Antigonus of Famagosta

Antigonus of Famagosta is an elderly, resourceful gentleman whose brief appearance turns Alatiel’s long passage through captivity and displacement toward home. Though his involvement in the affairs of the King of Cyprus has left him with little wealth and fortune against him, his recognition of Alatiel gives him the knowledge and influence to secure her return to her father.

Identity and Background

Antigonus is described as advanced in years and still more distinguished for his good sense. He has little wealth: his participation in the affairs of the King of Cyprus has brought him repeated misfortune. His standing is therefore not founded on riches, but on experience, judgment, and access to the king he serves.

Recognition at Baffa

While Alatiel is staying at Baffa, Antigonus passes the house where she lives with the merchant who had brought her there. Seeing her at a window, he is struck by her beauty and feels that he has seen her before, though he cannot place the memory. Alatiel recognizes him at once as someone she had known in Alexandria, where he had held an important position in her father’s service. Because she believes he may help restore her former status, she summons him and identifies him as Antigonus of Famagosta.

When he admits that he recognizes her only vaguely, Alatiel embraces him in tears and asks whether he remembers seeing her in Alexandria. The reminder makes him understand that she is the Soldan’s daughter, long believed to have perished at sea. He offers her the respect due to her rank, but she asks him instead to sit with her and hear what has happened. She tells him of the shipwreck and the succession of events that brought her to Baffa, explaining both her wish to return and her fear that her history might prevent her from recovering her place.

Intervention and Return

Antigonus responds with a practical plan rather than consolation alone. He promises to restore Alatiel to her father and then to the King of Algarve as a wife. To prevent delay or obstruction, he goes directly to Famagosta and appeals to the King of Cyprus, presenting Alatiel’s return as an opportunity for royal honor and a valuable service to her father.

The king agrees to send her under Antigonus’s protection. He brings her to Famagosta, where the king and queen receive her with honor and lavish hospitality. Alatiel relates her adventures according to Antigonus’s instructions; a few days later, at her request, the king dispatches her toward her father in the company of Antigonus and a distinguished group of men and women. Her father welcomes her with great joy, and Antigonus shares in the honor accorded to the returning party.

Narrative Role

Antigonus’s importance lies in the recognition that converts a private encounter into a route home. Alatiel has spent years moving between households and rulers, while her identity and former rank remain concealed; Antigonus can connect the woman at the window to the daughter once known at her father’s court. His loyalty to that earlier connection, sound judgment, and ability to petition the King of Cyprus make recovery possible. The promised marriage to the King of Algarve belongs to his proposed remedy; the account confirms her return to her father, not the completion of that marriage.