by Hilary Green
I said, ‘Myrtilis, tomorrow you are going to marry Antilochos.’ She nodded, almost imperceptibly. ‘Do you love him?’
For a moment she made no answer. Then, without looking up, her voice faint and husky, she said, ‘It is not for me to chose. He is to be my husband.’
‘But you would prefer another. Is that not so?’
Her eyes flew up to my face, wide with terror. ‘Why do you say so?’
‘Because he told me. Come, Myrtilis, Alectryon is my friend. I long to see him happy. Trust me! You love him, do you not?’
She bent her head and would not answer. I leaned towards her.
‘Myrtilis! If you wish it I could even now forbid this match. Some pretext could be found – an evil omen, a bad dream. Once the wedding is put off there would be time for you to change your mind. Marry Alectryon and you will have my blessing, and my protection.’
She raised her eyes again and for a moment gazed into mine. I could see how she longed to accept my offer, but she shook her head slowly and her lips framed the one word, ‘No.’
‘Why not, Myrtilis?’ I insisted.
She rose to her feet, her eyes fixed before her. There was something about her that gave me an eerie feeling that she was not acting of her own free will.
‘I may not,’ she said faintly.
I rose also and caught her hands. ‘What do you mean, you may not?’
‘I may not choose for myself. I am only an instrument.’
‘An instrument? Of what?’
She tried to tug her hands free, gazing around her as if terrified that we might be overheard. Tears came into her eyes. ‘My lord, I beg of you! I must not answer. My mother …’
‘Why should you fear your mother so? What has she said to you?’
She pulled free with a little sob of panic and backed away from me. ‘I cannot tell you anything. Please, my lord, I beg of you. Let me go!’
There was nothing I could do but allow her to leave.
The marriage took place the following day with suitable celebrations. Antilochos looked triumphant, as though he had achieved a princess for his bride, and I pondered the power of love, reflecting that I would have expected him to marry more to his advantage than this obscure girl. All my friends privately agreed, however, that he had better than he deserved in Myrtilis. Neritos remarked dryly that he would have liked to see him matched with Erigone instead, commenting that they would have been well suited.
Alectryon attended, along with all the other Pylians of rank. When the feasting was over I looked for him but he had already slipped away. I sent Neritos to bring him to me, but he returned alone, with the message that the Count was unwell and begged to be excused.
Antilochos and his bride set up home in the house of a Mycenean nobleman named Pamisios, a man of some wealth and influence with whom he had struck up a friendship. From then on I noticed that he rarely joined my circle, except when his duties demanded it. Before long, Pamisios’s house became a second meeting place, the centre of a group quite different from my own and one for which I had little liking.
One evening Karpathia sent a message asking me to come to her so that we could talk privately. I found her at her loom, attended by two of her ladies. She sent the women away and offered me a seat. For a few moments we chatted casually, then she said, ‘I do not like the company Antilochos is keeping.’
‘Nor do I,’ I replied, ‘but I have never liked him or his friends, so nothing has changed.’
She shot me a quick look. ‘Perhaps not. But you do not know what I know about these people.’
‘What do you know?’
‘You remember what I told you when you first came here? That the descendants of Aegisthos would gladly see Tisamenos driven from the throne.’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, all the men who frequent Pamisios’s house belong to that faction.’
I stared at her. ‘Can you be sure of this?’
She nodded. ‘The King has chosen to forget that there was ever a feud. But Penthilos knows the troublemakers. They have tried to make strife between him and the King often enough.’
‘And now they are all gathered around Antilochos.’
‘And around Antilochos’s wife – the granddaughter of Aegisthos.’
I was greatly disturbed by Karpathia’s revelation, but unsure of the best way to deal with the situation. I had no proof that Antilochos and his friends intended anything against the King and without that I knew it would be worse than useless to accuse him. I resolved instead to have a close watch kept on everything that happened in Pamisios's house.
