Odissea (1968–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript
Athena: If it's by your will O Zeus,
that Odysseus returns to his home..
..I would go to Ithaca to encourage
his son..
[Narrator: So says Athena, the blue-eyed
goddess, daughter of Zeus..
[..and descend from the Olympus to Ithaca..] *Phonician
'Utica'=distant colony. Homeric Ithaca is spourious even today*
[..to the house of Odysseus,
and make a human appearance..]
[..which the gods usually do when
they show themselves to mortals.]
[She took the appearance of Mentis,
the lord of Taphians.]
*Taphians were pirates and slave traders.
Homer put them on the Echinades islands,..*
[On the floor, one women waved infinite cloth.]
[That's Penelope, wife of Odysseus.]
[From that chamber, which is the wedding room,..]
[..she rarely comes out,
always thinking on a day..]
[..of her distant wedding,
and thinking...]
[..about her future, and her son.]
- Welcome stranger.
- Hello. - Please come,..
..this is my home.
So, you are Telemachus, son of Odysseus?
Mother calls me that.
But that's the name I never heared from
Odysseus' lips.
Euriclea, a guest has arrived.
Come here and eat.
[Narrator: Euriclea,..]
[..as a young girl she came to the court
and nourished Odysseus.]
[Telemachus calls her nanny.]
Penelope, the stranger has come,
and Telemachus has welcomed him.
Maybe he has some news about Odysseus!
Be aware queen, don't get fooled.
The world is full of people who travel
with false names..
..and invent false adventures to
charm the host.
This will be like the previous ones,
who bring you the news..
..you wish to hear.
I am Mentis, the lord of Taphians,
and my ship is anchored..
..below the mountain, opposite of Samos.
- So you know Ithaca?
- Sure. I know it very well.
I spent years here in company
of your father.
I've heared that your old man has returned.
No, that's false news. He is
still absent.
Who are those? I can see that
they are keeping their weapons outside..
..of this court, but they are behaving
as masters. They give you no respect.
Maybe because I don't respect them either.
- Are they your guests?
- Guests? We used to have them..
..when this home was honored,
and my father were in it.
But as you can see, things have changed a lot..
..and now I feel disgraced.
Look, they are all pretenders of the throne.
They come here every day .
They are princes..
..and the elite from Ithaca and the other islands,..
..Samos, Zakintos, Doulichion.
They come to ask for my mother's hand.
-And your mother is obliged to choose?
-She doesn't want that..
..but has no strenght to resist them.
- I see.
Has this gone on for a long time?
- Too much..
..they devour all my goods.
That's all what they do.
Today they'll take too, a calf, lambs and pigs..
..and they will slaughter them in the house.
They'll make a pigsty.
*Chorus*: They devour all,
they devour all..
..to humiliate the home of Odysseus.
Thieves. But thieves at least run far away
when they steal..
..from fear that someone discovers them
and kill them. But not these!
- Your father should be here!
- My father?!
If Odysseus would suddenly appear
among them,..
..with an axe a sword and a bow,
these suitors would have such a bitter party!
No stranger, we wouldn't see him
in this house. I lost all my hope.
The destiny of Odysseus is in the hands
of the gods..
..but you, you must be strong.
Go, and search for some news about him!
If your father is dead,
you will make him a grave at the seaside
..and you will let your mother remarry.
But if you should find out that he is alive --
Telemachus, I am not a fortuneteller,
but I feel that this is the truth.
Now, I must go.
My comrades are waiting for me.
- Please remain here!
- Do what I told you to do.
- Where should I go?
- Prepare a ship to Pylos,..
..to Nestor, a friend of your father.
*Sandy Pylos,SW Peloponessus*
[Saying this, Athens disappeared,
but in Telemachus heart..]
[..she inspired a strenght and a wish for his father..]
[..to always think of him.]
*Femius*: Look, Troy fell, and
the walls collapsed..
..and the Achean warriors washed their armory
in the waters of father Ocean...
*Oceanos was considered to be father of all rivers*
[Narrator: Femius, bard, in the home of Odysseus sung..]
[..events of a distant past.
He teached himself to sing
[..and he became famous, but he didn't
sing gladly..]
[..The suitors forced him when
they take over the court.]
Why have you stopped, Femius?
Because the queen has arrived?
You sing the same song every time Femius.
Why?
Because WE like it.
But if you want, we can..
..change the subject, like love for example--?
Mother, it's not Femius's fault that
he sings about the tragic return..
..of Acheans from demolished Troy,
and that's what amuses..
.. the plunderers of this home.
Why have you arrived anyway?
Where was that stranger? What did he want?
Did he bring some news?
News you are awaiting? *about Odysseus*
The stranger has gone.
Why do you not say to your mother who it was?
Because my mother is delighted to bring
fortunetellers and prophets to the court..
..and then they leave her deceived
and discouraged.
-Shall I encourage them?
-Telemachus, you are not a child anymore.
I've already been laughed at because of that.
If I would go.. Is that what you want?
To return to my father?
*It was a custom for a widow to return to her father,
so that he marry her again to someone else*
Is that what your heart suggests you?
Your wishes and what about mine?
For how long should I suffer disgrace
from these invaders?
Go to your room,..
..and get away from their eyes.
