Wednesday, October 02, 1996

The Tragical History of the Death of Perseus, Son of Zeus -- a one act play

Dramatis Personae

Spirit of Perseus
Hades, Lord of the Underworld
Persephone, wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld
Spirit of Medusa, a gorgon
Spirit of Acrisius, King of Larissa
Hermes, god and escort
Chorus, the souls of the dead [naked and pale, they stand unmoving]

Scene – Cavern of the Underworld; throne room of Hades and Persephone, who sit upon black stone surrounded by the Chorus.

[Enter Spirit of Perseus, led by Hermes]

HERMES: Lord Hades, Lady Persephone, I bear greetings and a suppliant – Perseum, son of Zeus and liberator of Ethiopia. Lord Zeus has decreed that you grant him audience.

HADES: Greetings, Lord Hermes. Your coming was not unexpected. We have already decided to grant audience to the son of Zeus.

HERMES: Zeus conveys his gratitude.

HADES: Bear my tidings to my brother, lord of the above-worlds, and tell him that Perseus’s words will reach our ears. [Exit Hermes] Greetings to you Perseus. Your deeds are known throughout the world above, and are not unknown to us as well. Tales of your great lineage – conceived by Zeus to the maiden Danae – as well as your childhood at Seriphos have been well told since. Your trials with the Grey Women and the Gorgons have passed the lips of many men. Your slaying of the serpent and rescuing of fair Andromeda will be remembered in Ethiopia long after it becomes a forgotten country itself. You have asked for our audience, and it has been granted. Now speak.

PERSEUS: King Hades, Queen Persephone, on my knees I greet you.

PERSEPHONE: You merely need to speak your mind. You do not need to entreat yourself before us.

PERSEUS: I wish that your lordships will grant me a favour. My wife Andromeda is without child. Yet many suitors wish to claim her and would then claim my bloodline. I do not wish to be forgotten.

PERSEPHONE: Such mortal affairs concern us little.

HADES: His wish may yet be granted however, provided that it conforms with my established order.

PERSEUS: I wish to be returned to the above-world to provide my wife with child and care for them until he is grown to manhood. I wish to be again among the living.

PERSEPHONE: Intolerable.

HADES: Such has occurred only once before. The balladeer Orpheus entered my world and led the soul of his love Eurydice to the overlands only to lose her to his mistrust.

PERSEPHONE: He had caused the Furies to weep. They did not forgive him.

HADES: Such will happen again. Yet I do not wish it to occur at this moment.

PERSEUS: [kneeling] I beg your mercy, O Lord of the Under-realm! My life was so full of deeds and yet my death was so tragic.

HADES: Tragic? Your death was a mere pittance when brought in relation to the tragic ends you gave unto others. Son of Zeus, meet the consequences of your heroism.

[Enter Spirit of Acrisius, hands bound in chains to his feet]

ACRISIUS: Hail, my daughter’s son, my murderer.

PERSEUS: Hail to you, once-king. Although I did not kill you intentionally, I do not regret or grieve for having done so.

ACRISIUS: Such words are to be expected from one such as you, my fated killer.

PERSEUS: I have no sympathy for you, you who wished me dead. You who sent your own daughter with me a babe in her arms to a watery prison. May the gods bless sweet Dictys who saved us from our confinement. After such abandonment I cannot place the remorse of your death upon my shoulders.

ACRISIUS: How was I to act otherwise? It had been prophesied that you would kill me. One cannot leave oneself to fate without acting upon it. Thus I tried to abandon you. Yet you struck me down, not in combat but from afar by a toss of a discus. And for my deeds I must wear these chains which bind me from further action. Such patience, such a ploy. Would that the Furies have had the power to act upon my murderer. Yet too late, you arrive here by other means. So be it. My blood remains on your hands. May the gods be merciful in the Underworld as they had been during your living travels. I leave you with your guilt. [Exit]

PERSEUS: Fool! I will not listen to his ravings.

PERSEPHONE: The mortal’s comportment does not endeavour me to his cause.

HADES: Let us yet see how he composes himself with this next one.

[Enter Spirit of Medusa (seen in human form, as prior to her transformation into a gorgon)]

MEDUSA: I greet you, my slayer. Forgive me for not thanking you for aiding me in my return to my former beauty. Such acts of heroism were not requested or appreciated.

PERSEUS: It was not my intention to aid one such as you. My actions were to save my mother from the tyrant Polydectes. It was he who wanted your head, so I did as was required.

MEDUSA: Such a noble act! Would that you had hidden your pride and shown your bravery, you could have risen to action against him yourself. Yet you requred me as a sacrifice.

PERSEUS: You were a dreaded monster fit to be killed!

MEDUSA: I was one among three who desired merely to exist! I had not slighted you in any way, nor had any intention to do so. You did not even have the presence to face me in combat. Killed from above while asleep, aided by the gods. The cap of darkness which shielded you from my sisters was proof of your cowardice.

PERSEUS: It was through my bravery that you were slain and Ethiopia was saved.

MEDUSA: Such boasts! You have done no more than any other man when aided by the gods.

PERSEUS: I was chosen to be a hero among men, thus befitting the gifts from the gods. You were fated to be killed by my hand and mine alone.

MEDUSA: Enough! You remain ignorant and cowardly hide yourself behind your false identity. May you suffer twice as Tityus among the vultures! [Exit]

PERSEPHONE: He has now offended both of them.

HADES: Perhaps now you may reconsider your nature. Once considered the saviour of men you are now one among many. You do not appeal yourself to us anymore than the countless other souls who have entered my realm. You will however be granted one boon. You may return to your lady Andromeda for one hour. Zeus will aid you to plant your seed within her while she sleeps. Then you will return to the Underdark not knowing your son. He will indeed grow to manhood and beget a powerful family. His grandson will truly become what you could not – first among men. When you return, you will accept your death as others have.

PERSEUS: Such therefore is my fate. I thank you My Lord and Lady. [Exit]

PERSEPHONE: He has now accepted his fate.

HADES: Indeed, yet his bloodline will continue along the paths he has trodden. Were it not Zeus’s will I would have not allowed his wish. His kin will cause future strife within my realm.

PERSEPHONE: So be it. The name of Perseus will not be forgotten. [Exeunt]

CHORUS: Please grace us to understand,
We have no meaning to offend,
With known tales we cannot contend,
Such knowledge is not yet at hand.

Old wrongs needed to be set aright,
Such creations needed to be told,
Now fitting with stories of old,
We bid you a fair and goodnight. [Exeunt]