The Minoan Rhapsody

The Strogula

Thoas, the ruling lord of Lemnos, stood at the beach watching the Strogula, a 30-oar ship, the largest of his fleet. It was not beached as the others. It remained anchored in the middle of the bay and the men went on and off the ship on rowboats. They were loading provisions. "What are they doing?" he asked the Captain of the ship, Sisyphus, who was standing beside him.

Both men were of medium built, with refined, yet uncared complexions. Their appearance showed how they lived mostly outdoors and paid little attention for life's finer offerings.

"We are not staying," Sisyphus answered.

"Why?"

"Look at the horizon." He pointed at bands of clouds emerging from the distance as if a monster's tentacles were reaching out to them. "A storm is on its way."

"We are not in storm season." Lord Thoas turned towards the Captain and crossed his arms. "Why did it take you so long to return? It's been days since all of us got back. All of us but you."

A pair of women carrying baskets walked past them. They dared not to look at the men but rather hasten their pace, fleeing from their presence. Thoas stared at them with disdain.

Sisyphus kept his attention on the Strogula. "A new matter grabbed my attention. I am still sorting it out. Nothing for you to worry about. It's personal." He looked at his Lord out of the corner of his eyes. "Shouldn't you be making preparations for the storm?"

"You are right. Are you joining us later tonight for my son's birth?"

"Myrina has only given you daughters, three of them. What makes you think she's got a boy in her now?"

"It is my will," Lord Thoas raised an eyebrow.

Sisyphus chuckled. "Like that wasn't the case before. Some women just don't have it in them."

"Are you coming or not?"

"I will ride out the storm on the Strogula."

"There will be plenty of everything should you change your mind." As Lord Thoas turned to leave, he bumped into another woman who was carrying a jar of water.

She fell on the sand, the jar breaking on the fall.

Thoas' legs got wet with the spilled water, the sand sticking to his feet. "Idiot! A dog is more careful than you!" He made the whimpering woman swipe his feet clean. He left her laying on the sand.

Sisyphus stared stoically at the woman. He helped her up and wiped her tears and sand off her face. "Do you have any children?" he asked softly.

"No." Trembling, the woman would not dare look at him in the eye.

"Be more careful. If I hear you so much as brushed another man, I shall slice the nipples off your breasts, so your newborns starve to death. Am I clear?"

The woman nodded as she rushed away.

He pressed his lips and left towards a rowboat that was waiting for him. He boarded it. "Let's go," he said to the two men on board handling the oars. "I've got a doggess to take care of."

#

One third of the crew was on board the Strogula, all complaining to Sisyphus.

"Why can't we go on shore?" One man said.

"If a storm is coming, I'd rather be on land!" Another one complained.

"Does this have anything to do with that woman below deck?" A third one questioned.

"Enough!" Sisyphus barked. "How many of you wish you didn't have to raid anymore? We've sailed with no rest to lands far from us. Nubia, Tarsus, Kolonna, should I go on? How many men have we lost? Are we any better now than when we were young?" The Captain walked among his men on deck. "I am tired. My bones ache. I want to lay below a roof that doesn't leak, drinking ale and fuck until I am sore. We keep this woman below out of sight for however long is necessary, and we will never have to raid again."

"How long?!" One yelled.

Sisyphus raised an eyebrow. "If you don't want to stay here you are most welcome to leave. Just don't come back asking for a share."

The crew muttered amongst themselves.

Sisyphus grabbed a rope that was tied to one of the rowboats. "Anyone?" He offered the rope to his crew. He saw no one move. "Then shut up and get to work! We sail south, to Moudros Bay. We will ride the storm there. Anyone not here will be left behind. They knew better than to take too long."

The men resumed their chores, accommodating their provisions, securing the row boats, and handling the sail off the ship's single mast.

Sisyphus went to the single ladder at the stern of the ship and stepped below deck. He went to his deck by the bow. The door was closed with two men standing guard. "Leave us," he commanded.

Persephone was sitting on a wood bench. Her long, flowing, tan peplos hid her crossed legs. Black, fair hair over pale, satin skin, her semblance was serene, yet her amber colored eyes were unsettling.

"A storm is coming soon. It will be rough," said Sisyphus.

She gave him a sly smile.

"What amuses you? Have you ever gone through a storm in a ship? We'll see how amusing it will be when you get your head cracked open once it hits a post."

"You really have no idea."

"Idea of what? All I need to know is that someone wants to keep you out of sight for a while and is paying a king's ransom for it." He opened a wooden box filled with gold and silver coins. "That is just half of it. It is also what is keeping you untouched by me or any of my crew. Otherwise, I would have had you back at Ephesus, where I found you."

"Your eternity is worth far more than a couple of boxes of silver and gold."

"Don't bore me with your ill-conceived righteousness, Persephone. Yes, I know who you are. What are you going to do? Grow an orchard on my ship?"

"Perhaps you don't know the most important thing about me."

"Enough," Sisyphus waived her off. "Keep your forked tongue to yourself. You might be here for a long time and I don't care what you do. You will not see the sun or the moon until I say so. This is my ship, and as long as you are here, I have absolute power over you. Do not test me."

Persephone stood and slowly approached Sisyphus while her eyes were locked onto him. "I don't embrace violence." She stopped within an arm's length. "I am one with the darkness, so not seeing the sun or the moon suits me fine. If there is one thing I've learned, is to be eternally patient. Afterall, eventually everyone ends in Hades. You are a fool, not because of your ignorance, but because you refuse to know. You've got much to do. All I got to do is wait." She tilted her head and her smile widened.

"All you self-serving Gods are the same. We'll see who laughs last." The Captain turned his back on her and climbed up the ladder above deck. "Men of Lemnos!" He looked at his crew with fire in his eyes.

They all paid attention.

"She is not to go above deck. No matter what. She eats, drinks, sleep, pisses and shits down below. All her waste is thrown to the sea. Everything she touches; plates, cups, utensils, everything, shall be cleaned once she finishes using it. Do you understand?"

The crew mumbled.

The Strogula sailed around the coast of Lemnos. On its south side, it anchored on Moudros, a nearly circular, deep bay which Sisyphus hoped would protect his ship. The men took down the sail mast. They dropped two anchors, ensuring the ship faced north. When finished, most of them went on shore using the rowboats. A handful of them stayed on board, along with their Captain.

It wasn't storm season, yet a storm was coming. No storms ever came from the north, yet the north was dark and thunderous.

Hades sat on his Throne withhis eyes closed, waiting.