You have done well to remind me how old I am
from now on...
..I rule this home!
Hear me, suitors of my mother!
I summon an assembly of the elders for tomorrow!
*that is the foundation of democracy and senat*
You should all come!
What is on Telemachus mind?
What assembly?..
..so suddenly he summons assembly?
-Who advise him for that?
-You are worrying too much?
Should we be afraid of a trick
of a young boy?
He wants to summon assembly, and he
doesn't even know of a purpose for that..
..so let us go to that assembly.
- I don't like..
..surprises Antino?s.
- Me neither.
But the people shouldn't surprise us.
And we shall go armed anyway.
This way our words will have importance.
Femius, Femius continue..
Infinite gold, slaves, horses, and many goats
they put on the powerful ships.
..unaware of the anger of the mighty gods,
for immensely spilled blood.
First sailed Ajax,.. *Ajax the Younger or Locrinus
raped Cassandra in Athens temple (not Ajax the Elder)*
..to the Girian rock *near Eubea*
where a raging sea plunged him....into the abyss.
Then Menelaus with his ships..
..fell in an immens storm.
After which Agamemnon departed,..
.. and he happily arrived.
His home welcomes him with
grandeur, as a great warrior,
..hailed, crowned with glory.
But all that suddenly expires,..
..when in a bathroom the sword
of Egistus struck him,..
...and in blood drawn Agamemnon,
first among the kings.
[Narrator: And when the night falls,
the suitors go to sleep..]
[..out of the palace. So
Telemachus closed the doors.]
I came to this palace as a young girl.
And I brought you up as
I did with your father,..
..and I know your family very well.
Thought a slave, I am respected in this house..
as a wife, even Laertes *Odysseus father*
never looked at me like that..
..because her wife was gelous.
- What are you trying to tell me nanny?
Today I recognised your father in you, my son!
[Narrator: Assembly wasn'tcalled for 20 years.]
So Telemachus surprised the Ithacans.]
[First spoke Egyptius,the most respected citizen.]
He had learned that a stranger came to the palace
..and he spoke directly to Telemachus.
Was this the reason for the assembly?
Maybe he has some news about our army..
Whatever the reason, we shall listen to him.
Telemachus wishes to say us something very serious
which we shouldn't ignore...
Give him the scepter.
He is an adult by now!
[Narrator: Mentor assisted Telemachus,..]
[..because he was an old friend of Odysseus,
]
[..When he left, he asked him to watch over
his home till his return.]
I speak to those who still remember,
to those who knew him..
..or have you already forgotten him?
No, you are wrong. This was a happy land,..
..till a voice of war had come to us..
..against Troy. And we obey that.
Odysseus took..
..our best men and loaded them on *twelve* ships.
No, we didn't..
..forget. Odysseus should give us account
for all of that!
Wait , princes.
You can't enter with weapons!
..You are violating the rights of the people
and this king's house!
Of what king do you speak?
This island has no king for 20 years!
Sit. Sit.
You are hoping that my father is dead,
so that you can take his place..
..all of you who don't
respect the faithfulness of my mother..
..and you want to marry her by force.
Every day you come here, invade my house, devour my property
and drink my wine.
I'm not as strong as my father, but even if
I was I couldn't..
..get rid of them alone. So please Ithacans!
Defend the honor of my home, if you care about your honor!
Or, Ulisse did you wrong, so you want to revenge on me?
Rather you take my goods, not let this bunch of wolves take them!
Telemachus has right!
His mother is guilty, not him!
For three years Penelope was making promises to everyone of us.
She accepted our presents, and also she gave us presents
..but her messages weren't clearly negative
So we wait,..
.. and wait. And then come the
lords from the other lands..
..princes from the nearby islands, and
she still decides..
..so there is a guilty one!
- At the end she found the trick to start weaving.
She said: Wait for me to weave a funerary cloth
for Laertes,..
..the father of Odysseus, that will be the last thing
to attach me to this house."
"I don't want that Achean woman
reproach me if I return..
..to my father without doing this duty."
So she says, and we respect her wish,..
..but since then more than a year has passed.
And this cloth is never finished!
The cunning is in their blood!
We ask Telemachus to send her to Icarius,
her father, to organize a new wedding.
She must marry as soon as possible whom she chooses among us!
Why don't you ask her from Icarius?
From Icarius? We mustn't go, it's your duty!
Icarius wouldn't hesitate.
- Telemachus knows that very well.
- Ithaca needs a king!
I can't force my mother.
So we shall stay in this house till she
makes up her mind.
I can't do this.
I would be disgraced if my father is--
Your father is dead. How much time had past
that others returned..
..from the coast of Troy, and no voice from your father.
And even if he is alive,
he is somewhere far away,..
..so today after ten years
we declare him dead.
Dead for the queen, dead for Ithaca, and dead
for all of us!
You re-open our old wounds Eurimachus,
because if it's true what you are saying..
.. our sons are dead, too.
They went with Odysseus, and dissapeared with him,
but I don't want to believe it.
You have destroyed all my hope.
Thus I..
..summon all the gods to avenge me.
I'll pray to them that you all
perish for your misdeeds.
That's an omen. The gods heard you.
..All that I've predicted when I looked in the bull' guts
came true.
