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You are confused at first, until you catch a glimpse of the necklace he wears:
A golden harp, studded with jewels, over embroidered robes of white…
Insight comes to you in a flash – his scowling, his attire - he is a Theban prince! You hear a strange noise; your right hand is suddenly wet – wine dripping through your fingers onto the table; you have crumpled your golden goblet. The tension between you and the Theban nearly ignites the air – the Theban grips the table with both hands, clearly ready to stand and fight, but ξενία now binds you, as guests. You cannot attack the man now that you are guests in the house of Eurykratides; speaking of, you now better appreciate the king’s nervous energy – he is terrified that two of his guests might strangle each other in his home and bring down the wrath of Zeus on all present! You each are frozen in place – and so are the other noblemen at the table, all now aware of the stand-off. But your good upbringing wins out - you take action to dissuade the man, shaking your head subtly, and then nodding to terrified Eurykratides. This gesture is sufficient to convince the Theban that you will not attack him - not here, at least. He nods in reply; satisfying himself with a glare in your general direction before resuming his meal warily; the tension dissolves away.
At this moment, Eurykatides stands and begins a short speech, nervously clearing his throat:
“Welcome, men! Welcome, competitors…”
As you predicted, it's mostly a phenomenal stream of extravagant promises about the rich prizes (doubtful) to be won in the upcoming athletic competition, with some truly delusional statements about Heracles himself watching with interest from Mount Olympus... In truth, he says nothing really of note, except to congratulate each of you for making the journey to Trachis – he assumes that you will be participating. As he makes conversation with each of you in turn, you learn that the other men are:
The brothers Halocrates and Nicodromus (fraternal twins, as it happens) - despite their youthful appearance and boyish demeanors, you learn that they are older than you – sons of Heracles himself by way of Olympusa, daughter of Thespius, they have traveled from their colony on Sardinia to win fame.
The Cycladian is Dadaces, a minor nobleman of Naxos – a laconic personality, he reveals only that his estates are known for producing fine sheep.
The Aegyptian announces himself as – well, to be truthful, you aren’t sure. His name is some unintelligible combination of consonants; his Hellenika is broken and heavily accented. You gather that the man is a warrior of some kind – he has many scars on his upper arms and shoulders.
The Theban is Hyperbius; he glowers at you as he recites his ancestry – son of Oenops, cousin of Polynices and Eteocles, and in his account, one of the best fighters in Thebes. You are at war with this man. You calculate - is it worth Zeus' wrath to slay him now...?
