Merope, Again – Poem of the Week

Merope, Again, With Feeling

You probably remember that Merope (rhymes with therapy) was the wife of Sisyphus (rhymes with devious…ok, not quite). Sisyphus is the guy pushing the rock up the hill in hell endlessly, only to have it come right back down so he can start again.

Usually when you hear about Merope, it’s with the subtext of “poor Merope, married to that jerk Sisyphus.”

But I wonder.

Apart from having an appallingly high sense of arrogance and hubris, and equally poor lack of concern for others, Sisyphus doesn’t seem to have been horrible. OK, I know, that’s like saying other than the rampant potholes on the street, driving is really quite comfortable. (Or, in a similar vein, if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all?)

What I mean is, Merope doesn’t seem to have been mistreated in the regularly horrid way most women are mistreated in Greek and Roman myth. She is the only one of the Pleiades to have married a mortal, and may have been looked down on by her sisters because of that, but then, Merope didn’t end up in the stars, being chased eternally by Orion, who by all accounts was definitely worth running from.

When Sisyphus needed Merope to help him out, she did.

And with his biggest sleight of hand, his biggest trick. Plus, she didn’t have to.

Sisyphus, in order to cheat death, tells Merope not to follow the usual customs of preparing his body for death and definitely not to include the coin he would need to pay the ferryman in order to cross the River Styx. The idea being, if the rules weren’t followed, Sisyphus wouldn’t have to follow the rules and stay dead, either. Tricksy Sisyphus.

Well, if Merope wanted to get rid of Sisyphus for good, she could have just prepped him for his final journey, included the coin he needed, maybe added a tip for the ferryman to keep Sisyphus’ butt stuck in Hades, and gone on her merry way. Rich widow of the former king. Sure, maybe she’d have to hightail it out of town, because who knew what would happen to the throne in Sisyphus’ absence. But she’d be free of the tricky old goat. If she wanted to be.

But Merope goes along with Sisyphus’ plan.

Why? Is there something she sees in him that others don’t?

Maybe she is simply looking out for Number 1? Figuring to keep on living the good life of Queen, since Sisyphus has a plan to make the status quo continue on?

Or, considering her knowledge of the gods, goddesses, heroes, giants, and the half-human and other hybrid supernatural creatures, perhaps she is a bit disillusioned by them all? After all, Merope is the daughter of a Titan and a nymph. She’s not exactly human. Maybe she’d like to thumb her nose at the other immortals and their petty squabbles? Following Sisyphus’ plan is a good way for her to get a lick in.

Merope, Again

Hermes whispered unwelcome truths
to jealous brats, though giants and gods
they style themselves. Artemis?
Cared nothing for friendship.
Mourned the loss of her admirers.
And Zeus, miscreant joker, joyous
of others’ despair—many still excuse him.

My doves, my brighter sisters,
do you still despise my choice?
If even one had faced the archer,
the rest might have escaped. Fated
joke, I had what you all missed: sons,
daughters. Days that laurels sighed.
The breeze itself. A kingdom.

Sometimes I agreed with him, you know.
Why sacrifice when no one notices?
Why pay the ferryman at all, or
go the worst way willingly?
Sisyphus’ plan, yes. Yet not him, but I
who tweaked those petty windbags.
Dear sisters, I would do it all again.

If you enjoyed Merope, Again

You’ll find more of my poems on this blog or in the collection Stars Crawl Out From Their Caves, which is available in both ebook and print.  

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