On the day when Odysseus departed,
I've seen a slaughter at his return.
On the 20th year there will be joy
and there will be darkness.
Stop talking rubbish,..
..get out, you charlatan!
Go and predict the future to your children!
Eurimachus!
- Parasite!
- Eurimachus! You and your pretenders,..
..on the hand of my mother,
-- I won't ask you again.
But I want one thing:
Give me a ship and company..
..so that I can go and search for my father.
If he's alive I'll wait for one year..
But if he isn't, I'll build him a grave here in Ithaca
and send my mother to Icarius,
so she can re-marry
Hear me too, Ithacans.
I don't want to judge the princes.
They are suitors, and they use their rights with arrogance.
So I'll blame you, who stay in silence.
They are few, but you are many.
We are many, not few!
We have enough force to repel any attack,
whomever it would be, even your father !
And be assured that even Penelope
Wouldn't be happy..
..if he would come and decide to go on us..
..because we would kill him like a dog.
Citizens,. dismiss this useless assembly!
Get out. Out.
Return to your work, to your home.
Get out.
Then Athena took the form of Mentor and said":
[..there is plenty of old and new ships on Ithaca.]
I will choose the best of them for you.
- Telemachus, what a speech.
- Come and drink with us.
We'll give you a ship and company,
so that you can go and search for your father.
- I'll go, but not on your ship.
Telemachus, you really want..to drop dead?
Maybe you throw us
to the dogs when you come back.
Oh no. Maybe he'll go to Epirus to buy
a venom to poison us.
Spare us from the effort and
divide your property..
..if you don't come back.
- But not to this court.
We shall leave the house to whom
your mother chooses.
You , who came yesterday and ordered me..
..to travel beyound the sea in
search for my father..
please help me to return alive to Ithaca.
Help me return alive.
- What are you doing here?
-I am waiting for a ship.
- A ship?
Why?
- Do you think I'm still a child, too?
I'm going to make a trip to Pylos, to Nestore.
He was also in Troy.
If someone has news of Odysseus,
he must be the one.
Odysseus is dead. What do you want to find?
If you go, those here will
do anything to kill you.
Stay here and watch for your home. Don't go.
It'll be greater misery if you don't come back, too!
Don't tell anyone! Swear!
- Not even to your mother?
Not even her nanny, till she asks for me.
I don't want her beauty fade from sorrow.
The blue-eyed goddess has fetched a ship for Telemachus.
The sun went down in the sea..]
[..and darkness covered the roads,
when Athena,..]
[..in the form of Mentor, guided
Telemachus preparing a ship,..]
[..with strong sailors.]
[The wind filled the sail,..]
[..and foam sprinkled the keel.]
[Sailors, tighten the ropes,
the exhausted took a jar..]
[..with wine to salute the gods.]
[Thus the ship rode on the waves.]
[And on Ithaca, Penelope like
every night before..]
[..unwove cloth which she wove
during the day.]
Hurry, help me.
Telemachus isn't here. He didn't return yet.
[Narrator: Melante, the one with beautiful cheeks,..]
[..whom Penelope raised as if she were her daughter,
Instead she got close
to Antino?s.]
So there is a solution of the mystery.
Cloth which increases during the day and shrinks during the night
So this is the way you always postponed...
You finished a more than sufficient cloth for Laertes.
And thus I must finish the cloth..
..and don't know any more how
to avoid a wedding.
I don't know how to find a new trick.
You are one who gave a boat to Telemachus?
- Willingly or not?
- I have no reason to refuse.
- Who asked you for a ship?
- Don't remember.
Make some effort.
Am I not free to give my
ship to whom I want?
Till Noemon sat and told them he saw a god
on the ship, they laughed.
But immense fury came over their souls
Antino?s were more angry than the others.
I gave willingly my ship,
and many other boys wished to go with him.
And if they found Odysseus,
you won't command here anymore!
Pour, pour Telemachus wine.
That's better than to worry of his departure
Come on, drink.
For me he is nothing
but spoiled braith, and if its by me..
..I would show him what he deserves.
-No, we shouldn't do like that.
Someone must have helped him,..
..we should have killed him in the assembly,
and not let him go!
You have mocked him in the assembly!
Well, how could Telemachus be dangerous?
- Don't underestimate him
- He went to the main land,..
..but we all know that no one would come..
..to fight with us.
A ship. We will lurk for him in return
between Samos and Ithaca..
..and I don't believe he'll see his home again.
Messenger Medont, what news do you bring?
Has some news arrived?
Do they complain on accomodation?
No queen, I've come..
..to secretly express my loyalty to you.
- Loyalty. You don't have a damn clue
what it is. You are like the others.
Like others you forgot Odysseus' kindness.
I come to say that your son has gone.
Telemachus left with the ship by night,
but I don't know where to.
Damn you! Why has no one told me?
Damn bitches!
Punish me. I only know. He swore me not..
..to tell you so that you won't suffer.
Gone? Why? By what ?
By boat.
He is young, so young to navigate a ship.
Queen, a great danger is upon him.
..the princes prepare a trap for him,
when he will return
..in the narrow of Samos and Ithaca.
He has gone, too.
First his father and then him.
Why didn't he tell me anything?
