Chapter 0005 Helen

1 Chapter 5

Helen

I spoke of some of the vision to my companions, but I mostly kept it hidden. Pirithous And I split up here and Hippolytus and I returned to Athens. The next few years were some of the most painful of my life. My advisor, Menestheus grew more and more influential, and had I not been so pre-occupied, I would never have allowed that. His scheming cost me a great deal, but in the end, I know nothing happens apart from our agreement to let it happen. I was not so enlightened then, however.

Many years earlier I had agreed to marry the Cretan princess Phaedra to bring peace between our two kingdoms. She was too young at the time for a real marriage, and when I came back with Hippolyta, I had no desire to bring another woman into my household. Still I was bound by my agreement, and at Menestheus’ insistence, I agreed to bring her to Athens.

The years were not all unpleasant. I implemented many social reforms based on my dreams and I had plans for many more. Truth be told, I was so engrossed in research and planning and the excitement of it all, that I paid little attention to Phaedra or my son. Unknown to me there was a great deal of tension in my house. Phaedra conspired to take my throne and finally, to her own undoing and mine, she formed an alliance that cost her own life as well as the life of my precious Hippolytus. The alliance was with my advisor Menestheus who orchestrated all of it. What I learned or deduced later was that he had told Phaedra that she should seduce Hippolytus and that he could be convinced to join

2 forces with her against me. He had grown very frustrated with me because I neglected him. Phaedra was never very clever or subtle and it became obvious to everyone who was paying any attention that she was trying to get the boy’s attention and that he wanted nothing to do with her. All of this went according to Menestheus’ plans who then had Hippolytus killed by throwing him off a cliff into the sea. He then had witless Phaedra killed and made it look like a suicide hanging.

The story I was told is that Phaedra had tried to seduce Hippolytus and convince him to depose me and rule with her. When he refused she had him killed and then killed herself in grief. I was taken in and I did exactly what Menestheus expected me to do. I left the kingdom in sorrow and went off with Pirithous to forget. When I did that Menestheus, whom I unwittingly put in charge, spread the story that I had wrongly accused Hippolytus of trying to seduce Phaedra who wrote a note to that effect and then killed herself. I then cursed Hippolytus who was subsequently killed by Poseidon in answer to my curse. This story was spread to show that I was no longer fit to rule.

At any rate, I am certainly not blameless in that situation, but what man meant for my evil, was turned to my good as my destiny came rushing towards me.

“Pirithous, why is it that the good that I have done for my kingdom is rewarded with such treachery?”

3 “Perhaps our destinies are already written and we are only sheep being led to the inevitable slaughter.” Pirithous responded

“Yet what I learned in the cave with Oedipus is that we have the power to create our own world and our own experiences. I believe that’s true, but I certainly wouldn’t have created this.” I think I meant my last statement as a question as well as a fact.

“I only trust in my sword and my friends. The stuff of the gods is beyond me. I was not born half-god like my privileged companion.” Pirithous smiled as he made that comment, but only with half a jest I suspected.

“For all the good it’s done me. And yet, I remember now the words that were spoken to me by Oedipus. I had forgotten. He said that I would lose Hippolyta again and then find her. Losing Hippolytus felt just like losing Hippolyta all over again. I wonder how I shall find her?”

The answer was brought to me before the end of that day. A rider came upon our camp and hurriedly dismounted.

“I am looking for Theseus, King of Athens.”

“And what business do you have with him?” Pirithous demanded.

4 “Urgent business from King Tyndareus of Attica.”

“I am Theseus. What news from my friend?”

“The king is worried for his daughter, Helen. She is approaching marriageable age and he is besieged with warriors who are trying to take her by force to Troy.”

