Four Last Songs (Vaughan Williams) song of the cycle "Menelaus." The character Menelaus appears both in Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". Menelaus is the King of Sparta whose wife, Helen, was taken from him by Paris to Troy. Together with his brother Agamemnon, fellow ruler Odysseus, and other warriors, Menelaus launched the Trojan War to regain his wife and return her to Sparta. In "The Odyssey", Odysseus' son Telemachus visits Menelaus in attempts to obtain news of his father who has not yet returned from the war. The Vaughan Williams' drew inspiration from Menelaus' description to Telemachus of the things Odysseus must do to
Siege of Sparta flee to Thessaloniki, where he was protected by his strong navy. Following Antigonus' flight, Pyrrhus was able to gain control of most of Macedon and Thessaly, declaring himself King of Macedon. Upon his seizure of the Macedonian throne, Pyrrhus was approached by a Spartan Prince, Cleonymus who was serving as an officer in his army. The Spartan persuaded Pyrrhus to assist him in his plot to capture Sparta. Cleonymus' motives in wanting to attack Sparta were twofold. Firstly, he bore a grudge because his countrymen had overlooked him in favour of his nephew, Areus I when determining the successor of