Why had he gone? Why?
-Don't despair queen.
-He has done what every son would have done..
He has gone to search for his father.
You'll see he'll come back. He'll come back soon.
Why didn't he tell me anything?
He must not have left me alone.
It's better that he would never been born.
Now they want to kill him.
Zeus'daughter, Athena, listen to me!
Save my son.
Save her son, Save her son.
-Save my son.
Save her son, Save her son.
The sun has rissen,
leaving a beautiful sea,..]
[..to copper glimmering sky,
to shine upon the immortal gods..]
[..and all human offspring on Earth.]
[And they arrive in Pylos,
the home of Nestor..]
[..one of the Achean kings who demolished Troy.]
[Narrator: On a blue seashore..]
Nestor and his sons was making offerings
to the earthshaking god *Poseidon*
[Nestor begins with the ritual cleaning.]
[With prayers he makes the offerings.]
[His sons drag the cow.]
[Trazimedes brings a sharpened axe.]
You awake painful memories..
.. on our sufferings under Troy.
There we left..
..our best: Achilles, Patroclus, Ajax
..and my son Antilochus, valiant warrior.
It was a long war. Nine years
we fought with the Trojans and their numerous allies.
We exhausted all our powers and abilities.
In the end, Zeus decided to finish
this endevour.
For all those years, no one surpassed
your father..
..Odysseus in wisdom, courage and cunningness.
You didn't know him, I know.
His wisdom was infinite,
but what I admire most..
was the prudence of his heart.
There wasn't any quarrel between us..
..we both together worked to
preserve the Achean unity..
..and we succeed this almost till the end..
And when the city was destroyed,
and the treasures dispersed..
..and the females divided,
the god divided us.
Zeus prepared for us a sad returning
because in victory we weren't neither just, nor wise.
So came the we misfortune.
Some of them, as Menelaus wished an immediate return.
Others with Agamemnon wished to
end sacrificing to Athena ..to appease an angry goddess.
As if a god's mind would change because of one ram or bull!
So Agamemnons fleet stayed anchored on shore.
Half of the princes left with Menelaus.
Odysseus and I were among them
Somewhere after Lesbos,
where we shortly stopped,
without any losses began a brawl,
I don't remember who began it
Maybe because horror befall on all..
.and we didn't know what to do
We completely lost course.
Diomedes and I make repairments..
..and run to a shore.
On the other hand, your father..
turned back the ship and tried to reach Agamemnons fleet.
From there I
don't know anything about him.
This is my son you didn't meet.
This is the son of Odysseus, Telemachus
Now, listen: you were right to make this voyage
..cannot help you much.
But there is a man who..
..can tell you news about father.
Menelaus of Sparta.
He was the last to return and
he travelled much among foreign and distant people.
He and Helen
will tell you something about Odysseus..
..and my son will follow you.
You can go tomorrow.
Wait.
[Narrator: In a room above,
lies a hungry Penelope,..]
[..thinking if her innocent son
escaped death..]
[or he had fallen in the hands of the suitors.]
[How many thoughts a scarred lion thinks in the middle of a crowd
[..when death trap is surrounding him..]
[..-so she was thinking.]
[But sweet dreams overcome her.
Laying down..]
[..she finally relaxes her body.]
[and blue-eyed goddess Athena,
does a new trick.]
[She made her appearance of Iftyma,..]
[..the sister of Penelope,
daughter of the noble Icarius.]
Penelope, don't cry.
The gods don't want that.
Iftima, it's you?
It's me, your sister.
For how long didn't we see each other
you live so far away.
Why have you come on Ithaca?
I've come to help you.
Then you've heard that I lost
my husband, and my son..
..left me too.
-Yes, I know,..
..but don't torment yourself Penelope,
but instead believe.
I'm afraid. They want to
kill Telemachus and they lurk for him..
..before he comes back to Ithaca.
How shouldn't I cry?!
He's so young and inexperienced!
Who knows what dangers waits for him,
he didn't go far from me until now!
Don't be afraid Penelope,
Athena has mercy on you,
..and will bring you back Telemachus alive.
Athena?
You can hear Athena?
Tell me: Odysseus, where is he?
[Narrrator: Great waves throw Odysseus
all over.]
And like boreus *north wind* in autumn
scattering leaves..]
[..over meadow, and they roll and
stick to each other,..]
[..so winds carry Odysseus raft over sea.]
[First Boreus catch him from front,
then Noto *south wind* from aside..]
[..and then Zefirus would overcome *west wind*.]
[So tireless waves would come back
over and over again..]
[..to discord timbers and untie cords.]
[Odysseus hurried over and over again,
putting them back in place, thinking..]
[..at his son, whom he has never seen.
[All day and night he fought with the wind and the sea.
[..At times the sail would hang..] like an useless rag nailed on the mast.]
[And in a moment the wind would blow
the sail to the breaking point..]
[..and the mast moaned as it would break.]
[Then Odysseus would fold him or
put it to dry.]
[But in the end, the wind had casted it
into the sea, as two boys..]
[..who cast a ball but without letting
the third one to catch it.]
[Thus Odysseus protected the sails from waves]
[..in a exausting fight ]
[..wondering how much more he must endure..]
