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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13725-0.txt b/13725-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aff2bd1 --- /dev/null +++ b/13725-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6814 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13725 *** + +STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY + +Retold by + +H. L. HAVELL B.A. + +Late Reader in English in the University of Halle +Formerly Scholar of University College Oxford + +Author of _Stories from Herodotus_, _Stories from Greek Tragedy_, +_Stories from the Æneid_, _Stories from the Iliad_, etc. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Reading from Homer] + + + + "O well for him whose will is strong! + He suffers, but he will not suffer long; + He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong: + For him nor moves the loud world's random mock + Nor all Calamity's hugest waves confound + Who seems a promontory of rock, + That compass'd round with turbulent sound + In middle ocean meets the surging shock, + Tempest-buffeted, citadel-crown'd." + TENNYSON + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION + +TELEMACHUS, PENELOPE, AND THE SUITORS + +THE ASSEMBLY; THE VOYAGE OF TELEMACHUS + +THE VISIT TO NESTOR AT PYLOS + +TELEMACHUS AT SPARTA + +ODYSSEUS AND CALYPSO + +ODYSSEUS AMONG THE PHÆACIANS + +THE WANDERINGS OF ODYSSEUS + +THE VISIT TO HADES + +THE SIRENS; SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS; THRINACIA + +ODYSSEUS LANDS IN ITHACA + +ODYSSEUS AND EUMÆUS + +THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS + +THE MEETING OF TELEMACHUS AND ODYSSEUS + +THE HOME-COMING OF ODYSSEUS + +THE BEGGAR IRUS + +PENELOPE AND THE WOOERS + +ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE + +THE END DRAWS NEAR; SIGNS AND WONDERS + +THE BOW OF ODYSSEUS + +THE SLAYING OF THE WOOERS + +ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE + +CONCLUSION + +PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +READING FROM HOMER (L. Alma Tadema) + +PENELOPE (The Vatican, Rome) + +TELEMACHUS DEPARTING FROM NESTOR (Henry Howard) + +ODYSSEUS AND NAUSICAÄ (Charles Gleyre) + +ODYSSEUS AND POLYPHEMUS (J. M. W. Turner) + +CIRCE (Sir E. Burne-Jones) + +THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS (L. F. Schützenberger) + +ODYSSEUS AND EURYCLEIA (Christian G. Heyne) + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The impersonal character of the Homeric poems has left us entirely in +the dark as to the birthplace, the history, and the date, of their +author. So complete is the darkness which surrounds the name of Homer +that his very existence has been disputed, and his works have been +declared to be an ingenious compilation, drawn from the productions of +a multitude of singers. It is not my intention here to enter into the +endless and barren controversy which has raged round this question. It +will be more to the purpose to try and form some general idea of the +characteristics of the Greek Epic; and to do this it is necessary to +give a brief review of the political and social conditions in which it +was produced. + +I + +The world as known to Homer is a mere fragment of territory, including +a good part of the mainland of Greece, with the islands and coast +districts of the Ægæan. Outside of these limits his knowledge of +geography is narrow indeed. He has heard of Sicily, which he speaks of +under the name of Thrinacia; and he speaks once of Libya, or the north +coast of Africa, as a district famous for its breed of sheep. There is +one vague reference to the vast Scythian or Tartar race (called by +Homer Thracians), who live on the milk of mares; and he mentions a +copper-coloured people, the "Red-faces," who dwell far remote in the +east and west. The Nile is mentioned, under the name of Ægyptus; and +the Egyptians are celebrated by the poet as a people skilled in +medicine, a statement which is repeated by Herodotus. The Phoenicians +appear several times in the _Odyssey_, and we hear once or twice of +the Sidonians, as skilled workers in metal. As soon as we pass these +boundaries, we enter at once into the region of fairyland. + +II + +In speaking of the religion of the Homeric Greeks we have to draw a +distinction between the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_. In the _Iliad_ the +gods play a much livelier and more human part than in the latter poem, +and it is highly remarkable that the only comic scenes in the first +and greatest of epics are those in which the gods are the chief +actors--as when the lame Hephæstus takes upon him the office of +cupbearer at the Olympian banquet, or when Artemis gets her ears boxed +by the angry Hera. It would almost seem as if there were a vein of +deliberate satire running through these descriptions, so daring is the +treatment of the divine personages. + +In the _Odyssey_, on the other hand, religion has become more +spiritual. Olympus is no longer the mountain of that name, but a vague +term, like our "heaven," denoting a place remote from all earthly +cares and passions, a far-off abode in the stainless ether, where the +gods dwell in everlasting peace, and from which they occasionally +descend, to give an eye to the righteous and unrighteous deeds of men. + +In his conception of the state of the soul after death Homer is very +interesting. His _Hades_, or place of departed spirits, is a dim, +shadowy region beyond the setting of the sun, where, after life's +trials are over, the souls of men keep up a faint and feeble being. It +is highly significant that the word which in Homer means "self" has +also the meaning of "body"--showing how intimately the sense of +personal identity was associated with the condition of bodily +existence. The disembodied spirit is compared to a shadow, a dream, or +a waft of smoke. "Alas!" cries Achilles, after a visit from the ghost +of Patroclus, "I perceive that even in the halls of Hades there is a +spirit and a phantom, but understanding none at all"; for the mental +condition of these cold, uncomfortable ghosts is as feeble as their +bodily form is shadowy and unsubstantial. They hover about with a +fitful motion, uttering thin, gibbering cries, like the voice of a +bat, and before they can obtain strength to converse with a visitor +from the other world, they have to be fortified by a draught of fresh +blood. The subject is summed up by Achilles, when Odysseus felicitates +him on the honour which he enjoys, even in Hades: "Tell me not of +comfort in death," he says: "I had rather be the thrall of the poorest +wight that ever tilled a thankless soil for bread, than rule as king +over all the shades of the departed." + +III + +Homeric society is essentially aristocratic. At its head stands the +king, who may be a great potentate, like Agamemnon, ruling over a wide +extent of territory, or a petty prince, like Odysseus, who exercises a +sort of patriarchal authority within the limits of a small island. The +person of the king is sacred, and his office is hereditary. He bears +the title of _Diogenes_, "Jove-born," and is under the especial +protection of the supreme ruler of Olympus. He is leader in war, chief +judge, president of the council of elders, and representative of the +state at the public sacrifices. The symbol of his office is the +sceptre, which in some cases is handed down as an heirloom from father +to son. + +Next to the king stand the elders, a title which has no reference to +age, but merely denotes those of noble birth and breeding. The elders +form a senate, or deliberative body, before which all questions of +public importance are laid by the king. Their decisions are afterwards +communicated to the general assembly of the people, who signify their +approval or dissent by tumultuous cries, but have no power of altering +or reversing the measures proposed by the nobles. Thus we have already +the three main elements of political life: king, lords, and +commons--though the position of the last is at present almost entirely +passive. + +IV + +The morality of the Homeric age is such as we may expect to find among +a people which has only partially emerged from barbarism. Crimes of +violence are very common, and a familiar figure in the society of this +period is that of the fugitive, who "has slain a man," and is flying +from the vengeance of his family. Patroclus, when a mere boy, kills +his youthful playmate in a quarrel over a game of knucklebones--an +incident which may be seen illustrated in one of the statues in the +British Museum. One of the typical scenes of Hellenic life depicted on +the shield of Achilles is a trial for homicide; and such cases were of +so frequent occurrence that they afford materials for a simile in the +last book of the _Iliad_. + +Where life is held so cheap, opinion is not likely to be very strict +in matters of property. And we find accordingly a general acquiescence +in "the good old rule, the ancient plan, that they may take who have +the power, and they may keep who can." Cattle-lifting is as common as +it formerly was on the Scottish border. The bold buccaneer is a +character as familiar as in the good old days when Drake and Raleigh +singed the Spanish king's beard, with this important difference, that +the buccaneer of ancient Greece plundered Greek and barbarian with +fine impartiality. A common question addressed to persons newly +arrived from the sea is, "Are you a merchant, a traveller, or a +pirate?" And this curious query implies no reproach, and calls for no +resentment. Still more startling are the terms in which Autolycus, the +maternal grandfather of Odysseus, is spoken of. This worthy, we are +informed, "surpassed all mankind in thieving and lying"; and the +information is given in a manner which shows that the poet intended it +as a grave compliment. In another passage the same hero is celebrated +as an accomplished burglar. So low was the standard of Homeric ethics +in this respect; and even in the historical age of Greece, want of +honesty and want of truthfulness were too often conspicuous failings +in some of her most famous men. + +Even more shocking to the moral sense is the wild ferocity which +sometimes breaks out in the language and conduct of both men and +women. The horrible practice of mutilating the dead after a battle is +viewed with indifference, and even with complacency, by the bravest +warriors. Even Patroclus, the most amiable of the heroes in the +_Iliad_, proposes to inflict this dastardly outrage on the body of the +fallen Sarpedon. Achilles drags the body of Hector behind his chariot +from the battlefield, and keeps it in his tent for many days, that he +may repeat this hideous form of vengeance in honour of his slaughtered +friend. When the dying Hector begs him to restore his body to the +Trojans for burial he replies with savage taunts, and wishes that he +could find it in his heart to carve the flesh of Hector and eat it +raw! And Hecuba, the venerable Queen of Troy, expresses herself in +similar terms when Priam is preparing to set forth on his mission to +the tent of Achilles. + +Turning now to the more attractive side of the picture, we shall find +much to admire in the character of Homer's heroes. In the first place +we have to note their intense vitality and keen sense of pleasure, +natural to a young and vigorous people. The outlook on life is +generally bright and cheerful, and there is hardly any trace of that +corroding pessimism which meets us in later literature. Cases of +suicide, so common in the tragedians, are almost unknown. + +In one respect, and that too a point of the very highest importance, +the Greeks of this age were far in advance of those who came after +them, and not behind the most polished nations of modern Europe. We +refer to the beauty, the tenderness, and the purity of their domestic +relations. The whole story of the _Odyssey_ is founded on the faithful +wedded love of Odysseus and Penelope, and the contrasted example of +Agamemnon and his demon wife is repeatedly held up to scorn and +abhorrence. The world's poetry affords no nobler scene than the +parting of Hector and Andromache in the _Iliad_, nor has the ideal of +perfect marriage ever found grander expression than in the words +addressed by Odysseus to Nausicaä: "There is nothing mightier and +nobler than when man and wife are of one mind and heart in a house, a +grief to their foes, and to their friends a great joy, but their own +hearts know it best."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Butcher and Lang's translation.] + +Hospitality in a primitive state of society, where inns are unknown, +is not so much a virtue as a necessity. Even in these early times the +Greeks, within the limits of their little world, were great +travellers, and their swift chariots, and galleys propelled by sail +and oar, enabled them to make considerable journeys with speed and +safety. Arrived at their destination for the night they were sure of a +warm welcome at the first house at which they presented themselves; +and he who played the host on one occasion expected and found a like +return when, perhaps years afterwards, he was brought by business or +pleasure to the home of his former guest. Nor were these privileges +confined to the wealthy and noble, who were able, when the time came, +to make payment in kind, but the poorest and most helpless outcast, +the beggar, the fugitive, and the exile, found countenance and +protection, when he made his plea in the name of Zeus, the god of +hospitality. + +V + +This frankness and simplicity of manners runs through the whole life +of the Homeric Greek, and is reflected in every page of the two great +epics which are the lasting monuments of that bright and happy age. As +civilisation advances, and life becomes more complicated and +artificial, human activity tends more and more to split up into an +infinite number of minute occupations, and the whole time and energy +of each individual are not more than sufficient to make him master in +some little corner of art, science, or industry. A vast system of +commerce brings the products of the whole world to our doors; and it +is almost appalling to think of the millions of toiling hands and busy +brains which must pass all their days in unceasing toil, in order that +the humblest citizen may find his daily wants supplied. To give only +one example: how vast and tremendous is the machinery which must be +set at work before a single letter or post-card can reach its +destination! This multiplication of needs, and endless subdivision of +labour, too often results in stunting and crippling the development of +the individual, so that it becomes harder, as time advances, to find a +complete man, with all his faculties matured by equable and harmonious +growth. + +Very different were the conditions of life in the Homeric age. Then +the wealthy man's house was a little world in itself, capable of +supplying all the simple wants of its inhabitants. The women spun wool +and flax, the produce of the estate, and wove them into cloth and +linen, to be dyed and wrought into garments by the same skilful hands. +On the sunny slopes of the hills within sight of the doors the grapes +were ripening against the happy time of vintage, when merry troops of +children would bring them home with dance and song to be trodden in +the winepress. Nearer at hand was the well-kept orchard, bowing under +its burden of apples, pears, and figs; and groves of grey olive-trees +promised abundance of oil. In the valleys waved rich harvests of wheat +and barley, which were reaped, threshed, ground, and made into bread, +by the master's thralls. Herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep and goats, +roved on the broad upland pastures, and in the forest multitudes of +swine were fattening on the beech-mast and acorns. + +And the owner of all these blessings was no luxurious drone, living in +idleness on the labour of other men's hands. He was, in the fullest +sense of the word, the father of his household. His was the vigilant +eye which watched and directed every member in the little army of +workers, and his the generous hand which dealt out bountiful reward +for faithful service. If need were he could take his share in the +hardest field labour, and plough a straight furrow, or mow a heavy +crop of grass from dawn till sunset without breaking his fast. Nothing +was too great or too little to engage his attention, as the necessity +arose. He was a warrior, whose single prowess might go far in deciding +the issue of a hard-fought battle--an orator, discoursing with weighty +eloquence on grave questions of state--a judge, whose decisions helped +to build up the as yet unwritten code of law. Descending from these +high altitudes, he could take up his bow and spear, and go forth to +hunt the boar and the stag, or wield the woodman's axe, or the +carpenter's saw and chisel. He could kill, dress, and serve his own +dinner; and when the strenuous day was over, he could tune the harp, +discourse sweet music, and sing of the deeds of heroes and gods. + +Such was the versatility, and such the many-sided energy, of the Greek +as he appears in the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. And as these two poems +contain the elements of all subsequent thought and progress in the +Greek nation, so in the typical character of Odysseus are concentrated +all the qualities which distinguish the individual Greek--his +insatiable curiosity, which left no field of thought unexplored--his +spirit of daring enterprise, which carried the banner of civilisation +to the borders of India and the Straits of Gibraltar--and his subtlety +and craft, which in a later age made him a byword to the grave +moralists of Rome. + +In the _Iliad_ Odysseus is constantly exhibited as a contrast to the +youthful Achilles. Wherever prudence, experience, and policy, are +required, Odysseus comes to the front. In Achilles, with his furious +passions and ill-regulated impulses, there is always something of the +barbarian; while Odysseus in all his actions obeys the voice of +reason. It will readily be seen that such a character, essentially +intellectual, always moving within due measure, never breaking out +into eccentricity or excess, would appeal less to the popular +imagination than the fiery nature of Pelides, "strenuous, passionate, +implacable, and fierce." And on this ground we may partly explain the +unamiable light in which Odysseus appears in later Greek literature. +Already in Pindar we find him singled out for disapproval. In +Sophocles he has sunk still lower; and in Euripides his degradation is +completed. + +VI + +Space does not allow us to give a detailed criticism of the _Odyssey_ +as a poem, and determine its relation to the _Iliad_. We must content +ourselves with quoting the words of the most eloquent of ancient +critics, which sum up the subject with admirable brevity and insight: +"Homer in his _Odyssey_ may be compared to the setting sun: he is +still as great as ever, but he has lost his fervent heat. The strain +is now pitched in a lower key than in the 'Tale of Troy divine': we +begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or +sinks, that continuous current of moving incidents, those rapid +transitions, that force of eloquence, that opulence of imagery which +is ever true to nature. Like the sea when it retires upon itself and +leaves its shores waste and bare, henceforth the tide of sublimity +begins to ebb, and draws us away into the dim region of myth and +legend."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Longinus: "On the Sublime." Translated by H.L. Havell, +B.A. p. 20. Macmillan & Co.] + + + + +STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY + + + + +Telemachus, Penelope, and the Suitors + + +I + +In a high, level spot, commanding a view of the sea, stands the house +of Odysseus, the mightiest prince in Ithaca. It is a spacious +building, two storeys high, constructed entirely of wood, and +surrounded on all sides by a strong wooden fence. Within the +enclosure, and in front of the house, is a wide courtyard, containing +the stables, and other offices of the household. + +A proud maiden was Penelope, when Odysseus wedded her in her youthful +bloom, and made her the mistress of his fair dwelling and his rich +domain. One happy year they lived together, and a son was born to +them, whom they named Telemachus. Then war arose between Greece and +Asia, and Odysseus was summoned to join the train of chieftains who +followed Agamemnon to win back Helen, his brother's wife. Ten years +the war lasted; then Troy was taken, and those who had survived the +struggle returned to their homes. Among these was Odysseus, who set +sail with joyful heart, hoping, before many days were passed, to take +up anew the thread of domestic happiness which had been so rudely +broken. But since that hour he has vanished from sight, and for ten +long years from the fall of Troy the house has been mourning its +absent lord. + +During the last three years a new trouble has been present, to fill +the cup of Penelope's sorrow to the brim. A host of suitors, drawn +from the most powerful families in Ithaca and the neighbouring +islands, have beset the house of Odysseus, desiring to wed his wife +and possess her wealth. All her friends urge her to make choice of a +husband from that clamorous band; for no one now believes that there +is any hope left of Odysseus' return. Only Penelope still clings to +the belief that he is yet living, and will one day come home. So for +three years she has put them off by a cunning trick. She began to +weave a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, promising that, as soon +as the garment was finished, she would wed one of the suitors. Then +all day long she wove that choice web; and every night she undid the +work of the day, unravelling the threads which she had woven. So for +three years she beguiled the suitors, but at last she was betrayed by +her handmaids, and the fraud was discovered. The princes upbraided her +loudly for her deceit, and became more importunate than ever. The +substance of Odysseus was wasting away; for day after day the wooers +came thronging to the house, a hundred strong, and feasted at the +expense of its absent master, and drank up his wine. + +No hope seems left to the heartbroken, faithful wife. Even her son has +grown impatient at the waste of his goods, and urges her to make the +hard choice, and the hateful hour is at hand which will part her for +ever from the scene of her brief wedded joy. + +[Illustration: Penelope] + +II + +It was the hour of noon, and the sun was beating hot on the rocky +hills of Ithaca, when a solitary wayfarer was seen approaching the +outer gateway which led into the courtyard of Odysseus' house. He was +a man of middle age, dressed like a chieftain, and carrying a long +spear in his hand. Passing through the covered gateway he halted +abruptly, and gazed in astonishment at the strange sight which met his +eyes. All was noise and bustle in the courtyard, where a busy troop of +servants were preparing the materials for a great feast. Some were +carrying smoking joints of roast meat, others were filling huge bowls +with wine and water, and others were washing the tables and setting +them out to dry. In the portico before the house sat a great company +of young nobles, comely of aspect, and daintily attired, taking their +ease on couches of raw ox-hide, and playing at draughts to while away +the time until the banquet should be ready. Loud was their talk, and +boisterous their laughter, as of men who have no respect for +themselves or for others. "Surely this was the house of Odysseus," +murmured the stranger to himself, "but now it seems like a den of +thieves. But who is that tall and goodly lad, who sits apart, with +gloomy brow, and seems ill-pleased with the doings of that riotous +crew? Surely I should know that face, the very face of my old friend +as I knew him long years ago." + +As he spoke, the youth who had attracted his notice glanced in his +direction, and seeing a stranger standing unheeded at the entrance, he +rose from his seat and came with hasty step and heightened colour +towards him. "Forgive me, friend," he said, with hand outstretched in +welcome, "that I marked thee not before. My thoughts were far away. +But come into the house, and sit down to meat, and when thou hast +eaten we will inquire the reason of thy coming." + +So saying, and taking the stranger's spear, he led him into the great +hall of the house, and sat down with him in a corner, remote from the +noise of the revel. And a handmaid bare water in a golden ewer, and +poured it over their hands into a basin of silver; and when they had +washed, a table was set before them, heaped with delicate fare. Then +host and guest took their meal together, and comforted their hearts +with wine. + +Before they had finished, the whole company came trooping in from the +courtyard, and filled the room with uproar, calling aloud for food and +drink. Not a chair was left empty, and the servants hurried to and +fro, supplying the wants of these unwelcome visitors. Vast quantities +of flesh were consumed, and many a stout jar of wine was drained to +the dregs, to supply the wants of that greedy multitude. + +When at last their hunger was appeased, and every goblet stood empty, +Phemius, the minstrel, stood up in their midst, and after striking a +few chords on his harp, began to sing a famous lay. Then the youth who +had been entertaining the stranger drew closer his chair, and thus +addressed him, speaking low in his ear: "Thou seest what fair company +we keep, how wanton they are, and how gay. Yet there was once a man +who would have driven them, like beaten hounds, from this hall, even +he whose substance they are devouring. But his bones lie whitening at +the bottom of the sea, and we who are left must tamely suffer this +wrong. But now thou hast eaten, and I may question thee without +reproach. Say, therefore, who art thou, and where is thy home? Comest +thou for the first time to Ithaca, or art thou an old friend of this +house, bound to us by ties of ancient hospitality?" + +"My name is Mentes," answered the stranger, "and I am a prince of the +Taphians, a bold race of sailors. I am a friend of this house, well +known to its master, Odysseus, and his father, Laertes. Be of good +cheer, for he whom thou mournest is not dead, nor shall his coming be +much longer delayed. But tell me now of a truth, art not thou the son +of that man? I knew him well, and thou hast the very face and eyes of +Odysseus." + +"My mother calls me his son," replied the youth, who was indeed +Telemachus himself, "and I am bound to believe her. Would that it were +otherwise! I have little cause to bless my birth." + +"Yet shalt thou surely be blest," said Mentes; "thou art not unmarked +of the eye of Heaven. But answer me once more, what means this lawless +riot in the house? And what cause has brought all these men hither?" + +"This also thou shalt know," replied Telemachus. "These are the +princes who have come to woo my mother; and while she keeps them +waiting for her answer they eat up my father's goods. Ere long, +methinks, they will make an end of me also." + +"Fit wooers indeed for the wife of such a man!" said Mentes with a +bitter smile. "Would that he were standing among them now as I saw him +once in my father's house, armed with helmet and shield and spear! He +would soon wed them to another bride. But whether it be God's will +that he return or not, 'tis for thee to devise means to drive these +men from thy house. Take heed, therefore, to my words, and do as I bid +thee. To-morrow thou shalt summon the suitors to the place of +assembly, and charge them that they depart to their homes. And do thou +thyself fit out a ship, with twenty rowers, and get thee to Pylos, +where the aged Nestor dwells, and inquire of him concerning thy +father. From Pylos proceed to Sparta, the kingdom of Menelaus; he was +the last of the Greeks to reach home, after the fall of Troy; and +perchance thou mayest learn something from him. And if thou hearest +sure tidings of thy father's death, then get thee home, and raise a +tomb to his memory, and keep his funeral feast. Then let thy mother +wed whom she will; and if these men still beset thee, thou must devise +means to slay them, either by guile or openly. Thou art now a man, and +must play a man's part. Hast thou not heard of the fame which Orestes +won, when he slew the murderer of his sire? Be thou valiant, even as +he; tall thou art, and fair, and shouldst be a stout man of thy hands. +But 'tis time for me to be going; my ship awaits me in the harbour, +and my comrades will be tired of waiting for me." + +"Stay yet awhile," answered Telemachus, "until thou hast refreshed +thyself with the bath; and I will give thee a costly gift to bear with +thee as a memorial of thy visit." But even as he spoke Mentes rose +from his seat and, gliding like a shadow through the sunlit doorway, +disappeared. Telemachus followed, in wonder and displeasure; but no +trace of the strange visitor was to be seen. Looking upward he saw a +great sea-eagle winging his way towards the shore; and a voice seemed +to whisper in his ear: "No mortal was thy guest, but the great goddess +Athene, daughter of Zeus, and ever thy father's true comrade and +faithful ally." + +III + +With a strange elation of spirits Telemachus returned to the hall, and +sat down among the suitors. Hitherto he had shown a certain weakness +and indecision of character, natural in a young lad, who had grown up +without the strong guiding hand of a father, and who, since the first +dawn of his manhood, had been surrounded by a host of subtle foes. But +the words of Athene have gone home, and he resolves that from this +hour he will take his proper place in the house as his mother's +guardian and the heir of a great prince. + +There was an unwonted stillness among that lawless troop, and they sat +silent and attentive in the great, dimly lighted chamber. For the +minstrel was singing a sweet and solemn strain, which told of the +home-coming of the Greeks from Troy, and of all the disasters which +befell them on the way. Suddenly the singer paused in the midst of his +lay, for his fine ear had caught the sound of a sobbing sigh. Looking +round, he saw a tall and stately lady standing in the doorway which +led to the women's apartments at the back of the house. She was +closely veiled, but he instantly recognised the form of Penelope, his +beloved mistress. + +"Phemius," said Penelope, in a tone of gentle reproach, "hast thou no +other lay to sing, but must needs recite this tale of woe, which fills +my soul with tears, by calling up the image of him for whom I sorrow +night and day?" + +Phemius stood abashed, and ventured no reply; but Telemachus answered +for him. "Mother," he said, "blame not the sweet minstrel for his +song. The bard is not the author of the woes of which he sings, but +Zeus assigns to each his portion of good and ill; and thou must submit +to his ordinance, like many another lady who has lost her lord. Thou +hast thy province in the house, and I mine; thine is to govern thy +handmaids, and mine to take the lead where the men are gathered +together. And I say that the minstrel has chosen well." + +There was a new note of command in the voice of Telemachus as he +uttered these words. Penelope heard it, and wondered what change had +come over her son; but a hundred bold eyes were gazing insolently at +her, and without another word she turned away, and ascended the steep +stairs which led to her bower. There she reclined on a couch, and her +tears flowed freely; for the song of Phemius had reopened the fountain +of her grief. Presently the sound of sobbing died away, and she drew +her breath gently in a sweet and placid sleep. + +The sudden appearance of Penelope had excited the suitors, and they +began to brawl noisily among themselves. Presently Telemachus raised +his voice, commanding silence for the minstrel. "And I have something +else to say unto you," he added. "To-morrow at dawn I bid you come to +the place of assembly, that we may make an end of these wild doings in +my house. I will bear it no longer, but will publish your evil deeds +to the ears of gods and men." + +Among the suitors there was a certain Antinous, a tall and stout +fellow, of commanding presence, who was looked up to by the others as +a sort of leader, being the boldest and most brutal in the band. And +now he answered for the rest "Heaven speed thy boasting, young +braggart!" he cried in rude and jeering tones. "It will be a happy day +for the men of Ithaca when they have thee for their king." + +"I claim not the kingdom," answered Telemachus firmly, "but I am +resolved to be master in my own house." + +By the side of Antinous sat Eurymachus, who was next to him in power +and rank. This was a smooth and subtle villain, not less dangerous +than Antinous, but glib and plausible of speech. And he too made +answer after his kind: "Telemachus, thou sayest well, and none can +dispute thy right. But with thy good leave I would ask thee concerning +the stranger. He seemed a goodly man; but why did he start up and +leave us so suddenly? Did he bring any tidings of thy father?" + +"There can be no tidings of him," answered Telemachus sadly, "except +that we shall never see him again. And as to this stranger, it was +Mentes, a friend of my father's, and prince of the Taphians." + +Night was now coming on, the suitors departed to their homes, and +Telemachus, who meditated an early start next day, retired early to +his chamber. The room where he slept stood in the courtyard, apart +from the house, and was reached by a stairway. He was attended by an +aged dame, Eurycleia, who had nursed him in his infancy. And all night +long he lay sleepless, pondering on the perils and the adventures +which awaited him. + + + + +The Assembly; The Voyage of Telemachus + + +I + +At the first peep of dawn Telemachus was afoot, and summoning the +heralds he ordered them to make proclamation of an assembly to be held +in a public place in the town of Ithaca. Then he went down to the +place of assembly, with two favourite hounds following close at his +heels; and when he arrived he found the princes and elders of the +people already gathered together. All eyes were turned to the gallant +lad, as he sat down on his father's seat among the noblest of the sons +of Ithaca. Never had he worn so princely an air, or seemed so worthy +of his mighty sire. + +Then the old chieftain Ægyptus began the debate; he was bent double +with age, and one of his sons, Antiphus, had followed Odysseus to +Troy, while another, Eurynomus, was among the suitors of Penelope. It +was of Antiphus that he thought, as he stood up and made harangue +among the elders: + +"Who has summoned us hither, and what is his need? Never have we met +together in council since the day when Odysseus set sail from Ithaca. +Hath any tidings come of the return of those who followed him to Troy, +or is it some other business of public moment which has called us +hither? But whoever sent out this summons, I doubt not he is a worthy +man, and may Zeus accomplish his purpose, whatever it be." + +Such chance sayings were regarded as a sign of Heaven's will, and +Telemachus rejoiced in spirit at the old man's blessing. And forthwith +he stood up in the midst, and, taking the sceptre from the herald's +hand, rushed at once into the subject of which his mind was full. + +"Behold me here, old man," he said, addressing Ægyptus. "It is I who +have called you together, and surely not without a cause. Is it not +enough that I have lost my brave father, whose gentleness and +loving-kindness ye all knew, when he was your king? But must I sit +still, day after day, and see the fattest of my flocks and herds +slaughtered, and the red wine poured out wastefully, by these men who +have come to woo my mother? Take shame to yourselves, and restrain +them; fear the reproach of men, and the wrath of Heaven, and suffer me +not thus to be evilly entreated, unless ye harbour revengeful thoughts +against my father, for some wrong which he has done you." + +He had spoken thus far, when tears choked his voice, and flinging the +sceptre on the ground he returned to his seat. There was a general +feeling of compassion among his hearers, and not one of the suitors +ventured to answer him, save only Antinous, who began in his wonted +style of brutal insolence, upbraiding Telemachus in violent terms, and +throwing all the blame on Penelope, who, he said, had beguiled them +for three years by holding out promises which she never meant to +fulfil. Then he told the story of Penelope's web, and concluded his +speech with these words: + +"As long as thy mother continues in this mind, so long will we stay +here and consume thy living. If thou wouldst be quit of us, send her +to her father's house and bid her marry the man of her choice." + +Telemachus replied: "How can I drive away the mother who bare me and +nourished me? And where shall I find means to pay back her dower? But +most of all I dread my mother's curse. No, never shall that word be +spoken by me. Therefore, if ye know aught of fair and honest dealing, +depart from my house, and live on your own goods; but if it seems good +to you to eat up another man's living, then will I appeal to the +justice of heaven, and pray for vengeance on your heads." + +"Behold, his prayer is answered," cried Halitherses, a venerable +elder, with snow-white beard, who was skilled in augury; and looking +up they saw two eagles winging their way at full speed towards the +place of assembly. Now the two great birds hovered over the meeting; +and just at this moment they wheeled round and attacked each other +fiercely with beak and claw. After fighting for some time they shot +away to the right and were soon lost to view. Then Halitherses spake +again, interpreting the omen: "Hearken, men of Ithaca, to my words, +and to you, the suitors of Penelope, especially do I speak. Woe is +coming upon you; I see it rising and swelling as a wave. Not long +shall Odysseus be absent, but even now he is near at hand hatching +mischief for those who sit here. And many another shall suffer, +besides these who have done the wrong. Therefore, I say, let us stop +their evil deeds, or let them cease themselves. The hour is near at +hand which I foretold, when Odysseus embarked for Troy: I said that +after many sufferings, having lost all his comrades, unknown to all in +the twentieth year he should come home. And now all these things are +coming to pass." + +Then up rose Eurymachus, in an angry and scornful mood. "Old man," +said he, "go home and prophesy to thine own children, lest some harm +befall thee here. Thinkest thou that every fowl of the air is a +messenger from heaven? Odysseus has perished, and would that thou +hadst perished with him! Art thou not ashamed to take sides with this +malapert boy, feeding his passion and folly with thy crazy prophecies? +Doubtless thou lookest to him for favour and reward, but thou wilt +find that his friendship will cost thee dear. Telemachus has heard our +answer to his complaint; let him keep his eloquence for his froward +mother, and bring her to a better mind, for neither his speeches nor +thy prophecies will turn us from our purpose." + +The principal object of the meeting was now attained: the villainy of +the suitors had been publicly exposed, and they were left without +excuse or hope of mercy when the day of reckoning should arrive. +Accordingly Telemachus, dismissing the subject of his wrongs, now +spoke of his intended voyage to Pylos and Sparta, and begged for the +loan of a ship to carry him and his comrades to the mainland. + +No response was made to his request; but one man still attempted to +rouse public opinion against the suitors. This was Mentor, an old +friend of Odysseus, who had been left in charge of his household on +his departure from Ithaca. "Is there not one among you," he cried +indignantly, "who will speak a word for Telemachus, or testify against +the wickedness of these men? No more let kings be gentle and merciful +towards their people, as was Odysseus when he ruled over you, loving +and tender-hearted as a father. Let righteousness give place to +oppression, if these are its rewards. There you sit, like cowed and +beaten men, and suffer a handful of worthless men to lord it over you +all." + +After this last appeal, which was as fruitless as the others, the +meeting broke up, and the suitors returned to their revels in the +house of Odysseus. + +II + +Full of anxious thought, Telemachus went down to the shore, wondering +how he should find means to accomplish his voyage. Stooping down, he +bathed his hands in the sea, and after this act of purification he +lifted up his hands and prayed to Athene: "O thou who camest yesterday +to our house, and badest me go on this quest, give ear and help me in +this strait." + +He had hardly finished his prayer when he heard a footstep, and +looking round saw Mentor, who had come to his aid at the meeting, +approaching from the town. "Be not cast down," said Mentor, "remember +whose son thou art, and all shall be well with thee. As to this +voyage, that shall be my care. I will find thee a ship, and will go +with thee to Pylos. Meanwhile go thou home and make ready all things +for victualling the ship, corn and wine and barley-meal, and bestow +them heedfully in vessels and in bags of leather. Ships there are in +plenty, new and old, in seagirt Ithaca; I will choose the best of them +all, and man her with a crew who will serve thee freely and with all +goodwill." + +Away went Telemachus, much comforted in spirit, though his heart +fluttered when he thought of the great adventure which lay before him. +When he entered the courtyard of his house he found the suitors +flaying goats and singeing swine for the midday feast. Antinous hailed +his coming with a rude laugh, and running up to him seized his hand +and said mockingly: "Well met, Sir Eloquence! Thy face, I see, is full +of care, as of one who is bent on high designs. But lay thy graver +burdens aside for awhile, and eat and drink with us. Thou shalt want +neither ship nor men to carry thee to holy Pylos." + +Telemachus snatched his hand away, and answered sternly: "My thoughts +are not of feasting and merry-making, nor would I eat and drink with +you if they were. I am no longer a child, to be flouted and robbed +without a word. I tell you I shall find it in my heart to do you a +mischief, before many days are passed. But now I am going, as I said, +on this journey. I must go as a passenger, since ye will not lend me a +ship." + +Many a scornful face was turned upon him, and many a taunt aimed at +him, as he uttered these bold words. "We are all undone!" cried one in +pretended alarm, "Telemachus is gone to gather an army in Pylos or in +Sparta, and he will come back with his mighty men and take all our +lives." "Or perhaps he is going to bring poison from Ephyra," said +another, "and he will cast it in the bowl, and we shall be all dead +corpses.[1]" And a third cried: "Take care of thyself, Telemachus, or +we shall have double labour because of thee, in dividing thy goods +among us." + +[Footnote 1: 2 Kings xix. 35.] + +But the taunts of fools and knaves have no sting for honest ears. +Without another word Telemachus left that gibing mob, and went +straight to the strong-room where his father's treasure was stored. +There lay heaps of gold and silver, and chests full of fine raiment, +and great jars of fragrant olive-oil. Along the wall was a long row of +portly casks, filled with the choicest wine; there they had stood +untouched for twenty years, awaiting the master's return. All this +wealth was given in charge to Eurycleia, the nurse of Telemachus, a +wise and careful dame, who watched the chamber day and night. Her +Telemachus now summoned, and said: "Fill me twelve jars of wine--not +the best, which thou art keeping for my father, but the next best to +that. And take twenty measures of barley-meal, and store it in sacks +of leather, and keep all these things together till I send for them. +Keep close counsel, and above all let not my mother know. I am going +to Sparta and to sandy Pylos to inquire of my father's return; and I +shall start in the evening when my mother is gone to rest." + +"Who put such a thought into thy heart?" cried Eurycleia in wailing +tones. "Why wilt thou take this dreadful journey, thou, an only child, +so loved, and so dear? Odysseus is lost for ever, and if thou go we +shall lose thee too, for the suitors will plot thy ruin while thou art +far away." + +"Fear nothing for me," answered Telemachus, "Heaven's eye is upon me, +and the hand of Zeus is spread over me. Swear to me now that thou wilt +not tell my mother until twelve days have past." Eurycleia swore as he +bade her, and at once set about making the preparations for his +journey. + +The suitors were in high spirits at the result of the meeting, and +they ate heavily and drank deeply to celebrate their triumph. Hence it +happened that they retired to rest earlier than usual, being drowsy +from their intemperate revel; and when Telemachus returned to the +banquet-hall he found all the guests departed, and the servants +removing the remains of the feast. Soon afterwards Mentor appeared, +and announced that the ship lay ready at her moorings outside the +harbour. The stores were carried down to the sea, and stowed under the +rowers' benches. "All hands on board!" cried Mentor, and took his +place in the stern, Telemachus sitting by his side. The crew sat ready +at their oars, the ship was cast loose from the moorings, and a few +vigorous strokes impelled her into deep water. Then a strong breeze +sprang up from the west, the big sail was set, and the good ship +bounded joyfully over the waves, with the white wake roaring behind. +The oars were shipped, the sheets made fast, and all the company +pledged each other in brimming cups, drinking to their prosperous +voyage. + + + + +The Visit to Nestor at Pylos + + +I + +So all night long the ship clave her way; and at sunrise they reached +the flat, sandy coast of Pylos. There they found a great multitude +assembled, keeping the feast of Poseidon with sacrifices of oxen. The +solemn rite was nearly ended when they brought their vessel to land. + +"Courage, now," said Mentor to Telemachus, seeing the young lad +somewhat abashed by the presence of so large a company. "Remember whom +thou seekest, and lay thy modest scruples aside. Thou seest that +venerable man, still tall and erect, though he numbers more than a +hundred years. That is Nestor, son of Neleus, wisest of the Greeks, a +king and the friend and counsellor of kings. Go straight to him, and +tell him thy errand." + +Seeing Telemachus, who was a homebred youth, still hanging back, in +dread of that august presence, Mentor renewed his friendly +remonstrances, "What, still tongue-tied?" he said, taking him by the +arm, and leading him forward. "Heaven mend thy wits, poor lad! Knowest +thou not that thou art a child of great hopes, and a favourite of +heaven?" + +When they came to the place where Nestor was seated with his sons, +they found them busy preparing the feast which followed the sacrifice. +As soon as those of Nestor's company saw the strangers they came +forward in a body to greet them, and made them sit down in places of +honour, where soft fleeces were heaped up on the level sand. A youth, +about the same age as Telemachus, placed a goblet of gold in Mentor's +hand, and gave him that portion of the flesh which was set apart as an +offering to the gods. "Welcome, friend," he said, after pledging him +from the cup. "Put up thy prayer with us to the lord Poseidon, for it +is to his feast that ye have come. And when thou hast prayed, give the +cup to thy young companion, who has been bred, methinks, as I have, to +deeds of piety." + +Mentor first asked a blessing on their hosts, and then prayed for a +prosperous issue to their own adventure. After him Telemachus uttered +his prayer in similar words, and then they all sat down to meat. When +they had finished, Nestor looked earnestly at them, and asked them who +they were, and what was the purpose of their journey. "Are ye +merchants," he said, "or bold buccaneers, who roam the seas, a peril +to others, and ever in peril themselves?" + +Telemachus, cheered by good fare, and encouraged by the kind manner of +Nestor, answered confidently, and explained the nature of his errand. +"Concerning all the other Greeks," he added, "we know at least the +manner of their death; but even this poor comfort is denied to the +wife and son of Odysseus. Therefore, if thou hast aught to tell, I +beseech thee by thy friendship with my father, let me know all, and +soften not the tale, out of kindness or pity to me." + +"Ah! my friend," answered Nestor. "What woeful memories thou hast +awakened by thy words!--perils by land and perils by water, long years +of siege and battle, sleepless nights and toilsome days. Ill-fated +land of Troy! the grave of Grecian chivalry! There lies heroic Ajax, +there lies Achilles, and Patroclus, sage in counsel, and there lies +Antilochus, my own dear son, fleet of foot and strong of hand. And art +thou indeed the son of Odysseus, whom none could match in craft and +strategy? But why do I ask? When thou speakest, I seem to hear the +very tones of his voice. He was my friend, one with me in mind and +heart, and during all the time of the siege we took counsel together +for the weal of Greece. But when the war was over disasters came thick +and fast upon the host. And first, division arose between the two sons +of Atreus; Agamemnon wished to abide in Troy until sacrifice had been +offered to appease the anger of Athene, but Menelaus advised immediate +departure. The party of Menelaus, of whom I was one, launched their +ships and sailed to Tenedos; there Odysseus, who had set sail with us, +put back to the mainland of Asia, wishing to do a favour to Agamemnon. +But I, and Diomede with me, set forth at once, and, crossing the sea +from Lesbos, came to Euboea; thence, after sacrifice to Poseidon, I +steered due south, and parting from Diomede at Argos continued my +voyage, and landed safe in Pylos. Thus it happened that I was not +witness of the good or evil fortunes of the other Greeks on their +voyage home, and know only by rumour how they fared. Of Agamemnon's +fate thou hast surely heard thyself, how he was murdered on his own +hearth by the treachery of Ægisthus, and how the murder was avenged by +Orestes. Happy the father who has such a son! And such, methinks, art +thou." + +"Ay," answered Telemachus, when Nestor had finished his long story, "I +have heard of that glorious deed; and would to heaven that by the +might of my hands I might so take vengeance on the evil men who have +come to woo my mother, and who fill my house with injury and outrage." + +"Ah! thou hast reminded me," said Nestor. "I heard of the shameful +wrong which thou hast suffered. But do not despair! Who knows but that +Odysseus will yet return, and make them drink the cup which they have +filled? It may well come to pass, if Athene continues to thy house the +favour which she showed thy father, plain for all eyes to see, in the +land of Troy." + +"Nay, 'tis too much to hope," answered Telemachus with a sigh, "the +thing is too hard--even a god could hardly bring it to pass." + +"Now out on thy faint heart!" cried Mentor, who hitherto had sat +silent. "Better for him that his homecoming should be long delayed +than that he should have died, like Agamemnon, fresh from his victory. +Heaven will guide him yet to his own door, though now he be at the +uttermost parts of the earth." + +Telemachus shook his head as he answered: "No more of that, I pray +thee; it can never be." Then, addressing Nestor, he said: "I would +fain ask thee more concerning the manner of Agamemnon's death. Where +was Menelaus when that foul deed was done? And how did Ægisthus +contrive to slay a man mightier far than himself?" + +"Thou askest well," replied Nestor. "Menelaus was far away, or we +should have another tale to tell. And had the return of Menelaus not +been delayed, vengeance would have been forestalled by many years. +Yea, the dogs would have eaten the flesh of that vile churl, and not a +tear would have been shed for him. But this is how it fell out: while +we were toiling and warring at Troy, Ægisthus sat close to the ear of +Clytæmnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and poured sweet poison into her mind. +For a long while she refused to hearken to his base proposals, for she +was of a good understanding, and moreover there was ever at her side a +minstrel, into whose care Agamemnon had given her when he went to +Troy. But Ægisthus seized upon the minstrel, and left him on a desert +island to be devoured by carrion birds. Then Clytæmnestra yielded to +his suit, and he brought her to his own house. + +"But as to thy question concerning Menelaus, he left Troy in my +company, as I told thee, and we sailed together as far as Sunium. +There Menelaus lost his steersman, who was visited by Apollo with +sudden death, as he sat by the helm; so he remained there to bury his +comrade. But his misfortunes were not yet over; for when he reached +the steep headland at Malea a violent storm arose, and parted his +fleet. Some of his ships ran into Crete for shelter, while he himself +was carried away to Egypt, where he remained many days, and gathered +store of wealth. + +"Now thou understandest why Ægisthus was able to work his will on +Agamemnon, and why he escaped vengeance so long. For seven years he +sat on the throne of golden Mycenæ, and grievously oppressed the +people. But in the eighth year came Orestes, and cut him off in the +fulness of his sin; and on that very day Menelaus came to him, loaded +with the treasures of Egypt. + +"Far and long had he wandered; but so do not thou, my child. Leave not +thy house unguarded, while so many foes are gathered against thee, +lest when thou return thou find thyself stripped of all. But to +Menelaus I would have thee go; him thou must by all means consult; for +who knows what he may have learnt on that wondrous voyage? Vast is the +space of water over which he has travelled, not to be measured in one +year by a bird in her speediest flight. If thou wilt, thou canst go to +Sparta in thy ship, or if thou choose to go by land, my chariots and +my horses are thine for this service, and my sons shall guide you on +the way." + +II + +Amid such talk as this, with many a brave story "of moving accidents +by flood and field," and many a pithy saw from the white-haired +Nestor, who had lived so long and seen so much, the hours glided +swiftly by, and the red sun was stooping to the horizon when Mentor +rose from his seat and said: "We must be going; the hour of rest is at +hand, and to-morrow we have far to go." + +"Tarry yet a little," said Nestor, "and eat a morsel and drink a cup +with us. And after that, if ye are fain to sleep, ye shall have fit +lodging in my house. Heaven forbid that I should suffer such guests as +you to sleep on the cold deck, covered with dew, as if I were some +needy wretch, with never a blanket to spare for a friend. May the gods +preserve me from such a reproach!" + +"Thou sayest well," answered Mentor, "and Telemachus shall be thy +guest to-night. But for me, I pray thee have me excused. My place is +on the ship, that I may give an eye to the crew, for I am the only man +of experience among them. And to-morrow I must go to Elis, to recover +a debt of long standing due to me there. I leave Telemachus to thy +care, that thou mayest cherish him and speed him on his way." + +As he said these words, while all eyes were fixed upon him, the +speaker vanished from sight, and in his stead a great sea-eagle rose +into the air, and sped westwards towards the setting sun. Long they +sat speechless and amazed, and Nestor was the first to break the +silence. "Great things are in store for thee, my son," said he to +Telemachus, "since thou keepest such company thus early in life. This +was none other than Jove's mighty daughter, Athene, who honoured thy +father so highly among the Greeks. Be gracious to us, our queen, and +let thy blessing rest on me and on my house! and I will offer to thee +a yearling heifer, that hath never felt the yoke. To thee will I +sacrifice her, when I have made gilt her horns with gold." + +Then Nestor led the way to his house, and Telemachus sat down with him +and his sons in the hall. And they filled a bowl with wine eleven +years old, exceeding choice, which was reserved for honoured guests. +And after they had finished the bowl, and offered prayer to Athene, +they parted for the night. For Telemachus a bed was prepared in the +portico, and close by him slept Pisistratus, the youngest of Nestor's +sons. + +When Telemachus rose next morning he found his host already afoot, +giving orders to his sons to prepare the sacrifice to Athene. One was +sent to fetch the heifer, another to summon the goldsmith, and a third +to bring up the crew of Telemachus' ship, while the rest busied +themselves in raising the altar and making all ready for the +sacrifice. + +Presently the heifer was driven lowing into the courtyard, and the +goldsmith followed with the instruments of his art. Nestor gave him +gold, and the smith beat it into thin leaf with his hammer, and laid +it skilfully over the horns of the heifer. A handmaid brought pure +water, and barley-meal in a basket, while one of Nestor's sons stood +ready with an axe, and another held a bowl to catch the blood. Then +Nestor dipped his hands in the water, took barley-meal from the basket +and sprinkled it on the head of the beast, and cutting a tuft of hair +from the forehead cast it into the fire. The prayer was spoken, and +all due rites being ended he who held the axe smote the heifer on the +head, just behind the horns. The women raised the sacrificial cry as +the heifer dropped to the ground; and next they whose office it was +lifted up the victim's head, and Pisistratus cut the throat. When the +last quiver of life was over they flayed the carcass, cut strips of +flesh from the thighs, and enveloping them in fat, burnt them on the +altar. The gods had now their share of the feast; the rest was cut +into slices, and broiled over the live embers. + +While the meal was preparing, Telemachus enjoyed the refreshment of a +bath; and Polycaste, the youngest of Nestor's daughters, waited on +him; for such was the patriarchal simplicity of those days. When he +had bathed, and finished his morning meal, the chariot was brought +out, and a strong pair of horses led under the yoke. And the +house-dame came with a basket, loaded with wine and delicate viands, +and placed it behind the seat. Telemachus took his place by the side +of Pisistratus, who was to drive the horses; the last farewells were +spoken, Pisistratus cracked his whip, and away they went under the +echoing gateway, and on through the streets of Pylos. + +[Illustration: Telemachus departing from Nestor] + +That night they slept at the house of a friend, and early next day +they continued their journey. The way grew steep and difficult, great +masses of mountains rose near at hand, and at length they entered a +wide valley, covered with waving fields of corn. By sunset they +reached the end of their journey, and drew up before the stately +portals of King Menelaus. + + + + +Telemachus at Sparta + + +I + +Menelaus was keeping the double marriage feast of his son and +daughter, and his house was thronged with wedding guests. All sat +silent and attentive, listening to the strains of a harper, and +watching the gambols of a pair of tumblers, who were whirling in giddy +reels round the hall. Presently voices were heard at the entrance, and +one of the squires of Menelaus came and informed his master that two +strangers of noble mien were standing without, craving hospitality. +"Shall I bring them in," asked the squire, "or send them on to another +house?" + +"Hast thou lost thy wits?" answered Menelaus in some heat, being +touched in his most sensitive point. "Shall we, who owe so much to the +kindness of strangers, in the long years of our wanderings, send any +man from our doors? Unyoke the horses, and bid our new guests enter." + +Four or five servants hastened to do his bidding. The horses, covered +with sweat from their hard journey, were unyoked and led into the +stable, and Telemachus, with his companion, was ushered with all +courtesy into the great hall of Menelaus. The palace was one of the +wealthiest and most splendid in Greece; and Telemachus, accustomed to +a much humbler style of dwelling, stood amazed at the glories which +met his eyes. After bathing and changing their raiment they returned +to the hall, and were assigned places close to the chair of Menelaus. + +The prince greeted them kindly, and said: "Welcome to our halls, young +sirs. Ye are, as I see, of no mean descent, for Zeus has set his stamp +on your faces,[1] and none can mistake the signs of kingly birth. When +ye have eaten, we will inquire of you further." + +[Footnote 1: In Homer, all kings and their families are supposed to be +descended from Zeus.] + +A plentiful and delicate meal was promptly set before the young +travellers, and they ate and drank with keen appetite. When they had +finished, Telemachus said to Pisistratus, speaking low, that he might +not be overheard: "Dear son of Nestor, is not this a brave place! Hast +thou ever seen such lavish ornament of silver, and gold, and ivory? +Surely such is the dwelling of Olympian Zeus; more magnificent it can +hardly be." + +The quick ear of Menelaus caught his last words, and he answered, +smiling: "Nay, my friend, no mortal may vie with the everlasting +glories of Zeus. But whether any man can equal me in riches, I know +not. For indeed I wandered far and long to gather all this treasure, +to Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, to Æthiopia, and Sidon, and the +Afric shore, a land unmatched in its countless multitudes of sheep. +There the ewes bring forth young three times a year, and the poorest +shepherd has abundance of cheese, and flesh, and milk. From all these +lands I gathered many a costly freight, and now I dwell in the midst +of plenty. Nevertheless my heart is sad, when I think of all that I +have lost. Had I returned home straight from Troy, I should have come +back a poor man, for my house had gone to waste in my absence; but I +should not have had to mourn for the death of my brother, struck down, +as doubtless ye have heard, by a murderer's hand. And then the thought +lies heavy upon me of all those who fell in my cause at Troy, and +especially of one who was dear to me above all, Odysseus, ever the +foremost in every toil and adventure. His image haunts me by day and +by night, marring my slumbers, and making my food taste bitter in my +mouth. He was a man of many woes, and sorrowful is the lot of his wife +Penelope and Telemachus his son." + +At this mention of his father Telemachus could not control his tears, +but covered his face with his mantle, and wept without restraint. +Menelaus saw his emotion, and began to suspect who he was; but for the +present he said nothing. + +A slight stir was now heard at the back of the hall, and a low murmur +went round among the guests, who whispered to each other: "The Queen! +The Queen!" And in she came softly, with slow and stately step, Helen, +the daughter of Tyndareus, and wife of Menelaus, fairest among all the +high-born dames of Greece. Her wondrous beauty was now ripened into +matronly perfection, but now and then a shadow seemed to pass over her +face, like the ghost of an old sin, long repented and forgiven. A +handmaid set a chair for her, throwing over it a soft rug, and brought +a footstool for her feet, while another bare a silver basket, with +rims of gold, and placed it ready, filled with purple yarn. When Helen +was seated, she gazed long and earnestly at Telemachus, and then, +turning to her husband, she said; "Menelaus, shall I utter the thought +which is in my heart? Nay, speak I must. Ne'er saw I such a likeness, +either in man or woman, as is the likeness of this fair youth to +Odysseus. Surely this is Telemachus, whom he left an infant in Ithaca +when the host was summoned to Troy to fight in a worthless woman's +cause." + +"I have marked it too," answered Menelaus. "Such were his very hands +and feet, and the carriage of his head, and the glance of his eye. +Moreover, when I made mention of Odysseus he covered his face, and +wept full sore." + +Telemachus was still too much distressed to speak, and Pisistratus had +to answer for him: "Thou sayest truly, my lord; it is Telemachus +himself. Nestor sent me with him to inquire of thee, and crave counsel +of thy wisdom. He is left like an orphan in his home, with none to aid +him, and take his father's place." + +Then Menelaus drew near to Telemachus, and taking his hand kindly +said: "Welcome again, and thrice welcome to these halls, thou son of +my trustiest friend and helper! It was the dream of my life to bring +Odysseus and all his household from Ithaca, and give him a home and a +city in this land, that we might grow old together in friendship and +loving-kindness, never to be parted until death. But envious heaven +has blighted my hopes and hindered his return." + +At these sad words every eye was moist, and all sat silent, absorbed +in sorrowful memories. Pisistratus was the first to speak, and his +words roused the rest from their melancholy mood. "Son of Atreus," he +said, "my father has often spoken of thy wisdom, and perchance it has +taught thee that sorrow is an ill guest at a banquet. The dead, +indeed, claim their due, and he would be hard-hearted who would grudge +them the poor tribute of a tear. But we cannot mourn for ever, even +for such a one as my brother Antilochus, whom I never saw, but thou +knewest him well, stout in battle, and swift in the pursuit." + +"'Tis well said," replied Menelaus. "Thou art wise beyond thy years, +and a true son of Nestor. Happy is he, beyond the common lot of men, +and smooth and fair runs the thread of his Destiny. He dwells in a +green old age in his father's house, and sees his sons growing up +around him, true heirs of his valour and prudence. Now let us banish +care, and get to our supper, for the day is far spent, and we have +matter for talk which will last us all the morrow." + +When they had finished eating, and the cups were about to be +replenished, Helen rose from her seat, and, whispering a few words to +the cupbearer, left the hall. In a few minutes she returned, carrying +in her hand a small phial, whose contents she poured into the great +mixing-bowl from which the cups were filled. "Now, drink," she said, +"and fear not that black care will pay us a second visit to-night. I +have poured into the wine a drug of wondrous potency and virtue, which +was given me in Egypt by Polydamna, the wife of Thon. Many such drugs +the soil of Egypt bears, some baneful and some good. And the Egyptians +are skilled in such craft beyond all mankind. He who drinks of this +drug will be armed for that day against all the assaults of sorrow, +and will not shed one tear, though his father and mother were to die, +no, not though he saw his brother or his son slain before his eyes. So +mighty is the virtue of this drug." And when they had drunk of the +magic potion Helen began again: "'Tis now the witching hour, when all +hearts are opened, and the burden of life presses lightest on men's +shoulders. Come, let me tell you a story, one among many, of the deeds +and the hardihood of Odysseus. It was in the days of the siege, and +the Trojans were kept close prisoners in their city by the leaguer of +the Greeks. Then he disguised himself as a beggar, clothed himself in +filthy rags, and marred his goodly person with cruel stripes. In such +fashion he entered the foemen's walls, as if he were a slave flying +from a hard master.[1] And I alone in all the city knew who he was. So +I brought him to my house, and began to question him; but he made as +if he understood not. But when I entertained him as an honoured guest, +and swore a solemn oath not to betray him, he trusted me, and declared +all the purpose of the Greeks. At dead of night he stole out into the +town, and, having slain many of the Trojans with the edge of the +sword, he went back to the camp, and brought much information to his +friends. + +[Footnote 1: Compare the stratagem of Zopyrus, in "Stories from Greek +History."] + +"When morning came, the voice of wailing rose high in the streets of +Troy; but my heart rejoiced, for I was filled with longing for my +home, and my eyes were opened to the folly which I had wrought by the +beguilement of Aphrodite, when I left my fatherland and broke faith +with my lord." + +"Tis a good story, and thou hast told it well, fair wife," said +Menelaus. "Now hear my tale. It was the time when I and the other +champions were shut up in the wooden horse; and Odysseus was with us. +Then thou camest thither, led, I suppose, by some god, hostile to +Greece, who wished to work our ruin; and Deiphobus followed thee. +Three times thou didst pace around our hollow ambush, feeling it with +thy hands, and calling aloud to the princes of Greece by name; and thy +voice was like the voice of all their wives. There we sat, I, and +Diomede, and the rest, and heard thee calling. Now I and Diomede were +minded to answer thee, or to go forth and confer with thee; but +Odysseus suffered it not, and when one of our number was about to lift +up his voice he pressed his hands on that foolish mouth, and +restrained him by force until thou hadst left the place. And so he +saved all our lives." + +"Yes," said Telemachus, "he had a heart of iron. But what has it +availed him? It could not save him from ruin. Howbeit, no more of +this; 'tis time to go to rest and forget our cares in sleep." + +II + +Early next morning Telemachus found his host sitting by his bedside; +and as soon as he was dressed Menelaus led him to a quiet place, and +inquired the reason of his coming. He listened with attention while +Telemachus explained the purpose of his visit; but when he heard of +the suitors, and their riot and waste, he was filled with indignation. + +"What!" he cried, "would these dastards fill the seat and wed the wife +of that mighty man? Their lot shall be the lot of a pair of fawns, +left by the mother hind in a lion's lair. The hind goes forth to +pasture, and in her absence the lion returns, and devours them where +they lie. Even so shall Odysseus return, and bring swift destruction +on the whole crew. + +"But thou hast asked me what I know of the fortunes of Odysseus, since +he departed from Troy; and verily I will tell thee all that I have +heard, without turning aside in my tale. I must go back to the time +when I lay wind-bound with my ships in a little island off the mouth +of the Nile. The island is called Pharos, and it is distant a day's +voyage from the river's mouth. I had lain there twenty days, and still +not a breath of air ruffled the glassy surface of the sea. All our +stores were consumed, and we had nothing to eat but the fish which my +men caught with rudely fashioned hooks and lines. One day I left my +men busy with their angling, and wandered away along the shore, full +of sad thoughts, and wondering how all this would end. Suddenly I +heard a light footstep on the pebbles, and there stepped forth from +behind a tall rock a young maiden in white, flowing robes. Full of +dread I saw her coming towards me; for I knew that she was no mortal +woman. But her look was gracious, and her voice was sweet; so I took +courage as she said: 'Who art thou, stranger, and why lingerest thou +with thy company in this desert place? I am Eidothea, daughter of +Proteus, the ancient one of the sea; and I am ready to help thee, if +thou wilt tell me thy need.' + +"Then I told her how I had been kept an unwilling captive on the +island, and begged her to let me know what power I had offended, that +he might be appeased by sacrifice, and suffer the wind to blow. 'There +is one who can tell thee all that thou desirest to know,' answered +she. 