10 Years Ago: Orestes

My father, Agamemnon, was known to be the greatest of the Greek kings. His father was Atreus, who was king, and the great-grandson of Zeus himself. My mother, Clytemnestra, is the daughter of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, and sister to Helen, whom many say is the most beautiful mortal woman to have graced this Earth. Perhaps that is why Father has decided to sail away with a thousand ships to reclaim her, that, and the oath of protection he and all the kings and princes of Greece swore before the gods when asking for Helen’s hand.

I was but eight years of age when father left. I remembered that he was a big man, all muscle, and carried an authoritative voice but also a hearty laugh. In a way, he stands in complete contrast to mother, who was tall, slim, and hardly ever smiled. At least that is the case now, for I do remember a time when her presence would fill the halls of Argos with mirth and glee. But that all changed when she returned after leaving with Iphigenia for her marriage with Achilles.

Iphigeneia was one of my older sisters, the other being Electra. I was born half a decade after both of them, and they have both treated me with love and kindness when I was growing up. At least I remember Electra being kind, since Iphigeneia left when I was only six. However, Electra often talks about how my other sister cared for me and sang me songs when I was a babe. How I miss both of them now. It has been eight years since I left Argos,

When mother first returned, I did not understand her sorrow. I knew nothing about marriages at the time, but they did not sound so bad.

“Why are you so sad that Iphigeneia is married mother?” I asked.

“I am not sad, Ore.” She said, “I just miss your sister, that’s all.”

I missed Iphigeneia too, so I simply assumed that she told truth. I then decided that a sister being away was no reason to be stuck in melancholy, and so decided to go wrestling with other boys.

8 Years Ago: Orestes

Two years have passed since the beginning of the Trojan war. Father has not returned, but a new man has taken up residence in the palace. His name is Aegisthus, and he is the first cousin of father, for their fathers were brothers. At first he came sparingly, and his presence brought delight to mother. Soon he moved in, and all could tell that he liked her, and she liked him. The signs of infidelity became clear, but since father and his men left, we live in a palace of servants and slaves, and none dared to state the obvious.

At first, Aegisthus treated Electra and me with respect and care, but as mother became more infatuated with him, his eyes started to fill with disdain whoever his gaze was upon me. Growing up in the court of Argos matures boy quickly, and I could realize even at that age Augustus’s plans. Father was far away leading an army at Troy, in a war that seemed to always drag on. It was not uncommon that a king should die in war either of injury or fatigue, and being the king’s closest cousin, he was in the line of succession, after only me, for my father had no brothers.

There came an afternoon when I was crossing the courtyard to my daily training with the swordmaster when Aegisthus blocked my path with two of his soldiers.

“A fine morning, won’t you agree?” He half asked, half commented.

“I do agree.” I said, not sure where the conversation was going.

“You are what, ten years old as of a few weeks ago?”

“Yes, that I am.”

“And won’t you say that ten years old is a fine age to start hunting? Come young Orestes, my men and I have organized a hunting party this morning. Let us show you how it’s done.”

“I would love to go,” I said, “but I do have training this morning, so maybe another time.”

In truth, I knew that going hunting with Aegisthus would be the last mistake that I would ever make. Surrounded by only him and his men, there would no doubt be a convenient accident that ends with either a boar’s tusk through my innards or my head smashed against a tree.

“Ahhh, but I have foreseen this and it would be a shame to spend such a good morning training with swords,” He said, with a sly smile. “So that is why I have asked your swordmaster to take the day off.”

“Perhaps I can go then,” I responded coldly, “But I will need my mother’s permission.”

“You may go, Orestes,” said a voice tinged with a hint of sadness.

I turned around, and saw that it was mother. My jaw dropped as the pain of betrayal stabbed me through my heart, for my own mother has decided that my life was worth less than the affection of her lover. I observed her face, and saw the emotions of regret, pity, and shame. But nonetheless, she repeated herself.

“Don’t worry Orestes, you have my permission to go.”

“But, I…but,” I struggle to get words out as despair filled me.

“But Orestes has promised to spend the afternoon with me,” said another voice, this one calm and determined.

I turned again, and thank the gods, it was my dear sister Electra. For the past two years, ever since mother as drafted away from me, Electra has drifted closer, as if to fill the void that the other left. It was her who encouraged me to be brave when climbing tall trees, who taught me the intricacies of the court, who was slowly building me into a man.