[..and how much time the struggle will last
*gk.:agon=struggle*.
that Odysseus returns to his home..
..I would go to Ithaca to encourage
his son..
[Narrator: So says Athena, the blue-eyed
goddess, daughter of Zeus..
[..and descend from the Olympus to Ithaca..] *Phonician
'Utica'=distant colony. Homeric Ithaca is spourious even today*
[..to the house of Odysseus,
and make a human appearance..]
[..which the gods usually do when
they show themselves to mortals.]
[She took the appearance of Mentis,
the lord of Taphians.]
*Taphians were pirates and slave traders.
Homer put them on the Echinades islands,..*
[On the floor, one women waved infinite cloth.]
[That's Penelope, wife of Odysseus.]
[From that chamber, which is the wedding room,..]
[..she rarely comes out,
always thinking on a day..]
[..of her distant wedding,
and thinking...]
[..about her future, and her son.]
- Welcome stranger.
- Hello. - Please come,..
..this is my home.
So, you are Telemachus, son of Odysseus?
Mother calls me that.
But that's the name I never heared from
Odysseus' lips.
Euriclea, a guest has arrived.
Come here and eat.
[Narrator: Euriclea,..]
[..as a young girl she came to the court
and nourished Odysseus.]
[Telemachus calls her nanny.]
Penelope, the stranger has come,
and Telemachus has welcomed him.
Maybe he has some news about Odysseus!
Be aware queen, don't get fooled.
The world is full of people who travel
with false names..
..and invent false adventures to
charm the host.
This will be like the previous ones,
who bring you the news..
..you wish to hear.
I am Mentis, the lord of Taphians,
and my ship is anchored..
..below the mountain, opposite of Samos.
- So you know Ithaca?
- Sure. I know it very well.
I spent years here in company
of your father.
I've heared that your old man has returned.
No, that's false news. He is
still absent.
Who are those? I can see that
they are keeping their weapons outside..
..of this court, but they are behaving
as masters. They give you no respect.
Maybe because I don't respect them either.
- Are they your guests?
- Guests? We used to have them..
..when this home was honored,
and my father were in it.
But as you can see, things have changed a lot..
..and now I feel disgraced.
Look, they are all pretenders of the throne.
They come here every day .
They are princes..
..and the elite from Ithaca and the other islands,..
..Samos, Zakintos, Doulichion.
They come to ask for my mother's hand.
-And your mother is obliged to choose?
-She doesn't want that..
..but has no strenght to resist them.
- I see.
Has this gone on for a long time?
- Too much..
..they devour all my goods.
That's all what they do.
Today they'll take too, a calf, lambs and pigs..
..and they will slaughter them in the house.
They'll make a pigsty.
*Chorus*: They devour all,
they devour all..
..to humiliate the home of Odysseus.
Thieves. But thieves at least run far away
when they steal..
..from fear that someone discovers them
and kill them. But not these!
- Your father should be here!
- My father?!
If Odysseus would suddenly appear
among them,..
..with an axe a sword and a bow,
these suitors would have such a bitter party!
No stranger, we wouldn't see him
in this house. I lost all my hope.
The destiny of Odysseus is in the hands
of the gods..
..but you, you must be strong.
Go, and search for some news about him!
If your father is dead,
you will make him a grave at the seaside
..and you will let your mother remarry.
But if you should find out that he is alive --
Telemachus, I am not a fortuneteller,
but I feel that this is the truth.
Now, I must go.
My comrades are waiting for me.
- Please remain here!
- Do what I told you to do.
- Where should I go?
- Prepare a ship to Pylos,..
..to Nestor, a friend of your father.
*Sandy Pylos,SW Peloponessus*
[Saying this, Athens disappeared,
but in Telemachus heart..]
[..she inspired a strenght and a wish for his father..]
[..to always think of him.]
*Femius*: Look, Troy fell, and
the walls collapsed..
..and the Achean warriors washed their armory
in the waters of father Ocean...
*Oceanos was considered to be father of all rivers*
[Narrator: Femius, bard, in the home of Odysseus sung..]
[..events of a distant past.
He teached himself to sing
[..and he became famous, but he didn't
sing gladly..]
[..The suitors forced him when
they take over the court.]
Why have you stopped, Femius?
Because the queen has arrived?
You sing the same song every time Femius.
Why?
Because WE like it.
But if you want, we can..
..change the subject, like love for example--?
Mother, it's not Femius's fault that
he sings about the tragic return..
..of Acheans from demolished Troy,
and that's what amuses..
.. the plunderers of this home.
Why have you arrived anyway?
Where was that stranger? What did he want?
Did he bring some news?
News you are awaiting? *about Odysseus*
The stranger has gone.
Why do you not say to your mother who it was?
Because my mother is delighted to bring
fortunetellers and prophets to the court..
..and then they leave her deceived
and discouraged.
-Shall I encourage them?
-Telemachus, you are not a child anymore.
I've already been laughed at because of that.
If I would go.. Is that what you want?
To return to my father?
*It was a custom for a widow to return to her father,
so that he marry her again to someone else*
Is that what your heart suggests you?
Your wishes and what about mine?
For how long should I suffer disgrace
from these invaders?
Go to your room,..
..and get away from their eyes.
