Son of Zeus Page 2

that was addressing him. These two had appeared out of nowhere, they knew his name, and much about him, some of which was not common knowledge. After looking long and hard at the naked Pleasure, he realized that however beautiful she was, however sweet her voice or alluring her body, she was no ordinary woman. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips and he turned his attention back to the job of separating the lion from its skin.

  'King Thespios will be happy when you present him with the pelt,' Virtue said. 'Have you met his daughters?'

  Alkides couldn't help but smile. 'Met them? I have bedded forty nine of the fifty!'

  'And the fiftieth?' Virtue asked.

  'Ahh, she was a pretty thing but so innocent. It was she who told me that I had been with all her sisters. They came to me in the darkness of night and never said a word so I had thought them all the same girl forty nine times.'

  'Thespios is no fool. Fifty children fathered by a son of Zeus would be a boon to any King,' Virtue said. 'Why did you not bed the youngest one?'

  'She loves another,' Alkides said.

  'Then she is a fool,' Pleasure said. 'Come now, let me be the fiftieth.'

  'There you have your choice,' Virtue said. 'Go now with my sister and your destiny will be a life of pleasure, but your legacy will fade from the world, and men will forget your name with the passing of time. If, however, you choose to resist the wiles of Pleasure and choose the difficult path of duty to your people, then your name will live in the hearts and minds of men forever. What is your choice?'

  Alkides turned back to the carcass of the lion. 'My choice is to finish my work and then go to sleep. The sun sinks and I still have much to do.'

  When he next looked up, the women were gone.

  (iv)

  Alkides found it troubling that his encounter with the two nymphs the evening before had unnerved him more than his battle with the Lion of Kithairon. Although he had not spoken a choice, he was aware that he had elected to follow the path of Virtue, and was curious to see where his choice would lead.

  Despite Pleasure's obvious charms, Alkides found the choice had been plain in his mind. Although young in years, his birth and masculinity had made him very popular in Thebes, and so his experiences with love and lust had been extensive. The people of Thebes had offered him everything he could possibly desire and denied him almost nothing. He had tasted the indulgent life and, while enjoyable in the moment, it was ultimately hollow and distracting. However, the satisfaction and pride he felt when he excelled at anything - he outstripped his peers in horsemanship, archery, and most everything else except music - was far more fulfilling. From his perspective, it was easily the greater of the two pleasures and the obvious choice.

  The day was bright, and the sun shone down through the trees in a pleasing way. Alkides stretched out on the patch of grass that had been his bed for the night and stared up at Helios steering his chariot across the sky. The charioteer of the sun had made his journey every day since the creation of the world, except for the one day that Zeus had gone to Alkmena, Alkides's mother, disguised as Amphitryon. On that day, Helios unhitched his chariot so that Zeus could spend a night with Alkmena that lasted as long as three. Love, Alkides philosophized, can make even the Gods behave in strange ways.

  Would his father have made the same choice? Probably not. Zeus was the most powerful of the Olympians and did pretty much as he pleased. In a strange way, his father had no destiny to forge.

  Alkides sighed deeply and went to tend the fire, which had gone out during the night. He had planned to head to Thesias immediately after he had killed the lion and present King Thespios with the pelt, but the urgency with which he had started his quest had faded. He had woken hungry, and the thought of breakfasting on the bread and cheese he had brought as provisions did not excite him.

  Taking up his bow and quiver, Alkides set out to find some meat and soon returned with a small deer, which he skinned, gutted, and put on a makeshift spit over the fire. It wasn't long before the tantalizing smell of roasting meat filled the air and drew more unexpected visitors to his camp.

  'You there, will you share your meal with the Heralds of King Erginos of the Minyans?' said one of two mounted men who rode up to the camp from the nearby road. Alkides could see a further dozen or so foot soldiers marching in their wake.

  'As a man of Thebes, I have no love for your kind. There are plenty of deer to be had throughout the woods. If you are so hungry for meat, hunt some for yourselves.'

  'The men of Thebes have always been fools,' said the second mounted man. 'That is why the tribute we were sent to collect by our King is so impressive. It was one hundred cattle, but now it will be one hundred cattle, one deer, and a beating for an insolent fool.'

