Imperious
Tales Of Woe - The Journey Of Odysseus - Part I: From Ilion To Hades
1. At the Shores of Ilion
Ten years of besieging the mighty walls of Troy have passed as a wooden horse finally brought victory to the archaeans and their leader Menelaus. But it was the profit of one man, both artful and brave, who arose out of the raging flames which devoured the halls of King Priam. A proud and longing heart pounded within his chest which yearned desperatly for his homeland Ithaca and his family. Yet he didn't know which ordeal lies ahead of him.
At the shores of Ilion the journey of Odysseus began...
2. To Abjure Temptation
a: The Departure
Proud Troy in flames while walls no longer stand, the fire rages on
The wooden horse prevailed with pride, it broke through open gates
Hector lay crippled and broken in the sands
The heel of Achilles - lacerated
To homeland shores triumphant greeks now go, they leave death behind
An empty throne desperately awaits the return of the king
The highest waves their ships must sail
At the island of cicones they called
They slayed those men and took the gold
Another victory they got
But revenge did punish them
Countless avengers now came
As sun did set they had to mourn
Six men per ship forever gone
Odysseus:
“With desperate souls we fled,
Our destination far ahead.”
Suddenly frightning storm clouds rose
With might from the north
Sent by Poseidon
The god of sea and waves
Rushing thunderstorms
And lightning bolts so bright
Eleven days they roamed!
On day twelve they rested at
The shores of lotus-eaters land
Odysseus:
“A peaceful clan greeted me,
Granted hospitality.“
Two messengers were sent to them
For a friendly gathering.
Tasted from the lotus fruit
And dived into inebriant mood
Odysseus:
“With pleasured souls they stayed,
Their destination far away.”
Friends:
“Leave us here. We want to stay
Where we can be lustful, redeemed and free.
Our homes are far away, to far to go to,
We are where we belong.”
Penelope:
“Ten years gone with the tides,
Ten years of longing for Odysseus...
Where are you, beloveth?
Seeing your face and touching your skin again,
Is the only thing I dream of every single night.
Return to me!"
Friends:
“Leave us here. We want to stay
Where we can be lustful, redeemed and free.
Our homes are far away, to far to go to,
We are where we belong.”
b: The Mourning
O what a terrible loss to them
To leave their friends behind in foreign lands
They mixed the sand with tears from their weeping eyes
From their weeping eyes they leaked
With force Odysseus had to drag
His friends back to the ships
And bound them to the wooden bench
To abjure temptation
To abjure temptation
To abjure temptation
3. At the Cave of Polyphemus
(
Instrumental
)
Liner Notes:
Odysseus:
“An island we reached after resisting the lotus-eaters' offerings. Hungry and thirsty we were. There, a ready harvest yields and wine poured from weighty clusters. Well-fed sheep stood on wonderful green meadows and the clearest waters sparkeled from untouched springs.
After we tied our ship at a small port and explored half of the isle, we found a cave full of food and wine. We should never have done that. A giant cyclops returned to his cave and closed the entrance with a monstrous stone. We were trapped.”
4. The Sharpened Pale
a: The Captivity
(There was)
No hope for the traveller in that dark prison of stone.
To flee from starvation, he led his men there.
(There, where a giant one-eyed creature greedily gorged his fearful
friends alive. So what is to do when freedom is barred?
When everything seems hopeless and futile? When darkness
shackles the mind and the will to survive has almost dried out?)
Trapped in
No way out
Got trapped inside of Polyphemus’ cave
With greed the one-eyed gorged fearful friends alive
So what is to do when freedom is barred?
Trapped in
No way out
Got trapped and Polyphemus is feasting on them
Friends:
“Desperate eyes stare into darkness,
Pray to Athena for help.
How to leave this cell of gray stone?
How to see the sunlight again?
Anxious eyes stare into weak flames.
We all pray to Zeus for aid.
How to leave this cell of cold stone?
How to see the rising sun again?”
Odysseus:
“Wine! Give it to him.
A tired mind can't see clear.
Cyclops, here I am!
Nobody is my name!
Wine! Give it to him.
A tired mind can't see clear.
Cyclops, here I am!
Nobody is my name!”
The sharpened pale in slyly hands
Crafted key in useful flames
Took Polyphemus' single sight
And all the gods, they shall hear his cries
Polyphemus:
“Help me friends! Why don't you come?
