22 Apollo’s Investigation:184-227

Interlude

Apollo’s Quest

Maia and Hermes were still arguing as

Eos –Dawn– finally arrived

delivering into the world of mortals

(though not yet to the gods on high)–

birthed from the deep, dark currents

of the Eastern Ocean–

a newborn light.    185

And  it brought another light too:

the-purifying-light

Apollo

The time: Dawn

The place: Onchestos

Apollo

was going past the exact same farm from earlier

[aimlessly following the very route of his earlier quest

from Piera to Oncestos

near his earlier rite-of-passage too:]

where there is a grove sacred to the Earth-Shaker,

[whose-waves-are-the-roar-of-young-men-clashing-and-competing.]

He

was there also —

the same strange old watcher!

working near the road,

toiling on the hedges of his vineyard.

The Watcher in Oncestos (II)

The son born of that famous and unignorable goddess:

Leto

was the second god –following the other–

to engage in conversation with this Watcher,

(but only in order, not in importance).

“Hail to thee elder[1],

–oh, uhh… hard to find a title that fits the epic mood…

…king-berry-picker (?)..

…of grass-blanketed Onchestos. 190

Field-dwelling cattle:

are the object of this quest, my young man’s rite of passage.

For them I have come to this land, far-journeying!

I am specifically looking for some

cows:

sharp horns on their head

twisting like ivy on the vine.

Oh. I am not just after any cows, of course.

[This is not a cattle raid.]

I am questing for my cows, stolen from from my herd.

Of course that is not all, there was

a bull:

of an onyx hide

so dark as to appear blue,

…

Although truthfully he was not even with them

As tradition demands, I pastured him alone and

far away

And alongside them also

watchdogs:

savage-eyed watchers,

threshold guardians,

who ceaselessly nip

never far from the cattle’s heels

Not just one but four of them

and they are good guard dogs too.

Like they say:

as smart as men and aligned to their minds

single-minded in their task, not easily distracted.

[Oh. I am not looking for these, of course]!

No, I was just explaining that

there were other parts of my herd.

But somehow they were all left behind during the theft. 195

The bull and dogs, I mean.

Not the cows. The cows were taken.

Isn’t this all just the most confounding mystery?

Anyway…

It all must have happened right after sunset.

The cows:

far-journeyed from their

frequented, fresh, fertile field!

Far from the fabulous fodder

on which they feed… oh… uhh…

…I can not think of another ‘F’ word…

…uh…normally?

So tell me this,

elder, born of ages long, long, long ago –

With strictest accuracy:

Around that time, were you perhaps able to see:

a man of evil motive traversing the path?

…

Oh. Not just a man alone, of course.

Obviously,

he would have also been herding my cows

going forth along on the path.” 200

The old man responded to the god

with a riddling answer:

“Hello there, young stranger.

It is, of course, a very difficult request,

to be called to speak with accuracy about perception–

As a wise man once said:

consider the sheer number of things that the eyes take in with a glance–

[and of these, many things it does see, are not what they seem.]

For instance

I see a great many who pass by, traveling this highway on business.

Sure,

some of them have their minds set on wicked deeds, as they say.

Others though have good intentions,

surely.

How could anyone be expected to know which is which —

using only a casual glance?   205

They go by quickly and all look equally busy as they walk.

…

Anyway, how should I know any of this?

I am just an honest and simple labourer.

[Why would you doubt that?]

I spent that time – near sunset, like you said –

digging around the hills of my vineyard

–good soil and with the visit of the luck-bringer,

(if you know what I mean)

about to bear a bountiful harvest.–

[Was I able to see a man then?]

No man, I can tell you that honestly.

But around that time,  it is possible that I saw a child —

“noble” looking,

(if you know what I mean)–

Or at least, he seemed to be.

But I do not know for certain.

[As for herding your cows]

All I can say is that

first I saw some cows with pretty horns

then,

following the cows, I saw him walking.

[But were they your cows? Was he ‘herding‘ them?

These things I am not certain of.]

[As to his motive?]

[I am no mind-reader, so…]

I can only tell you what my eyes observed.

To my sight he was just

a clueless baby, babbling nonsense.

Though, curiously,

he did have

a tiny herder’s crook

(like a little wand) and

a sly, crooked walk

(zig-zagging on both sides of the road).

[And as for all of them going forth along the path?]

I am not even sure I would say that, exactly.

It seemed like he was making the cows walk backwards, not forth.

He was walking forwards though —

so, in the end, it is more accurate to  say

they were walking

face to face

backwards and forwards.” 211

Truth be told,

he had stop listening long before and

while the elder was still speaking…

Apollo

dashed away

fired up with renewed purpose

(something shiny in the sky had distracted him).

There

a Zeus-sent bird!

an omen:

its long wings were…

open and gliding

(even a child knows how to interpret that

sign without ambiguity).

From this omen,

he now knew 

–with absolutely certainty–

the identity of the thief:

another son of Zeus,

himself the son of crafty old Kronos.

[a threat to the throne and

Apollo’s position]

This kind of competition he understood.

Full of fury now, he roared forwards

eager to prove himself

the true inheritor of Zeus’s authority:

lord Apollo!         215

The location: Pylos

(sacred to the lord of the dead)

He was now hot on the trail of the cattle,

seeking the trail of their distinctive steps.

In flight high above,

he moved quickly and prepared for battle

draping his toned, divine shoulders

in a mantle of

bruise-purple clouds,

like an angry summer cloud

[scattering lesser breezes before it]

[a storm with thunder barely contained].

Tracks — there!

The far-reaching killer

recognized them immediately and

thundered:

“Oh, I…

What the hell?

…

What is this divine mystery

that has me doubting the perception of my eyes?

The tracks I see in the middle:

these are clearly of cattle

a dangerous-horned breed

surely mine.    220

But… this makes no sense….

they are heading the wrong direction!?

They are heading

back to the start

back to their meadows of asphodel,

back to the Nether-field.

[And yet my pens are still empty!]

Also, I can make out the tracks of some other

thing…

What could it be?

Let us think this through…

not left by a man, I think

…

nor even by some strange wild woman

nor any of the native beasts:

not gray wolves,

nor bears,

….

nor rare fauna:

not even lions fierce.

…

Also, probably not any of the plausible mythological hybrids

No, not even Centaurs

with their wild manes halfway between the two.

No. Whatever made these tracks must be

an epic monster!

needing to be slain,

[a plague on those who farm]

with huge feet and

swifter movement.225

…

It must be truly massive.

Look:

one set of footprints here on the left side of the road

then fully on the other side, the second set!”

So informed he dashed forwards,

towards the horrible monster.

eager to prove himself

the true inheritor of Zeus’s authority:

lord Apollo!

…as to how exactly he knew where to go…

some mysteries, the Muses do not reveal.