Embedded Files
(Not completed, but close.)
Heracles
A one-act play in four scenes
by Mark Fairchild
Copyright © 1973-2018 by Mark Fairchild, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
CHARACTERS
1 ALCEIDES/HERACLES...................... Son of Zeus (an immortal and Alcmene (a mortal)
2 CERBERUS (ns)................................. Behind the shadow puppet screen, so they can be real or cardboard CHORUS (Narrator)................................................ Modern chorus
4 CHORUS (Snide Narrator).................. One of Chorus' multiple personalities, snide and cynical.
5 COUNSELOR...................................... Lycus' counselor
6 FIRST PRIEST OF PHOEBUS............ Phoebus Apollo (at Delphi) Deals with People.
7 GUARD................................................ Lycus' guard.
8 HERA .................................................. Heracles' step mother (Zeus' wife).
9 LYCUS ................................................ King of Thebes (usurped the throne of Thebes).
10 MEGARA .......................................... Hercules' wife
11 PRIEST OF APOLLO SPODIOS ...... The “Oracle” of Thebes.
12 PRIEST OF ZEUS ............................ At Thebes befriended by Alceides in Hades.
13 SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS .... Phoebus Apollo (at Delphi) Interprets oracles
14 SERVANT .......................................... Lycus' servant
15 THE PYTHIA ..................................... Priestess who delivered the oracles at Delphi
16 THESEUS ......................................... Resurrected king of Athens,
17 Three children (ns) ............................ Behind the shadow puppet screen; they can be real or cardboard
SETTINGS
SCENE 1: A clearing outside Thebes (outside the gate of Hades.)
CHARACTERS:
1 * Chorus
2 * Alceides
3 * Theseus
4* Cerberus (Puppeteers) (ns)
SCENE 2: The counsel chambers of the king of Thebes.
CHARACTERS:
1 * Lycus
2 * Counselor
3 * Servant
4 * Priest of Apollo Spodios
5 * Guard
6 * Alceide
SCENE 3: The Temple of Zeus at Thebes.
CHARACTERS:
1 * Priest of Zeus
2 * Servant
3 * Alceides
4 * Hera
5 * Megara
6 * Amphitryon
7 * Theseus
(8) (ns) * Three children (Puppeteers)
SCENE 4: Adyton of the temple of Phoebus Apollo at Delphi
CHARACTERS:
1 * First Priest Of Apollo:
2 * Theseus
3 * Alceides
4 * Second Priest Of Apollo
5 * The Pythia
NOTES
Every human is like Heracles, like Apollo: half mortal and half immortal.
The Spine(s) of the play:
1.Every human is like both Heracles and Apollo: half mortal and half immortal: body and soul.
2.What does killing do to the soul? It damages it. How? It robs the soul of clear intentionality.
3.Actions that are informed by love strengthen the soul. This is “good”.
4.Actions that are informed by no thought or by hate weaken the soul. This is “evil”.
==========================
ACT I
==========================
Scene 1: A clearing outside Thebes.
Chorus (Snide Narrator):
I am Chorus. Oh! You expected many actors in a chorus. Well, how do you know I am not many? In fact I am. I have multiple personalities, right here. You do not need to know my many names or their genders. We are all right up here.
CHORUS (Narrator):
The year is around 416 B.C.E.
Chorus (Snide Narrator):
But what matters more is this . . . you know nothing! You need me. You think you know who these characters are, but you don't! For instance, how do you address the main character? "Hercules" I hear you say. Ha! Wrong! And twice wrong! Hercules was a Roman hero, and even though it refers to the same guy, this play is about Heracles, the Greek hero. But also, he was not even Heracles. At this point in his life, as he makes his entrance, he is known by his birth name: Alceides! Al-Kay-Dees.
CHORUS (Narrator):
Alceides has just come out of the gates of Hades (that hole in the ground), or rather Hel, or actually Tartarus where he found and freed Theseus, King of Athens. So what the hell was Theseus doing in Hell? It is an old story. He was a womanizer (which in ancient Greece meant snatching women and carrying them off. Don't try that today!) He wandered into Hel looking for babes. And, well, long story short, he made the mistake of taking too long and sitting down to take a load off his feet. BIG mistake in Hel. He could not get up again. Until Alceides came along and gave him a hand. Sadly he could only save Theseus and not his friend, what's his name.
Chorus (Snide Narrator):
But what matters most is: TADA! I am Chorus.
I will pop up now and again to clarify obscure points made obscure by your piddling, unimaginative "modern minds."
CHORUS (Narrator):
(Enter Theseus and Alceides dragging a stuffed puppy with three heads, two of them hanging from its collar.)
(So here comes Alceides and Theseus.)
(Alceidesis dragging behind him Cerberus, the three headed dog that guards the gate of Hades. First thing to clarify is this: this a stage. The dog over there is not real . . . I need to take care of that.)
