The Gleam of Gold & Amber
"Look, Pisistratus... see the gleam of bronze and gold—of amber, ivory, and silver. Everything is so splendid that it is like seeing the palace of Olympian Jove."
The Mixing Bowl
Pure silver with a gold rim, made by Vulcan's own hand.
The Silver Work-box
A gift from Egyptian Thebes, running on wheels with a gold band.
The Nepenthe
A drug from Egypt that banishes all sorrow and ill-humour.
The Gatehouse Beds
Spread with red rugs and woollen cloaks for the guests.
Eight Years of Wandering
While Ulysses was trapped, Menelaus wandered the southern and eastern seas, gathering a fortune in gold and substance.
Snaring the Old Man of the Sea
Proteus's shapeshifting attempts to escape Menelaus's grasp at Pharos.
With a great mane. The first and most fierce transformation.
A serpent of immense scale and cunning.
Swift and spotted, trying to slip through the fingers.
A wild, tusking beast of the earth.
Running water, nearly impossible to hold.
A tall, leafy tree, the final stationary effort.
The Secret of the Sea-God
On Ulysses: "I can see him in an island sorrowing bitterly in the house of the nymph Calypso... he cannot reach his home for he has no ships nor sailors."
On Ajax: Wrecked on the rocks of Gyrae. Drowned because of his boast that the gods could not kill him.
On Agamemnon: Butchered like an ox in the shambles by Aegisthus after a year of being watched.
On Menelaus: Destined for the Elysian plain because he is Jove's son-in-law.