You have done well to remind me how old I am
from now on...
..I rule this home!
Hear me, suitors of my mother!
I summon an assembly of the elders for tomorrow!
*that is the foundation of democracy and senat*
You should all come!
What is on Telemachus mind?
What assembly?..
..so suddenly he summons assembly?
-Who advise him for that?
-You are worrying too much?
Should we be afraid of a trick
of a young boy?
He wants to summon assembly, and he
doesn't even know of a purpose for that..
..so let us go to that assembly.
- I don't like..
..surprises Antino?s.
- Me neither.
But the people shouldn't surprise us.
And we shall go armed anyway.
This way our words will have importance.
Femius, Femius continue..
Infinite gold, slaves, horses, and many goats
they put on the powerful ships.
..unaware of the anger of the mighty gods,
for immensely spilled blood.
First sailed Ajax,.. *Ajax the Younger or Locrinus
raped Cassandra in Athens temple (not Ajax the Elder)*
..to the Girian rock *near Eubea*
where a raging sea plunged him....into the abyss.
Then Menelaus with his ships..
..fell in an immens storm.
After which Agamemnon departed,..
.. and he happily arrived.
His home welcomes him with
grandeur, as a great warrior,
..hailed, crowned with glory.
But all that suddenly expires,..
..when in a bathroom the sword
of Egistus struck him,..
...and in blood drawn Agamemnon,
first among the kings.
[Narrator: And when the night falls,
the suitors go to sleep..]
[..out of the palace. So
Telemachus closed the doors.]
I came to this palace as a young girl.
And I brought you up as
I did with your father,..
..and I know your family very well.
Thought a slave, I am respected in this house..
as a wife, even Laertes *Odysseus father*
never looked at me like that..
..because her wife was gelous.
- What are you trying to tell me nanny?
Today I recognised your father in you, my son!
[Narrator: Assembly wasn'tcalled for 20 years.]
So Telemachus surprised the Ithacans.]
[First spoke Egyptius,the most respected citizen.]
He had learned that a stranger came to the palace
..and he spoke directly to Telemachus.
Was this the reason for the assembly?
Maybe he has some news about our army..
Whatever the reason, we shall listen to him.
Telemachus wishes to say us something very serious
which we shouldn't ignore...
Give him the scepter.
He is an adult by now!
[Narrator: Mentor assisted Telemachus,..]
[..because he was an old friend of Odysseus,
]
[..When he left, he asked him to watch over
his home till his return.]
I speak to those who still remember,
to those who knew him..
..or have you already forgotten him?
No, you are wrong. This was a happy land,..
..till a voice of war had come to us..
..against Troy. And we obey that.
Odysseus took..
..our best men and loaded them on *twelve* ships.
No, we didn't..
..forget. Odysseus should give us account
for all of that!
Wait , princes.
You can't enter with weapons!
..You are violating the rights of the people
and this king's house!
Of what king do you speak?
This island has no king for 20 years!
Sit. Sit.
You are hoping that my father is dead,
so that you can take his place..
..all of you who don't
respect the faithfulness of my mother..
..and you want to marry her by force.
Every day you come here, invade my house, devour my property
and drink my wine.
I'm not as strong as my father, but even if
I was I couldn't..
..get rid of them alone. So please Ithacans!
Defend the honor of my home, if you care about your honor!
Or, Ulisse did you wrong, so you want to revenge on me?
Rather you take my goods, not let this bunch of wolves take them!
Telemachus has right!
His mother is guilty, not him!
For three years Penelope was making promises to everyone of us.
She accepted our presents, and also she gave us presents
..but her messages weren't clearly negative
So we wait,..
.. and wait. And then come the
lords from the other lands..
..princes from the nearby islands, and
she still decides..
..so there is a guilty one!
- At the end she found the trick to start weaving.
She said: Wait for me to weave a funerary cloth
for Laertes,..
..the father of Odysseus, that will be the last thing
to attach me to this house."
"I don't want that Achean woman
reproach me if I return..
..to my father without doing this duty."
So she says, and we respect her wish,..
..but since then more than a year has passed.
And this cloth is never finished!
The cunning is in their blood!
We ask Telemachus to send her to Icarius,
her father, to organize a new wedding.
She must marry as soon as possible whom she chooses among us!
Why don't you ask her from Icarius?
From Icarius? We mustn't go, it's your duty!
Icarius wouldn't hesitate.
- Telemachus knows that very well.
- Ithaca needs a king!
I can't force my mother.
So we shall stay in this house till she
makes up her mind.
I can't do this.
I would be disgraced if my father is--
Your father is dead. How much time had past
that others returned..
..from the coast of Troy, and no voice from your father.
And even if he is alive,
he is somewhere far away,..
..so today after ten years
we declare him dead.
Dead for the queen, dead for Ithaca, and dead
for all of us!
You re-open our old wounds Eurimachus,
because if it's true what you are saying..
.. our sons are dead, too.
They went with Odysseus, and dissapeared with him,
but I don't want to believe it.
You have destroyed all my hope.
Thus I..
..summon all the gods to avenge me.
I'll pray to them that you all
perish for your misdeeds.
That's an omen. The gods heard you.
..All that I've predicted when I looked in the bull' guts
came true.