Nobody did me harm!
Nobody stabbed my eye!
Poseidon, father, hear my cries!”
b: The Escape
The forlorn traveller, he must return
To his family and his throne
On Polyphemus’ nurtured sheep
They left behind their misery
As cyclop hands rolled stones away
And let those poor ones free
The forlorn traveller must return
To family and throne
With fraud and courage he has won
The freedom for his men
In rage about his tortured soul
The giant throws the rocks with force
But Laertes' son is laughing now
About Poseidons one-eyed descendent
And in supposed splendor he leaves this coast of doom
Come forlorn traveller, now return
To family and throne
With fraud and courage you have won
The freedom for your men
The freedom for your men
The freedom for your men
5. Insidious Winds
Unto Aiolia they sailed
A kingdom of clouds bound to mother earth
Guarded by Aiolos, Hippotes’ son, the king
Tempests turn to breeze, storms calm down
They’ve sworn allegiance to the master of this realm
Tales of Troy sounded through his hall, an echoe of war
He wanted to know it all. What was Odysseus’ fate?
Thirty days and thirty nights they stayed next to the throne
As time has come to say farewell for heading home
Aiolos placed a magic bag into Odysseus’ hands:
Aiolos:
„Inside it keeps powerful winds, accelerating your return.“
Odysseus:
„Westwinds! Guide me to throne and family.
Over waves we'll fly like the birds glide through the skies.”
Penelope:
„How I long for you, my tears can't hide the truth.
Will we meet again? Or must I drown in pain?”
This endless pain which keeps her awake...
Ithacan fires on the hillside they could see
Before the hero of Troy fell asleep
Envy and greed spread throughout his discontented men
The assumed gold inside Aiolos' bag they wanted to gain
But fortune turned suddenly into despair
As they opened their fate and released the magic air
A raging storm took them back at the endless sea
Their homeland vanished through their guilty tears
Odysseus:
„And oh cursed fate! The thongs unbound!
The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round;
Snatch'd in the whirl the hurried navy flew,
the ocean widen'd and the shores withdrew!“
Anxious hearts pound aware in former swolen breasts
About their ego weaknss and their avidity
How should they ever retrieve their masters trust and love?
Friends:
„Our souls will be eternally lost to Tartaros!”
Awoken from his dreams his nightmares became real
when he saw his beloveth kingdom disappear
Odysseus:
„Shall I hurl myself into crushing waves
And let Hades lock my soul in chains?
Or shall I silently endure this suffering?
My longed for salvation was in reach.”
(As he decided to withstand his blackened thoughts,
Booming hurricans drawed them back to Aiolian shores.)
Aiolos:
“Ulysses here! What demon could'st thou meet
To thwart thy passage and repel thy fleet?
Wast thou not furnish'd by our choicest care
For Greece, for home and all thy soul held dear?”
Odysseus:
“Me, lock'd in sleep, my faithless crew bereft
Of all the blessings of your godlike gift!
But grant, oh grant, our loss we may retrieve;
A favour you, and you alone can give.”
Aiolos:
“Vile wretch, begone! this instant I command.
Thy fleet accursed to leave our hallow'd land.
His baneful suit pollutes these bless'd abodes,
Whose fate proclaims him hateful to the gods!”
Ithacan fires on the hillside they could see
Before the hero of Troy fell asleep
Envy and greed spread throughout his discontented men
The assumed gold inside Aiolos' bag they wanted to gain
A raging storm took them back at the endless sea
Their homeland vanished through their guilty tears
Fragile arms oared heavily six days and nights in shame
On the seventh day they entered the laestrigonian bay
6. At the Bay of Telepylos
(
Instrumental
)
Liner Notes:
The sea was calm within the bay of the lastrygonian realm, for that is why Odysseus' men landed there with their ships. However, Odysseus tied his ship to a rock outside. Three of his men went to announce themselves at the palace of King Antiphates, but in rage he killed and ate one of them, while the others hurried back to the bay to warn their comrades. But again - it was too late...
7. The Feasting of the Laestrygonians
(
Instrumental
)
Liner Notes:
Lastrygonians in the size of giants appeared from everywhere and attacked the Ithacan ships by throwing heavy rocks on them. Odysseus was forced to watch his ships drown and his crew die. There was no other option than to flee with the rest of his men.