THESEUS:
Here, Alceides, let;s park that dog over here.
(Chorus guides him to a screen and waves the dog behind it. As it goes behind the screen it is transformed in to the shadow of a huge, snarling, three-headed shadow puppet.)
And come over here; take a load off for awhile. It is safe Theseus. This is not Hades, you will be able to get up when you want.
ALCEIDES:
Ahhh . . . how does it feel?
THESEUS:
Hmm? What's that?
ALCEIDES:
Why, being alive again, of course.
THESEUS:
Oh, ha! I was just watching the birds up there in the sky.
ALCEIDES:
What birds?
THESEUS:
There. See them? Way up there, very high.
ALCEIDES:
Yes, I think I do. They look like a few bits of dust caught in a devil wind.
THESEUS:
Yes, that's them. I'd never seen that before, never knew that they could even fly that high. They must be terribly dizzy so near the realm of the Sun and stars.
ALCEIDES:
Maybe that's why they're flying in circles.
THESEUS:
Maybe . . . Hmm, doesn't it speak for itself?
ALCEIDES:
What's that?
THESEUS:
Oh, what it feels like to be alive again. I mean, watching the birds, which we always knew about, but seeing them as we never saw them before.
ALCEIDES:
Hmm! Yes, I guess it does.
THESEUS:
You sound as though it's something different for you. How does the fresh air feel to you?
ALCEIDES:
For me it's . . . it's hard to explain. It's the first time in years that I've been free, even in life. I have no more tasks to perform, no more sins to be purified of. I can go home to my wife and children and, for once, I can truly be content to live!
THESEUS:
Yes, it must be something special for you.
ALCEIDES:
Oh, you can't really know! If you could only see the monstrous creatures I've had to battle. It's terrible just to recall it; not so much because they were ugly or fierce or deadly, but because of what it did to me to beat them.
THESEUS:
I don't understand.
(Pause)
I wonder if they ever knew about the monsters down here.
ALCEIDES:
Who's that?
THESEUS:
The birds. Or if they did, does has it ever made any difference to them.
ALCEIDES:
I don't know. They probably have seen them, but they probably didn't care. They have wings. They can fly away from monsters.
THESEUS:
Yes. . . but then again, we kill them -- that is men kill them, so we are probably monsters to them.
ALCEIDES:
(Pause)
I don't know.
THESEUS:
Maybe. . .
ALCEIDES:
Yes?
THESEUS:
Well, I don't know, of course, but perhaps the birds, having flown so high and free, maybe they simply don't care about monsters.
ALCEIDES:
Ha, now I am the one to not understand you!
THESEUS:
I mean maybe, having flown so high once is enough for them, and every other time is like a special privilege of enjoying ecstasy one more time. Then when they die it's simply an end to the privileges that they didn't really deserve in the first place.
ALCEIDES:
Oh, come on; men as monsters, birds with privileges?
THESEUS:
I don't know. . . I never saw any birds in Hades.
ALCEIDES:
Well, maybe you're right. But birds are birds and men are men. We have families and friends to give us joy.
THESEUS:
Yes. . . but then how did you slay all those monsters?
ALCEIDES:
And gods are gods and heroes are heroes, hmm?
Theseus:
I suppose so. But you did not answer me. How did you slay those monstrous creatures? Where do you get your strength? And focus . . . stamina?
ALCEIDES:
(Pause )
Well I can tell you this: it's a curse, not a blessing.
Theseus:
You are able to challenge those monstrosities and destroy them. It certainly seems like a blessing to me.
ALCEIDES:
Maybe a blessing of sorts. But remember, Theseus, I came for all those monsters, but they came at me before I came at them. I came to perform those tasks. I had to; they were forced on me.
You ask the source of my strength and focus? I will tell you. Somehow Madness comes upon me. It engenders great anger and hatred. Pure blinding, all encompassing hatred.
Theseus:
Excuse me? You are not a hateful man.
ALCEIDES:
No, I'm not, at least not until I am challenged. Until Madness comes. I don't think I summon it, it just comes, and with it The Blindness that kills.
Theseus:
So, any regrets?
ALCEIDES:
Only that I do not have as much wisdom as I have hate.
And . . . well . . .
Theseus:
Go on. And?
Alceides
Well, I don't know if it qualifies as regret, but when I entered Hades and found the monsters I had killed here on Earth had wound up in Hades too . . . that certainly felt like regret.
Theseus:
Really? A great family man like you? Regret? You have so much to hope for.
ALCEIDES:
Yes, a "great family man" like me. I mean what was the point if we (or the people I was saving from them) all only end up in the same place?
Theseus:
I never thought of that. If you kill a monster. To Hades, of curse. But what if you kill it in Hades? Where else can it go?
Alceides:
To Tartarus, of course. The worst level of Hel.
Theseus:
But you went there too.
ALCEIDES:
I know!
Theseus:
And what if you kill one there?
