Antiochus

Antiochus is Osbech’s trusted servant and friend, placed in charge of Alatiel while Osbech goes to war. He becomes her lover, flees with her after Osbech’s defeat, and dies in Rhodes after entrusting her and his possessions to a merchant friend. His brief arc turns a duty of protection into betrayal and then into a final appeal for care, one that does not govern what follows.

Trusted Guardian

When Osbech marched against the King of Cappadocia, he left Alatiel behind in the care of Antiochus, a servant and friend he trusted. Antiochus was older than Alatiel, but her beauty overcame his loyalty to his absent master. Their relationship also answered a practical barrier: Alatiel had lived for years as though deaf and dumb because she understood no one around her and no one understood her, whereas Antiochus knew her language. Their ability to speak together pleased her and helped bring them from familiarity to intimacy.

Betrayal and Flight

Antiochus and Alatiel became lovers despite Osbech’s trust in him. When they learned that Osbech had been defeated and killed and that the victorious King of Cappadocia was advancing, they did not wait for the new ruler to arrive. They took many of Osbech’s most valuable possessions and secretly escaped to Rhodes. Their flight joins personal attachment to material appropriation: Antiochus leaves not as a guardian returning his charge, but as a lover carrying away both Alatiel and part of his master’s wealth.

Death and Last Request

Antiochus did not remain long in Rhodes before he fell mortally ill. A merchant from Cyprus, who was staying with him and was deeply loved by him, was present as he approached death. Antiochus told the merchant that he regretted dying just when life had become so dear to him, and he named the merchant and Alatiel as the two people he loved above all others. He asked his friend to take both Alatiel and his property into his care, and asked Alatiel not to forget him after his death. His plea makes his final concern not his own possessions alone but Alatiel’s future security and his continuing place in her memory.

The merchant and Alatiel wept and promised to honor his request if he died. Antiochus soon did so, and the two buried him with honor. The solemnity of this farewell gives his death a moment of fidelity and mutual obligation, contrasting with the disloyalty that had marked his affair with Alatiel.

What His Death Sets in Motion

After the burial, the merchant had to return to Cyprus. Alatiel agreed to travel with him, hoping that, out of love for Antiochus, he would treat her as a sister. To protect her from possible affronts, the merchant presented her as his wife; aboard ship they shared a small cabin and bed. The arrangement, initially made for her protection, became an intimacy neither had intended when they left Rhodes. Before they reached Baffa, both yielded to their desire and formed a new bond, forgetting Antiochus’s friendship and Alatiel’s love for him. His last request therefore functions as a fragile bequest: he secures her a companion and a passage onward, but cannot ensure that their relationship remains within the terms he hoped for.