased being a child, he would rest his head on Maia’s lap and wait for the maternal caress of her hand on his cheek. He would go away happy, pacified. Stronger and more joyful than ever.
That day, the landscape that stretched below his feet was staggeringly beautiful. The light of springtime gently stroked the fresh green of the leaves. Each blade of grass quivered. Hermes’ delight reminded him of the delight he had known on the day he was born, when he discovered the world for the first time right here. He had lived through many adventures, but his outlook on the world was still that of a child rapt with wonder.
Hermes was letting himself be carried by the warm air currents which enveloped him when his gaze was drawn towards a woman who was strolling through the poppy fields. She was blonde and her hair was coiled on her head in a gracious style. She was walking alone, a bow and arrows over her shoulder. But instead of hunting, she seemed to be breathing in the smell of nature. She would bend down to a flower to look at it more closely and then she would resume her meandering path. Hermes was so captivated by the young beauty that he had to get close to her, no matter what it took. While he was looking for a way to seduce this mortal maiden, Hermes noticed something stirring in the bush right next to her. A shadow was lurking behind the branches. “There is no doubt about it,” murmured Hermes, “another admirer i
s waiting for her.” He flew discreetly near the bush. Who was hiding there? Hermes discovered with surprise his brother Apollo. Busy as he was watching, Apollo had not noticed Hermes’ presence. A blast of anger shook the messenger god. “Am I always to find my older brother on my path? Will he always be ahead of me?” The attractions of the young woman, combined with his jealousy, made up his mind for him. Hermes saw his brother turn himself into an old woman in order to get close to the beautiful stranger without scaring her. While Apollo was walking towards her at an old woman’s pace, Hermes decided to pip his brother to the post. With two flaps of his wings he came right next to her. Startled, the young woman tried to run away, but Hermes touched her with his golden caduceus and she slipped instantly into a profound slumber.
When she woke up, she was lying on a bed of straw next to him and she no longer seemed scared at all.
“You are Hermes, the god of Thieves, aren’t you?” she said, smiling. “I had no doubt that you would come to me one day. Because you love your sister Artemis, don’t you, and they say that I resemble her. It seems that I am even more beautiful than she is…”
When he heard these words, Hermes was taken aback. He did not like boasting at all. “Who are you?” Hermes asked her.
“I am the Princess Chione. My father is the greatest hunter of all.”
Hermes stood there staring at her. So what exactly was he doing next to her? Had he lost his head? When the afternoon came to its end, Hermes left Chione, promising her he would return. But he had no intention of doing so.
The Adventures of Hermes, God of Thieves Page 24