ALCEIDES:
If you have not quit solving problems by killing them, well, I don't know. Maybe you and the monsters join Sisyphus on an adjoining hill or valley. Killing and being killed, being resurrected to kill again and be killed again, and so on forever.
Theseus:
That at least sounds to me like something to be regretted. With that I must be on my way; my family is waiting for me--they just don't know it.
ALCEIDES:
True enough, and I must return to Thebes and my friends and family. You will come to Thebes to meet my family?
THESEUS:
Of course. I will be close behind you, no doubt. I must simply let it be known that I live, and see that Athens has been safe in my absence.
ALCEIDES:
Very well. I will see you then.
THESEUS:
Yes indeed. Goodbye and have a safe journey.
ALCEIDES:
And the same for you.
(Both exit in different directions.)
Scene 2: The Council chamber of Lycus
(Lights up on a large room with windows, tapestries of Olympian scenes, and a large table at which are seated Lycus and a COUNSELOR. They sit in silence. Lycus is clothed in flowing, frivolous veils of bright material. The COUNSELOR looks like a rock.)
LYCUS:
Struggling with something in his mind.)
All right! I will ask the priest!
(Lycus reaches for the servant's bell)
(Enter Servant.)
Servant:
Yes, sire?
LYCUS:
Have someone fetch me Apollo's priest.
SERVANT:
Is that all, sire?
LYCUS:
Yes, of course that is all! Did I say anything more?
SERVANT:
No, sire.
(Exits.)
Counselor:
And why the priest?
LYCUS:
You know very well why. I want to know what is going on, the status of Alceides, and who better to tell me than the priest of Apollo of Spodios? Any objections, you sniveling old power monger?
Chorus (Snide Narrator):
OK, I heard that! So you are confused about the priests of Apollo. "Phoebus Apollo," "Apollo Spodios," yada, yada, yada; which one is Apollo? Well what about Trump "the idiot" aka Trump "our savior,"; or Hillary aka "Madam Secretary" aka "Crooked Hillary"; or William Shakespeare aka "the Bard of Avon"; or Gilgamesh the "Wild Ox." . . . Yada . . . Yada . . . Yada?
Chorus (Narrator):
"Phoebus" is Greek for Shining Light refering to his roll as god of the Sun, of the arts, of poetry. "Spodios" is Greek for "god of ashes," or as some prefer "of the ashes". Phoebus Apollo is the Apollo the dieity as worshiped in Delphi; Apollo Spodios is Apollo the dieity as worshiped in Thebes, where the alter was made of the ashes of the victims sacrificed to Apollo--a lot of bulls.
Chorus (Snide Narrator):
. . .It's odd that there is not McDonalds there today.
So, anyway, for all practical purposes Phoebus means Delphi, and Spodios means Thebes, where this scene takes place. OK? And here is the priest of Apollo Spodios already. Must have been having a "Greek Mac" next door.
Chorus (Narrator):
AND, incidentally, Lycus whose ancestor used to rule Thebes, just took Thebes back by force, killing old king Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law and Alceides' father-in-law.
(Chorus, exits as the priest enters--they may acknowledge each other in passing . . . or not.)
COUNSELOR:
What is bothering you?
LYCUS:
Nothing's bothering me! Did I say anything was bothering me? Why does everyone insist on questioning me about . . . everything? I do the questioning here -- not you, not the servants, not the cooks!
COUNSELOR:
I merely feel that all is not as it should be. As always I seek to console and counsel you in whatever manner I can.
LYCUS:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Forgive me. I am bothered by being kept in the dark about the fate of Alceides.
COUNSELOR:
I can well see why.
LYCUS:
Oh, shut up! I have this realm and supreme power in it, yet I must check my every move because of my ignorance over this brute's fate. He haunts my sleep, my state decisions, my personal plans--everything in fact that I think or do. I must know where he is. I must see what the priest of Apollo can tell me.
COUNSELOR:
What if the priest discerns nothing of his fate?
LYCUS:
Oh don't ask me that! I don't know what I'll do! Another idiot who cannot do his job? I'll see to it he is executed!
COUNSELOR:
Besides, Alceides? A son of Zeus?
LYCUS:
Hmm. Maybe. But I was referring to the priest.
Counselor:
Oh. Well, the people might not take kindly to that.
Lycus:
Who cares? Any the oracle who cannot fulfill the very function for which they were created does not deserve the state's support. He is a waste of time and revenue. Besides, he will know.
COUNSELOR:
You sound very certain.
LYCUS:
Do you doubt it?
COUNSELOR:
Certainly; I doubt everything. That is my job.
LYCUS:
Come now. Of all the things to doubt surely not this. It is why I summoned him. He must have asked the gods already. If he can prophecy anything he most certainly will know the fate of a son of Zeus, Alcides' father. And Apollos father as well!
COUNSELOR:
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
LYCUS:
Old cynic.
