> Angelsonggd

> Gods(greek god), War, humans

Το τραγούδι του Σκαμάνδρος

Scamander’s Song

Πρόλογος

Prologue

Greece had always been a very interesting place

as soon as they were born, the gods were caught up in the race

Gaia did her best to keep her family in line

but Gaia was the happiest to meet the god of wine

The world became a busy place, and all the more so Greece

the gods of war seemed busier by far than gods of peace

some were more creative though, and tinkered here and there

Prometheus was one titan who did more than his share

Some were quick to criticize his work, but it caught on

his golden statues decorated even Zeus’s lawn

he must have been a better craftsman than he realized

for one day all the statues sprung to life and looked surprised

They called themselves the human race, and now they’re everywhere

and gods found them more fun to watch than any bird or bear

soon whatever humans filled their time with was their muse

And humans were an entertainment any god could use

But this is not the story of the grandest gods of old

their stories are as epic as they are often retold

compared to Zeus and Hera, our new friend might seem quite odd

but you may come to understand the limping river god

Πρώτος Στίχος

First Verse

Scamander was the humble son of titans of the sea

but he was not a god as great as other gods could be

he wasn’t like Simoeis, known for torrents fast and strong

nor like his old friend Nilus, who was fertile, loved, and long

Almost every river’s reputation made him sad

especially when he was thinking of the life he had

Scamander didn’t run like any river would have planned

he was known to limp and wander through a certain land

As bitter as Scamander was about the life he led

he took his time enjoying all the lives his river fed

he watched the poets write, the artists paint, the lovers swim

and of the gods, no one had heard as many songs as him

One day as he limped along the river he was on

in a worse mood than the river god called Acheron

he came across a man who played a Hermes-crafted lyre

and though it sounded beautiful, he smelled of smoke and fire

“Who are you, your songs are like no music I have heard

you could rival any song performed by any bird”

the song he played was sad but sweet, a song of love and loss

as melancholy as the river he now looked across

“Orpheus is what I’m called, but please just leave me be

I could do without another river’s company”

Orpheus stood up and started wandering away

but then Scamander called to him, requesting that he stay

“Please just sit a while, I promise not to bother you

I’ll make sure you can play your songs in peace, so play a few”

Orpheus was taken with the earnest river’s pleas

Scamander knelt and begged the man, despite his aching knees

“Very well, I’ll pay you back for your sincerity

I’ll play as long as I can sit with you here peacefully”

and so began the friendship of the river and the lyre

both accommodating of the other one’s desire

A place to play the music of an aching, lonely soul

and music that could make a melancholy river whole

in time the lyre’s remorseful music showed a hint of cheer

the two would sing together, sharing more than just a tear

“I’m thankful for your company, your river brings me peace

your friendship is more treasure to me, than this golden fleece

there is nowhere better in this world where I could be

here there is no heartbreak, yes I finally feel free”

Orpheus explained the reason for his endless woe

of how he lost his love beside a river long ago

but now he was at peace beside the river with his friend

though peace was not an easy thing for someone to defend

Δεύτερος Στίχος

Second Verse

Humans were the natural inhabitants of earth

and they were known to tip the scales of war to measure worth

Scamander didn’t care for war, but even he had tried

and when he did, it always left him quite unsatisfied

In the end, Scamander was no god of war at all

even human warriors could best him in a brawl

and even when he had the upper hand it always seemed

he couldn’t understand the way that other rivers schemed

Once he had a man they called Achilles on the run

trying to rebuke him for the way he warred for fun

but he escaped and somehow fell into the river Styx

becoming much too big a problem for the god to fix

The mess Achilles made took many years for him to clean

the dead that clogged his rivers were the worst he’d ever seen

but as he limped along he did eventually succeed

and once again Scamander’s limping rivers were all freed

But things were not so peaceful even when Achilles died

the humans couldn’t keep the peace for two days if they tried

for now the gods were using them as if they were a game

indulging in vicarious attempts at fun and fame

As Scamander sang along with Orpheus one day

the humans celebrated all the people they could slay

driven by the backing of their favoured gods of war

every time a battle ended, they’d all start some more

Soon no matter where Scamander’s river could be fed

battlefields all full of corpses turned his river red

the riverbanks were overrun by corpses’ putrid smell

the music stopped as Orpheus began to feel unwell

“I’m sorry dear Scamander, I’m afraid that I must go

the smell of death reminds me of what I lost long ago

maybe one day I’ll return, should human bloodshed cease

I must find a place where I can play my lyre in peace”

