WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.400 [Sounds of the sea] 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:18.750 Episode 4: The Calm Before the Storm 00:00:18.750 --> 00:00:25.420 [Sounds of the sea] 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:28.970 “Father Poseidon, did you hear his name? 00:00:28.970 --> 00:00:31.450 It was Odysseus who blinded your son. 00:00:31.450 --> 00:00:34.720 Blight his voyage with trial and calamity, 00:00:34.720 --> 00:00:38.340 so that if at last he reaches his homeland let him be alone, 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:40.910 and unknown, and under a strange sail, 00:00:40.910 --> 00:00:46.430 and let him find danger waiting where there should be a welcome!” 00:00:46.430 --> 00:00:49.260 I laughed at the Cyclops’ rantings, 00:00:49.260 --> 00:00:50.160 I looked around me, 00:00:50.160 --> 00:00:53.100 I could see no sign of retribution. 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:54.960 The sea was calm. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:56.590 But little did I know. 00:00:56.590 --> 00:01:07.570 Far below our ship the sea god Poseidon was scratching his barnacled chin and pondering a plan. 00:01:07.570 --> 00:01:12.410 Far from suffering from a storm my men and I found that we were becalmed, 00:01:12.410 --> 00:01:14.790 there was not a breath of a breeze. 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:19.400 My men had to row for days until their hands were studded with blisters, 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:21.060 until they bandaged their palms, 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:24.990 and the blood oozed through the bandages. 00:01:24.990 --> 00:01:32.040 It was with great relief then that we saw something flashing, bobbing, reflecting the light of the sun. 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:39.400 When we came closer we saw it was a floating island surrounded with tall walls of bronze. 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:44.290 We had heard stories of this place from travellers and the stories proved true. 00:01:44.290 --> 00:01:48.660 When we were closer still the guards atop those walls shouted, 00:01:48.660 --> 00:01:53.600 “King Aeolus offers sanctuary in exchange for tales of your adventures!” 00:01:53.600 --> 00:01:55.810 We passed through the bronze gates, 00:01:55.810 --> 00:01:58.650 we were welcomed warmly by the people of that island. 00:01:58.650 --> 00:02:00.840 Our ship was tethered to the jetty, 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:08.220 we were led up a cobblestone hill to the palace of their old, mad king: 00:02:08.220 --> 00:02:09.850 Aeolus. 00:02:09.850 --> 00:02:14.220 He loves to hear the stories of travellers but he’ll never leave his island. 00:02:14.220 --> 00:02:18.790 For seven days and nights he filled his hall with the scent of roasting meat. 00:02:18.790 --> 00:02:21.830 For seven days and nights we told him tales, 00:02:21.830 --> 00:02:24.350 of our trials on the fields of Troy, 00:02:24.350 --> 00:02:27.050 of our ordeal with the Cyclops. 00:02:27.050 --> 00:02:30.240 Eventually, we thanked him for his hospitality, 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:34.930 we told him the time had come for us to resume our voyage. 00:02:34.930 --> 00:02:39.950 The old man ordered his soldiers to fill our ship with good things to eat and drink. 00:02:39.950 --> 00:02:44.570 Then, he led me up some steps into his bedroom. 00:02:44.570 --> 00:02:46.830 He pointed at an alcove. 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:50.670 He pulled back a curtain and I saw there a sack, 00:02:50.670 --> 00:02:53.880 tied tight with a silver thong. 00:02:53.880 --> 00:02:57.090 As I stared at it, it wriggled, 00:02:57.090 --> 00:03:00.100 as though there was something alive inside it. 00:03:00.100 --> 00:03:01.840 He gestured for me to come closer. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.260 I had to come so close that I could taste his breath on my tongue. 00:03:06.260 --> 00:03:08.400 And then he said: 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:13.180 “Zeus is my friend! 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:16.730 He is in the middle of a feud with his brother, the sea god Poseidon. 00:03:16.730 --> 00:03:20.320 He has stolen all the winds of the world from Poseidon, 00:03:20.320 --> 00:03:22.980 and he has put them in this sack. 00:03:22.980 --> 00:03:24.370 This is why you’re becalmed. 