Most scenes together: Odysseus & Penelope (3), Odysseus & Telemachus (2), Penelope & Telemachus (2)
What happened to Ithaca?
Darkness. Zeus' law smashed to pieces. A kingdom without a king since my master died.
Your master?
Odysseus.
Hero of the Trojan War. But Odysseus is alive.
Beggars giving false hopes! No more, no more, NO MORE! No more, no more...!
What if the Odysseus you knew lost his way? What if... one night, in a strange city, he saw things that made him think the home he knew couldn't possibly be there anymore. What if... when he left the belly of the horse, and opened the gates of Troy, he saw ten years of rage pour into that city in one night? We left them a gift, an offering of peace, that they took into their home. We violated all that's ever sacred between people. It turned a fight into a hunt. To burn the walls of Troy was to burn the world-entire. Including his home. What if he knew, that very night, as he walked through fires, anarchy, and pain -- and in a daze of sweaty celebrations that follow -- what if he knew exactly what he'd done?
What all of you had done?
One man's idea. One man's trick to break Zeus's law forever. We lived in a world of palaces and trade, language, blind to its beauty, until we broke it.
You are the people from the sea.
Yes, my queen. The breaking of Zeus's law, spreading like plague. Our age of bronze is collapsing, and maybe he couldn't bear to see the ruins of what he'd done. Anywhere. Least of all, his home.
Odysseus.
How are you here? We won the war; you headed for home.
Odysseus, the most brilliant of all my generals. You would never be snared as I was.
Were you cast adrift, like us?
No. My misfortune was to make it home. Be welcomed by my beautiful wife. Bathed, anointed, made soft. To learn the hardest lesson. That I left a poison in her heart years before. A good part of her heart had gone to another. She and her lover had plotted my murder for years. Odysseus.
Yes.
My son Orestes, did he avenge me?
My lord, how could I know? I'm still trying to get home.
Don't make my mistake. Don't walk in the front door expecting garlands and praise. Come in disguise. Take your time. Assess.
You can't expect her to be loyal to Odysseus, someone she's never seen before.
What about her loyalty to me?
Bring me part of Telemachus as proof. His nose!
Would you know him only by his nose?
... His ears, too.
A face... a fleet... a war... a man... a thought... a trick! A trick to break the walls of Troy... and burn it, screaming to the ground!
Telemachus... Telemachus, Telem-
Telemachus.
He needs you. He's in danger and I can't help him...
There must be others in Ithaca that would help Odysseus' son.
The palace is controlled by suitors... No one is still loyal to Odysseus...
What about the queen?
Beautiful wise Penelope... Held hostage by the worst men, soon to be forced into marriage. What can she do without even her son?
Here, drink. [gives Eumaeus a drink of water] What's the danger to Telemachus?
He's on his way back from Sparta. The suitors sent bandits in the palace to ambush him in the temple.
Give me food for the road.
You'll- You'll never catch up with the bandits...
If I can get to Pilos before Telemachus arrives, I can warn him.
Why are you helping?
If I tell you, don't be angry. I served with Odysseus at Troy.
Really?
He was a harsh taskmaster.
Ah, but fair. Fair and worthy of following.
You loved him.
Like a son.
Well... He's not dead.
Is- Is he coming home?
Soon.
Bringing vengeance?
...Bringing it all.
Do we have enough provisions?
We've taken enough from Troy. Another stop or two won't kill us.
What was the song of the sirens like?
All the things you wanted to be and then all the things you wished you never wished for. It was a delicious itch you want to scratch but you find it under the skin and can't reach it. So the delicious itch becomes unbearable. It told you what you most want is what you most can't have and that the most you can't have is what you already had and lost. It was a song of all the promises I failed to keep. And it told me I don't really want to go home.
Antinous cheated you?
As he's no doubt cheating you.
How?
Who's in Ithaca looking after your wife and son?
Are there any loyal servants?
Some. When Odysseus shows himself, all.
Come back as a prince, call a banquet. I'll be there.
What will you do at the banquet?
Beg. The clearest view of men is from below.
What if... when he left the belly of the horse... and opened the gates of Troy... he saw ten years of rage pour into that city in one night. We left them a gift in offering of peace that they took into their home... We violated all that's ever sacred between people... and turned the fight into a hunt. To burn the walls of Troy was to burn the world entire. Including his home. What if he knew that very night as he walked through fires of anarchy and pain... And in the days of sweaty celebrations that followed, what if he knew exactly what he'd done?
What all of you had done.
One man's idea, one man's trick... to break Zeus's Law forever. We live in a world of palaces, trades, language, blind to its beauty... until we broke it.
Why can't gods speak in ways we understand?
Who doesn't understand thunder? Fire? A child's smile? A good harvest?
A time of apparent magic...
