Betrayed: The Story of Clytemnestra

Chapter 1

Part I

Mycenae, 1183 BCE, Clytemnestra aged 43

"There is a smell of murder. The walls drip with blood."

(Agamemnon by Aeschylus, translated by Philip Velecot)

Chapter 1

Clytemnestra wrung her hands. Breathing deeply, she walked over to the window and looked out to sea. Boats peppered the horizon, small dots growing bigger,hurrying toward home with the wind. By tonight they would reach the docks. One of them contained her husband returning from war.

The messenger interrupted her moments ago, informing her of the fleet's return.Her husband. She hadn't seen him for over eleven years. Thanks to a series of beacons she'd had the foresight to set up, she'd received word a year ago that Troy had fallen and that the Greeks were on their way home. It had taken ten years, but the Greeks had defeated Priam and his sons and delivered her sister Helen back to her husband, Menelaus. Clytemnestra had stationed a guard on twenty four hour duty on the battlements to watch for Agamemnon's return ever since the beacon's first announcement, a year ago. She wanted to know the moment of her husband's return so as not be caught unawares.

Clytemnestra shook her head. Her husband was returning. He'd be back in the palace that night, expecting to pick up where they left off, no doubt.Clytemnestra supposed they would, in a way. She certainly hadn't forgotten how they had left things. She would never forget Agamemnon's departure. In fact, she'd been dwelling on it for eleven long years.

"What's wrong,my dear?" asked Aegisthus, coming up behind Clytemnestra. The younger man stood close to her, his breath on the side of her face.He put his meaty hands on her arms and bent down to kiss her exposed neck. She leaned back into him, savouring his warmth and inhaling his spicy smell.

"By tonight itwill be over. You'll be the King of Mycenae," she sighed.

"I like the sound of that, my queen," whispered Aegisthus, brushing a long strand of grey hair off Clytemnestra's ear and wrapping his arms around her in order to look over her shoulder at the returning ships. Clytemnestra knew that Aegisthus had been anticipating this moment also, though not nearly as much as she was. They'd spent long hours in bed planning how to welcome Clytemnestra's husband home from the war.

Clytemnestra smiled.She would make Aegisthus her king, the third king of Mycenae that she would be queen to. The first one that she would crown herself.

"We must make sure everything is prepared for Agamemnon's arrival," said Clytemnestra.

"It's been prepared for a year."

"I'd like to double check the arrangements. I want everything to be perfect."

"It will be. But,I know you won't rest until you've made sure of that yourself."

"You know me too well."

Clytemnestra turned around in Aegisthus' arms to face him. She took in his sharply angled face, brown eyes and curly dark hair which he wore long, the ends brushing his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to meet his lips. She teased him with a soft kiss.Aegisthus moaned lowly and kissed her again, much more passionately this time and Clytemnestra let herself get carried away by the softness of his lips. She could feel his muscles tense against her.

"Later," said Clytemnestra, putting her finger on his lips. "I have to go now."

"You torture me,he won't be here for hours."