'Yea, Proteus, my father, will show thee how to win thy path +across the watery waste. No secrets are hidden from him, neither on +earth nor in the sea; and he can tell thee all that hath befallen in +thy house in the long years of thine absence. Now hearken, and I will +tell thee how thou mayest wring from him all his secrets. Every day at +noon he comes forth from the sea, and lays him down to sleep in a +rocky cave; and about him are couched his herd of seals. I will bring +thee to the place in the early morning, and set thee in ambush to +await his coming. Choose three of the stoutest of thy men to aid thee +in the adventure, and as soon as thou seest him asleep rush upon him +and hold him fast. He will struggle hard, and take a hundred different +shapes; but loose him not until he return to his own form, and then +will he reveal to thee all that he has to tell.' + +"So saying, the goddess disappeared beneath the waves. Next morning I +went with three picked men to the appointed place, and soon Eidothea +arrived, bearing four hides of seals, freshly flayed. Then she +hollowed out four pits in the sand for us to lie in, and clothed us in +the skins, and couched us together. Now that bed had like to have been +our last, for we were stifled by the dreadful stench of the seabred +seals. But the goddess saw our distress, and found a remedy; for she +brought ambrosia and set it beneath our nostrils, and that heavenly +perfume overpowered the noisome stench. + +"So all the morning we lay and wafted patiently, and at noon the seals +came up out of the sea and lay down in order on the sand. Last of all +came Proteus, and counted his herd, reckoning us among their number, +with no suspicion of guile. We waited until he was fast asleep, and +then we rushed from our ambush and seized him hand and foot. Long and +hard was the struggle, and many the shapes which he took. First he +became a bearded lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a huge boar; +after these he turned into running water and a tall, leafy tree. But +we only held him the more firmly, and at last he grew weary and spake +to me in his own shape: 'What wouldst thou have, son of Atreus, and +who has taught thee to outwit me and take me captive by craft?' + +"'Thou knowest my need,' I answered; 'why dost thou waste thy words? +Tell me rather how I may find release from my present strait' + +"'Hear, then,' said he: 'thou hast forgotten thy duty to Zeus and the +other gods. Not a victim bled, not a prayer was offered, when thou +didst embark on this voyage. Go back to Egypt, to the holy waters of +Nile, and there pay thy vows, and offer a great sacrifice to their +offended deity; thus, and thus only, canst thou win thy return to +thine own country and thy stately home.' + +"When I heard this my heart was broken within me, to think of that +long and perilous path across the misty deep. Nevertheless I consented +to take that journey, for I saw no other way of escape. And after I +had promised to obey him, I began to inquire further of the fate of +Nestor and the rest, whom I left behind me on my way home. + +"''Tis a grievous story that thou requirest of me,' said Proteus, 'and +thou shalt have little joy in the hearing. Many have been taken and +many left. Two only perished in returning, and one is still living, a +prisoner of the sea. Ajax has paid his debt to Athene, whose shrine he +polluted; and this was the manner of his death: when his vessel was +shattered by that great tempest, he himself escaped to a rock, for +Poseidon came to his aid. But even the peril which he had just escaped +could not subdue his haughtiness and his pride, and he uttered an +impious vaunt, boasting that in despite of heaven he had escaped a +watery grave. Then Poseidon was wroth, and smote the rock with his +trident, and that half of the rock on which Ajax was sitting fell into +the sea, bearing him with it. So he died, when he had drunk the brine. + +"'Now harden thy heart, and learn how thy brother Agamemnon fell. +After a long and stormy voyage he at length brought his shattered +vessels safe into harbour, and set foot on his native soil at Argos. +With tears of joy and thankfulness he fell on his knees and kissed the +sod, trusting that now his sorrows were passed. Now there was a +watchman whom Ægisthus had posted on a high place commanding the sea +to look out for Agamemnon's return. A whole year he watched, for he +had been promised a great reward. And when he saw the king's face he +went with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith Ægisthus prepared an +ambush of twenty armed men; these he kept in hiding at the back of the +hall, while he ordered his servants to prepare a great banquet. Then +he went to meet Agamemnon with horses and with chariots, and brought +him to his house, and made good cheer. And when he had feasted him he +smote and slew him, as a man slaughters an ox in his stall.' + +"At that tale of horror I fell upon the sand, weeping bitterly, for I +had no desire to live any longer or look on the light of the sun. Long +I lay mourning, as one who had lost all hope, but at last Proteus +checked the torrent of my passion, and bade me take thought of my own +homecoming. 'This is no time,' he said, 'to melt away in womanish +grief. Haste thee to take vengeance, if so be that Orestes hath not +forestalled thee, and slain his father's murderer.' + +"Somewhat comforted by these words, I took courage to ask who was the +man of whom he had spoken as a prisoner of the sea. 'It is the son of +Laertes,' answered Proteus, 'Odysseus, whose home is in Ithaca. I +myself saw him on an island, in the house of the nymph Calypso; and +sore he wept because he could not leave the goddess, who holds him in +thrall, and will not suffer him to return to his country.' + +"Lastly, he told me concerning my own fate. 'Thou, Menelaus,' he said, +'art exempt from the common lot of men, because thou art the husband +of Helen, and she is a daughter of Zeus. Therefore it is not appointed +for thee to die, but when thine hour is come the gods shall convey +thee to the Elysian fields, where dwell the elect spirits in +everlasting blessedness. There falls not snow nor rain, there blows no +rude blast, but the fresh cool breath of the west comes softly from +Ocean to refresh them that dwell in that happy clime.'" + +Thus happily ended the story of the Spartan prince's wanderings. And +when he had finished, he pressed Telemachus to prolong his visit; but +that prudent youth declined the invitation, pleading the necessity of +a speedy return to Ithaca, that he might keep an eye on the doings of +the suitors. Menelaus was compelled to allow the justice of his plea, +and accordingly all things were made ready for a speedy departure. + +III + +We must now return to Ithaca, and see what reception was preparing for +Telemachus when he came back from his adventurous journey. Two or +three days after he left Ithaca the suitors were gathered before the +doors of Odysseus, playing at quoits, or hurling their javelins at a +mark. Presently a young noble came up to the group, and addressing +Antinous, who was watching the sport, asked him if he had heard aught +of Telemachus. "I would fain know how long he is like to be absent +from Ithaca," he said; "for he has borrowed my ship, and I have need +of her. Know ye when he is to return from Pylos?" + +Antinous heard him with amazement; for neither he nor any other of the +suitors knew that Telemachus had sailed from Ithaca, supposing him to +be absent on his farm. So he questioned the youth closely as to the +time and manner of that voyage, how the crew was composed, and whether +the vessel was lent willingly, or taken by force. "Of my own free will +I lent her," answered the lad, "why should I not help him in his need? +As to the crew, they were all picked men, and well born; and the +captain was Mentor, or some god in his likeness; for I saw Mentor +yesterday in the town, and not a ship has touched at Ithaca since they +sailed." + +When he who had lent the ship was departed the suitors left their +sports, and drawing close together began to converse in low tones. +They were full of anger against Telemachus because of this journey, +which gave the lie to their malicious prophecies, and was not without +prospect of danger to themselves. Accordingly Antinous found ready +hearers when he stood up and spoke as follows:--"This forward boy must +be put down, or he will mar our wooing. It is a great deed which he +has done, and he will not stop here, unless we find means to cut short +his adventures. Now hear what I advise: let us man a ship and moor her +in the narrow sea between Ithaca and Samos, and lie in wait for him +there. This cruise of his is like to cost him dear." + +The plan was highly approved, and the whole body rose and entered the +house together, resolved to act at once on the advice of Antinous. +Before long news of their wicked designs came to the ears of Penelope, +who was still ignorant of her son's departure; for Eurycleia had kept +her counsel well. The evil tidings were brought by Medon, a servant in +the house of Odysseus, who had overheard the suitors plotting +together, while he stood concealed behind a buttress of the courtyard +fence. Without delay he went in search of Penelope, whom he found +sitting with her handmaids in her chamber. As soon as he appeared on +the threshold Penelope looked at him reproachfully, and said: "What +message bringest thou from thy fair masters? Is it their pleasure that +my maidens should leave their tasks and spread the board for them? Out +on your feasting and your wooing! May this be the last morsel that ye +ever taste! Ungrateful men, have ye forgotten all the good deeds that +were wrought here by the hands of Odysseus, and all the kindness that +ye received from him? Yes, all is forgotten; ye have no thought in +your hearts but to grow fat at his cost, and devour his living." + +"Alas! lady," answered Medon, "would that this were the worst! But I +am the bearer of heavier news than this. Telemachus has sailed to +Pylos, to inquire concerning his father, and the suitors have plotted +to slay him on his way home." Having delivered his message, Medon left +the chamber, and the door was shut. + +Long Penelope sat without a word, struck dumb by this cruel blow. +Then, as if seized by a sudden thought, she rose from her seat, and +took two paces towards the door. But her strength failing her she +tottered backward, and sank down upon the ground, leaning against the +wall. Her handmaids gathered round her, and would have lifted her up, +but she waved them off and at last gave utterance to her feelings in +wailing and broken tones: + +"Woeful beyond the lot of all women on earth is my portion! First, I +lost my lion-hearted lord, rich in every excellent gift, a hero among +heroes; and now the powers of the air[1] have carried off my child, my +well-beloved, without one word of farewell. Hearts of stone, why did +ye not tell me of his going? Had I known his purpose I would have +prevailed on him to stay, or he must have left me dead in these halls. +Go, one of you, and call Dolius, the keeper of my garden and orchard, +and send him to tell all to Laertes, if haply he may devise some way +to turn the hearts of the people, and save his race from being utterly +cut off." + +[Footnote 1: Demons, to whom sudden disappearance was attributed.] + +"Sweet lady," answered Eurycleia, who was sitting among the women, "I +will tell thee all the truth, and then thou shalt slay me, if it be +thy will. I was privy to this journey, and Telemachus made me swear a +solemn oath not to reveal it to thee until twelve days were passed, or +thou hadst heard of it from others. For he feared that thou wouldst +waste thy fair cheeks with weeping. But be not cast down; I am sure +that the gods hate not so utterly the house of Odysseus, nor purpose +to destroy it altogether. Vex not the old man Laertes in his sorrow, +but go wash thyself, put on clean raiment, and go up and pray to +Athene in thy upper chamber to guard and keep thy son from harm." + +Then Penelope was comforted, and dried her tears, and went up with her +handmaids to the upper chamber. There she made her offering before the +shrine of Athene, and lifted up her voice in prayer: "Daughter of +Zeus, stern warrior maiden, if ever my lord Odysseus offered +acceptable sacrifice to thee, remember now his service, save my son, +and let not the wooers work evil against him." When her prayer was +ended the women joined their voices with hers, and called again and +again on the awful name of Athene. After that they left her, and she +sank down on a couch, exhausted by her emotions, and full of anxious +thought. At length she ceased her weary tossing, and fell into a quiet +and refreshing sleep. + +Athene had heard her prayer, and being full of pity for the sorely +tried lady she resolved to find means to soothe her troubled spirit. +So she made a phantom, like in form and in feature to Iphthime, a +sister of Penelope, who lived with her husband in distant Pheræ. And +the phantom came to the house of Penelope, and entering her chamber by +the keyhole, stood by her bedside and spake to her thus: "Sorrow not +at all, nor vex thy soul for the sake of Telemachus. The gods love thy +son, and will bring him safe home." + +Then wise Penelope made answer, slumbering right sweetly at the gates +of dreams: "Dear sister, what has brought thee hither from thy far +distant home? Thou biddest me take comfort, but my heart is torn with +fear and grief for my brave lord, and yet more for Telemachus, who is +encompassed with perils by sea and by land." "Fear nothing," answered +the dim phantom. "He has a mighty helper by his side, even Pallas +Athene, who sent me hither to strengthen and console thee." With that +the ghostly visitor vanished as it came, and left Penelope much +cheered by the clear vision which had brought her words of healing at +the blackest hour of the night. + +Meanwhile Antinous had taken steps to carry out his villainous design. +At nightfall he went down to the sea with twenty picked men, boarded +the vessel which had been prepared for their use, and sailed out to a +little island which lies in the middle of the strait between Samos and +Ithaca. There they anchored in a sheltered bay, and waited for the +coming of Telemachus. + + + + +Odysseus and Calypso + + +I + +We have waited long for the appearance of Odysseus, and at last he is +about to enter the scene, which he will never leave again until the +final act of the great drama is played out. Hitherto he has been +pursued by the malice of Poseidon, who wrecked his fleet, drowned all +his men, and kept him confined for seven years in Calypso's island, in +vengeance for the blinding of his son Polyphemus. + +But now the prayers of Athene have prevailed, and Hermes, the +messenger of the gods, is on his way from Olympus, bearing a +peremptory summons to Calypso to let Odysseus depart. Shod with his +golden, winged sandals, which bear him, swift as the wind, over moist +and dry, and holding in his hand his magic wand, Hermes skimmed like a +seagull over the blue waters of the Ægæan, until he came to that far +distant isle. Arrived there, he went straight to the great cavern +where Calypso dwelt; and he found her there, walking about her room, +weaving with a golden shuttle, and singing sweetly at her work. A +great fire was blazing on the hearth, sending forth a sweet odour of +cedar and sandal-wood. Round about the cavern grew a little wood of +blossoming trees, "alder and poplar tall, and cypress sweet of smell"; +and there owls and hawks and cormorants built their nests. Over the +threshold was trained a wide-branching vine, with many a purple +cluster and wealth of rustling leaves. Four springs of clear water +welled up before the cave, and wandered down to the meadows where the +violet and parsley grew. It was a choice and cool retreat, meet +dwelling for a lovely nymph. + +Calypso greeted her visitor kindly, bade him be seated, and set nectar +and ambrosia before him. And when he had refreshed himself, he told +his message. "I bear the commands of Zeus," he said, "and to do his +high will have I travelled this long and weary way. It is said that +thou keepest with thee a man of many woes, who has suffered more than +any of those who fought at Troy. Him thou art commanded to send away +from thee with all speed; for it is not destined for him to end his +days here, but the hour has come when he must go back to his home and +country, Zeus has spoken, and thou must obey." + +This was bitter news to Calypso, for she loved Odysseus, and would +have made him immortal, that he might abide with her for ever. She +wrung her hands, and said in a mournful voice: "Now I know of a truth +that the gods are a jealous race, and will not suffer one of their +kind to wed with a mortal mate. Therefore Orion fell by the unseen +arrows of Artemis, when fair Aurora chose him for her lord; and +therefore Zeus slew Iasion with his lightning, because he was loved of +Demeter. Is not Odysseus mine? Did I not save him and cherish him when +he was flung naked and helpless on these shores? But since no other +deity may evade or frustrate the will of Zeus, let him go, and I will +show him how he may reach his own country without scathe." + +When he had heard Calypso's answer, Hermes took leave of her, and +returned to Olympus, and the nymph went down to the part of the shore +where she knew Odysseus was accustomed to sit. There he would remain +all day, gazing tearfully over the barren waste of waters, and wearing +out his soul with ceaseless lamentation. For he had long grown weary +of his soft slavery in Calypso's cave, and yearned with exceeding +great desire for the familiar hills of Ithaca, so rugged, but so dear. +And there Calypso found him now, sitting on a rock with dejected mien. +She sat down at his side, and said: "A truce to thy complaints, thou +man of woes! Thou hast thy wish; I will let thee go with all +good-will, and I will show thee how to build a broad raft, which +shall bear thee across the misty deep. I will victual her with corn +and wine, and clothe thee in new garments, and send a breeze behind +thee to waft thee safe. Thus am I commanded by the gods, whose +dwelling is in the wide heaven, and their will I do. Up now and fell +me yon tall trees for timber to make the raft." + +Odysseus was by nature a very shrewd and cautious man, and he feared +that Calypso was contriving some mischief against him, in revenge for +his coldness. He looked at her doubtfully, and answered: "I fear thee, +nymph, and I mistrust thy purpose. How shall a man cross this dreadful +gulf, where no ship is ever seen, on a raft? And though that were +possible, I will never leave thee against thy will. Swear to me now +that thou intendest me no harm." + +Calypso smiled at his suspicions, and patted him on the shoulder as +she answered: "Thou art a sad rogue, and very deep of wit, as anyone +may see by these words of thine. Now hear me swear: Witness, thou +earth, and the wide heaven above us, and the dark waterfall of Styx, +the greatest and most awful thing by which a god may swear, that I +intend no ill, but only good, to this man." + +Having sworn that oath Calypso rose, and bidding Odysseus follow led +the way to her cave. There she set meat before him, such as mortal men +eat, and wine to drink; but she herself was served by her handmaids +with immortal food, and nectar, the wine of the gods. When they had +supped, Calypso looked at Odysseus and said: "And wilt thou indeed +leave me, thou strange man? Am I not tall and fair, and worthy to be +called a daughter of heaven? And is thy Penelope so rare a dame, that +thou preferrest her to me! Ah! if thou knewest all the toils which +await thee before thou reachest thy home, and all the perils prepared +for thee there, thou wouldst renounce thy purpose, and dwell for ever +with me. Nevertheless go, if go thou must, and my blessing go with +thee." + +Her words were kind, but some anger lurked in her tone, which Odysseus +hastened to appease. "Fair goddess," he answered, "be not wroth with +me. I know that thou art more lovely far than my wife Penelope; for +thou art divine, and she is but a mortal woman. Nevertheless I long +day and night to see her face, and to sit beneath the shadow of my own +rooftree. And if I be stricken again by the hand of Heaven on the +purple sea, I will bear it, for I have a very patient heart. Long have +I toiled, and much have I suffered, amid waves and wars. If more +remains, I will endure that also." + +II + +At early dawn, when the eastern wave was just silvered by the dim +light, Calypso roused Odysseus, and equipped him for the task of the +day. First she gave him a weighty two-edged axe, well balanced on its +haft of olive-wood, and an adze, freshly ground; then she showed him +where the tall trees grew, and bade him fall to work with the axe. +Twenty great trees fell beneath his sturdy strokes, and he trimmed the +trunks with the axe, and stripped off the bark. Meanwhile Calypso had +brought him an augur, and he bored the timbers, and fitted them +together, and fastened them with bolts and cross-pieces. So the raft +grew under his hands, broad as the floor of a stout merchantship. And +he fenced her with bulwarks, piling up blocks of wood to steady them. +Last of all he made mast and sail and rigging; and when all was ready +he thrust the frail vessel with rollers and levers down to the sea. + +Four times the sun had risen and set before his labour was ended; and +on the fifth day Calypso brought him provisions for the voyage, a +great goatskin bottle full of water, and a smaller one of wine, and a +sack of corn, with other choice viands as a relish to his bread. + +A joyful man was Odysseus when he spread his sail, and took his place +at the helm, and waved a last farewell to his gentle friend. A fair +breeze wafted him swiftly from the shore, and ere long that lovely +island, at once his home and his prison for seven long years, became a +mere shadow in the distance. All night he sat sleepless, tiller in +hand, watching the pilot stars, the Pleiades, and Boötes, and the +Bear, named also the Wain, which turns on one spot, and watches Orion, +and never dips into the ocean stream. For the goddess Calypso had +bidden him keep that star on the left hand as he sailed the seas. Thus +he voyaged for seventeen days, and on the eighteenth he saw afar off, +dimly outlined, a range of hills, rising, like the back of a shield, +above the horizon's verge. + +Now Poseidon, his great enemy, had been absent for many days on a far +journey, and thus had taken no part in the council at Olympus when +Zeus had issued his order for the release of Odysseus. Just at this +time he was on his way back to Olympus, and caught sight of the bold +voyager steering towards the nearest land. "Ha! art thou there?" said +the implacable god, shaking his head; "and have the other powers +plotted against me in my absence, to frustrate my just anger? Thy +wanderings are well-nigh over, poor wretch! But thou shalt taste once +more of my vengeance, before thou reachest yonder shore." + +So saying the lord of ocean took his trident and stirred up the deep; +and the clouds came trooping at his call, covering the sky with a +black curtain. Soon a great tempest broke loose, blowing in violent +and fitful blasts from all the four quarters of heaven. Then pale fear +got hold of Odysseus, as he saw the great curling billows heaving +round his frail craft. "Woe is me!" he cried, "when shall my troubles +have an end? Surely the goddess spoke truth, when she foretold me that +I should perish amid the waves, and never see my home again. Here I +lie helpless, given over to destruction, the sport of all the winds of +heaven. Happy, thrice happy, were my comrades who fell fighting +bravely and found honourable burial in the soil of Troy! Would that I +had died on that great day when the battle raged fiercest over the +body of Pelides; then should I have found death with honour, but now I +am doomed to a miserable and dishonoured end." + +The words were hardly uttered when a huge toppling wave struck the +raft with tremendous force, carrying away mast and sail, and hurling +Odysseus into the sea. Deep down he sank, and the waters darkened over +his head, for he was encumbered by the weight of his clothes. At last +he rose to the surface, gasping, and spitting out the brine, and +though sore spent, he swam towards the raft, and hauled himself on +board. There he sat clinging to the dismasted and rudderless vessel, +which was tossed to and fro from wave to wave, as the winds of autumn +sport with the light thistledown and drive it hither and thither. + +But help was at hand. There was a certain ocean nymph, named Ino, +daughter of Cadmus, who had once been a mortal woman, but now was +numbered among the immortal powers. She saw and pitied Odysseus, and +boarding the raft addressed him in this wise: "Poor man, why is +Poseidon so wroth with thee that he maltreats thee thus? Yet shall he +not destroy thee, for all his malice. Only do as I bid thee, and thou +shalt get safely to land: take this veil, and when thou hast stripped +off thy garments, bind it across thy breast. Then leave the raft to +its fate, and swim manfully to land; and when thou art safe fling the +veil back into the sea, and go thy way." + +So saying the goddess sank beneath the waves, leaving Odysseus with +her veil in his hand. But that cautious veteran did not at once act on +her advice, for he feared that some treachery was intended against +him. He resolved therefore to remain on the raft as long as her +timbers held together, and only to have recourse to the veil in the +last extremity. + +He had just taken this prudent resolution, when another wave, more +huge than the last, thundered down on the raft, scattering her +timbers, as the wind scatters a heap of chaff. Odysseus clung fast to +one beam and, mounting it, sat astride as on a horse, until he had +stripped off his clothes. Then he bound the veil round him, flung +himself head foremost into the billows, and swam lustily towards land. + +The storm was now subsiding, and a steady breeze succeeded, blowing +from the north, which helped that much-tried hero in his struggle for +life. Yet for two days and two nights he battled with the waves, and +when day broke on the third day he found himself close under a +frowning wall of cliffs, at whose foot the sea was breaking with a +noise like thunder. Odysseus ceased swimming, and trod the water, +looking anxiously round for an opening in the cliffs where he might +land. While he hesitated, a great foaming wave came rushing landward, +threatening to sweep him against that rugged shore; but Odysseus saw +his danger in time, and succeeded in gaining a rocky mass which stood +above the surface just before him, and clutching it with hands and +knees, contrived to keep his hold until the huge billow was past. In +another moment he was caught by the recoil of the wave, and flung back +into the boiling surf, with fingers torn and bleeding. With desperate +exertions he fought his way out into the comparatively calm water, +outside the line of breakers, and swam parallel to the shore, until he +saw with delight a sheltered inlet, whence a river flowed into the +sea. Murmuring a prayer to the god of the river he steered for land, +and a few strokes brought him to a smooth sandy beach, where he lay +for a long time without sense or motion. All his flesh was swollen by +his long immersion in the water, the skin was stripped from his hands, +and when his breath came back to him he felt as weak as a child. Then +a deadly nausea came over him, and the water which he had swallowed +gushed up through his mouth and nostrils. Somewhat relieved by this, +he rose to his feet, and tottering to the river's brink loosed the +veil from his waist, and dropped it into the flowing water. For he +remembered the request of Ino, to whom he owed his life. + +He had indeed escaped the sea; but his position seemed almost +hopeless. There he lay, naked, and more dead than alive, without food +or shelter, in a strange land, without a sign of human habitation in +view. Crawling painfully to a bed of rushes he lay down and considered +what was best for him to do. He could not remain where he was, for it +was an exposed place, with no protection from the dew, and open to the +chill breeze from the river, which blows at early dawn. A few hours of +such a vigil would certainly kill him in his exhausted state. If, on +the other hand, he sought the shelter of the woods, he feared that he +would fall a prey to some prowling beast. + +At last he determined to face the less certain peril, and made his way +into a thicket not far from the river side. Searching for a place +where he might lie he soon came upon two dense bushes of olive, whose +leaves and branches were so closely interwoven that they formed a sort +of natural arbour, impenetrable by sun, or rain, or wind. "In good +time!" murmured Odysseus, as he crept beneath that green roof, and +scooped out a deep bed for himself in the fallen leaves. There he lay +down, and piled the leaves high over him. And as a careful housewife +in some remote farmhouse, where there are no neighbours near, covers +up a burning brand among the ashes, so that it may last all night, and +preserve the seed of fire; so lay Odysseus, nursing the spark of life, +in his deep bed of leaves. And soon he forgot all his troubles in a +deep and dreamless sleep. + + + + +Odysseus among the Phæacians + + +I + +The land on which Odysseus had thus been cast like a piece of broken +wreckage was called Phæacia, and derived its name from the Phæacians, +a race of famous mariners, who had settled there some fifty years +before, having been driven from their former seat by the Cyclopes, a +savage tribe, who dwelt on their borders. The Phæacians were an +unwarlike people, and being in no condition to resist the fierce +assaults of these lawless neighbours, they abandoned their homes and +built a new city on a little peninsula, connected with the mainland by +a narrow isthmus. Defended by strong walls they were now safe against +all attacks, and they soon grew rich and prosperous in the exercise of +a thriving trade. + +At this time the king of the Phæacians was Alcinous, who had a fair +daughter, named Nausicaä. On the night when Odysseus lay couched in +his bed of leaves Nausicaä was sleeping in her bower, and with her +were two handmaids, whose beds were set on either side of the door. +And in a dream she seemed to hear one of her girlish friends, the +daughter of a neighbouring house, speaking to her thus: "Nausicaä, why +art thou grown so careless as to suffer all the raiment in thy +father's house to remain unwashen, when thy bridal day is so near? +Wouldst thou be wedded in soiled attire, and have all thy friends clad +unseemly, to put thee to shame? These are a woman's cares, by which +she wins a good report among men, and gladdens her mother's heart. +Arise, therefore, at break of day, and beg thy father to let harness +the mules to the wain, that thou mayest take the linen to the place of +washing, far away by the river's side. I will go with thee, and help +thee in the work." + +So dreamed Nausicaä, and so spake the vision. But the voice which +seemed the voice of her friend came from no mortal lips; it was Athene +herself who had visited the maiden's bower, in her care for Odysseus, +that he might get safe conduct to the city of the Phæacians. And when +she had done her errand the goddess went back to Olympus, where is the +steadfast, everlasting seat of the blessed gods, not shaken of any +wind, nor wet with rain, nor chilled by snow, but steeped for ever in +cloudless, sunny air. There the gods abide for ever and take their +delight. + +Nausicaä rose betimes, with her mind full of the dream, and went down +to the hall, where she found her mother sitting by the hearth with her +women, spinning the bright sea-purple thread. Inquiring for her father +she learnt that he had but that moment gone forth to attend the +council of elders, and hastening after him she found him before the +doors of the house. + +"Father," she said, "may I have the waggon to take the household +raiment to the place of washing? Thou thyself hast ever need of clean +garments when thou goest to the council, and my brothers will reproach +me if they lack clean raiment when they go to the dance." + +Thus spake the maiden, being ashamed to make mention of her own +marriage. But Alcinous knew, and smiled to himself, as he ordered his +thralls to prepare the waggon. So when they had harnessed the mules, +Nausicaä and her handmaids brought the soiled garments, and bestowed +them behind the seat. And her mother brought a basket with food for +the midday meal and oil for her daughter and the other maidens when +they took their bath. Then they took their seats, Nausicaä grasped the +reins, and they went off at a sharp trot towards the riverside. + +After a pleasant drive, they came to the place where stood a row of +cisterns on the river's bank. There they unharnessed the mules, and +left them to crop the sweet clover in the water-meadows. Then they +unloaded the waggon, threw the garments into washing-troughs, and trod +them with their feet until they were thoroughly cleansed, and having +wrung them out, they spread them on the white pebbly beach to dry. +While the garments were bleaching in the wholesome sun and air, they +took their bath, and afterwards sat down to the midday meal. When that +was ended, they threw off their veils, and stood up to play at ball. + +It was a pretty and graceful sight; they were all comely maidens, +glowing with youth and health. Their sport was accompanied by dance +and song, and as they chased the flying ball, keeping time with hand +and foot and voice, they seemed like a choir of mountain nymphs, led +by Artemis, when she goes forth to the chase, in the wild valleys of +Arcady or Lacedæmon. Tallest and fairest of them all was Nausicaä, who +led the sport, moving like a queen among her vassals. + +Presently they grew tired of their sport, and Nausicaä flung the ball +for the last time to one of her handmaids. The girl missed the ball, +and it fell into the middle of the river, whereupon the whole company +set up a sharp cry. The sound came to the ears of Odysseus, and woke +him from his long slumber. He sat up in his bed of leaves and communed +with himself: "Behold I hear the shrill cry of women, or perhaps of +the nymphs who haunt this wild place. Now may I learn of what sort are +the natives of this land, whether they be fierce and inhospitable, or +gentle and kind to strangers." Plucking a leafy bough, and holding it +before him to cover himself, he stepped forth from the thicket, and +came in sight of that gentle company. Grim and dreadful he looked, +like a hungry lion, buffeted by rain and wind, who goes forth in a +tempest to seek his prey; for he was haggard with long fasting, and +sore disfigured by his battle with the sea; his eyes glared with +famine, and his hair and beard hung ragged and unkempt about his face. +At this fearful apparition the maidens fled shrieking along the river +bank, all but Nausicaä, who stood her ground, and gazed fearlessly, +though in wonder, while Odysseus came slowly forward. When he was +still some way off he stopped, fearing to offend her delicacy if he +came nearer. Then with a gesture of entreaty he began to speak, and +Nausicaä knew at once that it was no common man who stood before her. + +"Have pity on me, O queen!" he began, in soft and insinuating tones. +"Art thou a goddess, or a mortal woman? If thou art a goddess, thou +seemest to me most like to Artemis, daughter of great Zeus, both in +face, and in stature, and in form. But if thou art mortal, then thrice +blessed are thy father and mother, and thrice blessed thy brethren, +and their spirits are refreshed because of thee, when thou goest, a +very rose of beauty, to the dance. Happy the man who wins thee for his +bride! Never yet have I seen the like of thee among all the children +of men. Only once have I beheld aught to compare unto thee, a young +palm-tree which I saw growing tall and straight by the altar of Apollo +at Delos. I saw it, and was amazed, for it was wondrous fair; and even +so is my soul filled with wonder and dread when I look upon thy face, +so that I am afraid to draw near unto thee, though sore is my need. +Yesterday I was flung naked on thy coast, after a voyage of twenty +days. Many things have I suffered, and more, I ween, remains for me in +store; for I am a man of many woes. Have compassion on me, dread lady! +I am thy suppliant, and to thee first I address my prayer. Show me the +way to the city, and give me a cloth to wrap round me, that I may go +among the people without shame. And may the gods give thee all, +whatsoever thy heart desireth, a husband and a home, and happy wedded +love, shedding warmth in thine house, and a strong defence against all +ills from without, but above all a sacred treasure in thy husband's +heart, and in thine." + +"Whatever be thy misfortunes," answered Nausicaä, "I am sure they are +not the fruit of thine own folly or wickedness. And since thou art +come as a suppliant to this land of ours, thou shalt want nothing, +whether it be raiment, or aught else that befits thy state. I will +show thee our city, and tell thee the name of the people. Know that +thou hast come to the country of the Phæacians, whose ruler and king +is Alcinous, and I am his daughter." + +Then she called to her handmaids, who were looking on, half +frightened, half curious, from behind rocks and trees, a long way off, +ready to resume their flight at the slightest alarm: "Come hither, and +fear not the man; neither he nor any other shall ever come to this +land with thoughts of harm; for we are very dear to the immortal gods. +Far away we dwell amidst the rolling seas, remote from the haunts of +men. But this is some hapless wanderer, driven by chance to our +shores, and we must cherish him, for from Zeus come all strangers and +beggars, and a little gift is a great thing to them. Take the stranger +to a sheltered place, where he may wash and dress him, and give him +wherewithal to clothe himself, and after that, meat and drink." + +When they heard the words of their mistress the girls came stealing +timidly back, one by one. And they gave Odysseus clean raiment, and +when he had washed and clothed himself, he came back to the place +where Nausicaä was waiting. Wonderful was the change which had been +made in his appearance by the refreshing bath and fitting apparel. +Instead of the squalid, battered wretch who had begged for countenance +and shelter, Nausicaä saw before her a stalwart, stately man, +broad-shouldered, and deep of chest, with dark clustering hair and +beard, like the curling hyacinth, and an air of majesty and command. + +"Hear me, friends," whispered Nausicaä, as she saw him coming, +"methinks some god hath wrought a miracle on this man, who but now was +so hideous to behold. Would that we might prevail with him to make his +abode among us! She would be a proud maiden who should wed with such +as him. Now give the stranger food and drink." And they did so, and +Odysseus ate and drank with keen appetite, having tasted nothing for +many days. While he was eating, the maidens folded the garments and +placed them in the waggon, and when he had finished, Nausicaä mounted +the waggon, and bidding him and the handmaids follow on foot started +the mules and drove slowly towards the city. When they reached the +cultivated lands outside the walls she drew up, and addressed Odysseus +thus: "Stranger, I may not go with thee further, for I fear the +envious tongues of the citizens, who will point the finger at us and +say: 'See what a tall and handsome stranger Nausicaä hath brought with +her!--some seafaring man whom she hath brought with her to be her +husband, since she despises the men of her own nation.' And this will +be a reproach unto me. Therefore wait thou awhile, and do as I bid +thee. Not far from here is a temple and grove of Athene, a fair +coppice of poplar-trees, and a spring of clear water. Go thou thither, +and wait until we have time to reach my father's house, then rise and +go into the city and inquire for the dwelling of Alcinous. A little +child could show thee the way, for there is none like it in all the +city." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Nausicaä] + +So saying, Nausicaä drove on, leaving Odysseus where he was. He soon +found the temple, and going in knelt down and prayed to the goddess to +continue her favour. When he thought that Nausicaä had had time to +reach home, he rose and went into the city. The road lay along a +narrow causeway, which connected the city with the mainland, and on +either side was a sheltered haven, with ships drawn up on the beach. +Passing through the gates he came next to the place of assembly, in +front of a temple of Poseidon, with a circle of massive stones bedded +deeply in the earth. Wherever he looked he saw signs of a busy +seafaring people--masts, and oars, and great coils of rope--and his +ears were filled with the sound of saw and hammer from the +shipwrights' yards. + +II + +As he stood thus gazing about him, he saw a young maiden coming +towards him, carrying a pitcher. He inquired of her the way to the +house of Alcinous, and she bade him follow her, as she was going that +way. "My father's house," she said, "is close to the house which thou +seekest. But thou art a stranger, I perceive, and not of this land; +walk therefore warily, and regard no man, for the Phæacians love not +the face of the stranger, nor are they given to hospitality. Their +home is the deep, and their ships are as swift as a bird--swift as a +thought--for they are the favourites of Poseidon." + +So saying, the maiden led the way swiftly, and Odysseus followed, +keeping close behind. He remarked with wonder that though the streets +were full of people, so that they had to walk carefully, and thread +their way through the crowd, none seemed to notice him or his +companion, or gave any sign of being conscious of their presence. The +truth was that the supposed maiden was none other than his patron +goddess Athene, who so ordered it that he was invisible to all eyes +but hers. + +As they went, his companion entertained him with an account of the +family history of the Phæacian king, Alcinous, whose father, +Nausithous, was the son of Poseidon. Alcinous married Arete, who was +related to him by blood, and was honoured exceedingly by her husband +and by all the Phæacians. "She is the idol of her household," +continued the maiden, "and all eyes follow her with love and reverence +when she goes through the town. So high is her character that even men +consult her in their differences, and defer to her judgment. If thou +canst enlist her on thy side, thou wilt soon obtain the safe conduct +which thou desirest, and reach thy home in safety and honour." + +They had now reached a large enclosed piece of land, surrounded by a +tall fence, above which appeared the boughs of goodly trees, laden +with their burden of fruit. "Here is the garden of Alcinous," +whispered the maiden, "and yonder is the gate. Enter boldly in, and +seek out the queen, who is now sitting at meat with her husband's +guests. Make thy petition to her, for if her heart incline unto thee +all will be well." + +With that word she vanished from his sight, and left him standing at +the gates of Alcinous. Wondering greatly he entered the garden, and +gazed about him. So fair a sight had never met his eyes. Fruit-trees +without number stood ranged in ordered rows, pear-trees, and +pomegranates, and rosy apples, the luscious fig, and olives in their +bloom. Their fruit never failed, summer or winter, all the year round. +There blows the warm west wind without ceasing, nursing the tender +blossom, and mellowing the swelling fruit. He saw pears and figs +hanging on the trees in every stage of growth. Another part of the +enclosure was set apart for the cultivation of the vine; and here also +the same wonder was to be seen, springtime and summer dancing +hand-in-hand, and yellow autumn treading close in their footsteps. +Side by side hung the ripe, purple cluster, the crude grape just +turning from green to red, and tiny green bunches lately formed from +the blossom. There the labour of the vintagers never ceased, and the +winepress overflowed without end. + +Between the rows of fruit-trees were garden-beds, in which grew all +manner of flowers and useful herbs; and the whole was watered by a +perennial stream, divided into channels which brought the water to +every part of the garden. + +Turning with a sigh from that paradise of colour and perfume, Odysseus +passed on to the house, and stood for a while, scanning that stately +structure. His eyes were almost blinded by the light which flashed +from the outer walls, which were built of solid brass, with a coping +of blue steel. The doors were of gold, with silver lintel and +doorposts, and brazen threshold. Then he entered the hall, still +unseen of all eyes; and here new wonders awaited him. Within the +doorway on either side sat dogs wrought in silver and gold, living +creatures, that know neither age nor death, which Hephæstus, the +divine artificer, made, in the wisdom of his heart, to guard the house +of the prince Alcinous day and night. At intervals stood figures of +youths fashioned in gold, with torches in their hands, which at +night-time shed a blaze of light throughout the hall. And all round +the walls were set rows of seats, covered with richly woven cloths, +the work of women's hands. There sat the noble chieftains of Phæacia, +feasting on the bounty of their king. + +Far within, visible through a wide-opened door, was seen another +chamber, where a troop of domestics were busy at their tasks. Some +were grinding the yellow grain in hand-mills, others were walking to +and fro at the loom, and others sat plying distaff and spindle, +nodding their heads like poplars waving in the wind. Very choice was +the fabric woven in that chamber, for the women of Phæacia were famed +beyond all others for their skill in weaving, even as the men +surpassed all the world in seamanship. + +Such were the glories of the house of Alcinous, and when Odysseus had +gazed his fill he began to think of the purpose for which he had come. +The feasters were just pouring a libation to Hermes, to be followed by +a parting cup, before they went home. At that very moment their eyes +were opened, and they saw Odysseus kneeling at the feet of Arete, and +heard him utter these words: + +"Great queen, daughter of a race divine, behold me, a toil-worn +wanderer, who hath come hither to implore thy grace. Intercede for me, +I pray thee, with thy husband, that he may send me speedily to my +native land: and may it be well with thee, and with all this fair +company, and with the children who come after thee." + +Thereupon he sat down by the hearth in the ashes near the fire; and +for awhile not a word was spoken, but all sat gazing at him in wonder. +At last an aged Phæacian broke the silence, and said, looking at +Alcinous: "My prince, it becomes thee not to suffer this stranger to +sit on the ground in the ashes. Behold, we are all waiting for thee to +speak and declare thy will. Give this poor man thy hand, and set him +on a seat, that he may know that his prayer is granted. And let them +give him to eat, and fill a bowl for a libation to Zeus, in whose care +are all suppliants." + +Alcinous rose in response to the words of the elder, who was famed +among the Phæacians for his eloquence and wisdom, and taking Odysseus +by the hand raised him from his abject posture, and seated him by his +side. Food and drink were placed before him, and while he was eating, +Alcinous ordered a bowl to be filled for a libation to Zeus, the god +of hospitality. The wine was served out to the guests, the libations +were poured, and then Alcinous began to speak again, unfolding his +purpose towards Odysseus. + +"Here me, ye princes of Phæacia. Go ye now to your rest, and to-morrow +we will call an assembly of all the elders, and make a great feast and +sacrifice, and after that we will take counsel how we may best send +the stranger on his way. Safe and sound we will bring him to his +native land, but after that he must take up his portion, according as +the Fates have ordained for him, and spun the thread of his life, +rough or smooth, from the hour when his mother bare him. I speak as +supposing our guest to be a man; but if he be a god, come down from +heaven, then I fear that the gods are devising some snare against us. +For never has it been their wont to appear among us in disguise, but +at sacrifice and at feast they freely consort with us in their own +shape, seeing that we are of their own kin." + +"Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "let not this fear trouble thee. I am +no god, as thou mayest see right well. If ye know any man conspicuous +for the burden of sorrow which he bears, ye may learn my lot from his. +But none, methinks, can equal the sum of what I have endured by the +ordinance of heaven. Care sits by my side day and night, but within me +is a monitor whose voice I must obey, even my hungry belly, that calls +aloud to be filled, and will not let me alone to chew the cud of +bitter thought. Shameless he is, and clamorous exceedingly. Therefore +let me sup and question me no further to-night; but rouse thee betimes +to-morrow, and send me with all speed to my native land. Let me once +see my possessions, and my household, and my stately home, and then I +will close mine eyes in peace." + +A murmur of approval went round the hall as Odysseus ended his speech. +One by one the guests took leave of Alcinous, and he and his hosts sat +awhile conversing together, while the servants were removing the +remnants of the feast, and setting the house in order for the night. +Arete was the first to speak, for she recognised the garments which +Odysseus was wearing as the work of her own hands. "Friend," said she, +"let me ask thee one question. How camest thou by this raiment? For +surely thou hast not brought it with thee in thy voyage across the +deep. Say who thou art and whence thou comest." + +Thus challenged Odysseus told her all the story of his shipwreck on +the island of Calypso, of his long sojourn there, of his voyage on the +raft, his second shipwreck, and his landing on the coast of Phæacia. +Concluding he touched feelingly on his meeting with Nausicaä, and the +kindness, courtesy, and modesty of her behaviour. "Never saw I such +grace and prudence," he added, "in one so young and so lovely." + +"Yet in this she did not well," replied Alcinous, "that she brought +thee not straightway to this house, but suffered thee to find thy way +alone." + +"Nay, blame her not," answered Odysseus, "she bade me come hither with +herself and the maidens, but I feared to offend thee, and chose to +come alone." + +"Think not that I am so hasty, or given to causeless anger," said +Alcinous; "excess in all things is evil."[1] Then he looked earnestly +at Odysseus, and continued, after a pause: "I would to heaven that thy +thoughts were as mine; then wouldst thou abide for ever in this land, +and take my daughter to wife, and I would give thee house and lands. +But I see that thou art steadfastly purposed to leave us; and none +shall detain thee against thy will. To-morrow thou shalt go. I will +appoint a ship and a crew, and they shall bear thee sleeping to thine +own land, yea though it be more distant than far Euboea, which lies, +as I am told, in the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet the Phæacians +went thither in their ships, and returned on the same day. They have +no equals, as thou shalt soon learn, in seamanship, and no ships in +all the world are like mine." + +[Footnote 1: _Nothing too much_, the corner-stone of Greek morality.] + +After some further talk they parted for the night, and Odysseus, after +all his hardships, was right glad to lay him down in the soft bed +prepared for him in the gallery before the house. But before he closed +his eyes he muttered a prayer to Zeus that Alcinous might abide by his +promise, and send him safely home. + +III + +Next day was appointed for a great feast in the palace of Alcinous, to +which all the chief men of Phæacia were invited, and when Odysseus +returned to the house, after some hours spent in a visit to the town, +hefound the courts and galleries thronged with a great company. The +preparations for the banquet were on a heroic scale: twelve sheep, +eight fat swine, and two oxen, the choicest of the herd, were +slaughtered, and a goodly row of casks, filled with the finest +vintages, gave further token that Alcinous was no niggardly host. + +"Come," said Alcinous, meeting Odysseus at the gate. "The guests are +seated, and all is ready. Trouble not thyself as to the manner of thy +home-coming; that is cared for already, and the ship lies at her +moorings. But to-day is a day of good cheer, when thou shalt learn how +gay and joyous a life the Phæacians live." + +As he spoke, they entered the banquet hall, and Odysseus sat down by +the side of Alcinous. Rich and dainty was the fare, and many times the +great wine-bowls were filled and emptied; for the Phæacians were a +luxurious race, much given to the pleasures of the table. Among the +guests Odysseus was especially struck by one venerable figure, who sat +by himself against a pillar, on which hung a harp within reach of his +hands. Odysseus noticed that he ate slowly and deliberately, and +seemed to feel for the cup when he wished to drink, "It is Demodocus, +the blind harper," whispered Alcinous. "We shall presently have a +taste of his quality. He is a rare minstrel." + +Accordingly, when the last course was removed, the harp was placed in +the singer's hands, and after striking a deep chord he began to sing, +choosing for his theme a famous tale of Troy, which told how Achilles +and Odysseus quarrelled at a banquet, and reviled each other with +bitter words, and how Agamemnon rejoiced in spirit because of the +strife; for he had heard an oracle from Apollo, foretelling that when +the noblest of the Greeks fell out Troy's end would be near at hand. + +Odysseus listened, and a flood of emotion filled his mind, so sad were +the memories recalled by the minstrel's lay. Of all his gallant peers, +for ten years his companions in many a joyful feast, and many a high +adventure, how many were left? And he, among the last of the +survivors, was now growing old, after twenty years of war and +wandering, far from his wife and home. He was now, indeed, on the eve +of his return; but at what a price had it been won! And who could tell +what heavy trials awaited him when once more he set foot on his native +soil? Was it not but too probable that he would find his house made +desolate, Telemachus dead, and Penelope wedded to another? + +Overpowered by these gloomy forebodings, he covered his face, and wept +aloud. When Demodocus paused in his singing he wiped away his tears, +and poured a drink-offering from his cup; but every time the minstrel +resumed his lay a new fit of weeping succeeded. At last, Alcinous, who +had hitherto been totally absorbed in that rare minstrelsy, observed +his guest's emotion, and partly divining the cause came to his relief. +"How say ye, fair sirs?" he said, rising and addressing the company. +"Shall we go forth for awhile, and show the stranger that we have +other and manlier pastimes, now that we have eaten and drunken, and +cheered our souls with song? Let him not say of us when he goes home +that we sit all day by the wine-cup, but let him learn that the +Phæacians surpass all mankind in boxing, and in wrestling, and in +leaping, and in the speed of their feet." + +So saying he rose from his seat and led the way to the place of +assembly. Crowds soon flocked to see the friendly trial of strength +and skill. The first event was the foot race, and this was followed by +matches of wrestling, boxing, leaping, and throwing the weight. +Odysseus stood watching the Phæacians at their sports, and thinking of +the mighty feats which he had witnessed and shared at the funeral +games of Patroclus. Presently he felt a hand on his shoulder, and +heard himself challenged by a young Phæacian, whose name was Euryalus, +in these terms: "Why so gloomy, father? Away with care! All is ready +for thy departure, and thou shalt soon be home again. But come, give +us a proof of thy manhood, if thou knowest aught of games of skill. +Thou seemest a stout fellow, and I doubt not that thou wilt acquit +thee well." + +"Friend," answered Odysseus, "mock me not. Thou seest how broken I am, +and worn by my long battle with the sea; and care sits heavy on my +heart, forbidding me to think of the things which thou namest." + +"Nay," said Euryalus, with a scornful laugh, "I see that I was +mistaken in thee. Thou art plainly no athlete, but some cunning +merchant, with thy head full of thy cargo, and fingers only skilled in +counting thy gains." + +Then Odysseus bent his brows, and answered with a stern look: "Friend, +thou art over-saucy of thy tongue. But so it ever is; the gods +dispense their gifts with sparing hand, and give not all excellence to +the same man. One man is mean of aspect, but heaven's grace descends +upon his lips, so that men look upon him with delight while he +discourses smoothly with a winning modesty. He is the observed of all +observers, and when he walks through the town all eyes follow him as +if he were a god. Another again is glorious, like a very god, in the +splendour of his face and form, but no grace attends upon his speech. +Even so thou art conspicuous for thy beauty, as though the hand of a +god had fashioned thee, but in understanding thou art naught. Thou +hast stung me by thy unseemly words; I am not ignorant of manly +sports, as thou sayest, but I tell thee that I was among the foremost +as long as I trusted in my youth and in the might of my hands. But now +I am sore spent with woe and pain, for many things have I suffered in +battles by land, and buffeting with the sea. Nevertheless, broken as I +am, I will give proof of my strength, for thou hast provoked me +bitterly by thy wanton words." + +Thereupon, without waiting to throw off his cloak, he sprang into the +arena, and caught up a massy disc of iron, far heavier than those with +which the Phæacians had been throwing. Poising it lightly, with one +hand he flung it, as one who flings a ball. The Phæacians sank back in +dismay as they saw the huge mass flying high over their heads, and +when it fell all rushed to the spot to mark the distance. There it +lay, far beyond the longest cast of the native athletes, and Odysseus +pointed to it, and said: "Reach that mark, my young masters, if ye +can! And if any among you have a mind to try a match with me in boxing +or in wrestling, or in the foot race, they shall have their will; only +with the sons of Alcinous I will not strive, for he is my host, and it +were not fitting or prudent to challenge them. Whatever a man can do +with his hands I can do: I can send an arrow sure and strong, and +strike down my foe, and herein can no archer surpass me, save one +only, Philoctetes, who bare the bow of Hercules; and I can fling a +javelin farther than another man can shoot an arrow. Only in speed of +foot I fear that some of you may surpass me; for my knees are yet weak +from long fasting and fighting with the waves." + +Not one of the Phæacians took up the challenge, but all sat mute, +gazing in wonder and awe at this strange man, who had just given such +signal proof of the power of his arm. At last Alcinous answered and +said: "Stranger, none here can take thy words amiss, for, as thou +sayest, thou hast been bitterly provoked. But hear me now in turn, and +push not thy quarrel further, but rest satisfied with the proof of thy +prowess which thou hast given. I will speak to thee frankly, that thou +mayest know what manner of men the Phæacians are. We are not mighty +men of valour, like thee, yet we too have our own peculiar excellence. +We are good runners, and none can approach us in all that belongs to +the mariner's art. But at home we live softly, loving the banquet, and +music and dancing, clean raiment, warm baths, and long repose." Then +turning to his attendants he added: "Go, some of you, and bring hither +the harper Demodocus, and clear a space for the dancers, that our +guest may see something of the native sports of Phæacia." + +Then those whose business it was chose a fair level space for the +dance, and when Demodocus arrived he took his harp and struck up a +lively measure. A fair troop of boys stood in a circle around him, and +the dance began. Alcinous had not overrated the skill of his people in +this graceful pastime, and Odysseus was filled with wonder as he +watched the intricate yet ordered movements of the youthful troop. + +When the dance was ended, Demodocus sang a soft lay of love, and after +that the two most skilful dancers, one of whom was Laodamas, a son of +Alcinous, stood up to dance a reel together. One of them held a +crimson ball, and, keeping time to the music flung it high into the +air; while the other leaped high from the ground, and caught the ball +as it fell. Then they flung the ball with lightning rapidity from hand +to hand, so that it seemed a mere streak of crimson shooting backward +and forward; and all the time the dance went gaily on, while the whole +company of the Phæacians kept up a merry din, beating time to the +music with their feet. + +"Of a truth," said Odysseus, addressing Alcinous, "thou hast not +boasted for naught; never saw I such dancing in all my long travels." +A proud man was Alcinous to hear such praise from such a man, and he +was not slow to testify his gratitude. "Hear me," he said, "ye princes +of Phæacia! Methinks our guest is a man of exceeding shrewd wit. Let +us bestow on him a parting gift, that he may remember us, and rejoice +in spirit when he thinks of his sojourn in Phæacia. Thirteen there +are, of whom I am one, who sit in high places, and are notable men in +the land; let each of us give him a change of raiment and a talent of +gold. And Euryalus shall crave pardon of him for his ill-chosen words, +and appease him with a gift." + +The generous proposal was well received, and each of the twelve nobles +sent his body-servant to fetch the gifts. Euryalus also was prompt to +make his peace with Odysseus. He presented him with a fine sword of +tempered bronze, with silver hilt, and scabbard of ivory. "Behold my +peace-offering," he said, "and take my goodwill with the gift. Forget +my foolish words, and think of me kindly when thou art safe among +thine own people." + +Odysseus acknowledged the courtesy of Euryalus in becoming terms, and +then the whole company rose and went back to the palace of Alcinous, +where they found the gifts for Odysseus all set in order against his +departure. Then Alcinous brought a golden goblet, beautifully +fashioned, and richly chased, and bade Arete bring a coffer to hold +the gifts. The coffer was displayed, and was in itself a gift of no +mean value, being a choice piece of work. + +"Now bid thy handmaids prepare a bath for our guest," said Alcinous to +his wife, and "Receive this as a memorial of me," he added, placing +the goblet in Odysseus' hands, "that thou mayest remember me all the +days of thy life, when thou pourest libations to Zeus and the other +deathless gods." + +Arete gave the order as required, and while the bath was preparing she +arranged all the gifts in the coffer. Then closing the lid she said to +Odysseus: "Make all fast with thine own hands, that none may meddle +with thy goods as thou liest asleep on thy passage across the sea." +Odysseus made fast the cord, securing it with an intricate and cunning +knot, which he had learnt from the great sorceress Circe; and when he +had finished he was summoned by the eldest of the handmaids to the +bath. When he had bathed and put on fresh raiment he came back to the +dining-hall; and as he entered he saw Nausicaä leaning against a +pillar. Sweet was the maiden's face, and kind her eyes, as she gazed +with innocent admiration on the stately figure of her father's guest. +"Farewell, my friend," said she, "and when thou arrivest home think +sometimes of her to whom thou owest thy life." + +"Fair daughter of Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "if that day ever +comes--if I ever see my home again, by favour of Zeus, the lord of +Hera--be assured that I shall remember thee in my prayers, as long as +this life which thou hast given me shall last." And so he parted from +the maiden, and she went back to her mother's bower. + +Odysseus again received a place of honour by the side of Alcinous, and +a goodly portion of meat was set before him. Looking round the circle +of guests he saw Demodocus, the blind harper, sitting in their midst, +and wishing to show him honour, he cut off a choice piece from the +flesh which had been set before him, and bade a servant carry it to +the bard, and greet him in the giver's name. The servant did as he was +bidden, and Demodocus received the portion of honour with becoming +gratitude. + +When the banquet was drawing towards its close Odysseus approached the +minstrel, and after praising his former lay, which told of the +disastrous homeward voyage of the Greeks, he begged him to sing the +Lay of the Wooden Horse, the device by which Troy was taken. Demodocus +complied, and taking his harp began to chant that famous lay, which +told how the Greeks burnt their tents and sailed away, leaving the +wooden monster behind them, how the Trojans dragged the horse into the +city, and how the fatal engine sent forth its burden of armed men in +the night. The name of Odysseus, the arch-plotter, occurred again and +again as the tale went on; and once more Odysseus was moved to tears +by the memories which the words of the bard awakened. + +Alcinous observed his emotion, and called to Demodocus to cease his +song. "We vex our guest," he said, "for whose sake we are gathered +here. Doubtless the minstrel has touched some hidden spring of sorrow. +But come now," he continued, addressing Odysseus, "we have honoured +thee exceedingly, and given thee of our best. Wilt thou not repay us +by telling something of thyself? Let us hear thy name, and say of what +land and of what city thou art, that our ships may know whither to +steer their course. For know that we mariners of Phæacia need no +pilots nor rudders, but our ships by their own instinct take us to +whatsoever place we would visit, gliding like phantoms, invisible, +swift as thought. Nor has any vessel from our ports ever suffered +shipwreck or harm. + +"Thou likewise hast been a great traveller, and seen many lands and +nations, both such as are wild and fierce and such as are gentle and +of godly mind. Tell us then the tale of thy wanderings, and say why +thou weepest ever at the name of Troy." + +All the guests bent forward with eager faces, and strained their ears +to catch Odysseus' answer; for there was something mysterious about +this strange guest, something which marked him as a man of no common +stamp, and their curiosity, which had hitherto been held in check by +the laws of courtesy, was now set free from all restraint by the frank +question of Alcinous. + +"Illustrious prince," answered Odysseus, after a moment's pause, +"methinks it were best to sit silent and listen to the sweet voice of +the harper; for what better thing has life to offer than a full cup +and brave minstrelsy heard at the quiet hour of eventide? But if thou +must needs hear a tale of sorrow it is not for me to deny thee. First +of all I will tell thee my name. