The Oracles of Troy (The Adventures of Odysseus)

PRAISE FOR GLYN ILIFFE

‘The world of this novel appears as many scholars see that of Homer: a rich melange of different eras … It has suspense, treachery and bone-crunching action … It will leave fans of the genre eagerly awaiting the rest of the series’

Harry Sidebottom,

author of the best selling Warrior of Rome series

‘Iliffe is a talented storyteller’

Times Literary Supplement

‘A ripping swords-and-sandals treatment of
The
Iliad

The Telegraph

‘A thrilling adventure full of bloody battles, vibrant characters and the heart-stopping romance that makes ancient Greece so universally appealing. Dazzling drama on a grand scale’

Lancashire Evening Post

‘A must read for those who enjoy good old epic battles, chilling death scenes and the extravagance of ancient Greece’

Lifestyle Magazine

‘The reader does not need to be a classicist by any means to enjoy this epic and stirring tale. It makes a great novel and would be an even better film’

Historical Novels Review

‘Another gripping and thrilling tale from the new demi-god of the genre, one which fans will relish getting stuck into’

The Catholic Herald

THE
ORACLES
OF
TROY

Glyn Iliffe studied English and Classics at Reading University, where he developed a passion for the stories of ancient Greek mythology. Well travelled, Glyn has visited nearly forty countries, trekked in the Himalayas, spent six weeks hitchhiking across North America and had his collarbone broken by a bull in Pamplona.

He is married with two daughters and lives in Leicestershire.
King of Ithaca
was his first novel, followed by
The Gates of Troy
and
The Armour of Achilles
. He is currently working on the fifth book in the series,
The Voyage of Odysseus
.

1st Kindle Edition

Copyright © Glyn Iliffe 2013

The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

This book is a work of fiction. It has been written for entertainment purposes only. All references to characters and countries should be seen in this light.

ebook formatting by EBooks by Design

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Also by Glyn Iliffe

King of Ithaca

The Gates of Troy

The Armour of Achilles

Visit
www.glyniliffe.com
to read more about
The Adventures of Odysseus.

GLYN ILIFFE

THE
ORACLES
OF
TROY

F
OR
T
ABITHA

A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As ever, I am grateful to my wife, Jane, for her patience and encouragement.

My thanks also go to Richard Sheehan, Steven A McKay, Maureen Corderoy, Deven Kanal, Jane Davies, Kevin Marlow and Bruce Villas for their proof reading skills and improvements to the original text.

C
ONTENTS

Glossary

Book One

1. Lemnos

2. Philoctetes

3. Heracles

4. Reconciliation and Healing

5. The Eye of Apollo

6. Nisus of Dulichium

7. Helenus

8. The Return of the Outcast

9. Death in the Morning

Book Two

10. A Way Out

11. A Widow’s Fate

12. In Apheidas’s House

13. The Oracles of Troy

14. The Legend of Pelops

15. The Golden Vine

16. Pelop’s Tomb

17. The Maze

18. The Guardian of the Tomb

19. Eurypylus Arrives

20. Neoptolemus

21. The Greeks at Bay

22. The Shadow of Achilles

23. Neoptolemus and Eurypylus

Book Three

24. The Kerosia

25. Prisoner of Apheidas

26. An Unwelcome Visitor

27. An Ultimatum

28. Odysseus Unmasked

29. Temptations of the Flesh

30. Unexpected Help

31. The Palladium

32. The Insanity of Kings

33. Hope out of Defeat

Book Four

34. The Wooden Horse

35. Cassandra’s Woe

36. Voices From Home

37. The Gate Falls

38. Inside the Palace

39. Helen and Menelaus

40. Love and Vengeance

41. At the Temple of Zeus

42. The Snake Pit

43. The Rape of Cassandra

44. Ambition’s End

45. At the Ships

46. The Last King of Troy

47. The Dead Child

Author's Note

G
LOSSARY

A

Achilles


Myrmidon prince, killed by Paris

Aeneas


Dardanian prince, the son of Anchises

Agamemnon


king of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks

Ajax (greater)


king of Salamis, killed himself after being sent mad by the gods

Ajax (lesser)


king of Locris

Alybas


home city of Eperitus, in northern Greece

Anchises


king of the Dardanians, allies of Troy

Andromache


wife of Hector

Antenor


Trojan elder

Anticleia


Odysseus’s mother

Antinous


Ithacan noble, son of Eupeithes

Antiphus


Ithacan guardsman

Apheidas


Trojan commander, father of Eperitus

Aphrodite


goddess of love

Apollo


archer god, associated with music, song and healing

Arceisius


Ithacan soldier, murdered by Apheidas

Ares


god of war

Artemis


moon-goddess associated with childbirth, noted for her virginity and vengefulness