COUNSELOR:
Cynic maybe, but this old cynic's counsels have helped you through many a tight spot.
(Enter servant.)
SERVANT:
The priest has arrived. Sire.
LYCUS:
Really? So fast?
Servant:
He was on the street, almost here.
Lycus:
Ah. Yet I fail to see him.
SERVANT:
Sire?
LYCUS:
"Show. Him. In."
SERVANT:
Yes, sire.
(Exits)
LYCUS:
Well, we will see now if my confidence is justified.
COUNSELOR:
So we will.
(Enter PRIEST OF APOLLO Spodios and a servant.)
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
I am told that you wished to see me.
LYCUS:
I have a question for the Oracle.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Yes Lord?
LYCUS:
And yet you do not look like her.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
You want the Oracle at Delphi or the Oracle at Thebes?
LYCUS:
You will do. I would like to glean your mind for knowledge of Alceides.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Ah, yes. Indeed. . . . Alceides is the son of Zeus, born of the mortal woman . . .
LYCUS:
No, you fool. I don't want a case history; I want to know what the future holds for him.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Oh, such things as this only the gods can reveal.
LYCUS:
You are a priest of these very gods?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Yes, sire. At least of Apollo Spodios.
LYCUS:
So what does Apollo Spodios know of this?
Priest of Apollo Spodios:
Nothing that I know of, sire.
LYCUS:
Is it beyond your powers to ask?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
No, sire, but it takes some time, and such questions may only be asked at the Oracle, in the temple.
LYCUS:
You are a seer, are you not?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
I am a priest and a seer in my own right, but I cannot query Apollo on my own. No one can outside his Oracle.
LYCUS:
I don't understand. Are you are a seer or not?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Well, yes, but a seer can only ask a very limited set of questions concerning moral or spiritual issues. For questions such as yours, concerning events, only an oracle will suffice. Though even then it does not guarantee that the knowledge will be granted.
LYCUS:
Very well, I am officially asking you. Is Alceides alive? Is he coming to Thebes? And does he seek to take my life?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Of course. I am at your service. But I will need to retire to the Oracle. It would be best if you came as well, so you might ask clarifying questions.
LYCUS:
So I will accompany you. I want to know as soon as possible, not later. How long will it take?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
I cannot say.
LYCUS:
No? Why not?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
It is not wise to make demands of the gods. Of any god.
SERVANT:
But sire. . .
LYCUS:
What is it!
SERVANT:
Forgive me, sire, but he already knows the answer to these questions.
LYCUS:
Oh? Is this true?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Your Majesty . . .
LYCUS:
What makes you say this? How do you know what he knows?
SERVANT:
Why, he told me, sire. As I was bringing him to you just moments ago.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
It is true, but only to a degree.
LYCUS:
Then why did you say that you knew nothing earlier?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
The prophecy concerns not so much Alceides as it concerns you, and at times a person's fate is best kept from him.
LYCUS:
You sound very bleak.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
I am, your Majesty.
LYCUS:
Well? Tell me of the prophecy!
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
If you must know. . . you are to die at the hands of Alceides at any time, perhaps within the week. Possibly this very day.
COUNSELOR:
Alceides is alive!
LYCUS:
Of course he is. And sit down, you're tottering and you might fall. How could he kill me if he were dead?
COUNSELOR:
Non-sequitur aside, you're very calm about the matter.
LYCUS:
Quiet. I'll ask your opinion later. Now, you. How am I to know this is true?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
You may seek the word of the Oracle of Delphi. But you already asked this question in our own Oracle earlier in the week by messenger. Remember.
LYCUS:
You conveniently forgot to tell me of the Apollo's reply?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
No. I hoped I would not have to; that maybe you would forget about it.
LYCUS:
So I did -- forget about it; but now I remember. So how do I know this is true, that Alceides is alive and will kill me?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
I will swear by the name of Apollo AND their common father Zeus that it is true, lest I be smitten where I stand. This is the vision given to me, and this is what I tell you. Against my better judgment.
LYCUS:
(After considerable pause)
And what of Alceides? Has he fulfilled his final task? Has he brought the three headed dog that guards the gates of Hades to light? To show my predecessor?
Counselor:
He has, from what I hear. But it is just hearsay.
LYCUS:
And you. Is there anything you can do on my behalf?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
We could offer prayers and sacrifices to Zeus in your name. We could ask that he try to turn aside your fate. But I suspect it would do little good.
LYCUS:
Why is that?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
First of all, Alceides is the son of Zeus, so his father will not likely interfere with his son's undertakings unless it is to his or Alceides's benefit.
LYCUS:
And what if I find some way to make it "to their benefit"?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Oh, there might be some way, but then even the gods must eventually succumb to fate too. So it is still doubtful.
LYCUS:
Could it not be that fate holds it in store for Zeus to turn his son's wrath away from me?