My only confidante in those days was Andria. Since the night when I first made her my mistress I had found in her the perfect refuge from my loneliness. She was discreet and never presumed upon my affection and, more importantly, I knew that no power on earth would draw my secrets from her. That night I asked her to listen for any rumours of unusual happenings, particularly concerning the Lady Erigone, for I knew that very little goes on around a palace that does not very quickly become known in the quarters of the women servants.
One night, not long after, she said, ‘Is my lord aware that the Lady Erigone often creeps from the palace after dark and does not return until dawn?’
‘How should I be aware of that?’ I asked. ‘Do you know where she goes?’
Andria shook her head. ‘No one knows.’
‘An affair, do you think? At her age it seems unlikely.’
‘The other women say it is not that. They believe she has magical powers and goes to perform some secret rites. They are all afraid of her.’
I told her to keep careful watch and see what more she could discover. A few nights later she told me, ‘Erigone is not the only one who goes out at night. My lord Antilochos’s wife does also.’
‘Myrtilis? Are you sure?’
‘I have it from her waiting-woman.’
‘Then Antilochos must know of it.’
‘I think not.’
‘How can he not know?’
‘The waiting woman told me that she has seen the Lady Myrtilis put something in her husband’s wine cup. On those nights he sleeps till morning without stirring, and that is when Myrtilis goes out.’
I instructed Andria to speak to her informant and offer her a good reward if she would come at once and tell her the next time Antilochos went to bed drugged. Nothing happened for some days and then one night, just as I was about to fall asleep, Andria slipped into my room and roused me.
‘My lord, Antilochos has drunk the potion again tonight.’
I sat up, alert at once. ‘Has Erigone left the palace?’
‘Not yet, my lord.’
I rose and reached for my clothes. ‘Wake Neritos and send him to me. Then go and keep watch and summon me at once if Erigone leaves.’
She caught my hand. ‘You will not follow her, my lord? She is a dangerous woman, with evil powers. Send someone else, my lord, I beseech you!’
I caressed her hair. ‘I cannot, Andria. If there is evil here it concerns my cousin and perhaps the King. I cannot send someone else to spy on such matters. Now, do as I tell you.’
She went and I dressed quickly. In a few moments Neritos arrived, tousled from sleep, puzzled, trying to conceal his irritation at being woken. Suddenly I felt like my old self. I grinned at him and slapped him on the shoulder.
‘Wake up, Neritos! We’re going hunting.’
‘My lord?’
I became serious again and rapidly explained what I intended to do. As I finished and hung my sword from my shoulder Andria returned and whispered, ‘She has left her room, my lord.’
We crept down to the outer courtyard in time to see Erigone with a single attendant unbarring the gate. When she had slipped through the attendant re-fastened the gate and went back inside. I hurried to the gate, Neritos close behind me, but by the time we had opened it there was no sign of Erigone. We made our way along the street that lead into the town, hoping to get a glimpse of her, b
ut she seemed to have melted into the shadows. Then I heard a sound and pulled Neritos into the shelter of a heap of rocks left by the builders. Ahead of us the figure of a man slipped out of an alleyway and began to walk swiftly away from us along the road. I glanced at Neritos and he lifted his shoulders in reply. There was no way of knowing if this man was heading for a meeting with Erigone but it was our only chance. We followed softly.
The man led us to the postern gate and I saw him speak to one of the sentries. The gate was opened and he slipped through. Again I caught Neritos’s eye. If there was treason afoot, it had spread to the army. I drew Neritos away from the gate and spoke softly in his ear.
‘If we go to the gate they will know they are discovered, but how else can we follow them?’
He thought for a moment. ‘The northeast wall? Where the extension is being built there are still loose blocks of stone. It would be quite easy to climb.’
He was right, and before long we stood on the level ground beyond the wall. Below us ran the path that led away from the postern towards the spring and on to the valley beyond. Presently another figure, a woman this time but not Erigone, passed through the postern and made her way along the path. Once again we followed.
She led us towards a grove of trees that grew in a hollow at the head of the valley. I had walked along the path many times but the grove itself was sacred and no one went there except for the devotees of some obscure cult. I felt Neritos cast me an anxious glance as we struck off the path towards it.
