"No man alive could rival Zeus, dear boys,
with his everlasting palace and possessions.
But among men, I must say, few if any
could rival me in riches. Believe me,
much I suffered, many a mile I roved to haul
such treasures home in my ships.
…But while I roamed those lands, amassing a fortune,
a stranger killed my brother, blind to the danger, duped blind –
thanks to the cunning of his cursed, murderous queen!
So I rule all this wealth with no great joy.
…Well, would to god I’d stayed right here in my own house
with a third of all that wealth and they were still alive,
all who died on the wide plain of Troy those years ago,
far from the stallion-land of Argos."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 4, lines 87-92, 100-103, 108-111. Menelaus admits that he is a rich man, having amassed many treasures during his voyages to different lands. But he confesses to visitors Telemachus and Pisistratus that it brings him no great joy. For while he roamed these lands, his brother King Agamemnon was killed, thanks to the treachery of his disloyal and cunning queen. Menelaus wishes he had stayed at home, with far less wealth, and that all those who died at Troy were still alive.