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, and my +name is in all men's mouths because of my deep wit and manifold wiles, +yea, the renown thereof reaches even unto heaven. My home is the sunny +isle of Ithaca, last in a line of islands lying in the western sea. It +is a rugged land, but a nurse of gallant sons; and sweet, ah! very +sweet, is the name of home. Never hath my heart been turned from that +dear spot, no, not by all the loveliness of Calypso, nor by all the +witchery of Circe, but ever I remained faithful to the one lodestar of +my life." + +Here Odysseus began the wondrous story of his wanderings, which kept +his hearers spellbound until far into the night. + + + + +The Wanderings of Odysseus + + +I + +After leaving Troy, Odysseus first sailed to the coast of Thrace, and +collected a rich booty in a sudden raid on the district. But while his +men lingered to enjoy the first-fruits of their spoil, the wild tribes +of the neighbourhood rallied their forces, and falling upon the +invaders, while they were engaged in a drunken revel, drove them with +great slaughter to their ships. No sooner had they put to sea than a +wild tempest came down upon them from the north, and drove them to +seek shelter again on the mainland, where they lay for two days and +nights in constant dread of another attack from the injured Thracians. +On the third day they set sail again and got as far as Malea, the +southernmost headland of Greece. Here they were again driven from +their course, and after nine days' tossing on the waves they reached +the land of the Lotus-Eaters. + +When his men had refreshed themselves, Odysseus sent three of their +number to explore the country and learn the manners of the +inhabitants. Presently these three came to the dwellings of the +Lotus-Eaters, who received them kindly and gave them to eat of the +lotus-plant. With the first taste of that magic food the men forgot +the purpose for which they had been sent, forgot their friends and +their home, and had no desire left in life but to remain there all +their days and feast with the Lotus-Eaters. In this state they were +found by Odysseus, who compelled them by force, though they wept and +complained bitterly, to return to their ships. There he bound them +fast under the benches, and bade the rest take to their oars and fly +from that seductive clime, lest others should fall under the same +fatal spell. + +II + +Thence they came to the land of the Cyclopes, a rude and monstrous +tribe, but favoured of the immortal gods, by whose bounty they live. +They toil not, neither do they sow, nor till the ground, but the earth +of herself brings forth for them a bountiful living, wheat and barley, +and huge swelling clusters of the grape. Naught know they of law or +civil life, but each lives in his cave on the wild mountain-side, +dwelling apart, careless of his neighbours, with his wife and +children. + +It was a dark, cloudy night, and a thick mist overspread the sea, when +suddenly Odysseus heard the booming of breakers on a rocky shore. +Before an order could be given, or any measure taken for the safety of +the ships, the little fleet was caught by a strong landward current, +and whirled pell-mell through a narrow passage between the cliffs into +a land-locked harbour. Drawing their breath with relief at their +wonderful escape, they beached their vessels on the level sand and lay +down to wait for the day. + +In the morning they found that they had been driven to the landward +shore of a long island, which formed a natural breakwater to a +spacious bay, with a narrow entrance at either end. The island was +thickly covered with woods, giving shelter to a multitude of wild +goats, its only inhabitants. For the Cyclopes have no ships, so that +the goats were left in undisturbed possession, though the place was +well suited for human habitation, with a deep, rich soil, and +plentiful springs of water. + +The first care of Odysseus was to supply the crews of his vessels, +which were twelve in number, with fresh meat. Armed with bows and +spears, he and a picked body of men scoured the woods in search of +game. They soon obtained a plentiful booty, and nine goats were +assigned to each vessel, with ten for that of Odysseus. So all that +day till the setting of the sun they sat and feasted on fat venison +and drank of the wine which they had taken in their raid on the +Thracians. + +Early next morning Odysseus manned his own galley, and set forth to +explore the mainland, leaving the rest of the crews to await his +return on the island. As they drew near the opposite shore of the bay, +the mariners came in view of a gigantic cavern overshadowed by +laurel-trees. Round the front of the cavern was a wide court-yard +rudely fenced with huge blocks of stone and unhewn trunks of trees. + +Having moored his vessel in a sheltered place, Odysseus chose twelve +of his men to accompany him on his perilous adventure, and charging +the others to keep close, and not stir from the ship, he prepared for +his visit to the Cyclops, who dwelt apart from his brethren in the +cavern. Amongst the spoils obtained in Thrace was a small store of +peculiarly rich and generous wine, which had been given him by a +priest of Apollo whom he had protected, with his wife and child, while +his men were pillaging the town. Twelve jars of this precious vintage +the priest brought forth from a secret hiding-place, known only to +himself and his wife and one trusty servant. So potent was the wine +that it needed but one measure of it to twenty of water to make a +fragrant and comfortable drink, from which few could refrain. Odysseus +now filled a great goatskin bottle with this wine, and carried it with +him. And well it was for him that he did so. + +During the day the Cyclops was abroad, watching his flocks as they +grazed on the mountain pastures; so that when Odysseus and his men +came to the cavern, they had ample time to look about them. The +courtyard was fenced off into pens, well stocked with ewes and +she-goats, with their young--huge beasts, rivalling in stature their +gigantic shepherd. Within the cavern was a sort of dairy, with great +piles of cheeses, and vessels brimming with whey. + +"Quick now," whispered one of the men to Odysseus. "Let us take of the +cheeses, and drive off the best of the lambs and kids to the ship +before the Cyclops returns; for methinks he will give us but sorry +welcome if he finds us here." "Nay," answered Odysseus, "I will wait +for the master, that I may see him face to face. It may be that he +will bestow on me some gift, such as strangers receive from their +hosts." So they remained, and having kindled a fire they prepared +savoury meat, and ate of the cheeses which they found in the cave. +Then they waited, until the lengthening shadows showed that evening +was drawing near. + +While they sat thus, conversing in low tones, and casting fearful +glances towards the cavern's mouth, all at once they heard a sound +like the trampling of many feet, accompanied by loud bleatings, which +were answered by the ewes and she-goats in the courtyard. Then a vast +shadow darkened the cavern's entrance, and in came Polyphemus, driving +his flock before him. At the sight of that fearful monster, huge as a +mountain, with one vast red eye glaring in the middle of his forehead, +Odysseus and his comrades fled in terror to the darkest corner of the +cave. The Cyclops bore in one hand a mighty log for his evening fire. +Flinging it down with a crash that awakened all the echoes of the +cavern, he closed the entrance with an immense mass of stone, which +served as a door. Then he sat down and began to milk the ewes and +she-goats. Half of the milk he curdled for cheese, and half he kept +for drinking. So when he had strained off the whey, and pressed the +curds into wicker-baskets, he kindled a fire, and as the flame blazed +up, illumining every corner of the cavern, he caught sight of the +intruders, and with a voice which sounded like the roaring of a +torrent cried out: "Who are ye that have come to the cave of +Polyphemus, and what would ye have of him?" + +When he heard that appalling voice, and looked at that horrible face, +fitfully lighted up by the blaze of the fire, Odysseus felt his heart +stand still with terror. Nevertheless he manned himself to answer, and +spake boldly thus: "We are Greeks, driven from our course in our +voyage from Troy, and brought by the winds and waves to these shores. +And we are they who have served Agamemnon, son of Atreus, whose fame +now fills the whole earth; so mighty was the city which he overthrew, +with all the host within her. And now we have come to kneel at thy +feet and beseech thee of thy favour to bestow on us some gift such as +strangers receive. Have pity on us, great and mighty as thou art, and +forget not that Zeus hath the stranger and the suppliant in his +keeping." + +But there was no sign of pity or mercy in the Cyclops' face as he made +answer: "Thou art full simple, my friend, or unversed in the ways of +this land, if thou thinkest that I and my brethren care aught for Zeus +or any other god. Nay, we are mightier far than they, and if thou +seekest aught of me thou must seek it of my favour, and not of my +fears. But tell me truly, where didst thou moor thy vessel on thy +landing? Lies she near at hand, or on a distant part of the coast?" + +Odysseus easily divined the purpose of Polyphemus in putting this +question, and answered accordingly: "My ship was wrecked on a distant +part of your coast, dashed all to pieces against the rocks; and I and +these twelve escaped by swimming." + +Polyphemus made no reply, but sprang up and seized two of the men, +grasping them easily together in one hand, and dashed their brains out +against the rocky ground. Then he cut them in pieces and made his +supper on them. Fearful it was to see him as he ate, crunching up +flesh and bones and marrow all together, like a ravening lion. When he +had devoured the last morsel he took a deep draught of milk, and lay +down on the cavern floor among his flocks to sleep. + +As soon as the heavy breathing of Polyphemus showed that he was fast +asleep, Odysseus crept from his corner, resolved to slay the cannibal +giant on the spot. He had already drawn his sword, when a sudden +thought made him pause. If he killed Polyphemus, how was he to escape +from the cavern? The entrance was blocked by that ponderous stone, +which a hundred men could not have moved; and he and his men must in +that case perish miserably of hunger and thirst. Restrained by this +reflection, he put up his sword, and went back to his companions to +wait for day. + +Polyphemus rose early, and after milking his flocks he laid hold of +two more of the miserable captives, butchered them in the same manner, +and made his breakfast on their warm, quivering bodies. Then he drove +forth his sheep and goats, pushing aside the door of rock, and set it +back in its place, as a man sets the lid on a quiver. They heard his +wild cries, as he called to his flocks, and their loud bleatings as he +drove them out to pasture; then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, +and silence settled on the vast, shadowy cave. + +Forthwith Odysseus began to devise means to escape from that murderous +den, and avenge the slaughter of his friends. As he peered about in +the twilight, he caught sight of a mighty stake of green olive-wood, +tall and stout as the mast of a twenty-oared galley,[1] which had been +cut by the Cyclops for a staff, and laid aside to season. Odysseus cut +off about a fathom's length, and with the help of his comrades made it +round and smooth, and tapered it off at one end to a point. Then he +hardened the sharp end in the fire, and when it was ready he hid the +rude weapon away under a pile of refuse. Of the twelve who had +followed him from the ship, there only remained eight; four of these +were chosen by lot to aid him in his plan of vengeance; and Odysseus +noted with satisfaction that they were the stoutest and bravest of the +company. All being now ready, they sat down to wait for the return of +Polyphemus. + +[Footnote 1: Imitated, with characteristic amplification, by Milton, +"Paradise Lost," i. 292 (Satan's spear).] + +The setting sun was pouring his level rays through the chinks of the +doorway when they heard the ponderous tread of the Cyclops +approaching. This time he drove the whole of his flocks into the cave, +leaving the courtyard empty. Having milked the herd, he laid hands on +two of Odysseus' comrades, and slaughtered and devoured them as +before. The moment had now come for Odysseus to carry out his design. +So he filled a wooden bowl with unmixed wine, and drawing near to +Polyphemus addressed him thus: + +"Take, Polyphemus, and drink of this wine, now that thou hast eaten of +human flesh. I warrant that thou hast never tasted such a choice +vintage as this, and I brought it as a gift to thy divinity, that thou +mightest have pity, and let me go in peace. Little did I dream to find +thee so cruel and so wild. Who in all the world will ever draw near to +thee again, after the hideous deeds which thou hast wrought?" + +Polyphemus took the cup and drained it to the bottom. Then he rolled +his great eye with ecstasy, as the last drop trickled down his +monstrous gullet, and holding out the cup said with a sort of growling +good humour: "Give me to drink again, and make haste and tell me thy +name, that I may bestow on thee a gift of hospitality to gladden thy +heart. I and my brethren have wine in plenty, for the earth gives us +of her abundance, and the soft rain of heaven swells the grape to +ripeness; but this is a drink divine, fit for the banquets of +Olympus." + +Again the cup was filled, and yet a third time; and Polyphemus drank +out every drop. Before long his great head began to droop, and his eye +blinked mistily, like the red sun looming through a fog. Seeing that +the good wine was doing its work, Odysseus lost no time in telling his +name. "Thou askest how I am called," he said in cozening tones, "and +thou shalt hear, that I may receive the gift which thou hast promised +me. My name is Noman; so call me my father and my mother, and all my +friends." When he heard that, Polyphemus "grinned horribly a ghastly +smile," and answered: "This shall be thy gift: I will eat thee last of +all, for the sake of thy good wine." + +With that he sank down backward on the floor, and lay like a +leviathan, with his head lolling sideways, and his mouth gaping, +buried in drunken sleep. + +"Now is our time!" whispered Odysseus, and taking the sharpened stake +from its hiding place he thrust the point into the glowing embers of +the fire. As soon as he saw that the weapon was red hot and about to +burst into flame, he took it up, and gave it to his men. Then, +breathing a prayer to Heaven for strength and courage, they stole +softly to the place where the Cyclops lay. Odysseus clambered up to +the forehead of the Cyclops, holding on by his hair, and while the +others pressed the glowing point of the ponderous stake into the +monster's eye he whirled it round by means of a thong, as men turn an +auger to bore a ship's timber. The point hissed and sputtered as it +sank deep into the pulpy substance of the eye, and there was an acrid +smell of burning flesh, while the great shaggy eyebrow took fire, and +cracked like a burning bush. "It is a fine tempering bath for this +good spear of ours," muttered Odysseus, as he worked away at the +strap. "Temper it well--Polyphemus shall have it as a parting gift" + +At first the Cyclops writhed and groaned in his sleep; then with a +roar as of a hundred lions he awoke, and started up to a sitting +posture, scattering his puny tormentors, who fled in wild haste, and +hid themselves in the angle of a projecting rock. Polyphemus rose +slowly to his feet, tore the stake from the empty eye-socket, and +flung it from him, still uttering his fearful cries. His brethren +heard him, and quitting their caverns, came flocking round his gate, +to see what had befallen. "What ails thee, Polyphemus," they asked, +"that thou makest this dreadful din, murdering our sleep? Is anyone +stealing thy sheep or thy goats? Or seeks anyone to slay thee by force +or by guile?" + +"Friends," answered the afflicted giant, "Noman is slaying me by +guile, neither by force." + +"Go to," replied his brethren, "if no man is using thee despitefully, +why callest thou to us? Thou art stricken, it seems, with some sore +disease: pray, then, to thy father Poseidon, and cumber us no more." +So away they went, growling at their broken sleep, and left their +blinded brother to roar alone. + +Meanwhile Odysseus had been hard at work, taking measures to escape +with his comrades from the cave. Among the flocks of Polyphemus were +several big rams, with fleeces of remarkable thickness and beauty. Of +these he took three at a time, and lashed them together, side by side, +with osiers, which served Polyphemus for a bed. Each middle ram bore +one of the men firmly bound with osiers under his belly; while the two +outside rams served to conceal that living burden. Last of all +Odysseus provided for his own safety. There was one monster ram, the +leader of the flock, with a grand fleece which trailed on the ground, +like the leaves of the weeping ash. Him Odysseus reserved for himself, +and creeping under his belly hauled himself up until he was entirely +hidden by the drooping fleece, and so hung on steadfastly, waiting for +the day. + +At last the weary vigil was over, the huge stone portal was rolled +aside, and the male sheep and goats went forth to pasture, while the +females remained in their pens, bleating and in pain, for they were +swollen with milk, and there was none to relieve them. As the rams +went past Polyphemus felt their backs, to see if the men were there; +but the simple monster never thought of feeling under their bellies. +Last in the train came the big ram, with Odysseus clinging underneath. +Then said Polyphemus, as his great hands passed over his back: "Dear +ram, why art thou the last to leave the cave? Thou wast never wont to +be a sluggard, but ever thou tookest the lead, walking with long +strides, whether thou wast cropping the tender, flowering grass, or +going down to the waterside, or returning at even to the fold. Surely +thou art heavy with sorrow for thy master's eye, which the villain +Noman and his pitiful mates have blinded. Would that thou hadst a +voice, to tell me where he is skulking from my fury! Then would I pour +forth his brains like water on the ground, and lighten my heart of the +woe which hath been brought upon me by the hands of this nithering[1] +Noman." + +[Footnote 1: See Scott, "Ivanhoe."] + +So saying he let the ram go, and as soon as he was clear of the +courtyard Odysseus dropped to the ground, and ran to loose his +comrades. With all speed they made their way down to the ship, driving +the rams before them, with many a fearful backward glance. Right glad +were their friends to see them again, though their faces fell when +they saw their numbers reduced by half. But there was no time for +regrets, for Polyphemus was already close upon them, groping his way +painfully from rock to rock. So they flung the sheep on board, shoved +off the vessel, and took to their oars. While they were still within +earshot Odysseus bade his men cease rowing, and standing up in the +stern called aloud to the Cyclops in mocking tones: "How likest thou +my gift for thy hospitality, my gentle host? Methinks thou art paid in +full, and canst not complain that I have not given thee good measure." + +When he heard that, Polyphemus bellowed with rage, and tearing up a +great boulder from the side of the cliff he flung it with mighty force +in the direction of the voice. It fell into the sea right in front of +the ship, and raised a billow which washed her back to the shore. +Odysseus pushed her off with a long pole, and signalled to his men to +give way. They rowed for dear life, and had attained twice the former +distance from the shore when Odysseus stopped them again, though they +besought him earnestly to forego his rash purpose, and to refrain from +provoking Polyphemus more. But he, being exceeding wroth for the +murder of his men, would not be persuaded; and lifting up his voice he +spake again: "Cyclops, if anyone ask thee to whom thou owest the loss +of thine eye, say that it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, who reft +thee of sight, and his home is in rocky Ithaca." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Polyphemus] + +Now it happened that many a year back Polyphemus had heard a prophecy, +foretelling that he should one day be blinded by a certain Odysseus. +So when he heard that name he was stricken to the very heart, and +cried aloud: "This, then, is the fulfilment of the oracle! Verily I +thought that some tall and proper man would come hither to assail me, +but now I have been outwitted, made drunk, and blinded, by this +little, paltry wretch." After a pause he spoke again, thinking to +fight that man of many wiles with his own weapons. "Come hither, +Odysseus," he said, softening his big voice as well as he could, "that +I may entertain thee with loving-kindness; and afterwards I will pray +to Poseidon, whose son I am, to send a fair breeze for thy homeward +voyage. And he also shall heal my hurt, and give me back my sight." + +Odysseus laughed aloud at the poor monster's simplicity, whereupon +Polyphemus lifted up his hands to heaven, and prayed to his sire, the +lord Poseidon: "Hear me, thou who holdest the earth in thine arms, if +I am indeed thy son. Grant me that Odysseus may never reach his home, +or if that is fixed beyond repeal, let him come home in evil plight, +with the loss of all his men, on a strange ship, to a house of +woe."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Compare Dido's curse ("Stories from the Æneid," p. 84).] + +Such was the curse of Polyphemus, to be fulfilled, as we shall see, to +the letter. And having uttered it he flung another rock, which fell +just short of the vessel's stern, and raised a wave which washed her +towards the island. Soon they reached the harbour where the rest of +the fleet lay moored. Joyful were the greetings of their comrades, who +had given them up for lost; and a merry feast they made on the flesh +of the fat sheep, though their mirth was checkered by sadness when +they thought of the brave six who had come to so horrible an end in +the Cyclops' cave. + +After leaving the land of the Cyclopes they came next to the Æolian +island, where dwelt Æolus with his wife and twelve sons and daughters. +The island floated on the sea, and all around it tall cliffs ran sheer +down to the water, crowned on their summit by a wall of brass. Here +they remained a whole month, and were hospitably entertained by Æolus, +revelling in the abundance of his wealthy house, and whiling away the +time with music, and dance, and song, and brave stories of the Trojan +war. And when they departed he gave Odysseus a leathern bag, tied with +a silver cord, in which were confined all the winds that blow, except +only the good west wind, which he left free to blow behind them and +speed them on their way. + +So for nine days and nights they sailed without let or hindrance, and +on the tenth they came in sight of Ithaca, which they approached so +near that they saw the smoke and flame of the beacon-fires along the +coast. Odysseus was worn out with watching, for during all the voyage +he had not closed his eyes, but had sat the whole time with his hand +on the sheet, and suffered no one to relieve him. But now within sight +of his native land he sank down in utter weariness, and fell into a +deep sleep. + +That fatal moment of weakness led to a long train of disasters. His +men had long gazed with curious and jealous eyes at the mysterious +wallet, which they supposed to be full of gold and silver. As long as +Odysseus was on his guard they durst not give utterance to their +thoughts; but when they saw him overtaken by slumber they began to +murmur among themselves. And thus they spake one to another: "Behold +how this man is honoured and beloved whithersoever he goes! He left +Troy-land laden with booty, and thereto hath Æolus added this rich +treasure, while we must come home with empty hands. Go to, let us have +sight of all this gold and silver." + +So waking folly prevailed over slumbering prudence. In a moment the +silver cord was loosened, and all the boisterous winds rushed forth +and bore them weeping and wailing far from their native land. Roused +by the tumult of the tempest, and the despairing cries of his men, +Odysseus sprang up, just in time to see the last glimpse of the hills +of Ithaca as they melted in the distance. His first impulse was to +fling himself into the sea and perish; but mastering his frenzy he +covered his face, and sat down in speechless misery, while the winds +bore them swiftly back to the isle of Æolus. + +With a heavy heart Odysseus went up to the house where he had been +received so kindly, and told his sorrowful tale. "Pity my weakness," +he pleaded, "and let me not suffer for the sins of my men." But Æolus +was not to be moved. "Begone," he said sternly, "quit this island at +once, thou caitiff! Heaven hath set the seal of its hatred upon thee, +and I may not give countenance to such as thou. Out of my sight!" he +thundered, and Odysseus crept sadly back to his ship. + +Then for six days they voyaged on, toiling continually at the oar, for +now there was no favourable wind to waft them on. They were almost +dead with fatigue when they sighted land on the seventh day, and came +to anchor in a sheltered bay, surrounded on all sides by towering +cliffs, with a narrow entrance, guarded by a tall spire of rock on +either side The place was called Læstrygonia, and the nights in that +country are so short that the shepherd as he drives home his flocks at +sundown meets his fellow-toiler on his way to the pasture. + +The cautious Odysseus moored his ship close to the entrance of the +harbour, while all the others came to anchor at the head of the bay +under the shadow of the cliffs; for there was not a wave, not a +ripple, in that sheltered spot, but the water slumbered, as in a +mountain tarn. Having secured his vessel, by making fast her cable to +the rocks, he scaled the cliff with a few of his men, and seeing smoke +rising in the distance he sent three scouts to explore the country, +meantime going back to his ship to await their return. + +Sooner than he expected he saw two of the men descending the cliff in +headlong haste, and as they drew near he could read on their white, +terror-stricken faces what sort of news they had to bring. Their +report was as dismal as their looks. When they left the coast they +struck into a level road cut through the forest, and presently came to +a spring on the outskirts of a town. Here they met a maiden, drawing +water at the well, who told them that she was the daughter of +Antiphates, king of that country, and offered to conduct them to her +father's house. They went with her, and when she had brought them home +she left them to summon her father. + +"As soon as we caught sight of him," continued he who was telling the +story, "we were stricken with terror, for he was of monstrous stature +and hideous to behold. One of us he seized, and rent him in pieces on +the spot; but we two fled for our lives. There is no time to lose. The +town is in uproar, and before long the whole cannibal tribe will be +upon us." + +Hardly had he finished when a multitude of these huge savages was seen +rushing along the edge of the cliffs which overlooked the harbour. +Arming themselves with great rocks, they began to bombard the ships +which had taken the inside station; and a dreadful din arose of +shattered timbers, mingled with the cries of dying men. Not one ship +escaped destruction, and when that part of their work was ended the +barbarians swarmed down the cliffs, speared the floating corpses, and +dragged them to land for a cannibal feast. + +All this time Odysseus and his crew had been helpless spectators of +this scene of massacre. But when they saw that all was over they cut +their cable, and taking to their oars rowed with might and main until +a wide space of open water divided them from that ill-fated shore, +where all their friends had found a grave. + +IV + +Of the thirteen vessels with which Odysseus sailed from Troy only one +was now left. Weary and broken in spirit they voyaged on over the +waste of waters; and when, after two or three days' sail, they landed +on a low-lying coast, they lay down for two days and two nights, like +men whose last hope in life was gone. On the third morning Odysseus +roused himself, and ascending a rising ground saw to his dismay that +they had landed on a small island. On all sides stretched the +boundless sea, without a trace of land on the whole horizon. + +As he was descending the hill he heard a rustling in a neighbouring +thicket, and a tall stag with branching antlers stepped forth, and +began to make his way down to a little stream which skirted the foot +of the hill. From the high ground on which he stood Odysseus had a +full view of the beast's broad back, and taking steady aim he flung +his spear and pierced him through the spine. Odysseus' eyes glistened +when he saw the splendid quarry at his feet, for never had he seen so +fine a buck. Not without effort he took the carcass on his back, and +bore it down to his ship, where he found his men still lying +listlessly where he had left them. "Courage, comrades," he cried, as +he flung his heavy burden on the sand. "We shall not die before our +day, and while we have life we must eat and drink. Better a full +sorrow than a fasting."[1] So they ate and drank, and made good cheer. + +[Footnote 1: See the whole incident imitated in Virgil ("Stories from +the Æneid," p. 49).] + +Next day Odysseus divided his whole crew into two companies, two and +twenty each, with himself as captain of one division, and Eurylochus, +his faithful squire, in command of the other. Then he drew lots with +Eurylochus to determine which of the two should undertake the perilous +duty of exploring the island. The lot fell upon Eurylochus, and he at +once set forth with his party, pursued by the prayers and tears of +those who remained behind. + +Passing the low hills which skirted the coast, they struck into a +forest path, and presently came to an open glade, in the midst of +which stood a fair stone dwelling. And as they came and drew nigh unto +the house they saw a strange sight: before the doors stalked and +glared a multitude of wolves and lions, and other beasts of prey, and +when they saw the men these fearful creatures came fawning round them, +like hounds welcoming their master, and did them no harm. + +Quaking with wonder and fear, they came and stood on the threshold, +through which they caught sight of a young and lovely dame, pacing to +and fro about her loom, and weaving a wondrous web, fair and large, +such as the daughters of the gods are wont to weave. And as she plied +her task, she sang to herself in a low and thrilling voice, sad and +sweet as the notes of the Æolian harp. Presently she turned her face +to the doorway, and saw the men standing without. With a bright smile +she came forward, and bade them enter; and they all went in, save only +Eurylochus, who was older than the rest, and liked not the look in +that fair lady's eyes. + +"Welcome, fair youths," she said, "to the halls of Circe, daughter of +the sun. Sit ye down, while I prepare you a posset to slake your +thirst on this hot day." So they sat down, and Circe took wine, and +grated cheese, and honey, and barley-meal, and mixed them in a bowl, +muttering strange words, and adding a single drop from a little phial +which she took from a secret cupboard. Then she gave them to drink, +touching them, as she did so, with a wand; and no sooner had they +tasted than their form and countenance was changed into the likeness +of swine, though they kept the mind and feelings of men. Circe now +drove them all together into a stye, and flung down beechmast, and +acorns, and cornel berries, for them to eat. + +It was drawing towards noon when Odysseus saw a solitary figure +descending the slope which led down to the beach. "Eurylochus!" he +cried, recognising the familiar features of his squire. "Why comest +thou alone?" For some time Eurylochus was unable to utter a word; at +last he spoke, in a broken and altered voice, while his face was +blanched with deadly terror. "They are gone," he faltered--"spirited +away--vanished without a sign. The place is haunted: let us away!" + +Without a word, Odysseus caught up his sword and bow, and ordered +Eurylochus to show him the way to the place where he had lost his men. +But Eurylochus clung to his knees, and besought him to remain, and +prepare for instant flight. Seeing him to be unnerved by terror, +Odysseus bade him stay by the ship, and he himself set out alone to +learn the secrets of this mysterious island. + +Just before coming within sight of Circe's palace, he saw, standing in +his path, a fair and comely youth, who greeted him kindly, and took +him by the hand. There was something more than human beauty in the +face of this stranger, and his words showed more than human knowledge +of Odysseus and his affairs; for indeed he was no other than Hermes, +the messenger of the gods, sent down from heaven to aid Odysseus in +this strait. "Son of Laertes," he said, "why goest thou thus unwarily, +even as a silly bird into the net of the fowler? Pause awhile, or, +instead of setting free thy men, thou wilt become even as they are." +So saying he stooped down, and with careful hands tore up a little +plant which was growing at their feet; the flower of it was white as +milk, and the root was black. "Take this plant," he said, giving it to +Odysseus. "It is the magic herb, Moly, and no human hand may pluck it; +having this, thou mayest defy all the spells of Circe. And when thou +comest to the house of that fair witch, she will offer thee a potion, +mixed with baneful drugs: drink thou thereof, for it shall do thee no +harm. But when she smites thee with her wand draw thou thy sword and +make as though thou wouldst slay her; and she will be filled with +fear, for none ever resisted her power before. Then do thou compel her +to swear a great oath that she will devise no further ill against +thee." As the last words were uttered Hermes vanished, leaving +Odysseus standing with the plant in his hand. + +[Illustration: Circe] + +And as the god had spoken, even so it came to pass. Circe welcomed +Odysseus with the same treacherous smile, gave him to drink of the +same cup, and struck him with her wand in the same manner; but when +she saw him standing, unchanged and unmoved, threatening her with +drawn sword, she feared exceedingly, and falling at his feet spake +thus in pitiful tones: "Who art thou, that thou yieldest not to the +power of my drugs, which never mortal resisted before? Art thou that +Odysseus of whom Hermes spake, telling me that he should come hither +on his voyage from Troy? Put up thy sword, and thou shalt be my guest +to-night, and for many days to come." + +"No guest will I be of thine," answered Odysseus sternly, "unless thou +wilt swear a great oath to do me no hurt. Before that I will not trust +thee, or receive aught at thy hands. Hast thou not turned my men into +swine, and didst thou not seek even now to put thy wicked spells upon +me?" + +Then Circe took the oath that was required of her, and thus secured +Odysseus consented to remain. Forthwith his beautiful hostess summoned +her handmaids, sweet nymphs of rivers, and woods, and springs, and +bade them make all things ready to entertain the wanderer. With white +feet tripping nimbly, and many a curious glance at the majestic +stranger, the maidens hastened to obey her command. And soon the +tables, which were all of silver, were set forth with golden vessels, +the chairs spread with purple tapestries, and the rich red wine +mingled in a silver bowl. Others prepared a bath for Odysseus, and +when he had bathed, more than mortal health and vigour seemed to enter +his limbs, such virtue had Circe shed into the water. + +After that they sat down to meat; but Odysseus, whose mind was full of +his comrades, left every dish untasted, and sat without uttering a +word. When she observed it, Circe rallied him for his sullenness: "Art +thou afraid to eat?" she said, smiling: "have I not sworn to do thee +no harm? Ah! thou art thinking of thy friends. Come, then, and I will +restore them to thee." So she brought him to the stye where they were +confined together, and opening the gate drove them all forth, a herd +of bristly swine. Then she anointed them one by one with another drug; +and instantly the bristles fell away from them, and they became men +again, only younger and fairer to behold than they were before. With +tears of joy they embraced Odysseus, and the whole place rang with +their happy greetings, so that even Circe was moved by the tender +scene. + +When they had grown calmer she bade Odysseus go down to the sea, and +bring back all the rest of his company to take up their abode in her +house. Being now quite reassured as to her purpose, he hesitated not +to obey, and went down alone to carry the message from Circe. Arrived +at the ship he was hailed by his comrades as one returned from the +dead; but putting aside their eager questions he told them to beach +the vessel, stow away all her tackle, and follow him to the house of +Circe, where they would find all their fellows feasting and making +merry. + +Much cheered by his words the men set to work with willing hands, and +before an hour had passed the whole company was reunited under Circe's +hospitable roof. The dreaded witch had laid aside all her terrors, and +now appeared only in the character of a kind and generous hostess, +whose sole care was for the comfort and welfare of her guests. Days +lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, and still they lingered +on in that luxurious clime, as if there were no such place as Ithaca, +and no wide waste of sea to be crossed. + +At last, when they had lived a whole year on the island, Odysseus' men +began to grow weary of their long inaction, and begged their leader to +obtain Circe's permission to depart. Not without some misgivings, +Odysseus preferred his request. "Deem me not ungrateful," he said, "if +my heart turns ever to my wife and home. I am but a mortal man, with +human needs and frailties, and no fit mate for a goddess like thee. +And my men weary me with their importunity, when thou art not near." + +Circe heard him graciously, knowing well that they must part. "I will +not keep thee," she said, "against thy will. But a long journey lies +before thee, even to the very ends of the earth, and not until that is +past canst thou set thy sail for home. To the halls of Hades thou must +go, and consult the spirit of Theban Teiresias, who alone among all +the dead hath an understanding heart, while the rest are but flitting +shadows. Now hearken, and I will tell thee all that thou must do. When +thou leavest these shores thou shalt sail ever southward, until thou +hast reached the farther side of the River Oceanus, and come to the +shadowy grove which stands at the confines of the realm of Persephone. +There thou shalt land with thy company, and dig a trench a cubit in +length and breadth, and pour about it a libation of mead and water and +wine; and after that thou shalt offer a sacrifice of black sheep, in +such wise that the blood thereof shall flow into the trench and fill +it. Thither will flock the whole multitude of departed spirits, to +drink of the blood; but do thou draw thy sword, and hold it over the +trench, nor suffer any of the other spirits to draw near until thou +hast seen Teiresias and hearkened to his lore." + +All that night Odysseus remained in deep conference with Circe, and as +soon as day dawned he went to rouse his men who were sleeping in the +outer chamber. "Up, comrades!" he cried, "all is prepared, and we must +embark without delay." His loud summons proved fatal to one of the +company, a certain Elpenor, the youngest of them all, who, the night +before, had lain down to sleep on the housetop, for the sake of the +coolness, being heated with wine. Roused suddenly by the voice of +Odysseus, he staggered to his feet, and, still half asleep, stumbled +over the parapet in his haste, and fell headlong from the roof. + +In the hurry of their departure the body was left where it lay, and +Odysseus, when they reached the ship, did not notice his absence. They +found that Circe had been there before them, and left the victims for +sacrifice bound to the vessel's side. She herself was nowhere to be +seen, and so without another word of farewell they launched their +galley and put out into the deep. + + + + +The Visit to Hades + + +I + +A clear, strong wind came down from the north, sent by the favour of +the mighty enchantress Circe, and over the trackless sea they sped, +where never furrow of mortal ship was seen before. After a long day's +sail they came to the farther shore of the ocean stream, which +surrounds the earth as with a girdle. There is the abode of the people +called the Cimmerians, wrapped in shadow and mist; for never doth the +sun look down upon them with his rays, neither when he climbs the +starry sky, nor yet when he goeth down unto the place of his rest. And +thus they dwell miserably under the curse of perpetual night. + +As they peered through the gloom they saw what seemed a grove of dusky +trees, in shape like the poplar and willow, fringing the shore. "It is +the sign which Circe gave me," whispered Odysseus to his awestruck +comrades; "we are at the very gates of Hades." Landing in silence, +they carried the victims for sacrifice to the verge of the grove, and +Odysseus with his sword dug a trench, a cubit in length and breadth, +and poured about it a libation of mead and water and wine. Then the +sheep were slaughtered, and the trench was filled to the brim with +their blood. When the solemn rite was ended, Odysseus called in a loud +voice to the spirits of the dead, and waited in breathless expectation +with his men. + +Presently a rustling sound was heard, like the sound of the autumn +wind in the dry leaves of the forest; it grew louder and louder, and +out of the gloom the ghosts came flocking, youths and maidens cut off +in their bloom, old men with all their burden of sorrow, and warriors +slain in battle, still wearing the bloodstained armour.[1] With a wild +unearthly cry they came crowding to the trench, eager to drink of the +blood. But Odysseus, though quaking with fear, stood his ground +firmly, and held his drawn sword over the trench to keep off the +multitude, until he had seen and spoken with Teiresias. + +[Footnote 1: Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 119.] + +Among the hosts of spirits there was one who lingered near the trench, +and seemed by his beseeching gestures and earnest looks to desire +speech with Odysseus. When his first fears were over Odysseus +recognised the features of Elpenor, who had come to an untimely end on +the morning of their journey, and whose body still lay unburied in the +house of Circe. Registering a mental vow to perform all due rites to +that poor spirit on his homeward voyage, Odysseus warned him back, and +stood waiting for the coming of the seer. + +At last came one with tottering footsteps, leaning on a golden +sceptre, and halted on the farther edge of the trench. It seemed a +very aged man, with flowing white beard, and sightless eyes; and +Odysseus knew by these signs that he was in the presence of Teiresias, +the famous prophet of Thebes, who alone among departed spirits +preserves his understanding, while the rest are flitting phantoms, +with no sense at all. "What wouldst thou of me, Odysseus, son of +Laertes," said the spectre in faltering tones, "and wherefore hast +thou left the glad light of day to visit this drear and joyless realm +of the dead? Draw back from the trench, and put up thy sword in its +sheath, that I may drink of the blood and tell thee all that thou +wouldst know." + +Thereupon Odysseus fell back, and sheathed his sword; and Teiresias, +when he had drunk of the blood, spoke again in firmer and clearer +tones: "Thou art fain to hear of thy home-coming, illustrious hero; +but thy path to Ithaca shall be beset with sorrows, because of the +wrath of Poseidon, whose son, Polyphemus, thou hast blinded. +Nevertheless thou and all thy company shall return safe to Ithaca, if +only ye leave untouched the sacred flocks and herds of Helios,[1] when +ye come to the island of Thrinacia. But if harm befall them at your +hands, from that hour thy ship and all her crew are doomed and forfeit +to destruction: and though thou thyself escape, yet thou shalt return +after many days, in evil plight, to a house of woe.[2] And now learn +how thou mayest at last appease the anger of the god who pursues thee +with his vengeance. When thou art once more master in thine own house +thou shalt go on a far journey, carrying with thee an oar of thy +vessel, until thou comest to a people that dwell far from the sea, and +know naught of ships or the mariner's art. And there shalt meet thee +by the way a man who shall say that thou bearest a winnowing shovel[3] +on thy shoulder; and this shall be a sign unto thee, whereby thou +shalt know that thou hast reached the end of thy journey. Then plant +thy oar in the ground, and offer sacrifice to Poseidon. This shall be +the end of thy toils, and death shall come softly upon thee where thou +dwellest in a green old age among thy happy people." + +[Footnote 1: The sun god.] + +[Footnote 2: The very words of Polyphemus, p. 93.] + +[Footnote 3: The oar.] + +When he had thus spoken Teiresias vanished into the darkness; and one +by one the spirits came up to the trench, as Odysseus suffered them, +and having drunk of the blood obtained strength to speak and answer +his questions. First among them was the spirit of his mother, +Anticleia, daughter of Autolycus, who had been hovering near during +his conference with Teiresias. When she had drunk she said: "Whence +comest thou, my son? Art thou still wandering on thy long voyage from +Troy, or hast thou been in Ithaca, and seen thy wife?" + +"Nay, mother," answered Odysseus, "I am wandering still, still +treading the path of woe, since the day when I followed Agamemnon to +Troy. But tell me now, and answer me truly, what was the manner of thy +death? Came it slowly, by long disease, or did Artemis lay thee low in +a moment with a painless arrow from her bow?[1] And tell me of my +father and my son whom I left in Ithaca; do they still hold my +possessions, or hath some other thrust them with violence from my +seat? Tell me also of Penelope, my wedded wife, whether she abides +steadfast and guards my goods, or whether she is gone to cheer some +other man's heart." + +[Footnote 1: Sudden death was ascribed to Artemis or Apollo.] + +"Steadfast indeed she is," replied Anticleia, "and wondrous patient of +heart; all her thoughts are ever of thee. No one has yet usurped thy +place in Ithaca, but Telemachus still reaps thy fields and sits down +to meat with the noblest in the land. As to thy father, he comes no +more to the town, but dwells continually on his farm. He lives not +delicately, as princes use, but is clad in sorry raiment, and sleeps +in the winter among the ashes of the hearth with his thralls, and in +summer on a bed of dry leaves in his vineyard. There he lies forsaken, +heavy with years and sorrows, mourning for thee. And in such wise also +death came upon me, neither by wasting sickness nor by the gentle +shafts of Artemis, but my sore longing for thee, Odysseus, and for thy +sweet counsels, at last broke my heart." + +A flood of tenderness overpowered Odysseus at these sad words, and he +sprang forward with arms outstretched to clasp his mother to his +breast. Thrice he essayed to embrace her, and thrice his arms closed +on emptiness,[1] while that ghostly presence still flitted before him +like a shadow or a dream. "O my mother," cried Odysseus in deep +distress, "why dost thou mock me thus? Come to my heart, dear mother; +let me hold thee in mine arms once more, and mingle my tears with +thine. Or art thou but the shadow of a shade, a phantom sent by +Persephone to deceive me?" + +[Footnote 1: Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 24.] + +"Persephone deceives thee not," answered the ghost, "but this is the +fashion of mortals when they die. Flesh and bone and sinew are +consumed by the might of fire, but the spirit takes flight and hovers +ever like a winged dream. But make haste and get thee back to the +daylight, and keep all that thou hast seen in memory that thou mayest +tell it to thy wife." + +When the spirit of Anticleia was gone, a shadowy throng pressed +forward to the trench, all the ghosts of noble dames, wives and +daughters of princes. And Odysseus kept his place, sword in hand, +suffering them only to drink one by one, that he might question them +and learn their story. There he saw Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, +and Leda, to whose twin sons, Castor and Pollux, a strange destiny was +allotted; for after their death they rose to life again on alternate +days, one lying in the tomb, while the other walked the earth as a +living man. There too was Iphimedeia, mother of the giants Otus and +Ephialtes, who at nine years of age were nine fathoms in height and +nine cubits in breadth. Haughty were they, and presumptuous in their +youth; for they made war on the gods, and piled Ossa on Olympus, and +Pelion on Ossa, that they might scale the sky. But they perished in +their impiety, shot down by the bolts of Apollo's golden bow. Last +came Eriphyle, the false wife, who sold her husband's life for a +glittering bribe. + +That dream of fair women melted away and another ghostly band +succeeded, the souls of great captains and mighty men of war. Foremost +among these was seen one of regal port, around whom was gathered a +choice company of veteran warriors, all gored and gashed with recent +wounds. He who seemed their leader stretched out his hands towards +Odysseus with a piteous gesture, and tears such as spirits weep[1] +gushed from his eyes. Instantly Odysseus recognised in that stricken +spirit his great commander Agamemnon, once the proud captain of a +thousand ships, now wandering, forlorn and feeble, with all his glory +faded. + +[Footnote 1: "Tears such as _angels_ weep," Milton, "Paradise Lost," +i. 619.] + +"Royal son of Atreus," he said, in a voice broken with weeping, "is it +here that I find thee, great chieftain of the embattled Greeks? Say, +how comest thou hither, and what arm aimed the stroke which laid thee +low?" "Not in honour's field did I fall," answered Agamemnon, "nor yet +amid the waves. It was a traitor's hand that cut me off, the hand of +Ægisthus, and the guile of my accursed wife. He feasted me at his +board, and slaughtered me as one slaughters a stalled ox; and all my +company fell with me in that den of butchery. It was pitiful to see +all that brave band of veterans writhing in their death agony among +the tables loaded with good cheer, and goblets brimming with wine. But +that which gave me my sorest pang was the dying shriek of Cassandra, +daughter of Priam, who was struck down at my side by the dagger of +Clytæmnestra. Then the murderess turned away and left me with staring +eyes and mouth gaping in death. For naught is so vile, naught so +cruel, as a woman who hath hardened her heart to tread the path of +crime. Even so did she break her marriage vows, and afterwards slew +the husband of her youth. I thought to have found far other welcome +when I passed under the shadow of mine own roof-tree. But this +demon-wife imagined evil against me, and brought infamy on the very +name of woman." + +"Strange ordinance of Zeus!" said Odysseus musingly, "which hath +turned the choicest blessing of man's life, the love of woman, into +the bitterest of curses for thee and for thy house. Yea, and upon all +the land of Hellas hath woe been brought by the deed of a +woman--Helen, thy brother's wife." + +"Ay, trust them not," replied Agamemnon bitterly, "Never give thy +heart into a woman's keeping; she will rifle thy very soul's flower, +and then laugh thee to scorn. But why do I speak thus to thee? Thou +hast indeed a treasure in thy wife; no wiser head, no truer heart, +than hers. Happy art thou, and sweet the refuge which is prepared for +thee after all thy toils, Well I remember the day when we set sail +from Greece, and how fondly thou spakest of her, thy young bride, with +her babe at her breast. Now he will be a tall youth, and with what joy +will he look into the eyes of his father, whom he was then too young +to know!" + +After that Odysseus was silent, his mind full of sweet and anxious +thoughts. Meanwhile other familiar forms had drawn near, the spirits +of warriors renowned, whose very names were as a battle-cry when they +dwelt on earth: Achilles, Patroclus, and Antilochus, and farther off, +looming dimly in the darkness, the gigantic shade of Ajax. Achilles +was the first to speak. "Son of Laertes," he said, "thou man of +daring, hast thou reached the limit of thy rashness, or wilt thou go +yet further? Are there no perils left for thee in the land of the +living that thou must invade the very realm of Hades, the sunless +haunts of the dead?" + +"I came to inquire of Teiresias," answered Odysseus, "concerning my +return to Ithaca. All my life I am a bondslave to toil and woe; but +thou, Achilles, wast happy in thy life, honoured as a god by all the +sons of Hellas; and now thou art happy, even in death, for honour +waits on thy footsteps still." + +"Tell me not of comfort in death," replied Achilles. "Rather would I +breathe the air of heaven, yea, though I were thrall to a man of +little substance, than reign as king over all the shades of the dead. +But give me some news of my son, Neoptolemus. Came he to fight with +the Trojans after I was gone, and did he acquit him well? And knowest +thou aught of my father, Peleus? Lives he still in honour and comfort +among my people, or has he been driven into beggary by violent men, +now that he is old and I am not near to aid him? Oh, for an hour of +life, with such might as was mine when I fought in the van for Greece? +Then should they pay a bitter reckoning, whosoever they be that wrong +him and keep him from his own." + +"Of Peleus," answered Odysseus, "I have heard nothing, but of thy son, +Neoptolemus, I can tell thee much, for I myself brought him from +Scyros to fight in Helen's cause, and thereafter my eye was ever upon +him, to mark how he bore himself. In council none could vie with him, +save only Nestor and myself; ne'er saw I so rare a wit in so young a +head. And when the Greeks were arrayed in battle against the Trojans +he was never seen to hang back, but fought ever in the van among the +foremost champions, like a mighty man of war. Nor was it only in the +clamour and heat of war that he proved his mettle; for in that +perilous hour when we lay ambushed in the wooden horse, when the +stoutest hearts among us quailed, he never changed colour, but sat +fingering his spear and sword, waiting for the signal to go forth to +the assault. And after we had sacked the lofty towers of Troy he +received a goodly portion of the spoil, and a special prize of honour, +and so departed, untouched by point or blade, to his father's house." + +When he heard these brave tidings of his son, Achilles rejoiced in +spirit, and strode with lofty gait along the plain of asphodel. + +So one by one the spirits came up, and inquired of Odysseus of their +dear ones at home. Only the soul of Ajax, son of Telamon, stood +sullenly aloof; for between him and Odysseus there was an old quarrel. +After the death of Achilles a dispute arose among the surviving +chieftains for the possession of his armour. It was decided to refer +the matter to the Trojan captives in the camp, and they were asked who +of all the Greeks had done them most harm. They answered in favour of +Odysseus, who accordingly received the armour. Thereupon Ajax fell +into a frenzy of rage, and slew himself. When Odysseus saw him, and +marked his unforgiving mood, he was filled with remorse and pity, and +strove to soften his resentment with gentle words. "Ah! son of +Telamon," he said, "canst thou not forgive me, even here? Sorely the +Argives mourned thee, and heavy was the loss brought on them by thy +rash act. Thou wast a very tower of strength to the host, and we wept +for thee as for a second Achilles. Draw near, great prince, subdue thy +haughty spirit, and speak to me as thou wast wont to speak before the +will of heaven set enmity between us." + +Thus earnestly Odysseus pleaded, but there was no reply, and the angry +spirit passed away into the gloom of Erebus.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Compare the silence of Dido, "Stories from the Æneid," p. +123.] + +II + +Odysseus still lingered, hoping yet to have speech with other souls of +heroes who had once rivalled him in valour and wisdom while they dwelt +in the flesh. But he was destined to see another and more awful +vision. Suddenly the pall of darkness which shrouded the secrets of +the nether abyss was lifted, and the whole realm of Hades was exposed +to view. There he saw the place of torment, where great malefactors +atone for their crime, and Minos, the infernal judge, sitting at the +gates, passing sentence, and giving judgment among the shades. Within +appeared the gigantic form of Tityos, stretched at full length along +the ground, and two vultures sat ever at his side, tearing his liver. +This was his punishment for violence offered to Leto, the mother of +Apollo and Artemis. Not far from him appeared Tantalus, plunged up to +the neck in a cool stream; the water lapped against his chin, but he +had not power to drink it, though he was tormented with a burning +thirst. As often as he stooped to drink, the water was swallowed up, +and the earth lay dry as the desert sand at his feet. And nodding +boughs of trees drooped, heavy with delicious fruit, over his head; +but when he put forth his hand to pluck the fruit, a furious gust of +wind swept it away far beyond his reach. And yet another famous +criminal he saw, Sisyphus, the most cunning and most covetous of the +sons of men. He was toiling painfully up a steep mountain's side, +heaving a weighty stone before him, and straining with hands and feet +to push it to the summit. But every time he approached the top, the +stone slipped through his hands, and thundered and smoked down the +mountain's side till it reached the plain. + +Other wonders and terrors might still have been revealed, but as that +hardy watcher stood at his post a great tumult and commotion arose in +that populous city of the dead, and the whole multitude of its ghostly +denizens came rushing towards the trench, as if resolved to expel the +daring intruder. Odysseus' heart failed him when he saw the air thick +with hovering spectres, who glared with dreadful eyes, and filled the +air with the sound of their unearthly voices. Turning his back on that +place of horror he made his way slowly towards the shore, where he +found his men anxiously awaiting him. + + + + +The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis; Thrinacia + + +I + +Following the same course as on his outward voyage, Odysseus put in +again at the island of Circe, where his first duty was to bury the +body of the young Elpenor, whose ghost he had seen in an attitude of +mute reproach at the threshold of Hades. They were again received with +all hospitality by Circe. + +After the evening meal Circe drew Odysseus apart, and questioned him +on all that he had seen and heard on that strange journey, from which +he had returned, as she said, like one ransomed from death. And when +he had told his story she instructed him as to the course which he had +to steer on leaving the island, and warned him against the manifold +perils of the voyage. + +"First," said she, "thou wilt come to the rocks of the Sirens, maidens +of no mortal race, who beguile the ears of all that hear them. Woe to +him who draws near to listen to their song! He shall never see the +faces of his wife and children again, or feel their arms about his +neck, but there he shall perish, and there his bones shall rot. +Therefore take heed, and when thou drawest near the place stop the +ears of thy men with wax, and bid them bind thee fast with cords, that +thou mayest hear the song of the Sirens. And when that seducing melody +fills thine ears, thou wilt beg and implore thy comrades to set thee +free, that thou mayest draw near and have speech of the Sirens. Then +let them bind thee more firmly to the mast, and take to their oars, +and fly the enchanted rocks. + +"This peril past, thou hast the choice of two different routes. One of +these will bring thee to the Wandering Isles, which stand, front to +front, with steep slippery sides of rock, running sheer down to the +sea. Between them lies a narrow way, which is the very gate of death. +For if aught living attempts to pass between, those rocky jaws close +upon it and grind it to powder. Only the doves which bear ambrosia to +Father Zeus can pass that awful strait, and one of these pays toll +with her life as she passes, but Zeus sends another to fill her place. +And one ship sailed safely through, even the famous _Argo_ when she +bore Jason and his crew on their voyage from the land of Æetes. All +others when they essayed the task perished, and were brought to naught +in a whirlwind of foam and fire. + +"But if thou takest the other way thou wilt come to another strait, +guarded day and night by two sleepless sentinels, Scylla and +Charybdis. On one side thereof towers a lofty peak, shrouded, even in +the noon of summer, in clouds and thick darkness. No mortal man could +climb that steep and slippery rock, not though he had twenty hands and +twenty feet; for the side is smooth as polished marble, and in the +midst of the cliff is a shadowy cave overlooking the track by which +thou must guide thy ship, Odysseus. Deep down it goes into the heart +of the mountain, so that a man in his lusty prime could not shoot an +arrow from his ship to the bottom of that yawning pit In the cave +dwells Scylla, and yelps without ceasing. Her voice is thin and +shrill, like the cry of a hound newly littered, but she herself is a +monster horrible to behold, so that neither man nor god could face her +without affright. Twelve feet hath she, and six necks of prodigious +length, and on each neck a fearful head, whose ravening jaws are armed +with triple rows of teeth. As far as her waist she is hidden in the +hollow cave, but she thrusts out her serpent necks from the abyss, and +fishes in the waters for dolphins and sea-dogs and other creatures +whose pasture is the sea. On every ship that passes her den she levies +a tribute of six of her crew. + +"On the other side of the strait thou wilt see a second rock, lying +flat and low, about a bowshot from the first. There stands a great +fig-tree, thick with leaves, and under it sits Charybdis, sucking down +the water, and belching it up again three times a day. Beware that +thou approach not when she sucks down the water, for then none could +save thee from destruction, no, not Poseidon himself. Rather steer thy +galley past Scylla's cave, for it is better to lose six of thy men +than to lose them all. + +"Next thou shalt come to the island of Thrinacia, where graze the oxen +of Helios and his goodly sheep--seven herds of oxen, and as many fair +flocks of sheep, and fifty in each flock and herd. They are not born, +neither do they die, and two goddesses have charge of them, +fair-haired nymphs, the daughters of Helios. Take heed that thou harm +not the sacred beasts, that it may be well with thee, and that thou +and thy company may come safely home." + +II + +Once more they were afloat, and the brave little vessel bounded gaily +over the waves, her canvas bellying in the wind. For some hours they +sailed on thus, and Odysseus recited to his men all that he had heard +from Circe. Then suddenly the wind dropped, and the sail hung idly to +the mast. Having furled and stowed the sail, they took to their oars, +while the sea went down, and at last sunk to a level calm. In the +distance a low-lying coast appeared, which Odysseus knew to be the +island of the Sirens, Forthwith he began to make his preparations to +meet the danger which lay before them. Taking a ball of wax he cut it +into small pieces, and having worked each piece in his hand until it +was soft and plastic he carefully stopped the ears of all his men with +the wax. Then two of the crew, to whom he had already given his +orders, bound him hand and foot to the mast of the vessel. All being +ready, they rowed forward until they came within full view of the +island. And there, in a low-lying meadow hard by the sea, sat the +Sirens; lovely they were of aspect, and gracious of mien; but all +around them were piled the bones of men who had fallen victims to +their wicked wit,[1] fleshless ribs, from which the skin still hung in +yellow shreds, and grinning skulls, gazing with eyeless sockets at the +sea. + +[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Hamlet."] + +As the ship drew near, the whole choir lifted up their voices and +began to sing a sweet and piercing strain, which thrilled the very +marrow of Odysseus as he listened. The winds hovered near on flagging +wing, the sea lay locked in deep repose, and all nature paused with +attentive ear, to catch the SONG OF THE SIRENS. + + "Mighty warrior, sage renowned, + Turn, O turn thy bark this way! + Rest upon this holy ground, + Listen to the Sirens' lay. + Never yet was seaman found + Passing our enchanted bay, + But he paused, and left our bound + Filled with wisdom from his stay. + All we know, whatever befell + On the tented fields of Troy, + All the lore that Time can tell, + All the mystic fount of joy." + +It was a strain cunningly calculated to flatter a deep, subtle spirit +like that of Odysseus. To know all! to read all secrets, and unravel +the tangled skein of human destiny! What a bribe was this to this +restless and eager mind! Then the voices of the witch-women were so +liquid, and the music so lovely, that they took the very air with +ravishment, and melted the hearer's soul within him. Odysseus +struggled to break his bonds, and nodded to his men to come and loose +him. But they, who had been warned of this very thing, rose up and +bound him with fresh cords. Then they grasped their oars again, the +water roared under their sturdy strokes, and soon they were out of +hearing of that seductive melody. + +They had not long lost sight of the Sirens' Rocks when they heard the +booming of breakers, which warned them that the fearful strait between +Scylla and Charybdis was close at hand. A strong current caught the +galley and whirled her with appalling swiftness towards the point of +danger. The water boiled and eddied around them, and the blinding +spray was dashed into their faces. Then a sudden panic came upon the +crew, so that they dropped their oars, and sat helpless and unnerved, +expecting instant death. In this emergency, Odysseus summoned up all +his courage, and strode up and down between the benches, exhorting, +entreating, and calling each man by name. "Why sit ye thus," he cried, +"huddled together like sheep? Row, men, row for your lives! And thou, +helmsman, steer straight for the passage, lest we fall into a direr +strait, and be crushed between the Wandering Rocks. We have faced a +worse peril than this, when we were penned together in the Cyclops' +cave; and we shall escape this time also, if only ye will keep a stout +heart." + +Circe had cautioned Odysseus on no account to attempt resistance when +he approached the cave of Scylla; nevertheless, he put on his armour, +and took his stand on the prow of the vessel, holding in each hand a +lance. + +So on they sped, steering close to the tall cliff under which Scylla +lay hid, and gazing fearfully at the boiling whirlpool on the other +side. Just as they passed, a huge column of water shot into the air, +belched up from the vast maw of Charybdis, and the galley was half +swamped under a fountain of falling water. When that ended, a black +yawning chasm appeared, the very throat, as it seemed, of Charybdis, +into which the water rushed in a roaring torrent. + +Odysseus was gazing intently at this wondrous sight when he heard a +sharp cry, and, looking back he saw six of his men, the stoutest of +the crew, dangling high in the air, firmly clutched in the six +sharklike jaws of Scylla. There they hung for a moment, like fishes +just caught by the angler's hook; the next instant they were dragged +into the black mouth of the cavern, calling with their last breath on +their leader's name. This was the most pitiful thing that Odysseus had +ever beheld, in all his long years of travel on the sea. + +III + +The last trial was now at hand, and if they could stand this final +test a happy home-coming was promised to them all. By next day's dawn +they ran down to the fair isle of Helios, and as they drew near they +heard the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep. Then Odysseus +remembered the warnings of Circe and Teiresias, and sought to persuade +his men to sail past the island and fly from the reach of temptation. +But they murmured against him, and Eurylochus, his lieutenant, gave +voice to their feelings thus: "Thou man of iron, thou hast no pity on +us, but thinkest that we are all as hardy and as strong as thou art. +Hungry and weary as we are, wouldst thou have us turn away from this +fair isle, where we could prepare a comfortable meal, and take +refreshing sleep? Shall we add the horrors of night to the horrors of +the sea, and confront the demons of storm that haunt the caverns of +darkness? Nay, suffer us to abide here to-night, and to-morrow we will +hoist sail again." + +Odysseus saw by the looks of his men that it would be useless to +strain his authority, and so he gave way, though with sore reluctance, +only exacting a solemn oath from the whole company that they would +keep their hands off the cattle of Helios. When each in turn had taken +the oath they landed on the shore of a sheltered bay, and encamped by +a fair spring of fresh water. + +During the night it began to blow hard, and early next morning, as the +weather was still stormy and the wind contrary, they hauled up their +galley and bestowed her in a roomy cave, beyond the reach of wind and +water. Odysseus repeated his warnings, and the crew then dispersed, to +while away the time until the weather should mend. + +For a whole month they had nothing but contrary gales from the south +and east, and long before that time had run out they had come to the +end of their store of provisions. For some time they contrived to live +on the fish which they caught by angling from the rocks, though this +was but poor fare for the robust appetites of those heroic days. + +All this time Odysseus kept a careful watch over the movements of his +men, fearing that they might be driven by hunger to break the oath +which they had taken. But one morning he wandered away to a distant +part of the island, that he might spend an hour in solitary prayer and +meditation. Having found a secluded spot, he washed his hands, and +prayed earnestly to the gods for succour: and when he had prayed, +heaven so ordered it that he fell into a deep sleep. + +Then the demon of mischief entered into the heart of Eurylochus, a +factious knave, who had more than once thwarted the counsels of +Odysseus. "Comrades," he said, "let us make an end of this misery. +Death in any shape is loathly to us poor mortals, but death by hunger +is the most hideous of all. Come, let us take the choicest of the +herds of Helios, and feast upon them, after sacrifice to the gods. +When we return to Ithaca we will build a temple to Helios, and appease +him with rich offerings. And even though he choose to wreck our ship +and drown us all, I would rather swallow the brine, and so make an +end, than waste away by inches on a desert island." + +The famishing sailors lent a ready ear to his words, and having picked +out the fattest of the oxen they slaughtered them and offered +sacrifice, plucking the leaves of an oak as a substitute for the +barley-meal for sprinkling between the horns of the victims, and +pouring libations of water instead of wine. When the vain rite was +finished, they spitted slices of the meat, and roasted them over the +glowing embers. + +Meanwhile Odysseus had awakened from his sleep, and made his way, not +without forebodings of ill, back to the camp. As he approached, the +steam of roasting meat was borne to his nostrils. "Woe is me!" he +cried, "the deed is done! What a price must we now pay for one hour of +sleep." + +Vengeance, indeed, was already prepared. Helios received prompt news +of the sacrilege from one of the nymphs who had charge of his flocks +and herds, and hastened to Olympus to demand speedy punishment for the +transgressors, vowing that if they escaped he would leave the earth in +darkness and carry the lamp of day to the nether world. Zeus promised +that the retribution should be swift and complete, and Helios +thereupon returned immediately to his daily round, knowing full well +that the father of gods would keep his word. + +When Odysseus entered the camp he rebuked his men bitterly for their +impiety. But no words, and no repentance, could now repair the +mischief; the cattle were slain, and in that very hour dire portents +occurred, to show them the enormity of their crime. A strange moaning +sound, like the lowing of kine, came from the meat on the spits, and +the hides of the slaughtered beasts crawled and writhed. + +In spite of these dreadful omens they continued for six days to feast +upon the herds of Helios. On the seventh day the wind blew fair, and +they launched their vessel and continued their voyage. The last +vestige of the island had hardly been lost to view when the sky became +black with clouds, and a violent squall struck the ship, snapping her +mast, which fell upon the helmsman, and dashed out his brains. A +moment after, a deafening peal of thunder broke overhead, and the +avenging bolt of Zeus fell upon the ship, scattering her timbers, and +strewing the charred carcasses of the crew upon the waves. + +Odysseus alone escaped with his life from that tremendous stroke, and +clinging to a spar floated all day, until he came in sight of the +strait between Scylla and Charybdis. By the favour of heaven he was +once more preserved from this great peril, and on the tenth day after +the loss of his vessel he was thrown ashore by the waves on the island +of Calypso. + + + + +Odysseus lands in Ithaca + +I + +The last farewell has been spoken, the good ship is loosed from her +moorings, and Alcinous is standing on the quay, surrounded by the +nobles of Phæacia, to bid his illustrious guest god-speed. The picked +crew bend to their oars, and the galley leaps forward, like a mettled +steed who knows his master's voice. The setting sun is just gilding +the towers of the city as they cross the harbour bar. Swift as a +falcon the magic vessel skims over the swelling waters, and the +toil-worn hero lays him down to rest on a soft couch prepared for him +in the stern. Then a deep and deathlike sleep falls upon him, and he +lies breathing gently as an infant, while the soft southern breeze +plays with his dark clustering hair. + +There is a certain haven in the island of Ithaca, protected by two +lofty headlands, leaving a narrow passage between them. Within, the +water is so still that ships lie there without moorings, safe and +motionless. At the head of the haven is a long-leaved olive-tree, +overshadowing a cool and pleasant cave, sacred to the "Nymphs called +Naiads, of the running brooks."[1] Inside the cave are bowls and +pitchers of stone, and great stone looms, at which the Naiads weave +their fine fabrics of sea-purple dye. It is a favourite haunt of the +honey-bee, whose murmurs mingled with the splashing of perennial +springs make drowsy music in the place. There are two gates to the +cavern, one towards the north, where mortal feet may pass, and the +other on the south side, which none may enter save the gods alone. + +[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Tempest."] + +The day-star was gazing on that still, glassy mere as the Phæacians +steered between the sentinel cliffs and drove their galley ashore in +front of the cave. They lifted Odysseus, still sleeping, from the +stern, and laid him down gently, couch and all, on the sand. Then they +brought all the rich gifts, and set them down by the root of the +olive-tree, out of the reach of any chance wayfarer; and having +bestowed all safely they launched their ship, and started on their +voyage home. + +But they were destined to pay dear for their good service to the +stranger. Poseidon marked their course with a jealous eye, and he went +to his brother, Zeus, and thus preferred his complaint: "Behold now +this man hath reached home in safety and honour, and brought the oath +to naught which I sware against him, when I vowed that he should +return to Ithaca in evil plight! Is my power to be defied, and my +worship slighted, by these Phæacians, who are of mine own race?" + +"Thine honour is in thine own hands," answered Zeus. "Assert thy +power, lift up thy hand and strike, that all men may fear to infringe +thy privilege as lord of the sea." + +Having thus obtained his brother's consent, Poseidon went and took his +stand by the harbour mouth at Phæacia, and as soon as the vessel drew +near he smote her with his hand, and turned her with all her crew into +a rock, which remains there, rooted in the sea, unto this day. + +II + +Twilight had not yielded to day when Odysseus awoke from his +trancelike sleep, and gazed in bewilderment around him. His senses had +not yet fully come back to him, and after his twenty years' absence he +knew not where he was. All seemed strange--the winding paths, the +harbour, the cliffs, and the very trees. With a cry of dismay he +sprang to his feet, and cried aloud: "Good lack, what land have I come +to now, and who be they that dwell there? Are they savage and rude, or +gentle and hospitable to strangers?" Then his eye fell on the gifts +which had been brought with him from Phæacia. What was he to do with +all this wealth? "Now this is a sorry trick which the Phæacians have +played me," he muttered again, "to carry me to a strange land, when +they had promised to convey me safe to Ithaca." + +So unworthily did Odysseus deem of his benefactors that he fell to +counting his goods, for fear lest they should have carried off a +portion of the gifts while he slept. He found the tale complete, and +when he had finished counting them he wandered disconsolate along the +sand, mourning for the country which he thought still far away. As he +went thus, with heavy steps and downcast eyes, a shadow fell across +his path, and looking up he saw a fair youth, clad and armed like a +young prince, who stood before him and smiled in his face with kindly +eyes. Glad to meet anyone of so friendly an aspect, Odysseus greeted +him, asked for his countenance and protection, and inquired the name +of the country. + +"Either thou art simple," answered the youth, "or thy home is far +away, if thou knowest not this land. It is a place not unknown to +fame, but named with honour wherever mortal speech is heard. Rugged +indeed it is, and unfit for horses and for chariots, but rich in corn +and wine, and blessed by the soft rain of heaven. On its green +pastures roam countless flocks and herds, and streams pour their +abundance from its forest-clad hills. Therefore the name of Ithaca is +spoken far and wide, and hath reached even to the distant land of +Troy." + +The wanderer's heart burned within him when he heard his dear native +island described with such loving praise. But dissembling his joy he +set his nimble wits to work, and began to spin a fine fiction for the +stranger's ear. "I have heard of Ithaca," he said, "as thou sayest, +even in Troy, where I fought under Idomeneus, King of Crete. And now I +am an exile, flying from the vengeance of Idomeneus, whose son, +Orsilochus, I slew, because he sought to deprive me of my share in the +Trojan spoil. For he bore a grudge against me, because I would not pay +court to his father at Troy, but made a party of my own, and fought +for my own hand. For him I laid an ambush, and slew him in a secret +place, under cover of night. Then I fled down to the sea, and bribed +the crew of a Phoenician ship to carry me and my goods to Pylos. But +the storm wind drove them out of their course, and they put in here +for shelter. Sore battered and weary we landed here, having hardly +escaped with our lives; and while I slept they brought my goods +ashore, and sailed away for Sidon, leaving me alone with my sorrow." + +Intent on his tale, Odysseus had not noticed the sudden change which +had come over his hearer; for his eyes had been turned away, as he +strove to spell out the features of the country, which still seemed +unfamiliar. Now he looked round again, and instead of that dainty +youth he saw a stately female form, tall and fair, in aspect like the +mighty goddess Athene. And in truth it was the daughter of Zeus +herself who answered him, smiling and touching him with a playful +gesture. "Thou naughty rogue!" she said, "wilt thou never forget thy +cunning shifts, wherein none can surpass thee, no, not the gods +themselves? Yea, thou hast a knavish wit, and no man can equal thee in +craft, as no god can rival me. Yet for all thy skill thou knewest me +not for Pallas Athene, who is ever near thee in all thy trials, and +made thee dear to all the Phæacians. And now am I come to help thee +hide thy goods, and weave a plot to ensnare the foes who beset thy +house. Thou hast still much to endure, before thy final triumph, and +thou must enter thy halls as a stranger, and suffer many things by the +hands of violent men." + +"It is hard, O goddess," answered Odysseus, "for a mortal man to know +thee, keen though he be of wit; for thou appearest in a hundred +shapes. Yet well I know that thou wast kind to me in days of old, when +I fought with the Greeks at Troy. But since that time I have never +seen thee, in all my wanderings and perils, save once in Phæacia. Now +tell me truly, I implore thee, what is this place where I am +wandering? Thou saidst 'twas Ithaca, but in that I think thou speakest +falsely, with intent to deceive me; or is this indeed my native land?" + +"Ever the same Odysseus as of old," said Athene, smiling again, +"cautious and wary, and hard to convince. Verily thou art a man after +mine own heart, and therefore can I never leave thee or forsake thee +in all thy cares. Any other man would have rushed to embrace his wife, +after so many years of wandering; but thou must needs prove her and +make trial of her constancy, before thou takest her to thy heart. And +if thou wouldst know why I held aloof from thee so long, it was +because of Poseidon, my father's brother, who ever pursued thee with +his ire. Yet I knew that thou wouldst return at last, and have waited +patiently for that hour, And now I will open thine eyes, that thou +mayest know the land of thy birth." + +As she spoke she touched his eyes, and a mist seemed to fall away from +them, so that he recognised every feature of the place, the slopes of +Neritus, waving with forest trees, the spreading olive-tree, the +harbour, and the cavern where he had many a time sacrificed to the +nymphs. Then Odysseus rejoiced in spirit, and kneeling down he kissed +his native soil, and put up a prayer to the guardian deities of the +place: "Greeting, lovely Naiads, maiden daughters of Zeus! Ne'er hoped +I to see your faces again, Give ear unto my prayer, and if I live and +prosper by the favour of Athene I will pay you rich offerings, as I +was wont to do." + +"Doubt not my good-will," said Athene, when he had finished; "that is +assured thee. But it is time to secure these goods of thine in a safe +hiding-place. After that we will advise what is next to be done." + +With that she dived into the cave, closely followed by Odysseus, and +showed him where he best might conceal his treasure. When all was +safely bestowed, she set a great stone in the mouth of the cavern, and +sat down at the foot of the olive-tree, motioning Odysseus to take his +place at her side. "Now mark my words," began Athene, "thou hast a +heavy task before thee, to purge thy house of the shameless crew who +for three years past have held the mastery there, and sought to tempt +thy wife from her loyalty to thee. All this time she has been putting +them off with promises which she has no mind to fulfil." + +"Tis well," answered Odysseus, "that thou hast warned me; else had I +fallen in my own hall, even as Agamemnon fell. But come, contrive some +cunning device, whereby I may avenge me, and be thou at my side to aid +me, that my heart fail me not. Pour into me the same might and the +same valour as when we sacked Priam's royal citadel; then should I +fear nothing, though I fought single-handed against three hundred +men." + +"I will not fail thee, of that be sure," replied Athene, "when the +time comes to enter on that task. They shall pay full dear for thy +substance which they devour, even with their very blood and brains, +which shall be shed upon the ground like water. But thou must not +appear among them in this fashion. I will give thee a disguise which +none can penetrate, not even Penelope herself. And when thou leavest +this place, go first to the swineherd, who abides ever by his charge, +faithful to thee and to thy house. Thou wilt find him sitting by the +swine on their feeding ground, near Raven's Rock and the fountain +Arethusa, where there is abundance of acorns and fair water. Remain +there and inquire of him concerning all things, while I go to Sparta +to summon Telemachus, thy son, who went to visit Menelaus to ask news +of thee." + +"Why didst thou permit him to go on a vain errand?" asked Odysseus. +"Was it that he might suffer as I have suffered, in wandering o'er the +deep, while others devour his living?" + +"Be not over anxious for him," answered Athene; "I myself sent him on +that quest, that he might win a good name among men. And now he sits +secure in the wealthy house of Menelaus, dwelling in luxury and +honour. The wooers have laid an ambush against his return; but all +their malice shall be brought to naught." + +It was now time for Odysseus to start on his way to the swineherd. But +first he had to submit to a strange transformation. Athene touched him +with a rod which she was carrying, and instantly the flesh shrivelled +on his limbs, the clustering locks fell away from his head, and the +keen, piercing glance of his eyes was quenched. He who a moment before +had been a mighty man in his prime was now become a wrinkled, aged +beggar, clad in miserable, grimy rags, with a staff, and a tattered +scrip, hanging by a cord from his shoulder. For a cloak she gave him +an old deer's hide, from which all the hair was gone. Thus totally +disguised, he parted from the goddess, and started inland, following a +rugged mountain path, while Athene went to summon Telemachus from +Sparta. + + + + +Odysseus and Eumæus + + +I + +The office of swineherd was a position of great trust and importance +among the patriarchal chieftains of Homeric Greece. The principal diet +was the flesh of swine and oxen, and these animals formed the chief +part of their wealth. Eumæus, the chief swineherd of Odysseus, lived +apart in a lonely place among the hills, where he had enclosed a wide +space of ground with a stone fence defended at the top with brambles, +and in front by a palisade of oak. Within the fence were twelve styes, +and in each stye were fifty sows with their young. The boars had their +quarters outside the enclosure, and their number had been greatly +diminished by the constant demand for hog's flesh among the suitors. +Still, they reached the formidable total of three hundred and fifty--a +noisy and ravenous multitude. + +It was no light task to provide shelter for nearly a thousand swine, +with their young; yet Eumæus had undertaken this duty during his +master's long absence, without the knowledge of Laertes or Penelope. +And here he was sitting, on this sunny morning, cutting up a +well-tanned ox-hide to make straps for sandals, while four dogs, large +and fierce as wolves, prowled near at hand. Three of his helpers were +gone with the swine to their feeding ground, and the fourth had been +sent to the town with a fat hog for the wooers. + +Suddenly the dogs rushed forward, baying furiously, and an old man in +tattered raiment appeared at the gate of the courtyard. It would have +gone hard with the stranger if Eumæus had not promptly come to the +rescue, and driven the dogs off with a volley of stones. "Old man," +said Eumæus, as the dogs slunk away yelping, "it was well that I was +near, or thou hadst surely been torn to pieces, and brought shame on +me. I have trouble enough without that. Here I sit, fattening my +master's swine for other men's tables, while he wanders, perchance, +among strangers, in poverty and want. But come into my hut, and when +thou hast comforted thy soul with meat and wine thou shalt tell thy +tale of sorrow." + +Odysseus (for he it was, though sorely disfigured) followed Eumæus +into the hut, and sat down on a shaggy goatskin, which the swineherd +spread for him on a heap of brushwood. "Heaven bless thee," he said, +when he was seated, "for this kindly welcome!" "I do but my duty," +answered Eumæus. "The stranger and the beggar are sacred, by law +divine. 