8. Celestial Tunes of Moral Fraud
The lot assigned Eurylochus
To take the half of men
And to leave for the goddess' courtyard
In curiosity
No one resists when Circe sings
Alluring melodies
Reckless they passed her gate
But their leader expected the worst
On noble seats they ate their poisoned meal
So into swines they turned
And with their mind still clear
They were locked up in stables full of dirt and mud
An iron heart will melt like snow
When it hears celestial tunes of moral fraud
Enchanted by a divine voice
That even kings must bow to Hades
Beauty or beast, blessing or curse...
What is Circe all about?
Can you see it in her smile?
Can you see it in her eyes?
This shining starlight?
Odysseus:
”Was it a fluke or destiny
To meet Hermes in disguise?
It seems to me that he was sent by Cronion.
And with Asclepios weapon he lend to my hands
I’d resist the venom of Circe.”
(Circe's spells had no effect on Odysseus as he was protected
by Hermes' herbs and advises. Overpowered she recognized him...)
Circe:
“Are you the one Hermes mentioned?
The one who satisfies my lust?”
(Odysseus knew that Circe would only took the spell off of his
friends when he would do her a favor. After he claimed her promise,
that she would free his men, he followed her lust for love.)
Odysseus:
“Dear Fellows, our friends are redeemed!
At Circes courtyard we attain our relief!”
By that outraged Eurylochus cried out:
“Don’t you remember the Cyclops?
Those unfortunes again and again
Due to the virtue of Odysseus plans?”
Odysseus:
“Do you question me?
Do you question thy Lord?
By steel I will take your doubts!
In shame you should regret what you’ve said
And remember your loyalty!
All of YOU!!! - All of US!!!
We need to take a rest from our loss!!”
His iron heart was steadfast
As it heard celestial tunes of moral fraud
The divine voice unheard
But he must go to meet the souls of Hades
Beauty or beast, blessing or curse?
What was Circe all about?
He saw it in her smile!
He saw it in her eyes!
This shining...
This guiding...
This overwhelming starlight!
9. At the Realm of Hades
After 5 years of confusion and idleness at Circe's palace, Odysseus and his men proceeded their journey to their homeland Ithaca. But first they had to pass another task as Circe advised: Entering the realm of Hades to seek wisdom from the seer Tereisias.
10. Where Cimmerian Darkness Dwells
Odysseus:
“At the ocean's end our weary feet touched foreign sand again.
Here, where cimmerian darkness dwells in every man
Since Helios, the shining sungod averted his gaze.
This is where we reached the place which Circe presaged.
”So I drew the sharpened sword and dug a trench a cubit each way.
Sacrificial blood offerings we placed around
And up from the deepest Erebus forlorn spirits rose.
“Souls appeared of fathers, mothers and sons of men
Who died in battle alone.
With a screaming sound they surrounded me,
But I kept them away from our sacrifices.
It was the seer I waited for.
Not one cursed spirit should taste the blood.
The prophecy of the shining goddess
Has to be fulfilled.
”So I drew the sharpened sword and dug a trench a cubit each way.
Sacrificial blood offerings we placed around
And up from the deepest Erebus forlorn spirits rose.
“Behold! Elpenor, fallen friend in vain.
Here I mourn your tragic death.
Beloveth mother, you died while I sieged mighty Troy.
Can you see my weeping heart?
Finally Teiresias arose and drank from sacred blood.
The enlighted seer raised his voice
To tell me nothing but the truth to guide my way.
Knowledge to guide my way.
Wisdom and strength to guide my way.
Nothing but the truth.”
Teiresias:
“Oh splendid one you seek fortunate return.
But Poseideon will not forget the things you've done.
Survive the sea and do not harm the cattle of Helios.
Then you'll find your home, your throne,
Disgraced by suiters with treacherous souls.”
Odysseus:
“And so he prophecied my fate, all the things I have to go through.
A way drenched in the blood of my foes!
My sword must meet raging steel anew
Before I, the righteous king, will reign again.
”Persephone sent many souls up from the depth where Hades dwells.
Daughters and wives of noble heroes, I spoke to them.
Friends of mine did also rise right before my eyes.
Those who found death inside of Ilion's walls.
Atreus, Achilles and Ajas I saw among famous grecian ones
And I told them nothing but the truth.
I must find my way with knowledge.
To find my way with wisdom and strength.
To find my way back to Ithaca…“
- to be continued... -
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