The slaying of Amanthos

By: Oceana Posted on: May 29, 2012

Gather ‘round, approach and come close,
Pray rest a while, and harken to me.
I sing you a song, of a monster, of heroes,
Of a great battle, deep under the sea.

Many centuries ago an enormous monster came,
From a dark abyss, in waters still unknown.
A Leviathan he was, and Amanthos was his name,
The strength of fifty krakens, in him alone.

With him he brought death and despair,
No triton nor merman escaped him alive.
Amanthos haunted all the cities fair.
Unstopped, would the merfolk survive?

So great was the danger, so red was the tide,
The league of the Seven Cities in Scyros did meet
. During council the old rivalries were set aside,
The beast must be slain, we must have his defeat.

The battle horn was blown at the break of the day.
Phocian Tempest marched alongside Aegian Knight,
Warriors from Lothos and Scyros followed the way,
With mermen from Riparium, all ready to fight.

The greatest army ever marched towards the north.
Before long the ocean grew dark, silent and cold.
A shadow flashed above, a large form came forth,
The beast was upon them! Amanthos! Behold!

Courageous cries of battle were silenced by death,
The lances and spears could not pierce his tough skin.
A hoplite sounded the retreat with his dying breath,
The army's numbers were quickly growing thin.

When failure seemed imminent, the army at a loss,
Four friends raced forward and brought with them hope.
Prince Neraeos, followed by Idomenaeos and Aeolos
And coralwarden Iocolas, carrying a net and some rope.

Idomenaeos, struck by the monster's tail, was slung away,
Unharmed he was, but the force shattered his shield.
Creating a diversion, Aeolos courageously entered the fray,
Allowing a pod of dolphins to secretly enter the field.

Iocolas whistled and lead them towards the beast.
The iron net they carried, the Leviathan tightly bound,
Desperately thrashing in panic, his frenzy increased.
Iocolas, trapped with the monster, a warrior’s death there found.

Then Neraeos, the Spear of Tides above his shoulder high,
Took aim, and with a ferocious, bloodcurdling yell,
Hurled the Spear straight through the Leviathan’s eye,
And so Amanthos was slain, to the seafloor he fell.

The tremor was felt far, as was the victorious cry.
What was left of the army, with the stories returned,
Of the sacrifice of Iocolas, of the Spear in the eye,
And so we, of Amanthos’ death and Neraeos’ glory, learned.