00:03:24.370 --> 00:03:27.850 You see, Odysseus, the winds of the world are all in this sack, 00:03:27.850 --> 00:03:31.470 that I have been given for safe keeping. 00:03:31.470 --> 00:03:34.020 Now it crosses my mind, Odysseus, 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:40.290 that I could release one gust to fill your sail and I could give the sack to you. 00:03:40.290 --> 00:03:48.530 You would sail straight back to rocky Ithaca and then you could open the sack and release the winds as I have promised I will to Zeus. 00:03:48.530 --> 00:03:52.660 Soon, you will be home.” 00:03:52.660 --> 00:03:58.010 I am not ashamed to say that I wept a few tears of joy then. 00:03:58.010 --> 00:04:00.040 The old man knelt. 00:04:00.040 --> 00:04:02.700 He unpicked the knot in the silver thong, 00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:04.890 he dipped his hand into the mouth of the sack, 00:04:04.890 --> 00:04:10.750 and he pulled out what looked to me like a wriggling snake of smoke. 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:14.040 He opened his hand and it was gone. 00:04:14.040 --> 00:04:17.020 And the two of us shivered, 00:04:17.020 --> 00:04:18.930 and then he pulled the knot tight again. 00:04:18.930 --> 00:04:20.360 He gave the sack to me. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:22.770 The two of us made our way down the cobblestone hill. 00:04:22.770 --> 00:04:26.790 There were people of that island lining the jetty to wish us farewell. 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:28.010 I climbed aboard the ship. 00:04:28.010 --> 00:04:30.030 There were my men, at their benches. 00:04:30.030 --> 00:04:31.690 I walked to the foredeck, 00:04:31.690 --> 00:04:34.350 the deck just behind the prow at the front of the ship. 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:38.070 I put down the sack and then I said: 00:04:38.070 --> 00:04:43.980 “In this bag there is the greatest gift that ever I have been given. 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:49.520 A greater treasure than even the spoils of Troy!” 00:04:49.520 --> 00:04:55.960 The people of that place cheered then and the old king beamed. 00:04:55.960 --> 00:05:01.400 My men stared at the sack. 00:05:01.400 --> 00:05:03.380 We set off. 00:05:03.380 --> 00:05:05.800 We rowed through the bronze gates, 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:15.800 then we lifted the glistening oars and we unfurled the sail and immediately it bulged like a great belly, 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.660 no need to row, no need to steer. 00:05:18.660 --> 00:05:24.610 It was as if our ship was following a path across the trackless waves of the sea. 00:05:24.610 --> 00:05:28.980 It was as if we were an arrow, loosed from a bow. 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:33.550 For nine days and nights I sat on the foredeck, 00:05:33.550 --> 00:05:34.860 just behind the prow, 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:36.090 scanning the horizon. 00:05:36.090 --> 00:05:39.560 For nine days and nights I barely ate or drank – 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:41.790 I did not sleep. 00:05:41.790 --> 00:05:44.180 And then I saw her. 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:47.750 I knew her, immediately. 00:05:47.750 --> 00:05:50.410 Great Mount Neriton, 00:05:50.410 --> 00:05:57.070 the terraces, the vineyards, the goat tracks, the shingled beaches, 00:05:57.070 --> 00:06:00.280 the land that had given me life. 00:06:00.280 --> 00:06:04.260 Great rocky Ithaca! 00:06:04.260 --> 00:06:07.630 She became more real by the moment. 00:06:07.630 --> 00:06:09.540 As we approached her, 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:13.120 my relief became fatigue. 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.620 The rigours of my vigil overcame me. 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:23.010 I felt so tired I ordered my men to wake me when at last I could jump from the ship, 00:06:23.010 --> 00:06:28.550 and plant my feet on the shingle of an Ithacan beach. 00:06:28.550 --> 00:06:32.810 And I lay, with the sack by my side, 00:06:32.810 --> 00:06:38.000 and I fell asleep. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.570 As soon as I did so, 00:06:40.570 --> 00:06:43.210 Poseidon saw his chance. 00:06:43.210 --> 00:06:46.140 He made a little gesture with his hand. 00:06:46.140 --> 00:06:48.190 The gesture caused a wave. 00:06:48.190 --> 00:06:49.920 Our ship had to climb. 