Τρίτος Στίχος

Third Verse

Scamander felt as though the river in his heart had dried

but he could never catch his friend no matter how he tried

he limped along until he could not go on anymore

he sat beneath a tree and cursed the humans’ endless war

He thought perhaps that if he waited, all the blood would stop

but all the humans seemed to want to spill every last drop

he watched the gods above them laughing, urging them to fight

blessing some and cursing others, every day and night

He wondered if he’d rather all his rivers should run dry

or find a quiet valley where no one could see him cry

for years he watched his rivers run with blood beneath the gods

who blessed them all with countless spears and rocks and lightning rods

One day though, he noticed something happening beyond

Athena had just called upon their father to respond

an argument had broken out between two gods of war

Ares and Athena were not playing anymore

Scamander couldn’t hear what they were arguing about

but when a rock struck Ares he could hear his painful shout

Athena wounded him and Zeus said he should not return

but still the fires that Ares started continued to burn

Scamander knew that Ares was a fair, impartial god

the only quality of his Scamander could applaud

but as he watched the injured god of war run off and hide

he noticed that a moment’s peace had come in with the tide

That was when another river, Lethe, passed him by

singing to himself while looking blankly at the sky

“Look at those olympians all arguing again

what is it they see in the affairs of mortal men”

Τέταρτος Στίχος

Fourth Verse

Lethe wasn’t often seen, nor was he hard to find

he simply wandered through the realms with nothing in his mind

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no one knows what he was like when he ran in Hades

before he drank Hypnos’s waters at a few parties

Now in sheer oblivion he met Scamander there

flowing so forgetfully without a single care

Scamander tried to tell him what the war had been about

but he’d forget it anyway, of that there was no doubt

“All you need to know is that the war has waged too long

and thanks to them, I’m never more to hear my best friend’s song”

Lethe looked in pity at Scamander, stained with blood

who rested on his knees beside the river in the mud

“Dear old friend, I understand the reason for your pain

all the souls that flood my banks are driving me insane

they drink and drink but never quench their thirst because they’re dead

my rivers run as low in hades as your streams run red”

The old forgetful god had understood Scamander’s woe

almost able to recall that they’d met long ago

they were once two babbling brooks who played beneath the sun

long before their streams diverged and warring had begun

Scamander looked up at his old forgetful friend and sighed

as Lethe looked toward a very distant mountain side

“isn’t he the strongest of the gods who like to fight

how was he so wounded that he’s hiding there in fright”

Scamander looked and noticed Ares hiding far away

wounded very badly from the fight he’d had that day

Lethe shook his head and then he said in somber tone

“he should be more careful, he looks weak and all alone”

Lethe’s words were meant to be of pity, but instead

like a bolt of lightning, hit Scamander in the head

he stood and turned to look at Lethe with a cheerful grin

“Lethe, if you help me, I think that we might just win”

Πέμπτος Στίχος

Fifth Verse

Scamander didn’t waste another second sitting down

but Lethe was confused and so he asked him with a frown

“how could just the two of us win anything at war

please remind me also of what we’d be fighting for”

“Listen to me Lethe, for I have a cunning plan

but we shall need to hurry just as fast as we both can

Ares is now weakened and alone well out of sight

finally, we have a chance to put this nonsense right”

“Did you just say Ares, even I remember him

even in that state he could kill thousands on a whim

do you think a pair of rivers ever stood a chance

he could kill a limping river god with just a glance”

“That is true, although it hurts to hear you say it now

I think that it’s possible though, let me tell you how

once, I saw an army fighting with too small a force

but they won because they hid inside a giant horse

We’ll disguise ourselves to earn his trust and then attack

to get some peace and quiet, we must stab him in the back”

Scamander looked intently at his absent minded friend

a kindred spirit on whom he was sure he could depend

“I guess I have no choice if I’m to ever rest again

it’s time that someone ushered peace toward the land of men

after we kill Ares, we can finally relax

we’ll be worshipped as the gods of cowardly attacks”

Έκτος Στίχος

Sixth Verse

Lethe laughed and helped Scamander climb the famous hill

Mount Olympus hosted one who they both planned to kill

both were dressed as goddesses, in robes that reached the ground

hiding both their faces under helmets they had found

“Lethe, you’ll be Aphrodite, his old secret flame

I shall be Athena, please just don’t forget that name

you’ll confess your love for Ares, but don’t show your face

I’ll sneak round and stab him while he’s locked in your embrace”