On the day when Odysseus departed,
I've seen a slaughter at his return.
On the 20th year there will be joy
and there will be darkness.
Stop talking rubbish,..
..get out, you charlatan!
Go and predict the future to your children!
Eurimachus!
- Parasite!
- Eurimachus! You and your pretenders,..
..on the hand of my mother,
-- I won't ask you again.
But I want one thing:
Give me a ship and company..
..so that I can go and search for my father.
If he's alive I'll wait for one year..
But if he isn't, I'll build him a grave here in Ithaca
and send my mother to Icarius,
so she can re-marry
Hear me too, Ithacans.
I don't want to judge the princes.
They are suitors, and they use their rights with arrogance.
So I'll blame you, who stay in silence.
They are few, but you are many.
We are many, not few!
We have enough force to repel any attack,
whomever it would be, even your father !
And be assured that even Penelope
Wouldn't be happy..
..if he would come and decide to go on us..
..because we would kill him like a dog.
Citizens,. dismiss this useless assembly!
Get out. Out.
Return to your work, to your home.
Get out.
Then Athena took the form of Mentor and said":
[..there is plenty of old and new ships on Ithaca.]
I will choose the best of them for you.
- Telemachus, what a speech.
- Come and drink with us.
We'll give you a ship and company,
so that you can go and search for your father.
- I'll go, but not on your ship.
Telemachus, you really want..to drop dead?
Maybe you throw us
to the dogs when you come back.
Oh no. Maybe he'll go to Epirus to buy
a venom to poison us.
Spare us from the effort and
divide your property..
..if you don't come back.
- But not to this court.
We shall leave the house to whom
your mother chooses.
You , who came yesterday and ordered me..
..to travel beyound the sea in
search for my father..
please help me to return alive to Ithaca.
Help me return alive.
- What are you doing here?
-I am waiting for a ship.
- A ship?
Why?
- Do you think I'm still a child, too?
I'm going to make a trip to Pylos, to Nestore.
He was also in Troy.
If someone has news of Odysseus,
he must be the one.
Odysseus is dead. What do you want to find?
If you go, those here will
do anything to kill you.
Stay here and watch for your home. Don't go.
It'll be greater misery if you don't come back, too!
Don't tell anyone! Swear!
- Not even to your mother?
Not even her nanny, till she asks for me.
I don't want her beauty fade from sorrow.
The blue-eyed goddess has fetched a ship for Telemachus.
The sun went down in the sea..]
[..and darkness covered the roads,
when Athena,..]
[..in the form of Mentor, guided
Telemachus preparing a ship,..]
[..with strong sailors.]
[The wind filled the sail,..]
[..and foam sprinkled the keel.]
[Sailors, tighten the ropes,
the exhausted took a jar..]
[..with wine to salute the gods.]
[Thus the ship rode on the waves.]
[And on Ithaca, Penelope like
every night before..]
[..unwove cloth which she wove
during the day.]
Hurry, help me.
Telemachus isn't here. He didn't return yet.
[Narrator: Melante, the one with beautiful cheeks,..]
[..whom Penelope raised as if she were her daughter,
Instead she got close
to Antino?s.]
So there is a solution of the mystery.
Cloth which increases during the day and shrinks during the night
So this is the way you always postponed...
You finished a more than sufficient cloth for Laertes.
And thus I must finish the cloth..
..and don't know any more how
to avoid a wedding.
I don't know how to find a new trick.
You are one who gave a boat to Telemachus?
- Willingly or not?
- I have no reason to refuse.
- Who asked you for a ship?
- Don't remember.
Make some effort.
Am I not free to give my
ship to whom I want?
Till Noemon sat and told them he saw a god
on the ship, they laughed.
But immense fury came over their souls
Antino?s were more angry than the others.
I gave willingly my ship,
and many other boys wished to go with him.
And if they found Odysseus,
you won't command here anymore!
Pour, pour Telemachus wine.
That's better than to worry of his departure
Come on, drink.
For me he is nothing
but spoiled braith, and if its by me..
..I would show him what he deserves.
-No, we shouldn't do like that.
Someone must have helped him,..
..we should have killed him in the assembly,
and not let him go!
You have mocked him in the assembly!
Well, how could Telemachus be dangerous?
- Don't underestimate him
- He went to the main land,..
..but we all know that no one would come..
..to fight with us.
A ship. We will lurk for him in return
between Samos and Ithaca..
..and I don't believe he'll see his home again.
Messenger Medont, what news do you bring?
Has some news arrived?
Do they complain on accomodation?
No queen, I've come..
..to secretly express my loyalty to you.
- Loyalty. You don't have a damn clue
what it is. You are like the others.
Like others you forgot Odysseus' kindness.
I come to say that your son has gone.
Telemachus left with the ship by night,
but I don't know where to.
Damn you! Why has no one told me?
Damn bitches!
Punish me. I only know. He swore me not..
..to tell you so that you won't suffer.
Gone? Why? By what ?
By boat.
He is young, so young to navigate a ship.
Queen, a great danger is upon him.
..the princes prepare a trap for him,
when he will return
..in the narrow of Samos and Ithaca.
He has gone, too.
First his father and then him.
Why didn't he tell me anything?
Why had he gone? Why?