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Anything is possible, but only one thing will happen. It would be best for you to try to make happen what you desire, even if it is not possible.
LYCUS:
Then you believe that I will die.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Yes. Alceides is, like Apollo, half human, half god. Even if you killed his mortal half, he would then be wholly immortal: a god. He will then no doubt kill you.
LYCUS:
Quite true.
(Pause)
You may go.
PRIEST OF Apollo Spodios:
Your Majesty.
(Exits)
SERVANT:
Sire. . . .
LYCUS:
Silence!
(Then gazing at the Counselor)
Everyone.
(Silence ensues)
LYCUS:
Go fetch my guard.
SERVANT:
Yes, sire.
(Exits)
(Silence)
Counselor:
What do you intend to do?
LYCUS:
I told you to be silent. You will see soon enough what I intend to do. This is not a matter of state, as the ods see it, so much as it is a personal matter. I need not heed your opinion and do not want it until the deed is begun.
(Silence. Soon the servant enters and an officer of the guard follows.)
Guard:
Sire?
LYCUS:
I want you to take ten men, and gather together the family of Alceides -- his foster father, his wife and his children. Bring them here, bind them and leave them outside the palace doors. When this is done, bring me word. They are to be executed. All but the wife.
GUARD:
Yes, sire.
(Exits)
LYCUS:
(To the servant.)
Go.
(Servant exits.)
COUNSELOR:
Are you mad!
LYCUS:
(Lapsing into an affectation of madness.)
Why my dear fellow, I've never seen a group execution in time of peace. If I must die, I may as well use this chance to see that which I've always wanted to see.
(Counselor stares aghast)
Besides which, I do so adore red. And dear Mrs. Alceides is sooo adorable. . .
COUNSELOR:
What are you saying?
LYCUS:
Exactly what you hear.
COUNSELOR:
You have gone mad.
LYCUS:
(Dropping the fake character)
No, I've not gone mad. I am perfectly serious.
COUNSELOR:
Why? What purpose will it serve? What can possibly come of it?
LYCUS:
Why? Well, let's see:
One: Alceides is most likely dead even as we speak, although that fool's prophecy is a bit disconcerting.
Two: Even if he is alive, he is returned from the dead, which means he can die. So I have hope.
Three: The only thing worse than having to fight Alceides is having to fight the whole family, now and through the coming decades. Dead or alive, those brats of his will eventually come after me for killing their daddy or their uncle Creon. I want their threat dealt with, now!
Four: Of course they cannot fight now, but they can give him reason for hope. If I can destroy them, then he will be easier to defeat.
And five: . . .
(long pause)
COUNSELOR:
Yes; five?
LYCUS:
I know Alceides.
COUNSELOR:
But you have never even met him.
LYCUS:
Ah, but I am him, almost. We are both second best in our families.
\Counselor:
Is he second best?
LYCUS:
Of course! His brother Apollo is much favored and is a god, whereas Alceides is only thought of as "a hero." That is good, but it is not "a god."
In any case I know what he will do to get what he wants; I've done it myself. Now he will come after me to get revenge for my killing his father-in-law. If he is alive.
But more than that, he is half god. Poor old, suffering, righteous Alceides, son of the king of the gods, has suffered through, and paid for, his wrong doings. Even you pity him!
It means little to you, or to anyone in court or country that I had my birthright taken from me. Zeus! I ask you, does a man who is half immortal, who everyone knows is probably going to live half of eternity at least growing fat on ambrosia and living in ecstasy, while I rot in Hades! Does such a man deserve more pity that the wretched mortal whose only condolence in this damnable world was the love of a father who would not even look at him, but heaps favors and inheritance on the elder son?
By all the gods in heaven, he will earn the pity he receives through his mortal side when I'm done. History will know the brute has been gathering nothing but glory and consolation on the mountain sides and in the depths of Hades, where, most likely, even Pluto looks kindly on him! I may die, but I will die with the acknowledgment that I deserve!
(Two solemn knocks at the door.)
LYCUS:
What is it!
(Enter, warily, the guard.)
GUARD:
Sire. Somehow the family of Alceides knew of our plans. They have taken refuge in the shrine of Zeus, where they pray as supplicants.
LYCUS:
So? Why don't you take them?
GUARD:
Sire, we are only men. We cannot go against the gods!
LYCUS:
You fools. Very well then. I will come and do it myself. Out of my way!
(He walks furiously to he door, throws it open. A body lunges at him and drives a blade through him. He falls to the floor. ALCEIDES pulls his blade from the body. Lights down.)
Scene 3: The alter room of the Temple of Zeus, in Thebes .
(knock on the door, Servant Enters.)
PRIEST of zeus:
Yes?
SERVANT:
Alceides and his family have come to seek your guidance.
PRIEST of zeus:
On what matter?
SERVANT:
Alceides has returned from his twelfth and final labor. He needs to know . . . who to show Cerberus to--to complete the Twelfth Labor.