'Tis but little that I can do, who serve young and haughty +masters, in the absence of my true lord, who would have rewarded me +nobly, and given me a plot of ground and a wife, had he been here to +see how Heaven blesses the work of my hands. But he is gone to swell +the host of those who fell in Helen's cause. Cursed be she, and all +her race, for she hath robbed me of the kindest master that ever man +served." + +In the midst of his sorrow, Eumæus forgot not his duties as host. +Going out he took two young swine, slaughtered and dressed them, and +set the flesh, all smoking on the spits, before Odysseus. Then he +mixed wine in a bowl of ivy wood, and sitting down opposite to his +guest bade him eat and drink. + +"'Tis but poor fare which I have to offer you," he said. "The best of +the herd ever goes to the young lords who are wooing my mistress. +Their wantonness and riot calls aloud to Heaven for vengeance. They +are worse than the wildest band of robbers that ever lived by open +pillage and violence. Such waste of good meat and wine was never seen +before. For a wealthy man was Odysseus, and his flocks and herds still +range over all the hills of Ithaca. And from every flock the fattest +and the choicest is driven off day by day to feed their dainty +mouths." + +Odysseus fell to with keen appetite, for he had eaten nothing since he +left Phæacia. And when he had satisfied his hunger he pledged Eumæus +in a full cup, and led him on to discourse on his favourite theme--the +virtues and the sorrows of his lord. "Tell me more," he said, "of thy +master. Who knows but that I may have met him in my travels, for I +have wandered in many lands." + +"Old man," answered Eumæus, "I see thy bent. Thou wouldst forge some +glozing tale to beguile the ears of that poor stricken lady, Penelope. +Many a beggar has come to her doors crammed full of lies to amuse her +widowed heart; and she listens, and doubts, and weeps. And thou too, +methinks, hast a like fertile fancy; for hunger and want are rare +inventors. But save thy wits for a better purpose; thou canst not +bring him back to life, or clothe with warm flesh his bones, long +since picked clean by carrion birds or ravenous fish. He is lost for +ever, and sorrow is the portion of us who remain, but especially of +me, for he was dearer to me than father and mother, dearer than my +native land." + +"Friend," said Odysseus, "thou hast misjudged me sorely, in thinking +me one of those greedy mendicants who tell lies for the sake of meat +and drink. Believe me or not, I will say what is in my heart, and when +my words are proved true by the event I will claim my reward. Odysseus +is near at hand, and ere many days have passed he shall be seen in +Ithaca, and take vengeance on those who oppress his wife and son. I +swear it by this table at which I have eaten, and by the hearth of +Odysseus, and by Zeus, the god of hospitality." + +Eumæus remained totally unconvinced by this solemn assertion. "Talk no +more of him," he said with emotion, "it cuts me to the heart to hear +his very name. Would that it might be as thou sayest!--but 'tis an +idle dream. Peace be unto his ashes! And may the gods at least +preserve unto us his son, Telemachus, who lately departed on a witless +errand, led thereto, as I think, by some malign deity who hates the +house of Odysseus. But no more of this! Tell me rather of thyself, who +and whence thou art, and how thou camest to Ithaca." + +Eumæus had not extolled the fertile invention of Odysseus for nothing. +Forthwith he began a wondrous tale of adventure, a little epic in +itself, with some points of resemblance to his own true story. "I am a +native of Crete," he began, "and the son of a wealthy man. When my +father died I received but a scanty portion of his goods. +Nevertheless, because of my valour and the might of my hands, I won a +noble and wealthy lady for my wife. Thou wouldst not deem, perhaps, to +see me now, that I was once a mighty man of war; yet even in the +stubble we may judge what the wheat has been. From my youth up I lived +amidst the clash of shield and spear, and loved battle and ambush, +siege and foray. But I cared not for plodding industry, which gives +increase unto a house, and fills it with the bright faces of children. +Such I was as Heaven made me, a man of war and blood. + +"Before the sons of Greece went up to Troy I was nine times chosen +captain of an armed band to make war in the land of strangers, and +came back laden with booty, so that my name was known and dreaded in +Crete. And when the summons went round in all the coasts of Greece to +follow the banner of Agamemnon, who but I was chosen by the common +voice to share the command with Idomeneus? I was fain to renounce that +hard and perilous service, but it might not be; so for nine years I +fought at Troy, and after our return to Crete I abode but one month +with my wife and children, for at the end of that time my spirit +called me to Egypt. I manned nine ships, and on the fifth day the +north wind brought me safe with all my company to the land of Nile. + +"Then I sent out a few chosen men to explore the country, and kept +myself close with the rest of my force until they should bring back +their report. But my scouts forgot their duty, and carried away by +lust of plunder began to harry and ravage the fields of the Egyptians. +Quickly the hue and cry went round, and an armed multitude, both horse +and foot, came suddenly upon us, breathing fury and vengeance. We +could make no stand against such a host, and all my comrades were +speedily slain or taken captive. When I saw that all was lost I threw +away helmet and shield, dropped my spear, and falling on my knees +before the chief captain of the Egyptians begged him to spare my life. +He heard my petition, set me on his chariot, and brought me to his +home. There I remained seven years and gathered much wealth; for I had +found favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave me freely of +their possessions. + +"In the eighth year there came a certain Phoenician to Egypt, a crafty +and covetous rogue, and he persuaded me to go with him to Phoenicia. +So I went, and abode with him a whole year, and when the spring came +round again I sailed with him to Africa, whither he was bound with a +freight of merchandise. His purpose was to sell me in Africa as a +slave for a great price; but Zeus willed it otherwise, for as we +sailed southwards from Crete a great storm arose, and the ship went +down with all her men, while I escaped by clinging to the mast, and +after nine days was carried by the winds and the waves to Thesprotia, +where I was kindly entreated by the king of that country. + +"There I had news of Odysseus, who had touched at that coast on his +voyage to Ithaca, and stayed as a guest in that same house. This I +heard from the king's own lips, and he showed me all the treasure +which Odysseus had left in his charge, while he himself went on a +journey to Dodona, to inquire of the oracle concerning the manner of +his return. Thou wouldst wonder to behold all the wealth which thy +lord had gathered, an exceeding great store. + +"Odysseus himself I saw not; for it chanced that a ship was sailing +for Dulichium, and the king commended me to her captain, bidding him +carry me thither with all care and tenderness. Now this man was a +villain, and be devised evil against me; for when we left the coast of +Thesprotia, he stripped me of the raiment which the king had given me, +clothed me in these rags, and bound me with cords, intending to sell +me as a slave. In the evening he landed in Ithaca, leaving me, bound +as I was, in the ship. But I broke my bonds, and escaped by swimming +to another part of the coast, where I lay all night in a thicket. In +the morning they sought me with great outcry, but found me not; and +after awhile they sailed away. When they were gone I arose, and was +led by Heaven's hand to thy doors." + +The swineherd listened attentively to the well-imagined tale, and when +it was ended he said: "Hapless man, thou hast been the very sport of +Destiny, and my heart is big when I think of thy wanderings and thy +woes. But as touching Odysseus, that part of thy story likes me not; +methinks 'tis a cunning invention to flatter my ears. Long ago I was +deceived by a false report, brought hither by a wandering exile like +thee, who said that he had seen Odysseus repairing his ships in Crete, +and bade us look for his coming in the autumn of that year. Since then +I have closed my ears against all such rumours, and therefore I say, +tell me no more of him, for I cannot and will not believe but that he +is dead." + +II + +Evening was now coming on, and it was time for the herdsmen to return +with their charge from the feeding-ground. Presently, with huge +commotion, and multitudinous din, the swine were driven home and +penned in their styes. Then Eumæus called to his helpers, and bade +them bring the best of the herd to make savoury meat for his guest +"Spare not," he said, "to bring the fattest and choicest of them all, +for why should we be careful, when strangers devour our labour?" So +they brought a hog of five years old, exceeding fat, and having +slaughtered it they offered sacrifice, not forgetting a prayer for the +return of Odysseus. When all rites of religion were duly paid, they +roasted the flesh, and served it on wooden platters. Odysseus was +honoured by Eumæus with a choice portion of the loin. + +When they had finished, night came on, dark and stormy, with furious +gusts of rain and wind. Just as they were about to retire to rest, +Odysseus, who seldom spoke without a purpose, turned to his kind host +and said: "Eumæus, the good wine has loosened my tongue, and moved me +to tell thee a story of long ago, when these withered limbs were in +their lusty prime, and my heart burned with the fire of youth. Then I +was chosen with Menelaus and Odysseus to lead an ambush under the +walls of Troy. With a picked company we took up our position in a +marshy place, and lay down in our armour among the rushes. It was a +bitter night, with snow and frost, and our shields were soon coated +with ice. Now it chanced that I had left my cloak in the camp, and +while the others lay warm in their thick woollen mantles, I was +perishing with cold. At last I could bear it no longer, so I nudged +Odysseus, who was lying next to me, with my elbow, and said to him: +'Son of Laertes, the cold is killing me. I came in my folly without a +cloak, and I can never hold out until dawn in this cruel frost.' And +he, ever ready of wit as he was, instantly contrived means to relieve +me. Whispering to me to keep counsel he rose on his elbow, and called +to the others, saying: 'Comrades, I have been warned in a dream that +our numbers are too weak for the task which has been laid upon us. +Will not one of you run down to the camp, and ask Agamemnon to send us +further succour?' + +"Thereupon one of our men arose, and flinging off his cloak ran off to +carry the message to Agamemnon. And I lay wrapped in the garment, warm +and safe, until the dawn. Ah! those were brave days; what changes have +I seen since then!" + +"I read thy meaning," said Eumæus; "and as a reward for thy good story +thou shalt sleep in comfort to-night. But to-morrow thou must make +shift to wear thine own rags again, for I am but ill furnished with +changes of raiment. When Telemachus returns he will supply all thy +wants, and send thee whithersoever thou art minded to go." + +So saying he drew a truckle-bed close to the fire, and heaped it with +the skins of sheep and goats. There Odysseus lay down to rest, and +Eumæus threw over him a stout mantle of his own. All the other +herdsmen slept in the hut; but Eumæus, ever watchful for his master's +property, went out, armed to the teeth, to pass the night among the +swine, under the shelter of a hollow rock, which kept off the cold +north wind. And Odysseus was glad when he saw that good servant so +faithful to his trust. + + + + +The Return of Telemachus + + +I + +While these important events were happening in Ithaca, Telemachus was +living as an honoured guest in the house of Menelaus. One night, while +he lay between sleeping and waking, full of anxious thought, Athene +appeared to him in her own person, and addressed him thus: "Thou +lingerest too long here, Telemachus. It is time for thee to return and +keep an eye on thy goods, lest thou be stripped of all in thy absence. +Thy mother's kinsmen are urgent with her to wed Eurymachus, the +wealthiest of the wooers; and, if she yield, it may be that she will +take of thy heritage to increase the house of the man who wins her. +Therefore make haste and get thee home, that thou mayest be at hand to +defend thy rights. Know also that the wooers are lying in wait for +thee in the strait between Ithaca and Samos, with intent to slay thee; +take heed then that thou shun that passage, and sail home by another +way. And when thou art come to Ithaca, go straight to the dwelling of +Eumæus, and send him down to Penelope with news of thy return." + +Such a message, brought by such a messenger, was not to be neglected. +Telemachus at once roused Pisistratus, the son of Nestor, who was +sleeping near, and declared his intention of starting at once; but +when Pisistratus pointed out how displeasing such conduct would be to +their princely host he consented to wait till morning. + +Accordingly, when day was come, he went to Menelaus, and asked leave +to depart at once. Menelaus consented, only insisting that he should +remain for the morning meal. While this was preparing, the generous +prince went to his treasure chamber, and returned laden with a +splendid silver bowl, the work of Phoenician artists, which he had +received when he visited the King of Sidon on his voyage from Troy. +And Helen brought an embroidered robe, the work of her own fair hands, +as a wedding gift for his future bride. + +As soon as they had eaten they mounted the chariot, and drove slowly +through the outer gate of the courtyard, Menelaus and Helen following +on foot Here they drew up to say farewell, and Menelaus pledged them +in a bowl of wine, wishing them god-speed. "And forget not," he added, +"to greet Nestor for me when ye come to Pylos, for he was ever gentle +to me as a father when we sojourned in the land of Troy." + +"I will not forget to carry thy message," answered Telemachus; "would +that I were as sure to see my father when I come to Ithaca, that I +might tell him of thy noble hospitality, and show him thy gifts." + +Hardly had the words been uttered when a clamour of voices was heard, +and a crowd of men and women ran past, pursuing with loud cries an +eagle, which had just seized a great white goose from the courtyard, +and was carrying her off in his talons. Straight over the chariot he +flew, and with a scream of triumph sped away to the mountains with his +booty. "Consider now, my prince," said Pisistratus, "whether this omen +was sent to us or to thee." + +Menelaus, who was somewhat slow of wit, paused to deliberate; but +before he could frame an answer, the quick brain of Helen was ready +with an interpretation. "The eagle is thy father, Odysseus," she said +to Telemachus, "and the meaning of the omen is that he is already in +Ithaca, or close at hand, bringing death and doom to his foes." + +Thus encouraged by fair portents, they took leave of their kind hosts, +and started on their way to Pylos, where they arrived on the following +day. As they drew near to the house of Nestor, Telemachus begged his +friend to drive straight down to the sea. "For I know," he said, "that +thy father will constrain me to abide with him, and will take no +denial; and I wish to embark for Ithaca without further delay." +Pisistratus agreed, and avoiding the house of Nestor they passed on to +the place where the ship lay moored. + +Having summoned his crew, Telemachus was preparing to embark, when a +man armed and equipped as a traveller approached the vessel, and +inquired who he was and whither he was bound. Having received an +answer, he requested Telemachus to carry him to Ithaca. "My name," he +said, "is Theoclymenus, and I am descended from Melampus, the famous +seer, from whom I have inherited the prophetic gift. I am an exile +from my native land of Argos, for I have slain a man of my own tribe, +and am flying from the avenger of blood. Set me, I pray thee, on thy +ship, and take me with you, for sore is my need." + +"Heaven forbid," answered Telemachus, "that I should deny thee, seeing +that thy very life is at stake. Make haste, and come on board"; and he +made room for the stranger to sit by him in the stern of the vessel. + +After a quick and prosperous voyage they sighted the coast of Ithaca, +and landed on a deserted part of the coast within easy reach of the +swineherd's dwelling. Here Telemachus dismissed his company, bidding +them take the galley round to the harbour of Ithaca, and promising to +reward them for their good service. He was just about to depart when +Theoclymenus detained him and asked where he was to find shelter. +Telemachus answered in some embarrassment. "'Twere no friendly act," +he said, "to send thee to my house, for my mother lives apart in her +own chamber and sees no man, and I fear lest thou suffer some harm +from the lawless men who riot in my halls. Therefore I advise thee to +go to Eurymachus, who is now the most powerful man in Ithaca, and +hopes to sit in my father's seat; but perchance Zeus will send him +another issue of his wooing." + +Just as he spoke a rushing of wings was heard on the right, and they +saw a falcon passing close at hand with a dove clutched in his talons, +and tearing his prey so that the feathers fluttered down at their +feet. Then Theoclymenus, who was deeply skilled in augury, drew +Telemachus apart and said: "It is a manifest sign of victory to thee +and to thy house." "May Heaven fulfil thy prophecy," answered +Telemachus, "and if thy words prove true I will load thee with +benefits, and give thee cause to bless this hour." Being now convinced +that he had found a friend, he called Peiræus, in whom he had full +confidence, and bade him take Theoclymenus under his care until he +himself returned to the town. Peiræus readily undertook the charge, +and this point being settled they thrust out from the shore and rowed +away in the direction of the harbour, while Telemachus strode off with +rapid footsteps along the path which led to the swineherd's hut. + +II + +On the evening before the arrival of Telemachus Odysseus was sitting +after supper with Eumæus and the other herdsmen, and wishing to learn +the purpose of Eumæus towards him he said: "I will no longer be a +burden to thee and thy fellows. To-morrow I will go to the town and +beg my living, if thou wilt send one of thy men to show me the way. +Perchance also I might visit the house of Odysseus, and have speech +with Penelope. And it may be that the wooers will take me into their +service, for I would have thee know that by favour of Hermes I am +right skilful of my hands, and no one can match me in laying a fire +and cleaving dry logs, in carving and roasting meat, and in pouring of +wine." + +But this proposal found no favour with the honest swineherd. "Who put +such a thought," he asked, "into thy mind? Serve with the wooers! They +would put a speedy end to thy service, and pay thee thy wages in +blood. Those who wait upon them are of a different sort from thee--gay +striplings, daintily clad, with glossy hair and comely faces. Remain +with us until Telemachus comes home; thou art no burden either to me +or to my men." + +"Be it so, then," answered Odysseus, "and may Heaven requite thee for +thy goodness to a poor homeless outcast, who wanders in misery, driven +by hunger from door to door! And since I am still to be thy guest, +tell me something of thy master's mother, and of the father whom he +left behind when he went to the wars. Do they still live, or have they +gone to their rest?" + +"This also thou shalt know," replied Eumæus. "Laertes his father still +lives, though sore stricken with years and sorrows; for his son's long +absence and his wife's miserable end have brought him to the verge of +the grave. She died long ago, and by such a death as I pray may never +come to anyone who is dear to me--she, my kind mistress, who brought +me up with her youngest daughter, and hardly loved me less. As long as +she lived I would often go down to the house, and she ever entertained +me kindly, and gave me something to carry back with me to my dwelling +on the land. Full well she knew how to sweeten the lot of a thrall +with pleasant words, and little acts of tenderness and love. But now I +seldom leave my charge, for since the wooers brought this curse upon +my master's house Penelope hides her face from us, and has no comfort +for us either in word or deed." + +Odysseus listened with deep interest, and when Eumæus paused he +expressed a desire to hear the story of his life. "How was it," he +asked, "that already in early childhood thou wast cast on the mercy of +strangers? Wast thou taken captive in war, or did robbers seize thee +as thou satst watching sheep on the lonely hills, and sell thee into +bondage?" + +"Fill thy cup," answered Eumæus, "we will pledge each other in a +hearty draught, and then thou shalt hear my tale. The nights are long +at this season, and we shall have time enough to sleep when I have +done. Fate has dealt hardly with me, even as with thee; and we can +find some comfort in telling over our sorrows to each other. + +"There is a certain island called Syria, lying north of Ortygia, not +very large or populous, but a good land, rich in pasture, with waving +cornfields and goodly vineyards. There famine never comes, nor +sickness, but all the people reach a good old age, and then die by the +painless shafts of Artemis or of Apollo. There are two cities which +divide the territory equally between them; and there was one king over +both, my father, Ctesius, son of Ormenus. + +"When I was still very young there came to the island a Phoenician +ship, laden with trinkets for barter. Now in my father's house was a +Phoenician woman, tall and fair, and skilled in needlework. She was my +nurse, and I was wont to run about the town with her. One day, as she +was washing clothes not far from the ship, she was recognised by a +Phoenician sailor as being of his own race, and he inquired how she +came to the island. She answered that she was a native of Sidon, and a +rich man's daughter, stolen from her home by pirates, and sold across +the seas. 'And hast thou a mind to see thy native land again?' asked +the fellow. 'Thy father and mother still live and prosper'; for she +had told him that her father's name was Arybas. 'I will go with you,' +answered the woman, 'if ye will swear an oath to carry me home +unharmed.' They all swore to do as she said, and after that she +instructed them how to proceed. 'Keep close counsel,' she said, 'and +let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet +by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that +aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all. Lose no time in selling +your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let +one of you come up to the house and give me a sign. I will not come +empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my +passage. Furthermore, I have charge of my master's child, a knowing +little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye +may sell him for a great price.' + +"The bargain was struck, and the woman departed. Then for a whole year +they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all +their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father's +house, to warn the woman that the time was come. He brought with him a +necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my +mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price, +the fellow made a sign to my nurse. When he was gone she took me by +the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house. +There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had +been dining with his guests. They had now gone forth to attend the +council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets +and hid them in her bosom. Then with one rapid glance round, to make +sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where +the Phoenician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her, +fearing nothing. + +"Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were +sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival. They took +us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze +springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond +the reach of pursuit. On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of +vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible +blow. They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in +Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes." + +"Twas a sad fate for one of thy tender years," remarked Odysseus, when +Eumæus had finished his story. "Nevertheless thou wast happy to find +such a master--happier far than I, who am still a vagabond and a +wanderer in my old age." + + + + +The Meeting of Telemachus and Odysseus + + +I + +Early next day Eumæus and Odysseus were preparing their morning meal, +when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the hut. The hounds +pricked up their ears at the sound, and ran fawning round the +new-comer, who was evidently well known to them. Odysseus called to +Eumæus, who was busy drawing wine, and said: "Some friend of thine is +coming; for the dogs fawn upon him, and bark not." + +Even as he spoke, a tall figure appeared in the open doorway, and his +own dear son stood before him. Eumæus sprang up amazed, and let fall +the pitcher into which he had been drawing the wine. Then with a cry +of joy he ran to greet his young lord, kissed his hands and his face, +and wept over him. Even as a father yearns over his only son, just +returned from abroad after a ten years' absence, so Eumæus yearned +over Telemachus, and hailed him as one returned from the dead. "Thou +art come, Telemachus," he faltered at last, when his emotion suffered +him to speak, "thou art come back again, dear as mine own life! Ne'er +thought I to see thee again, after thou wast gone to Pylos. Sit thee +down, that I may feast mine eyes upon thee; seldom dost thou come this +way, but abidest in the house, to watch the wasteful deeds of the +wooers." + +Odysseus, in his character of beggar, rose respectfully from his seat, +to make room for the young prince, but Telemachus motioned him to +resume his place, and sat down himself on a heap of brushwood, on +which the swineherd had spread a fleece. While Eumæus was bringing +bread and meat, and filling the cups with wine, Telemachus questioned +him as to his mother, and learnt that no change had occurred in her +relation to the wooers since he left Ithaca. Breakfast being over, +Eumæus, in answer to his inquiry, told him the story of the supposed +stranger. "I have done what I could for him," he added, when he had +repeated what he had heard from Odysseus. "Now I deliver him unto +thee, to do with him as thou wilt; all his hopes are in thy grace." + +"What can I do?" answered Telemachus, in perplexity. "Thou knowest +that I am not master in my own house, and my mother is torn between +two purposes: whether to wait still in patience for her lord's coming, +or to choose a new husband from the noblest of the suitors. Neither +she nor I can give protection to such a guest as this. Therefore I +will bestow upon him a new cloak and doublet, with sandals for his +feet, and arm him with a good sword, and send him whithersoever he +chooses to go. Or if thou art willing, thou canst keep him here with +thee, and I will send down food and raiment for him, that he may not +be a burden to thee and thy men. But I will not allow him to go among +the wooers, and suffer ill-treatment which I have no power to +prevent." + +Odysseus, who had not seen his son since he was an infant, desired to +learn something more of his mind and character; and in order to draw +him into further speech he asked, with an air of indignation, who the +wooers were, and how it was that he submitted to their violence. "Is +the public voice against thee," he asked, "or art thou at feud with +thy brethren, so that they will not help thee? If I were in thy place +I would fall upon them singlehanded, for it were better to die once +for all than tamely to submit to such outrage." + +"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered Telemachus. "'Tis +neither by the consent of the people nor by the ill-will of my +brethren, that this evil hath come upon me. But Heaven hath ordained +that the honours and the burden of our house should ever rest upon one +alone. Laertes, my grandsire, was an only son, and Odysseus was the +sole issue of his marriage; and even so I am the only child of +Odysseus. Therefore I sit helpless and alone, at the mercy of this +ruffian band. But enough of this! We have no hope left, save in the +justice of Heaven." Then he turned to Eumæus, and said: "Make haste +now, go down to the house, and tell Penelope that I have come back +safe from Pylos. Let none else hear it, but come back hither at once, +when thou hast delivered thy message, and I will wait here until thy +return." + +"Shall I not go to Laertes, and tell him also?" asked the swineherd. +"Since the day of thy departure he has tasted neither meat nor drink, +but sits alone in his sorrow, and will not be comforted." + +"My mother can send a handmaid to inform him," answered Telemachus. +"But as for thee, see that thou return here straightway, and lose no +time." + +II + +Soon after the departure of Eumæus, Odysseus and Telemachus were +sitting before the door of the hut, each lost in his own thoughts, +when their attention was attracted by the strange behaviour of the +dogs. These animals, which had been lying basking in the sun, all at +once started up with a stifled cry, and ran whining, with every sign +of terror, to a distant corner of the courtyard. "What ails the +hounds?" said Telemachus, looking up in surprise. But Odysseus was not +long before he saw the cause of their alarm: standing at the outer +gate was a tall female figure, of majestic countenance, and more than +mortal beauty. Telemachus saw her not, but Odysseus instantly knew who +she was, and, obeying a gesture of her hand, he rose from his seat and +went out through the gate. She led him to a place where they were out +of hearing, and then said: "It is time for thee to reveal thyself to +thy son, that together ye may contrive destruction for the wooers. +When the hour of reckoning comes, I shall be near to aid you." +Thereupon she touched him with her wand, and in a moment he was once +more the old Odysseus, still in the full vigour of his manhood, dark +and sunburnt, with thick black hair and curling beard. His rags also +had been replaced by fair clean raiment; and thus completely +transformed he went back to the hut to reveal himself to Telemachus. +Athene, having done her part, had forthwith disappeared. + +Fear came upon Telemachus, and he marvelled exceedingly, when the real +Odysseus appeared before him. "Who art thou," he asked, "that comest +back in a moment thus wondrously transfigured? If thou be a god, as +methinks thou art, let me find favour in thy sight, and we will honour +thee with rich offerings of gold, and with humble prayers." + +"No god am I," answered Odysseus, "but thine own dear father, for +whose sake thou hast suffered so long with groanings and tears." + +With that he kissed him, and giving vent to the tenderness which he +had hitherto restrained he lifted up his voice and wept. But +Telemachus could not yet believe that it was indeed his father whom he +saw before him. "It cannot be," he said, drawing back in affright. "It +is mere magic and glamour practised against me by some hostile power, +to mock my sorrow. No being of flesh and blood could work such a +change upon himself. A moment since thou wast an old man in sordid +raiment, and now thou art like unto the sons of heaven." + +"Forbear!" said Odysseus, "no more amazement! I am thy father, and no +other; if not, thou shalt never see him more. Much have I suffered, +and wandered far, and now in the twentieth year I am come back to my +native land. This change at which thou marvellest is no work of mine, +but was wrought by Athene, daughter of Zeus. The gods can deal with us +as they will, both for our glory and for our shame." + +Then Telemachus was convinced, and fell into his father's arms, and +they wept long and sore over each other, for joy and grief are near +neighbours. Presently they grew calmer, and Odysseus, in answer to his +son's inquiry, told how the Phæacians had conveyed him to Ithaca, and +of all the treasures which he had brought with him. + +"But now we must speak of a sterner task," said Odysseus, when his +story was ended. "Tell me now the number of the wooers, that I may +know how many and what manner of men they be, and thereafter contrive +how we may best assail them, whether by ourselves or with others to +help us." + +"Father," answered Telemachus, "I knew thy high renown, as a warrior +mighty in word and deed. But I fear me greatly that this task is too +hard for us; how shall two men prevail against so many? Listen now and +I will tell thee their number. From Dulichium are two and fifty, with +six men-servants, from Same twenty-four, from Zacynthus twenty, and +from Ithaca itself twelve, all proper men and tall. If we twain fall +upon such a host, we may find the work of vengeance a bitter morsel, +and our bane. It were better, then, to look for some other help." + +"Helpers we shall find, and stout ones too," said Odysseus. "What +sayest thou to Athene and her father, Zeus? Is their aid enough or +shall we look for more?" + +"Mighty indeed are the champions thou namest," replied Telemachus, +"though throned far remote among the clouds; supreme are they in +sovereignty, both on earth and in heaven." + +"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "and ere long the wooers shall +feel their might. Now learn further what thou must do. To-morrow thou +shalt go up to the house, and join the company of the wooers, and +afterwards the swineherd will bring me thither in the disguise of a +beggar old and miserable. If the wooers use me despitefully seek not +to prevent it, but let thy heart endure, even though they beat me, or +drag me by the feet through the doors. Thou mayest reprove them +gently, and bid them cease from their wantonness, but they will not +heed thee for their lives are forfeit already. Mark further, and take +heed what I say. When the time to strike is come I will give thee a +signal, and, forthwith, thou shalt remove all the weapons from the +halls, and make excuse to the wooers, saying that thou art bestowing +them in a safe place, out of reach of the smoke. Leave only two swords +and two shields and two spears, as weapons for ourselves. But above +all I charge thee to let none know of my coming--neither Laertes, nor +Eumæus, nor Penelope herself. Alone we must work, and watch the temper +of the thralls, to see if there be any on our side." + +III + +Meanwhile the faithful swineherd made all haste to carry his message +to Penelope. Just as he was approaching the house, he met one of the +crew of Telemachus' ship coming up from the harbour on the same +errand. So they went together, and while Eumæus conveyed the tidings +privately to Penelope, he who was sent from the ship delivered his +report in the hearing of the whole household. + +Great was the dismay of the suitors when they learnt that their foul +plot had been frustrated. One by one they stole out of the house to a +secret place of meeting; and when they were all assembled they began +to devise what was next to be done. While they were debating they were +joined by Antinous and the crew of the ship which had been lying in +wait for Telemachus in the strait. Always the foremost in violent +counsels, Antinous breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the +young prince. "The boy only escaped us by a miracle," he said. "All +day long we had sentinels on all the heights commanding the sea, and +at night we patrolled the waters in our ship. Yet for all our +vigilance he has slipped through our hands. But I will not be baffled +thus," he added, stamping with fury. "This wretched boy must die, or +we shall never accomplish our purpose. Let us make haste and slay him +before he comes back to the town, or he will call a meeting of the +people and proclaim to all Ithaca that we sought to slay him, and +failed. Then the whole city will rise against us, and we shall have to +fly for our lives." + +Then another of the wooers rose up and rebuked Antinous for his +bloodthirsty counsels. This man's name was Amphinomus, and he was the +chief among the wooers who came from Dulichium. More than any of the +other suitors he found favour with Penelope, for he was a prudent man +and a just, and his voice was pleasant to her ear. "Remember," he +said, "that Telemachus is of royal race; and it is a dreadful thing to +shed the blood of kings. I will have no hand in such an act, without +sure and manifest sign that it is the will of Zeus." + +The speech of Amphinomus was received with a murmur of applause; for +most of the wooers were averse to the violent measures proposed by +Antinous. So they arose, and returned to the house. + +Penelope had heard of their plotting from the herald, Medon, and +obeying a sudden impulse she came down from her chamber, and standing +in the doorway began to upbraid Antinous for his wicked purpose. "Thou +hast the name of a wise and eloquent man," she said, "but thy fame is +better than thy deeds. Wretch, why dost thou lay snares against the +life of my son? Hast thou never heard how thy father came to this +house, flying from the wrath of the Ithacans, who would have slain +him, because he had joined the Taphian pirates in a raid on the +Thesprotians, who were our allies? But Odysseus stood between him and +their fury, and saved his life. A fair return thou art making for that +good service, devouring his substance, paying court to his wife, and +compassing the death of his son." + +Antinous sat biting his lips, and made no answer; but Eurymachus, a +subtler villain, smooth and specious, but all the more dangerous, +spoke for him, and said: "Sage daughter of Icarius, fear nothing for +thy son Telemachus, for while I live no man shall offer him violence. +By this sword I swear it, and I care not who hears me, the man who +seeks to harm him shall die by my hand. I at least have not forgotten +the loving-kindness of thy lord, Odysseus, on whose knees I have often +sat, and taken food and drink from his hand. Therefore I love +Telemachus as a brother, and I swear to thee that none of the wooers +shall do him any harm." + + + + +The Home-coming of Odysseus + + +I + +When Eumæus came back from his errand, Odysseus, who in the meantime +had resumed his disguise, was helping Telemachus to prepare the +evening meal. Telemachus questioned him about the ship which the +wooers had sent out to waylay him on his return from Pylos, but Eumæus +had been in such haste to get back to his farm that he had not stopped +to inquire about the matter. "But thus much I can tell thee," he said: +"as I was crossing the hill which overlooks the town I saw a galley, +bristling with spear and helm, entering the harbour; and I believe +that this was the ship of which thou speakest" + +"No doubt of it," answered Telemachus, with a significant glance at +his father. Then they all fell to their suppers with hearty appetite, +and soon afterwards retired to rest. + +The first chill of dawn was still in the air when Telemachus roused +the swineherd, and announced his intention of proceeding at once to +the town. "I know," he said, "that my mother will have no peace until +she sees me with her own eyes. Now as to this stranger, I charge thee +to take him with thee into the town, that he may beg his bread from +house to house. Burdened as I am already, and full of care, I cannot +provide for him. If he thinks it hard, all the worse for him." + +"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "I have no mind to remain here. +I am too old to take orders from a master, and it is better to beg my +living in the town than in the fields. Therefore I will go, when I +have warmed me at the fire, and the sun is up; for I am ill equipped +to face the frosts of morning." + +Away went Telemachus, covering the ground with rapid strides, his mind +occupied all the way with thoughts of vengeance against the wooers. +The first who saw him when he crossed the threshold of his home was +his old nurse, Eurycleia, who was just then spreading fleeces on the +seats in the great hall. With a cry of joy she ran and fell on his +neck, and kissed him; and all the faithful handmaids of Penelope +crowded round to welcome their young master home. The sound of their +voices reached the ears of Penelope, and with swift steps she came +gliding into the hall, fair as Artemis, or golden Aphrodite. When she +saw Telemachus she flung her arms round his neck and covered his face +with kisses. "Welcome," she sobbed, "Telemachus, my heart's darling, +restored to me beyond all hope! Say, hast thou brought any news of thy +father?" + +But Telemachus was too full of the stern task which lay before him to +leave room for softer emotions. Gently extricating himself from his +mother's embrace he said: "Dear mother, thou shalt hear all in due +season; at present I have other work to do. Go thou to thy chamber, +and put on clean raiment, and when thou hast purified thyself pray to +all the immortal gods to hasten the day of atonement for those who +have wronged our house. I will return presently, when I have done my +business in the town." + +The gentle Penelope went to do her son's bidding, and Telemachus +started for the town, with two hounds following close at his heels. He +seemed taller and manlier after his short absence, and many an eye +followed him with wonder as he passed through the streets. Presently +he came to the place where the wooers were assembled, and they came +crowding about him with false words of welcome. But he turned his back +on them with scorn, and seeing a little group of his father's friends, +among whom were Mentor and the aged Halitherses, he went and sat down +among them. While they were questioning him about his travels, Peiræus +came up, bringing with him the seer, Theoclymenus, whom Telemachus had +left in his charge the day before. "I restore to thee thy guest," said +Peiræus, "who has been entertained in all honour at my house; and if +thou wilt send thy handmaids, I will deliver unto them the treasure +which thou hast brought with thee from Pylos." + +"I thank thee," answered Telemachus; "Theoclymenus shall go with me; +but as to the treasure, do thou keep it for me until these evil days +are passed. If aught untoward befall me, I had rather it remained with +thee than that it should fall into the hands of the wooers." + +Having taken leave of his friends, he returned to the house, taking +Theoclymenus with him. And when they had bathed and put on fresh +raiment, they sat down to meat. The meal proceeded in silence, and at +last Penelope, who was sitting near, busy with her distaff, and +longing impatiently to hear her son's news, said in a tone of +displeasure: "Hast thou no word for thy mother, Telemachus? Or art +thou keeping thy tidings until the wooers return? Surely I thought in +this rare interval of quiet to hear how thou hast fared and what thou +hast learnt on this journey. But if thou hast naught to tell me, I +will go to my widowed bed, and weep away the hours until dawn." + +Roused from his reverie by his mother's reproaches, Telemachus gave a +brief account of his visit to Nestor and Menelaus, and of what they +had told him. Penelope was musing on her son's report, when +Theoclymenus, the second-sighted man, started up from his seat, and +cried: "I see him, I see him! He is landed in Ithaca, he is coming +hither, he is here! Woe unto the suitors! Their hour is at hand, and +not one of them shall escape." + +Penelope had heard such prophecies too often to pay much heed to the +seer's vision. "Ah! my friend," she said, with a sad smile, "I can but +pray that thy words will be fulfilled; if ever they are, it shall be a +happy day for thee." + +At this moment the wooers came trooping in, filling the house with +riot and uproar; and there was an end of all quiet converse for that +day. + +II + +It was past noon before Odysseus and Eumæus set out for the town; for +Eumæus had conceived a great liking for his guest, and listened with +delight to his wonderful tales of adventure. "Come," he said at last, +when Odysseus had finished one of his long stories. "It is time to be +going, though I would willingly have kept thee here. But my young lord +has spoken and we must obey." "Lead on," said Odysseus, "I know what +thou wouldst say; but first give me a staff to lean on, for I heard +thee say that the path was rough." + +So saying he threw his tattered wallet over his shoulder, and taking a +stout staff, which Eumæus offered him, started with his friend across +the hills. After a toilsome walk they reached the top of the hill +which overlooked the town, and descending the slope they came to a +copious spring of water, well fenced with stones, and shaded by a +grove of alders. The water descended into a basin from the face of a +rock in a cool and copious stream; and on either side stood an altar +to the nymphs. "It is the common fountain of the townspeople," +explained Eumæus. "The altars and the basin which receives the water +are the work of our ancient kings." + +Odysseus paused a moment, lost in the memories which were awakened by +that familiar scene. But his reverie was rudely interrupted. While he +stood gazing at the fountain, he heard a rude voice hailing them from +the road, and looking round he saw a man leading a pair of fine goats +towards the town. It was Melanthius, his own goatherd, who was +bringing the best of his flock to make savoury meat for the wooers. + +"Here are two birds of a feather!" shouted the fellow, in jeering +tones--"that wretched swineherd, and a ravenous beggar. A fine guest +thou art bringing to our young masters, and a fair welcome, without +doubt, they will give him. Were it not better that I took him with me +to my farm? He could sweep out the pens, and gather green shoots for +the kids; and we would give him whey to drink, and put some flesh on +these shrunk shanks[1] of his. But the lazy knave will do no work; he +would rather rub his shoulders against every door-post, begging for +broken meat. Broken bones will be his portion, if the wooers see him +near the house of Odysseus." + +[Footnote 1: "A world too wide for his shrunk shanks,"--Shakespeare: +"As You Like It."] + +While he uttered these taunts Melanthius had gradually come close to +Odysseus, and with the last word he lifted up his foot and kicked him +with all his force on the hip. Odysseus stood like a rock, and stirred +not an inch from his ground; his first impulse was to seize the +ruffian by the ankles, and dash out his brains on the road; but he +checked himself with a great effort, and said not a word. + +But Eumæus rebuked the goatherd, and invoked the vengeance of heaven +against him. "Would that our noble master were here!" he cried, "he +would soon make an end of thee, thou braggart! Unfaithful herdsman, +that rovest ever about the town, leaving thy flock to underlings!" + +"Go to, thou dog!" retorted Melanthius, with a savage laugh. "Wilt +thou be ever harping on that string? Thy noble master is dust long +ago, and I would that Telemachus were lying with him. As for thee, I +will one day cast thee bound into a ship, and sell thee across the +seas for a great price." + +With that he left them, and stepped briskly out towards the house, +while Odysseus and Eumæus followed more slowly. Presently they came to +an extensive enclosure, standing conspicuously on a high level plateau +overlooking the town. Behind the fence towered the roof of a great +timber house. They passed through the outer gates, and as they entered +the courtyard they heard the sounds of a harp, and the steam of roast +flesh was borne to their nostrils. + +"Take heed now," said Eumæus, lowering his voice, as they approached +the door of the house. "I will go in first, and do thou follow me +close, lest anyone find thee outside and do thee some hurt." + +"Fear nothing for me," answered Odysseus, "I am no stranger to blows, +for I have been sore buffeted on land and sea. The belly is a stern +taskmaster, which compels us to face both wounds and death." + +So saying he stepped aside to let Eumæus pass, then checked him with a +hasty exclamation; for he had seen something which sent a pang of +sorrow to his heart. Heaped up against the wall by the doorway was a +great pile of refuse, left there until the thralls should carry it +away and lay it on the fields; and there, grievously neglected, and +almost blind with age, lay a great gaunt hound, to all seeming more +dead than alive. What was the emotion of Odysseus when he recognised +in that poor creature his old favourite, Argus, whom he had reared +with his own hand, and trained to the chase, in the old days before he +sailed to Troy! As he stooped down with a caressing gesture the hound +feebly raised his head; a strange light came into his eyes, he drooped +his ears, and wagged his tail, but was too weak to stir from the place +where he lay. Odysseus brushed away a tear, and said to Eumæus: "'Tis +strange that so fine a hound should lie thus uncared for in his old +age. Or do his looks belie his qualities? Handsome he must have been, +as I can see still; but perhaps his beauty was all he had to boast +of." + +"He was my master's favourite hound," answered Eumæus, "and there was +none swifter or keener of scent in all the land. Formerly the young +men would take him with them to hunt the wild goat or the hare or the +deer; but now that he is sore stricken with years not one of the women +will bring him a morsel to eat, or a little water to drink. So it ever +is when the master is absent; for a slave has no conscience when his +owner's eye is not upon him." + +When Eumæus had entered the house, Odysseus lingered awhile, gazing +sadly at the faithful Argus. The old hound raised himself, and +struggled painfully to drag himself to his master's feet; but the +effort was too much for him, and he sank back on his sorry bed, and +breathed his last. + +With a heavy heart Odysseus turned away, and passing into the hall sat +down on the threshold and laid his scrip beside him. Telemachus was +the first to notice him, and calling the swineherd, who was sitting +near, he gave him a loaf of bread and a good handful of meat, and bade +him carry it to the beggar. "And tell him to go round and beg of all +the wooers," he said: "want and modesty agree ill together." Eumæus +brought the gift and the message, which Odysseus received with a +blessing on the giver. And when he had eaten he rose and went round +the hall, begging of the wooers. All gave him something until he came +to Antinous, who stared at him insolently and asked who he was. + +"I saw the fellow," answered Melanthius, "a little while ago. Eumæus +brought him hither, but who he is I know not." + +"Ah! thou rogue," said Antinous to the swineherd, "we know thy ways! +Why didst thou bring this caitiff to the town? Are there not beggars +enough here already to mar our pleasure when we sit down to meat? 'Tis +nought to thee, it seems, that these palmer-worms come swarming round +the house to devour thy master's living." + +[Illustration: The Return of Odysseus] + +"He is no guest of my inviting," answered Eumæus. "I would not invite +to this house any wandering stranger, unless he were a prophet, or +leech, or shipwright, or minstrel; and he is none of these. But thou +art ever hard on the servants of Odysseus, and especially on me; yet I +care not, so long as I satisfy Penelope and my young lord, +Telemachus." + +"Eumæus, thou art overbold of speech," said Telemachus; then turning +to Antinous he added: "I thank thee for thy fatherly care, but we are +not so poor that we need to drive the stranger from our doors--heaven +forbid! Give him something; 'tis I that bid thee: but thou art ever +better at taking than at giving." + +"I will give him something, thou malapert boy," answered Antinous, +grinding his teeth with rage, "something which will keep him from the +house for three months to come." As he spoke he thrust forward a heavy +footstool from under the table, and placed it ready at hand. + +Meanwhile, Odysseus, having filled his wallet, was preparing to return +to his place on the threshold. But first he came to Antinous, and +addressed to him a long harangue in the common style of the +professional beggar, who had seen better days and been brought to want +by the malice of fortune. He concluded with a fragment of the story +which he had already told to Eumæus. + +Antinous heard him to the end with ill-disguised impatience, and then +broke out in angry tones: "Who brought this wretched fellow here to +vex us? Stand off from my table, thou shameless varlet! Egypt, sayest +thou? I will send thee to Egypt, and with a vengeance, too! It is a +shame to see how they have squandered good meat on a dog like thee"; +and he pointed to the wallet, now filled with the cheap bounty of the +wooers. + +Odysseus drew back and made for the door, saying as he went: "Of a +truth, I wonder to find so princely a presence wedded to so mean a +temper." + +When he heard that Antinous began to curse and to swear, and lifting +the footstool he hurled it with all his force at the retreating figure +of Odysseus. It struck him on the shoulder, with a crash that vibrated +through the hall; but Odysseus heeded it not, but passed on without a +pause or a stumble to his place on the threshold. When he was seated +he complained loudly of the brutal conduct of Antinous. "Accursed be +he," he said, "who lifts up his hand against a helpless beggar; may +Heaven requite him for this foul deed!" + +"Thou hadst best be quiet," said Antinous, "or we will drag thee by +the heels through the hall, until we have stripped the flesh off thy +bones." + +But this was too much even for the wooers. "Antinous," said one of +them, "it was ill done of thee to strike the hapless wanderer. Take +heed that thou bring not a curse upon thyself, if there be gods in +heaven to see such deeds. And what if a god should visit this house in +some strange disguise, to make trial of our hearts? It were no new +thing." + +A chill seemed to have fallen on the company after this shameful +incident. The wooers had ceased their clamour, and sat talking in low +tones together; Odysseus and Telemachus sat silent in their places, +brooding gloomily on the outrage; Antinous alone remained unmoved, +being hardened, within and without, against all reproach. + +When Penelope, who was sitting among her maidens in her chamber, heard +how the stranger had been ill-treated, she cried: "So may Apollo smite +thee, Antinous, thou godless man!" "Ay," said Eurycleia, "if prayers +could slay them, not one of these men would see to-morrow's dawn." + +"Go, one of you," said Penelope, "and bring hither the swineherd. I +would fain speak with this stranger; who knows but he may have +somewhat to tell me of Odysseus, my lord?" Eumæus was summoned, and +having heard the desire of Penelope, he answered: "My queen, there is +a rare pleasure awaiting thee. This man hath a tongue to charm thy +very soul. Three days and nights he abode with me, and all that time +he kept us spellbound by the tale of his adventures. It was as if we +were listening to the lay of some rare minstrel, a god-gifted man, who +sways all hearts as he will by the magic of his voice. And he brings +sure tidings of Odysseus too, if we may believe what he says." + +"Call him hither," answered Penelope, "that he may speak to me face to +face. If his news be true, we may yet see the day when these men shall +pay a heavy price for their plunder of our house." + +As she spoke, a loud sneeze was heard in the room below. "It was my +son," said Penelope, laughing, "I know it by the sound; and it is a +sign that my words will be fulfilled. Make haste now, and bring the +stranger to me." + +Eumæus went, and presently returned with a message from the supposed +beggar, to say that he feared fresh violence from the wooers, if he +left his place by the door and passed through them again. The truth +was that Odysseus feared recognition if he appeared before his wife in +broad daylight; so he affected to complain of the indifference of +Telemachus, who had allowed the savage deed of Antinous to go +unpunished, and begged permission to wait until the evening, when the +wooers would be gone home, and he could tell his story unmolested. + +"He says well," answered Penelope, when she had heard the message. +"And he seems to be a man of sense. We will wait until evening, as he +desires." + +The day was waning when Eumæus returned to the hall, and the wooers +had already begun their evening pastimes. The swineherd went up to +Telemachus, and said to him in a low tone: "It is time for me to +return to my farm, that I may give an eye to the things which I have +in charge. I leave thee to look to the house, and all that it +contains; but above all be careful of thyself, for there are many here +who wish thee ill." + + + + +The Beggar Irus + + +Just after Eumæus had left, a huge, ungainly fellow came slouching up +to the place where Odysseus was sitting, and eyed him with a look of +great disfavour. He was the town beggar, known far and wide in Ithaca +as the greediest and laziest knave in the whole island. His real name +was Arnæus, but from being employed to run errands about the place he +had received the nickname of Irus. Highly indignant at finding his +rights usurped by a new-comer, and thinking to find in that battered +old man an easy victim, he began to rate his supposed rival in a big, +blustering voice: "Give place, old man, to thy betters, and force me +not to use my hands upon thee. Begone, and that quickly, or it shall +be the worse for thee; out of the way, I say!" + +With a stern look Odysseus answered him, and said: "What possesses +thee, fellow, that thou seekest a quarrel with me? Thou art, as I +perceive, a beggar like me, and I grudge thee not anything which thou +mayest receive in the way of alms from those who sit here. There is +room on this threshold for us both. But I warn thee not to provoke me +to blows, for old as I am I will set a mark upon thee which thou wilt +carry to thy death." + +Trusting in his size, and encouraged by the nods and winks of the +wooers who sat near, Irus was only too ready to take up the challenge. +"Hark to the old starveling cur!" he shouted. "How glib of tongue he +is, like any scolding hag! Get thee to thy fists then, since thou wilt +have it so, and I will knock all thy teeth out, if thou hast any +left"; and he thrust Odysseus with his foot. + +All the wooers now came running up, and crowded round the exasperated +beggars, hoping to see fine sport. Antinous took the lead, such a +scene being exactly to his taste. "Here is matter for mirth," he +cried, laughing, "for many a day. Make a ring quickly, and let them +fight it out." + +In the courtyard there was a red smouldering fire, on which two huge +sausages were roasting, a sort of haggis made by filling the belly of +a goat with fat and blood. It was determined to give one of these +messes to the winner in the fight; and he also was henceforth to have +the sole right to receive the broken meats at the wooers' feasts. + +Odysseus now pretended to draw back, as if he feared an encounter with +a man younger than himself; but at last he consented to the match, on +condition that the wooers would swear an oath not to strike him a foul +blow while he was fighting with Irus. To this they all agreed, and +forthwith Odysseus stripped to the waist, and girded his rags about +his loins. By some strange magic his limbs seemed to have filled out; +and when the wooers saw his mighty chest and broad shoulders they +cried out in amazement "Methinks Irus will pay dearly for his ire,"[1] +said one. "Look what a brawny thigh the old carle shows under his +rags!" + +[Footnote 1: The pun is an attempt to reproduce a similar word-play in +the original.] + +Irus himself was not less astonished than dismayed, so that they were +obliged to use force to make him face his opponent; and as he stood +there quaking with fear Antinous reviled him bitterly, and threatened, +if he were defeated, to carry him to the mainland, and hand him over +to a robber chieftain, nicknamed the Mutilator, and notorious for his +cruelties. "He will carve thee into collops and fling them to his +dogs," said the ferocious prince. + +Little encouraged, as may be supposed, this prospect, Irus in his +despair aimed a blow at Odysseus, and struck him on the right +shoulder. Then Odysseus, who had resolved to put forth but half his +force, lest he should betray himself to the wooers, struck the +wretched man under the ear. There was a crash of broken bones, and +down went Irus in the dust, spitting blood, and beating the ground +with his heels. The wooers hailed his fall with shouts of laughter, +and Odysseus, seizing the prostrate beggar by the foot, dragged him +through the courtyard gate, and propped him against the wall. "Sit +there," he said, placing his staff in his hand, "and keep off dogs and +swine. Methinks thou hast had enough of playing the tyrant among +strangers and beggars." + +When he returned to his place on the threshold he found the wooers in +high good humour at the defeat of Irus. "May heaven fulfil all thy +heart's desire!" cried one who sat near, "seeing that thou hast rid us +of that hungry, brawling rogue." His words had a meaning which he +little guessed, and Odysseus rejoiced when he heard them. Then +Antinous brought the pudding, all steaming from the fire, and set it +by him; and Amphinomus gave him two loaves, and filled a cup with +wine. "Hail, old friend!" he said, offering the cup, "and mayest thou +live to see happier days." + +This Amphinomus differed in character from the other suitors, being a +prudent and fair-minded man. Odysseus knew him and his father well, +and being willing to save him, if possible, he looked earnestly at +him, and said: "Amphinomus, thou seemest to be a man of understanding, +and therefore I will give thee a word of warning. Hark, in thine ear! +Quit this company at once! The day of doom is very near to them all, +and I would not that thou shouldst perish with them." + +These words, spoken in a low and solemn tone, so that none besides +might hear, sent a chill to the heart of Amphinomus. Slowly and sadly +he went back to his seat, his mind full of dark foreboding. +Nevertheless, he did not profit by the warning; for he had thrown in +his lot with that guilty band, and had to drink of the same cup. + + + + +Penelope and the Wooers + + +I + +"How slowly move the hours," said Penelope to Eurycleia, yawning and +then laughing in sheer vacancy of spirit. "How would it be if I showed +myself to the wooers? I hate them, it is true, but it would serve to +pass the time, and I could caution my son not to be so familiar with +these treacherous friends." + +"Do so, my child," answered Eurycleia, "but first wash and anoint +thyself, and go not among them with this tear-stained face. And waste +not thy life in perpetual mourning; think what a comfort thou hast in +thy son." + +"Speak not to me of such vanities," answered Penelope; "why should I +wish to preserve this poor remnant of my beauty? Foul or fair, what +matters it in my widowed state? But send two of my handmaids hither to +attend me, for it is not seemly that I should go alone among the men." + +While the nurse was gone to fetch the maidens, a sudden drowsiness +overpowered Penelope, and she sank back in her chair, subdued by a +short but trancelike sleep. And while she slumbered, invisible hands +were busy with her person, washing away all the stains which sorrow +had left on her face, and shedding upon her immortal loveliness, such +as clothes the Queen of Love herself, when she joins the sister Graces +in the dance. The voices of the women entering her chamber roused her +from that strange sleep, and sitting up she rubbed her cheeks and +said: "Wondrous soft was the slumber which overtook me in my sorrow! +Would that it were death which had come upon me with like softness, +that I might no longer waste away in mourning for the excellence of my +dear, dear lord!" + +Thereupon she arose, and descending the stairs stood in the open +doorway of the hall, with a handmaid on either side. A murmur of +surprise and admiration went round the whole company, for never had +she seemed so wondrous fair. Turning to Telemachus she said: "My son, +with grief I perceive that thy understanding increaseth not with thy +growth, but rather becometh less. Who would think, seeing thee thus +tall and comely, like a prince's true son, that thou wouldst suffer +such deeds to be wrought upon the stranger within thy gates? What if +he had come by his death through this violence? What shame and infamy +to thee!" + +"Mother," answered Telemachus, "thou hast some reason for thine anger. +Howbeit, I have a man's wit, and am not, as thou sayest, more foolish +than a child. But what can one do against so many? And as to this +stranger, thou wouldst know that thy fears are idle, if thou couldst +see Irus as he now sits at the gate, rolling his head like a drunkard, +with no strength to stand on his feet or stir from his place. Would +that all the wooers were in the same plight!" + +While Telemachus was defending himself, Eurymachus had been gazing +with bold eyes on that fair lady; and now he addressed her with smooth +words of flattery: "Daughter of Icarius, sage Penelope, if all the +Greeks could behold thee as now thou art, this house would not contain +the multitude of thy wooers. Thou surpassest all the daughters of men +in beauty, and in stature, and in thy even-balanced wit" + +"Eurymachus," answered Penelope, "all the bloom of my womanhood was +blighted on the evil day when the Greeks embarked for Troy, and +Odysseus, my lord, went with them. But now I am like some poor hunted +creature, hard beset by the hounds of fate. Well I remember my +husband's parting words. Holding my right hand he said: 'Dear wife, I +am going into the midst of perils, and it may be that we shall never +see each other again. Be thou but faithful to thy trust, and remember +whose daughter thou art; and when thou seest thy son with a beard on +his cheeks, thou art free to marry whom thou wilt.' Such were his +words, and now they shall shortly be fulfilled. I see the day +approaching which shall make me another man's wife; better for me if I +were the bride of death! For who ever beheld such wooing as yours? +'Twas ever the custom among those who sought the daughter of a wealthy +house in marriage to bring with them their own sheep and oxen to make +good cheer for the friends of the bride; but ye sit here as unbidden +guests, and devour my living." + +Odysseus smiled to himself with pleasure when he heard this artful +speech of Penelope, for he perceived her intention, which was to draw +gifts from the wooers, and raise their hopes by the prospect of her +approaching marriage. And the artifice was successful, for the wooers, +following the lead of Antinous and Eurymachus, at once despatched +their servants to bring the bride gifts from their houses. Antinous +gave a splendid embroidered robe, with twelve golden clasps, +Eurymachus a necklace of amber and gold, and Eurydamas a pair of +jewelled earrings. These and other costly offerings were brought to +Penelope in her chamber. + +II + +When evening came on, the wooers ordered three braziers to be set up +in the hall, to give them light as they sat at their pastimes. The +braziers were fed with dry chips of pine-wood, and the maid-servants +relieved each other from time to time in the duty of keeping up the +fires. Presently Odysseus drew near to the handmaids, and said: "Go ye +and attend the queen in her chamber, I will serve the fires, and give +light to the company. Yea, though they sit here all night they shall +not tire me out, for I am a much-enduring man." + +The women laughed, and glanced at one another; and one of them, whose +name was Melantho, spoke bitterly to Odysseus, and reviled him, +saying: "Thou wretched old man, why goest thou not to find a bed in +the smithy, or wherever else thou canst, instead of loitering here, +and vexing us with thy prate? Either thou hast drunk a cup too much, +or else thou art stricken in thy wits. Get thee gone, lest a stronger +than Irus lay his hand upon thee and break thy bones." + +"Now will I go straightway to Telemachus," answered Odysseus fiercely, +"yonder where he sits, and tell him what thou sayest, thou vixen, that +he may hew thee in pieces on the spot." + +So menacing were his looks and his tones that the women fled quaking +from the hall and left him to tend the fires. So there he stood in +view of the whole company, to their eyes a poor outcast, intent on his +menial task; but thoughts other than of the fires filled his heart. + +As he stooped over one of the braziers and stirred the fuel into a +blaze, Eurymachus noticed the red gleam which was reflected from the +smooth, bald crown of the supposed beggar. "Look!" he cried, laughing +and pointing at Odysseus, "surely this man is a favourite of heaven; +for see how the light shines like a crown of glory on his hairless +pate!" + +Then he called to Odysseus, and said: "How sayest thou, friend, wilt +thou be my thrall, and work on my farm among the hills for a fixed +wage? Thy business would be to repair the stone fences and work on the +plantation; thou wouldst have a whole coat to thy back, and shoes to +thy feet, and thy penny fee, and bread to eat all the year round. But +I can read thine answer in thy face: thou wouldst rather crouch and +whine for bread than do aught useful to earn thy living." + +"Eurymachus," answered Odysseus firmly, "I would that I could prove my +manhood against thine in any trial of strength and endurance. Let it +be a match of mowing, in a rich meadow-land, on the longest day in +spring, and let us ply the scythe together, fasting, from dawn till +eve. Or give me a stout pair of oxen, mighty beasts, equal in +strength, and both well filled with fodder, and set me to plough a +field of four acres, of rich, deep soil--then wouldst thou see if I +could drive a straight furrow. Or stand by my side on the perilous +edge of battle, with equal arms, and try whether I would flinch sooner +than thou. A great man and a mighty thou seemest to thyself, having +never learnt what true manhood is. Poor windy braggart, if Odysseus +set foot in this house again, the doors would seem too narrow to thee +in thy haste to escape." + +"Thou saucy knave!" cried Eurymachus, incensed by this daring speech, +"I will teach thee respect for thy betters"; and seizing a footstool +he prepared to hurl it at the offender's head. But Odysseus sprang +aside and ran to Amphinomus for protection; the heavy missile flew +hurtling through the air, and struck one of the servants, who was just +crossing the room, on the arm. Down went the man with a cry of pain, +and the wooers raised an uproar throughout the hall. "A murrain on +this begging loon!" exclaimed one. "Why came he hither to bring strife +among us?" + +"Ye are mad, my masters!" said Telemachus, raising his voice; "verily +ye are flown with insolence and wine.