Page:Lovers Legends - The Gay Greek Myths.pdf/34

 Rh the news, he leaped at the chance. With the skills he had learned from Poseidon, success was in his grasp. He had a swift ship hauled out, rigged her well, set sail, and journeyed to Greece to win himself the girl.

Once in Pisa, he strode proudly up to Oinomaus' palace. But as he reached the gate, he saw a sight beyond belief: high on the wall above the entrance, the heads of twelve young men were spiked to the stone, some fresh and some just grinning skulls. They were Oinomaus' trophies, Pelops learned, the heads of suitors who had come before, and their bodies had been rudely heaped together in an open pit. The spirits of the murdered men knew no rest, and their curses, uttered with dying words, hung over all who lived within that palace. Pelops trembled to see the gory sight and was sorry he had come. Just then, however, Hippodamia happened by, noble of bearing, escorted by a bevy of handmaidens. Pelops glimpsed her face through her veil and was overcome by so much beauty. He pledged to free her from her fate, to purify her of the murders too, if the gods willed it. After all the butchery, Hippodamia was loath to look at another suitor, but the moment she set eyes on Pelops she was swept away by his loveliness, by the magic streaming from him, and by the lightning flashing from his eyes; she would have moved heaven and earth to have him for a husband. 20