As we neared the place I heard a low murmur of voices, which became recognisable after a moment as a chant. Neritos stopped in his tracks.
I turned to him and whispered, ‘There is treason here, Neritos, and danger to Tisamenos who has befriended us. The Gods will not hold us blameworthy if we seek it out.’
He nodded and we went on, but I could hear his teeth chattering. As we neared the grove I dropped to the ground, signalling him to do likewise, and we covered the rest of the distance on our bellies. Once among the trees we could see that there was a clearing in the centre of the hollow. In the middle a fire burned and around it moved a band of men and women, twelve of each, rapt in the rhythms of a sacred dance. In the centre, before the sacred fire, stood Erigone, still and upright.
We watched until the dance came to an end and the dancers proceeded to the next part of the ritual. I will not name the rites that they performed. Neritos buried his face in his arms in order not to watch what is forbidden but I gazed on, unable to tear my eyes away; for which sin the Mistress of all Mysteries has made me pay, as for all my sins towards Her.
As soon as the rites were over Erigone gathered the worshippers about her and spoke, her strong, hard voice carrying easily to where we lay.
‘The omens are favourable. The Goddess has chosen the moment when Her true worshippers shall seize power again in Mycenae. She is the ancient Mistress of this place and in the days when Her worship was pure it was in Her priestess that power resided. It is the high priestess who should be queen and rule in Her land. It is in her the power of life and death is vested. Clytemnestra was both queen and high priestess, and she called my father, Aegisthos, to her aid. He understood the power of the Goddess and yielded himself Her willing servant. Between them they killed the tyrant Agamemnon. It was not murder, as some have termed it, but ritual sacrifice. He was killed as he stepped from his bath, taking the first mouthful of the feast laid out before him, his limbs entangled in a sacred net, so that he was neither in water nor on dry land, neither feasting nor fasting, neither clothed nor unclothed. It was thus in times gone by that the Consort of the Goddess was yearly sacrificed. For a while, then, the true worshippers of the Goddess ruled in this land, but Orestes came, Orestes the accursed, and my father died at his hands. Even the queen, his own mother, the earthly representative of the Goddess, was not spared. And then, as if he had not done enough, he took me and robbed me of my virginity and stole away the son I bore him, so that he grew up to hate me. But now the moment of our revenge has come! With the Pylian Antilochos married to my daughter we have a man of royal blood whom the people will accept as king. He has brought us more men and our plans are prepared. A swift blow, struck at night, and we shall rule in Mycenae. Antilochos, in his pride, thinks to be supreme High King. Well, let him think it for a while. Once he has given my daughter a child we shall have no further need of him. After that, the queen will again rule in Mycenae and the true adherents of the Mistress will be set at her right hand.’
She paused and a rapt murmur rose from those around her. Then she went on, ‘Come now and once more bind yourselves with solemn oaths to serve the Goddess.’
She bound them with the most terrible oaths, so that I understood why Myrtilis had been so terrified to speak. Then she said, ‘Tomorrow night is the appointed time. We meet at Pamisios’s house at moonrise.’
Neritos and I lay flattened on the ground until they had all returned, singly as they had arrived, to the city. Then we made our way back by the way we had come.
I spent a sleepless night. I knew that it was my duty to inform Tisamenos of the plot, indeed I could not afford to do otherwise, but at the same time I feared the consequences. I had no idea whether Antilochos had drawn other Pylians into the conspiracy, or how its discovery might change Tisamenos’s attitude towards all of us. My first instinct, as always, was to summon Alectryon and discuss the whole problem with him, but as soon as the thought came to me I knew that this was one occasion on which I could not turn to him for advice.
As soon as morning came I sent Neritos to ask the King to give me a private audience. Somewhat to my annoyance I found Cometes seated beside his father. Over the winter our relations had grown less and less cordial and I should have much preferred to speak to Tisamenos alone. I told my story as concisely as possible and waited for the reaction.