[1] Ye had better go home and +sleep off your liquor before worse comes of it." + +[Footnote 1: Milton, "Paradise Lost," i. 502.] + +The wooers were indeed in a dangerous mood, and they began to finger +their weapons, and utter fierce threats against Telemachus. But +Amphinomus interposed, and by exerting all his influence induced them +to forgo their murderous purpose and disperse quietly to their homes. + + + + +Odysseus and Penelope + + +As soon as the house was quiet, Telemachus, obeying a sign from his +father, prepared to convey the weapons which hung about the hall to an +inner chamber, out of the reach of the wooers. First he ordered +Eurycleia to keep the women out of the way, and having barred the +doors leading to the inner apartments, he took down helmet and spear +and shield from the walls, and carried them, with his father's help, +to the upper room. When this important task was performed he withdrew +for the night, and Odysseus was left alone in the hall to await the +coming of Penelope. + +Presently the doors were opened, and by the flickering light of the +braziers Odysseus, for the first time after twenty years, saw the face +of his wife. Lovely indeed she seemed in his eyes, not less than when +he wedded her in her maiden bloom. Her handmaids brought a chair of +silver and ivory, a work of most rare device, and set it by the fire +with a soft fleece upon it. Penelope took the seat prepared for her +and gazed curiously at the stranger, who sat crouched in the shadow of +a pillar, avoiding her eye. Meanwhile the women were bustling about +the hall, removing the remains of the feast, and heaping fresh fuel on +the fires. Among them was Melantho, who had spoken so roughly to +Odysseus an hour or two before. When she saw Odysseus she began +railing at him again, and rudely bade him begone. Penelope soon +reduced her to silence, and then calling Eurycleia she bade her place +a seat for the stranger. + +"Now tell me," began Penelope, when the chair had been brought, "who +art thou, and of what country? And who were thy father and mother?" + +"Ah! lady," answered Odysseus, "I beseech thee, question me not as to +my country and my friends, lest thou open anew the fountain of my +grief. It is not seemly to sit weeping and wailing in a stranger's +house; and I fear that thou wilt say that my tears are the tears of +drunkenness." + +Penelope pressed him for an answer. "Thou surely art of some country," +she said, smiling; "or art thou one of those of whom old stories tell, +born of stocks and stones?" + +"Since thou urgest it so strongly," replied Odysseus, "I cannot deny +thee. In the broad realm of Crete there is a certain city, Cnosus by +name; there reigned Minos, and begat Deucalion, my famous sire. To +Deucalion two sons were born, Idomeneus the elder, and myself, whom he +named Æthon. When war arose between the Greeks and Trojans, Idomeneus +sailed to fight for the sons of Atreus, and I was left behind in my +father's house. Then it was that I saw Odysseus, who was driven by +stress of weather to seek shelter on our coasts. When he had anchored +his ships in the harbour, he came up to the town and inquired for +Idomeneus, whom he said was his friend, honoured and beloved; but we +told him that Idomeneus had departed ten days before. Then I received +him in my house, and feasted him and all his company for twelve days; +for all that time the north wind blew, so that a man could not stand +up against it. On the thirteenth day the wind ceased and they put out +to sea." + +Penelope's tears flowed fast as she listened to that cunning fiction, +which seemed to bring her husband before her eyes. Odysseus watched +her, with eyes set like horn or iron, as she sat before him sobbing +and rocking herself to and fro; but his heart grew big within him, and +he could hardly keep back his own tears. At length she grew calmer, +and wishing to try him, asked him this searching question: "If thou +didst indeed entertain my husband in thy house, tell me what manner of +man he was, and what garments he had on, and who they were that +attended him." + +"It is hard," answered Odysseus, "to tell thee of what thou askest, +after twenty years; nevertheless I will attempt to call up his image +from the past. He wore a purple woollen cloak, of two folds, and it +was held by a golden brooch with a double clasp; and on the brooch was +fashioned a hound, holding in his jaws a fawn; and so skilfully was it +wrought that the figures seemed to live, the fawn struggling to +escape, and the hound clenching his fangs to hold him--so rare a piece +it was. Under his cloak, Odysseus wore a close-fitting tunic, which +glistened like the peel of a dried onion; for very soft and fine was +the texture. I cannot tell whether these were the garments which he +had on when he left you; it may be that they were a gift received on +his voyage, for he had many friends. Even so I gave him a sword of +bronze and a mantle, and a fringed tunic, when I bade him adieu. +Further, I would have thee know that he had a squire with him, +somewhat older than himself, a round-shouldered man, dark of +complexion, and with curling hair. His name was Eurybates, and +Odysseus held him in high regard." + +What were the emotions of Penelope, when she heard the raiment and +ornaments which her husband was wearing the last time she saw him thus +described down to the minutest detail! For a long time she remained +silent, overpowered by her feelings; and when she spoke again there +was a ring of sincere warmth and friendliness in her voice. "I pitied +thee before," she said, "seeing thee thus forlorn, but now thou shalt +be my dear and honoured guest, for I know that thou hast spoken the +truth. These garments, and the golden brooch, were a gift from my own +hands to my dear lord. Alas! I shall never see him again. Cursed be +the day that parted me from him, and sent him to the land of Troy, +that name abhorred of my soul!" + +"Lady," answered Odysseus, "no one could blame thee, or say that thou +sorrowest beyond measure, for such a husband as thine. He was indeed a +man of rare and god-like gifts. Nevertheless be comforted; for ere +many days are passed thou wilt see him here, safe and sound, and +loaded with the wealth which he has gathered in his wanderings." Then +he went on to repeat the story which he had already told to Eumæus, +with some further facts, drawn from his own experience in the last ten +years; and concluded with this solemn adjuration: "Witness, this +hearth of Odysseus, to which I am come, and witness Zeus, the supreme +lord of heaven, if I lie! Ere yonder moon hath waned, Odysseus will be +sitting under this roof." + +Penelope shook her head sadly, as she replied: "It will be a happy day +for thee, if thy prophecy is confirmed by the event. But what am I +saying? 'Tis an empty dream. But come, let the maidens prepare a bath +for thee, and afterwards them shalt sleep sound in a soft, warm bed. +Well hast thou deserved to receive all honour and worship at my hands, +and woe unto him that shall seek to harm thee! I will put a speedy end +to his wooing. For what wilt thou say of me, when thou art wandering +in distant lands, if I suffer thee to abide here thus poorly clad, +unwashed, and uncared for? Few and evil are the days of our life; and +the best we can do is to win a good name by our gentle deeds while we +live, and leave a fair memory behind us when we die." + +"I doubt not thy goodness," replied Odysseus; "but I have long been a +stranger to the comforts of which thou speakest, and they suit not my +forlorn and desolate state. Nor would I that any of thy handmaids +should wash my feet, and mock my infirmities; but if thou hast here an +aged house-dame, like unto me in years and in sorrows, I grudge not +that such a one should wait upon me." + +"Thou speakest as a prudent man," said Penelope, "and I have such an +aged dame as thou describest among my household. She was the first who +took my ill-fated husband in her arms when his mother bare him, and +she nursed him tenderly and well. She shall wash thy feet, old though +she be, and feeble." Then she called Eurycleia, who was sitting near, +and said to her: "Come hither, nurse, and wash the stranger's feet. +Who knows but thy master is now in like evil case, grown old before +his time through care and misery?" + +When she heard that, the old woman lifted up her voice and wept: +"Odysseus," she cried, "child of my sorrow, what have I not borne for +thee! Pious thou wast, and righteous in all thy dealings, yet Zeus +hath chosen thee out from among all men to be the object of his hate. +Yea, and perchance even now he is mocked in the house of strangers, as +these women were lately mocking thee. Yea, I will wash thee, as +Penelope bids me, and for thy sake also, for my heart is moved with +pity because of thy woes." + +With such speed as her years allowed, the dame went and fetched warm +water, and a vessel for washing the feet. She set them down in front +of Odysseus, and before she began her task, stood for some time +peering curiously into his face. "Hear me, friend," she said, after a +while, "of all the strangers that ever entered these doors, ne'er saw +I one so like unto Odysseus as thou art, in form, and in voice, and in +feet." + +"So said everyone who saw us together," answered Odysseus. But her +words filled him with alarm, and recalled to his mind an old scar, +just above the knee, caused by a wound which he had received from a +wild boar while hunting in his boyhood in the valleys of Parnassus, +during a visit to Autolycus, Penelope's father. If his old nurse +should discover the scar she would be certain to recognise him, and +the consequences of the premature discovery might be fatal. However, +he had now no excuse for declining the bath, so he drew back his chair +into the shadow, still hoping to escape detection. + +But Eurycleia, whose suspicions were already aroused, was not thus to +be evaded. As she handled the limb her fingers felt the well-known +mark, and she let the foot fall with a loud cry. The vessel was +overset, and the water ran over the floor. Half laughing and half +weeping, the old woman fell upon his neck. "Thou art Odysseus, dear +child!" she cried, "and yet I knew thee not till I had touched thee +with my hands." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Eurycleia] + +During all this scene Penelope had been sitting like one in a dream, +lost in the memories awakened by the supposed beggar's story. The +nurse now turned to rouse her from her reverie, and tell her the +joyful news; but Odysseus, seeing her intention, pressed a heavy hand +on her mouth, and, drawing her down to him with the other, said in a +fierce whisper: "Peace, woman, or I will slay thee! Wouldst thou +destroy him whom thou hast nursed at thine own breast?" + +Eurycleia had now recovered from the shock of that sudden recognition. +"Fear me not," she said, "I will be as secret as the grave. But see, +the water is all spilt; I go to fetch more." And so with a grave face, +but a heart bounding with delight, the faithful old creature brought a +fresh supply of water, and proceeded with the task of washing her +master's feet. + +When he resumed his place by the fire, he found Penelope in a soft and +pensive mood, and dwelling, as was her wont, on the sorrows of her +widowed state. "Friend," she said, with a gentle sigh, "I will not +keep thee much longer from thy rest, for the hour approaches which +brings sweet oblivion to careworn hearts--all save mine. For the night +brings me no respite from my woes, but rather increases them. When the +day's duties are over, and all the house is still, I lie tossing +ceaselessly, torn by conflicting doubts and fears. E'en as the wakeful +bird sits darkling all night long, and pours her endless plaint, now +low and mellow, now piercing high and shrill, so wavers my spirit in +its purpose, and threads the unending maze of thought. Sweet home of +my wedded joy, must I leave thee, and all the faces which I love so +well, and the great possessions which he gave into my keeping? Shall I +become a byword among the people, as false to the memory of my true +lord? Yet how can I face the reproaches of my son, who since he is +come to manhood grows more impatient day by day, seeing the waste of +his wealth, of which I am the cause? + +"But I wished to ask thee concerning a dream which I had last night. +There are twenty geese which I keep about the house, and I take +pleasure in seeing them crop the grain from the water trough. In my +dream I saw a great eagle swoop down from the mountains and slay them +all, breaking their necks, There they lay dead in one heap; +and I made loud lament for the slaying of my geese, so that the women +gathered round me to comfort me. But the eagle descended again, and +alighted on a jutting beam of the roof, and thus spake unto me with a +human voice: 'Take comfort, daughter of Icarius; no dream is this, but +a waking vision, which shall surely be fulfilled. The geese are the +wooers, and I the eagle am thy husband, who will shortly come and give +them to their doom.' Even as he said this I awoke, and going to the +window I saw the geese by the door, cropping the grain from the +trough, as is their wont." + +"Lady," answered Odysseus, "there is but one interpretation of thy +dream, and thy husband declared it with his own voice. Death looms +near at hand for the wooers, and not one of them shall escape." + +But Penelope shook her head. "It is ill trusting in dreams," she said, +"and hard to discern the false from the true. There are two gates from +which flitting dreams are sent to men: one is of horn, and the other +of ivory: and the dreams which pass through the ivory gate are sent to +beguile, while those which come from the gate of horn are a true +message to him who sees them. And my dream, I believe, was sent me +from the gate of ivory. Yea, the day is approaching, the hateful day, +which shall part me for ever from the house of Odysseus; and this +shall be the manner of the trial whereby I will prove which of the +wooers is to win me: I will set up twelve axes, like the trestles on +which the keel of a ship is laid, in the hall, and he who can send an +arrow through the line of double axeheads from the further end of the +hall shall win me for his bride. This device I learnt from Odysseus, +who was wont thus to prove his skill in archery. Then farewell my +home, the house of my lord, the home of my love, so fair, so full of +plenty, which will haunt me in my dreams even unto life's end." + +"Tis well-imagined, this trial of the wooers," answered Odysseus, "and +I counsel thee to put them to the proof without delay; for I am sure +that Odysseus will return here again before ever one of these men +shall string his bow and shoot an arrow through the line of axes." + +"Well, my friend," said Penelope, "I will now bid thee good-night, +though gladly would I sit here till to-morrow's dawn, and let thee +discourse to enchant mine ear. But there is a time for all things, and +I would not rob thee of thy needful rest. Therefore I will go and lay +my head on my uneasy pillow, and the women shall lay a bed for thee +here, or where thou choosest." + + + + +The End draws near; Signs and Wonders + + +True to his character as a wandering beggar, Odysseus lay down to rest +on a pile of sheepskins in the portico of the house. His mind was full +of the events of the day, and of the terrible task which he had to +perform on the morrow. When he thought of all the insults which had +been heaped upon him in his own house, he ground his teeth with rage, +and muttered bitter curses against the wooers. As if on purpose to +provoke him further, just at this moment Melantho, and several of the +other women, who slept in the town, came forth from the house, and +passed by him with shrill laughter and merry gibes. Then his heart +growled within him, even as a mother-hound growls over her whelps when +she sees a stranger approaching, and in a sudden impulse of fury he +started up to slay those faithless women on the spot; but repressing +his mad purpose he smote his breast and rebuked his fiery spirit. Had +he not borne even worse than this on the day when the Cyclops devoured +his comrades in the cave? + +When anger and shame had had their turn, other and more pressing +anxieties came crowding upon him, banishing sleep from his eyelids. +How was he with such help as Telemachus could give him to overpower +and slay a hundred men in the prime of their youth and strength? It +seemed an impossible feat, and his heart quaked within him as he +counted those fearful odds. + +At last sleep came upon him unawares, and in a dream he saw his divine +friend and helper, Athene, standing by him, robed in awful beauty. +"Where is thy faith?" she asked, in sweet and solemn tones. "Dost thou +doubt my power to help thee? Know this, that with me at thy side thou +couldst rout and slay a thousand armed men. Sleep on, then, and vex +thyself no more; in a few short hours all thy trials shall be passed, +and thou shalt rest in triumph under thine own roof-tree." Then she +touched his brow with her finger, and departed; and after that he +slept on soundly until dawn. + +In the first grey light of morning he awoke, roused by a sound as of +one wailing within the house. He sat up in his bed and listened: it +was the voice of Penelope, his wife; for she too had had her dreams, +sweet, indeed, while they lasted, but bitter to her waking memory. She +thought that her husband came to her, in all the glory of his manhood, +even as when he set out for Troy, and put his arms about her, and +kissed her tenderly. Therefore she wept and wailed, thinking that it +was another false vision, sent by some hostile deity to mock her +widowhood. + +What a sound was that for the lonely watcher before the house! +"Patience, fond, sad heart!" he murmured to himself, "this very night +thou shalt hold me in thine arms, and sob out thy sorrows on my +breast." With that he rose to his feet, and lifting up his hands to +heaven put up a prayer to Zeus: "Dread sire of gods, if with good will +ye have brought me thus far, after so many perils by land and by +water, send me a sign from heaven, and reveal unto me your purpose by +the lips of one of those that be within the house." + +A loud peal of thunder was heard in answer to his prayer; and a second +sign was sent by the voice of a woman in the house. She was one of +twelve maid-servants, whose duty it was to grind wheat and barley for +the daily supply of bread. The others had finished their task, but +she, being old and weak, was still toiling at her mill. When she heard +the thunder she stopped for a moment, and thus uttered her complaint: +"Thunder in a clear sky! That bodes ill to some that be here. Heaven +grant that it may be to the wooers, for whom day by day I suffer this +cruel toil, making meal for them! May this be the very last time that +they sit down to meat in this house!" So saying, she returned to her +labour, and Odysseus rejoiced at the double sign which had been +vouchsafed to him. + +By this time the whole household was afoot, and a score of busy hands +were at work, under the direction of Eurycleia, preparing for the +coming of the wooers. For it was a general holiday, being the festival +of Apollo, and the guests were expected earlier than usual. Some went +to the public fountain to fetch water, some swept and sprinkled the +floor, and some sponged the tables and scoured the drinking vessels. +Presently the herdsmen came in, driving before them the beasts for +sacrifice; and of these the first to arrive was Eumæus, who brought +three fat hogs as his part of the daily tribute. Leaving his charge to +grub about in the courtyard, he came up to Odysseus, and inquired how +he had fared among the wooers on the previous day. "I fared ill," +answered Odysseus, "and ill fare the villains who deal thus with the +stranger under another man's roof!" + +A rude voice here broke in upon him, and Melanthius the goatherd +thrust himself between them, jostling Odysseus, and reviling him in +brutal terms, "What, still loitering here, thou vagabond? Wilt thou go +begging at other men's tables, or art thou waiting to taste of my +fists?" Odysseus deigned no reply, but shook his head, biding his +time. + +Another herdsman now entered the courtyard; this was Philoetius, who +had charge of the herds of Odysseus on the mainland. He brought a +heifer and two or three fat goats, having crossed over to Ithaca by +the ferry. When he saw Odysseus he took Eumæus aside, and inquired who +he was. "He is of kingly aspect," remarked the new-comer, "in spite of +his wretched garb. But even kings may come to beggary, if it be +Heaven's will." + +Having heard from Eumæus what he had to tell, Philoetius approached +Odysseus, and taking his right hand greeted him kindly, saying: +"Welcome, old friend, for my master's sake! E'en such, methinks, is +his case, if he still lives and looks upon the daylight. Ah! what a +thought is that! It brings the sweat of agony to my brow when I think +that even now he may be wandering in rags from door to door, begging +for a morsel of bread, while his flocks and herds roam in thousands on +the hills. What shall I do? It is not to be borne that all this wealth +should increase and multiply, to feed the mouths of thieves and +rogues. Often have I resolved to drive off my cattle into a far +country, and no longer to abet these men in their riotous living; but +my duty to Telemachus, and the hope that even now my lord may return, +still hold me back." + +Perceiving the neatherd to be loyal and staunch, Odysseus resolved to +take him partly into his confidence, and answered accordingly: "Thy +hope is nearer to fulfilment than thou thinkest. Hear me swear, by the +hearth of Odysseus, and by the board at which I have fed, that before +thou leavest Ithaca thou shalt see thy master with thine own +eyes--thou shalt see him slaying the wooers who play the master here." + +"Would that I might live to behold that day!" cried Philoetius. "May I +never eat bread again, if the wooers felt not the might of my hands." +Eumæus also declared himself ready to risk all by the side of +Odysseus. + +While they were thus conversing, the whole body of the wooers came +thronging into the house, and the daily banquet began. At the inner +end of the hall, commanding the door which led to the women's +quarters, was a sort of platform or dais of stone, raised to some +height above the general level of the floor, and facing the main +entrance. Here Telemachus, as giver of the feast, was seated; and +while the servants were handing round the dishes he called Odysseus +from his place by the door, and made him sit down by his side. "Sit +down here," he said, "and eat and drink thy fill. And you, sirs," he +added, addressing the wooers, "keep a guard on your hands and your +tongues. This is no tavern, but my own house, and I will not suffer my +guest to be wronged by word or deed under my roof." + +This bold speech passed for the present unchallenged, though many a +threatening look was directed at the young prince. By order of +Telemachus, Odysseus received an equal portion with the other guests, +and the banquet proceeded. Presently a new instance of the wooers' +brutality was given, as if they were resolved to keep the edge of his +anger fresh and keen. The author of this outrage was Ctesippus, a +wealthy lord of Same. Taking up a bullock's foot from a basket, in +which the refuse of the meal was thrown, he made this merry jest: "The +stranger has received an equal share of our meat, as is but right; for +who would wish to stint a guest of Telemachus? And now I will make him +a present over and above, that he may bestow somewhat on the +bathwoman, or some other of the servants." Suiting the action to the +word he hurled the missile with savage force at Odysseus; but he, ever +on the alert, avoided it by bowing his head, and it struck the wall +with a crash. + +"Ctesippus," said Telemachus sternly, "it is well for thee that thou +hast missed, else thou hadst died by my hand. Is it not enough that ye +slaughter my cattle and pour out my wine like water, but must I sit +here day after day while ye fill my house with riot and injury and +outrage?" + +The wooers sat silent, being somewhat abashed by the just rebuke; and +after a long pause, one of them, whose name was Agelaus, answered +mildly: "Telemachus says well, for indeed he hath been sorely +provoked. Let there be an end of these mad doings, which it is a shame +to see. And if Telemachus will be advised by me he will urge his +mother to make choice of a husband, that he may henceforth dwell +unmolested in his father's house. Why will she delay us further? +Surely by this time she must have given up all hope of ever seeing +Odysseus again." + +"Now by the woes of my father!" answered Telemachus, "I hinder her not +from wedding whom she pleases; nay, I bid her do so, and offer bridal +gifts besides. But I cannot drive her by force from my doors." + +His words had a strange effect on the wooers: with one accord they +broke out into a yelling peal of laughter, like women in a hysteric +fit, while their eyes were filled with tears. And, more awful still! +their meat dropped blood as they conveyed it to their lips, and an +unearthly wailing was heard, like the cry of a spirit in torment. + +Among those present was Theoclymenus, the man of second sight, and in +that very hour the vision came upon him, and he cried aloud from the +place where he sat: "Woe unto you, ye doomed and miserable men! Thick +darkness is wrapped about you, the darkness of the grave! All the air +is loud with wailing, and your cheeks are wet with tears. See, see! +the walls and the rafters are sprinkled with blood, and the porch and +the courtyard are thronged with ghosts, hurrying downward to the +nether pit; and the sun has died out of heaven, and all the house lies +in darkness and the shadow of death." + +But the wooers had now recovered from their strange fit, and they +laughed gaily at the terrible warning of the seer. "Poor man!" said +Eurymachus, "he has left his wits at home. Go, someone, and show him +the way to the town, if he finds it so dark here." + +"I need no guide," answered Theoclymenus, "I have eyes and ears, and +feet, and a steady brain, so that I shall not go astray. Farewell, +unhappy men! Your hour of grace is past." And forthwith he arose and +went his way to the town. + +When he was gone the wooers began jeering at Telemachus, and taunted +him with the behaviour of his guests. "Thou hast a rare taste," said +one, "in the choice of thy company! First, this filthy beggar that +cumbers the ground with his greedy carcass, and after him comes the +mad prophet, and screams like a raven over our meat" + +One meaning glance passed between Telemachus and his father; the day +was drawing on, and they cared not now to bandy words with the wooers. +And so the merry feast came to an end with jesting, and mirth, and +laughter; and after a few short hours they were to sit down to +supper--such a supper as they had never tasted before, with a hero and +a goddess to spread the board. + + + + +The Bow of Odysseus + + +I + +The time had now arrived for the great trial of strength and skill of +which Penelope had spoken, and which was to decide deeper and deadlier +issues than those of marriage. Among the treasures which Odysseus had +left behind him was a famous bow, which he had received as a gift from +Iphitus, son of Eurytus, whom he met in his youth during a visit to +Messene. He who strung this bow, and shot an arrow through a line of +axes set up in the hall, was to be rewarded by the hand of Penelope. + +"Mother, it is time!" whispered Telemachus, soon after the departure +of Theoclymenus. Obeying the signal, Penelope, who had been sitting in +the hall listening to the talk of the wooers, left her place, and +ascending a steep staircase made her way to the store-room, which was +situated at the farther end of the house. In her hand she carried a +brazen key with a handle of ivory; and when she came to the door, she +loosened the strap which served to draw the bolt from the outside, and +inserting the key drew back the bolt. The double doors flew open with +a crash, and the treasury with all its wealth was revealed. Great +coffers of cedar-wood lined the walls, filled with fine raiment, which +her own hands had wrought. It was a cool and quiet retreat, dimly +lighted, remote from all rude sounds, full of fragrant odours, and fit +to guard the possessions of a prince. And there, hanging from a pin, +and heedfully wrapped in its case, was seen the fatal bow. She took it +down, and, sitting on one of the coffers, laid it on her knees, and +gazed on it fondly with her eyes full of tears. How often had she seen +it in the hands of Odysseus, when he went forth at sunrise to hunt the +hare and the deer! How often had she taken it from him when he came +back at evening loaded with the spoils of the chase! And now a keen +shaft from this very bow was to cut the last tender chord of memory, +and make her another man's wife! + +With a heavy heart she took the bow with its quiver in her hands, and +descending the staircase re-entered the hall, followed by her maidens, +who carried a chest containing the axes. + +"Behold the bow, fair sirs!" she said to the wooers, "and behold me, +the prize for this fine feat of archery!" Therewith she gave the bow +to Eumæus, who received it with tears; and Philoetius wept likewise +when he saw the treasured weapon of his lord. These signs of emotion +stirred the anger of Antinous, who rebuked the herdsmen fiercely. +"Peace, fools!" he cried. "Peace, miserable churls! Why pierce ye the +heart of the lady with your howlings? Has she not grief enough +already? Go forth, and howl with the dogs outside, and we will make +trial of the bow; yet me thinks it will be long ere anyone here shall +string it" + +"Anyone save thyself, thou wouldst say!" rejoined Telemachus with a +loud laugh. Then, seeing his mother regarding him with gentle +reproach, he added: "Tis strange that I should feel so gay and light +of heart at the moment when I am about to lose my mother. Zeus, +methinks, has turned my brain, and made me laugh when I should weep. +But come, ye bold wooers, which of you will be the first to enter the +lists for this matchless prize, a lady without peer in all the land of +Hellas? Why sit ye thus silent? Must I show you the way? So be it, +then; and if I can bend the bow, and shoot an arrow straight, the +prize shall be mine, and my mother shall abide here in her widowed +state." + +So saying he sprang up, flung off his cloak, and laid aside his sword. +And first he made a long shallow trench in the floor of the hall, and +set up the axes with their double heads in a straight line, stamping +down the earth about the handles to make all firm. Then he took the +bow from Eumæus; it was a weighty and powerful weapon, fashioned from +the horns of an ibex, which were firmly riveted into a massive bridge, +and great force was required to string it. Telemachus set the end +against the floor, and strove with all his might to drive the string +into its socket. Three times he tried, and failed; but the fourth +time, making a great effort, he was on the point of succeeding, when +his father nodded to him to desist. "Plague on it!" cried Telemachus, +laying the bow aside with an air of vexation, "must I be called a +poltroon all my life, or is it that I have not yet attained the full +measure of my strength? Let the others now take their turn." + +Then one by one the wooers rose up, in the order in which they sat, +and tried to bend the bow. The first to essay it was Leiodes, a +soothsayer, and a man of gentle and godly mind. But he was a soft +liver, unpractised in all manly pastimes, and the bow was like iron in +his white, womanish hands. "I fear that this bow will make an end of +many a bold spirit," he said, little guessing how true his words were +to prove; "for better it were to die than to go away beaten and broken +men, after all the long years of our wooing." + +"Fie on thee!" cried Antinous, "thinkest thou that there are no better +men here than thou art? Doubt not that one of those present shall bend +the bow and win the lady." Then he called Melanthius, and bade him +light a fire, and bring a ball of lard to anoint the bow and make it +easier to bend. The lard was brought, and the wooers sat in turn by +the fire, rubbing and anointing the bow, but all to no purpose. Only +Antinous and Eurymachus still held back, each in the full assurance +that he, and none other, had strength to bend the bow. + +II + +Odysseus sat watching the wooers from his place at the upper end of +the hall, and his heart misgave him when he thought of the appalling +task which he had undertaken. He had acquitted himself like a hero in +many a hard-fought field, but never in all his life had he faced such +odds as these. While he thus mused, and weighed the chances in his +mind, he saw Eumæus and Philoetius leave the hall together, and pass +out through the courtyard gate. Then a sudden thought struck him, and +muttering to himself, "I must risk it," he rose and followed the two +men. He found them talking together outside the courtyard fence, and +in order to make trial of their temper he addressed them in these +cautious terms: "Tell me truly, good friends, which side would ye +take, if by some miracle Odysseus suddenly appeared in this house? +Would ye be for the wooers or for him?" + +Eumæus and Philoetius with one voice protested that they were ready to +hazard their lives for the rights of their master, whereupon Odysseus +hesitated no longer, but answered: "The miracle has been wrought; I am +he! After twenty years of toil and wandering Heaven hath brought me +home. I have watched ye both, and I know that ye alone among all the +thralls remain true to me. Only continue steadfast for this day, and +your reward is assured. I will build houses for ye both, close to my +own, and ye shall dwell there with your wives, as my friends and +neighbours, equals in honour with Telemachus, my son." + +The swineherd and neatherd listened with amazement, willing to +believe, but still half in doubt; but when Odysseus showed them the +scar, which they had seen many a time before, they were convinced, and +embraced their old master with tears and cries of joy. Having allowed +them some moments to indulge their feelings, Odysseus checked them +with a warning gesture. "Take heed to yourselves," he said, "or your +cries will betray us. And now mark what I shall tell you. I will go +back to the house first, and do ye two follow me one by one. To thee, +Philoetius, I give charge to make fast the gate of the courtyard, with +bolt, and with bar, and with cord. And thou, Eumæus, when the time +comes, shalt bring the bow and place it in my hands, whether the +wooers cry out on thee or not; and when thou hast given me the bow, go +straightway and command the women to make fast the doors of their +apartments, and remain quiet by their work until I have finished what +I have to do." + +At the moment when Odysseus returned to his place in the hall, +Eurymachus was just making a last attempt to bend the bow. "Out on +it!" he cried, finding all his efforts of no avail. "It is a shame to +think how far beneath Odysseus we all are in the strength of our +hands; 'tis this that stings me, much more than the loss of the lady." + +"Thou mistakest the cause," answered Antinous. "This day is the holy +feast of the divine archer, Apollo, and doubtless he is jealous +because we try our skill in his own art on his sacred day. Let us +leave the axes where they stand, and try our fortune again to-morrow." + +The proposal was received with general applause, and forthwith the +whole company called loud for wine, and began drinking heavily to +drown their disappointment Odysseus watched the progress of the revel +with grim satisfaction, and when the flushed faces and thick talk of +the wooers showed that they were far gone in drunkenness he asked, +with an air of deep humility, to be allowed to try his hand at +stringing the bow. His request was greeted with a loud cry of contempt +and indignation from all the wooers; and Antinous especially was +highly incensed, threatening him with dire pains and penalties for his +presumption. Hereupon Penelope interposed, and rebuked Antinous for +his violence. "Why should not the stranger try his skill with the +rest?" asked she. "Thinkest thou that the poor man will win me for his +wife if he succeeds? Sure I am that he is not so foolish as to +entertain such a thought." + +"'Tis not for that," said Eurymachus, answering her. "He cannot be so +mad as that. But what a shame to all this noble company if a houseless +beggar should accomplish a feat which none of us was able to perform." + +"Talk not of shame," replied Penelope with scorn. "Are ye not covered +with shame already, by your foul deeds done in this house in the +absence of its lord? Give him the bow, I say! And if he string it, by +Apollo's grace, I will clothe him in a new cloak and doublet, and give +him a sharp javelin, to keep off dogs and men, and a two-edged sword, +and sandals for his feet, and give him safe conduct to whatsoever +place he desires to reach." + +The decisive moment was at hand, and Telemachus saw the necessity of +removing his mother from the scene of the approaching conflict. +"Mother," he said in a tone of authority, "leave these things to me; I +am master here. Evening draws on, and it is time for thee to retire." + +When Penelope had withdrawn, Eumæus took the bow, and was about to +carry it to Odysseus, but paused half-way, in doubt and alarm, for a +perfect storm of threats and abuse assailed his ears. "Halt, thou dog! +Put down the bow! Art thou tired of thy life?" Appalled by the +menacing cries of the wooers, the swineherd stood hesitating; but +Telemachus raised his voice, and commanded him instantly to deliver +the bow to Odysseus. "I will teach thee," he said, "who is thy master; +thou shalt carry the marks of my hands to thy farm, if thou do not as +I tell thee. Would that I could as easily drive the whole of this +drunken rout from my doors!" + +"Well bragged, Sir Valiant!" cried Antinous; and all the wooers +laughed boisterously when they heard him. Seizing his opportunity +while their attention was thus diverted, Eumæus came and placed the +bow in the hands of Odysseus; then, calling Eurycleia, he bade her +make fast the door of the women's apartments. Meanwhile Philoetius +secured the gates of the courtyard, and returning to his place sat +watching the movements of Odysseus. With anxious eye the hero +scrutinised the great weapon, turning it this way and that, to see if +it had been injured by worms or natural decay. To his great joy he +found that it was sound and untouched. Then, easily as a minstrel +fastens a new cord to a lyre, without effort he strung the bow, and +bending it made the string twang loud and clear, like the shrill voice +of the swallow. + +A hundred mocking eyes and sneering faces had been turned towards him, +as he sat fingering the bow and weighing it in his hands; but pale +grew those faces now, and blank was that gaze. To add to their terror, +at this moment a loud peal of thunder shook the house. Filled with +high courage by the happy omen, Odysseus took an arrow, and, fitting +it to the string, sent it with sure aim from the place where he sat +along the whole line of axeheads, from the first to the last. + +"Telemachus," he said, "thy guest hath not shamed thee. My hand is +firm, and mine eye is true, poor worn-out wanderer though I be. Now +let us give these fair guests their supper, and afterwards entertain +them with music and with dancing, which are the fit accompaniment of a +feast." + +Then he beckoned to his son to draw near; and Telemachus made haste, +and came and stood by his father's side, armed with sword and lance. + + + + +The Slaying of the Wooers + + +I + +Stripping off his rags, and girding them round his waist, Odysseus +took the quiver, and poured out all the arrows on the ground at his +feet. "Now guide my hand, Apollo," he cried, "and make sure mine aim, +for this time I will shoot at a mark which never man hit before." + +Therewith he bent his bow again, and pointed the arrow at Antinous, +who just at that moment was raising a full goblet of wine to his lips. +Little thought that proud and insolent man, as the wine gleamed red +before him, that he had tasted his last morsel, and drunk his last +drop. He was in the prime of his manhood, surrounded by his friends, +and in the midst of a joyous revel; who would dream of death and doom +in such an hour? Yet at that very instant he felt a sharp, sudden +pang, and fell back in his seat, pierced through the throat by the +arrow of Odysseus. The blood poured from his nostrils, he let fall the +cup, and spurning the table with his feet in his agony he overset it, +and the bread and meat were scattered on the floor. + +Then arose a wild clamour and uproar among the wooers, and starting +from their seats they sought eagerly for the weapons which were wont +to hang along the walls; but not a spear, not a shield, was to be +seen. Finding themselves thus baffled, they turned furiously on +Odysseus, shouting, "Down with the knave!" "Hew him in pieces!" "Fling +his carcass to the vultures!" As yet they had not recognised him, and +they thought that he had slain Antinous by mischance. + +They were soon undeceived. "Ye dogs!" he cried, in a terrible voice, +"long have ye made my house into a den of thieves, thinking that I had +died long ago in a distant land. Ye have devoured my living, and wooed +my wife, and mishandled my servants, having no fear of god or man +before your eyes. But now are ye all fallen into the pit which ye have +digged, and are fast bound in the bonds of death." + +Like beaten hounds, that dastardly crew cowered before the man whom +they had wronged, and every heart quaked with fear. Presently +Eurymachus stood forward, and tried to make terms for them all. "If +thou be indeed Odysseus," he said, "thou speakest justly concerning +the evil doings of the wooers. And there lies the cause of the +mischief, Antinous, struck down by thy righteous hand. He it was who +sought to slay Telemachus, that he might usurp thy place, and make +himself king in Ithaca. But now that he is gone to his own place, let +us, the rest, find favour in thy sight. And as for thy possessions +which have been wasted, we will pay thee back out of our own goods, as +much as thou shalt require." + +But there were no signs of relenting on that stern, set face. "Talk +not to me of payment," he answered, with a brow as black as night; "ye +shall pay me with your lives, every one of you. Fight, if ye will, or +die like sheep. Not one of you shall escape." + +Thus driven to extremity, Eurymachus drew his sword and shouting to +the others to follow his example he picked up a table to serve him as +a shield, and raising his war-cry rushed at Odysseus. In the midst of +his onset an arrow struck him in the liver, and he fell doubled-up +over a table, smiting the floor with his forehead. Then he rolled over +with a groan, and his eyes grew dim in death. + +Before Odysseus could fix another arrow to the string, Amphinomus was +upon him, with sword uplifted to slay him. Telemachus saw his father's +peril, and thrust Amphinomus in the back with his spear. The fall of +their leaders arrested the advance of the wooers, and they drew back +in a body to the lower end of the hall. Leaving the spear in the body +of the fallen man, Telemachus ran to fetch armour for himself and +Odysseus, and the two herdsmen. Quickly he brought shields and helmets +and lances for the four, and they arrayed themselves and took their +stand together on the platform. + +While these preparations were in progress, Odysseus continued +showering his arrows among the huddled troop of terrified men; and at +every shot one of the wooers fell. At last Melanthius, the goatherd, +made a desperate effort to save his party. Assisted by several of the +wooers, he climbed up the wall of the banquet-room, and made his exit +through the open timbers at the top into a narrow passage which gave +access to the inner part of the house. Presently he returned, laden +with spears and shields and helmets, which he had found in the chamber +where they had been stored away by Telemachus. + +What was the dismay of Odysseus when he saw his enemies arming +themselves with spear and shield, and brandishing long lances in their +hands! "Telemachus!" he cried, "we are betrayed! The women have sold +us to the wooers." "Alas! I have erred," answered Telemachus, "for I +left the door of the armoury open, and one of them has observed it." + +While they thus debated, Eumæus saw the goatherd making his way out of +the hall again by the same exit. "It is the traitor Melanthius," he +whispered; "now have we need of prompt action, or we are all undone." + +Odysseus had now recovered his courage, and he issued his orders +without losing another moment. "Go thou with the neatherd," he said to +Eumæus, "and seize that villain before he has time to return. Bind him +hand and foot, and come back with all speed to the hall" + +At the side of the hall, close to the platform where Odysseus and his +party were stationed, there was a door leading into the passage +already mentioned. Through this the two men passed, and made their way +stealthily to the armoury. There they waited on either side of the +door for Melanthius, whom they heard moving within. Before long he +came out, bearing in one hand a helmet, and in the other an old +battered shield, once the property of Laertes. Together they fell upon +him, dragged him down by the hair, and having bound him tight with a +long cord they hauled him up to a beam of the roof and left him +hanging. "Long and sweet be thy slumbers, goatherd!" said Eumæus as he +contemplated his work, "thou hast a soft bed, such as thou lovest. +Rest there till the morning light shall call thee to make breakfast +for the wooers." + +When they returned to the hall they found that a new ally had joined +their party, in the person of Mentor, the old friend of Odysseus. No +one saw when he came thither; but there he was, and right glad they +were to see him. Very different were the feelings of the wooers when +they saw their enemies thus reinforced, and one of them, named +Agelaus, cried out upon Mentor, and threatened him, saying: "Give +place, rash man, or thou wilt bring destruction on thyself and all thy +house." + +When he heard that, Mentor was wroth, and rebuked Odysseus as slow of +hand and cold of heart. "Why standest thou idle?" he cried. "Get thee +to thy weapons, and finish the work which thou hast to do, if thou art +verily that Odysseus who wrought such havoc among the Trojans in the +nine years' war." + +With these words the supposed Mentor vanished as mysteriously as he +had appeared, and a little swallow was seen darting hither and thither +among the smoke-blackened beams of the roof. + +The wooers understood not in whose presence they had been, and, +thinking that Mentor had fled before their threats, they took courage +again, and prepared to make a fresh assault. Agelaus now took the +lead, and at his command six of them advanced and hurled their spears. +But they were all dazed with drink, and weakened by long habits of +loose indulgence, and not one of their weapons took effect. + +"Now hurl ye your spears!" shouted Odysseus, and the four lances flew, +and four wooers bit the dust. At the next discharge from the wooers +Telemachus received a slight wound on the wrist, and Eumæus was +similarly injured on the shoulder by the spear of the brutal +Ctesippus. A moment after Ctesippus himself was struck down by the +lance of Philoetius, who mocked him as he fell saying: "There is for +the ox-foot which thou didst lately bestow on Odysseus, thou noisy +railer!" + +And so the great fight went on, and at every cast of the spear +Odysseus and his men added another to the list of the slain. Seeing +their numbers dwindling fast, the wretched remnant of the wooers lost +heart altogether and huddled together like sheep at the end of the +hall. To complete their discomfiture a terrible voice was suddenly +heard in the air, and a gleam as from a bright shield was seen high up +among the rafters. "Tis Athene herself come to our aid!" cried +Odysseus; "advance, and make an end of them. Athene is on our side!" +Forthwith they all sprang down from the platform and charged the +wooers, of whom some dozen still remained alive. What followed was not +a battle, but a massacre. Like a drove of kine plunging frantically +over a field, tortured by the sting of the hovering gadfly--like a +flock of small birds scattered by the sudden swoop of a falcon--the +panic-stricken wooers fled hither and thither through the hall, +seeking shelter behind pillars and under tables from the blows which +rained upon them. But vain was their flight. In a very short time the +last of that guilty band was sent to his account, and the great act of +vengeance was completed. + +II + +Like a lion fresh from the slaughter stood Odysseus, leaning on his +spear, and covered with blood from head to foot. As he glared round +him to see if any of his foes were still alive, his eye fell on +Phemius, the minstrel, who was crouching in a corner near the side +door, and clinging in terror to his harp. Seeing the stern gaze of +Odysseus fixed upon him Phemius sprang forward, with a sudden impulse, +and threw himself at the conqueror's feet, "Pity me, Odysseus," he +cried, "and spare me! Thy days will be darkened by remorse if thou +slay the sweet minstrel whom gods and men revere. I am no common +school-taught bard, who sings what he has learned by rote; but in mine +own heart is a sweet fountain of melody, which shall be shed like the +dew from heaven on thy fame, and keep it green for ever. Therefore +stay thy hand, and harm me not. Telemachus, thy son, knows that it was +not of mine own will, nor for greed of gain, that I sang among the +wooers, but they compelled me by force, being so many, and all +stronger than I." + +Thus appealed to, Telemachus readily confirmed what the minstrel had +said, which was indeed the literal truth. Then he thought of the +trusty Medon, who had been kind to him when a child, and remained +loyal to the last to him and Penelope. "I trust he has not been slain +among the wooers," he said. "Medon, if thou art still alive, come +forth and fear nothing." + +When he heard that, Medon, who had been huddled in a heap behind a +chair, covered with a freshly-flayed ox-hide, flung off his covering, +and came running to Telemachus. The poor man was still half-mad with +terror. "Here I am!" he gasped, with staring eyes, "speak to thy +father, that he slay me not in his rage and his fury," + +Odysseus smiled grimly at the poor serving-man, and bade him be of +good cheer. "Live," he said, "thou and the minstrel, that ye may know, +and tell it also to others, how much better are good deeds than evil. +Now go ye forth and wait in the courtyard until I have finished what +remains to be done." So forth they went, and sat down by the altar of +Zeus, glancing fearfully about them, as if expecting every moment to +be their last. + +As soon as they were gone Odysseus walked slowly up and down the hall +to see if any of the wooers still survived. But there was no sound or +motion, save the tread of his own feet, to break the awful stillness +in that chamber of death. There they lay, stark and silent, heap upon +heap, like a great draught of fishes which have been hauled to shore +in a drag-net, and have gasped out their lives on the beach. Having +assured himself that he had not done the work negligently, he bade +Telemachus summon the nurse, Eurycleia. Telemachus obeyed, and going +to the door of the women's apartments, he smote upon it, and called +aloud to the nurse. A moment after the bolts were drawn back, and +Eurycleia entered the hall. When she saw Odysseus standing among the +heaps of slain wooers, she opened her mouth to utter a cry of triumph, +but Odysseus checked her, saying: "Hold thy peace, dame, and give not +voice to thy joy: it is an impious thing to exult over the dead. They +are the victims of heaven's righteous law, and I was but the +instrument of divine vengeance. Tell me now which of the women in the +house have dishonoured me, and which of them be blameless." + +"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered the nurse; "fifty +women there are in all in thy house, that card the wool and bear the +yoke of bondage. And of these twelve have been faithless, honouring +neither me nor Penelope, their mistress. But now let me go and tell +the news to thy wife, who all this time has been lying in a deep +sleep." + +"Rouse her not yet," said Odysseus, "but go quickly and send those +guilty women hither." + +While Eurycleia was gone to summon the maid-servants, Telemachus and +the two herdsmen began, by the command of Odysseus, to set the hall in +order, and wash away the traces of slaughter. Presently, with loud +weeping and lamentation, the wretched women entered, and were +compelled to assist in the horrid task. The bodies of the slain were +carried out, and laid in order along the wall of the courtyard. Then +they washed and scoured the tables, and scraped the floor with spades; +and when all was ready Odysseus bade his son and the two others to +drive the women forth, and slay them with the edge of the sword. So +these three drove them into a corner of the courtyard, and Eumæus and +Philoetius drew their swords to slay them. But Telemachus held them +back saying: "Let them die in shame, even as they have lived." So they +took a long ship's cable, which was lying in an outhouse, and +stretched it across an angle of the wall; to this they attached twelve +nooses, and left the women hanging there by the neck until they were +dead. + +A horrid death was reserved for the traitor Melanthius. Dragging him +out into the courtyard, they cut off his nose and ears, and his hands +and feet, and so left him to die. + +After that they washed themselves and went back to the hall. Then +Odysseus bade Eurycleia kindle a fire, and bring sulphur to purify the +chamber. And having thoroughly cleansed the house from the fumes of +slaughter, he sat down to wait for the coming of his wife. + + + + +Odysseus and Penelope + + +I + +Her face beaming with joy, and her feet stumbling over one another in +their haste, Eurycleia ascended to the chamber where Penelope lay +sleeping. "Awake, Penelope, awake!" she cried, standing by the +bedside; "come and see with thine own eyes the fulfilment of all thy +hopes. Odysseus has come home at last, and all the wooers lie slain by +his hand!" + +"Thou art mad, nurse," answered Penelope pettishly, turning in her bed +and rubbing her eyes; "why mockest thou me in my sorrow with thy +folly? and why hast thou disturbed me in the sweetest sleep that ever +I had since the fatal, the accursed day when my lord sailed for Troy? +But for thy years and thy faithful service I would have paid thee +unkindly for this wanton insult" + +"Heaven forbid that I should mock or insult thee, dear child!" cried +the nurse, her eyes filling with tears. "I have told thee naught but +the truth. The stranger whom we thought a beggar was Odysseus himself. +Telemachus knew this all the time, but kept it from thee by the +command of his father." + +"May the gods ever bless thee for these tidings!" said Penelope, +springing from the couch, and throwing her arms round the nurse's +neck. "But tell me truly, how did he with his single hand gain the +mastery over such a multitude?" + +"I saw not how it was done," answered Eurycleia. "I heard but the +groans of the men as they were stricken, for I was shut up with the +handmaids in the women's chamber. When it was over, he called me, and +I found him standing among the slain, like a lion by his prey. It was +a sight to gladden thy heart." + +But Penelope's first impulse of joyful surprise had passed, and a cold +fit of doubt and distrust succeeded, "It cannot be!" she murmured; +"some god has taken the likeness of my husband, and slain the wooers." +Even when Eurycleia told her how she had discovered the scar, while +washing the feet of Odysseus, she remained unshaken in her unbelief. +"The counsels of the gods," she said, "are beyond our knowing, and +they can take upon them disguises too deep for a poor woman's wit. But +come, let us go and see the slaughtered wooers, and their slayer, +whoever he be." + +II + +Odysseus was sitting bowed over the fire, which shone redly on his +face, as he leaned his head upon his hand. He was still clothed in his +beggar's rags, and strangely disfigured by the magic power of Athene; +while the red stains of slaughter, which still lay thick upon him, +served to render his disguise yet deeper. Small wonder then that +Penelope hesitated long to acknowledge him for her husband, as she sat +some way off scanning his features with timid yet attentive gaze, like +one who strives to decipher a blurred and blotted manuscript. More +than once she started up, as if about to fall upon his neck; then the +gleam which had lighted up her face died away, her arms drooped +listlessly at her side, and she remained motionless and cold. + +When this had lasted for some time, Telemachus, who was present, +rebuked his mother in angry terms, saying: "Fie upon thee, my mother! +hast thou no heart at all? Why holdest thou thus aloof from my father, +who has come back to thee after twenty years of suffering and toil? +But 'twas ever thus with thee--thou art harder than stone." + +"My child," answered Penelope, "I am sore amazed; I cannot speak, or +ask any question, or look him in the face. But if this man be indeed +my husband, he knows how to convince me, and scatter all my doubts to +the winds, for there are secrets between us whereof no one knoweth, +save only ourselves." + +Odysseus smiled at his wife's caution. "Not in vain," he thought, "is +she known to all the world as the prudent Penelope." Then, in order to +give her time, he turned to Telemachus and said: "Come not between my +wife and me, Telemachus; we shall know each other in due season. I +have another charge for thee, and do thou mark heedfully what I shall +say. We have slain the noblest in the land, not one, but many, who +leave a host of friends to take up their cause: how then shall we +escape the blood feud? We had best look to it warily and well." + +"Father," answered Telemachus, "thou hast the name of wise, beyond all +living men. Be it thine, therefore, to declare thy counsel, and I will +follow it, to the utmost stretch of my power." + +"Thus, then, shalt thou do," said Odysseus: "let all the household put +on clean raiment, and bid the minstrel take his harp and make sweet +music for the festal dance. Then foot it merrily, everyone, that all +they who pass by the house may think that ye are keeping the marriage +feast. In this wise the rumour of the wooers' death shall not reach +the town until we have had time to collect our men and prepare for our +defence." + +Telemachus went forthwith to carry out his father's orders. The whole +household, men and women, arrayed themselves in festal attire, and +soon the hall echoed to the throbbing notes of the lyre, and the loud +patter of the dancers' feet. And those who heard it from without said +to one another: "So the long wooing of our queen has come to an end at +last! Fickle woman, that could not endure unto the end, and keep faith +with the husband of her youth!" + +III + +After giving his orders to Telemachus, Odysseus had retired to refresh +himself with the bath, and put on fresh raiment, while Penelope +remained seated in her former place. After an interval of some length +he re-entered the hall, and sat down face to face with his wife. But +what miracle was this? The haggard, timeworn beggar was gone, and in +his place sat her husband, as she had known him in the days of old, +with the added dignity which he had gained by twenty years of +strenuous life. But the frost which had lain upon her spirit during +her long period of weary waiting was not easily to be broken, and +still she doubted. After a long silence Odysseus spoke, and now for +the first time his tones had a ring of reproach: "Still not a word for +thy husband, who has come back to thee after twenty years? Surely the +very demon of unbelief possesses thee!" Even then Penelope made no +answer, for she was waiting to put the final test, and at length +Odysseus gave her the opportunity. "Go, Eurycleia," he said, "and +prepare a bed for me; I will leave this iron-hearted wife and go to my +rest." + +"Ay, do so," said Penelope, "take the bed from the chamber which he +built with his own hands, and lay it in another room, that he may +slumber there." This she said to prove him, for the bed and the +chamber had a secret history, known only to herself and her husband +and the faithful nurse. + +Odysseus rose bravely to the test: whether divining his wife's purpose +or not, he exclaimed, with an air of surprise and indignation: "Lady, +what meanest thou by this order? Who hath moved my bed from its place? +He must be of more than mortal skill who could remove it, for it was +fashioned in wondrous wise, and with my own hands I wrought it, to be +a sign and a secret between thee and me. And this was the manner of +the work. Within the courtyard there grew an olive-tree, a fair tree +and a large, with a world of green leaves, and a stem like a stout +pillar. Round this I built the walls of the chamber with close-fitting +stones, and roofed it over, and hung the door on its hinges. Then I +went to work on the tree, lopping off the boughs, and smoothing the +trunk with the adze, so as to fashion it into a bedpost, and beginning +from this I made the frame of a bed, and decorated it with gold and +silver and ivory, and over the frame I stretched broad bands of +ox-hide, stained with bright purple. This I tell thee as a sign by +which thou mayest know me." + +The last shadow was now removed, and before Odysseus had well ended +what he was saying Penelope sprang towards him, threw her arms round +his neck, and covered his face with kisses. "Be not angry with me, my +dear lord," she murmured tenderly, "because I held back so long, and +gave thee not loving welcome, as I do now. Thou art very wise, and +knowest the dangers which beset a lonely woman who is over hasty to +believe when a stranger comes and calls himself her husband. Many +there be that lie in wait to lay snares for a weak and loving heart. +But now I know thee for mine own dear love, and now is the winter of +my widowhood made glorious summer, since I have seen thy face again." + +So they sat locked in each other's arms, that valiant, long-suffering +man, and his faithful wife, two brave and patient souls, parted so +long, and tried so hard, but now united once more in wedded love and +bliss. The hours went by unheeded, and day would have overtaken them +in that trance of delight, had not Athene marked them with pity from +her heavenly seat, and stayed the steeds of the morning in the east, +and prolonged the reign of night, that the joy of that first meeting +might not be broken until they had tasted all its honey to the lees. + + + + +Conclusion + + +I + +Early next day Odysseus rose and donned his armour, and having charged +Penelope to keep close in her chamber, and admit no one into the +house, he set forth to visit Laertes on his farm, attended by +Telemachus and the two faithful herdsmen, all armed to the teeth. +Arrived at the farmhouse he left his companions there, bidding them +prepare the morning meal, and went out alone to find his father. +Passing through the courtyard gate, he entered a large plot of ground, +planted by Laertes as a garden and orchard; and there he found the old +man, who was digging about the roots of a young tree. With strange +emotions Odysseus noted every detail of his dress and figure--the +soiled and tattered coat, the gaiters of clouted leather, the old +gauntlets on his hands, and the goatskin cap. He who had once been the +wealthiest prince in Ithaca had now the appearance of an ancient +serving-man, broken down with years and toil. + +But in the midst of his sorrow a freakish whim came into the head of +Odysseus, characteristic of his subtle and tortuous nature. +Approaching his father, who was still stooping over his work, he said +to him in a disguised voice: "Old man, I perceive that thou art well +skilled in the gardener's art: never saw I a garden better tended--not +a tree, not a shrub, but bears witness to thy fostering care. And be +not wroth with me if I say that is a wonder to see the keeper of so +fair a garden himself so squalid and unkempt. Surely he whom thou +servest must be an ungrateful master. Tell me his name, if thou wilt, +and answer me truly if this be indeed the land of Ithaca to which I am +come, as I heard from a man whom I met by the way. He seemed a +churlish fellow, and would not stay to answer my questions; for I was +fain to ask him concerning a friend whom I once entertained in my +house, a native of Ithaca, as he told me, and a son of one Laertes. +Many days he dwelt with me, eating and drinking of the best, and I +sent him away laden with rich gifts, gold and silver, and costly +raiment." + +"Friend," answered Laertes, shedding tears, "to Ithaca indeed art thou +come, but he of whom thou askest is no longer here. In vain were thy +gifts bestowed, for he who would have repaid thee richly for all thy +kindness hath perished long ago, and his bones lie bleaching on the +bare earth, or at the bottom of the sea. Tell me, how long is it since +thou didst receive him, and who art thou, and where is thy home?" + +"I am a man of Alybas," replied Odysseus, "the son of Apheidas the son +of Polypemon, and Eperitus is my name; and it is now five years since +Odysseus departed from my home. Fair omens attended him on his +starting, and we parted in high hopes that we should meet again in his +own land." + +At these words of Odysseus the poor old man was overwhelmed with +sorrow, and he heaped dust upon his grey head, groaning in bitterness +of spirit. Odysseus was moved with pity at the sight of his distress, +and thinking that he had now tried him enough, he revealed himself, +pointing as proofs to the scar above his knee, and to certain trees +which Laertes had allowed him to call his own when he walked with him, +hand-in-hand, as a little child, through the garden. + +The sudden shock of joyful recognition was too much for the old man, +and he fell fainting into his son's arms. When he was somewhat +recovered they went back together towards the house, and on the way +Odysseus spoke of the slaying of the wooers, and of the danger which +threatened him from the vengeance of their friends. + +II + +Meanwhile the news of the wooers' violent death had spread like +wildfire through the island, and their kinsmen went with loud clamour +to the house of Odysseus to carry away the dead bodies. When this was +done they gathered together at the place of assembly to devise some +plan of vengeance; and Eupeithes, the father of Antinous, made violent +outcry against Odysseus for his great act of savage justice. + +While they were debating, Medon and Phemius appeared on the scene, and +described the manner in which the wooers had met their end. "The hand +of Heaven," said Medon, "was made manifest in the deed. I myself saw +Athene leading the onset, and your sons were laid low like ripe +sheaves before the sickle." This report chilled their courage not a +little; and Halitherses, seeing the effect produced, exerted all his +eloquence to put an end to the blood feud. Nevertheless more than half +of those present persisted in their purpose, and donning their armour +went forth from the town to meet the party of Odysseus. + +The encounter took place in front of the farmhouse, where Odysseus and +the others had just taken their morning meal. Laertes, who seemed to +have recovered all the vigour of his youth, led the attack, and by a +well-aimed cast of his lance struck down Eupeithes, the leader of the +opposing party. This success was followed up by a vigorous charge, in +the midst of which a supernatural voice was heard in the air, striking +terror into the assailants of Odysseus, who turned and fled in wild +panic towards the town. They were hotly pursued, and not a man would +have been left alive had not Zeus himself interposed to stay the +slaughter. By his command Athene acted as mediator between Odysseus +and the kinsmen of the wooers, and an oath of amnesty was taken on +both sides, confirmed with solemn prayer and sacrifice. + + + + +PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES + + +[Transcriber's note: The orignial list contains characters that are +not found in normal ASCII, indicating the long or short stress to be +put on the vowels. These are rendered below by the characters in +[square brackets], thus: A ")" indicates a short vowel, and a "=" +indicates a long. So "hay" would be rendered as "h[=a]" and "aha" +would be "[)a]h[)a]" and so on.] + +Achilles ([)a]kil'ez) +Æetes ([=e]-[=e]'-tez) +Ægæan ([=e]g[=e]'an) +Ægisthus ([=e]gis'thus) +Ægyptus ([=e]gyp'tus) +Æolus ([=e]'[)o]lus) +Æthon ([=e]'thon) +Agamemnon ([)a]g[)a]m[)e]m'non) +Agelaus ([)a]g[)e]l[=a]'us) +Ajax ([=a]'jax) +Alcinous (als[)i]n'-[)o]-us) +Alcmene (alkm[=e]'n[=e]) +Alybas ([=a]l'[)i]bas) +Amphinomus (amph[)i]n'[)o]mus) +Anticleia (ant[)i]kl[=i]'a) +Antilochus (ant[)i]l'[)o]chus) +Antiphates (ant[)i]ph'[)a]t[=e]z) +Antinous (ant[)i]n'[)o]us) +Antiphus (an't[)i]fus) +Apheidas ([)a]f[=i]'das) +Aphrodite ([)a]fr[)o]d[=i]'t[=e]) +Arcady (ar'c[)a]d[)i]) +Arete ([=a]r[=e]'t[=e]) +Arethusa ([)a]r[)e]thy[=u]'s[)a]) +Arnæus (arn[=e]'us) +Artemis (ar't[)e]mis) +Arybas ([)a]'ribas) +Athene ([)a]th[=e]'n[=e]) +Atreus ([=a]'tr[=u]s) +Aurora ([=o]r[=o]'r[)a]) + +Boötes (b[)o][=o]'t[=e]z) + +Calypso (k[)a]l[)i]p's[=o]) +Cassandra (cassan'dr[)a]) +Charybdis (k[)a]rib'dis) +Cimmerians (simm[)e]'r[)i]ans) +Circe (s[)i]r's[=e]) +Clytæmnestra (cl[=i]t[=e]mn[)e]s'tr[)a]) +Cnosus (kn[=o]'s[)u]s) +Ctesippus (kt[)e]'s[)i]pus) +Ctesius (kt[=e]'s[)i]us) +Cyclopes (s[=i]kl[=o]'p[=e]z) +Cyclops (s[=i]'klops) + +Deiphobus (d[=e][)i]f'[)o]bus) +Delos (d[)e]'los) +Demeter (d[=e]m[=e]'t[=e]r) +Demodocus (d[=e]m[)o]'d[)o]cus) +Deucalion (d[=u]ka'l[)i]on) +Diomede (d[)i]'[)o]meed) +Dodona (d[=o]-d[=o]'n[)a]) +Dolius (d[)o]l'[)i]us) +Dulichium (dy[=u]l[)i]'-k[)i]um) + +Eidothea ([=i]d[=o]'th[)i]-[)e][)a]) +Elis ([=e]'lis) +Elpenor ([)e]lp[=e]'n[=o]r) +Eperitus ([)e]p[=e]'r[)i]tus) +Ephialtes ([)e]f[)i]al't[=e]z) +Ephyra ([)e]f'[)i]r[)a]) +Eriphyle ([)e]r[)i]f[=i]'l[=e]) +Euboea (y[=u]b[=e]'a) +Eumæus (y[=u]m[=e]'us) +Eupeithes (y[=u]p[=i]'th[=e]z) +Eurymachus (y[=u]r[)i]'m[)a]kus) +Eurynomus (y[=u]r[)i]'n[)o]mus) +Eurycleia (y[=u]r[=i]cl[=i]'[)a]) +Euryalus (y[=u]r[=i]'[)a]lus) +Eurylochus (y[=u]r[)i]l'[)o]kus) +Eurydamas (y[=u]r[)i]d'[)a]mas) +Eurytus (y[=u]'r[)i]tus) + +Hades (h[=a]'d[=e]z) +Halitherses (h[)a]l[)i]ther's[=e]z) +Helios (h[)e]'l[)i]os) +Hephæstus (h[=e]f[=e]s'tus) +Hera (h[=e]'r[)a]) +Hercules (her'c[)u]l[=e]z) +Hermes (her'm[=e]z) + +Iasion ([=i][)a]'s[)i]on) +Icarius ([=i]k[)a]'r[)i]us) +Idomeneus ([=i]d[=o]m'[)e]ny[=u]s) +Ino ([=i]'n[)o]) +Iphimedeia (if[)i]m[)e]d[=i]'[)a]) +Iphitus (if'[)i]tus) +Iphthime (ifth[=i]'m[=e]) +Irus ([=i]'rus) +Ithaca ([)i]th'[)a]c[)a]) + +Lacedæmon (l[)a]s[)e]d[=e]'mon) +Laertes (l[=a][)e]r't[=e]z) +Læstrygonia (l[=e]str[)i]g[)o]'n[)i][)a]) +Leda (l[=e]'d[)a]) +Leiodes (l[=i][=o]'d[=e]z) +Lesbos (l[)e]z'bos) +Leto (l[=e]'t[=o]) + +Malea (m[)a]l'[)e][)a]) +Medon (med'on) +Melampus (m[)e]lam'pus) +Melanthius (m[)e]lan'th[)i]us) +Melantho (m[)e]lan'th[=o]) +Menelaus (m[)e]n[)e]l[=a]'us) +Mentes (men'tez) +Mentor (men't[=o]r) +Messene (mess[=e]'n[=e]) +Minos (m[=i]'nos) +Mycenæ (m[=i]s[=e]'n[=e]) + +Nausicaa (naus[)i]k'[)a]-[)a]) +Neleus (n[=e]'ly[=u]s) +Neoptolemus (neopt[)o]l'[)e]mus) +Neritus (n[=e]'r[)i]tus) +Nestor (n[)e]s't[=o]r) + +Oceanus (os[=e]'anus) +Odysseus (odis'y[=u]s) +Orestes ([)o]r[)e]s't[=e]z) +Orion ([=o]r[=i]'on) +Ormenius (orm[)e]n'[)i]us) +Orsilochus (ors[)i]l'[)o]kus) +Ortygia (ort[)i]'g[)i][)a]) +Otus ([)o]'tus) + +Patroclus (p[)a]tr[)o]'clus) +Peiræus (p[=i]r[=e]'us) +Peleus (p[=e]'ly[=u]s) +Pelides (p[)e]l[=i]'d[=e]z) +Pelion (p[=e]'l[)i]on) +Penelope (p[=e]n[)e]l'[)o]p[=e]) +Persephone (pers[)e]f'[)o]n[=e]) +Pharos (f[=a]'ros) +Phæacia (f[=e][=a]'si[)a]) +Phemius (f[=e]'m[)i]us) +Pheræ (f[=e]'r[=e]) +Philoctetes (f[)i]lokt[=e]'t[=e]z) +Philoetius (f[)i]l[=e]'t[)i]us) +Pisistratus (p[=i]sis'tr[)a]tus) +Pleiades (pl[=i]'ad[=e]z) +Polycaste (p[)o]l[)i]cas't[=e]) +Polydamna (p[)o]l[)i]dam'na) +Polypemon (p[)o]l[)i]p[=e]'mon) +Polyphemus (p[)o]l[)i]f[=e]'mus) +Poseidon (p[)o]s[=i]'don) +Proteus (pr[=o]'ty[=u]s) +Pylos (p[=i]'los) + +Same (s[=a]'m[=e]) +Scylla (sil'l[)a]) +Scyros (sk[=i]'ros) +Sirens (s[=i]'rens) +Sisyphus (s[)i]'s[)i]fus) +Sunium (sy[=u]'n[)i]um) + +Tantalus (tan't[)a]lus) +Teiresias (t[=i]r[)e]'s[)i]as) +Telamon (t[)e]l'[)a]mon) +Telemachus (t[=e]l[=e]'m[)a]kus) +Tenedos (t[)e]n'[)e]dos) +Theoclymenus (th[)e][)o]cly'm[)e]nus) +Thesprotia (th[)e]spr[=o]'t[=i][)a]) +Thon (th[=o]n) +Tityos (t[)i]t'[)i]os) +Tyndareus (tin'd[)a]ry[=u]s) + +Zacynthus (z[)a]kin'thus) +Zeus (zy[=u]s) + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13725 *** diff --git a/13725-h/13725-h.htm b/13725-h/13725-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ac1ef7e --- /dev/null +++ b/13725-h/13725-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6760 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Stories from the Odyssey, by H. L. Havell</title> + <style type="text/css"> + body {margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + text-align: justify; + font-family: 'Californian FB','Times New Roman',serif + } + h1,h2,h3 {text-align: center} + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 9pt;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13725 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Stories from the Odyssey, by H. L. Havell</h1> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus1lg.jpg" name="Illus1"><img + title="Reading Homer (click to enlarge)" alt="Reading Homer" + src="images/illus1.png" /></a> +<br> +<br> +<p><span style="font-size: x-large">STORIES FROM</span> +<br> +<span style="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold">THE ODYSSEY</span></p> +<br> +<p>RETOLD BY</p> +<p style="font-size: large">H. L. HAVELL B.A.