HELEN: The Wine Dark Sea

"An armorer should make a set of armor that fits me now. I'll grow into my father's in time."

"If you live that long, boy!" Odysseus blurted in frustration. "Now do as I say and stay well away from the fighting today. Must I have a warrior watch you, or will you be on your honor?"

Neoptolemus looked toward the shining Aegean Sea and thought of home. He didn't want to return to his mother with no thrilling stories to tell and sing. Perhaps they would come in time. "I'll go and watch from the beach. Will that be far enough away for you?"

"Yes, it will do." He waited to make certain the lad actually had gone that far before he joined his men. They had done all they could to ensure fate would be with them, and he strode into the fray with a new confidence and pride. When the fighting proven no easier than on previous days, but if anything more trying and vigorous, he wondered what proph

ecies the Trojans had heard.

When he sat with the other kings surrounding Agamemnon that night, he waited until every man there had complained of how stubborn an enemy the Trojans continually proved to be. When at last Agamemnon glanced his way, he cleared his throat before he spoke. "Lord Agamemnon, I'm often accused of having a cunning nature and relying on trickery, but perhaps that is exactly the course we should take."

"We all know you're clever, my dear Odysseus, what do you suggest?" Agamemnon asked, and all present leaned forward to hear.

Odysseus began devising a plan as he spoke. "If we convince the Trojans the war is over, they would lay down their arms and celebrate. If we staged a feigned retreat, but remained near enough to strike, we could catch them off-guard."

"No matter how drunk they got, they'd not leave the massive Scaean Gate to the city open," Diomedes scoffed.

"No," Odysseus agreed. "We do need a way through the gate, and I know how to do it." The men talked long into the night and by dawn, with Odysseus's leadership, they had worked out a plan so audacious, none regretted going without sleep.

Agamemnon chuckled to himself. "Epeius is good with wood. Summon him and we'll begin today."

Odysseus stretched the soreness from his muscles as he stood. "I'll send for him, but we must fight today with our usual spirit so the Trojans won't even suspect a ploy is afoot until after they've fallen for it. We'll need several days, but the war will soon be won, my friends."

"I won't mind killing more Trojans as we bide our time," Diomedes replied, and his companions joined in with raucous laughter.

* * *

Helen had slept poorly as she often did and was still in bed when Deiphobus burst into their chamber shouting, "The war is over! The Greeks have gone, vanished like cowards during the night, and they left behind a huge horse made of wood which must be meant as a tribute to Athena."

She sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "How can this be after they've fought so hard?"

Deiphobus paced at the end of their bed. "They must have finally come to believe that Troy can't be defeated as long as the god of War, Ares, and Apollo guard our well-built walls, so they have withdrawn to their homelands. I care not at all why they have left. They are gone, and that's all that matters. Now dress quickly and come with me to view the giant horse. It's an astonishing sight, and we must decide what's to be done with this victory trophy."

When he was so happy and animated, he reminded her of an exuberant Paris, and she could barely stand to look at him. She had seen Odysseus in the city, and the Palladium had been stolen that very night. Clearly the Greeks were plotting something drastic but Deiphobus didn't appear to be in the least bit suspicious. She opened her mouth to warn him that something had to be amiss, but she'd be ridiculed if she offered to plot strategy for the Trojan army. Still, something was very wrong, and perhaps when she saw the horse, she could convince others of it.

She left her bed and dressed for the day, frightened by what it might bring.

* * *

Down on the beach, a growing animated crowd stood clustered around the mammoth horse but parted when Deiphobus and Helen approached. The smoking remains of the Greeks' camp were scattered along the beach, clear evidence in his view that they'd given up their quest to dominate Troy. Helen, however, was not fooled by the scattered litter, and her anxiety rose as she circled the massive statue. It was handsome in a stark, brutal way, made from fir trees felled in the nearby forest and fashioned into planks with the marks of axes and saws still showing. Its huge round eyes seemed to cast a disdainful glance on the little people below.

"What do you think of it?" Deiphobus asked.

"There's an ominous stillness about that it I don't like," Helen replied truthfully. She caught sight of Cassandra moving their way. "Let's hear Cassandra's opinion."

Cassandra shoved to the front of the awestruck spectators, clenched her fists and raised her arms in the air. She spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, "This hideous horse is an evil trick and should be burned to the ground. Get rid of it now or we'll all come to grievous harm."

Laughter greeted her strong-worded prediction, and she scanned the crowd for support and found none. "Wait until my father comes," she called. "He may see this demonic beast for what it is."

Deiphobus shook his head and whispered to Helen, "She's still a beauty, but no one believes her mad ravings, nor should they. It's said she's cursed by Apollo, the god of Prophecy."

It was a warm sunny morning, but Helen felt the same eerie sensation of doom Cassandra had just described and shivered with a chill. The horse was solidly built with a broad belly that might hide many warriors within it ready to attack. Why did no one else see a danger that was so clear to Cassandra and her? As always, she kept quiet rather than draw attention to herself, but she felt badly torn. She'd found the joy of love as well as the anguishing sorrow of loss here in Troy, but the Greeks they had battled for so long were still men from her far away home.

Perhaps unwittingly, she'd chosen the Greeks' side when Odysseus had entered the city posing as a beggar. She'd been shocked by his daring, but not stopped him. Now the Palladium, the "Spirit of Troy" was gone, and this monstrous horse stood so ominously on the beach, silently daring her to speak out against it, but she couldn't find the words to damn her countrymen.

Priam and Hecuba rode down to the shore in the royal chariot pulled by a magnificent pair of white horses. He helped her to step down and stared up at the awesome horse with mouth agape. He'd been told it was large, but it was immense. He scanned the beach, but there were no warships pulled up on the sand, and no sound other than the brush of the wind.

Deiphobus greeted his father warmly, "Sire, a man who calls himself Sinon, hid rather than sail with the Greeks for fear of being sacrificed when they reached home. He told us the statute is meant as a tribute to the goddess Athena."