I shall not, dear father, entertain you with idle words. This is how the case stands: I have been formally charged by King Agamemnon of betraying the camp to the Trojans. Apparently there is not one single chief among the Achaeans willing to take my defence or at least point out the absurdity of the charges that have been raised against me. As unbelievable as it may sound I am practically a dead man, for I cannot see, as things are, who or what could save me. I know that if you were here they would have to listen to you and at least they would allow me to sail back home with you, for the army has not suffered any material damage. But how could you arrive in time ? When will this message reach you ?

The trial has now been postponed, for the army was forced to meet skirmishing Trojan units in the plain, but it will proceed as soon as the commanders return to the camp. Or so they promised, leaving me alone with two guards standing at the entrance of my tent. A letter, forged by an insane mind, supposedly sent to me by Priam, and the gold they claim to have found under my bed while I was on the shore attending some Lemnian ships, are the evidence the army holds against me.

I cannot ransom myself, for King Agamemnon, along with what is called "Priam's bribe" (the ridiculous amount of worthless objects that a malevolent hand placed in my tent), has confiscated the gold I had stored in my depot tents, which, following the trade agreement between you and the Achaean army, lawfully is your property. The king thinks my death will cover up his theft, and that is why he would not let me return to Argos alive, for that gesture could disclose that gold and not treason has caused him to condemn me.

But, you may ask, what about the supplies that your merchant ships have been continuously bringing to the Troad since the beginning of the war ? Well, let me tell you briefly : They expect to substitute them with plunder. And that is why the army, which has been dispersed in all directions except for the force protecting the fleet, resembles more those bands of pirates that usually pillage coastal cities than the host you saw gathered at Aulis the last time we met. Consequently Troy itself has lived almost undisturbed and, having received reinforcements from the east and south, are today stronger than when we arrived. At the same time, the cities that have been sacked were either not so rich or, knowing that we would attack them, removed their treasures in time. One that I heard of did not offer resistance and received the Achaeans as guests, but once the warriors had filled their bellies and quenched their thirst, not being able to gather gold and silver, turned against their hosts by night and cut their throats in their own beds. This being the course of action, there is no other choice but to reach even further from Troy after new cities that might provide sustenance. Supplies are also sent from Lemnos and Tenedos, but as you know they are far from sufficient.

As a result, mark my words, this war will last many years, the losses will be heavy and the outcome uncertain. And yet everything, including the weak resistance we met when landing, indicated that Troy could soon be conquered, had we attacked immediately. I myself was in favour of an early engagement, but the Atrides, speaking cryptic words, persuaded the other two commanders of the land forces, Odysseus and Diomedes, to wait for the sacred signal, as they put it. Then they started parading day after day in front of the troops as if they were peacocks, and if asked about their plans they would answer in mysterious ways, as seers do when they are reluctant to admit their ignorance of the will of the gods.

As soon as we came to the Troad the Atrides ceased to honour me, although it was through my efforts that a proper organization of all military affairs was achieved while the army was gathering in Aulis. For they, who did not even know how to count the host, could even less distribute adequately the varied sections composing the alliance and assign to them permanent tasks in accordance with their fighting capacities. The difficulties were of an unprecedented kind, for never before had the world witnessed such a huge undertaking, or seen armies from so many kingdoms gather together in a single force. As there was no previous experience of how to organize such an expedition, I resorted to invention and renamed the military units according to size and speciality eliminating all local designations that had been in use until then. Similarly I instructed them on how to put a report into writing so that anybody from any city could read it, introduced common measures of distance and weight so that confusion could be avoided, and trained them in the method of signalling with two beacon lights that you once taught me. Through these and other devices, most local differences were eliminated in the course of a brief period of time, so that a sum of gold or weapons written by a man from Phthia could not be distinguished from one written by someone from Gerenia, even in those cases where only a given part of a whole is meant. For before this they could not even represent the addition of a half to a third, nor weigh the metals properly so that just payments could be effected. I have once seen how axes were thrown into the sea because they could not be attributed to one party, lest another party would protest, and on another occasion I saw tripods and cauldrons adjudged by lot, so that some had to leave without receiving any reward for their services. All these things and many others I put aright, and when all sections of the army had been properly distributed as if they were branches of the same tree, I appointed a few auditors in order to examine the accounts of each man using scales and handling with any kind of merchandise or electrum on behalf of the army.

But all I built up at Aulis for the benefit of the host, was later blown away by the chilly winds of the Troad, which also scattered the very brains of the Atrides. For while they still were mustering the army and sending envoys to those they wished to have as allies, they showed themselves as generous kings, wise commanders and moderate men. But once the ships had been beached on this foreign land, they turned moderation into debauchery, wisdom into folly and generosity into avarice, subordinating the war affairs to banquets, wine, beautiful captives, and the piling of riches. In the meantime they let the core of the army remain inactive, save for the defence of the fleet, while amorphous bands of horsemen resembling those that at times ravage Thrace were sent out to plunder the territory.

Because of this negligent and short-sighted course of action the army was degraded while Troy was allowed to grow stronger, and so discontent gradually spread out among the Achaeans. But no one dared to blame the Atrides, for when arrogance and insolence unite with power even the brave are frightened. And when bad reports were brought before the Atrides they would say "Ask Palamedes; he must know, for all things have been put together according to his models". Odysseus and Diomedes, who shared with me the command of the land forces, took soon after the Atrides, answering with the same insidious words, pretending to have been misled by me.