</p> +<p>LATE READER IN ENGLISH IN THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE<br> +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD</p> +<p>Author of "Stories from Herodotus" "Stories from Greek Tragedy"<br> +"Stories from the Æneid" "Stories from the Iliad" etc.</p><br> + +<p style="margin-left: 30%; text-align: left"><i>"O well for him whose will is strong!<br> +He suffers, but he will not suffer long;<br> +He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong:<br> +For him nor moves the loud world's random mock<br> +Nor all Calamity's hugest waves confound<br> +Who seems a promontory of rock,<br> +That compass'd round with turbulent sound<br> +In middle ocean meets the surging shock,<br> +Tempest-buffeted, citadel-crown'd."</i></p> +<p style="margin-right: 30%; text-align: right">TENNYSON</p> + +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 50%; height: 2px;"> +<br> +<br> +<br> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<p><a href="#intro">INTRODUCTION</a></p> + +<p><a href="#chap01">TELEMACHUS, PENELOPE, AND THE SUITORS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap02">THE ASSEMBLY; THE VOYAGE OF TELEMACHUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap03">THE VISIT TO NESTOR AT PYLOS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap04">TELEMACHUS AT SPARTA</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap05">ODYSSEUS AND CALYPSO</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap06">ODYSSEUS AMONG THE PHÆACIANS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap07">THE WANDERINGS OF ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap08">THE VISIT TO HADES</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap09">THE SIRENS; SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS; THRINACIA</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap10">ODYSSEUS LANDS IN ITHACA</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap11">ODYSSEUS AND EUMÆUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap12">THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap13">THE MEETING OF TELEMACHUS AND ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap14">THE HOME-COMING OF ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap15">THE BEGGAR IRUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap16">PENELOPE AND THE WOOERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap17">ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap18">THE END DRAWS NEAR; SIGNS AND WONDERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap19">THE BOW OF ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap20">THE SLAYING OF THE WOOERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap21">ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap22">CONCLUSION</a></p> +<p><a href="#names">PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES</a></p> +<br> +<hr style="width: 50%; height: 2px;"> +<br> +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<p><a href="#Illus1">READING FROM HOMER</a><br><i>(L. Alma Tadema)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus2">PENELOPE</a><br><i>(The Vatican, Rome)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus3">TELEMACHUS DEPARTING FROM NESTOR</a><br><i>(Henry Howard)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus4">ODYSSEUS AND NAUSICAÄ</a><br><i>(Charles Gleyre)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus5">ODYSSEUS AND POLYPHEMUS</a><br><i>(J.M.W. Turner)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus6">CIRCE</a><br><i>(Sir E. Burne-Jones)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus7">THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS</a><br><i>(L.F. Schützenberger)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus8">ODYSSEUS AND EURYCLEIA</a><br><i>(Christian G. Heyne)</i></p> +<br> +<hr style="width: 50%; height: 2px;"> +<br> +</div> +<a name="intro"></a><h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> + +<p>The impersonal character of the Homeric poems has left us entirely in +the dark as to the birthplace, the history, and the date, of their +author. So complete is the darkness which surrounds the name of Homer +that his very existence has been disputed, and his works have been +declared to be an ingenious compilation, drawn from the productions of +a multitude of singers. It is not my intention here to enter into the +endless and barren controversy which has raged round this question. It +will be more to the purpose to try and form some general idea of the +characteristics of the Greek Epic; and to do this it is necessary to +give a brief review of the political and social conditions in which it +was produced.</p> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The world as known to Homer is a mere fragment of territory, including +a good part of the mainland of Greece, with the islands and coast +districts of the Ægæan. Outside of these limits his knowledge of +geography is narrow indeed. He has heard of Sicily, which he speaks of +under the name of Thrinacia; and he speaks once of Libya, or the north +coast of Africa, as a district famous for its breed of sheep. There is +one vague reference to the vast Scythian or Tartar race (called by +Homer Thracians), who live on the milk of mares; and he mentions a +copper-coloured people, the "Red-faces," who dwell far remote in the +east and west. The Nile is mentioned, under the name of Ægyptus; and +the Egyptians are celebrated by the poet as a people skilled in +medicine, a statement which is repeated by Herodotus. The Phœnicians +appear several times in the <i>Odyssey</i>, and we hear once or twice of +the Sidonians, as skilled workers in metal. As soon as we pass these +boundaries, we enter at once into the region of fairyland.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>In speaking of the religion of the Homeric Greeks we have to draw a +distinction between the <i>Iliad</i> and the <i>Odyssey</i>. In the <i>Iliad</i> the +gods play a much livelier and more human part than in the latter poem, +and it is highly remarkable that the only comic scenes in the first +and greatest of epics are those in which the gods are the chief +actors—as when the lame Hephæstus takes upon him the office of +cupbearer at the Olympian banquet, or when Artemis gets her ears boxed +by the angry Hera. It would almost seem as if there were a vein of +deliberate satire running through these descriptions, so daring is the +treatment of the divine personages.</p> + +<p>In the <i>Odyssey</i>, on the other hand, religion has become more +spiritual. Olympus is no longer the mountain of that name, but a vague +term, like our "heaven," denoting a place remote from all earthly +cares and passions, a far-off abode in the stainless ether, where the +gods dwell in everlasting peace, and from which they occasionally +descend, to give an eye to the righteous and unrighteous deeds of men.</p> + +<p>In his conception of the state of the soul after death Homer is very +interesting. His <i>Hades</i>, or place of departed spirits, is a dim, +shadowy region beyond the setting of the sun, where, after life's +trials are over, the souls of men keep up a faint and feeble being. It +is highly significant that the word which in Homer means "self" has +also the meaning of "body"—showing how intimately the sense of +personal identity was associated with the condition of bodily +existence. The disembodied spirit is compared to a shadow, a dream, or +a waft of smoke. "Alas!" cries Achilles, after a visit from the ghost +of Patroclus, "I perceive that even in the halls of Hades there is a +spirit and a phantom, but understanding none at all"; for the mental +condition of these cold, uncomfortable ghosts is as feeble as their +bodily form is shadowy and unsubstantial. They hover about with a +fitful motion, uttering thin, gibbering cries, like the voice of a +bat, and before they can obtain strength to converse with a visitor +from the other world, they have to be fortified by a draught of fresh +blood. The subject is summed up by Achilles, when Odysseus felicitates +him on the honour which he enjoys, even in Hades: "Tell me not of +comfort in death," he says: "I had rather be the thrall of the poorest +wight that ever tilled a thankless soil for bread, than rule as king +over all the shades of the departed."</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>Homeric society is essentially aristocratic. At its head stands the +king, who may be a great potentate, like Agamemnon, ruling over a wide +extent of territory, or a petty prince, like Odysseus, who exercises a +sort of patriarchal authority within the limits of a small island. The +person of the king is sacred, and his office is hereditary. He bears +the title of <i>Diogenes</i>, "Jove-born," and is under the especial +protection of the supreme ruler of Olympus. He is leader in war, chief +judge, president of the council of elders, and representative of the +state at the public sacrifices. The symbol of his office is the +sceptre, which in some cases is handed down as an heirloom from father +to son.</p> + +<p>Next to the king stand the elders, a title which has no reference to +age, but merely denotes those of noble birth and breeding. The elders +form a senate, or deliberative body, before which all questions of +public importance are laid by the king. Their decisions are afterwards +communicated to the general assembly of the people, who signify their +approval or dissent by tumultuous cries, but have no power of altering +or reversing the measures proposed by the nobles. Thus we have already +the three main elements of political life: king, lords, and +commons—though the position of the last is at present almost entirely +passive.</p> + +<h3>IV</h3> + +<p>The morality of the Homeric age is such as we may expect to find among +a people which has only partially emerged from barbarism. Crimes of +violence are very common, and a familiar figure in the society of this +period is that of the fugitive, who "has slain a man," and is flying +from the vengeance of his family. Patroclus, when a mere boy, kills +his youthful playmate in a quarrel over a game of knucklebones—an +incident which may be seen illustrated in one of the statues in the +British Museum. One of the typical scenes of Hellenic life depicted on +the shield of Achilles is a trial for homicide; and such cases were of +so frequent occurrence that they afford materials for a simile in the +last book of the <i>Iliad</i>.</p> + +<p>Where life is held so cheap, opinion is not likely to be very strict +in matters of property. And we find accordingly a general acquiescence +in "the good old rule, the ancient plan, that they may take who have +the power, and they may keep who can." Cattle-lifting is as common as +it formerly was on the Scottish border. The bold buccaneer is a +character as familiar as in the good old days when Drake and Raleigh +singed the Spanish king's beard, with this important difference, that +the buccaneer of ancient Greece plundered Greek and barbarian with +fine impartiality. A common question addressed to persons newly +arrived from the sea is, "Are you a merchant, a traveller, or a +pirate?" And this curious query implies no reproach, and calls for no +resentment. Still more startling are the terms in which Autolycus, the +maternal grandfather of Odysseus, is spoken of. This worthy, we are +informed, "surpassed all mankind in thieving and lying"; and the +information is given in a manner which shows that the poet intended it +as a grave compliment. In another passage the same hero is celebrated +as an accomplished burglar. So low was the standard of Homeric ethics +in this respect; and even in the historical age of Greece, want of +honesty and want of truthfulness were too often conspicuous failings +in some of her most famous men.</p> + +<p>Even more shocking to the moral sense is the wild ferocity which +sometimes breaks out in the language and conduct of both men and +women. The horrible practice of mutilating the dead after a battle is +viewed with indifference, and even with complacency, by the bravest +warriors. Even Patroclus, the most amiable of the heroes in the +<i>Iliad</i>, proposes to inflict this dastardly outrage on the body of the +fallen Sarpedon. Achilles drags the body of Hector behind his chariot +from the battlefield, and keeps it in his tent for many days, that he +may repeat this hideous form of vengeance in honour of his slaughtered +friend. When the dying Hector begs him to restore his body to the +Trojans for burial he replies with savage taunts, and wishes that he +could find it in his heart to carve the flesh of Hector and eat it +raw! And Hecuba, the venerable Queen of Troy, expresses herself in +similar terms when Priam is preparing to set forth on his mission to +the tent of Achilles.</p> + +<p>Turning now to the more attractive side of the picture, we shall find +much to admire in the character of Homer's heroes. In the first place +we have to note their intense vitality and keen sense of pleasure, +natural to a young and vigorous people. The outlook on life is +generally bright and cheerful, and there is hardly any trace of that +corroding pessimism which meets us in later literature. Cases of +suicide, so common in the tragedians, are almost unknown.</p> + +<p>In one respect, and that too a point of the very highest importance, +the Greeks of this age were far in advance of those who came after +them, and not behind the most polished nations of modern Europe. We +refer to the beauty, the tenderness, and the purity of their domestic +relations. The whole story of the <i>Odyssey</i> is founded on the faithful +wedded love of Odysseus and Penelope, and the contrasted example of +Agamemnon and his demon wife is repeatedly held up to scorn and +abhorrence. The world's poetry affords no nobler scene than the +parting of Hector and Andromache in the <i>Iliad</i>, nor has the ideal of +perfect marriage ever found grander expression than in the words +addressed by Odysseus to Nausicaä: "There is nothing mightier and +nobler than when man and wife are of one mind and heart in a house, a +grief to their foes, and to their friends a great joy, but their own +hearts know it best."<sup><a href="#foot01" name="footret01">1</a></sup></p> + +<p>Hospitality in a primitive state of society, where inns are unknown, +is not so much a virtue as a necessity. Even in these early times the +Greeks, within the limits of their little world, were great +travellers, and their swift chariots, and galleys propelled by sail +and oar, enabled them to make considerable journeys with speed and +safety. Arrived at their destination for the night they were sure of a +warm welcome at the first house at which they presented themselves; +and he who played the host on one occasion expected and found a like +return when, perhaps years afterwards, he was brought by business or +pleasure to the home of his former guest. Nor were these privileges +confined to the wealthy and noble, who were able, when the time came, +to make payment in kind, but the poorest and most helpless outcast, +the beggar, the fugitive, and the exile, found countenance and +protection, when he made his plea in the name of Zeus, the god of +hospitality.</p> + +<h3>V</h3> + +<p>This frankness and simplicity of manners runs through the whole life +of the Homeric Greek, and is reflected in every page of the two great +epics which are the lasting monuments of that bright and happy age. As +civilisation advances, and life becomes more complicated and +artificial, human activity tends more and more to split up into an +infinite number of minute occupations, and the whole time and energy +of each individual are not more than sufficient to make him master in +some little corner of art, science, or industry. A vast system of +commerce brings the products of the whole world to our doors; and it +is almost appalling to think of the millions of toiling hands and busy +brains which must pass all their days in unceasing toil, in order that +the humblest citizen may find his daily wants supplied. To give only +one example: how vast and tremendous is the machinery which must be +set at work before a single letter or post-card can reach its +destination! This multiplication of needs, and endless subdivision of +labour, too often results in stunting and crippling the development of +the individual, so that it becomes harder, as time advances, to find a +complete man, with all his faculties matured by equable and harmonious +growth.</p> + +<p>Very different were the conditions of life in the Homeric age. Then +the wealthy man's house was a little world in itself, capable of +supplying all the simple wants of its inhabitants. The women spun wool +and flax, the produce of the estate, and wove them into cloth and +linen, to be dyed and wrought into garments by the same skilful hands. +On the sunny slopes of the hills within sight of the doors the grapes +were ripening against the happy time of vintage, when merry troops of +children would bring them home with dance and song to be trodden in +the winepress. Nearer at hand was the well-kept orchard, bowing under +its burden of apples, pears, and figs; and groves of grey olive-trees +promised abundance of oil. In the valleys waved rich harvests of wheat +and barley, which were reaped, threshed, ground, and made into bread, +by the master's thralls. Herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep and goats, +roved on the broad upland pastures, and in the forest multitudes of +swine were fattening on the beech-mast and acorns.</p> + +<p>And the owner of all these blessings was no luxurious drone, living in +idleness on the labour of other men's hands. He was, in the fullest +sense of the word, the father of his household. His was the vigilant +eye which watched and directed every member in the little army of +workers, and his the generous hand which dealt out bountiful reward +for faithful service. If need were he could take his share in the +hardest field labour, and plough a straight furrow, or mow a heavy +crop of grass from dawn till sunset without breaking his fast. Nothing +was too great or too little to engage his attention, as the necessity +arose. He was a warrior, whose single prowess might go far in deciding +the issue of a hard-fought battle—an orator, discoursing with weighty +eloquence on grave questions of state—a judge, whose decisions helped +to build up the as yet unwritten code of law. Descending from these +high altitudes, he could take up his bow and spear, and go forth to +hunt the boar and the stag, or wield the woodman's axe, or the +carpenter's saw and chisel. He could kill, dress, and serve his own +dinner; and when the strenuous day was over, he could tune the harp, +discourse sweet music, and sing of the deeds of heroes and gods.</p> + +<p>Such was the versatility, and such the many-sided energy, of the Greek +as he appears in the <i>Iliad</i> and <i>Odyssey</i>. And as these two poems +contain the elements of all subsequent thought and progress in the +Greek nation, so in the typical character of Odysseus are concentrated +all the qualities which distinguish the individual Greek—his +insatiable curiosity, which left no field of thought unexplored—his +spirit of daring enterprise, which carried the banner of civilisation +to the borders of India and the Straits of Gibraltar—and his subtlety +and craft, which in a later age made him a byword to the grave +moralists of Rome.</p> + +<p>In the <i>Iliad</i> Odysseus is constantly exhibited as a contrast to the +youthful Achilles. Wherever prudence, experience, and policy, are +required, Odysseus comes to the front. In Achilles, with his furious +passions and ill-regulated impulses, there is always something of the +barbarian; while Odysseus in all his actions obeys the voice of +reason. It will readily be seen that such a character, essentially +intellectual, always moving within due measure, never breaking out +into eccentricity or excess, would appeal less to the popular +imagination than the fiery nature of Pelides, "strenuous, passionate, +implacable, and fierce." And on this ground we may partly explain the +unamiable light in which Odysseus appears in later Greek literature. +Already in Pindar we find him singled out for disapproval. In +Sophocles he has sunk still lower; and in Euripides his degradation is +completed.</p> + +<h3>VI</h3> + +<p>Space does not allow us to give a detailed criticism of the <i>Odyssey</i> +as a poem, and determine its relation to the <i>Iliad</i>. We must content +ourselves with quoting the words of the most eloquent of ancient +critics, which sum up the subject with admirable brevity and insight: +"Homer in his <i>Odyssey</i> may be compared to the setting sun: he is +still as great as ever, but he has lost his fervent heat. The strain +is now pitched in a lower key than in the 'Tale of Troy divine': we +begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or +sinks, that continuous current of moving incidents, those rapid +transitions, that force of eloquence, that opulence of imagery which +is ever true to nature. Like the sea when it retires upon itself and +leaves its shores waste and bare, henceforth the tide of sublimity +begins to ebb, and draws us away into the dim region of myth and +legend."<sup><a href="#foot02" name="footret02">2</a></sup></p> + +<a name="foot01"></a><p>1. Butcher and Lang's translation. <a href="#footret01">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot02"></a><p>2. Longinus: "On the Sublime." Translated by H.L. Havell, +B.A. p. 20. Macmillan & Co. <a href="#footret02">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY</h1> + +<a name="chap01"></a><h2>Telemachus, Penelope, and the Suitors</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>In a high, level spot, commanding a view of the sea, stands the house +of Odysseus, the mightiest prince in Ithaca. It is a spacious +building, two storeys high, constructed entirely of wood, and +surrounded on all sides by a strong wooden fence. Within the +enclosure, and in front of the house, is a wide courtyard, containing +the stables, and other offices of the household.</p> + +<a href="images/illus2lg.jpg" name="Illus2"><img + title="Penelope (click to enlarge)" alt="Penelope" align="left" + src="images/illus2.png" /></a> + +<p>A proud maiden was Penelope, when Odysseus wedded her in her youthful +bloom, and made her the mistress of his fair dwelling and his rich +domain. One happy year they lived together, and a son was born to +them, whom they named Telemachus. Then war arose between Greece and +Asia, and Odysseus was summoned to join the train of chieftains who +followed Agamemnon to win back Helen, his brother's wife. Ten years +the war lasted; then Troy was taken, and those who had survived the +struggle returned to their homes. Among these was Odysseus, who set +sail with joyful heart, hoping, before many days were passed, to take +up anew the thread of domestic happiness which had been so rudely +broken. But since that hour he has vanished from sight, and for ten +long years from the fall of Troy the house has been mourning its +absent lord.</p> + +<p>During the last three years a new trouble has been present, to fill +the cup of Penelope's sorrow to the brim. A host of suitors, drawn +from the most powerful families in Ithaca and the neighbouring +islands, have beset the house of Odysseus, desiring to wed his wife +and possess her wealth. All her friends urge her to make choice of a +husband from that clamorous band; for no one now believes that there +is any hope left of Odysseus' return. Only Penelope still clings to +the belief that he is yet living, and will one day come home. So for +three years she has put them off by a cunning trick. She began to +weave a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, promising that, as soon +as the garment was finished, she would wed one of the suitors. Then +all day long she wove that choice web; and every night she undid the +work of the day, unravelling the threads which she had woven. So for +three years she beguiled the suitors, but at last she was betrayed by +her handmaids, and the fraud was discovered. The princes upbraided her +loudly for her deceit, and became more importunate than ever. The +substance of Odysseus was wasting away; for day after day the wooers +came thronging to the house, a hundred strong, and feasted at the +expense of its absent master, and drank up his wine.</p> + +<p>No hope seems left to the heartbroken, faithful wife. Even her son has +grown impatient at the waste of his goods, and urges her to make the +hard choice, and the hateful hour is at hand which will part her for +ever from the scene of her brief wedded joy.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>It was the hour of noon, and the sun was beating hot on the rocky +hills of Ithaca, when a solitary wayfarer was seen approaching the +outer gateway which led into the courtyard of Odysseus' house. He was +a man of middle age, dressed like a chieftain, and carrying a long +spear in his hand. Passing through the covered gateway he halted +abruptly, and gazed in astonishment at the strange sight which met his +eyes. All was noise and bustle in the courtyard, where a busy troop of +servants were preparing the materials for a great feast. Some were +carrying smoking joints of roast meat, others were filling huge bowls +with wine and water, and others were washing the tables and setting +them out to dry. In the portico before the house sat a great company +of young nobles, comely of aspect, and daintily attired, taking their +ease on couches of raw ox-hide, and playing at draughts to while away +the time until the banquet should be ready. Loud was their talk, and +boisterous their laughter, as of men who have no respect for +themselves or for others. "Surely this was the house of Odysseus," +murmured the stranger to himself, "but now it seems like a den of +thieves. But who is that tall and goodly lad, who sits apart, with +gloomy brow, and seems ill-pleased with the doings of that riotous +crew? Surely I should know that face, the very face of my old friend +as I knew him long years ago."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, the youth who had attracted his notice glanced in his +direction, and seeing a stranger standing unheeded at the entrance, he +rose from his seat and came with hasty step and heightened colour +towards him. "Forgive me, friend," he said, with hand outstretched in +welcome, "that I marked thee not before. My thoughts were far away. +But come into the house, and sit down to meat, and when thou hast +eaten we will inquire the reason of thy coming."</p> + +<p>So saying, and taking the stranger's spear, he led him into the great +hall of the house, and sat down with him in a corner, remote from the +noise of the revel. And a handmaid bare water in a golden ewer, and +poured it over their hands into a basin of silver; and when they had +washed, a table was set before them, heaped with delicate fare. Then +host and guest took their meal together, and comforted their hearts +with wine.</p> + +<p>Before they had finished, the whole company came trooping in from the +courtyard, and filled the room with uproar, calling aloud for food and +drink. Not a chair was left empty, and the servants hurried to and +fro, supplying the wants of these unwelcome visitors. Vast quantities +of flesh were consumed, and many a stout jar of wine was drained to +the dregs, to supply the wants of that greedy multitude.</p> + +<p>When at last their hunger was appeased, and every goblet stood empty, +Phemius, the minstrel, stood up in their midst, and after striking a +few chords on his harp, began to sing a famous lay. Then the youth who +had been entertaining the stranger drew closer his chair, and thus +addressed him, speaking low in his ear: "Thou seest what fair company +we keep, how wanton they are, and how gay. Yet there was once a man +who would have driven them, like beaten hounds, from this hall, even +he whose substance they are devouring. But his bones lie whitening at +the bottom of the sea, and we who are left must tamely suffer this +wrong. But now thou hast eaten, and I may question thee without +reproach. Say, therefore, who art thou, and where is thy home? Comest +thou for the first time to Ithaca, or art thou an old friend of this +house, bound to us by ties of ancient hospitality?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Mentes," answered the stranger, "and I am a prince of the +Taphians, a bold race of sailors. I am a friend of this house, well +known to its master, Odysseus, and his father, Laertes. Be of good +cheer, for he whom thou mournest is not dead, nor shall his coming be +much longer delayed. But tell me now of a truth, art not thou the son +of that man? I knew him well, and thou hast the very face and eyes of +Odysseus."</p> + +<p>"My mother calls me his son," replied the youth, who was indeed +Telemachus himself, "and I am bound to believe her. Would that it were +otherwise! I have little cause to bless my birth."</p> + +<p>"Yet shalt thou surely be blest," said Mentes; "thou art not unmarked +of the eye of Heaven. But answer me once more, what means this lawless +riot in the house? And what cause has brought all these men hither?"</p> + +<p>"This also thou shalt know," replied Telemachus. "These are the +princes who have come to woo my mother; and while she keeps them +waiting for her answer they eat up my father's goods. Ere long, +methinks, they will make an end of me also."</p> + +<p>"Fit wooers indeed for the wife of such a man!" said Mentes with a +bitter smile. "Would that he were standing among them now as I saw him +once in my father's house, armed with helmet and shield and spear! He +would soon wed them to another bride. But whether it be God's will +that he return or not, 'tis for thee to devise means to drive these +men from thy house. Take heed, therefore, to my words, and do as I bid +thee. To-morrow thou shalt summon the suitors to the place of +assembly, and charge them that they depart to their homes. And do thou +thyself fit out a ship, with twenty rowers, and get thee to Pylos, +where the aged Nestor dwells, and inquire of him concerning thy +father. From Pylos proceed to Sparta, the kingdom of Menelaus; he was +the last of the Greeks to reach home, after the fall of Troy; and +perchance thou mayest learn something from him. And if thou hearest +sure tidings of thy father's death, then get thee home, and raise a +tomb to his memory, and keep his funeral feast. Then let thy mother +wed whom she will; and if these men still beset thee, thou must devise +means to slay them, either by guile or openly. Thou art now a man, and +must play a man's part. Hast thou not heard of the fame which Orestes +won, when he slew the murderer of his sire? Be thou valiant, even as +he; tall thou art, and fair, and shouldst be a stout man of thy hands. +But 'tis time for me to be going; my ship awaits me in the harbour, +and my comrades will be tired of waiting for me."</p> + +<p>"Stay yet awhile," answered Telemachus, "until thou hast refreshed +thyself with the bath; and I will give thee a costly gift to bear with +thee as a memorial of thy visit." But even as he spoke Mentes rose +from his seat and, gliding like a shadow through the sunlit doorway, +disappeared. Telemachus followed, in wonder and displeasure; but no +trace of the strange visitor was to be seen. Looking upward he saw a +great sea-eagle winging his way towards the shore; and a voice seemed +to whisper in his ear: "No mortal was thy guest, but the great goddess +Athene, daughter of Zeus, and ever thy father's true comrade and +faithful ally."</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>With a strange elation of spirits Telemachus returned to the hall, and +sat down among the suitors. Hitherto he had shown a certain weakness +and indecision of character, natural in a young lad, who had grown up +without the strong guiding hand of a father, and who, since the first +dawn of his manhood, had been surrounded by a host of subtle foes. But +the words of Athene have gone home, and he resolves that from this +hour he will take his proper place in the house as his mother's +guardian and the heir of a great prince.</p> + +<p>There was an unwonted stillness among that lawless troop, and they sat +silent and attentive in the great, dimly lighted chamber. For the +minstrel was singing a sweet and solemn strain, which told of the +home-coming of the Greeks from Troy, and of all the disasters which +befell them on the way. Suddenly the singer paused in the midst of his +lay, for his fine ear had caught the sound of a sobbing sigh. Looking +round, he saw a tall and stately lady standing in the doorway which +led to the women's apartments at the back of the house. She was +closely veiled, but he instantly recognised the form of Penelope, his +beloved mistress.</p> + +<p>"Phemius," said Penelope, in a tone of gentle reproach, "hast thou no +other lay to sing, but must needs recite this tale of woe, which fills +my soul with tears, by calling up the image of him for whom I sorrow +night and day?"</p> + +<p>Phemius stood abashed, and ventured no reply; but Telemachus answered +for him. "Mother," he said, "blame not the sweet minstrel for his +song. The bard is not the author of the woes of which he sings, but +Zeus assigns to each his portion of good and ill; and thou must submit +to his ordinance, like many another lady who has lost her lord. Thou +hast thy province in the house, and I mine; thine is to govern thy +handmaids, and mine to take the lead where the men are gathered +together. And I say that the minstrel has chosen well."</p> + +<p>There was a new note of command in the voice of Telemachus as he +uttered these words. Penelope heard it, and wondered what change had +come over her son; but a hundred bold eyes were gazing insolently at +her, and without another word she turned away, and ascended the steep +stairs which led to her bower. There she reclined on a couch, and her +tears flowed freely; for the song of Phemius had reopened the fountain +of her grief. Presently the sound of sobbing died away, and she drew +her breath gently in a sweet and placid sleep.</p> + +<p>The sudden appearance of Penelope had excited the suitors, and they +began to brawl noisily among themselves. Presently Telemachus raised +his voice, commanding silence for the minstrel. "And I have something +else to say unto you," he added. "To-morrow at dawn I bid you come to +the place of assembly, that we may make an end of these wild doings in +my house. I will bear it no longer, but will publish your evil deeds +to the ears of gods and men."</p> + +<p>Among the suitors there was a certain Antinous, a tall and stout +fellow, of commanding presence, who was looked up to by the others as +a sort of leader, being the boldest and most brutal in the band. And +now he answered for the rest "Heaven speed thy boasting, young +braggart!" he cried in rude and jeering tones. "It will be a happy day +for the men of Ithaca when they have thee for their king."</p> + +<p>"I claim not the kingdom," answered Telemachus firmly, "but I am +resolved to be master in my own house."</p> + +<p>By the side of Antinous sat Eurymachus, who was next to him in power +and rank. This was a smooth and subtle villain, not less dangerous +than Antinous, but glib and plausible of speech. And he too made +answer after his kind: "Telemachus, thou sayest well, and none can +dispute thy right. But with thy good leave I would ask thee concerning +the stranger. He seemed a goodly man; but why did he start up and +leave us so suddenly? Did he bring any tidings of thy father?"</p> + +<p>"There can be no tidings of him," answered Telemachus sadly, "except +that we shall never see him again. And as to this stranger, it was +Mentes, a friend of my father's, and prince of the Taphians."</p> + +<p>Night was now coming on, the suitors departed to their homes, and +Telemachus, who meditated an early start next day, retired early to +his chamber. The room where he slept stood in the courtyard, apart +from the house, and was reached by a stairway. He was attended by an +aged dame, Eurycleia, who had nursed him in his infancy. And all night +long he lay sleepless, pondering on the perils and the adventures +which awaited him.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap02"></a><h2>The Assembly; The Voyage of Telemachus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>At the first peep of dawn Telemachus was afoot, and summoning the +heralds he ordered them to make proclamation of an assembly to be held +in a public place in the town of Ithaca. Then he went down to the +place of assembly, with two favourite hounds following close at his +heels; and when he arrived he found the princes and elders of the +people already gathered together. All eyes were turned to the gallant +lad, as he sat down on his father's seat among the noblest of the sons +of Ithaca. Never had he worn so princely an air, or seemed so worthy +of his mighty sire.</p> + +<p>Then the old chieftain Ægyptus began the debate; he was bent double +with age, and one of his sons, Antiphus, had followed Odysseus to +Troy, while another, Eurynomus, was among the suitors of Penelope. It +was of Antiphus that he thought, as he stood up and made harangue +among the elders:</p> + +<p>"Who has summoned us hither, and what is his need? Never have we met +together in council since the day when Odysseus set sail from Ithaca. +Hath any tidings come of the return of those who followed him to Troy, +or is it some other business of public moment which has called us +hither? But whoever sent out this summons, I doubt not he is a worthy +man, and may Zeus accomplish his purpose, whatever it be."</p> + +<p>Such chance sayings were regarded as a sign of Heaven's will, and +Telemachus rejoiced in spirit at the old man's blessing. And forthwith +he stood up in the midst, and, taking the sceptre from the herald's +hand, rushed at once into the subject of which his mind was full.</p> + +<p>"Behold me here, old man," he said, addressing Ægyptus. "It is I who +have called you together, and surely not without a cause. Is it not +enough that I have lost my brave father, whose gentleness and +loving-kindness ye all knew, when he was your king? But must I sit +still, day after day, and see the fattest of my flocks and herds +slaughtered, and the red wine poured out wastefully, by these men who +have come to woo my mother? Take shame to yourselves, and restrain +them; fear the reproach of men, and the wrath of Heaven, and suffer me +not thus to be evilly entreated, unless ye harbour revengeful thoughts +against my father, for some wrong which he has done you."</p> + +<p>He had spoken thus far, when tears choked his voice, and flinging the +sceptre on the ground he returned to his seat. There was a general +feeling of compassion among his hearers, and not one of the suitors +ventured to answer him, save only Antinous, who began in his wonted +style of brutal insolence, upbraiding Telemachus in violent terms, and +throwing all the blame on Penelope, who, he said, had beguiled them +for three years by holding out promises which she never meant to +fulfil. Then he told the story of Penelope's web, and concluded his +speech with these words:</p> + +<p>"As long as thy mother continues in this mind, so long will we stay +here and consume thy living. If thou wouldst be quit of us, send her +to her father's house and bid her marry the man of her choice."</p> + +<p>Telemachus replied: "How can I drive away the mother who bare me and +nourished me? And where shall I find means to pay back her dower? But +most of all I dread my mother's curse. No, never shall that word be +spoken by me. Therefore, if ye know aught of fair and honest dealing, +depart from my house, and live on your own goods; but if it seems good +to you to eat up another man's living, then will I appeal to the +justice of heaven, and pray for vengeance on your heads."</p> + +<p>"Behold, his prayer is answered," cried Halitherses, a venerable +elder, with snow-white beard, who was skilled in augury; and looking +up they saw two eagles winging their way at full speed towards the +place of assembly. Now the two great birds hovered over the meeting; +and just at this moment they wheeled round and attacked each other +fiercely with beak and claw. After fighting for some time they shot +away to the right and were soon lost to view. Then Halitherses spake +again, interpreting the omen: "Hearken, men of Ithaca, to my words, +and to you, the suitors of Penelope, especially do I speak. Woe is +coming upon you; I see it rising and swelling as a wave. Not long +shall Odysseus be absent, but even now he is near at hand hatching +mischief for those who sit here. And many another shall suffer, +besides these who have done the wrong. Therefore, I say, let us stop +their evil deeds, or let them cease themselves. The hour is near at +hand which I foretold, when Odysseus embarked for Troy: I said that +after many sufferings, having lost all his comrades, unknown to all in +the twentieth year he should come home. And now all these things are +coming to pass."</p> + +<p>Then up rose Eurymachus, in an angry and scornful mood. "Old man," +said he, "go home and prophesy to thine own children, lest some harm +befall thee here. Thinkest thou that every fowl of the air is a +messenger from heaven? Odysseus has perished, and would that thou +hadst perished with him! Art thou not ashamed to take sides with this +malapert boy, feeding his passion and folly with thy crazy prophecies? +Doubtless thou lookest to him for favour and reward, but thou wilt +find that his friendship will cost thee dear. Telemachus has heard our +answer to his complaint; let him keep his eloquence for his froward +mother, and bring her to a better mind, for neither his speeches nor +thy prophecies will turn us from our purpose."</p> + +<p>The principal object of the meeting was now attained: the villainy of +the suitors had been publicly exposed, and they were left without +excuse or hope of mercy when the day of reckoning should arrive. +Accordingly Telemachus, dismissing the subject of his wrongs, now +spoke of his intended voyage to Pylos and Sparta, and begged for the +loan of a ship to carry him and his comrades to the mainland.</p> + +<p>No response was made to his request; but one man still attempted to +rouse public opinion against the suitors. This was Mentor, an old +friend of Odysseus, who had been left in charge of his household on +his departure from Ithaca. "Is there not one among you," he cried +indignantly, "who will speak a word for Telemachus, or testify against +the wickedness of these men? No more let kings be gentle and merciful +towards their people, as was Odysseus when he ruled over you, loving +and tender-hearted as a father. Let righteousness give place to +oppression, if these are its rewards. There you sit, like cowed and +beaten men, and suffer a handful of worthless men to lord it over you +all."</p> + +<p>After this last appeal, which was as fruitless as the others, the +meeting broke up, and the suitors returned to their revels in the +house of Odysseus.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Full of anxious thought, Telemachus went down to the shore, wondering +how he should find means to accomplish his voyage. Stooping down, he +bathed his hands in the sea, and after this act of purification he +lifted up his hands and prayed to Athene: "O thou who camest yesterday +to our house, and badest me go on this quest, give ear and help me in +this strait."</p> + +<p>He had hardly finished his prayer when he heard a footstep, and +looking round saw Mentor, who had come to his aid at the meeting, +approaching from the town. "Be not cast down," said Mentor, "remember +whose son thou art, and all shall be well with thee. As to this +voyage, that shall be my care. I will find thee a ship, and will go +with thee to Pylos. Meanwhile go thou home and make ready all things +for victualling the ship, corn and wine and barley-meal, and bestow +them heedfully in vessels and in bags of leather. Ships there are in +plenty, new and old, in seagirt Ithaca; I will choose the best of them +all, and man her with a crew who will serve thee freely and with all +goodwill."</p> + +<p>Away went Telemachus, much comforted in spirit, though his heart +fluttered when he thought of the great adventure which lay before him. +When he entered the courtyard of his house he found the suitors +flaying goats and singeing swine for the midday feast. Antinous hailed +his coming with a rude laugh, and running up to him seized his hand +and said mockingly: "Well met, Sir Eloquence! Thy face, I see, is full +of care, as of one who is bent on high designs. But lay thy graver +burdens aside for awhile, and eat and drink with us. Thou shalt want +neither ship nor men to carry thee to holy Pylos."</p> + +<p>Telemachus snatched his hand away, and answered sternly: "My thoughts +are not of feasting and merry-making, nor would I eat and drink with +you if they were. I am no longer a child, to be flouted and robbed +without a word. I tell you I shall find it in my heart to do you a +mischief, before many days are passed. But now I am going, as I said, +on this journey. I must go as a passenger, since ye will not lend me a +ship."</p> + +<p>Many a scornful face was turned upon him, and many a taunt aimed at +him, as he uttered these bold words. "We are all undone!" cried one in +pretended alarm, "Telemachus is gone to gather an army in Pylos or in +Sparta, and he will come back with his mighty men and take all our +lives." "Or perhaps he is going to bring poison from Ephyra," said +another, "and he will cast it in the bowl, and we shall be all dead +corpses."<sup><a href="#foot03" name="footret03">3</a></sup> And a third cried: "Take care of thyself, Telemachus, or +we shall have double labour because of thee, in dividing thy goods +among us."</p> + +<p>But the taunts of fools and knaves have no sting for honest ears. +Without another word Telemachus left that gibing mob, and went +straight to the strong-room where his father's treasure was stored. +There lay heaps of gold and silver, and chests full of fine raiment, +and great jars of fragrant olive-oil. Along the wall was a long row of +portly casks, filled with the choicest wine; there they had stood +untouched for twenty years, awaiting the master's return. All this +wealth was given in charge to Eurycleia, the nurse of Telemachus, a +wise and careful dame, who watched the chamber day and night. Her +Telemachus now summoned, and said: "Fill me twelve jars of wine—not +the best, which thou art keeping for my father, but the next best to +that. And take twenty measures of barley-meal, and store it in sacks +of leather, and keep all these things together till I send for them. +Keep close counsel, and above all let not my mother know. I am going +to Sparta and to sandy Pylos to inquire of my father's return; and I +shall start in the evening when my mother is gone to rest."</p> + +<p>"Who put such a thought into thy heart?" cried Eurycleia in wailing +tones. "Why wilt thou take this dreadful journey, thou, an only child, +so loved, and so dear? Odysseus is lost for ever, and if thou go we +shall lose thee too, for the suitors will plot thy ruin while thou art +far away."</p> + +<p>"Fear nothing for me," answered Telemachus, "Heaven's eye is upon me, +and the hand of Zeus is spread over me. Swear to me now that thou wilt +not tell my mother until twelve days have past." Eurycleia swore as he +bade her, and at once set about making the preparations for his +journey.</p> + +<p>The suitors were in high spirits at the result of the meeting, and +they ate heavily and drank deeply to celebrate their triumph. Hence it +happened that they retired to rest earlier than usual, being drowsy +from their intemperate revel; and when Telemachus returned to the +banquet-hall he found all the guests departed, and the servants +removing the remains of the feast. Soon afterwards Mentor appeared, +and announced that the ship lay ready at her moorings outside the +harbour. The stores were carried down to the sea, and stowed under the +rowers' benches. "All hands on board!" cried Mentor, and took his +place in the stern, Telemachus sitting by his side. The crew sat ready +at their oars, the ship was cast loose from the moorings, and a few +vigorous strokes impelled her into deep water. Then a strong breeze +sprang up from the west, the big sail was set, and the good ship +bounded joyfully over the waves, with the white wake roaring behind. +The oars were shipped, the sheets made fast, and all the company +pledged each other in brimming cups, drinking to their prosperous +voyage.</p> + +<a name="foot03"></a><p>3. 2 Kings xix. 35. <a href="#footret03">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap03"></a><h2>The Visit to Nestor at Pylos</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>So all night long the ship clave her way; and at sunrise they reached +the flat, sandy coast of Pylos. There they found a great multitude +assembled, keeping the feast of Poseidon with sacrifices of oxen. The +solemn rite was nearly ended when they brought their vessel to land.</p> + +<p>"Courage, now," said Mentor to Telemachus, seeing the young lad +somewhat abashed by the presence of so large a company. "Remember whom +thou seekest, and lay thy modest scruples aside. Thou seest that +venerable man, still tall and erect, though he numbers more than a +hundred years. That is Nestor, son of Neleus, wisest of the Greeks, a +king and the friend and counsellor of kings. Go straight to him, and +tell him thy errand."</p> + +<p>Seeing Telemachus, who was a homebred youth, still hanging back, in +dread of that august presence, Mentor renewed his friendly +remonstrances, "What, still tongue-tied?" he said, taking him by the +arm, and leading him forward. "Heaven mend thy wits, poor lad! Knowest +thou not that thou art a child of great hopes, and a favourite of +heaven?"</p> + +<p>When they came to the place where Nestor was seated with his sons, +they found them busy preparing the feast which followed the sacrifice. +As soon as those of Nestor's company saw the strangers they came +forward in a body to greet them, and made them sit down in places of +honour, where soft fleeces were heaped up on the level sand. A youth, +about the same age as Telemachus, placed a goblet of gold in Mentor's +hand, and gave him that portion of the flesh which was set apart as an +offering to the gods. "Welcome, friend," he said, after pledging him +from the cup. "Put up thy prayer with us to the lord Poseidon, for it +is to his feast that ye have come. And when thou hast prayed, give the +cup to thy young companion, who has been bred, methinks, as I have, to +deeds of piety."</p> + +<p>Mentor first asked a blessing on their hosts, and then prayed for a +prosperous issue to their own adventure. After him Telemachus uttered +his prayer in similar words, and then they all sat down to meat. When +they had finished, Nestor looked earnestly at them, and asked them who +they were, and what was the purpose of their journey. "Are ye +merchants," he said, "or bold buccaneers, who roam the seas, a peril +to others, and ever in peril themselves?"</p> + +<p>Telemachus, cheered by good fare, and encouraged by the kind manner of +Nestor, answered confidently, and explained the nature of his errand. +"Concerning all the other Greeks," he added, "we know at least the +manner of their death; but even this poor comfort is denied to the +wife and son of Odysseus. Therefore, if thou hast aught to tell, I +beseech thee by thy friendship with my father, let me know all, and +soften not the tale, out of kindness or pity to me."</p> + +<p>"Ah! my friend," answered Nestor. "What woeful memories thou hast +awakened by thy words!—perils by land and perils by water, long years +of siege and battle, sleepless nights and toilsome days. Ill-fated +land of Troy! the grave of Grecian chivalry! There lies heroic Ajax, +there lies Achilles, and Patroclus, sage in counsel, and there lies +Antilochus, my own dear son, fleet of foot and strong of hand. And art +thou indeed the son of Odysseus, whom none could match in craft and +strategy? But why do I ask? When thou speakest, I seem to hear the +very tones of his voice. He was my friend, one with me in mind and +heart, and during all the time of the siege we took counsel together +for the weal of Greece. But when the war was over disasters came thick +and fast upon the host. And first, division arose between the two sons +of Atreus; Agamemnon wished to abide in Troy until sacrifice had been +offered to appease the anger of Athene, but Menelaus advised immediate +departure. The party of Menelaus, of whom I was one, launched their +ships and sailed to Tenedos; there Odysseus, who had set sail with us, +put back to the mainland of Asia, wishing to do a favour to Agamemnon. +But I, and Diomede with me, set forth at once, and, crossing the sea +from Lesbos, came to Eubœa; thence, after sacrifice to Poseidon, I +steered due south, and parting from Diomede at Argos continued my +voyage, and landed safe in Pylos. Thus it happened that I was not +witness of the good or evil fortunes of the other Greeks on their +voyage home, and know only by rumour how they fared. Of Agamemnon's +fate thou hast surely heard thyself, how he was murdered on his own +hearth by the treachery of Ægisthus, and how the murder was avenged by +Orestes. Happy the father who has such a son! And such, methinks, art +thou."</p> + +<p>"Ay," answered Telemachus, when Nestor had finished his long story, "I +have heard of that glorious deed; and would to heaven that by the +might of my hands I might so take vengeance on the evil men who have +come to woo my mother, and who fill my house with injury and outrage."</p> + +<p>"Ah! thou hast reminded me," said Nestor. "I heard of the shameful +wrong which thou hast suffered. But do not despair! Who knows but that +Odysseus will yet return, and make them drink the cup which they have +filled? It may well come to pass, if Athene continues to thy house the +favour which she showed thy father, plain for all eyes to see, in the +land of Troy."</p> + +<p>"Nay, 'tis too much to hope," answered Telemachus with a sigh, "the +thing is too hard—even a god could hardly bring it to pass."</p> + +<p>"Now out on thy faint heart!" cried Mentor, who hitherto had sat +silent. "Better for him that his homecoming should be long delayed +than that he should have died, like Agamemnon, fresh from his victory. +Heaven will guide him yet to his own door, though now he be at the +uttermost parts of the earth."</p> + +<p>Telemachus shook his head as he answered: "No more of that, I pray +thee; it can never be." Then, addressing Nestor, he said: "I would +fain ask thee more concerning the manner of Agamemnon's death. Where +was Menelaus when that foul deed was done? And how did Ægisthus +contrive to slay a man mightier far than himself?"</p> + +<p>"Thou askest well," replied Nestor. "Menelaus was far away, or we +should have another tale to tell. And had the return of Menelaus not +been delayed, vengeance would have been forestalled by many years. +Yea, the dogs would have eaten the flesh of that vile churl, and not a +tear would have been shed for him. But this is how it fell out: while +we were toiling and warring at Troy, Ægisthus sat close to the ear of +Clytæmnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and poured sweet poison into her mind. +For a long while she refused to hearken to his base proposals, for she +was of a good understanding, and moreover there was ever at her side a +minstrel, into whose care Agamemnon had given her when he went to +Troy. But Ægisthus seized upon the minstrel, and left him on a desert +island to be devoured by carrion birds. Then Clytæmnestra yielded to +his suit, and he brought her to his own house.</p> + +<p>"But as to thy question concerning Menelaus, he left Troy in my +company, as I told thee, and we sailed together as far as Sunium. +There Menelaus lost his steersman, who was visited by Apollo with +sudden death, as he sat by the helm; so he remained there to bury his +comrade. But his misfortunes were not yet over; for when he reached +the steep headland at Malea a violent storm arose, and parted his +fleet. Some of his ships ran into Crete for shelter, while he himself +was carried away to Egypt, where he remained many days, and gathered +store of wealth.</p> + +<p>"Now thou understandest why Ægisthus was able to work his will on +Agamemnon, and why he escaped vengeance so long. For seven years he +sat on the throne of golden Mycenæ, and grievously oppressed the +people. But in the eighth year came Orestes, and cut him off in the +fulness of his sin; and on that very day Menelaus came to him, loaded +with the treasures of Egypt.</p> + +<p>"Far and long had he wandered; but so do not thou, my child. Leave not +thy house unguarded, while so many foes are gathered against thee, +lest when thou return thou find thyself stripped of all. But to +Menelaus I would have thee go; him thou must by all means consult; for +who knows what he may have learnt on that wondrous voyage? Vast is the +space of water over which he has travelled, not to be measured in one +year by a bird in her speediest flight. If thou wilt, thou canst go to +Sparta in thy ship, or if thou choose to go by land, my chariots and +my horses are thine for this service, and my sons shall guide you on +the way."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Amid such talk as this, with many a brave story "of moving accidents +by flood and field," and many a pithy saw from the white-haired +Nestor, who had lived so long and seen so much, the hours glided +swiftly by, and the red sun was stooping to the horizon when Mentor +rose from his seat and said: "We must be going; the hour of rest is at +hand, and to-morrow we have far to go."</p> + +<p>"Tarry yet a little," said Nestor, "and eat a morsel and drink a cup +with us. And after that, if ye are fain to sleep, ye shall have fit +lodging in my house. Heaven forbid that I should suffer such guests as +you to sleep on the cold deck, covered with dew, as if I were some +needy wretch, with never a blanket to spare for a friend. May the gods +preserve me from such a reproach!"</p> + +<p>"Thou sayest well," answered Mentor, "and Telemachus shall be thy +guest to-night. But for me, I pray thee have me excused. My place is +on the ship, that I may give an eye to the crew, for I am the only man +of experience among them. And to-morrow I must go to Elis, to recover +a debt of long standing due to me there. I leave Telemachus to thy +care, that thou mayest cherish him and speed him on his way."</p> + +<p>As he said these words, while all eyes were fixed upon him, the +speaker vanished from sight, and in his stead a great sea-eagle rose +into the air, and sped westwards towards the setting sun. Long they +sat speechless and amazed, and Nestor was the first to break the +silence. "Great things are in store for thee, my son," said he to +Telemachus, "since thou keepest such company thus early in life. This +was none other than Jove's mighty daughter, Athene, who honoured thy +father so highly among the Greeks. Be gracious to us, our queen, and +let thy blessing rest on me and on my house! and I will offer to thee +a yearling heifer, that hath never felt the yoke. To thee will I +sacrifice her, when I have made gilt her horns with gold."</p> + +<p>Then Nestor led the way to his house, and Telemachus sat down with him +and his sons in the hall. And they filled a bowl with wine eleven +years old, exceeding choice, which was reserved for honoured guests. +And after they had finished the bowl, and offered prayer to Athene, +they parted for the night. For Telemachus a bed was prepared in the +portico, and close by him slept Pisistratus, the youngest of Nestor's +sons.</p> + +<p>When Telemachus rose next morning he found his host already afoot, +giving orders to his sons to prepare the sacrifice to Athene. One was +sent to fetch the heifer, another to summon the goldsmith, and a third +to bring up the crew of Telemachus' ship, while the rest busied +themselves in raising the altar and making all ready for the +sacrifice.</p> + +<p>Presently the heifer was driven lowing into the courtyard, and the +goldsmith followed with the instruments of his art. Nestor gave him +gold, and the smith beat it into thin leaf with his hammer, and laid +it skilfully over the horns of the heifer. A handmaid brought pure +water, and barley-meal in a basket, while one of Nestor's sons stood +ready with an axe, and another held a bowl to catch the blood. Then +Nestor dipped his hands in the water, took barley-meal from the basket +and sprinkled it on the head of the beast, and cutting a tuft of hair +from the forehead cast it into the fire. The prayer was spoken, and +all due rites being ended he who held the axe smote the heifer on the +head, just behind the horns. The women raised the sacrificial cry as +the heifer dropped to the ground; and next they whose office it was +lifted up the victim's head, and Pisistratus cut the throat. When the +last quiver of life was over they flayed the carcass, cut strips of +flesh from the thighs, and enveloping them in fat, burnt them on the +altar. The gods had now their share of the feast; the rest was cut +into slices, and broiled over the live embers.</p> + +<a href="images/illus3lg.jpg" name="Illus3"><img + title="Telemachus Departing from Nestor (click to enlarge)" alt="Telemachus Departing from Nestor" + src="images/illus3.png" align="left" /></a> + +<p>While the meal was preparing, Telemachus enjoyed the refreshment of a +bath; and Polycaste, the youngest of Nestor's daughters, waited on +him; for such was the patriarchal simplicity of those days. When he +had bathed, and finished his morning meal, the chariot was brought +out, and a strong pair of horses led under the yoke. And the +house-dame came with a basket, loaded with wine and delicate viands, +and placed it behind the seat. Telemachus took his place by the side +of Pisistratus, who was to drive the horses; the last farewells were +spoken, Pisistratus cracked his whip, and away they went under the +echoing gateway, and on through the streets of Pylos.</p> + +<p>That night they slept at the house of a friend, and early next day +they continued their journey. The way grew steep and difficult, great +masses of mountains rose near at hand, and at length they entered a +wide valley, covered with waving fields of corn. By sunset they +reached the end of their journey, and drew up before the stately +portals of King Menelaus.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap04"></a><h2>Telemachus at Sparta</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Menelaus was keeping the double marriage feast of his son and +daughter, and his house was thronged with wedding guests. All sat +silent and attentive, listening to the strains of a harper, and +watching the gambols of a pair of tumblers, who were whirling in giddy +reels round the hall. Presently voices were heard at the entrance, and +one of the squires of Menelaus came and informed his master that two +strangers of noble mien were standing without, craving hospitality. +"Shall I bring them in," asked the squire, "or send them on to another +house?"</p> + +<p>"Hast thou lost thy wits?" answered Menelaus in some heat, being +touched in his most sensitive point. "Shall we, who owe so much to the +kindness of strangers, in the long years of our wanderings, send any +man from our doors? Unyoke the horses, and bid our new guests enter."</p> + +<p>Four or five servants hastened to do his bidding. The horses, covered +with sweat from their hard journey, were unyoked and led into the +stable, and Telemachus, with his companion, was ushered with all +courtesy into the great hall of Menelaus. The palace was one of the +wealthiest and most splendid in Greece; and Telemachus, accustomed to +a much humbler style of dwelling, stood amazed at the glories which +met his eyes. After bathing and changing their raiment they returned +to the hall, and were assigned places close to the chair of Menelaus.</p> + +<p>The prince greeted them kindly, and said: "Welcome to our halls, young +sirs. Ye are, as I see, of no mean descent, for Zeus has set his stamp +on your faces,<sup><a href="#foot04" name="footret04">4</a></sup> and none can mistake the signs of kingly birth. When +ye have eaten, we will inquire of you further."</p> + +<p>A plentiful and delicate meal was promptly set before the young +travellers, and they ate and drank with keen appetite. When they had +finished, Telemachus said to Pisistratus, speaking low, that he might +not be overheard: "Dear son of Nestor, is not this a brave place! Hast +thou ever seen such lavish ornament of silver, and gold, and ivory? +Surely such is the dwelling of Olympian Zeus; more magnificent it can +hardly be."</p> + +<p>The quick ear of Menelaus caught his last words, and he answered, +smiling: "Nay, my friend, no mortal may vie with the everlasting +glories of Zeus. But whether any man can equal me in riches, I know +not. For indeed I wandered far and long to gather all this treasure, +to Cyprus, and Phœnicia, and Egypt, to Æthiopia, and Sidon, and the +Afric shore, a land unmatched in its countless multitudes of sheep. +There the ewes bring forth young three times a year, and the poorest +shepherd has abundance of cheese, and flesh, and milk. From all these +lands I gathered many a costly freight, and now I dwell in the midst +of plenty. Nevertheless my heart is sad, when I think of all that I +have lost. Had I returned home straight from Troy, I should have come +back a poor man, for my house had gone to waste in my absence; but I +should not have had to mourn for the death of my brother, struck down, +as doubtless ye have heard, by a murderer's hand. And then the thought +lies heavy upon me of all those who fell in my cause at Troy, and +especially of one who was dear to me above all, Odysseus, ever the +foremost in every toil and adventure. His image haunts me by day and +by night, marring my slumbers, and making my food taste bitter in my +mouth. He was a man of many woes, and sorrowful is the lot of his wife +Penelope and Telemachus his son."</p> + +<p>At this mention of his father Telemachus could not control his tears, +but covered his face with his mantle, and wept without restraint. +Menelaus saw his emotion, and began to suspect who he was; but for the +present he said nothing.</p> + +<p>A slight stir was now heard at the back of the hall, and a low murmur +went round among the guests, who whispered to each other: "The Queen! +The Queen!" And in she came softly, with slow and stately step, Helen, +the daughter of Tyndareus, and wife of Menelaus, fairest among all the +high-born dames of Greece. Her wondrous beauty was now ripened into +matronly perfection, but now and then a shadow seemed to pass over her +face, like the ghost of an old sin, long repented and forgiven. A +handmaid set a chair for her, throwing over it a soft rug, and brought +a footstool for her feet, while another bare a silver basket, with +rims of gold, and placed it ready, filled with purple yarn. When Helen +was seated, she gazed long and earnestly at Telemachus, and then, +turning to her husband, she said; "Menelaus, shall I utter the thought +which is in my heart? Nay, speak I must. Ne'er saw I such a likeness, +either in man or woman, as is the likeness of this fair youth to +Odysseus. Surely this is Telemachus, whom he left an infant in Ithaca +when the host was summoned to Troy to fight in a worthless woman's +cause."</p> + +<p>"I have marked it too," answered Menelaus. "Such were his very hands +and feet, and the carriage of his head, and the glance of his eye. +Moreover, when I made mention of Odysseus he covered his face, and +wept full sore."</p> + +<p>Telemachus was still too much distressed to speak, and Pisistratus had +to answer for him: "Thou sayest truly, my lord; it is Telemachus +himself. Nestor sent me with him to inquire of thee, and crave counsel +of thy wisdom. He is left like an orphan in his home, with none to aid +him, and take his father's place."</p> + +<p>Then Menelaus drew near to Telemachus, and taking his hand kindly +said: "Welcome again, and thrice welcome to these halls, thou son of +my trustiest friend and helper! It was the dream of my life to bring +Odysseus and all his household from Ithaca, and give him a home and a +city in this land, that we might grow old together in friendship and +loving-kindness, never to be parted until death. But envious heaven +has blighted my hopes and hindered his return."</p> + +<p>At these sad words every eye was moist, and all sat silent, absorbed +in sorrowful memories. Pisistratus was the first to speak, and his +words roused the rest from their melancholy mood. "Son of Atreus," he +said, "my father has often spoken of thy wisdom, and perchance it has +taught thee that sorrow is an ill guest at a banquet. The dead, +indeed, claim their due, and he would be hard-hearted who would grudge +them the poor tribute of a tear. But we cannot mourn for ever, even +for such a one as my brother Antilochus, whom I never saw, but thou +knewest him well, stout in battle, and swift in the pursuit."</p> + +<p>"'Tis well said," replied Menelaus. "Thou art wise beyond thy years, +and a true son of Nestor. Happy is he, beyond the common lot of men, +and smooth and fair runs the thread of his Destiny. He dwells in a +green old age in his father's house, and sees his sons growing up +around him, true heirs of his valour and prudence. Now let us banish +care, and get to our supper, for the day is far spent, and we have +matter for talk which will last us all the morrow."