He wishes to offer thanks for his survival of all the labors.
He has also slain Lycus. For this he seeks purification.
PRIEST of Zeus:
Show them in.
Servant:
Yes, sir.
(Exits)
(ALCEIDES enters and waits beside the alter. Alceides, Amphitryon, Megara and the three children are shown in.)
ALCEIDES:
I come to seek your advice.
PRIEST of zeus:
Your father comes to your aid. What do you wish to know?
ALCEIDES:
I come to offer my father my praise for having brought me safely through this last task, yet it is . . . difficult.
PRIEST of zeus:
Why so?
ALCEIDES:
My hands are stained with the blood of Lycus.
PRIEST of zeus:
So I have heard.
ALCEIDES:
What must I do to purify myself?
PRIEST of zeus:
It was your fate to kill this usurper.
ALCEIDES:
Why?
PRIEST of zeus:
Fully this cannot be answered.
In the first instance, there was Lycus. Lycus, even before he killed Creon, was a puppet in Hera's hands.
In the second instance, there was Hera. Suffice it to say it was Hera's wrath that entered Lycus. Beyond that I cannot say. Why Lycus? No one knows, not even the gods, except perhaps Hera, and she will not say.
So for now you must deal with the situation as best you can, by giving offerings of incense to Hera with prayers for forgiveness.
ALCEIDES:
I will.
PRIEST of zeus:
(To the servant)
Fetch the incense for each of the family members and myself
.
SERVANT:
Yes, sir.
(Exits and re-enters with a small bowl containing hot embers and a leather bag containing incense, both of which he gives to the PRIEST.)
PRIEST of zeus:
Now, kneel here.
(Priest exits)
(He sets the bowl down and all kneel around it. Only then does ALCEIDES begin to pray.)
ALCEIDES:
Zeus, god of all gods, ruler of earth and the skies; Hera, wife of Zeus. I do not understand your wrath, but if I am responsible for it I beg your forgiveness and mercy. If I have injured you, I and the others present here offer you these sweet draughts for your comfort and consolation.
Hera:
(Note: he is at the Statue of Zeus. It is hollow so the actress who plays Hera can act from within the statues and thus be the voice of the statue. She can also leave the statue to move around the stage--and around Alceides. As always other staging options are possible.)
ALCEIDES:
Father, Sacred and Precious is your Name.
Hera:
Think so, do ya, 'sonny'? I think his name is Mud.
ALCEIDES:
Make Earth your Realm so all may do your Sacred Will.
HERA:
Sacred Will in your mother's whore-house.
(ALCEIDES spins around to find the source of the voice behind himself.)
Hera:
Ah! Heard that did you, Alceides?
ALCEIDES:
Nourish us today . . .
Hera:
give us some ass . . .
ALCEIDES:
Forgive us our sins . . .
Hera:
Never!
ALCEIDES:
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Hera:
Forgive them? How did you come up with that, you puny-headed hunk of muscle!? Oh, my hunk o' son; oh, "my" witless baby!
(ALCEIDES sees his wife and children on the floor, behind the screen.)
Ah, yes! There they are. There is your charming, cheating wife, your house whore playing with your children.
Oh no, not your children. They are the bastards of someone your wife was whoring with. One of the many men your wife was whoring with.
Ah, he can even see me! At least part of him sees me.
Who was she whoring with, Alceides? Who are these children's father? The little piglets at their mother's side! Not your . . .
(By this time Alceides has been raging openly, so that the others are frightened, especially the children, who do not understand this strange behaviour. He sees the children.)
Hera:
(continuing her harrassment)
Yes, yes! And there are children of evil; the blood of Lycus! The tiny monsters who will grow and seek revenge for their father's death.
Megara:
Alceides! What's wrong? Why are you raving like this?
ALCEIDES:
(Drawing his knife.)
Out of the way, woman. They must die before their contagion spreads throughout the land.
(She tries to hold him off, but he stabs her and throws down her corpse.)
ALCEIDES:
Come here little vermin, stop!
(He grabs one boy and slits his throat.)
Megara:
Alceides!
ALCEIDES
And you, ha! I see the evil in your eyes. You're frozen with fright, like an animal of the darkness, giving up to the greater power.
(Kills him)
ALCEIDES
And another! I saw another. Where is it? Where is . . . there I see it hiding, fearing for its putrid life. You cannot escape that which must be. Come here. Out!
(AMPHITRYON enters and sees what is happening, justy as Alciedes drags the child from the alter and kills him, just as his human father yells.)
Amphitryon:
Alceides! Alceides! These are YOUR children, YOUR wife! Alceides! What are you doing?
(PRIEST of ZEUS enters to see what is going on.)
ALCEIDES:
And an old one, trying to dupe me.
PRIEST of zeus:
Alceides! Stop! I am the Priest of Zeus. Stop! The old man is right! Stop killing them, your own children!