I was also blamed when King Cinyras sent but one single ship out of the hundred he had promised me to contribute to the Achaean fleet when I came to Cyprus, the rumour spreading that I had been bribed by him. Because of this unfortunate episode they made a dubious figure out of me by insinuating that I had plundered the army while representing here your merchant fleet. Then the leaders started to wonder aloud how Palamedes had become such a high commander, without being neither king nor prince and without ever having set his foot on the battlefield. This question they considered to be the most relevant of all, for given that my counsel had prevailed in most matters and things were now going so bad, it had to be concluded that my performance as high commander was to blame for the army's stagnation and threatening ruin.

As I now find myself turned into a prisoner I wish we had never come to Agamemnon to offer the loan, which he so promptly accepted, since he had no intent of repaying it. Likewise was he quick to seize the opportunity that our goodwill offered him, by showing himself eager to let you fill your shipyards, both in Euboea and near the Cyclopeian labyrinths, with your double-sailed merchant ships and the biremes, which he suggested should be amply equipped. I wonder who among the gods prevented me from freeing my silly mind of vanity when the king accosted my wisdom with his praises.

Too late I realise that honours, praises and a man's vanity and ambition easy lead him to his own ruin, which will trap him even if he possessed all kinds of knowledge but lacked the one kind that may save his life by preventing him to be blinded by sweet promises, pride and deceitful dreams. For a dark cloud must have covered my eyes when I heard the king say as he stared at me: "I can make of you the best of commanders" and then begged me to bless him with my clever inventions and with my unsurpassed capacity for leadership. That day, dear father, we had better put our heads in the mouth of a lion.

From then on, relying on Agamemnon's favour, I believed you and myself to be unmatched. For it could also be seen that few men, among those living either south or north of the isthmus of Corinth, had visited Egypt or Phoenicia. So it was easy to conclude that they, who had seldom come further than Crete and mainly refer to this island for all matters concerning skills and inventions, had many things to learn from you and me, who know that Crete has seen better times. And yet we should have noticed that the Mycenaeans, being as great lovers of gold as the Orchomenians, do not seem to think that gold may come from skills, but rely primarily on brutal force in order to acquire it and treasure it. Consequently we should have considered that the greed of the Mycenaeans was not likely to repay your naval efforts, or their brutality to reward the contributions of my intelligence.

While gathering the armed forces Agamemnon proceeded at first like a clever ruler, listening to all, encouraging the troops, distributing honours and even showing disposition for self-sacrifice. But all unpopular tasks he assigned to me, so that my accomplishments awakened the antipathy of the other leaders towards me. And so the king kept encouraging me in private, but when issues were brought before the assembled leaders, he would resort to his "Ask Palamedes" without ever thinking of uttering a word to refute my detractors.

This is how the Atrides kept all the benefits deriving from my actions while I was left with the enmity that the same actions had caused. And I saw this happen already at the very beginning of the campaign. For when Menelaus and Nestor came with me to Ithaca in order to remind Odysseus that he was bound by treaty to set his forces in motion, they found it convenient to shirk their duty, letting me bear the whole responsibility for what had to be done. And had I not intervened both Ithaca and Cephallenia would have been lost for the alliance, for Menelaus acted as if he had been there mainly to check, on behalf of his brother, how eager I was to carry out the mission, while Nestor, whom the Atrides call wise, for they give this title to whoever fears them, was of no help whatsoever, as he would not dare to do more than Menelaus, although his tireless tongue never ceases to move, producing boasts of every kind. And so, by the time Odysseus accepted to join the army and come to Troy, they were all three on the best terms, Menelaus and Nestor showing their gratitude to the new Ithacan ally instead of to the man who had compelled the reluctant king to comply with the agreements of which he was part.

My dear father, as the sun sets I must stop writing. The young Lemnian sailor who has been appointed to bring my dinner has accepted to let this message reach you, provided you reward him richly. This is his first time at sea and his bireme will touch at Euboea before coming to your station by the Cyclopeian caverns, which he calls Argos because he thinks Argos is by the sea, though sometimes he calls the place "Nauplius' beach".

Now I see how the ugly face of death corrupts my whole life. For one thing is to die on the battlefield, and quite another to be stoned by one's own comrades as a traitor and die despised a worthless and unnecesary death. There is no comfort to be found in the happiness and confidence of past times, for these were the accomplices of my self-deceit and blindness, and my heart keeps telling me from its turmoil that the stupid death that awaits me necessarily matches my thoughtlessness. And this is why sleep has deserted me and terror has built its abode in my soul, for both my life and death appear equally meaningless.

To be conspired against and bereft of one's honour and life through calumny is such a terrible thing that at moments I wish their charges of treason were true, for then I would at least know what caused this miserable fate of mine. Even a bull goes complaisantly to the sacrifice and willingly nods his head, for the gods have let it know that its time has come. But I myself have been covered by darkness before entering Hades, and its hateful shadows already drink my blood exhausting my mind and limbs. And yet prostration keeps my eyes open so that hope may promise me deliverance by filling them with visions of the Achaeans ambushed and utterly defeated in the plains, or of the Trojans suddenly irrupting into the camp and granting me the opportunity of dying with a sword in my hand.

Sun sets. Farewell father. If your help does not arrive in time, may the gods let you avenge this son of yours, who has always obeyed and honoured you.

Carlos Parada
Lund, April 1999