At the mention of Helen’s name I shuddered. It became very clear to me the path I had to take. I had heard of the conflict. I now remembered a dream I had a few years after Hippolyta’s death. I had been told of a daughter born to my friend King Tyndareus. There were many omens surrounding her birth, and I had dreamt that this baby girl whom they called Helen was born of Hippolyta and me. I saw her grow up just like her mother and often I couldn’t tell them apart. I thought nothing more about it until now. Was this then Hippolyta found? I knew from my dream in the cave with Oedipus that each of us is destined to live many lives and play many roles. But what purpose could this play in my drama? Even if Helen was Hippolyta, how could I be reunited with her in the body of a twelve year old? All of these questions past before me in an instant, but I had little time to consider them.

“What does the King want of me? I have no army here?”

“The King knows of your wisdom and the courage of yourself and your companion King Pirithous. He asks you to steal her away and bring her to a safe place until Tyndareus can

5 raise an army to defend her honor.”

“All the king wishes, I will do.”

After he left, I turned to Pirithous. “My brother, I feel like this is a path that I must take, but it is dangerous. Perhaps you should not risk yourself on this one.”

“What did I say not long ago? The only things I trust are my sword and my friends. You are my dearest friend. I wouldn’t even consider letting you face this alone. Besides, we are neither one getting younger and I really don’t like the idea of dying peacefully after all of my body parts fail. Besides, I understand Helen is already more beautiful than most at her tender age. Maybe she likes older men.”

“Well then, I should tell you the truth, so we will not fight over her. I believe this is Hippolyta returned fulfilling Oedipus’ prophecy. So once again I fear I shall end up with the prettiest prize.”

“Maybe, but I always suspected Hippolyta liked me best. Perhaps she will have grown tired of you in her new life.”

His grin was always disarming and I knew he was joking. Still I felt this journey would be the undoing of both of us. I had no intention of sharing that thought, but instead returned his playfulness.

6

“Well, Pirithous, if you have a death wish and think you can take this prize from me then let’s settle this now.”

We both drew our swords and set upon one another. I have always felt that Pirithous was part of me somehow. If I were ever attracted to a man, he would be the one. But with the exception of Hippolyta, I have never been closer to anyone else in my life. We used the swordplay now as a tension diffuser. I think we both had a sense of foreboding about the future. Finally we collapsed of exhaustion and laughter.

“I’d say it was a draw Pirithous. I would rather face an army than your sword in serious combat.”

“Well we both know who has the bigger sword.”

“Oh please, my reputation as a lover is legendary.”

“Yes, but you’re the only one that keeps telling the legends.”

“You are so lucky that I like you.” We sat for a moment to catch our breath. Pirithous was right I wasn’t getting any younger. I then continued, “Seriously now. What’s our plan?”

7 “We can go in as visiting friends of Tyndareus and then we should be able to disguise ourselves and leave under the cover of night.” Pirithous said

“A good plan, except that for this to work and to take the pressure off of Tyndareus, we need to make a little more noise. They are going to have to believe we are abducting her on our own.” I replied and then continued, “Tyndareus can spread the word that our intention is to take her for ourselves. We can then take her to Athens and prepare an ambush.”

“You rascal. You really are planning to go out with a noise aren’t you? So we’ll have to fight both the Trojans and the Atticans?”

“If need be, but I think Tyndareus’ men will only fight half-heartedly.”

“Let’s sleep then,” Pirithous demanded, “and begin fresh in the morning.”

The journey was a three days ride from where we started. As planned we entered the city and made our presence known. King Tyndareus honored us with great pomp and circumstance and made a big show of telling us about the security measures taken to protect the castle and his daughter. He showed us where her room was and the guards protecting it. Finally we were feasted and introduced to Helen. This was the moment I had been waiting for. When she entered the hall, the commotion immediately ceased and all attention was on her. I remembered that Hippolyta had the same effect in my court.

8

She dutifully made her way to her father’s side. She was introduced first to Pirithous and then to me. What happened next was something we didn’t plan, but it set the stage perfectly for what we were about to do. I didn’t know how I would react seeing her, but I never even hoped for her recognition.

