Hegemon Book 20. The Fate of a Hegemon

And so my brother Agamemnon made his way back home safely on the greatest ship of the Aegean loaded with Trojan gold and his new favorite, the beautiful Princess Cassandra. He hath grown fond of her, and her of him. Now, Cassandra hath the gift of Apollo that could make her see the future like Calchus, but unlike Calchus, Apollo hath curseth her, so that she would not be believed. She warned Agamemnon, “Fear the queen, High King, for she will be the death of us both.” But Agamemnon put that to petty womanish jealousy and so he said, “Do not despair, fair Cassandra, for you are far too beautiful for me to dessert you. She is the mother of my son Orestes and my daughter Elektra. Otherwise, I would have tossed that Spartan princess away. She is not so fair as her sister’s lady finger and doth not even possess your grace.” But Cassandra despaired further, “Oh mighty King!! You are missing the point. It matter not if I am but a plaything to you. Apollo himself would have me for a mistress, but I didst spurn him….Oh never mind, Apollo had curseth me, so that my prophecies will never be believed despite the truth in them.” And it was in this manner that the High King Agamemnon entered the palace of Mycannae, and he was welcomed by his wife, the queen Clytemnestra, with words of love and showers of roses. He was much honored, and she invited him and his mistress Cassandra to take a place of honor. And Agamemnon was much pleased. Holding Cassandra by his side, he didst not hold off on wine or food, and soon he was drunk. One of the nobles looked familiar, but he could not recall who the young handsome man was. In some ways, this noble looked much like his own son Orestes. So he asked the lad, “Young man, what is your name? Hath I seen you in court but only forgotten you due to my long years in Troy? Perhaps, thou hadst been too young to be recruited for the campaign.” But the handsome lad replied, “Great King, I am not so young, but simply not present at your court at the time. My name is Aegisthus, son of Theyestes.” Though still deeply drunk, Agamemnon was shocked by the name. Regaining some of his sense but not strength, he shouted, “What art thou doing in my court, thou runaway traitor?!?” But the banquet was surrounded by the queen’s men, and now, Agamemnon hath known the truth. In his absence, Queen Clytemnestra hath taken Aegisthus as her lover. She hated him for the death of her eldest daughter Iphigenia, sacrificed for the safe winds to Troy. The Queen took out her great hair net and threw it on Agamemnon and Cassandra. Agamemnon was too drunk to get it off, and Cassandra was but a weak girl. In a minute, Aegisthus stabbed them both bloody. Thus, it was in this manner that the High King of the Hellenes would die. He was a man before his time, eager to unite the Greeks and fight off the yoke of Troy and the Hittites, but men couldst not see through his great sacrifice and appreciate his leadership, and so he fell bloody and dead. Before Cassandra died, she said, “Oh Apollo, you are but a petty god to send the woman you love to die in this manner. You think the sons of Troy* will defeat Agamemnon’s men and take revenge upon your city, but it will not happen for many centuries to come, and the Hellenes shalt rise to greater heights than their High King (who fell with me) today.” *The Romans are believed to be descended from the Trojans. They did not rule the world until after Alexander the Great. But perhaps, the curse of Apollo hath been too effective, for I do not know if he even heard Cassandra.