At first Tisamenos was incredulous. Then he began to question me about the identities of the conspirators, repeatedly shaking his head in confusion and disbelief. I could see that he was utterly at a loss to deal with the situation. In a pause Cometes said, ‘It seems to me that there was none of this trouble before you and your Pylians came here.’
I replied, with as much restraint as I could muster, ‘I think you are mistaken, Prince Cometes. My sister has told me that there has always been a discontented party in the city. Penthilos knew of it well.’
‘Penthilos?’ Tisamenos said.
I saw the blunder I had made and strove to smooth it over. ‘He kept a careful watch on these people, lest they should become a danger to you.’
‘He would have done better to tell me of it,’ Tisamenos said.
‘Erigone is his mother,’ Cometes remarked. ‘And his wife is your sister, my lord Alkmaion – as Antilochos is your cousin.’
I sprang to my feet. ‘Do you believe, my lord, that I am implicated in this conspiracy? That is what Cometes is implying, and I resent it. If you can believe me capable of such a base action, can you also believe that I would come to you and reveal the plot?’
Tisamenos hastened to assure me that he had no such suspicions and I went on to maintain vigorously the innocence of Penthilos and Karpathia. Eventually, we got down to making plans. It was agreed that Pamisios’s house should be surrounded and the attack made as soon as all the conspirators were inside.
Cometes said, ‘Penthilos will have to take charge of this. The army is under his command.’
‘No!’ I objected quickly. ‘Erigone is his mother, vile as she is. He cannot be involved in this. Besides, my lord, I have reason to believe that some of the army may have defected to the conspirators. The sentries on duty at the postern gate last night must have been party to the plot.’
Tisamenos stared at me for a moment, wild-eyed, and I saw that his bland confidence had been based on a refusal to believe in the possibility of treason. Now that I had forced him to look into the pit I was afraid of the consequences. I said, ‘Are you sure of the loyalty of your personal bodyguard, my l
ord?’
He nodded quickly. ‘Yes, they are all members of the Companionhood. I trust them absolutely.’
‘Then they should be enough for a surprise attack. If we can arrest the leaders the others will not move without them. But I should advise you to replace the sentries on duty tonight with your own men, just in case.’
Tisamenos sighed deeply. ‘I will do as you suggest, but I find it hard to believe that Penthilos knows nothing of this.’
‘I assure you that he does not, my lord. No more than any of us would, if I had not been alerted by idle gossip from the women’s quarters.’
Cometes put in silkily, ‘I understand why you wish to leave him in ignorance about tonight’s proceedings, my lord Alkmaion, but I hope you will not refuse to lend us your sword to put down this treachery.’
I saw the trap that had been laid for me. In order to prove my loyalty I must take up arms against my cousin.
At nightfall we met in the palace courtyard, our armour muffled in dark cloaks in case it caught the reflection of the moonlight. I had brought Neritos with me, but had told no one else among my followers what was intended. It quickly became clear that Cometes had been given command of the operation, and also that he intended to keep a very close eye on me.
The men slipped away in small groups to take up their appointed stations. I was with Cometes in the shelter of a gateway opposite the main entrance to Pamisios’s house. As the moon rose we saw the conspirators arriving one by one. We waited until the street was deserted again and then Cometes whispered, ‘They should all be safely inside by now.’
Suddenly, in the darkness beyond the house there came a shout, followed by a clash of arms. Cometes hissed, ‘We are discovered! Charge the gate!’
As he spoke the main gate crashed open and a body of armed men rushed out. I flung off my cloak and drew my sword and we charged forwards, meeting the opposing force with a great clash of metal. The impact was violent but our impetus was such that it carried us through the first ranks of the defenders and into the courtyard of the house. I guessed that Erigone and Antilochos and the other leaders would be waiting in one of the inner rooms and if possible I wanted to get to them before anyone else did. Inside the courtyard there were more armed men and the fighting became a confused mêlée in which it was hard to tell friends from enemies, while an archer in an upper window seemed to be firing indiscriminately on both.