Our eyes met and she began to sob. She ran into my arms and we held each other. The whole court saw and heard and they were shocked.

“Theseus, how I have missed you. I dreamt about you last night and I saw all that we had and all that we were. My heart was so full of joy. I could feel your touch and your embrace and something inside of me stirred to awakening. I felt your power coursing through me and I knew that our love was not easily dismissed in life or death. I saw our son and felt so proud of the man he became. And I saw your tragedy and felt your pain. But mostly I felt joy at seeing you again. When I awakened I knew life would never be the same for me. And here you are.”

“My beloved, I had hoped beyond hope that I would find you here.” Now my tears began to flow. “This may turn out to be the cruelest joke yet played on me, but for now I am filled with the joy of having you in my arms again. I can smell the earth upon you. I feel your power within me, and I am once again invincible. I hold the form of a child but feel the love of my queen. You are my life and my glory now and forever.”

9 I cannot describe with words what passed between us in those few moments. There was no question in the minds of anyone that I had angered the King and had illicit intentions towards his daughter. Not even the King was prepared for this, and I feared he might change his mind and indeed we would have to fight the army of Argive to get out of this place. Tyndareus rather unceremoniously pulled his daughter from me and sent her from the hall. He remained distant the rest of the evening, but apparently our plans remained intact.

Pirithous and I pretended to get drunk and rowdy and when most of the guests had left we made our move. The only ones left in the hall still alert were the Royal guards and the Dioscouri. These were the Trojan warriors. They knew something was about to happen, but I don’t think they felt in our drunken state we would be any match for them. In their overconfidence, I believe, they had hatched a plan that they thought would work to their advantage. They actually helped us abduct Helen by killing the guards surrounding her room and then withdrawing. I knew their plan when we saw the carnage.

We burst into Helen’s chambers. She was waiting for us.

“Hurry Helen, we are taking you to a safe place.”

“I know Theseus. I am ready.”

“Theseus, you know this is not the work of Tyndareus?” Pirithous asked referring to how

10 easy this abduction had gone.

“Yes. The Dioscouri intend to ambush us outside the city and then take Helen and blame us.”

“You know they are powerful warriors don’t you?” Pirithous expressed his concern. “They outnumber us twenty to one.”

“I know. We are going to need a little luck here,” I said, “but I think they believe that we are so drunk that they will not all be together to capture us. They are such arrogant people that they will want to take us with fewer men so they can boast. Their pride, I hope will be their undoing.”

“Hopefully theirs and not ours,” Pirithous said ruefully. I think he was also unprepared for the scene between Helen and me.

As expected, we made it clear of the city and I was proven right. Of the forty warriors I knew were in Argive, only fifteen attacked us. Even at that, the outcome was far from certain. There was no place to hide Helen to protect her, but I knew she was still under Hippolyta’s trance, so I gave her a sword. She proved beyond question that she was my beloved. The three of us fought fiercely. In the moonlight swords were flashing. It was a wonder that we did not awaken the dead let alone the city with the sounds of clashing metal. The Dioscouri were like mad dogs that refused to die. I wondered for a time

11 whether we were fighting men or demons. Every time I thought that I had killed one, he would come back at me. I had no time to even think about the others and how they were doing, but I sensed that this was not the worst part of this journey and that we would come out of this battle victorious and intact. I held to that vision and also to the memory of meeting again my Hippolyta. I knew we were giving each other power as we had done so many times before in battle. I knew that there is no power on earth or in heaven greater than love, and she was my true and only love.

The rest of the fight became a blurred mix of images. One moment I was concentrating on where I was and the next I was seeing and feeling the memories of my time with Hippolyta. The next thing I remember is seeing the sun peak over the hillside and discovering only two others standing. We were blood soaked and grinning. What a sight – two mighty warriors and a girl.

We had won. We knew that we couldn’t rest yet. We pushed ourselves on. Fortunately our horses had not gone too far away. We mounted them ands rode hard until we came upon some caves in the hills. There was a stream nearby and we washed and then we pulled our horses and our bodies into the cave and we slept.

