The Gates Of Troy by Glyn Iliffe Page B

crackled behind them and they felt its warmth in the smalls of their backs, coaxing the sweat from their armpits and increasing their discomfort.
    Paris cleared his throat and stepped forward into the golden, dust-filled light.
    ‘I come with an offer of alliance from the king of Troy,’ he began. ‘My father is a great man, but his greatness lies in his desire for peace and friendship with his neighbours. With this wish at heart, he has sent me to speak with you and the other significant kings of Greece.’
    ‘Priam rules over an empire of vassal cities that pay him homage and provide him with ships and armies to serve his will,’ Menelaus interrupted. ‘From all reports, the gods have already blessed your father with wealth and power far beyond the needs of any man. What could he possibly gain from an alliance with Sparta, or any city in Greece?’
    ‘Peace, most importantly,’ Paris answered. ‘And the freedom to trade, the life blood of all truly civilized peoples.’
    ‘But trade thrives, even though the Trojans have been demanding tribute from Greek merchants for some years now. Does your offer of alliance include the removal of this unjust taxation on our goods?’
    ‘I will raise the matter with my father, if everything goes well.’
    ‘You should grant this as an immediate concession if you expect any kind of profit from our meeting.’
    ‘There will be no immediate concessions,’ Paris countered. ‘Priam wants cordial relations between Trojans and Greeks, to our mutual benefit.’
    Menelaus leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard, eyeing Paris shrewdly. ‘To our mutual benefit, but at a cost to Greece no doubt. And what does Priam want in exchange for the friendship of Troy?’
    ‘There is something,’ Paris nodded. ‘My father’s desire for peace and trade is genuine, but the plain truth is he’s getting old, and old men are sentimental. He wants his family around him: he wants Hesione back.’
    Menelaus looked at him through narrowed eyes.
    ‘Telamon married Hesione thirty years ago,’ he said. ‘She was his by right of conquest, after he and Heracles sacked Troy. Do you refute this?’
    ‘That is what the Greeks believe, but we Trojans say she was raped and kidnapped by Telamon.’
    Menelaus raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Shame and defeat often bring denial. But whatever the truth about Hesione, she has been Telamon’s wife for many years now and has given him a son, Teucer the archer. And if I remember correctly, a Trojan delegation was sent to Salamis some time ago and rejected by Telamon himself.’
    Aeneas stepped forward.
    ‘Anchises, my father, was amongst them,’ he said, angrily. ‘The Greeks treated him like dirt and he and the others barely escaped with their lives!’
    Apheidas placed a hand on the young warrior’s shoulder and pulled him gently away from the Spartan king. Ignoring the others, Menelaus continued to fix his attention on Paris.
    ‘I don’t know what happened in Salamis and I don’t know Telamon well enough to speak for his character, but as a husband I don’t think I would have taken kindly to an attempt to rob me of my wife. Hesione’s home is Greece, and no offer of alliance is going to change the fact.’
    ‘Her home is Troy,’ Paris responded sharply. ‘Though Priam hasn’t set eyes on his sister for thirty years, he still loves her and wants her back. All I request is that you send a message to Agamemnon, asking him to invite Telamon to meet with us at Mycenae. After the experience of the previous delegation we would rather discuss these matters on neutral ground, and I am sure Telamon will not be able to refuse a direct request from the sons of Atreus. In return for your help, we will lift the taxation on Greek trade in the Aegean. My father is also prepared to compensate Telamon generously for the return of his sister.’
    ‘Priam seems to forget that his sister is now a wife and a mother!’ Menelaus snapped. ‘Do you Trojans care