ALCEIDES:
What? What children? Where?
PRIEST of zeus:
There!
(ALCEIDES stops and looks at his dead family. He passes out. LIGHTS DOWN.)
(During this transition lights can be half or nearly fully dimmed while actors are tying ALCEIDES to a pillar, and THE PYTHIA and AMPHITRYON cover the corpses. Alceides still unconscious.)
(LIGHTS UP.)
(Servant enters.)
SERVANT:
Sir. Theseus has arrived and is asking for ALCEIDES. What should I tell him?
PRIEST of zeus:
Bring him in.
(Servant exits and returns with Theseus.)
THESEUS:
What has happened here?
PRIEST of zeus:
Alceides went mad. He killed his wife and children.
THESEUS:
But why?
AMPHITRYON:
He went mad.
(ALCEIDES begins to come to.)
PRIEST of zeus:
Oh, god, what now? . . . Will you talk to him? I must go.
(the PRIEST of ZEUS exits)
THESEUS:
Alceides. Wake up.
ALCEIDES:
Theseus, what are you . . .
THESEUS:
Quiet for a moment.
ALCEIDES:
I'm bound. Why am I so dizzy? What's wrong?
THESEUS:
You don't know why you're here?
ALCEIDES:
I came to seek purification, but . . .
THESEUS:
No, I mean why you're bound.
ALCEIDES:
No. I was praying, and Hera spoke. . .
THESEUS:
Yes. . .
ALCEIDES:
Then I went blank. . . Oh, no. What did I do? Why. . . father, you're bleeding. And where is Megara? Where are the children?
AMPHITRYON:
They are dead.
(pause)
All dead.
ALCEIDES:
Did I? Oh, Zeus! OH, GOD!
THESEUS:
Quiet, Alceides.
ALCEIDES:
NO! I want to know what happened! What did I do?!
AMPHITRYON:
During your prayers you went mad, and in your madness you thought that they were the children of Lycus. You called them monsters and things of evil.
ALCEIDES:
But Lycus didn't have a wife, or children.
AMPHITRYON:
I know.
(Pause)
ALCEIDES:
Oh, god. Oh, god. . . Untie me.
THESEUS:
Why?
ALCEIDES:
I . . . I want to see their bodies.
THESEUS:
Are you sure?
ALCEIDES:
Yes.
THESEUS:
I don't believe you.
ALCEIDES:
Aright! All right; I want to destroy my self.
THESEUS:
Why?
ALCEIDES:
"Why?" Can you really be asking that?
THESEUS:
Yes.
ALCEIDES:
Why? Because I deserve it. I am evil. Besides, maybe I can join them. Comfort them.
THESEUS:
Well, I can't say that you're not without cause for great grief; yet many bear grief and yet live.
ALCEIDES:
But none with such grief as I have.
THESEUS:
But you are such a man as can bear it. I will untie you, but first let me say this: you are more than welcome to come with me and leave this land behind. We will go to Delphi, to seek Phoebus Apollos' advice. I have many estates. I will give one to you, in which you can make a new home. Think about it.
(Pause)
ALCEIDES:
Very well, I'll go with you. But first I must care for my family. What remains of them.
THESEUS:
Yes, of course, but remember there - is - still - life - in - you. You must keep it there. I am certain that it is still there for a reason. We didn't return from Tartarus only for you to send yourself back! Something gave you the courage to leave. Live to find out what it was.
ALCEIDES:
(Slowly)
Yes. I guess that is all I can do anyway, live that is, since at least half of me can never die.
(Lights down. Scene change.)
Scene 4: adyton of the temple of Phoebus Apollo at Delphi
(Lights up.)
(The scene takes place in the adyton in the temple of Pheobus Apollo at Delphi. The adyton measures 9 x 12 feet--but design the stage at your discretion. Center stage is a tall three legged stool. In front of that is a crack in the floor with hallucinogenic steam rising from it; as the scene progresses, everyone except THE PYTHIA keep their distance from it.)
(Enter ALCEIDES and THESEUS, escorted in by a PRIEST.)
FIRST PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Wait here, gentlemen.
(They stand to the rear of the Pythia's tripod stool.)
Theseus:
I thought I was done with caves and Tartarus type places.
ALCEIDES:
Behave now, Theseus. Don't insult our hosts.
THESEUS:
. . . Very well. As you wish.
(He looks around.)
But really!
(Enter the pythia, escorted by another priest. She sits on the three legged stool behind a crevice in the floor, back strait, and the priest stands next to the other aisstant priest.)
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Gentlemen, state you query of the oracle.
ALCEIDES:
I am the son of . . .
The Pythia:
Yes, we know who you are.
Alceides:
We have come from Thebes where I for some reason lost my mind and slew my family.
(The pythia looks intently into Alceide's eyes before continuing.)
THE PYTHIA:
Yes, I know. I was there, so I know what happened.
