Whispers of war were first brought by a foreign ship, sailed into the harbor by a group of weary slave traders in the dusk of a humid Ithacan afternoon. From the courtyard of King Odysseus’ palace, where I had been sent to fetch water with the other kitchen maids, the ship, which had been emblazoned with the red and gold of Sparta, was easily recognized by each of us. Immediately, we were called back inside by the cooks and told that the sailors would be being hosted by Odysseus. Right away, we were ordered to begin preparing for our guests. The tables in the palace’s hall were scrubbed down, cattle was slaughtered, bread was kneaded, and golden pitchers and basins for rinsing the guests’ hands were set out.
The work was finished quickly; just after night had been ushered in by the setting sun, the hall’s oaken doors were opened for a large group of men who were said to have been carried around the globe by their popular slave trading business. They were greeted with Odysseus’s laughter and enthusiastic embraces, of which their captain was the first recipient, and the feasting in storeon their visit was described jovially to them by Penelope. The guests were escorted upstairs by Odysseus’ slaves, where they were bathed by maids and helped to dress, and then the group, at least thirty men in total, was once again led down the stairs. After being seated around the tables of the great hall, their goblets were filled generously, and large pieces of meat, which had been served by attendants, were taken up by the hungry men.
After being sent to my post along the outer walls of the room, Odysseus and Penelope’s words were carried over the sounds of jubilance towards my ear, and stories and news could be heard as they were traded between the royal couple and the ship’s captain. While the discussion was begun with Odysseus complementing the build and quality of the Spartan ship and its crew, the conversation was soon shifted to the goings-on of Menelaus, the king of Sparta. When asked of Menelaus, the captain’s face was morphed by his raised eyebrows, and a smirk could be seen in the lifted corners of his mouth. Menelaus, Odysseus and Penelope were told, had been confronted with trying times: he had been scorned by his wife, Helen, who was stolen by a Trojan prince, and Menelaus was left in a rage. Helen was being kept by the Trojans, who had been known to be difficult in diplomatic situations. At this news, I noticed the rolling of Penelope’s eyes, which were then directed towards Odysseus in a subtle glance.
As wine was swigged down by the soldiers, and the hall was filled with sounds of laughter, Odysseus’ eyes were directed downward at his plate. His ruddy cheeks were stripped of their color and his smile was replaced with pursed lips. More stories of Helen’s indiscretions were loudly offered forth by the captain, but Penelope’s attention was preoccupied with staring at Odysseus, her eyes wide. Their guest was swiftly turned to by Penelope, and his newest story was stopped mid-sentence as his hands were clasped in hers. An attendant bearing drink was waved over by the queen, who was suddenly overcome with laughter, and he was commanded to pour more wine.
The work was finished quickly; just after night had been ushered in by the setting sun, the hall’s oaken doors were opened for a large group of men who were said to have been carried around the globe by their popular slave trading business. They were greeted with Odysseus’s laughter and enthusiastic embraces, of which their captain was the first recipient, and the feasting in storeon their visit was described jovially to them by Penelope. The guests were escorted upstairs by Odysseus’ slaves, where they were bathed by maids and helped to dress, and then the group, at least thirty men in total, was once again led down the stairs. After being seated around the tables of the great hall, their goblets were filled generously, and large pieces of meat, which had been served by attendants, were taken up by the hungry men.
After being sent to my post along the outer walls of the room, Odysseus and Penelope’s words were carried over the sounds of jubilance towards my ear, and stories and news could be heard as they were traded between the royal couple and the ship’s captain. While the discussion was begun with Odysseus complementing the build and quality of the Spartan ship and its crew, the conversation was soon shifted to the goings-on of Menelaus, the king of Sparta. When asked of Menelaus, the captain’s face was morphed by his raised eyebrows, and a smirk could be seen in the lifted corners of his mouth. Menelaus, Odysseus and Penelope were told, had been confronted with trying times: he had been scorned by his wife, Helen, who was stolen by a Trojan prince, and Menelaus was left in a rage. Helen was being kept by the Trojans, who had been known to be difficult in diplomatic situations. At this news, I noticed the rolling of Penelope’s eyes, which were then directed towards Odysseus in a subtle glance.
As wine was swigged down by the soldiers, and the hall was filled with sounds of laughter, Odysseus’ eyes were directed downward at his plate. His ruddy cheeks were stripped of their color and his smile was replaced with pursed lips. More stories of Helen’s indiscretions were loudly offered forth by the captain, but Penelope’s attention was preoccupied with staring at Odysseus, her eyes wide. Their guest was swiftly turned to by Penelope, and his newest story was stopped mid-sentence as his hands were clasped in hers. An attendant bearing drink was waved over by the queen, who was suddenly overcome with laughter, and he was commanded to pour more wine.
Three main choices: For this version of my narrative piece, I employed passive voice to convey the entrenched system of hierarchies in place in Ancient Greece- the subject of many sentences experienced an order or action by the person or idea controlling them. For example, the maid telling this story was commanded by the cooks, who worked in preparation for the guests, who were powerless against the traditions of xenia which they must conform to (such as bathing and dressing before a feast.) Next, I described Odysseus and Penelope’s reactions to the news using passive voice (instead of removing them from the narration, which I saw as the only other option) because I wanted to demonstrate the genuine nature of their reactions; when told of Helen’s escapades, Odysseus’ emotions overcome him, and he is powerless to stop them from showing on his face. Finally, I crafted many sentences so that an unseen hand performed an action; for example, when I wrote “the hall’s oaken doors were opened,” I did not specify who opened them in order to convey that, within any event like this, there are hundreds of unseen figures, such as slaves or attendants, working to execute each action so that everything appears seamless.
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