</p> + +<p>When they had finished eating, and the cups were about to be +replenished, Helen rose from her seat, and, whispering a few words to +the cupbearer, left the hall. In a few minutes she returned, carrying +in her hand a small phial, whose contents she poured into the great +mixing-bowl from which the cups were filled. "Now, drink," she said, +"and fear not that black care will pay us a second visit to-night. I +have poured into the wine a drug of wondrous potency and virtue, which +was given me in Egypt by Polydamna, the wife of Thon. Many such drugs +the soil of Egypt bears, some baneful and some good. And the Egyptians +are skilled in such craft beyond all mankind. He who drinks of this +drug will be armed for that day against all the assaults of sorrow, +and will not shed one tear, though his father and mother were to die, +no, not though he saw his brother or his son slain before his eyes. So +mighty is the virtue of this drug." And when they had drunk of the +magic potion Helen began again: "'Tis now the witching hour, when all +hearts are opened, and the burden of life presses lightest on men's +shoulders. Come, let me tell you a story, one among many, of the deeds +and the hardihood of Odysseus. It was in the days of the siege, and +the Trojans were kept close prisoners in their city by the leaguer of +the Greeks. Then he disguised himself as a beggar, clothed himself in +filthy rags, and marred his goodly person with cruel stripes. In such +fashion he entered the foemen's walls, as if he were a slave flying +from a hard master.<sup><a href="#foot05" name="footret05">5</a></sup> And I alone in all the city knew who he was. So +I brought him to my house, and began to question him; but he made as +if he understood not. But when I entertained him as an honoured guest, +and swore a solemn oath not to betray him, he trusted me, and declared +all the purpose of the Greeks. At dead of night he stole out into the +town, and, having slain many of the Trojans with the edge of the +sword, he went back to the camp, and brought much information to his +friends.</p> + +<p>"When morning came, the voice of wailing rose high in the streets of +Troy; but my heart rejoiced, for I was filled with longing for my +home, and my eyes were opened to the folly which I had wrought by the +beguilement of Aphrodite, when I left my fatherland and broke faith +with my lord."</p> + +<p>"Tis a good story, and thou hast told it well, fair wife," said +Menelaus. "Now hear my tale. It was the time when I and the other +champions were shut up in the wooden horse; and Odysseus was with us. +Then thou camest thither, led, I suppose, by some god, hostile to +Greece, who wished to work our ruin; and Deiphobus followed thee. +Three times thou didst pace around our hollow ambush, feeling it with +thy hands, and calling aloud to the princes of Greece by name; and thy +voice was like the voice of all their wives. There we sat, I, and +Diomede, and the rest, and heard thee calling. Now I and Diomede were +minded to answer thee, or to go forth and confer with thee; but +Odysseus suffered it not, and when one of our number was about to lift +up his voice he pressed his hands on that foolish mouth, and +restrained him by force until thou hadst left the place. And so he +saved all our lives."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Telemachus, "he had a heart of iron. But what has it +availed him? It could not save him from ruin. Howbeit, no more of +this; 'tis time to go to rest and forget our cares in sleep."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Early next morning Telemachus found his host sitting by his bedside; +and as soon as he was dressed Menelaus led him to a quiet place, and +inquired the reason of his coming. He listened with attention while +Telemachus explained the purpose of his visit; but when he heard of +the suitors, and their riot and waste, he was filled with indignation.</p> + +<p>"What!" he cried, "would these dastards fill the seat and wed the wife +of that mighty man? Their lot shall be the lot of a pair of fawns, +left by the mother hind in a lion's lair. The hind goes forth to +pasture, and in her absence the lion returns, and devours them where +they lie. Even so shall Odysseus return, and bring swift destruction +on the whole crew.</p> + +<p>"But thou hast asked me what I know of the fortunes of Odysseus, since +he departed from Troy; and verily I will tell thee all that I have +heard, without turning aside in my tale. I must go back to the time +when I lay wind-bound with my ships in a little island off the mouth +of the Nile. The island is called Pharos, and it is distant a day's +voyage from the river's mouth. I had lain there twenty days, and still +not a breath of air ruffled the glassy surface of the sea. All our +stores were consumed, and we had nothing to eat but the fish which my +men caught with rudely fashioned hooks and lines. One day I left my +men busy with their angling, and wandered away along the shore, full +of sad thoughts, and wondering how all this would end. Suddenly I +heard a light footstep on the pebbles, and there stepped forth from +behind a tall rock a young maiden in white, flowing robes. Full of +dread I saw her coming towards me; for I knew that she was no mortal +woman. But her look was gracious, and her voice was sweet; so I took +courage as she said: 'Who art thou, stranger, and why lingerest thou +with thy company in this desert place? I am Eidothea, daughter of +Proteus, the ancient one of the sea; and I am ready to help thee, if +thou wilt tell me thy need.'</p> + +<p>"Then I told her how I had been kept an unwilling captive on the +island, and begged her to let me know what power I had offended, that +he might be appeased by sacrifice, and suffer the wind to blow. 'There +is one who can tell thee all that thou desirest to know,' answered +she. 'Yea, Proteus, my father, will show thee how to win thy path +across the watery waste. No secrets are hidden from him, neither on +earth nor in the sea; and he can tell thee all that hath befallen in +thy house in the long years of thine absence. Now hearken, and I will +tell thee how thou mayest wring from him all his secrets. Every day at +noon he comes forth from the sea, and lays him down to sleep in a +rocky cave; and about him are couched his herd of seals. I will bring +thee to the place in the early morning, and set thee in ambush to +await his coming. Choose three of the stoutest of thy men to aid thee +in the adventure, and as soon as thou seest him asleep rush upon him +and hold him fast. He will struggle hard, and take a hundred different +shapes; but loose him not until he return to his own form, and then +will he reveal to thee all that he has to tell.'</p> + +<p>"So saying, the goddess disappeared beneath the waves. Next morning I +went with three picked men to the appointed place, and soon Eidothea +arrived, bearing four hides of seals, freshly flayed. Then she +hollowed out four pits in the sand for us to lie in, and clothed us in +the skins, and couched us together. Now that bed had like to have been +our last, for we were stifled by the dreadful stench of the seabred +seals. But the goddess saw our distress, and found a remedy; for she +brought ambrosia and set it beneath our nostrils, and that heavenly +perfume overpowered the noisome stench.</p> + +<p>"So all the morning we lay and wafted patiently, and at noon the seals +came up out of the sea and lay down in order on the sand. Last of all +came Proteus, and counted his herd, reckoning us among their number, +with no suspicion of guile. We waited until he was fast asleep, and +then we rushed from our ambush and seized him hand and foot. Long and +hard was the struggle, and many the shapes which he took. First he +became a bearded lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a huge boar; +after these he turned into running water and a tall, leafy tree. But +we only held him the more firmly, and at last he grew weary and spake +to me in his own shape: 'What wouldst thou have, son of Atreus, and +who has taught thee to outwit me and take me captive by craft?'</p> + +<p>"'Thou knowest my need,' I answered; 'why dost thou waste thy words? +Tell me rather how I may find release from my present strait'</p> + +<p>"'Hear, then,' said he: 'thou hast forgotten thy duty to Zeus and the +other gods. Not a victim bled, not a prayer was offered, when thou +didst embark on this voyage. Go back to Egypt, to the holy waters of +Nile, and there pay thy vows, and offer a great sacrifice to their +offended deity; thus, and thus only, canst thou win thy return to +thine own country and thy stately home.'</p> + +<p>"When I heard this my heart was broken within me, to think of that +long and perilous path across the misty deep. Nevertheless I consented +to take that journey, for I saw no other way of escape. And after I +had promised to obey him, I began to inquire further of the fate of +Nestor and the rest, whom I left behind me on my way home.</p> + +<p>"''Tis a grievous story that thou requirest of me,' said Proteus, 'and +thou shalt have little joy in the hearing. Many have been taken and +many left. Two only perished in returning, and one is still living, a +prisoner of the sea. Ajax has paid his debt to Athene, whose shrine he +polluted; and this was the manner of his death: when his vessel was +shattered by that great tempest, he himself escaped to a rock, for +Poseidon came to his aid. But even the peril which he had just escaped +could not subdue his haughtiness and his pride, and he uttered an +impious vaunt, boasting that in despite of heaven he had escaped a +watery grave. Then Poseidon was wroth, and smote the rock with his +trident, and that half of the rock on which Ajax was sitting fell into +the sea, bearing him with it. So he died, when he had drunk the brine.</p> + +<p>"'Now harden thy heart, and learn how thy brother Agamemnon fell. +After a long and stormy voyage he at length brought his shattered +vessels safe into harbour, and set foot on his native soil at Argos. +With tears of joy and thankfulness he fell on his knees and kissed the +sod, trusting that now his sorrows were passed. Now there was a +watchman whom Ægisthus had posted on a high place commanding the sea +to look out for Agamemnon's return. A whole year he watched, for he +had been promised a great reward. And when he saw the king's face he +went with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith Ægisthus prepared an +ambush of twenty armed men; these he kept in hiding at the back of the +hall, while he ordered his servants to prepare a great banquet. Then +he went to meet Agamemnon with horses and with chariots, and brought +him to his house, and made good cheer. And when he had feasted him he +smote and slew him, as a man slaughters an ox in his stall.'</p> + +<p>"At that tale of horror I fell upon the sand, weeping bitterly, for I +had no desire to live any longer or look on the light of the sun. Long +I lay mourning, as one who had lost all hope, but at last Proteus +checked the torrent of my passion, and bade me take thought of my own +homecoming. 'This is no time,' he said, 'to melt away in womanish +grief. Haste thee to take vengeance, if so be that Orestes hath not +forestalled thee, and slain his father's murderer.'</p> + +<p>"Somewhat comforted by these words, I took courage to ask who was the +man of whom he had spoken as a prisoner of the sea. 'It is the son of +Laertes,' answered Proteus, 'Odysseus, whose home is in Ithaca. I +myself saw him on an island, in the house of the nymph Calypso; and +sore he wept because he could not leave the goddess, who holds him in +thrall, and will not suffer him to return to his country.'</p> + +<p>"Lastly, he told me concerning my own fate. 'Thou, Menelaus,' he said, +'art exempt from the common lot of men, because thou art the husband +of Helen, and she is a daughter of Zeus. Therefore it is not appointed +for thee to die, but when thine hour is come the gods shall convey +thee to the Elysian fields, where dwell the elect spirits in +everlasting blessedness. There falls not snow nor rain, there blows no +rude blast, but the fresh cool breath of the west comes softly from +Ocean to refresh them that dwell in that happy clime.'"</p> + +<p>Thus happily ended the story of the Spartan prince's wanderings. And +when he had finished, he pressed Telemachus to prolong his visit; but +that prudent youth declined the invitation, pleading the necessity of +a speedy return to Ithaca, that he might keep an eye on the doings of +the suitors. Menelaus was compelled to allow the justice of his plea, +and accordingly all things were made ready for a speedy departure.</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>We must now return to Ithaca, and see what reception was preparing for +Telemachus when he came back from his adventurous journey. Two or +three days after he left Ithaca the suitors were gathered before the +doors of Odysseus, playing at quoits, or hurling their javelins at a +mark. Presently a young noble came up to the group, and addressing +Antinous, who was watching the sport, asked him if he had heard aught +of Telemachus. "I would fain know how long he is like to be absent +from Ithaca," he said; "for he has borrowed my ship, and I have need +of her. Know ye when he is to return from Pylos?"</p> + +<p>Antinous heard him with amazement; for neither he nor any other of the +suitors knew that Telemachus had sailed from Ithaca, supposing him to +be absent on his farm. So he questioned the youth closely as to the +time and manner of that voyage, how the crew was composed, and whether +the vessel was lent willingly, or taken by force. "Of my own free will +I lent her," answered the lad, "why should I not help him in his need? +As to the crew, they were all picked men, and well born; and the +captain was Mentor, or some god in his likeness; for I saw Mentor +yesterday in the town, and not a ship has touched at Ithaca since they +sailed."</p> + +<p>When he who had lent the ship was departed the suitors left their +sports, and drawing close together began to converse in low tones. +They were full of anger against Telemachus because of this journey, +which gave the lie to their malicious prophecies, and was not without +prospect of danger to themselves. Accordingly Antinous found ready +hearers when he stood up and spoke as follows:—"This forward boy must +be put down, or he will mar our wooing. It is a great deed which he +has done, and he will not stop here, unless we find means to cut short +his adventures. Now hear what I advise: let us man a ship and moor her +in the narrow sea between Ithaca and Samos, and lie in wait for him +there. This cruise of his is like to cost him dear."</p> + +<p>The plan was highly approved, and the whole body rose and entered the +house together, resolved to act at once on the advice of Antinous. +Before long news of their wicked designs came to the ears of Penelope, +who was still ignorant of her son's departure; for Eurycleia had kept +her counsel well. The evil tidings were brought by Medon, a servant in +the house of Odysseus, who had overheard the suitors plotting +together, while he stood concealed behind a buttress of the courtyard +fence. Without delay he went in search of Penelope, whom he found +sitting with her handmaids in her chamber. As soon as he appeared on +the threshold Penelope looked at him reproachfully, and said: "What +message bringest thou from thy fair masters? Is it their pleasure that +my maidens should leave their tasks and spread the board for them? Out +on your feasting and your wooing! May this be the last morsel that ye +ever taste! Ungrateful men, have ye forgotten all the good deeds that +were wrought here by the hands of Odysseus, and all the kindness that +ye received from him? Yes, all is forgotten; ye have no thought in +your hearts but to grow fat at his cost, and devour his living."</p> + +<p>"Alas! lady," answered Medon, "would that this were the worst! But I +am the bearer of heavier news than this. Telemachus has sailed to +Pylos, to inquire concerning his father, and the suitors have plotted +to slay him on his way home." Having delivered his message, Medon left +the chamber, and the door was shut.</p> + +<p>Long Penelope sat without a word, struck dumb by this cruel blow. +Then, as if seized by a sudden thought, she rose from her seat, and +took two paces towards the door. But her strength failing her she +tottered backward, and sank down upon the ground, leaning against the +wall. Her handmaids gathered round her, and would have lifted her up, +but she waved them off and at last gave utterance to her feelings in +wailing and broken tones:</p> + +<p>"Woeful beyond the lot of all women on earth is my portion! First, I +lost my lion-hearted lord, rich in every excellent gift, a hero among +heroes; and now the powers of the air<sup><a href="#foot06" name="footret06">6</a></sup> have carried off my child, my +well-beloved, without one word of farewell. Hearts of stone, why did +ye not tell me of his going? Had I known his purpose I would have +prevailed on him to stay, or he must have left me dead in these halls. +Go, one of you, and call Dolius, the keeper of my garden and orchard, +and send him to tell all to Laertes, if haply he may devise some way +to turn the hearts of the people, and save his race from being utterly +cut off."</p> + +<p>"Sweet lady," answered Eurycleia, who was sitting among the women, "I +will tell thee all the truth, and then thou shalt slay me, if it be +thy will. I was privy to this journey, and Telemachus made me swear a +solemn oath not to reveal it to thee until twelve days were passed, or +thou hadst heard of it from others. For he feared that thou wouldst +waste thy fair cheeks with weeping. But be not cast down; I am sure +that the gods hate not so utterly the house of Odysseus, nor purpose +to destroy it altogether. Vex not the old man Laertes in his sorrow, +but go wash thyself, put on clean raiment, and go up and pray to +Athene in thy upper chamber to guard and keep thy son from harm."</p> + +<p>Then Penelope was comforted, and dried her tears, and went up with her +handmaids to the upper chamber. There she made her offering before the +shrine of Athene, and lifted up her voice in prayer: "Daughter of +Zeus, stern warrior maiden, if ever my lord Odysseus offered +acceptable sacrifice to thee, remember now his service, save my son, +and let not the wooers work evil against him." When her prayer was +ended the women joined their voices with hers, and called again and +again on the awful name of Athene. After that they left her, and she +sank down on a couch, exhausted by her emotions, and full of anxious +thought. At length she ceased her weary tossing, and fell into a quiet +and refreshing sleep.</p> + +<p>Athene had heard her prayer, and being full of pity for the sorely +tried lady she resolved to find means to soothe her troubled spirit. +So she made a phantom, like in form and in feature to Iphthime, a +sister of Penelope, who lived with her husband in distant Pheræ. And +the phantom came to the house of Penelope, and entering her chamber by +the keyhole, stood by her bedside and spake to her thus: "Sorrow not +at all, nor vex thy soul for the sake of Telemachus. The gods love thy +son, and will bring him safe home."</p> + +<p>Then wise Penelope made answer, slumbering right sweetly at the gates +of dreams: "Dear sister, what has brought thee hither from thy far +distant home? Thou biddest me take comfort, but my heart is torn with +fear and grief for my brave lord, and yet more for Telemachus, who is +encompassed with perils by sea and by land." "Fear nothing," answered +the dim phantom. "He has a mighty helper by his side, even Pallas +Athene, who sent me hither to strengthen and console thee." With that +the ghostly visitor vanished as it came, and left Penelope much +cheered by the clear vision which had brought her words of healing at +the blackest hour of the night.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Antinous had taken steps to carry out his villainous design. +At nightfall he went down to the sea with twenty picked men, boarded +the vessel which had been prepared for their use, and sailed out to a +little island which lies in the middle of the strait between Samos and +Ithaca. There they anchored in a sheltered bay, and waited for the +coming of Telemachus.</p> + +<a name="foot04"></a><p>4. In Homer, all kings and their families are supposed to be +descended from Zeus. <a href="#footret04">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot05"></a><p>5. Compare the stratagem of Zopyrus, in "Stories from Greek +History." <a href="#footret05">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot06"></a><p>6. Demons, to whom sudden disappearance was attributed. <a href="#footret06">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap05"></a><h2>Odysseus and Calypso</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>We have waited long for the appearancef of Odysseus, and at last he is +about to enter the scene, which he will never leave again until the +final act of the great drama is played out. Hitherto he has been +pursued by the malice of Poseidon, who wrecked his fleet, drowned all +his men, and kept him confined for seven years in Calypso's island, in +vengeance for the blinding of his son Polyphemus.</p> + +<p>But now the prayers of Athene have prevailed, and Hermes, the +messenger of the gods, is on his way from Olympus, bearing a +peremptory summons to Calypso to let Odysseus depart. Shod with his +golden, winged sandals, which bear him, swift as the wind, over moist +and dry, and holding in his hand his magic wand, Hermes skimmed like a +seagull over the blue waters of the Ægæan, until he came to that far +distant isle. Arrived there, he went straight to the great cavern +where Calypso dwelt; and he found her there, walking about her room, +weaving with a golden shuttle, and singing sweetly at her work. A +great fire was blazing on the hearth, sending forth a sweet odour of +cedar and sandal-wood. Round about the cavern grew a little wood of +blossoming trees, "alder and poplar tall, and cypress sweet of smell"; +and there owls and hawks and cormorants built their nests. Over the +threshold was trained a wide-branching vine, with many a purple +cluster and wealth of rustling leaves. Four springs of clear water +welled up before the cave, and wandered down to the meadows where the +violet and parsley grew. It was a choice and cool retreat, meet +dwelling for a lovely nymph.</p> + +<p>Calypso greeted her visitor kindly, bade him be seated, and set nectar +and ambrosia before him. And when he had refreshed himself, he told +his message. "I bear the commands of Zeus," he said, "and to do his +high will have I travelled this long and weary way. It is said that +thou keepest with thee a man of many woes, who has suffered more than +any of those who fought at Troy. Him thou art commanded to send away +from thee with all speed; for it is not destined for him to end his +days here, but the hour has come when he must go back to his home and +country, Zeus has spoken, and thou must obey."</p> + +<p>This was bitter news to Calypso, for she loved Odysseus, and would +have made him immortal, that he might abide with her for ever. She +wrung her hands, and said in a mournful voice: "Now I know of a truth +that the gods are a jealous race, and will not suffer one of their +kind to wed with a mortal mate. Therefore Orion fell by the unseen +arrows of Artemis, when fair Aurora chose him for her lord; and +therefore Zeus slew Iasion with his lightning, because he was loved of +Demeter. Is not Odysseus mine? Did I not save him and cherish him when +he was flung naked and helpless on these shores? But since no other +deity may evade or frustrate the will of Zeus, let him go, and I will +show him how he may reach his own country without scathe."</p> + +<p>When he had heard Calypso's answer, Hermes took leave of her, and +returned to Olympus, and the nymph went down to the part of the shore +where she knew Odysseus was accustomed to sit. There he would remain +all day, gazing tearfully over the barren waste of waters, and wearing +out his soul with ceaseless lamentation. For he had long grown weary +of his soft slavery in Calypso's cave, and yearned with exceeding +great desire for the familiar hills of Ithaca, so rugged, but so dear. +And there Calypso found him now, sitting on a rock with dejected mien. +She sat down at his side, and said: "A truce to thy complaints, thou +man of woes! Thou hast thy wish; I will let thee go with all +good-will, and I will show thee how to build a broad raft, which +shall bear thee across the misty deep. I will victual her with corn +and wine, and clothe thee in new garments, and send a breeze behind +thee to waft thee safe. Thus am I commanded by the gods, whose +dwelling is in the wide heaven, and their will I do. Up now and fell +me yon tall trees for timber to make the raft."</p> + +<p>Odysseus was by nature a very shrewd and cautious man, and he feared +that Calypso was contriving some mischief against him, in revenge for +his coldness. He looked at her doubtfully, and answered: "I fear thee, +nymph, and I mistrust thy purpose. How shall a man cross this dreadful +gulf, where no ship is ever seen, on a raft? And though that were +possible, I will never leave thee against thy will. Swear to me now +that thou intendest me no harm."</p> + +<p>Calypso smiled at his suspicions, and patted him on the shoulder as +she answered: "Thou art a sad rogue, and very deep of wit, as anyone +may see by these words of thine. Now hear me swear: Witness, thou +earth, and the wide heaven above us, and the dark waterfall of Styx, +the greatest and most awful thing by which a god may swear, that I +intend no ill, but only good, to this man."</p> + +<p>Having sworn that oath Calypso rose, and bidding Odysseus follow led +the way to her cave. There she set meat before him, such as mortal men +eat, and wine to drink; but she herself was served by her handmaids +with immortal food, and nectar, the wine of the gods. When they had +supped, Calypso looked at Odysseus and said: "And wilt thou indeed +leave me, thou strange man? Am I not tall and fair, and worthy to be +called a daughter of heaven? And is thy Penelope so rare a dame, that +thou preferrest her to me! Ah! if thou knewest all the toils which +await thee before thou reachest thy home, and all the perils prepared +for thee there, thou wouldst renounce thy purpose, and dwell for ever +with me. Nevertheless go, if go thou must, and my blessing go with +thee."</p> + +<p>Her words were kind, but some anger lurked in her tone, which Odysseus +hastened to appease. "Fair goddess," he answered, "be not wroth with +me. I know that thou art more lovely far than my wife Penelope; for +thou art divine, and she is but a mortal woman. Nevertheless I long +day and night to see her face, and to sit beneath the shadow of my own +rooftree. And if I be stricken again by the hand of Heaven on the +purple sea, I will bear it, for I have a very patient heart. Long have +I toiled, and much have I suffered, amid waves and wars. If more +remains, I will endure that also."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>At early dawn, when the eastern wave was just silvered by the dim +light, Calypso roused Odysseus, and equipped him for the task of the +day. First she gave him a weighty two-edged axe, well balanced on its +haft of olive-wood, and an adze, freshly ground; then she showed him +where the tall trees grew, and bade him fall to work with the axe. +Twenty great trees fell beneath his sturdy strokes, and he trimmed the +trunks with the axe, and stripped off the bark. Meanwhile Calypso had +brought him an augur, and he bored the timbers, and fitted them +together, and fastened them with bolts and cross-pieces. So the raft +grew under his hands, broad as the floor of a stout merchantship. And +he fenced her with bulwarks, piling up blocks of wood to steady them. +Last of all he made mast and sail and rigging; and when all was ready +he thrust the frail vessel with rollers and levers down to the sea.</p> + +<p>Four times the sun had risen and set before his labour was ended; and +on the fifth day Calypso brought him provisions for the voyage, a +great goatskin bottle full of water, and a smaller one of wine, and a +sack of corn, with other choice viands as a relish to his bread.</p> + +<p>A joyful man was Odysseus when he spread his sail, and took his place +at the helm, and waved a last farewell to his gentle friend. A fair +breeze wafted him swiftly from the shore, and ere long that lovely +island, at once his home and his prison for seven long years, became a +mere shadow in the distance. All night he sat sleepless, tiller in +hand, watching the pilot stars, the Pleiades, and Boötes, and the +Bear, named also the Wain, which turns on one spot, and watches Orion, +and never dips into the ocean stream. For the goddess Calypso had +bidden him keep that star on the left hand as he sailed the seas. Thus +he voyaged for seventeen days, and on the eighteenth he saw afar off, +dimly outlined, a range of hills, rising, like the back of a shield, +above the horizon's verge.</p> + +<p>Now Poseidon, his great enemy, had been absent for many days on a far +journey, and thus had taken no part in the council at Olympus when +Zeus had issued his order for the release of Odysseus. Just at this +time he was on his way back to Olympus, and caught sight of the bold +voyager steering towards the nearest land. "Ha! art thou there?" said +the implacable god, shaking his head; "and have the other powers +plotted against me in my absence, to frustrate my just anger? Thy +wanderings are well-nigh over, poor wretch! But thou shalt taste once +more of my vengeance, before thou reachest yonder shore."</p> + +<p>So saying the lord of ocean took his trident and stirred up the deep; +and the clouds came trooping at his call, covering the sky with a +black curtain. Soon a great tempest broke loose, blowing in violent +and fitful blasts from all the four quarters of heaven. Then pale fear +got hold of Odysseus, as he saw the great curling billows heaving +round his frail craft. "Woe is me!" he cried, "when shall my troubles +have an end? Surely the goddess spoke truth, when she foretold me that +I should perish amid the waves, and never see my home again. Here I +lie helpless, given over to destruction, the sport of all the winds of +heaven. Happy, thrice happy, were my comrades who fell fighting +bravely and found honourable burial in the soil of Troy! Would that I +had died on that great day when the battle raged fiercest over the +body of Pelides; then should I have found death with honour, but now I +am doomed to a miserable and dishonoured end."</p> + +<p>The words were hardly uttered when a huge toppling wave struck the +raft with tremendous force, carrying away mast and sail, and hurling +Odysseus into the sea. Deep down he sank, and the waters darkened over +his head, for he was encumbered by the weight of his clothes. At last +he rose to the surface, gasping, and spitting out the brine, and +though sore spent, he swam towards the raft, and hauled himself on +board. There he sat clinging to the dismasted and rudderless vessel, +which was tossed to and fro from wave to wave, as the winds of autumn +sport with the light thistledown and drive it hither and thither.</p> + +<p>But help was at hand. There was a certain ocean nymph, named Ino, +daughter of Cadmus, who had once been a mortal woman, but now was +numbered among the immortal powers. She saw and pitied Odysseus, and +boarding the raft addressed him in this wise: "Poor man, why is +Poseidon so wroth with thee that he maltreats thee thus? Yet shall he +not destroy thee, for all his malice. Only do as I bid thee, and thou +shalt get safely to land: take this veil, and when thou hast stripped +off thy garments, bind it across thy breast. Then leave the raft to +its fate, and swim manfully to land; and when thou art safe fling the +veil back into the sea, and go thy way."</p> + +<p>So saying the goddess sank beneath the waves, leaving Odysseus with +her veil in his hand. But that cautious veteran did not at once act on +her advice, for he feared that some treachery was intended against +him. He resolved therefore to remain on the raft as long as her +timbers held together, and only to have recourse to the veil in the +last extremity.</p> + +<p>He had just taken this prudent resolution, when another wave, more +huge than the last, thundered down on the raft, scattering her +timbers, as the wind scatters a heap of chaff. Odysseus clung fast to +one beam and, mounting it, sat astride as on a horse, until he had +stripped off his clothes. Then he bound the veil round him, flung +himself head foremost into the billows, and swam lustily towards land.</p> + +<p>The storm was now subsiding, and a steady breeze succeeded, blowing +from the north, which helped that much-tried hero in his struggle for +life. Yet for two days and two nights he battled with the waves, and +when day broke on the third day he found himself close under a +frowning wall of cliffs, at whose foot the sea was breaking with a +noise like thunder. Odysseus ceased swimming, and trod the water, +looking anxiously round for an opening in the cliffs where he might +land. While he hesitated, a great foaming wave came rushing landward, +threatening to sweep him against that rugged shore; but Odysseus saw +his danger in time, and succeeded in gaining a rocky mass which stood +above the surface just before him, and clutching it with hands and +knees, contrived to keep his hold until the huge billow was past. In +another moment he was caught by the recoil of the wave, and flung back +into the boiling surf, with fingers torn and bleeding. With desperate +exertions he fought his way out into the comparatively calm water, +outside the line of breakers, and swam parallel to the shore, until he +saw with delight a sheltered inlet, whence a river flowed into the +sea. Murmuring a prayer to the god of the river he steered for land, +and a few strokes brought him to a smooth sandy beach, where he lay +for a long time without sense or motion. All his flesh was swollen by +his long immersion in the water, the skin was stripped from his hands, +and when his breath came back to him he felt as weak as a child. Then +a deadly nausea came over him, and the water which he had swallowed +gushed up through his mouth and nostrils. Somewhat relieved by this, +he rose to his feet, and tottering to the river's brink loosed the +veil from his waist, and dropped it into the flowing water. For he +remembered the request of Ino, to whom he owed his life.</p> + +<p>He had indeed escaped the sea; but his position seemed almost +hopeless. There he lay, naked, and more dead than alive, without food +or shelter, in a strange land, without a sign of human habitation in +view. Crawling painfully to a bed of rushes he lay down and considered +what was best for him to do. He could not remain where he was, for it +was an exposed place, with no protection from the dew, and open to the +chill breeze from the river, which blows at early dawn. A few hours of +such a vigil would certainly kill him in his exhausted state. If, on +the other hand, he sought the shelter of the woods, he feared that he +would fall a prey to some prowling beast.</p> + +<p>At last he determined to face the less certain peril, and made his way +into a thicket not far from the river side. Searching for a place +where he might lie he soon came upon two dense bushes of olive, whose +leaves and branches were so closely interwoven that they formed a sort +of natural arbour, impenetrable by sun, or rain, or wind. "In good +time!" murmured Odysseus, as he crept beneath that green roof, and +scooped out a deep bed for himself in the fallen leaves. There he lay +down, and piled the leaves high over him. And as a careful housewife +in some remote farmhouse, where there are no neighbours near, covers +up a burning brand among the ashes, so that it may last all night, and +preserve the seed of fire; so lay Odysseus, nursing the spark of life, +in his deep bed of leaves. And soon he forgot all his troubles in a +deep and dreamless sleep.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap06"></a><h2>Odysseus among the Phæacians</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The land on which Odysseus had thus been cast like a piece of broken +wreckage was called Phæacia, and derived its name from the Phæacians, +a race of famous mariners, who had settled there some fifty years +before, having been driven from their former seat by the Cyclopes, a +savage tribe, who dwelt on their borders. The Phæacians were an +unwarlike people, and being in no condition to resist the fierce +assaults of these lawless neighbours, they abandoned their homes and +built a new city on a little peninsula, connected with the mainland by +a narrow isthmus. Defended by strong walls they were now safe against +all attacks, and they soon grew rich and prosperous in the exercise of +a thriving trade.</p> + +<p>At this time the king of the Phæacians was Alcinous, who had a fair +daughter, named Nausicaä. On the night when Odysseus lay couched in +his bed of leaves Nausicaä was sleeping in her bower, and with her +were two handmaids, whose beds were set on either side of the door. +And in a dream she seemed to hear one of her girlish friends, the +daughter of a neighbouring house, speaking to her thus: "Nausicaä, why +art thou grown so careless as to suffer all the raiment in thy +father's house to remain unwashen, when thy bridal day is so near? +Wouldst thou be wedded in soiled attire, and have all thy friends clad +unseemly, to put thee to shame? These are a woman's cares, by which +she wins a good report among men, and gladdens her mother's heart. +Arise, therefore, at break of day, and beg thy father to let harness +the mules to the wain, that thou mayest take the linen to the place of +washing, far away by the river's side. I will go with thee, and help +thee in the work."</p> + +<p>So dreamed Nausicaä, and so spake the vision. But the voice which +seemed the voice of her friend came from no mortal lips; it was Athene +herself who had visited the maiden's bower, in her care for Odysseus, +that he might get safe conduct to the city of the Phæacians. And when +she had done her errand the goddess went back to Olympus, where is the +steadfast, everlasting seat of the blessed gods, not shaken of any +wind, nor wet with rain, nor chilled by snow, but steeped for ever in +cloudless, sunny air. There the gods abide for ever and take their +delight.</p> + +<p>Nausicaä rose betimes, with her mind full of the dream, and went down +to the hall, where she found her mother sitting by the hearth with her +women, spinning the bright sea-purple thread. Inquiring for her father +she learnt that he had but that moment gone forth to attend the +council of elders, and hastening after him she found him before the +doors of the house.</p> + +<p>"Father," she said, "may I have the waggon to take the household +raiment to the place of washing? Thou thyself hast ever need of clean +garments when thou goest to the council, and my brothers will reproach +me if they lack clean raiment when they go to the dance."</p> + +<p>Thus spake the maiden, being ashamed to make mention of her own +marriage. But Alcinous knew, and smiled to himself, as he ordered his +thralls to prepare the waggon. So when they had harnessed the mules, +Nausicaä and her handmaids brought the soiled garments, and bestowed +them behind the seat. And her mother brought a basket with food for +the midday meal and oil for her daughter and the other maidens when +they took their bath. Then they took their seats, Nausicaä grasped the +reins, and they went off at a sharp trot towards the riverside.</p> + +<p>After a pleasant drive, they came to the place where stood a row of +cisterns on the river's bank. There they unharnessed the mules, and +left them to crop the sweet clover in the water-meadows. Then they +unloaded the waggon, threw the garments into washing-troughs, and trod +them with their feet until they were thoroughly cleansed, and having +wrung them out, they spread them on the white pebbly beach to dry. +While the garments were bleaching in the wholesome sun and air, they +took their bath, and afterwards sat down to the midday meal. When that +was ended, they threw off their veils, and stood up to play at ball.</p> + +<p>It was a pretty and graceful sight; they were all comely maidens, +glowing with youth and health. Their sport was accompanied by dance +and song, and as they chased the flying ball, keeping time with hand +and foot and voice, they seemed like a choir of mountain nymphs, led +by Artemis, when she goes forth to the chase, in the wild valleys of +Arcady or Lacedæmon. Tallest and fairest of them all was Nausicaä, who +led the sport, moving like a queen among her vassals.</p> + +<p>Presently they grew tired of their sport, and Nausicaä flung the ball +for the last time to one of her handmaids. The girl missed the ball, +and it fell into the middle of the river, whereupon the whole company +set up a sharp cry. The sound came to the ears of Odysseus, and woke +him from his long slumber. He sat up in his bed of leaves and communed +with himself: "Behold I hear the shrill cry of women, or perhaps of +the nymphs who haunt this wild place. Now may I learn of what sort are +the natives of this land, whether they be fierce and inhospitable, or +gentle and kind to strangers." Plucking a leafy bough, and holding it +before him to cover himself, he stepped forth from the thicket, and +came in sight of that gentle company. Grim and dreadful he looked, +like a hungry lion, buffeted by rain and wind, who goes forth in a +tempest to seek his prey; for he was haggard with long fasting, and +sore disfigured by his battle with the sea; his eyes glared with +famine, and his hair and beard hung ragged and unkempt about his face. +At this fearful apparition the maidens fled shrieking along the river +bank, all but Nausicaä, who stood her ground, and gazed fearlessly, +though in wonder, while Odysseus came slowly forward. When he was +still some way off he stopped, fearing to offend her delicacy if he +came nearer. Then with a gesture of entreaty he began to speak, and +Nausicaä knew at once that it was no common man who stood before her.</p> + +<p>"Have pity on me, O queen!" he began, in soft and insinuating tones. +"Art thou a goddess, or a mortal woman? If thou art a goddess, thou +seemest to me most like to Artemis, daughter of great Zeus, both in +face, and in stature, and in form. But if thou art mortal, then thrice +blessed are thy father and mother, and thrice blessed thy brethren, +and their spirits are refreshed because of thee, when thou goest, a +very rose of beauty, to the dance. Happy the man who wins thee for his +bride! Never yet have I seen the like of thee among all the children +of men. Only once have I beheld aught to compare unto thee, a young +palm-tree which I saw growing tall and straight by the altar of Apollo +at Delos. I saw it, and was amazed, for it was wondrous fair; and even +so is my soul filled with wonder and dread when I look upon thy face, +so that I am afraid to draw near unto thee, though sore is my need. +Yesterday I was flung naked on thy coast, after a voyage of twenty +days. Many things have I suffered, and more, I ween, remains for me in +store; for I am a man of many woes. Have compassion on me, dread lady! +I am thy suppliant, and to thee first I address my prayer. Show me the +way to the city, and give me a cloth to wrap round me, that I may go +among the people without shame. And may the gods give thee all, +whatsoever thy heart desireth, a husband and a home, and happy wedded +love, shedding warmth in thine house, and a strong defence against all +ills from without, but above all a sacred treasure in thy husband's +heart, and in thine."</p> + +<p>"Whatever be thy misfortunes," answered Nausicaä, "I am sure they are +not the fruit of thine own folly or wickedness. And since thou art +come as a suppliant to this land of ours, thou shalt want nothing, +whether it be raiment, or aught else that befits thy state. I will +show thee our city, and tell thee the name of the people. Know that +thou hast come to the country of the Phæacians, whose ruler and king +is Alcinous, and I am his daughter."</p> + +<p>Then she called to her handmaids, who were looking on, half +frightened, half curious, from behind rocks and trees, a long way off, +ready to resume their flight at the slightest alarm: "Come hither, and +fear not the man; neither he nor any other shall ever come to this +land with thoughts of harm; for we are very dear to the immortal gods. +Far away we dwell amidst the rolling seas, remote from the haunts of +men. But this is some hapless wanderer, driven by chance to our +shores, and we must cherish him, for from Zeus come all strangers and +beggars, and a little gift is a great thing to them. Take the stranger +to a sheltered place, where he may wash and dress him, and give him +wherewithal to clothe himself, and after that, meat and drink."</p> + +<p>When they heard the words of their mistress the girls came stealing +timidly back, one by one. And they gave Odysseus clean raiment, and +when he had washed and clothed himself, he came back to the place +where Nausicaä was waiting. Wonderful was the change which had been +made in his appearance by the refreshing bath and fitting apparel. +Instead of the squalid, battered wretch who had begged for countenance +and shelter, Nausicaä saw before her a stalwart, stately man, +broad-shouldered, and deep of chest, with dark clustering hair and +beard, like the curling hyacinth, and an air of majesty and command.</p> + +<p>"Hear me, friends," whispered Nausicaä, as she saw him coming, +"methinks some god hath wrought a miracle on this man, who but now was +so hideous to behold. Would that we might prevail with him to make his +abode among us! She would be a proud maiden who should wed with such +as him. Now give the stranger food and drink." And they did so, and +Odysseus ate and drank with keen appetite, having tasted nothing for +many days. While he was eating, the maidens folded the garments and +placed them in the waggon, and when he had finished, Nausicaä mounted +the waggon, and bidding him and the handmaids follow on foot started +the mules and drove slowly towards the city. When they reached the +cultivated lands outside the walls she drew up, and addressed Odysseus +thus: "Stranger, I may not go with thee further, for I fear the +envious tongues of the citizens, who will point the finger at us and +say: 'See what a tall and handsome stranger Nausicaä hath brought with +her!—some seafaring man whom she hath brought with her to be her +husband, since she despises the men of her own nation.' And this will +be a reproach unto me. Therefore wait thou awhile, and do as I bid +thee. Not far from here is a temple and grove of Athene, a fair +coppice of poplar-trees, and a spring of clear water. Go thou thither, +and wait until we have time to reach my father's house, then rise and +go into the city and inquire for the dwelling of Alcinous. A little +child could show thee the way, for there is none like it in all the +city."</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus4lg.jpg" name="Illus4"><img + title="Odysseus and Nausicaä (click to enlarge)" alt="Odysseus and Nausicaä" + src="images/illus4.png" /></a> +</div> + +<p>So saying, Nausicaä drove on, leaving Odysseus where he was. He soon +found the temple, and going in knelt down and prayed to the goddess to +continue her favour. When he thought that Nausicaä had had time to +reach home, he rose and went into the city. The road lay along a +narrow causeway, which connected the city with the mainland, and on +either side was a sheltered haven, with ships drawn up on the beach. +Passing through the gates he came next to the place of assembly, in +front of a temple of Poseidon, with a circle of massive stones bedded +deeply in the earth. Wherever he looked he saw signs of a busy +seafaring people—masts, and oars, and great coils of rope—and his +ears were filled with the sound of saw and hammer from the +shipwrights' yards.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>As he stood thus gazing about him, he saw a young maiden coming +towards him, carrying a pitcher. He inquired of her the way to the +house of Alcinous, and she bade him follow her, as she was going that +way. "My father's house," she said, "is close to the house which thou +seekest. But thou art a stranger, I perceive, and not of this land; +walk therefore warily, and regard no man, for the Phæacians love not +the face of the stranger, nor are they given to hospitality. Their +home is the deep, and their ships are as swift as a bird—swift as a +thought—for they are the favourites of Poseidon."</p> + +<p>So saying, the maiden led the way swiftly, and Odysseus followed, +keeping close behind. He remarked with wonder that though the streets +were full of people, so that they had to walk carefully, and thread +their way through the crowd, none seemed to notice him or his +companion, or gave any sign of being conscious of their presence. The +truth was that the supposed maiden was none other than his patron +goddess Athene, who so ordered it that he was invisible to all eyes +but hers.</p> + +<p>As they went, his companion entertained him with an account of the +family history of the Phæacian king, Alcinous, whose father, +Nausithous, was the son of Poseidon. Alcinous married Arete, who was +related to him by blood, and was honoured exceedingly by her husband +and by all the Phæacians. "She is the idol of her household," +continued the maiden, "and all eyes follow her with love and reverence +when she goes through the town. So high is her character that even men +consult her in their differences, and defer to her judgment. If thou +canst enlist her on thy side, thou wilt soon obtain the safe conduct +which thou desirest, and reach thy home in safety and honour."</p> + +<p>They had now reached a large enclosed piece of land, surrounded by a +tall fence, above which appeared the boughs of goodly trees, laden +with their burden of fruit. "Here is the garden of Alcinous," +whispered the maiden, "and yonder is the gate. Enter boldly in, and +seek out the queen, who is now sitting at meat with her husband's +guests. Make thy petition to her, for if her heart incline unto thee +all will be well."</p> + +<p>With that word she vanished from his sight, and left him standing at +the gates of Alcinous. Wondering greatly he entered the garden, and +gazed about him. So fair a sight had never met his eyes. Fruit-trees +without number stood ranged in ordered rows, pear-trees, and +pomegranates, and rosy apples, the luscious fig, and olives in their +bloom. Their fruit never failed, summer or winter, all the year round. +There blows the warm west wind without ceasing, nursing the tender +blossom, and mellowing the swelling fruit. He saw pears and figs +hanging on the trees in every stage of growth. Another part of the +enclosure was set apart for the cultivation of the vine; and here also +the same wonder was to be seen, springtime and summer dancing +hand-in-hand, and yellow autumn treading close in their footsteps. +Side by side hung the ripe, purple cluster, the crude grape just +turning from green to red, and tiny green bunches lately formed from +the blossom. There the labour of the vintagers never ceased, and the +winepress overflowed without end.</p> + +<p>Between the rows of fruit-trees were garden-beds, in which grew all +manner of flowers and useful herbs; and the whole was watered by a +perennial stream, divided into channels which brought the water to +every part of the garden.</p> + +<p>Turning with a sigh from that paradise of colour and perfume, Odysseus +passed on to the house, and stood for a while, scanning that stately +structure. His eyes were almost blinded by the light which flashed +from the outer walls, which were built of solid brass, with a coping +of blue steel. The doors were of gold, with silver lintel and +doorposts, and brazen threshold. Then he entered the hall, still +unseen of all eyes; and here new wonders awaited him. Within the +doorway on either side sat dogs wrought in silver and gold, living +creatures, that know neither age nor death, which Hephæstus, the +divine artificer, made, in the wisdom of his heart, to guard the house +of the prince Alcinous day and night. At intervals stood figures of +youths fashioned in gold, with torches in their hands, which at +night-time shed a blaze of light throughout the hall. And all round +the walls were set rows of seats, covered with richly woven cloths, +the work of women's hands. There sat the noble chieftains of Phæacia, +feasting on the bounty of their king.</p> + +<p>Far within, visible through a wide-opened door, was seen another +chamber, where a troop of domestics were busy at their tasks. Some +were grinding the yellow grain in hand-mills, others were walking to +and fro at the loom, and others sat plying distaff and spindle, +nodding their heads like poplars waving in the wind. Very choice was +the fabric woven in that chamber, for the women of Phæacia were famed +beyond all others for their skill in weaving, even as the men +surpassed all the world in seamanship.</p> + +<p>Such were the glories of the house of Alcinous, and when Odysseus had +gazed his fill he began to think of the purpose for which he had come. +The feasters were just pouring a libation to Hermes, to be followed by +a parting cup, before they went home. At that very moment their eyes +were opened, and they saw Odysseus kneeling at the feet of Arete, and +heard him utter these words:</p> + +<p>"Great queen, daughter of a race divine, behold me, a toil-worn +wanderer, who hath come hither to implore thy grace. Intercede for me, +I pray thee, with thy husband, that he may send me speedily to my +native land: and may it be well with thee, and with all this fair +company, and with the children who come after thee."</p> + +<p>Thereupon he sat down by the hearth in the ashes near the fire; and +for awhile not a word was spoken, but all sat gazing at him in wonder. +At last an aged Phæacian broke the silence, and said, looking at +Alcinous: "My prince, it becomes thee not to suffer this stranger to +sit on the ground in the ashes. Behold, we are all waiting for thee to +speak and declare thy will. Give this poor man thy hand, and set him +on a seat, that he may know that his prayer is granted. And let them +give him to eat, and fill a bowl for a libation to Zeus, in whose care +are all suppliants."</p> + +<p>Alcinous rose in response to the words of the elder, who was famed +among the Phæacians for his eloquence and wisdom, and taking Odysseus +by the hand raised him from his abject posture, and seated him by his +side. Food and drink were placed before him, and while he was eating, +Alcinous ordered a bowl to be filled for a libation to Zeus, the god +of hospitality. The wine was served out to the guests, the libations +were poured, and then Alcinous began to speak again, unfolding his +purpose towards Odysseus.</p> + +<p>"Here me, ye princes of Phæacia. Go ye now to your rest, and to-morrow +we will call an assembly of all the elders, and make a great feast and +sacrifice, and after that we will take counsel how we may best send +the stranger on his way. Safe and sound we will bring him to his +native land, but after that he must take up his portion, according as +the Fates have ordained for him, and spun the thread of his life, +rough or smooth, from the hour when his mother bare him. I speak as +supposing our guest to be a man; but if he be a god, come down from +heaven, then I fear that the gods are devising some snare against us. +For never has it been their wont to appear among us in disguise, but +at sacrifice and at feast they freely consort with us in their own +shape, seeing that we are of their own kin."</p> + +<p>"Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "let not this fear trouble thee. I am +no god, as thou mayest see right well. If ye know any man conspicuous +for the burden of sorrow which he bears, ye may learn my lot from his. +But none, methinks, can equal the sum of what I have endured by the +ordinance of heaven. Care sits by my side day and night, but within me +is a monitor whose voice I must obey, even my hungry belly, that calls +aloud to be filled, and will not let me alone to chew the cud of +bitter thought. Shameless he is, and clamorous exceedingly. Therefore +let me sup and question me no further to-night; but rouse thee betimes +to-morrow, and send me with all speed to my native land. Let me once +see my possessions, and my household, and my stately home, and then I +will close mine eyes in peace."</p> + +<p>A murmur of approval went round the hall as Odysseus ended his speech. +One by one the guests took leave of Alcinous, and he and his hosts sat +awhile conversing together, while the servants were removing the +remnants of the feast, and setting the house in order for the night. +Arete was the first to speak, for she recognised the garments which +Odysseus was wearing as the work of her own hands. "Friend," said she, +"let me ask thee one question. How camest thou by this raiment? For +surely thou hast not brought it with thee in thy voyage across the +deep. Say who thou art and whence thou comest."</p> + +<p>Thus challenged Odysseus told her all the story of his shipwreck on +the island of Calypso, of his long sojourn there, of his voyage on the +raft, his second shipwreck, and his landing on the coast of Phæacia. +Concluding he touched feelingly on his meeting with Nausicaä, and the +kindness, courtesy, and modesty of her behaviour. "Never saw I such +grace and prudence," he added, "in one so young and so lovely."</p> + +<p>"Yet in this she did not well," replied Alcinous, "that she brought +thee not straightway to this house, but suffered thee to find thy way +alone."</p> + +<p>"Nay, blame her not," answered Odysseus, "she bade me come hither with +herself and the maidens, but I feared to offend thee, and chose to +come alone."</p> + +<p>"Think not that I am so hasty, or given to causeless anger," said +Alcinous; "excess in all things is evil."<sup><a href="#foot07" name="footret07">7</a></sup> Then he looked earnestly +at Odysseus, and continued, after a pause: "I would to heaven that thy +thoughts were as mine; then wouldst thou abide for ever in this land, +and take my daughter to wife, and I would give thee house and lands. +But I see that thou art steadfastly purposed to leave us; and none +shall detain thee against thy will. To-morrow thou shalt go. I will +appoint a ship and a crew, and they shall bear thee sleeping to thine +own land, yea though it be more distant than far Eubœa, which lies, +as I am told, in the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet the Phæacians +went thither in their ships, and returned on the same day. They have +no equals, as thou shalt soon learn, in seamanship, and no ships in +all the world are like mine."</p> + +<p>After some further talk they parted for the night, and Odysseus, after +all his hardships, was right glad to lay him down in the soft bed +prepared for him in the gallery before the house. But before he closed +his eyes he muttered a prayer to Zeus that Alcinous might abide by his +promise, and send him safely home.</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>Next day was appointed for a great feast in the palace of Alcinous, to +which all the chief men of Phæacia were invited, and when Odysseus +returned to the house, after some hours spent in a visit to the town, +hefound the courts and galleries thronged with a great company. The +preparations for the banquet were on a heroic scale: twelve sheep, +eight fat swine, and two oxen, the choicest of the herd, were +slaughtered, and a goodly row of casks, filled with the finest +vintages, gave further token that Alcinous was no niggardly host.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Alcinous, meeting Odysseus at the gate. "The guests are +seated, and all is ready. Trouble not thyself as to the manner of thy +home-coming; that is cared for already, and the ship lies at her +moorings. But to-day is a day of good cheer, when thou shalt learn how +gay and joyous a life the Phæacians live."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, they entered the banquet hall, and Odysseus sat down by +the side of Alcinous. Rich and dainty was the fare, and many times the +great wine-bowls were filled and emptied; for the Phæacians were a +luxurious race, much given to the pleasures of the table. Among the +guests Odysseus was especially struck by one venerable figure, who sat +by himself against a pillar, on which hung a harp within reach of his +hands. Odysseus noticed that he ate slowly and deliberately, and +seemed to feel for the cup when he wished to drink, "It is Demodocus, +the blind harper," whispered Alcinous. "We shall presently have a +taste of his quality. He is a rare minstrel."</p> + +<p>Accordingly, when the last course was removed, the harp was placed in +the singer's hands, and after striking a deep chord he began to sing, +choosing for his theme a famous tale of Troy, which told how Achilles +and Odysseus quarrelled at a banquet, and reviled each other with +bitter words, and how Agamemnon rejoiced in spirit because of the +strife; for he had heard an oracle from Apollo, foretelling that when +the noblest of the Greeks fell out Troy's end would be near at hand.</p> + +<p>Odysseus listened, and a flood of emotion filled his mind, so sad were +the memories recalled by the minstrel's lay. Of all his gallant peers, +for ten years his companions in many a joyful feast, and many a high +adventure, how many were left? And he, among the last of the +survivors, was now growing old, after twenty years of war and +wandering, far from his wife and home. He was now, indeed, on the eve +of his return; but at what a price had it been won! And who could tell +what heavy trials awaited him when once more he set foot on his native +soil? Was it not but too probable that he would find his house made +desolate, Telemachus dead, and Penelope wedded to another?</p> + +<p>Overpowered by these gloomy forebodings, he covered his face, and wept +aloud. When Demodocus paused in his singing he wiped away his tears, +and poured a drink-offering from his cup; but every time the minstrel +resumed his lay a new fit of weeping succeeded. At last, Alcinous, who +had hitherto been totally absorbed in that rare minstrelsy, observed +his guest's emotion, and partly divining the cause came to his relief. +"How say ye, fair sirs?" he said, rising and addressing the company. +"Shall we go forth for awhile, and show the stranger that we have +other and manlier pastimes, now that we have eaten and drunken, and +cheered our souls with song? Let him not say of us when he goes home +that we sit all day by the wine-cup, but let him learn that the +Phæacians surpass all mankind in boxing, and in wrestling, and in +leaping, and in the speed of their feet."</p> + +<p>So saying he rose from his seat and led the way to the place of +assembly. Crowds soon flocked to see the friendly trial of strength +and skill. The first event was the foot race, and this was followed by +matches of wrestling, boxing, leaping, and throwing the weight. +Odysseus stood watching the Phæacians at their sports, and thinking of +the mighty feats which he had witnessed and shared at the funeral +games of Patroclus. Presently he felt a hand on his shoulder, and +heard himself challenged by a young Phæacian, whose name was Euryalus, +in these terms: "Why so gloomy, father? Away with care! All is ready +for thy departure, and thou shalt soon be home again. But come, give +us a proof of thy manhood, if thou knowest aught of games of skill. +Thou seemest a stout fellow, and I doubt not that thou wilt acquit +thee well."</p> + +<p>"Friend," answered Odysseus, "mock me not. Thou seest how broken I am, +and worn by my long battle with the sea; and care sits heavy on my +heart, forbidding me to think of the things which thou namest."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said Euryalus, with a scornful laugh, "I see that I was +mistaken in thee. Thou art plainly no athlete, but some cunning +merchant, with thy head full of thy cargo, and fingers only skilled in +counting thy gains."</p> + +<p>Then Odysseus bent his brows, and answered with a stern look: "Friend, +thou art over-saucy of thy tongue. But so it ever is; the gods +dispense their gifts with sparing hand, and give not all excellence to +the same man. One man is mean of aspect, but heaven's grace descends +upon his lips, so that men look upon him with delight while he +discourses smoothly with a winning modesty. He is the observed of all +observers, and when he walks through the town all eyes follow him as +if he were a god. Another again is glorious, like a very god, in the +splendour of his face and form, but no grace attends upon his speech. +Even so thou art conspicuous for thy beauty, as though the hand of a +god had fashioned thee, but in understanding thou art naught. Thou +hast stung me by thy unseemly words; I am not ignorant of manly +sports, as thou sayest, but I tell thee that I was among the foremost +as long as I trusted in my youth and in the might of my hands. But now +I am sore spent with woe and pain, for many things have I suffered in +battles by land, and buffeting with the sea. Nevertheless, broken as I +am, I will give proof of my strength, for thou hast provoked me +bitterly by thy wanton words."</p> + +<p>Thereupon, without waiting to throw off his cloak, he sprang into the +arena, and caught up a massy disc of iron, far heavier than those with +which the Phæacians had been throwing. Poising it lightly, with one +hand he flung it, as one who flings a ball. The Phæacians sank back in +dismay as they saw the huge mass flying high over their heads, and +when it fell all rushed to the spot to mark the distance. There it +lay, far beyond the longest cast of the native athletes, and Odysseus +pointed to it, and said: "Reach that mark, my young masters, if ye +can! And if any among you have a mind to try a match with me in boxing +or in wrestling, or in the foot race, they shall have their will; only +with the sons of Alcinous I will not strive, for he is my host, and it +were not fitting or prudent to challenge them. Whatever a man can do +with his hands I can do: I can send an arrow sure and strong, and +strike down my foe, and herein can no archer surpass me, save one +only, Philoctetes, who bare the bow of Hercules; and I can fling a +javelin farther than another man can shoot an arrow. Only in speed of +foot I fear that some of you may surpass me; for my knees are yet weak +from long fasting and fighting with the waves."</p> + +<p>Not one of the Phæacians took up the challenge, but all sat mute, +gazing in wonder and awe at this strange man, who had just given such +signal proof of the power of his arm. At last Alcinous answered and +said: "Stranger, none here can take thy words amiss, for, as thou +sayest, thou hast been bitterly provoked. But hear me now in turn, and +push not thy quarrel further, but rest satisfied with the proof of thy +prowess which thou hast given. I will speak to thee frankly, that thou +mayest know what manner of men the Phæacians are. We are not mighty +men of valour, like thee, yet we too have our own peculiar excellence. +We are good runners, and none can approach us in all that belongs to +the mariner's art. But at home we live softly, loving the banquet, and +music and dancing, clean raiment, warm baths, and long repose." Then +turning to his attendants he added: "Go, some of you, and bring hither +the harper Demodocus, and clear a space for the dancers, that our +guest may see something of the native sports of Phæacia."</p> + +<p>Then those whose business it was chose a fair level space for the +dance, and when Demodocus arrived he took his harp and struck up a +lively measure. A fair troop of boys stood in a circle around him, and +the dance began. Alcinous had not overrated the skill of his people in +this graceful pastime, and Odysseus was filled with wonder as he +watched the intricate yet ordered movements of the youthful troop.</p> + +<p>When the dance was ended, Demodocus sang a soft lay of love, and after +that the two most skilful dancers, one of whom was Laodamas, a son of +Alcinous, stood up to dance a reel together. One of them held a +crimson ball, and, keeping time to the music flung it high into the +air; while the other leaped high from the ground, and caught the ball +as it fell. Then they flung the ball with lightning rapidity from hand +to hand, so that it seemed a mere streak of crimson shooting backward +and forward; and all the time the dance went gaily on, while the whole +company of the Phæacians kept up a merry din, beating time to the +music with their feet.</p> + +<p>"Of a truth," said Odysseus, addressing Alcinous, "thou hast not +boasted for naught; never saw I such dancing in all my long travels." +A proud man was Alcinous to hear such praise from such a man, and he +was not slow to testify his gratitude. "Hear me," he said, "ye princes +of Phæacia! Methinks our guest is a man of exceeding shrewd wit. Let +us bestow on him a parting gift, that he may remember us, and rejoice +in spirit when he thinks of his sojourn in Phæacia. Thirteen there +are, of whom I am one, who sit in high places, and are notable men in +the land; let each of us give him a change of raiment and a talent of +gold. And Euryalus shall crave pardon of him for his ill-chosen words, +and appease him with a gift."</p> + +<p>The generous proposal was well received, and each of the twelve nobles +sent his body-servant to fetch the gifts. Euryalus also was prompt to +make his peace with Odysseus. He presented him with a fine sword of +tempered bronze, with silver hilt, and scabbard of ivory. "Behold my +peace-offering," he said, "and take my goodwill with the gift. Forget +my foolish words, and think of me kindly when thou art safe among +thine own people."</p> + +<p>Odysseus acknowledged the courtesy of Euryalus in becoming terms, and +then the whole company rose and went back to the palace of Alcinous, +where they found the gifts for Odysseus all set in order against his +departure. Then Alcinous brought a golden goblet, beautifully +fashioned, and richly chased, and bade Arete bring a coffer to hold +the gifts. The coffer was displayed, and was in itself a gift of no +mean value, being a choice piece of work.</p> + +<p>"Now bid thy handmaids prepare a bath for our guest," said Alcinous to +his wife, and "Receive this as a memorial of me," he added, placing +the goblet in Odysseus' hands, "that thou mayest remember me all the +days of thy life, when thou pourest libations to Zeus and the other +deathless gods."</p> + +<p>Arete gave the order as required, and while the bath was preparing she +arranged all the gifts in the coffer. Then closing the lid she said to +Odysseus: "Make all fast with thine own hands, that none may meddle +with thy goods as thou liest asleep on thy passage across the sea." +Odysseus made fast the cord, securing it with an intricate and cunning +knot, which he had learnt from the great sorceress Circe; and when he +had finished he was summoned by the eldest of the handmaids to the +bath. When he had bathed and put on fresh raiment he came back to the +dining-hall; and as he entered he saw Nausicaä leaning against a +pillar. Sweet was the maiden's face, and kind her eyes, as she gazed +with innocent admiration on the stately figure of her father's guest. +"Farewell, my friend," said she, "and when thou arrivest home think +sometimes of her to whom thou owest thy life."</p> + +<p>"Fair daughter of Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "if that day ever +comes—if I ever see my home again, by favour of Zeus, the lord of +Hera—be assured that I shall remember thee in my prayers, as long as +this life which thou hast given me shall last." And so he parted from +the maiden, and she went back to her mother's bower.</p> + +<p>Odysseus again received a place of honour by the side of Alcinous, and +a goodly portion of meat was set before him. Looking round the circle +of guests he saw Demodocus, the blind harper, sitting in their midst, +and wishing to show him honour, he cut off a choice piece from the +flesh which had been set before him, and bade a servant carry it to +the bard, and greet him in the giver's name. The servant did as he was +bidden, and Demodocus received the portion of honour with becoming +gratitude.</p> + +<p>When the banquet was drawing towards its close Odysseus approached the +minstrel, and after praising his former lay, which told of the +disastrous homeward voyage of the Greeks, he begged him to sing the +Lay of the Wooden Horse, the device by which Troy was taken. Demodocus +complied, and taking his harp began to chant that famous lay, which +told how the Greeks burnt their tents and sailed away, leaving the +wooden monster behind them, how the Trojans dragged the horse into the +city, and how the fatal engine sent forth its burden of armed men in +the night. The name of Odysseus, the arch-plotter, occurred again and +again as the tale went on; and once more Odysseus was moved to tears +by the memories which the words of the bard awakened.</p> + +<p>Alcinous observed his emotion, and called to Demodocus to cease his +song. "We vex our guest," he said, "for whose sake we are gathered +here. Doubtless the minstrel has touched some hidden spring of sorrow. +But come now," he continued, addressing Odysseus, "we have honoured +thee exceedingly, and given thee of our best. Wilt thou not repay us +by telling something of thyself? Let us hear thy name, and say of what +land and of what city thou art, that our ships may know whither to +steer their course. For know that we mariners of Phæacia need no +pilots nor rudders, but our ships by their own instinct take us to +whatsoever place we would visit, gliding like phantoms, invisible, +swift as thought. Nor has any vessel from our ports ever suffered +shipwreck or harm.</p> + +<p>"Thou likewise hast been a great traveller, and seen many lands and +nations, both such as are wild and fierce and such as are gentle and +of godly mind. Tell us then the tale of thy wanderings, and say why +thou weepest ever at the name of Troy."