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:52.240 As the prow of the ship rose, 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:59.150 the sack by my side slid from the foredeck and landed with a plop in the lap of one of my crew. 00:06:59.150 --> 00:07:01.320 He turned to his companion beside him. 00:07:01.320 --> 00:07:02.260 He said, 00:07:02.260 --> 00:07:04.000 “Did you hear what Odysseus said? 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.510 He said in the sack is the greatest treasure that ever he received. 00:07:07.510 --> 00:07:09.420 All the treasures of Troy he shared with us. 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:10.580 And he ought to after all, 00:07:10.580 --> 00:07:12.440 we have risked our lives as often as he. 00:07:12.440 --> 00:07:14.410 But this he keeps from us, 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:15.830 he keeps for himself – 00:07:15.830 --> 00:07:17.870 where is the justice in that? 00:07:17.870 --> 00:07:23.630 What harm would there be in seeing what he has been given, while he sleeps?” 00:07:23.630 --> 00:07:28.200 And so that man, he unpicked the knot, 00:07:28.200 --> 00:07:35.800 he dipped his thumbs into the mouth of the sack and as he opened it he was blasted from his bench onto the deck. 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:42.330 Astonished, he looked up to see rising from the sack a thousand wriggling snakes of smoke, 00:07:42.330 --> 00:07:44.160 surging into the sky, 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:48.340 and the sea god had all the weapons he needed now. 00:07:48.340 --> 00:07:50.470 The sky darkened above us. 00:07:50.470 --> 00:07:53.080 Waves began to batter against the bows, 00:07:53.080 --> 00:07:55.890 the sail was torn to shreds. 00:07:55.890 --> 00:07:57.580 The spinning of the ship woke me. 00:07:57.580 --> 00:07:58.310 I sat up. 00:07:58.310 --> 00:08:01.310 Poseidon spat brine into my eyes. 00:08:01.310 --> 00:08:02.110 I looked out. 00:08:02.110 --> 00:08:03.720 I could just see the edge of Ithaca. 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:07.480 Among the clouds I reached out over the edge of the ship as though I could grab her, 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:10.320 as though I could pull her to me but then she was gone. 00:08:10.320 --> 00:08:13.110 And the north wind threw us for the south wind to catch. 00:08:13.110 --> 00:08:15.450 The west and the east were fighting over us. 00:08:15.450 --> 00:08:18.030 Sometimes we were climbing mountains of water, 00:08:18.030 --> 00:08:21.690 sometimes sinking into valleys and the sky could not be seen. 00:08:21.690 --> 00:08:25.310 When we sighted the floating island of Aeolus, we made for it. 00:08:25.310 --> 00:08:26.810 We fought our way through the waves, 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:31.530 we passed through the bronze gates and within moments the storm had abated. 00:08:31.530 --> 00:08:33.490 I made my way up the cobblestone hill, 00:08:33.490 --> 00:08:35.280 I entered the palace of the king. 00:08:35.280 --> 00:08:37.520 As usual he was in the middle of a feast. 00:08:37.520 --> 00:08:39.610 He was astonished to see me return. 00:08:39.610 --> 00:08:41.430 When I told him what had happened, 00:08:41.430 --> 00:08:45.130 I saw his expression change. 00:08:45.130 --> 00:08:47.560 “Odysseus,” he said, 00:08:47.560 --> 00:08:50.400 “this is a floating island. 00:08:50.400 --> 00:08:54.490 We are reliant on the goodwill of the sea god for our very survival. 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:58.720 You are a threat to every one of us in this place. 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:00.900 You must leave now!” 00:09:00.900 --> 00:09:02.820 I was bundled from his palace. 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.210 I was thrown down the cobblestone hill. 00:09:05.210 --> 00:09:06.620 I jumped into the ship. 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:08.290 We made our way through the bronze gates. 00:09:08.290 --> 00:09:09.510 We looked above us. 00:09:09.510 --> 00:09:11.860 The sky was frowning over us. 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.960 It was low, swollen, sullen. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:18.370 The sea god wanted us dead. 00:09:18.370 --> 00:09:27.190 How would we ever see our homes, our hearths, our fields and farms and families again? 00:09:27.190 --> 00:10:10.920 [Closing music]