  Alkides jumped to his feet and drew his sword.

  'See how foolish these Thebans are? Outnumbered ten to one and he refuses to lie down and take his punishment,' the first rider said, and turned to the foot soldiers who had drawn up behind him. 'We will make an example of him. Take off his nose, ears and hands and send him to the King of Thebes to remind him why the tribute is so large.'

  The words of the envoy of the Minyans so enraged Alkides that he could contain himself no longer. 'For Thebes,' he cried and leapt over the fire to fall upon the surprised soldiers beyond. He was still in the air when his sword pierced the chest of the first soldier and his momentum coming down pushed it right through the man's body and into the chest of the man standing behind. Unable to wrench the sword free because the hilt had become wedged, Alkides used his fists to pummel a third soldier. He knocked off the man's helm with the first devastating blow and crushed his head with the second.

  Watching three of their number fall in the twinkling of an eye drained the remaining foot soldiers of bravery and they fled before the fury of the man mountain assailing them. The two mounted envoys weren't so easily intimidated, however, and drew their swords. They had obviously fought together before because, without uttering a word, they rode off in opposite directions from the young Theban, and turned at exactly the same time to charge him.

  Alkides did not have time to free his sword, and could only twist under the flashing blades when the mounted men swung their weapons. He managed to grab the wrist of the first envoy as he passed by and drag him to the ground.

  Leaving the man stunned on the ground, Alkides then chased after the second envoy and vaulted onto the back of his horse as he was trying to turn. He punched the surprised man in the back of the head and threw the unconscious body to the ground.

  'The men of Thebes do not take kindly to threats,' Alkides said. He pulled his sword free of the two corpses in which it had become wedged and cut off the ears and noses of the two envoys. He then took off their hands at the wrist before sealing the wounds with a burning brand from the fire. 'You can tell your King that this is all the tribute that Alkides, son of Zeus, thinks he deserves.'

  Although tempted to await the return of the foot soldiers so that he could complete his victory over the enemies of Thebes, Alkides decided he had better bring news of what had happened to Amphitryon. He knew the King of the Minyans would not take kindly to such an offence and Thebes needed to muster an army to meet the assault. He hastily gathered his possessions, rounded up the two horses, and rode as fast as he could back home.

  (v)

  Alkides first brought the news of his encounter with the Minyan envoys to Amphitryon, who took it surprisingly well. 'It is about time Thebes stood up to King Erginos and his band of thieves,' he said.

  Joined by Iphikles, Alkides's half-brother, they went before King Kreon to make the case for war.

  'There is no doubt that the tribute was steep, but it bought peace for many years which is a rarity in the civilized lands of Hellas,' Kreon said. 'Erginos is a grandson of Poseidon and not someone to be trifled with.'

  'They openly mock us, my King, boasting to all who would listen that they have the Thebans frightened out of their wits,' Amphitryon said. 'Alkides was not the first to hear
such insults, but he must be the last.'

  'Since when do the men of Thebes bow to fear?' said a voice from above the throne.

  The four looked up and saw the Goddess Athena holding a sword, a shield, and a javelin. They all fell to the floor in supplication, but none could take his eyes off the Goddess.

  'What is your council, wise Athena?' King Kreon asked.

  'You have enraged Erginos and his armies march this way as we speak. These weapons are for the son of Zeus, to help him battle the enemies of Thebes.' Athena drifted down and handed Alkides the weapons, then suddenly vanished.

  'A son of Zeus marches with us and we have the blessings of Athena. You are right, Amphitryon, it is time to meet the Minyans on the field of battle,' Kreon said and returned to his throne. He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front of him. 'Erginos has a bodyguard who fight with him, but, as the most skilled fighter of all the Minyans, he still stands at the very right of their lines. We four are the greatest of the warriors of Thebes, of that there can be no doubt, and I propose that we do not join the ranks because that will put us on the opposite side of Erginos. Instead, we will ride and make the enemy think us cavalry to run down any who flee, but that is where they will be wrong.'

  (vi)

  The Thebans waited impatiently for