Two Short Stories by Sarah Das Gupta

 

The Queen of the Dead

Short Story

by Sarah Das Gupta

Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and his fourth wife, Demeter. Zeus sometimes seemed to make lordly decisions, without feeling the need to consult others, notably his wives. His brother, Hades, ruled the dark Underworld, region of the Dead. One day Zeus gave the unmarried Hades permission to abduct Persephone and carry her away to his dark, gloomy realm. Apparently, Zeus did not consider it necessary to discuss the matter with Demeter or their daughter.

One sunny day, Persephone was picking flowers in a lush green meadow with a group of sea nymphs. Suddenly the earth on the Nysian plain burst open. The terrifying figure of Hades appeared with his spear and gleaming golden chariot. The girl was frightened of this dark, glowering figure who had sprung from the gaping hole in the earth. She screamed and struggled in vain. By the time Demeter heard her child’s frantic protests; it was too late. The dark hole had closed. Persephone had gone.

Demeter was distraught. For nine days, torch in hand, she wandered the world in search of her beloved daughter. When Helios (Sun) told her the story of Persephone’s fate, she was not only grief-stricken, but angry too. She lived in seclusion, cut off from the other Olympian gods.

Demeter, as goddess of grain and agriculture, refused to let the seeds sprout but kept them buried and sterile deep in the earth.

Agriculture was halted and men would have starved if Demeter had continued her fury and grief. Zeus, having caused the problem, sent Hermes to seek a solution. Hermes descended into the House of Hades in an effort to persuade the god of the underworld to release Persephone and reunite her with Demeter. Hades, not unreasonably, pointed out that this was not a bad marriage for Persephone. After all, Hades was the brother of Zeus and she was now Queen of Erebos. This would give her status and honour among the gods. He agreed that she could visit her mother. At the same time, Hades secretly gave his wife a pomegranate seed to eat. This ensured that Persephone would have to return because she had eaten in the realm of the dead.

It was agreed Persephone should spend two thirds of the year with her mother and the other third with her husband. Demeter was overjoyed so the crops flourished and the barns were full of grain. Hades and Persephone being rulers of the sterile world of the dead remained childless.

The ancient source for this story is ‘The Homeric Hymns’ an early collection of 33 hymns addressed to various deities.

 

The Riddle of the Sphinx

 

Short Story

by Sarah Das Gupta 

The people of Thebes had become too mean and too self-absorbed. They seemed to have even forgotten the gods themselves. In the Temple of the great Apollo, lord of the sun, the offerings had become totally unacceptable. Who could expect the great Lord Apollo to accept a small sardine and two olives? He began to think of a way of punishing these arrogant Thebans.

Apollo decided to send a Monster of contradictions: horrific yet magnificent, hideous yet awe awe inspiring, grotesque yet eye stopping. The Sphinx was part woman, part lion, part eagle. She made her lair on a great ledge overlooking the road into Thebes. Whenever a traveller appeared, she would swoop down with her giant, eagle wings and block their path. They would gaze up at this monster with its sumptuous black and gold mane and lion’s tail. When it rose on its wings before them, the whole valley was dark and shadowed. The travellers were filled with wonder but also with terrible fear!

‘Oh! you who seek to enter the city of Thebes, answer this riddle. What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, three in the evening and is weakest when it has most?’ You may think this was a silly question suited to a game or a party. The travellers did not think this at all. For them it was a question of life or death. If they answered wrongly, the Sphinx would tear their heads from their bodies, their limbs from their trunk, their hair from their heads and eat every scrap of them. The road would be absolutely bare and empty!

Soon nobody came to the city and nobody left. The Council of Thebes became desperate to find the answer to the riddle. They even offered the hand of the widowed Queen in marriage.

On every street corner, men tried to guess the answer – was it a war horse, an elephant, an antelope, an unknown monster? Some were so confident that they faced the Sphinx and were eaten alive!

Then one summer morning along came Oedipus and the Sphinx repeated the riddle:

‘What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, three in the evening and is weakest

when it has most?’

Oedipus was confident and began to mock this monster with its great wings which blocked out the sun. 

‘You may be a lion, King of the beasts but Man is greater. You may have eagles’

wings but still Man rules the earth. You may be a woman but Man controls you.’

‘Answer the riddle. Few men dare to outface me.’ The Sphinx replied in a voice of doom.’

‘I have answered you already. Who crawls on all fours as a baby, who walks on two legs when mature, who limps with a stick when old and frail? The answer is Man. I, Oedipus am a man and I have answered your riddle.’

The Sphinx gave a terrible scream like an eagle shot with an arrow. She gave a loud roar, like a lion caught in a trap. She gave an agonised scream like a woman in distress. Then she rose high over Oedipus’s head. She folded her wings and crashed to a terrible death in the rocky ravine below.

Of course, Oedipus was hailed as a hero in Thebes. He was the only man who had answered the riddle of the Sphinx. The city celebrated with feasts and wine. Oedipus married the Queen but that is another story.

Sarah Das Gupta is a retired teacher from Cambridge who also worked in India and Tanzania. She has had poetry and prose printed in many countries. She started writing a year ago to save her sanity during a stay in a geriatric ward. Her interests include, folklore, landscape, history, early music, parish churches, horse racing.