A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
For Keziah, of course
Her excellent reputation will never be lost;
the gods will create a song to delight mortals about clever Penelope.
So unlike my wife, who did awful things . . .
Agamemnon, Odyssey Book 24.196–9
List of Characters
GREEKS
The House of Atreus
AGAMEMNON, king of Mycenae, near Argos, on the Greek mainland. Son of Atreus, husband of:
CLYTEMNESTRA, queen of Mycenae, and mother of:
IPHIGENIA, ORESTES, ELECTRA
MENELAUS, brother of Agamemnon, husband of:
HELEN of Sparta, later known as Helen of Troy. Helen was both sister and sister-in-law to Clytemnestra. She and Menelaus had a daughter:
HERMIONE
In addition:
AEGISTHUS, son of Thyestes (the brother of Atreus), was cousin to Agamemnon and Menelaus
The House of Odysseus
ODYSSEUS, king of Ithaca, son of ANTICLEIA and LAERTES. Husband of:
PENELOPE, queen of Ithaca, weaving expert, mother of:
TELEMACHUS
Their household also contained:
EURYCLEIA, Odysseus’ nurse
EUMAEUS, a loyal swineherd
Odysseus was delayed on his way home from Troy by (among many others):
POLYPHEMUS, a one-eyed giant or Cyclops. Son of POSEIDON, the god of the sea
CIRCE, an enchantress who lived on the island of Aeaea (pronounced Ai-ee-a)
THE LAESTRYGONIANS, some cannibal giants
THE SIRENS, half-women, half-birds, with a song that drew sailors to their deaths
SCYLLA, a dog-woman hybrid. Lots of teeth
CHARYBDIS, a ship-destroying whirlpool
CALYPSO, a nymph who lived on the island of Ogygia (pronounced Oh-gi-jee-a)
The House of Achilles
PELEUS was a Greek king and hero who married:
THETIS, a sea nymph. They had a son:
ACHILLES, the greatest warrior the world had ever known. His closest friend and perhaps lover was:
PATROCLUS, a Greek warrior and minor noble. During the Trojan War, they captured:
BRISEIS, princess of Lyrnessus, a smaller town not far from Troy
Achilles also had a son:
NEOPTOLEMUS
Other Greeks embroiled in the Trojan War include:
SINON, a warrior
PROTESILAUS, king of Phylace, a small Greek settlement. Husband of:
LAODAMIA, his queen
TROJANS
The House of Priam
PRIAM, king of Troy, father of countless sons and daughters and husband of:
HECABE, also called Hecuba by the Romans and later by Shakespeare. Mother of:
POLYXENA, heroine of Troy
CASSANDRA, priestess of APOLLO, the god of archery, healing and disease
HECTOR, the great Trojan hero
PARIS, Trojan warrior and seducer of other men’s wives
POLYDORUS, the youngest son of Priam and Hecabe
Hecabe and Priam were also parents-in-law of:
ANDROMACHE, wife of Hector, mother of ASTYANAX
Other Trojans embroiled in the war include:
AENEAS, a Trojan noble, son of ANCHISES and husband of:
CREUSA, mother of EURYLEON (later known by the Romans as Ascanius)
THEANO, wife of ANTENOR (an adviser to Priam) and mother of CRINO
CHRYSEIS, a Trojan girl and the daughter of CHRYSES, a priest of APOLLO
PENTHESILEA was an Amazon princess, sister to HIPPOLYTA. She was not a Trojan, but fought as their ally in the last year of the war
OENONE (pronounced Oi-no-nee), a mountain nymph, lived near Troy
DEITIES
CALLIOPE, muse of epic poetry
ZEUS, king of the Olympian gods. Father of countless other gods, goddesses, nymphs and demi-gods. Husband and brother of:
HERA, queen of the Olympian gods and disliker of anyone Zeus seduces
APHRODITE, goddess of love, particularly the lustful variety. Married to the blacksmith god, HEPHAESTUS, and occasional lover of the god of war, ARES
ATHENE, goddess of wisdom and defensive warfare. Supporter of Odysseus, patron goddess of Athens. Loves owls
ERIS, goddess of strife. Troublemaker
THEMIS, one of the old goddesses. Represents order, as opposed to chaos
GAIA, another one of the old goddesses. We think of her as Mother Earth
THE MOIRAI, the Fates. Three sisters – CLOTHO, LACHESIS and ATROPOS – who hold our destinies in their hands
1
Calliope
Sing, Muse, he says, and the edge in his voice makes it clear that this is not a request. If I were minded to accede to his wish, I might say that he sharpens his tone on my name, like a warrior drawing his dagger across a whetstone, preparing for the morning’s battle. But I am not in the mood to be a muse today. Perhaps he hasn’t thought of what it is like to be me. Certainly he hasn’t: like all poets, he thinks only of himself. But it is surprising that he hasn’t considered how many other men there are like him, every day, all demanding my unwavering attention and support. How much epic poetry does the world really need?
Every conflict joined, every war fought, every city besieged, every town sacked, every village destroyed. Every impossible journey, every shipwreck, every homecoming: these stories have all been told, and countless times. Can he really believe he has something new to say? And does he think he might need me to help him keep track of all his characters, or to fill those empty moments where the metre doesn’t fit the tale?