The Odyssey of Thais

The Encounter

I had stopped counting the days.

There was no reason to anymore. Every morning looked the same from the cave. The wild goats wandered freely across the hills, and the grapevines grew wherever they pleased. It was almost cruel how beautiful the island could be. Everything here was free except me.

The Cyclopes had no civilization, no laws, and no king to rule them. They lived across the mountains in enormous caves. They planted nothing, yet the Gods and the earth gave them wheat, barley, and grapes. They built no ships, though the sea surrounded them. They had everything they needed without working for it, and perhaps that was why they had never learned to need anything or anyone but themselves.

I had to learn to fear them all.

They were enormous one-eyed creatures with enough strength to break a man apart with their bare hands. Some were crueler than others, but none had ever looked at me and seen a princess. None had cared that I was the daughter of the Queen of Scheria—or that the blood of Zeus himself ran through my veins. None cared I was a demigod. 

Here, I was being their captive.

Most days, I was forced to carry food, clean their caves, make the cheese, tend to the fires, and help with the sheep and goats. I had tried escaping before—more than once. But there was nowhere to go. Beyond the caves were mountains, and beyond the mountains was the sea. The Cyclopes had no ships, and I could not alone obuild one

That was the worst part of my situation.

There was a wooded island not far from the shore, untouched by the Cyclopes. I could see it from the cliffs on clear days. There were meadows near the sea, rich soil, fresh water, and even a natural harbor where ships could rest safely.

Sometimes I would stand at the cave entrance and stare at that harbor.

I imagined a ship appearing there.

I imagined sailors stepping onto the shore.

I imagined someone finally finding me.

But no ships ever came.

So eventually, I stopped waiting.

Until one day, I looked toward the gray sea and saw sails in the distance.

That night, through the darkness, ships came quietly into the harbor.

I did not see them arrive. A deep mist surrounded the vessels, and the moon was hidden behind thick clouds. The darkness covered the sea so completely that no one could have seen the island from the water. No big waves were crashing against the shore to warn anyone of their arrival. The ships reached the beach and were pulled onto the land.

The men took down their sails and stepped onto the shore. There, beside the breaking sea, they slept and waited for the divine Dawn.

There were twelve ships. Nine goats were placed in each ship, while the leader of the men got ten for himself.

For the entire day, until the sun began to set, the strangers remained there, feasting on as much meat and sweet wine as they wanted. They still had plenty of wine stored aboard their ships, taken in big jars when they had attacked the city of the Kikonians.

From the island, the men looked across the water toward the land where I was being held.

The land of the Cyclopes was close enough for them to see the smoke rising into the sky. They could even hear the bleating of the sheep and goats.

When the sun disappeared and darkness covered the sea again, the men lay down along the shore and slept.

The next morning, their leader gathered his men together. From where I was, I could not hear the words he spoke to them, nor did I yet know his name.