Lethe heard Scamander’s plan at least a dozen times

Scamander even tried to help it stick by using rhymes

eventually he settled on the very simplest plan

in the worst case they could still escape him if they ran

On the way they looked back down upon the land of men

who, without the help of Ares, settled down again

but they knew that he’d return before much time had passed

then a war would wage until old Kronos breathed his last

Both were very thankful that his injury was great

for Ares was to die, but first he’d have to sit and wait

rivers rarely run up hills, and that was half of it

one’s old memory was shot and one was hardly fit

After several days they made the climb to meet their foe

exhausted and confused but both still ready for the show

they found the god of war in tears upon a big tree stump

on his leg a cut and on a head a nasty bump

When he heard the rattle of their helmets he was scared

he was in no mood for fighting, nor was he prepared

“who goes there, now show yourself, you cannot hide from me

if you have no wish to die then I suggest you flee”

Έβδομος Στίχος

Seventh Verse

Luckily the pair arrived one cloudy summer night

and it was difficult to see them both by candle light

“it is I, Athena, and I come here bearing news

a friend requests an audience, and you should not refuse”

“Athena, your voice sounds so strange, what happened to your speech”

apparently, her voice had been beyond Scamander’s reach

“It is nothing, brother, I have simply caught a cold

do not waste my time again, when did you grow so bold”

“Apologies, my honoured sister, please do get well soon”

Ares bowed in fear as clouds revealed the glowing moon

when he looked back up he saw Scamander’s strange attire

confused about the helmet, he continued to inquire

“Why do you adorn yourself in such a human thing

to a goddess like yourself, what safety could it bring”

“I shall call our father here, if you don’t watch your tone

how I choose to dress is no one’s business but my own”

Scamander’s honest rage began to seep into his voice

when Ares shrank in fear he knew he’d made the perfect choice

“I know we’ve had our differences, but that’s not why I’m here

I have brought a guest to whom you ought to lend an ear”

Ares looked around Scamander to his other guest

“who are you and why are you so odd, I mean, well dressed”

Scamander nudged his friend to say his lines as they’d rehearsed

but if the Dionysus was nearby he would have cursed

“I am Aphrodite, I am here to, do something

oh, that’s right, it is a lover’s message that I bring

I desire to be with you, wait, who are you again

anyways, I cannot be with any other men”

Ares started weeping tears of joy at what he heard

Scamander thought he’d never witnessed something so absurd

“I guess love makes fools of all” he said under his breath

when, while Ares held Lethe, he stabbed Ares to death

Όγδοος Στίχος

Eighth Verse

As if Thanatos had snapped his fingers, he was gone

for the first time in so long, they met a peaceful dawn

Lethe shook Scamander’s hand and said “nice to meet you”

Scamander smiled and replied “yes, it’s nice to meet you too”

Lethe wandered back to Hades, feeling quite confused

while Scamander thanked him for the friendship he’d abused

he limped back down the mountain through a village now at peace

several gods were disappointed that the war should cease

In frustration many gods began to whine and shout

but it made Scamander happy when he saw them pout

he found somewhere quiet by the riverside to rest

satisfied but tired out from his overwhelming quest

He watched with trepidation at the water by his feet

and soon there was no trace of rotten blood or flesh and meat

fish were swimming through the river’s water so serene

the sky was blue, the water clear, and all the grass was green

Just as he began to hum a tune he longed to hear

he began to notice several footsteps drawing near

anxious that some vengeful spirit may be haunting him

he prepared to run but thought he’d rather try and swim

Just before he jumped into the river though, he saw

two gods who had not arrived to enforce any law

Orpheus and Lethe walking slowly side by side

one looked happy but the other looked dissatisfied

“I see you’ve cleaned the river up, I missed you very much

I tried to sing alone, but without you I’d lost my touch

by the way, I ran into this river here last night

if he sat together with us, would that be alright”

“Of course, the two of you are both quite welcome by my side

though he lacks a memory, without him I’d have died”

Orpheus began to play a joyful melody

but Lethe seemed quite anxious as he sat beneath a tree

“You must be Scamander, I believe we might have met

do forgive me sir, there are some things that I forget

recently in Hades war has broken out, so please

let me sit and sing with you both, far from that Ares”

Scamander laughed and limped toward his absent minded friend

welcoming him to a celebration without end

the trio and the world around were peaceful and content

then Orpheus remembered he had two gifts to present

“I have a golden fleece for each of you to match my own

now the perfect blanket won’t be mine and mine alone

the golden ram who fled the world to live among the stars

gifted me his winter coat once when we met on mars”

And so Scamander’s journey story ends with nothing out of place

joyful music in his ears, a smile upon his face

Lethe wandered off once he’d forgotten how to sing

and Orpheus could play his lyre, not bothered by a thing

~