Sometime during that sleep, Oedipus again visited me. I found out later that each of my companions had a similar dream.

“Theseus. You are about to enter your final journey of awakening. Helen must be taken to

12 Athens for safekeeping. Your destiny and hers must separate here. It is in both of your interests to do this. I know how difficult this is for you. I know that you will need help to get through this, but you must be strong. Your power and your true destiny are almost at hand. When you awaken, you will be the only one to remember who Helen truly is. Neither she nor Pirithous will remember. Pirithous will have had a dream leading him to find his true love. You must accompany him, for he will be leading you to a magical place where all will be revealed.”

“No! You cannot do this. I cannot lose Hippolyta again.” I sobbed with pain and loneliness.

“Theseus my son.” Oedipus had now transformed into my father Poseidon. “Doesn’t the meeting of Hippolyta in the form of Helen make you realize the truth? You cannot lose her. She will always be a part of your life, but each of you has important work to do before you can be reunited as two halves of the same whole. Trust the process. Trust Hippolyta. And trust yourself. It is always unfolding perfectly. Every event in your life moves you closer to the goal of your perfection and therefore the world’s. That is the Truth of it. It can be no other way. As long as your journey is in the flesh, there will be doubt and confusion; pain and sorrow; mistakes and loss. But the further along you travel, the less these conditions will be a part of your life until you finally learn that you were the creator of all of it from the start. You will learn this lesson many times. Don’t forget. Follow Prometheus no matter how difficult it may be. Your destiny awaits you. Be strong my son. I am with you always.”

13

I lay still for many moments. I didn’t want the dream to end because it meant facing my great loss. I knew it was a true dream. I knew I had to let her go. The One who moves unseen was kind to me. When I did awaken, as did Helen and Pirithous, I knew the truth of their forgetfulness. Helen was again a little girl. She was a scared of us. She had no recollection of the battle. She only knew that she had been abducted. Her father had given her very little warning for fear she would be afraid and reveal the plan in some childish way. She was also of noble blood, though, and still had the power of Hippolyta hidden within her, so she put on a very brave attitude for one so young.

“How dare you repay my father’s hospitality in this way? I am a princess. Do you think you can take me like some slave? You will pay for this, trust me.”

“No princess. You must trust me. In time, you will come to know the truth of what I say. Pirithous and I were acting under the orders of your father. He feared for your life because of the Trojans. We are taking you to a safe place in Athens. There we will be able to protect you from the Dioscouri.”

The journey back to Athens was slow since we had to be alert for the Dioscouri. We know they were looking for us. We also knew they would suspect we were on our way to Athens. Fortunately because of all of my adventures ridding our country of road robbers, I knew many back ways and hidden passages to get us there. I also decided that we would leave Helen with my mother. Once there, Pirithous and I went to Athens openly. Without

14 Helen, we would be safe for the time being. Once in Athens, I told Menestheus where Helen was and gave him strict orders to protect her at all costs. I still knew nothing of his treachery, but instead gave him more fuel for his ambitions. That would be the last time I entered Athens as King. Menestheus would spread the story of my abduction of Helen as a madman and turn Helen over to Tyndareus, but not without providing a chance for the Dioscouri to abduct her. It all felt like the end of happiness for me, but in fact as one life ended a new and more exciting one was about to begin. For the greatest adventure of my life was just around the corner as Pirithous would lead me into hell – and heaven. And I would hold the hope of once again meeting my beloved Hippolyta. This would ever be my dream. Judah finished writing and felt a wonderful excitement. He was always happy visiting this dream world that he was creating, but he also felt as though there was something coming into his waking life that would open paths and journeys he could heretofore only dream of.

Meanwhile another dream being dreamt in Glenwood Springs would eventually bring an important person into Zelig’s life. The woman he knew he would meet was now being prepared for that meeting.