-Don't despair queen.
-He has done what every son would have done..
He has gone to search for his father.
You'll see he'll come back. He'll come back soon.
Why didn't he tell me anything?
He must not have left me alone.
It's better that he would never been born.
Now they want to kill him.
Zeus'daughter, Athena, listen to me!
Save my son.
Save her son, Save her son.
-Save my son.
Save her son, Save her son.
The sun has rissen,
leaving a beautiful sea,..]
[..to copper glimmering sky,
to shine upon the immortal gods..]
[..and all human offspring on Earth.]
[And they arrive in Pylos,
the home of Nestor..]
[..one of the Achean kings who demolished Troy.]
[Narrator: On a blue seashore..]
Nestor and his sons was making offerings
to the earthshaking god *Poseidon*
[Nestor begins with the ritual cleaning.]
[With prayers he makes the offerings.]
[His sons drag the cow.]
[Trazimedes brings a sharpened axe.]
You awake painful memories..
.. on our sufferings under Troy.
There we left..
..our best: Achilles, Patroclus, Ajax
..and my son Antilochus, valiant warrior.
It was a long war. Nine years
we fought with the Trojans and their numerous allies.
We exhausted all our powers and abilities.
In the end, Zeus decided to finish
this endevour.
For all those years, no one surpassed
your father..
..Odysseus in wisdom, courage and cunningness.
You didn't know him, I know.
His wisdom was infinite,
but what I admire most..
was the prudence of his heart.
There wasn't any quarrel between us..
..we both together worked to
preserve the Achean unity..
..and we succeed this almost till the end..
And when the city was destroyed,
and the treasures dispersed..
..and the females divided,
the god divided us.
Zeus prepared for us a sad returning
because in victory we weren't neither just, nor wise.
So came the we misfortune.
Some of them, as Menelaus wished an immediate return.
Others with Agamemnon wished to
end sacrificing to Athena ..to appease an angry goddess.
As if a god's mind would change because of one ram or bull!
So Agamemnons fleet stayed anchored on shore.
Half of the princes left with Menelaus.
Odysseus and I were among them
Somewhere after Lesbos,
where we shortly stopped,
without any losses began a brawl,
I don't remember who began it
Maybe because horror befall on all..
.and we didn't know what to do
We completely lost course.
Diomedes and I make repairments..
..and run to a shore.
On the other hand, your father..
turned back the ship and tried to reach Agamemnons fleet.
From there I
don't know anything about him.
This is my son you didn't meet.
This is the son of Odysseus, Telemachus
Now, listen: you were right to make this voyage
..cannot help you much.
But there is a man who..
..can tell you news about father.
Menelaus of Sparta.
He was the last to return and
he travelled much among foreign and distant people.
He and Helen
will tell you something about Odysseus..
..and my son will follow you.
You can go tomorrow.
Wait.
[Narrator: In a room above,
lies a hungry Penelope,..]
[..thinking if her innocent son
escaped death..]
[or he had fallen in the hands of the suitors.]
[How many thoughts a scarred lion thinks in the middle of a crowd
[..when death trap is surrounding him..]
[..-so she was thinking.]
[But sweet dreams overcome her.
Laying down..]
[..she finally relaxes her body.]
[and blue-eyed goddess Athena,
does a new trick.]
[She made her appearance of Iftyma,..]
[..the sister of Penelope,
daughter of the noble Icarius.]
Penelope, don't cry.
The gods don't want that.
Iftima, it's you?
It's me, your sister.
For how long didn't we see each other
you live so far away.
Why have you come on Ithaca?
I've come to help you.
Then you've heard that I lost
my husband, and my son..
..left me too.
-Yes, I know,..
..but don't torment yourself Penelope,
but instead believe.
I'm afraid. They want to
kill Telemachus and they lurk for him..
..before he comes back to Ithaca.
How shouldn't I cry?!
He's so young and inexperienced!
Who knows what dangers waits for him,
he didn't go far from me until now!
Don't be afraid Penelope,
Athena has mercy on you,
..and will bring you back Telemachus alive.
Athena?
You can hear Athena?
Tell me: Odysseus, where is he?
[Narrrator: Great waves throw Odysseus
all over.]
And like boreus *north wind* in autumn
scattering leaves..]
[..over meadow, and they roll and
stick to each other,..]
[..so winds carry Odysseus raft over sea.]
[First Boreus catch him from front,
then Noto *south wind* from aside..]
[..and then Zefirus would overcome *west wind*.]
[So tireless waves would come back
over and over again..]
[..to discord timbers and untie cords.]
[Odysseus hurried over and over again,
putting them back in place, thinking..]
[..at his son, whom he has never seen.
[All day and night he fought with the wind and the sea.
[..At times the sail would hang..] like an useless rag nailed on the mast.]
[And in a moment the wind would blow
the sail to the breaking point..]
[..and the mast moaned as it would break.]
[Then Odysseus would fold him or
put it to dry.]
[But in the end, the wind had casted it
into the sea, as two boys..]
[..who cast a ball but without letting
the third one to catch it.]
[Thus Odysseus protected the sails from waves]
[..in a exausting fight ]
[..wondering how much more he must endure..]
[..and how much time the struggle will last
*gk.:agon=struggle*.