“But Electra, surely you can let your brother go this morning,” said Aegisthus, with forced cheerfulness “He is of age to do this sort of thing.

“I’m sorry,” she shrugged, “but I made Orestes swear an oath before the gods that he will be with me today. It’s just that recently he has been spending so much time training, and I miss him. But hey, you guys can always go next time, right?”

I know that my dear sister was doing her best to get me out of this sticky situation, for I have promised no such thing. But I can’t help but feel a tinge of guilt as we left the courtyard together because her words rang true. I had stepped up my training since mother became ever more distant, and with father leading Greece’s greatest army at Troy, I wanted to make sure that I could live up to his name as a leader as well as a warrior.

We soon arrived in my room, and Electra closed the door.

“Listen Ore, I have to tell you something, about mother and Aegisthus.”

At the thought of mother’s betrayal, my eyes started to tear up. I placed my head into my palms as if that could hide my sobbing face from my sister. She stopped whatever she was about to say, leaned forward, and embraced me in a hug. It felt like an eternity before I managed to coke out some words.

“When…” I asked, “When did she decide to…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Yesterday,” Electra responded. “I know that this is hard right now, but you need to look at me and pay attention.”

I looked at her, and could see that there were bags under her eyes. It was clear that the news had kept her from sleep.

“I was informed by housemaids loyal to your father later in the evening. That Aegisthus managed to convince your mother to … umm … let you go, while they were in bed.”

I nodded, not feeling anything at the revelation, for it was something I knew.

“It has been going on for months Ore, but I didn’t want to worry you. I too, was surprised at what mother decided to do,” she said.

“What are we going to do, I asked, feeling hopeless.” My feelings must have shown on my face for my sister hugged me again.

“Don’t worry Ore, I planned for this. Again, I didn’t tell you before because I really didn’t want to worry you. That was a mistake, but it doesn’t matter now because we still have a chance to keep you safe.” I nodded, and she continued. “Tonight, at the twelfth bell, I want you to sneak out of the palace undetected and see me at the western gate. There will be two horses and supplies there waiting for you. From there, follow the road and ride west for two days without stop. Then you shall arrive at the city-state of Phocis. King Strophius of Phocis is a pious man and a good friend of father’s. He will offer you hospitality and safety until father’s return.”

“And you are sure we can trust him?” I asked.

“No, but we have no other choice,” my sister said with sadness.

We looked at each other in companionable silence for a while, before she spoke.

“I guess we should get the farewells out of the way,” she said, “we will be short on time tonight.”

There was so much I wanted to say to her. I wanted to tell her that I was afraid, that I didn’t want to be alone, that I didn’t want to be without her. I wanted to say that I was worried, that I feared that the king of Phocis may betray me or treat me ill. But I said none of those things, for I knew they would not make her feel better. Instead, I hugged her.

“I love you sister,” I said, “I will miss you greatly, and words cannot express my gratitude for all that you’ve done for me.”

“I love you too little bother,” she responded, “and I wish things could have been different.”

At some point we broke up our hug, and with teary eyes we bid farewell again.

“Get some sleep, Ore,” she said, “but make sure you wake up at midnight.”

She closed the door, but sleep would not come to me so easily. Instead, I spent my energy packing. In my small satchel I placed some bread, cheese, dried meat, and a cloak for rain. After that I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Perhaps the day’s emotions have drained me, for sleep did soon came unexpectedly.

When I did again wake up, it was to the sound of bells. Eleven chimes I counted, but was sure that I missed one in my slumber. I knew that guards were posted outside of my door, and so with my satchel on my back and my sword on my waist, I exited the window. The stone was rough against my calloused hands, and a trail of blood I left along the walls, as did a trail of cuts the walls leave on my hand.

By cover of the night I snuck up to the city gates, there was, strangely, no guards, but only a lone hooded figure with two horses. The gates were open, and with that I knew my trust in my sister was well placed. I walked up to her, and she turned around as she heard my footsteps.

“You are late,” she hissed.

“I tried to be sneaky,” I apologized.

Her gaze softened. “Let our parting words not be in anger Ore. Here, the horses are prepared for your journey, which I pray to the gods be safe and sound.”

I climbed onto the horses and took in the reins. I looked at my sister, “I just want to say, Ele, that you are the best sister anyone can hope for. Thank you.”

She smiled and didn’t respond. I can tell that she is holding back tears. I didn’t want to see her cry so I turned around and made the horses trot out of the city gate.