Astyanax


infant son of Hector and Andromache

Astynome


daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo

Astyoche


daughter of Priam and mother of Eurypylus

Athena


goddess of wisdom and warfare

Aulis


sheltered bay in the Euboean Straits

C

Calchas


priest of Apollo, adviser to Agamemnon

Cassandra


Trojan princess, daughter of Priam

Clymene


servant to Apheidas and mother of Palamedes

Clytaemnestra


queen of Mycenae and wife of Agamemnon

D

Dardanus


city to the north of Troy

Deidameia


mother of Neoptolemus and widow of Achilles

Deiphobus


Trojan prince, younger brother of Hector and Paris

Demeter


goddess of agriculture

Diocles


Spartan soldier

Diomedes


king of Argos

E

Elpenor


Ithacan soldier

Epaltes


Argive soldier

Epeius


Greek craftsman and notorious coward

Eperitus


captain of Odysseus’s guard

Eumaeus


swineherd and faithful slave to Laertes

Eupeithes


member of the Kerosia

Euryalus


companion of Diomedes

Eurybates


Odysseus’s squire

Eurylochus


Ithacan soldier, cousin of Odysseus

Eurypylus


Mysian king, grandson of Priam

H

Hades


god of the Underworld

Halitherses


former captain of Ithacan royal guard, given joint charge of Ithaca in Odysseus’s absence

Hecabe


Trojan queen, wife of King Priam

Hector


Trojan prince, killed by Achilles

Helen


former queen of Sparta, now wife of Paris

Helenus


son of Priam and Hecabe

Hephaistos


god of fire; blacksmith to the Olympians

Heracles


greatest of all Greek heroes

Hestia


the goddess of the hearth

Hippodameia


wife of Pelops

I

Idaeus


herald to King Priam

Idomeneus


king of Crete

Ilium


the region of which Troy was the capital

Ilus


founder of Troy, grandfather of Priam

Iphigenia


daughter of Eperitus and Clytaemnestra, sacrificed by Agamemnon

Ithaca


island in the Ionian Sea

K

Kerosia


Ithacan council meeting

L

Laertes


Odysseus’s father

Lemnos


island in the Aegean Sea

M

Menelaus


king of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon and cuckolded husband of Helen

Menestheus


king of Athens

Mentor


close friend of Odysseus, given joint charge of Ithaca in Odysseus’s absence

Mycenae


most powerful city in Greece, situated in north-eastern Peloponnese

Myrmidons


the followers of Achilles

Myrtilus


King Oenomaus’s charioteer

Mysia


region to the south-east of Troy

N

Neoptolemus


son of Achilles and Deidameia

Neriton (Mount)


highest point on Ithaca

Nestor


king of Pylos

Nisus


Ithacan elder

O

Odysseus


king of Ithaca

Oenomaus


king of Pisa, killed in a chariot race against Pelops

Oenops


member of the Kerosia

Omeros


Ithacan soldier and bard

P

Palamedes


Nauplian prince, executed for treason

Palladium


sacred image of Athena’s companion, Pallas

Pandion


murdered king of Alybas

Paris


Trojan prince, eldest remaining son of King Priam

Parnassus (Mount)


mountain in central Greece and home of the Pythian oracle

Peisandros


Myrmidon commander

Peloponnese


southernmost landmass of Greek mainland, named after Pelops

Pelops


grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus

Penelope


queen of Ithaca and wife of Odysseus

Penthesilea


queen of the Amazons, slain by Achilles

Pergamos


the citadel of Troy

Philoctetes


Malian archer, deserted by the Greeks on Lemnos

Pisa


region in the north-western Peloponnese

Pleisthenes


youngest son of Menelaus and Helen

Podaleirius


famed healer, son of Asclepius

Polites


Ithacan warrior

Polyctor


member of the Kerosia

Poseidon


god of the sea

Priam


king of Troy

Pythoness


high priestess of the Pythian oracle

S

Scamander


river on the Trojan plain

Simöeis


river on the Trojan plain

Sthenelaus


companion of Diomedes

T

Talthybius


squire to Agamemnon

Taphians


pirate race from Taphos

Telemachus


son of Odysseus and Penelope

Tenedos


island off the coast of Ilium

Teucer


famed archer, half-brother and companion to Great Ajax

Theano


priestess of Athena and wife of Antenor

Thebes


northern Greek city, sacked by Diomedes

Thetis


chief of the Nereids and mother of Achilles

Trechos


Argive soldier

Troy


chief city of Ilium

X

xenia


the custom of friendship towards strangers

Z

Zacynthos


southernmost of the Ionian islands under Odysseus’s rule

Zeus


the king of the gods

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