Calais of Thebes

Ouroboros

My name is Calais of Thebes, and I am a hero.

I am known throughout Greece as the Slayer of the Great Snake. I travelled to the desert island of Lemnos to fight Ouroboros, the Great Snake, in the year 407 BCE. I received word of the terrible serpent from a messenger sent across the Aegean Sea from the city of Troy. The snake was travelling across the world, slowly but surely destroying everything in its path. I was to meet it at Lemnos and kill it before it could destroy the whole world. The desert of Lemnos was ideal because there were no plants I could kill to give away my location if I were to go invisible.

I prepared a ship to sail to Lemnos alone and left my home in Thebes, bidding my mother farewell. She was the only person I could and would ever love, despite having many suitors and wishful people at my heels all the time. I told her to watch the grass for my return and departed. I sailed for weeks with prayers to Zeus and Poseidon in my sails and under my ship. When I arrived, there were no soldiers to be seen, only fearsome women and desert as far as the eye could see.

When the vile creature made its appearance, I was prepared to fight. I had my xiphos, a short sword, ready and my clothes had been discarded on the beach so I would be completely invisible. My xiphos was visible, but Ouroboros had terrible eyesight so I knew this would not be a problem.

It moved quickly for its tremendous size, but I was quicker. I ran towards it, dagger floating and feet leaving footprints in the sand, but no other trace of my presence was there. I plunged the knife into its open mouth and retreated while it thrashed, more in confusion than pain. It whipped its great head around wildly, freeing my knife and knocking me to the sand.

I stood up and ran for my xiphos, grabbing it and stabbing the slithering monster in the back of its long neck. I had sand on my skin and I was faintly visible but I fearlessly kept fighting. As I stabbed and dodged and fell and rose, a whispered prayer to Athena for wisdom and strength stayed on my lips. A weapon, a strategy, anything would do, for I was tiring against this terrible creature.

She must have heard my pleas because a great sword appeared in the sand near my feet. The beast caught sight of the glinting metal and slid angrily along the sand towards it. I ran as quickly as I could, but Ouroboros was too fast for my shaking legs to keep up with. It scooped up the sword in its terrible maw and swallowed it whole.

I still had my xiphos but I felt the battle was lost here. I was weak and bruised from fighting and falling. Then, thank the goddess, I got an idea. I slashed at the middle of the snake, aiming for its belly. I hacked away pieces of its stinking flesh, until I finally connected with a sharp crack against the sword inside.

I jumped on its back and plunged my knife down, scraping against the long sword inside of it. I squeezed the beast with my legs to hold on and twisted and turned my dagger until the handle of the sword was visible to me, slick and grey with monster blood. I grabbed it and left the creature's flailing body behind me as I ran towards its horrible biting head.

I called up all of my strength and transformed my body into the strongest possible form I could still hold the sword with, the human form of Ares, god of War. My feet left the sand as I swung the slimy sword towards its thick neck and—

SKWOUSH!

I chopped the vile thing's head clean off, leaving it writhing and bleeding grey blood into the tan sand. I reverted to my natural form and lay back in the sand, too weak to move any longer.

I woke up days later, when the severed head had long since stopped moving and flies had descended upon it. I dragged the heavy thing into my boat and prepared for the voyage back to Thebes. As I sailed home, I thanked the gods and goddesses for my victory.

I returned to Thebes with a great big snake head dragging in the dirt behind my invisible frame. The grass died as I stepped on it and sprang back to life behind me. I welcomed its familiar bitter crackle. I never wanted to step foot on sand again.

I dropped the head in the centre of the city and retreated to my mother's home, the place where she had raised me alone, the place where I had grown up.

She was sitting outside and staring at the ground, waiting as I had left her. I walked up and stood in front of her and she knew I was home. She stood and threw her arms around my invisible form and thanked the gods and goddesses for my safe return. I held her as she wept for joy, and the city rejoiced with us.

That is how I became the Slayer of the Great Snake. With the help of Athena, Ares, Poseidon, and Zeus, I was able to save the world from terrible Ouroboros.

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