ALCEIDES:
So how can I atone. And where do I go with my wretched life from here? What do I do now?
(The pythia leans over the steam rising from the crevice and breathes it in deeply. After A time she begins speaking in gibberish, something resembling speaking in tongues.)
The PYTHIA:
Death flies to sun at noon. No leaves are upon it. Why grovel in dirt and sing sad songs? Why spit at the stars? Free bee upon a brow.
First PRIEST of PHOEBUS:
You are not to blame for your family's deaths. You were a tool, not the wielder.
THE PYTHIA:
Ratatoskr will scream and you will never hear, never, never, never of the eagle above. Ratatoskr is everywhere. Blindness covers all. Not Ratatoskr but the tree itself bites and maims you.
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Hera hates you, Alceides, and you can never escape her. You must live with your life and go on blindly to find your fate. Fate will lead your way.
THE PYTHIA:
In the circles of the Sun, and the times of the day the lost will be found. Fifty will smile and fifty-two will cry but not weep. More will be found in time. And one.
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Your family will grow, by fifty-two and still more children will come. But only one first wife.
The PYTHIA:
Plus comes. Scratch your head and listen hard. To the prize that has been earned to her great chagrin, in warbling and in dusk. She will smile at first but will wail at night and this of her own, of Ratatoskr's doing and droppings. So says Phoebus Apollo, cles, great cles of Ratatoskr.
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
But more is said. Hera drove you mad and made you murder your children and wife. And for this crime she will be punished by this: you will never again be called Alceides. Your name now is Heracles. The world of men will forever know that because Hera drove you to greatness and notoriety, in the world of humans, you will eternally be known as Heracles, "the Glory of Hera". So Apollo declares . . . at the urging of Hera, of course.
Heracles:
But what am I to do now?
The PYTHIA:
Hard. Hard it is. Singing to the peatman drowning in sweat, 1st in day after night after day after night, all while Ratatoskr chides and screams. Yet the peat must be harvested. Fires must burn for the hearth gods to stay warm. So Heracles must harvest 'til the gods say he is done. Day after night after day after night while Apollo rides through the zodiac and watches and laughs in joy.
(unusually seriously)
Laugh not with him lest he visit the twelve twice . . . and you will . . .
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Now you must proceed to Tityns and serve Eurystheus, who will bind you to ten labors, which will become twelve.
HERACLES:
What? Again! You're telling me I must do the twelve labors again?
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
No. I am telling you that you will have to do the same Twelve Labors again. Possibly forever. Apparently you are not done and might never be.
HERACLES:
How can I do that? The monsters are all dead or dealt with, the deeds are all done!
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
No being that you killed is truly dead. And the tasks are never really done. The dead live on in Hades. They all await you.
HERACLES:
And forever?
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Apparently there is something you must learn, and if you do not learn it, time will loop until you do.
HERACLES:
Oh, God!
THESEUS:
(Pause)
You are telling us that he must go kill the dead, and do everything again that has already been done? And again, and again, and again?
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
I am afraid so. That is what the Pythia was told in the oracle.
THESEUS:
Why? What is done is done. . . . Isn't it?
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
(Turning to Heracles)
Not if the gods declair otherwise. And you seem to have a severe enemy--or enemies--among the gods.
HERACLES:
Hera.
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
So it would seem.
HERACLES:
Thank you.
(They turn to go. Then pause for Theseus to turn and address the priest.)
THESEUS:
Why "the glory of Hera"? Wouldn't "the enemy of Hera," or "the fixation of Hera", or "the hated of Hera" be more appropriate?
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
We can only tell you what Phoebus Apollo told the Pythia . . . but my best guess would be that Heracles will be remembered forever, for whatever reason, and that is Hera's doing. She was behind the imposition of the Twelve Labors, and whenever he handled them too well, she stepped in to make them more difficult. Unbearably difficult.
HERACLES:
Truly?
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
Truly.
THESEUS:
And she caused you to kill his family.
SECOND PRIEST OF PHOEBUS:
If it were not for her, he might be remembered as, perhaps, an immortal artistic, a happy and beloved child, like his half brother Apollo. If her husband's seed, Alceides, is immortal, it will be on her terms, as Hera-cles. She will be remembered too!
also, perhaps Apollo or some other god came up with this name. There is no love lpst between Hera and many of the gods. She wants to be remembered eternally, but the irony of this name will be the flip side to that coin.
THESEUS:
Even as Krishna is remembered as "the Butter Thief".
HERACLES:
Who is Krishna?
THESEUS:
Someone I heard of in Hades, a god in a far off land. But the point is, he too is a god remembered for his crimes. So who really came up with your new name? Hera? Zeus? Apollo? . . . or someone else?
(Both priests smile at Theseus and Heracles)
Hmm. I have my suspicions.
(Smile sadly)
(Lights down)
* * * The End * * *
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