Chapter Text
Odysseus was the epitome of trouble since the day he was born—screaming and kicking in the midwife’s arms.
He also became an expert liar once his first words left his infant mouth.
Wild stories about how: I didn’t break that! It was a big crow that flew in here!
Or: I caught Argos eating the cake meant for Father’s meeting!
Or even: That wasn’t me on the roof! How would I even get up there?
Yes, Odysseus was a difficult toddler to contain, and that only got worse as he grew older.
Anything someone told him to do, he would do the opposite.
He couldn’t be stopped—Laertes, the second king of Ithaca, and Odysseus’ father, was much too busy all the time to help his wife with his child. His mother, Anticlea, grew irritable and tiresome.
No servant dared try and correct his behavior, for he was the Prince.
For the first five years of his life, Odysseus went undisciplined. He got everything he asked for, if only to shut him up for a little while. He ran wild in the gardens and the palace halls, knocking down valuable glass vases or cups every now and then, whooping and laughing as nurses chased him down with no avail.
One hundred and seventy-two nurses. In five years. Each one would quit before the third day.
The situation seemed hopeless. People feared how the future of Ithaca was going to turn out.
Until—at last—a nurse stayed.