Ulisse Page #6

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Only we who are dead

know what it means.

Come, Ulysses,

Olympus awaits you.

Go with Circe to Olympus.

The world has loved me.

All the world

loved Agamemnon,

except the woman

whom he loved.

When I returned to my home,

she embraced me.

And when I closed my eyes

in a brief moment of pleasure,

her waiting lover plunged a knife

deep into my throat.

Stay with Circe, Ulysses.

Come.

Eurylochus.

Do you not know me?

I should have destroyed

our ship that night,

instead of leaving

without you.

- You suffered?

- No.

But I'm suffering now.

Come, Ulysses.

Ulysses.

- Mother!

- Go away you! I have not called you.

Mother.

You are dead.

- I died waiting for you.

- Go away, I tell you!

You have been away too long,

my son.

- I know.

- Return to Ithaca.

Penelope is still waiting for you.

Treachery and deceit

menace your home.

I will, Mother.

I will.

Mother. Mother!

Headstrong mortal,

proud of that short dream

which you calla lifetime,

enamored of your weaknesses

and your miserable sins,

and fascinated by death.

Against such obstinacy,

even the gods have no power.

Go then, if that is your choice.

The sea is awaiting.

- There he is!

- Where?

Behind the rocks.

Alcinous, king of Phaeacia,

hear me out.

All that I am is back in my mind--

my name, my place, my origin.

I am Ulysses, son of Laertes,

king of Ithaca,

conqueror of Troy.

There across the wide

and dark sea is my home,

the house I built,

my son.

My wife.

I have been making my way

to them these many years

but the anger of the gods.

pursued me.

Many disasters smote me.

Sirens and tempests beset me.

I was bewitched

and my men were drowned.

But I am here,

undestroyed,

looking out across the sea

at my homeland.

I beg, O brother,

King Alcinous,

a ship to bring me

back to Ithaca.

Ulysses, king of Ithaca

and our neighbor,

we will give you a ship.

And we hope it will carry you safely

and happily back to your kingdom.

Nausicaa.

I take your tears with me.

In a world of anger and hate...

they're part of the love I found.

Apollo, protector of Ithica

bless tomorrow's games

and accept the sacrifice.

We have honored the god.

Apollo will be favorable tomorrow.

If I win the games,

I shall sleep in the bed of Ulysses.

And to thank the god

for this magnificent victory

I shall cut the throat

of every goat on the island.

You were born to be a leader,

Eurymachus.

And for this you are prepared to risk

everything on one day.

I do not envy the winner.

Evidently you do not think it worth much

to become king of Ithaca.

The new king of Ithaca

should learn to sleep lightly.

What does that mean?

There will be daggers

behind every column,

poison in every goblet,

a plot in every smile.

Come now, Ulysses is

at the bottom of the sea

or maybe on some beach

with his bones rotting in the sun,

food for the hawks by now.

The thought of Ulysses

doesn't trouble me.

To whom do you refer then?

Telemachus.

Telemachus is only a boy.

Have you seen the look

in his eyes?

What do you mean?

As soon as the wedding is over,

there should be more

than goats sacrificed.

Don't you agree?

Penelope.

Forgive this intrusion.

I have so much to say to you.

What can we have

to say to each other?

I know that you are sad

and disturbed, afraid.

But I want to tell you that you--

you need have no fear.

That I shall bring you happiness.

You?

Do you doubt

that I shall win tomorrow?

That will depend on your skill.

But if you win, I shall not complain

of having to choose a man like you.

Now at last you speak

like a woman who's truly alive,

the woman you were meant to be.

The woman I love.

If you really love me, Antinous,

I ask you one favor.

One promise.

Anything you wish.

You have only to ask.

Save my son's life.

Telemachus?

He must not die.

I promise you

not a soul shall touch him.

I shall treat him

as if he were my own son.

If only I could believe you.

You must believe...

as you must believe

that I love you.

I entrust him to you, Antinous.

Penelope, there is a beggar here

from the island of the Phaeacia.

He wishes to talk to you

about Ulysses.

Too many people in these past years

have come to this house

saying always the same thing,

hoping for hospitality.

But he says he was a companion

of Ulysses in the war.

If you really knew my husband,

tell me about him.

Why don't you speak?

Who are you?

I'm a friend of Ulysses.

We were comrades

before the walls of Troy.

Many a night

as we waited between battles

our thoughts full of sadness

he spoke of you.

And what did he say?

"Dark, she is,

and beautiful in her youth,"

he said.

"And full of soft woman's laughter.

And such a way she has

of brushing her hair absently

when she works

at her spinning wheel

or watches

her sleeping child."

Sometimes he spoke of this

infant son Telemachus

who sucked his thumb

and smiled and slept

on the day the swift ships

sailed to Troy.

Sometimes he spoke

of the day of his farewell,

how he held you

in his arms

on the beach

by the waiting ships.

And you whispered,

"I shall be here

when you return."

Will you return?

Very often,

with falling stars

above our heads

and the doomed walls

of Troy across the plain

and all we loved

far away across the sea...

he spoke of this house...

and of this very room

where you'd be waiting for him.

For too many years

I have waited.

At first there was only

news of the war,

and the war went on

for months.

Slowly the months

became years.

And I spent the years

asking myself,

"Where is he now?

Is he with his soldiers?

Maybe there are other

women there too,

beautiful women full of life.

Maybe he has forgotten me."

But Penelope remains faithful.

It is so easy for Penelope

to remain faithful.

And then one fine day comes the news

that the war is finished,

everyone is happy.

All the others returned

to their homes.

The kings and the soldiers.

But he? No.

He alone among them all

Then once again

begins the waiting.

Again the months,

again the years.

And years are made

of thousands of hours,

of days, of nights.

The nights.

And you lie there alone

in your empty bed

and wait.

You are right.

It's possible for a man

to come back too late.

Wait, do not go yet.

I spoke to you

with bitterness just now

because tomorrow

I must choose a new husband.

Against my will

I am here tied to a promise,

and I know that no one

can free me.

Perhaps you could free yourself.

I? How do you mean?

Remember the contest when

you and Ulysses were married?

Do you remember how

that arrow from his bow

whistled through 12 axes

to reach the target?

Yes, and I was the prize.

The was heavy, that bow,

impossible to bend.

Only Ulysses could bend it

with the help of the goddess Athena.

I thank you, stranger.

Go to the kitchen.

They will make you welcome there.

Is there something else

you have need of?

My need was answered

when I saw your face

and spoke to you.

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