</p> + +<p>All the guests bent forward with eager faces, and strained their ears +to catch Odysseus' answer; for there was something mysterious about +this strange guest, something which marked him as a man of no common +stamp, and their curiosity, which had hitherto been held in check by +the laws of courtesy, was now set free from all restraint by the frank +question of Alcinous.</p> + +<p>"Illustrious prince," answered Odysseus, after a moment's pause, +"methinks it were best to sit silent and listen to the sweet voice of +the harper; for what better thing has life to offer than a full cup +and brave minstrelsy heard at the quiet hour of eventide? But if thou +must needs hear a tale of sorrow it is not for me to deny thee. First +of all I will tell thee my name. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, and my +name is in all men's mouths because of my deep wit and manifold wiles, +yea, the renown thereof reaches even unto heaven. My home is the sunny +isle of Ithaca, last in a line of islands lying in the western sea. It +is a rugged land, but a nurse of gallant sons; and sweet, ah! very +sweet, is the name of home. Never hath my heart been turned from that +dear spot, no, not by all the loveliness of Calypso, nor by all the +witchery of Circe, but ever I remained faithful to the one lodestar of +my life."</p> + +<p>Here Odysseus began the wondrous story of his wanderings, which kept +his hearers spellbound until far into the night.</p> + +<a name="foot07"></a><p>7. <i>Nothing too much</i>, the corner-stone of Greek morality. <a href="#footret07">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap07"></a><h2>The Wanderings of Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>After leaving Troy, Odysseus first sailed to the coast of Thrace, and +collected a rich booty in a sudden raid on the district. But while his +men lingered to enjoy the first-fruits of their spoil, the wild tribes +of the neighbourhood rallied their forces, and falling upon the +invaders, while they were engaged in a drunken revel, drove them with +great slaughter to their ships. No sooner had they put to sea than a +wild tempest came down upon them from the north, and drove them to +seek shelter again on the mainland, where they lay for two days and +nights in constant dread of another attack from the injured Thracians. +On the third day they set sail again and got as far as Malea, the +southernmost headland of Greece. Here they were again driven from +their course, and after nine days' tossing on the waves they reached +the land of the Lotus-Eaters.</p> + +<p>When his men had refreshed themselves, Odysseus sent three of their +number to explore the country and learn the manners of the +inhabitants. Presently these three came to the dwellings of the +Lotus-Eaters, who received them kindly and gave them to eat of the +lotus-plant. With the first taste of that magic food the men forgot +the purpose for which they had been sent, forgot their friends and +their home, and had no desire left in life but to remain there all +their days and feast with the Lotus-Eaters. In this state they were +found by Odysseus, who compelled them by force, though they wept and +complained bitterly, to return to their ships. There he bound them +fast under the benches, and bade the rest take to their oars and fly +from that seductive clime, lest others should fall under the same +fatal spell.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Thence they came to the land of the Cyclopes, a rude and monstrous +tribe, but favoured of the immortal gods, by whose bounty they live. +They toil not, neither do they sow, nor till the ground, but the earth +of herself brings forth for them a bountiful living, wheat and barley, +and huge swelling clusters of the grape. Naught know they of law or +civil life, but each lives in his cave on the wild mountain-side, +dwelling apart, careless of his neighbours, with his wife and +children.</p> + +<p>It was a dark, cloudy night, and a thick mist overspread the sea, when +suddenly Odysseus heard the booming of breakers on a rocky shore. +Before an order could be given, or any measure taken for the safety of +the ships, the little fleet was caught by a strong landward current, +and whirled pell-mell through a narrow passage between the cliffs into +a land-locked harbour. Drawing their breath with relief at their +wonderful escape, they beached their vessels on the level sand and lay +down to wait for the day.</p> + +<p>In the morning they found that they had been driven to the landward +shore of a long island, which formed a natural breakwater to a +spacious bay, with a narrow entrance at either end. The island was +thickly covered with woods, giving shelter to a multitude of wild +goats, its only inhabitants. For the Cyclopes have no ships, so that +the goats were left in undisturbed possession, though the place was +well suited for human habitation, with a deep, rich soil, and +plentiful springs of water.</p> + +<p>The first care of Odysseus was to supply the crews of his vessels, +which were twelve in number, with fresh meat. Armed with bows and +spears, he and a picked body of men scoured the woods in search of +game. They soon obtained a plentiful booty, and nine goats were +assigned to each vessel, with ten for that of Odysseus. So all that +day till the setting of the sun they sat and feasted on fat venison +and drank of the wine which they had taken in their raid on the +Thracians.</p> + +<p>Early next morning Odysseus manned his own galley, and set forth to +explore the mainland, leaving the rest of the crews to await his +return on the island. As they drew near the opposite shore of the bay, +the mariners came in view of a gigantic cavern overshadowed by +laurel-trees. Round the front of the cavern was a wide court-yard +rudely fenced with huge blocks of stone and unhewn trunks of trees.</p> + +<p>Having moored his vessel in a sheltered place, Odysseus chose twelve +of his men to accompany him on his perilous adventure, and charging +the others to keep close, and not stir from the ship, he prepared for +his visit to the Cyclops, who dwelt apart from his brethren in the +cavern. Amongst the spoils obtained in Thrace was a small store of +peculiarly rich and generous wine, which had been given him by a +priest of Apollo whom he had protected, with his wife and child, while +his men were pillaging the town. Twelve jars of this precious vintage +the priest brought forth from a secret hiding-place, known only to +himself and his wife and one trusty servant. So potent was the wine +that it needed but one measure of it to twenty of water to make a +fragrant and comfortable drink, from which few could refrain. Odysseus +now filled a great goatskin bottle with this wine, and carried it with +him. And well it was for him that he did so.</p> + +<p>During the day the Cyclops was abroad, watching his flocks as they +grazed on the mountain pastures; so that when Odysseus and his men +came to the cavern, they had ample time to look about them. The +courtyard was fenced off into pens, well stocked with ewes and +she-goats, with their young—huge beasts, rivalling in stature their +gigantic shepherd. Within the cavern was a sort of dairy, with great +piles of cheeses, and vessels brimming with whey.</p> + +<p>"Quick now," whispered one of the men to Odysseus. "Let us take of the +cheeses, and drive off the best of the lambs and kids to the ship +before the Cyclops returns; for methinks he will give us but sorry +welcome if he finds us here." "Nay," answered Odysseus, "I will wait +for the master, that I may see him face to face. It may be that he +will bestow on me some gift, such as strangers receive from their +hosts." So they remained, and having kindled a fire they prepared +savoury meat, and ate of the cheeses which they found in the cave. +Then they waited, until the lengthening shadows showed that evening +was drawing near.</p> + +<p>While they sat thus, conversing in low tones, and casting fearful +glances towards the cavern's mouth, all at once they heard a sound +like the trampling of many feet, accompanied by loud bleatings, which +were answered by the ewes and she-goats in the courtyard. Then a vast +shadow darkened the cavern's entrance, and in came Polyphemus, driving +his flock before him. At the sight of that fearful monster, huge as a +mountain, with one vast red eye glaring in the middle of his forehead, +Odysseus and his comrades fled in terror to the darkest corner of the +cave. The Cyclops bore in one hand a mighty log for his evening fire. +Flinging it down with a crash that awakened all the echoes of the +cavern, he closed the entrance with an immense mass of stone, which +served as a door. Then he sat down and began to milk the ewes and +she-goats. Half of the milk he curdled for cheese, and half he kept +for drinking. So when he had strained off the whey, and pressed the +curds into wicker-baskets, he kindled a fire, and as the flame blazed +up, illumining every corner of the cavern, he caught sight of the +intruders, and with a voice which sounded like the roaring of a +torrent cried out: "Who are ye that have come to the cave of +Polyphemus, and what would ye have of him?"</p> + +<p>When he heard that appalling voice, and looked at that horrible face, +fitfully lighted up by the blaze of the fire, Odysseus felt his heart +stand still with terror. Nevertheless he manned himself to answer, and +spake boldly thus: "We are Greeks, driven from our course in our +voyage from Troy, and brought by the winds and waves to these shores. +And we are they who have served Agamemnon, son of Atreus, whose fame +now fills the whole earth; so mighty was the city which he overthrew, +with all the host within her. And now we have come to kneel at thy +feet and beseech thee of thy favour to bestow on us some gift such as +strangers receive. Have pity on us, great and mighty as thou art, and +forget not that Zeus hath the stranger and the suppliant in his +keeping."</p> + +<p>But there was no sign of pity or mercy in the Cyclops' face as he made +answer: "Thou art full simple, my friend, or unversed in the ways of +this land, if thou thinkest that I and my brethren care aught for Zeus +or any other god. Nay, we are mightier far than they, and if thou +seekest aught of me thou must seek it of my favour, and not of my +fears. But tell me truly, where didst thou moor thy vessel on thy +landing? Lies she near at hand, or on a distant part of the coast?"</p> + +<p>Odysseus easily divined the purpose of Polyphemus in putting this +question, and answered accordingly: "My ship was wrecked on a distant +part of your coast, dashed all to pieces against the rocks; and I and +these twelve escaped by swimming."</p> + +<p>Polyphemus made no reply, but sprang up and seized two of the men, +grasping them easily together in one hand, and dashed their brains out +against the rocky ground. Then he cut them in pieces and made his +supper on them. Fearful it was to see him as he ate, crunching up +flesh and bones and marrow all together, like a ravening lion. When he +had devoured the last morsel he took a deep draught of milk, and lay +down on the cavern floor among his flocks to sleep.</p> + +<p>As soon as the heavy breathing of Polyphemus showed that he was fast +asleep, Odysseus crept from his corner, resolved to slay the cannibal +giant on the spot. He had already drawn his sword, when a sudden +thought made him pause. If he killed Polyphemus, how was he to escape +from the cavern? The entrance was blocked by that ponderous stone, +which a hundred men could not have moved; and he and his men must in +that case perish miserably of hunger and thirst. Restrained by this +reflection, he put up his sword, and went back to his companions to +wait for day.</p> + +<p>Polyphemus rose early, and after milking his flocks he laid hold of +two more of the miserable captives, butchered them in the same manner, +and made his breakfast on their warm, quivering bodies. Then he drove +forth his sheep and goats, pushing aside the door of rock, and set it +back in its place, as a man sets the lid on a quiver. They heard his +wild cries, as he called to his flocks, and their loud bleatings as he +drove them out to pasture; then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, +and silence settled on the vast, shadowy cave.</p> + +<p>Forthwith Odysseus began to devise means to escape from that murderous +den, and avenge the slaughter of his friends. As he peered about in +the twilight, he caught sight of a mighty stake of green olive-wood, +tall and stout as the mast of a twenty-oared galley,<sup><a href="#foot08" name="footret08">8</a></sup> which had been +cut by the Cyclops for a staff, and laid aside to season. Odysseus cut +off about a fathom's length, and with the help of his comrades made it +round and smooth, and tapered it off at one end to a point. Then he +hardened the sharp end in the fire, and when it was ready he hid the +rude weapon away under a pile of refuse. Of the twelve who had +followed him from the ship, there only remained eight; four of these +were chosen by lot to aid him in his plan of vengeance; and Odysseus +noted with satisfaction that they were the stoutest and bravest of the +company. All being now ready, they sat down to wait for the return of +Polyphemus.</p> + + +<p>The setting sun was pouring his level rays through the chinks of the +doorway when they heard the ponderous tread of the Cyclops +approaching. This time he drove the whole of his flocks into the cave, +leaving the courtyard empty. Having milked the herd, he laid hands on +two of Odysseus' comrades, and slaughtered and devoured them as +before. The moment had now come for Odysseus to carry out his design. +So he filled a wooden bowl with unmixed wine, and drawing near to +Polyphemus addressed him thus:</p> + +<p>"Take, Polyphemus, and drink of this wine, now that thou hast eaten of +human flesh. I warrant that thou hast never tasted such a choice +vintage as this, and I brought it as a gift to thy divinity, that thou +mightest have pity, and let me go in peace. Little did I dream to find +thee so cruel and so wild. Who in all the world will ever draw near to +thee again, after the hideous deeds which thou hast wrought?"</p> + +<p>Polyphemus took the cup and drained it to the bottom. Then he rolled +his great eye with ecstasy, as the last drop trickled down his +monstrous gullet, and holding out the cup said with a sort of growling +good humour: "Give me to drink again, and make haste and tell me thy +name, that I may bestow on thee a gift of hospitality to gladden thy +heart. I and my brethren have wine in plenty, for the earth gives us +of her abundance, and the soft rain of heaven swells the grape to +ripeness; but this is a drink divine, fit for the banquets of +Olympus."</p> + +<p>Again the cup was filled, and yet a third time; and Polyphemus drank +out every drop. Before long his great head began to droop, and his eye +blinked mistily, like the red sun looming through a fog. Seeing that +the good wine was doing its work, Odysseus lost no time in telling his +name. "Thou askest how I am called," he said in cozening tones, "and +thou shalt hear, that I may receive the gift which thou hast promised +me. My name is Noman; so call me my father and my mother, and all my +friends." When he heard that, Polyphemus "grinned horribly a ghastly +smile," and answered: "This shall be thy gift: I will eat thee last of +all, for the sake of thy good wine."</p> + +<p>With that he sank down backward on the floor, and lay like a +leviathan, with his head lolling sideways, and his mouth gaping, +buried in drunken sleep.</p> + +<p>"Now is our time!" whispered Odysseus, and taking the sharpened stake +from its hiding place he thrust the point into the glowing embers of +the fire. As soon as he saw that the weapon was red hot and about to +burst into flame, he took it up, and gave it to his men. Then, +breathing a prayer to Heaven for strength and courage, they stole +softly to the place where the Cyclops lay. Odysseus clambered up to +the forehead of the Cyclops, holding on by his hair, and while the +others pressed the glowing point of the ponderous stake into the +monster's eye he whirled it round by means of a thong, as men turn an +auger to bore a ship's timber. The point hissed and sputtered as it +sank deep into the pulpy substance of the eye, and there was an acrid +smell of burning flesh, while the great shaggy eyebrow took fire, and +cracked like a burning bush. "It is a fine tempering bath for this +good spear of ours," muttered Odysseus, as he worked away at the +strap. "Temper it well—Polyphemus shall have it as a parting gift"</p> + +<p>At first the Cyclops writhed and groaned in his sleep; then with a +roar as of a hundred lions he awoke, and started up to a sitting +posture, scattering his puny tormentors, who fled in wild haste, and +hid themselves in the angle of a projecting rock. Polyphemus rose +slowly to his feet, tore the stake from the empty eye-socket, and +flung it from him, still uttering his fearful cries. His brethren +heard him, and quitting their caverns, came flocking round his gate, +to see what had befallen. "What ails thee, Polyphemus," they asked, +"that thou makest this dreadful din, murdering our sleep? Is anyone +stealing thy sheep or thy goats? Or seeks anyone to slay thee by force +or by guile?"</p> + +<p>"Friends," answered the afflicted giant, "Noman is slaying me by +guile, neither by force."</p> + +<p>"Go to," replied his brethren, "if no man is using thee despitefully, +why callest thou to us? Thou art stricken, it seems, with some sore +disease: pray, then, to thy father Poseidon, and cumber us no more." +So away they went, growling at their broken sleep, and left their +blinded brother to roar alone.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Odysseus had been hard at work, taking measures to escape +with his comrades from the cave. Among the flocks of Polyphemus were +several big rams, with fleeces of remarkable thickness and beauty. Of +these he took three at a time, and lashed them together, side by side, +with osiers, which served Polyphemus for a bed. Each middle ram bore +one of the men firmly bound with osiers under his belly; while the two +outside rams served to conceal that living burden. Last of all +Odysseus provided for his own safety. There was one monster ram, the +leader of the flock, with a grand fleece which trailed on the ground, +like the leaves of the weeping ash. Him Odysseus reserved for himself, +and creeping under his belly hauled himself up until he was entirely +hidden by the drooping fleece, and so hung on steadfastly, waiting for +the day.</p> + +<p>At last the weary vigil was over, the huge stone portal was rolled +aside, and the male sheep and goats went forth to pasture, while the +females remained in their pens, bleating and in pain, for they were +swollen with milk, and there was none to relieve them. As the rams +went past Polyphemus felt their backs, to see if the men were there; +but the simple monster never thought of feeling under their bellies. +Last in the train came the big ram, with Odysseus clinging underneath. +Then said Polyphemus, as his great hands passed over his back: "Dear +ram, why art thou the last to leave the cave? Thou wast never wont to +be a sluggard, but ever thou tookest the lead, walking with long +strides, whether thou wast cropping the tender, flowering grass, or +going down to the waterside, or returning at even to the fold. Surely +thou art heavy with sorrow for thy master's eye, which the villain +Noman and his pitiful mates have blinded. Would that thou hadst a +voice, to tell me where he is skulking from my fury! Then would I pour +forth his brains like water on the ground, and lighten my heart of the +woe which hath been brought upon me by the hands of this nithering<sup><a href="#foot09" name="footret09">9</a></sup> +Noman."</p> + +<p>So saying he let the ram go, and as soon as he was clear of the +courtyard Odysseus dropped to the ground, and ran to loose his +comrades. With all speed they made their way down to the ship, driving +the rams before them, with many a fearful backward glance. Right glad +were their friends to see them again, though their faces fell when +they saw their numbers reduced by half. But there was no time for +regrets, for Polyphemus was already close upon them, groping his way +painfully from rock to rock. So they flung the sheep on board, shoved +off the vessel, and took to their oars. While they were still within +earshot Odysseus bade his men cease rowing, and standing up in the +stern called aloud to the Cyclops in mocking tones: "How likest thou +my gift for thy hospitality, my gentle host? Methinks thou art paid in +full, and canst not complain that I have not given thee good measure."</p> + +<p>When he heard that, Polyphemus bellowed with rage, and tearing up a +great boulder from the side of the cliff he flung it with mighty force +in the direction of the voice. It fell into the sea right in front of +the ship, and raised a billow which washed her back to the shore. +Odysseus pushed her off with a long pole, and signalled to his men to +give way. They rowed for dear life, and had attained twice the former +distance from the shore when Odysseus stopped them again, though they +besought him earnestly to forego his rash purpose, and to refrain from +provoking Polyphemus more. But he, being exceeding wroth for the +murder of his men, would not be persuaded; and lifting up his voice he +spake again: "Cyclops, if anyone ask thee to whom thou owest the loss +of thine eye, say that it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, who reft +thee of sight, and his home is in rocky Ithaca."</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus5lg.jpg" name="Illus5"><img + title="Odysseus and Polyphemus (click to enlarge)" alt="Odysseus and Polyphemus" + src="images/illus5.png" /></a> +</div> + +<p>Now it happened that many a year back Polyphemus had heard a prophecy, +foretelling that he should one day be blinded by a certain Odysseus. +So when he heard that name he was stricken to the very heart, and +cried aloud: "This, then, is the fulfilment of the oracle! Verily I +thought that some tall and proper man would come hither to assail me, +but now I have been outwitted, made drunk, and blinded, by this +little, paltry wretch." After a pause he spoke again, thinking to +fight that man of many wiles with his own weapons. "Come hither, +Odysseus," he said, softening his big voice as well as he could, "that +I may entertain thee with loving-kindness; and afterwards I will pray +to Poseidon, whose son I am, to send a fair breeze for thy homeward +voyage. And he also shall heal my hurt, and give me back my sight."</p> + +<p>Odysseus laughed aloud at the poor monster's simplicity, whereupon +Polyphemus lifted up his hands to heaven, and prayed to his sire, the +lord Poseidon: "Hear me, thou who holdest the earth in thine arms, if +I am indeed thy son. Grant me that Odysseus may never reach his home, +or if that is fixed beyond repeal, let him come home in evil plight, +with the loss of all his men, on a strange ship, to a house of +woe."<sup><a href="#foot10" name="footret10">10</a></sup></p> + +<p>Such was the curse of Polyphemus, to be fulfilled, as we shall see, to +the letter. And having uttered it he flung another rock, which fell +just short of the vessel's stern, and raised a wave which washed her +towards the island. Soon they reached the harbour where the rest of +the fleet lay moored. Joyful were the greetings of their comrades, who +had given them up for lost; and a merry feast they made on the flesh +of the fat sheep, though their mirth was checkered by sadness when +they thought of the brave six who had come to so horrible an end in +the Cyclops' cave.</p> + +<p>After leaving the land of the Cyclopes they came next to the Æolian +island, where dwelt Æolus with his wife and twelve sons and daughters. +The island floated on the sea, and all around it tall cliffs ran sheer +down to the water, crowned on their summit by a wall of brass. Here +they remained a whole month, and were hospitably entertained by Æolus, +revelling in the abundance of his wealthy house, and whiling away the +time with music, and dance, and song, and brave stories of the Trojan +war. And when they departed he gave Odysseus a leathern bag, tied with +a silver cord, in which were confined all the winds that blow, except +only the good west wind, which he left free to blow behind them and +speed them on their way.</p> + +<p>So for nine days and nights they sailed without let or hindrance, and +on the tenth they came in sight of Ithaca, which they approached so +near that they saw the smoke and flame of the beacon-fires along the +coast. Odysseus was worn out with watching, for during all the voyage +he had not closed his eyes, but had sat the whole time with his hand +on the sheet, and suffered no one to relieve him. But now within sight +of his native land he sank down in utter weariness, and fell into a +deep sleep.</p> + +<p>That fatal moment of weakness led to a long train of disasters. His +men had long gazed with curious and jealous eyes at the mysterious +wallet, which they supposed to be full of gold and silver. As long as +Odysseus was on his guard they durst not give utterance to their +thoughts; but when they saw him overtaken by slumber they began to +murmur among themselves. And thus they spake one to another: "Behold +how this man is honoured and beloved whithersoever he goes! He left +Troy-land laden with booty, and thereto hath Æolus added this rich +treasure, while we must come home with empty hands. Go to, let us have +sight of all this gold and silver."</p> + +<p>So waking folly prevailed over slumbering prudence. In a moment the +silver cord was loosened, and all the boisterous winds rushed forth +and bore them weeping and wailing far from their native land. Roused +by the tumult of the tempest, and the despairing cries of his men, +Odysseus sprang up, just in time to see the last glimpse of the hills +of Ithaca as they melted in the distance. His first impulse was to +fling himself into the sea and perish; but mastering his frenzy he +covered his face, and sat down in speechless misery, while the winds +bore them swiftly back to the isle of Æolus.</p> + +<p>With a heavy heart Odysseus went up to the house where he had been +received so kindly, and told his sorrowful tale. "Pity my weakness," +he pleaded, "and let me not suffer for the sins of my men." But Æolus +was not to be moved. "Begone," he said sternly, "quit this island at +once, thou caitiff! Heaven hath set the seal of its hatred upon thee, +and I may not give countenance to such as thou. Out of my sight!" he +thundered, and Odysseus crept sadly back to his ship.</p> + +<p>Then for six days they voyaged on, toiling continually at the oar, for +now there was no favourable wind to waft them on. They were almost +dead with fatigue when they sighted land on the seventh day, and came +to anchor in a sheltered bay, surrounded on all sides by towering +cliffs, with a narrow entrance, guarded by a tall spire of rock on +either side The place was called Læstrygonia, and the nights in that +country are so short that the shepherd as he drives home his flocks at +sundown meets his fellow-toiler on his way to the pasture.</p> + +<p>The cautious Odysseus moored his ship close to the entrance of the +harbour, while all the others came to anchor at the head of the bay +under the shadow of the cliffs; for there was not a wave, not a +ripple, in that sheltered spot, but the water slumbered, as in a +mountain tarn. Having secured his vessel, by making fast her cable to +the rocks, he scaled the cliff with a few of his men, and seeing smoke +rising in the distance he sent three scouts to explore the country, +meantime going back to his ship to await their return.</p> + +<p>Sooner than he expected he saw two of the men descending the cliff in +headlong haste, and as they drew near he could read on their white, +terror-stricken faces what sort of news they had to bring. Their +report was as dismal as their looks. When they left the coast they +struck into a level road cut through the forest, and presently came to +a spring on the outskirts of a town. Here they met a maiden, drawing +water at the well, who told them that she was the daughter of +Antiphates, king of that country, and offered to conduct them to her +father's house. They went with her, and when she had brought them home +she left them to summon her father.</p> + +<p>"As soon as we caught sight of him," continued he who was telling the +story, "we were stricken with terror, for he was of monstrous stature +and hideous to behold. One of us he seized, and rent him in pieces on +the spot; but we two fled for our lives. There is no time to lose. The +town is in uproar, and before long the whole cannibal tribe will be +upon us."</p> + +<p>Hardly had he finished when a multitude of these huge savages was seen +rushing along the edge of the cliffs which overlooked the harbour. +Arming themselves with great rocks, they began to bombard the ships +which had taken the inside station; and a dreadful din arose of +shattered timbers, mingled with the cries of dying men. Not one ship +escaped destruction, and when that part of their work was ended the +barbarians swarmed down the cliffs, speared the floating corpses, and +dragged them to land for a cannibal feast.</p> + +<p>All this time Odysseus and his crew had been helpless spectators of +this scene of massacre. But when they saw that all was over they cut +their cable, and taking to their oars rowed with might and main until +a wide space of open water divided them from that ill-fated shore, +where all their friends had found a grave.</p> + +<h3>IV</h3> + +<p>Of the thirteen vessels with which Odysseus sailed from Troy only one +was now left. Weary and broken in spirit they voyaged on over the +waste of waters; and when, after two or three days' sail, they landed +on a low-lying coast, they lay down for two days and two nights, like +men whose last hope in life was gone. On the third morning Odysseus +roused himself, and ascending a rising ground saw to his dismay that +they had landed on a small island. On all sides stretched the +boundless sea, without a trace of land on the whole horizon.</p> + +<p>As he was descending the hill he heard a rustling in a neighbouring +thicket, and a tall stag with branching antlers stepped forth, and +began to make his way down to a little stream which skirted the foot +of the hill. From the high ground on which he stood Odysseus had a +full view of the beast's broad back, and taking steady aim he flung +his spear and pierced him through the spine. Odysseus' eyes glistened +when he saw the splendid quarry at his feet, for never had he seen so +fine a buck. Not without effort he took the carcass on his back, and +bore it down to his ship, where he found his men still lying +listlessly where he had left them. "Courage, comrades," he cried, as +he flung his heavy burden on the sand. "We shall not die before our +day, and while we have life we must eat and drink. Better a full +sorrow than a fasting."<sup><a href="#foot11" name="footret11">11</a></sup> So they ate and drank, and made good cheer.</p> + +<p>Next day Odysseus divided his whole crew into two companies, two and +twenty each, with himself as captain of one division, and Eurylochus, +his faithful squire, in command of the other. Then he drew lots with +Eurylochus to determine which of the two should undertake the perilous +duty of exploring the island. The lot fell upon Eurylochus, and he at +once set forth with his party, pursued by the prayers and tears of +those who remained behind.</p> + +<p>Passing the low hills which skirted the coast, they struck into a +forest path, and presently came to an open glade, in the midst of +which stood a fair stone dwelling. And as they came and drew nigh unto +the house they saw a strange sight: before the doors stalked and +glared a multitude of wolves and lions, and other beasts of prey, and +when they saw the men these fearful creatures came fawning round them, +like hounds welcoming their master, and did them no harm.</p> + +<p>Quaking with wonder and fear, they came and stood on the threshold, +through which they caught sight of a young and lovely dame, pacing to +and fro about her loom, and weaving a wondrous web, fair and large, +such as the daughters of the gods are wont to weave. And as she plied +her task, she sang to herself in a low and thrilling voice, sad and +sweet as the notes of the Æolian harp. Presently she turned her face +to the doorway, and saw the men standing without. With a bright smile +she came forward, and bade them enter; and they all went in, save only +Eurylochus, who was older than the rest, and liked not the look in +that fair lady's eyes.</p> + +<p>"Welcome, fair youths," she said, "to the halls of Circe, daughter of +the sun. Sit ye down, while I prepare you a posset to slake your +thirst on this hot day." So they sat down, and Circe took wine, and +grated cheese, and honey, and barley-meal, and mixed them in a bowl, +muttering strange words, and adding a single drop from a little phial +which she took from a secret cupboard. Then she gave them to drink, +touching them, as she did so, with a wand; and no sooner had they +tasted than their form and countenance was changed into the likeness +of swine, though they kept the mind and feelings of men. Circe now +drove them all together into a stye, and flung down beechmast, and +acorns, and cornel berries, for them to eat.</p> + +<p>It was drawing towards noon when Odysseus saw a solitary figure +descending the slope which led down to the beach. "Eurylochus!" he +cried, recognising the familiar features of his squire. "Why comest +thou alone?" For some time Eurylochus was unable to utter a word; at +last he spoke, in a broken and altered voice, while his face was +blanched with deadly terror. "They are gone," he faltered—"spirited +away—vanished without a sign. The place is haunted: let us away!"</p> + +<p>Without a word, Odysseus caught up his sword and bow, and ordered +Eurylochus to show him the way to the place where he had lost his men. +But Eurylochus clung to his knees, and besought him to remain, and +prepare for instant flight. Seeing him to be unnerved by terror, +Odysseus bade him stay by the ship, and he himself set out alone to +learn the secrets of this mysterious island.</p> + +<p>Just before coming within sight of Circe's palace, he saw, standing in +his path, a fair and comely youth, who greeted him kindly, and took +him by the hand. There was something more than human beauty in the +face of this stranger, and his words showed more than human knowledge +of Odysseus and his affairs; for indeed he was no other than Hermes, +the messenger of the gods, sent down from heaven to aid Odysseus in +this strait. "Son of Laertes," he said, "why goest thou thus unwarily, +even as a silly bird into the net of the fowler? Pause awhile, or, +instead of setting free thy men, thou wilt become even as they are." +So saying he stooped down, and with careful hands tore up a little +plant which was growing at their feet; the flower of it was white as +milk, and the root was black. "Take this plant," he said, giving it to +Odysseus. "It is the magic herb, Moly, and no human hand may pluck it; +having this, thou mayest defy all the spells of Circe. And when thou +comest to the house of that fair witch, she will offer thee a potion, +mixed with baneful drugs: drink thou thereof, for it shall do thee no +harm. But when she smites thee with her wand draw thou thy sword and +make as though thou wouldst slay her; and she will be filled with +fear, for none ever resisted her power before. Then do thou compel her +to swear a great oath that she will devise no further ill against +thee." As the last words were uttered Hermes vanished, leaving +Odysseus standing with the plant in his hand.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus6lg.jpg" name="Illus6"><img + title="Circe (click to enlarge)" alt="Circe" + src="images/illus6.png" /></a> +</div> + +<p>And as the god had spoken, even so it came to pass. Circe welcomed +Odysseus with the same treacherous smile, gave him to drink of the +same cup, and struck him with her wand in the same manner; but when +she saw him standing, unchanged and unmoved, threatening her with +drawn sword, she feared exceedingly, and falling at his feet spake +thus in pitiful tones: "Who art thou, that thou yieldest not to the +power of my drugs, which never mortal resisted before? Art thou that +Odysseus of whom Hermes spake, telling me that he should come hither +on his voyage from Troy? Put up thy sword, and thou shalt be my guest +to-night, and for many days to come."</p> + +<p>"No guest will I be of thine," answered Odysseus sternly, "unless thou +wilt swear a great oath to do me no hurt. Before that I will not trust +thee, or receive aught at thy hands. Hast thou not turned my men into +swine, and didst thou not seek even now to put thy wicked spells upon +me?"</p> + +<p>Then Circe took the oath that was required of her, and thus secured +Odysseus consented to remain. Forthwith his beautiful hostess summoned +her handmaids, sweet nymphs of rivers, and woods, and springs, and +bade them make all things ready to entertain the wanderer. With white +feet tripping nimbly, and many a curious glance at the majestic +stranger, the maidens hastened to obey her command. And soon the +tables, which were all of silver, were set forth with golden vessels, +the chairs spread with purple tapestries, and the rich red wine +mingled in a silver bowl. Others prepared a bath for Odysseus, and +when he had bathed, more than mortal health and vigour seemed to enter +his limbs, such virtue had Circe shed into the water.</p> + +<p>After that they sat down to meat; but Odysseus, whose mind was full of +his comrades, left every dish untasted, and sat without uttering a +word. When she observed it, Circe rallied him for his sullenness: "Art +thou afraid to eat?" she said, smiling: "have I not sworn to do thee +no harm? Ah! thou art thinking of thy friends. Come, then, and I will +restore them to thee." So she brought him to the stye where they were +confined together, and opening the gate drove them all forth, a herd +of bristly swine. Then she anointed them one by one with another drug; +and instantly the bristles fell away from them, and they became men +again, only younger and fairer to behold than they were before. With +tears of joy they embraced Odysseus, and the whole place rang with +their happy greetings, so that even Circe was moved by the tender +scene.</p> + +<p>When they had grown calmer she bade Odysseus go down to the sea, and +bring back all the rest of his company to take up their abode in her +house. Being now quite reassured as to her purpose, he hesitated not +to obey, and went down alone to carry the message from Circe. Arrived +at the ship he was hailed by his comrades as one returned from the +dead; but putting aside their eager questions he told them to beach +the vessel, stow away all her tackle, and follow him to the house of +Circe, where they would find all their fellows feasting and making +merry.</p> + +<p>Much cheered by his words the men set to work with willing hands, and +before an hour had passed the whole company was reunited under Circe's +hospitable roof. The dreaded witch had laid aside all her terrors, and +now appeared only in the character of a kind and generous hostess, +whose sole care was for the comfort and welfare of her guests. Days +lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, and still they lingered +on in that luxurious clime, as if there were no such place as Ithaca, +and no wide waste of sea to be crossed.</p> + +<p>At last, when they had lived a whole year on the island, Odysseus' men +began to grow weary of their long inaction, and begged their leader to +obtain Circe's permission to depart. Not without some misgivings, +Odysseus preferred his request. "Deem me not ungrateful," he said, "if +my heart turns ever to my wife and home. I am but a mortal man, with +human needs and frailties, and no fit mate for a goddess like thee. +And my men weary me with their importunity, when thou art not near."</p> + +<p>Circe heard him graciously, knowing well that they must part. "I will +not keep thee," she said, "against thy will. But a long journey lies +before thee, even to the very ends of the earth, and not until that is +past canst thou set thy sail for home. To the halls of Hades thou must +go, and consult the spirit of Theban Teiresias, who alone among all +the dead hath an understanding heart, while the rest are but flitting +shadows. Now hearken, and I will tell thee all that thou must do. When +thou leavest these shores thou shalt sail ever southward, until thou +hast reached the farther side of the River Oceanus, and come to the +shadowy grove which stands at the confines of the realm of Persephone. +There thou shalt land with thy company, and dig a trench a cubit in +length and breadth, and pour about it a libation of mead and water and +wine; and after that thou shalt offer a sacrifice of black sheep, in +such wise that the blood thereof shall flow into the trench and fill +it. Thither will flock the whole multitude of departed spirits, to +drink of the blood; but do thou draw thy sword, and hold it over the +trench, nor suffer any of the other spirits to draw near until thou +hast seen Teiresias and hearkened to his lore."</p> + +<p>All that night Odysseus remained in deep conference with Circe, and as +soon as day dawned he went to rouse his men who were sleeping in the +outer chamber. "Up, comrades!" he cried, "all is prepared, and we must +embark without delay." His loud summons proved fatal to one of the +company, a certain Elpenor, the youngest of them all, who, the night +before, had lain down to sleep on the housetop, for the sake of the +coolness, being heated with wine. Roused suddenly by the voice of +Odysseus, he staggered to his feet, and, still half asleep, stumbled +over the parapet in his haste, and fell headlong from the roof.</p> + +<p>In the hurry of their departure the body was left where it lay, and +Odysseus, when they reached the ship, did not notice his absence. They +found that Circe had been there before them, and left the victims for +sacrifice bound to the vessel's side. She herself was nowhere to be +seen, and so without another word of farewell they launched their +galley and put out into the deep.</p> + +<a name="foot08"></a><p>8. Imitated, with characteristic amplification, by Milton, +"Paradise Lost," i. 292 (Satan's spear). <a href="#footret08">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot09"></a><p>9. See Scott, "Ivanhoe." <a href="#footret09">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot10"></a><p>10. Compare Dido's curse ("Stories from the Æneid," p. +84). <a href="#footret10">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot11"></a><p>11. See the whole incident imitated in Virgil ("Stories from +the Æneid," p. 49). <a href="#footret11">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap08"></a><h2>The Visit to Hades</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>A clear, strong wind came down from the north, sent by the favour of +the mighty enchantress Circe, and over the trackless sea they sped, +where never furrow of mortal ship was seen before. After a long day's +sail they came to the farther shore of the ocean stream, which +surrounds the earth as with a girdle. There is the abode of the people +called the Cimmerians, wrapped in shadow and mist; for never doth the +sun look down upon them with his rays, neither when he climbs the +starry sky, nor yet when he goeth down unto the place of his rest. And +thus they dwell miserably under the curse of perpetual night.</p> + +<p>As they peered through the gloom they saw what seemed a grove of dusky +trees, in shape like the poplar and willow, fringing the shore. "It is +the sign which Circe gave me," whispered Odysseus to his awestruck +comrades; "we are at the very gates of Hades." Landing in silence, +they carried the victims for sacrifice to the verge of the grove, and +Odysseus with his sword dug a trench, a cubit in length and breadth, +and poured about it a libation of mead and water and wine. Then the +sheep were slaughtered, and the trench was filled to the brim with +their blood. When the solemn rite was ended, Odysseus called in a loud +voice to the spirits of the dead, and waited in breathless expectation +with his men.</p> + +<p>Presently a rustling sound was heard, like the sound of the autumn +wind in the dry leaves of the forest; it grew louder and louder, and +out of the gloom the ghosts came flocking, youths and maidens cut off +in their bloom, old men with all their burden of sorrow, and warriors +slain in battle, still wearing the bloodstained armour.<sup><a href="#foot12" name="footret12">12</a></sup> With a wild +unearthly cry they came crowding to the trench, eager to drink of the +blood. But Odysseus, though quaking with fear, stood his ground +firmly, and held his drawn sword over the trench to keep off the +multitude, until he had seen and spoken with Teiresias.</p> + +<p>Among the hosts of spirits there was one who lingered near the trench, +and seemed by his beseeching gestures and earnest looks to desire +speech with Odysseus. When his first fears were over Odysseus +recognised the features of Elpenor, who had come to an untimely end on +the morning of their journey, and whose body still lay unburied in the +house of Circe. Registering a mental vow to perform all due rites to +that poor spirit on his homeward voyage, Odysseus warned him back, and +stood waiting for the coming of the seer.</p> + +<p>At last came one with tottering footsteps, leaning on a golden +sceptre, and halted on the farther edge of the trench. It seemed a +very aged man, with flowing white beard, and sightless eyes; and +Odysseus knew by these signs that he was in the presence of Teiresias, +the famous prophet of Thebes, who alone among departed spirits +preserves his understanding, while the rest are flitting phantoms, +with no sense at all. "What wouldst thou of me, Odysseus, son of +Laertes," said the spectre in faltering tones, "and wherefore hast +thou left the glad light of day to visit this drear and joyless realm +of the dead? Draw back from the trench, and put up thy sword in its +sheath, that I may drink of the blood and tell thee all that thou +wouldst know."</p> + +<p>Thereupon Odysseus fell back, and sheathed his sword; and Teiresias, +when he had drunk of the blood, spoke again in firmer and clearer +tones: "Thou art fain to hear of thy home-coming, illustrious hero; +but thy path to Ithaca shall be beset with sorrows, because of the +wrath of Poseidon, whose son, Polyphemus, thou hast blinded. +Nevertheless thou and all thy company shall return safe to Ithaca, if +only ye leave untouched the sacred flocks and herds of Helios,<sup><a href="#foot13" name="footret13">13</a></sup> when +ye come to the island of Thrinacia. But if harm befall them at your +hands, from that hour thy ship and all her crew are doomed and forfeit +to destruction: and though thou thyself escape, yet thou shalt return +after many days, in evil plight, to a house of woe.<sup><a href="#foot14" name="footret14">14</a></sup> And now learn +how thou mayest at last appease the anger of the god who pursues thee +with his vengeance. When thou art once more master in thine own house +thou shalt go on a far journey, carrying with thee an oar of thy +vessel, until thou comest to a people that dwell far from the sea, and +know naught of ships or the mariner's art. And there shalt meet thee +by the way a man who shall say that thou bearest a winnowing shovel<sup><a href="#foot15" name="footret15">15</a></sup> +on thy shoulder; and this shall be a sign unto thee, whereby thou +shalt know that thou hast reached the end of thy journey. Then plant +thy oar in the ground, and offer sacrifice to Poseidon. This shall be +the end of thy toils, and death shall come softly upon thee where thou +dwellest in a green old age among thy happy people."</p> + +<p>When he had thus spoken Teiresias vanished into the darkness; and one +by one the spirits came up to the trench, as Odysseus suffered them, +and having drunk of the blood obtained strength to speak and answer +his questions. First among them was the spirit of his mother, +Anticleia, daughter of Autolycus, who had been hovering near during +his conference with Teiresias. When she had drunk she said: "Whence +comest thou, my son? Art thou still wandering on thy long voyage from +Troy, or hast thou been in Ithaca, and seen thy wife?"</p> + +<p>"Nay, mother," answered Odysseus, "I am wandering still, still +treading the path of woe, since the day when I followed Agamemnon to +Troy. But tell me now, and answer me truly, what was the manner of thy +death? Came it slowly, by long disease, or did Artemis lay thee low in +a moment with a painless arrow from her bow?<sup><a href="#foot16" name="footret16">16</a></sup> And tell me of my +father and my son whom I left in Ithaca; do they still hold my +possessions, or hath some other thrust them with violence from my +seat? Tell me also of Penelope, my wedded wife, whether she abides +steadfast and guards my goods, or whether she is gone to cheer some +other man's heart."</p> + +<p>"Steadfast indeed she is," replied Anticleia, "and wondrous patient of +heart; all her thoughts are ever of thee. No one has yet usurped thy +place in Ithaca, but Telemachus still reaps thy fields and sits down +to meat with the noblest in the land. As to thy father, he comes no +more to the town, but dwells continually on his farm. He lives not +delicately, as princes use, but is clad in sorry raiment, and sleeps +in the winter among the ashes of the hearth with his thralls, and in +summer on a bed of dry leaves in his vineyard. There he lies forsaken, +heavy with years and sorrows, mourning for thee. And in such wise also +death came upon me, neither by wasting sickness nor by the gentle +shafts of Artemis, but my sore longing for thee, Odysseus, and for thy +sweet counsels, at last broke my heart."</p> + +<p>A flood of tenderness overpowered Odysseus at these sad words, and he +sprang forward with arms outstretched to clasp his mother to his +breast. Thrice he essayed to embrace her, and thrice his arms closed +on emptiness,<sup><a href="#foot17" name="footret17">17</a></sup> while that ghostly presence still flitted before him +like a shadow or a dream. "O my mother," cried Odysseus in deep +distress, "why dost thou mock me thus? Come to my heart, dear mother; +let me hold thee in mine arms once more, and mingle my tears with +thine. Or art thou but the shadow of a shade, a phantom sent by +Persephone to deceive me?"</p> + +<p>"Persephone deceives thee not," answered the ghost, "but this is the +fashion of mortals when they die. Flesh and bone and sinew are +consumed by the might of fire, but the spirit takes flight and hovers +ever like a winged dream. But make haste and get thee back to the +daylight, and keep all that thou hast seen in memory that thou mayest +tell it to thy wife."</p> + +<p>When the spirit of Anticleia was gone, a shadowy throng pressed +forward to the trench, all the ghosts of noble dames, wives and +daughters of princes. And Odysseus kept his place, sword in hand, +suffering them only to drink one by one, that he might question them +and learn their story. There he saw Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, +and Leda, to whose twin sons, Castor and Pollux, a strange destiny was +allotted; for after their death they rose to life again on alternate +days, one lying in the tomb, while the other walked the earth as a +living man. There too was Iphimedeia, mother of the giants Otus and +Ephialtes, who at nine years of age were nine fathoms in height and +nine cubits in breadth. Haughty were they, and presumptuous in their +youth; for they made war on the gods, and piled Ossa on Olympus, and +Pelion on Ossa, that they might scale the sky. But they perished in +their impiety, shot down by the bolts of Apollo's golden bow. Last +came Eriphyle, the false wife, who sold her husband's life for a +glittering bribe.</p> + +<p>That dream of fair women melted away and another ghostly band +succeeded, the souls of great captains and mighty men of war. Foremost +among these was seen one of regal port, around whom was gathered a +choice company of veteran warriors, all gored and gashed with recent +wounds. He who seemed their leader stretched out his hands towards +Odysseus with a piteous gesture, and tears such as spirits weep<sup><a href="#foot18" name="footret18">18</a></sup> +gushed from his eyes. Instantly Odysseus recognised in that stricken +spirit his great commander Agamemnon, once the proud captain of a +thousand ships, now wandering, forlorn and feeble, with all his glory +faded.</p> + +<p>"Royal son of Atreus," he said, in a voice broken with weeping, "is it +here that I find thee, great chieftain of the embattled Greeks? Say, +how comest thou hither, and what arm aimed the stroke which laid thee +low?" "Not in honour's field did I fall," answered Agamemnon, "nor yet +amid the waves. It was a traitor's hand that cut me off, the hand of +Ægisthus, and the guile of my accursed wife. He feasted me at his +board, and slaughtered me as one slaughters a stalled ox; and all my +company fell with me in that den of butchery. It was pitiful to see +all that brave band of veterans writhing in their death agony among +the tables loaded with good cheer, and goblets brimming with wine. But +that which gave me my sorest pang was the dying shriek of Cassandra, +daughter of Priam, who was struck down at my side by the dagger of +Clytæmnestra. Then the murderess turned away and left me with staring +eyes and mouth gaping in death. For naught is so vile, naught so +cruel, as a woman who hath hardened her heart to tread the path of +crime. Even so did she break her marriage vows, and afterwards slew +the husband of her youth. I thought to have found far other welcome +when I passed under the shadow of mine own roof-tree. But this +demon-wife imagined evil against me, and brought infamy on the very +name of woman."</p> + +<p>"Strange ordinance of Zeus!" said Odysseus musingly, "which hath +turned the choicest blessing of man's life, the love of woman, into +the bitterest of curses for thee and for thy house. Yea, and upon all +the land of Hellas hath woe been brought by the deed of a +woman—Helen, thy brother's wife."</p> + +<p>"Ay, trust them not," replied Agamemnon bitterly, "Never give thy +heart into a woman's keeping; she will rifle thy very soul's flower, +and then laugh thee to scorn. But why do I speak thus to thee? Thou +hast indeed a treasure in thy wife; no wiser head, no truer heart, +than hers. Happy art thou, and sweet the refuge which is prepared for +thee after all thy toils, Well I remember the day when we set sail +from Greece, and how fondly thou spakest of her, thy young bride, with +her babe at her breast. Now he will be a tall youth, and with what joy +will he look into the eyes of his father, whom he was then too young +to know!"</p> + +<p>After that Odysseus was silent, his mind full of sweet and anxious +thoughts. Meanwhile other familiar forms had drawn near, the spirits +of warriors renowned, whose very names were as a battle-cry when they +dwelt on earth: Achilles, Patroclus, and Antilochus, and farther off, +looming dimly in the darkness, the gigantic shade of Ajax. Achilles +was the first to speak. "Son of Laertes," he said, "thou man of +daring, hast thou reached the limit of thy rashness, or wilt thou go +yet further? Are there no perils left for thee in the land of the +living that thou must invade the very realm of Hades, the sunless +haunts of the dead?"</p> + +<p>"I came to inquire of Teiresias," answered Odysseus, "concerning my +return to Ithaca. All my life I am a bondslave to toil and woe; but +thou, Achilles, wast happy in thy life, honoured as a god by all the +sons of Hellas; and now thou art happy, even in death, for honour +waits on thy footsteps still."</p> + +<p>"Tell me not of comfort in death," replied Achilles. "Rather would I +breathe the air of heaven, yea, though I were thrall to a man of +little substance, than reign as king over all the shades of the dead. +But give me some news of my son, Neoptolemus. Came he to fight with +the Trojans after I was gone, and did he acquit him well? And knowest +thou aught of my father, Peleus? Lives he still in honour and comfort +among my people, or has he been driven into beggary by violent men, +now that he is old and I am not near to aid him? Oh, for an hour of +life, with such might as was mine when I fought in the van for Greece? +Then should they pay a bitter reckoning, whosoever they be that wrong +him and keep him from his own."</p> + +<p>"Of Peleus," answered Odysseus, "I have heard nothing, but of thy son, +Neoptolemus, I can tell thee much, for I myself brought him from +Scyros to fight in Helen's cause, and thereafter my eye was ever upon +him, to mark how he bore himself. In council none could vie with him, +save only Nestor and myself; ne'er saw I so rare a wit in so young a +head. And when the Greeks were arrayed in battle against the Trojans +he was never seen to hang back, but fought ever in the van among the +foremost champions, like a mighty man of war. Nor was it only in the +clamour and heat of war that he proved his mettle; for in that +perilous hour when we lay ambushed in the wooden horse, when the +stoutest hearts among us quailed, he never changed colour, but sat +fingering his spear and sword, waiting for the signal to go forth to +the assault. And after we had sacked the lofty towers of Troy he +received a goodly portion of the spoil, and a special prize of honour, +and so departed, untouched by point or blade, to his father's house."</p> + +<p>When he heard these brave tidings of his son, Achilles rejoiced in +spirit, and strode with lofty gait along the plain of asphodel.</p> + +<p>So one by one the spirits came up, and inquired of Odysseus of their +dear ones at home. Only the soul of Ajax, son of Telamon, stood +sullenly aloof; for between him and Odysseus there was an old quarrel. +After the death of Achilles a dispute arose among the surviving +chieftains for the possession of his armour. It was decided to refer +the matter to the Trojan captives in the camp, and they were asked who +of all the Greeks had done them most harm. They answered in favour of +Odysseus, who accordingly received the armour. Thereupon Ajax fell +into a frenzy of rage, and slew himself. When Odysseus saw him, and +marked his unforgiving mood, he was filled with remorse and pity, and +strove to soften his resentment with gentle words. "Ah! son of +Telamon," he said, "canst thou not forgive me, even here? Sorely the +Argives mourned thee, and heavy was the loss brought on them by thy +rash act. Thou wast a very tower of strength to the host, and we wept +for thee as for a second Achilles. Draw near, great prince, subdue thy +haughty spirit, and speak to me as thou wast wont to speak before the +will of heaven set enmity between us."</p> + +<p>Thus earnestly Odysseus pleaded, but there was no reply, and the angry +spirit passed away into the gloom of Erebus.<sup><a href="#foot19" name="footret19">19</a></sup></p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Odysseus still lingered, hoping yet to have speech with other souls of +heroes who had once rivalled him in valour and wisdom while they dwelt +in the flesh. But he was destined to see another and more awful +vision. Suddenly the pall of darkness which shrouded the secrets of +the nether abyss was lifted, and the whole realm of Hades was exposed +to view. There he saw the place of torment, where great malefactors +atone for their crime, and Minos, the infernal judge, sitting at the +gates, passing sentence, and giving judgment among the shades. Within +appeared the gigantic form of Tityos, stretched at full length along +the ground, and two vultures sat ever at his side, tearing his liver. +This was his punishment for violence offered to Leto, the mother of +Apollo and Artemis. Not far from him appeared Tantalus, plunged up to +the neck in a cool stream; the water lapped against his chin, but he +had not power to drink it, though he was tormented with a burning +thirst. As often as he stooped to drink, the water was swallowed up, +and the earth lay dry as the desert sand at his feet. And nodding +boughs of trees drooped, heavy with delicious fruit, over his head; +but when he put forth his hand to pluck the fruit, a furious gust of +wind swept it away far beyond his reach. And yet another famous +criminal he saw, Sisyphus, the most cunning and most covetous of the +sons of men. He was toiling painfully up a steep mountain's side, +heaving a weighty stone before him, and straining with hands and feet +to push it to the summit. But every time he approached the top, the +stone slipped through his hands, and thundered and smoked down the +mountain's side till it reached the plain.</p> + +<p>Other wonders and terrors might still have been revealed, but as that +hardy watcher stood at his post a great tumult and commotion arose in +that populous city of the dead, and the whole multitude of its ghostly +denizens came rushing towards the trench, as if resolved to expel the +daring intruder. Odysseus' heart failed him when he saw the air thick +with hovering spectres, who glared with dreadful eyes, and filled the +air with the sound of their unearthly voices. Turning his back on that +place of horror he made his way slowly towards the shore, where he +found his men anxiously awaiting him.</p> + +<a name="foot12"></a><p>12. Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 119. <a href="#footret12">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot13"></a><p>13. The sun god. <a href="#footret13">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot14"></a><p>14. The very words of Polyphemus, p. 93. <a href="#footret14">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot15"></a><p>15. The oar. <a href="#footret15">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot16"></a><p>16. Sudden death was ascribed to Artemis or Apollo. <a href="#footret16">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot17"></a><p>17. Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 24. <a href="#footret17">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot18"></a><p>18. "Tears such as <i>angels</i> weep," Milton, "Paradise Lost," +i. 619. <a href="#footret18">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot19"></a><p>19. Compare the silence of Dido, "Stories from the Æneid," p. +123. <a href="#footret19">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap09"></a><h2>The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis; Thrinacia</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Following the same course as on his outward voyage, Odysseus put in +again at the island of Circe, where his first duty was to bury the +body of the young Elpenor, whose ghost he had seen in an attitude of +mute reproach at the threshold of Hades. They were again received with +all hospitality by Circe.</p> + +<p>After the evening meal Circe drew Odysseus apart, and questioned him +on all that he had seen and heard on that strange journey, from which +he had returned, as she said, like one ransomed from death. And when +he had told his story she instructed him as to the course which he had +to steer on leaving the island, and warned him against the manifold +perils of the voyage.</p> + +<p>"First," said she, "thou wilt come to the rocks of the Sirens, maidens +of no mortal race, who beguile the ears of all that hear them. Woe to +him who draws near to listen to their song! He shall never see the +faces of his wife and children again, or feel their arms about his +neck, but there he shall perish, and there his bones shall rot. +Therefore take heed, and when thou drawest near the place stop the +ears of thy men with wax, and bid them bind thee fast with cords, that +thou mayest hear the song of the Sirens. And when that seducing melody +fills thine ears, thou wilt beg and implore thy comrades to set thee +free, that thou mayest draw near and have speech of the Sirens. Then +let them bind thee more firmly to the mast, and take to their oars, +and fly the enchanted rocks.</p> + +<p>"This peril past, thou hast the choice of two different routes. One of +these will bring thee to the Wandering Isles, which stand, front to +front, with steep slippery sides of rock, running sheer down to the +sea. Between them lies a narrow way, which is the very gate of death. +For if aught living attempts to pass between, those rocky jaws close +upon it and grind it to powder. Only the doves which bear ambrosia to +Father Zeus can pass that awful strait, and one of these pays toll +with her life as she passes, but Zeus sends another to fill her place. +And one ship sailed safely through, even the famous <i>Argo</i> when she +bore Jason and his crew on their voyage from the land of Æetes. All +others when they essayed the task perished, and were brought to naught +in a whirlwind of foam and fire.</p> + +<p>"But if thou takest the other way thou wilt come to another strait, +guarded day and night by two sleepless sentinels, Scylla and +Charybdis. On one side thereof towers a lofty peak, shrouded, even in +the noon of summer, in clouds and thick darkness. No mortal man could +climb that steep and slippery rock, not though he had twenty hands and +twenty feet; for the side is smooth as polished marble, and in the +midst of the cliff is a shadowy cave overlooking the track by which +thou must guide thy ship, Odysseus. Deep down it goes into the heart +of the mountain, so that a man in his lusty prime could not shoot an +arrow from his ship to the bottom of that yawning pit In the cave +dwells Scylla, and yelps without ceasing. Her voice is thin and +shrill, like the cry of a hound newly littered, but she herself is a +monster horrible to behold, so that neither man nor god could face her +without affright. Twelve feet hath she, and six necks of prodigious +length, and on each neck a fearful head, whose ravening jaws are armed +with triple rows of teeth. As far as her waist she is hidden in the +hollow cave, but she thrusts out her serpent necks from the abyss, and +fishes in the waters for dolphins and sea-dogs and other creatures +whose pasture is the sea. On every ship that passes her den she levies +a tribute of six of her crew.</p> + +<p>"On the other side of the strait thou wilt see a second rock, lying +flat and low, about a bowshot from the first. There stands a great +fig-tree, thick with leaves, and under it sits Charybdis, sucking down +the water, and belching it up again three times a day. Beware that +thou approach not when she sucks down the water, for then none could +save thee from destruction, no, not Poseidon himself. Rather steer thy +galley past Scylla's cave, for it is better to lose six of thy men +than to lose them all.</p> + +<p>"Next thou shalt come to the island of Thrinacia, where graze the oxen +of Helios and his goodly sheep—seven herds of oxen, and as many fair +flocks of sheep, and fifty in each flock and herd. They are not born, +neither do they die, and two goddesses have charge of them, +fair-haired nymphs, the daughters of Helios. Take heed that thou harm +not the sacred beasts, that it may be well with thee, and that thou +and thy company may come safely home."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Once more they were afloat, and the brave little vessel bounded gaily +over the waves, her canvas bellying in the wind. For some hours they +sailed on thus, and Odysseus recited to his men all that he had heard +from Circe. Then suddenly the wind dropped, and the sail hung idly to +the mast. Having furled and stowed the sail, they took to their oars, +while the sea went down, and at last sunk to a level calm. In the +distance a low-lying coast appeared, which Odysseus knew to be the +island of the Sirens, Forthwith he began to make his preparations to +meet the danger which lay before them. Taking a ball of wax he cut it +into small pieces, and having worked each piece in his hand until it +was soft and plastic he carefully stopped the ears of all his men with +the wax. Then two of the crew, to whom he had already given his +orders, bound him hand and foot to the mast of the vessel. All being +ready, they rowed forward until they came within full view of the +island. And there, in a low-lying meadow hard by the sea, sat the +Sirens; lovely they were of aspect, and gracious of mien; but all +around them were piled the bones of men who had fallen victims to +their wicked wit,<sup><a href="#foot20" name="footret20">20</a></sup> fleshless ribs, from which the skin still hung in +yellow shreds, and grinning skulls, gazing with eyeless sockets at the +sea.</p> + +<p>As the ship drew near, the whole choir lifted up their voices and +began to sing a sweet and piercing strain, which thrilled the very +marrow of Odysseus as he listened. The winds hovered near on flagging +wing, the sea lay locked in deep repose, and all nature paused with +attentive ear, to catch the SONG OF THE SIRENS.</p> + +<div style="margin-left: 15%"> +"Mighty warrior, sage renowned,<br> + Turn, O turn thy bark this way!<br> +Rest upon this holy ground,<br> + Listen to the Sirens' lay.<br> +Never yet was seaman found<br> + Passing our enchanted bay,<br> +But he paused, and left our bound<br> + Filled with wisdom from his stay.<br> +All we know, whatever befell<br> + On the tented fields of Troy,<br> +All the lore that Time can tell,<br> + All the mystic fount of joy."<br> +</div> + +<p>It was a strain cunningly calculated to flatter a deep, subtle spirit +like that of Odysseus. To know all! to read all secrets, and unravel +the tangled skein of human destiny! What a bribe was this to this +restless and eager mind! Then the voices of the witch-women were so +liquid, and the music so lovely, that they took the very air with +ravishment, and melted the hearer's soul within him. Odysseus +struggled to break his bonds, and nodded to his men to come and loose +him. But they, who had been warned of this very thing, rose up and +bound him with fresh cords. Then they grasped their oars again, the +water roared under their sturdy strokes, and soon they were out of +hearing of that seductive melody.</p> + +<p>They had not long lost sight of the Sirens' Rocks when they heard the +booming of breakers, which warned them that the fearful strait between +Scylla and Charybdis was close at hand. A strong current caught the +galley and whirled her with appalling swiftness towards the point of +danger. The water boiled and eddied around them, and the blinding +spray was dashed into their faces. Then a sudden panic came upon the +crew, so that they dropped their oars, and sat helpless and unnerved, +expecting instant death. In this emergency, Odysseus summoned up all +his courage, and strode up and down between the benches, exhorting, +entreating, and calling each man by name. "Why sit ye thus," he cried, +"huddled together like sheep? Row, men, row for your lives! And thou, +helmsman, steer straight for the passage, lest we fall into a direr +strait, and be crushed between the Wandering Rocks. We have faced a +worse peril than this, when we were penned together in the Cyclops' +cave; and we shall escape this time also, if only ye will keep a stout +heart."</p> + +<p>Circe had cautioned Odysseus on no account to attempt resistance when +he approached the cave of Scylla; nevertheless, he put on his armour, +and took his stand on the prow of the vessel, holding in each hand a +lance.</p> + +<p>So on they sped, steering close to the tall cliff under which Scylla +lay hid, and gazing fearfully at the boiling whirlpool on the other +side. Just as they passed, a huge column of water shot into the air, +belched up from the vast maw of Charybdis, and the galley was half +swamped under a fountain of falling water. When that ended, a black +yawning chasm appeared, the very throat, as it seemed, of Charybdis, +into which the water rushed in a roaring torrent.</p> + +<p>Odysseus was gazing intently at this wondrous sight when he heard a +sharp cry, and, looking back he saw six of his men, the stoutest of +the crew, dangling high in the air, firmly clutched in the six +sharklike jaws of Scylla. There they hung for a moment, like fishes +just caught by the angler's hook; the next instant they were dragged +into the black mouth of the cavern, calling with their last breath on +their leader's name. This was the most pitiful thing that Odysseus had +ever beheld, in all his long years of travel on the sea.</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>The last trial was now at hand, and if they could stand this final +test a happy home-coming was promised to them all. By next day's dawn +they ran down to the fair isle of Helios, and as they drew near they +heard the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep. Then Odysseus +remembered the warnings of Circe and Teiresias, and sought to persuade +his men to sail past the island and fly from the reach of temptation. +But they murmured against him, and Eurylochus, his lieutenant, gave +voice to their feelings thus: "Thou man of iron, thou hast no pity on +us, but thinkest that we are all as hardy and as strong as thou art. +Hungry and weary as we are, wouldst thou have us turn away from this +fair isle, where we could prepare a comfortable meal, and take +refreshing sleep? Shall we add the horrors of night to the horrors of +the sea, and confront the demons of storm that haunt the caverns of +darkness? Nay, suffer us to abide here to-night, and to-morrow we will +hoist sail again."</p> + +<p>Odysseus saw by the looks of his men that it would be useless to +strain his authority, and so he gave way, though with sore reluctance, +only exacting a solemn oath from the whole company that they would +keep their hands off the cattle of Helios. When each in turn had taken +the oath they landed on the shore of a sheltered bay, and encamped by +a fair spring of fresh water.</p> + +<p>During the night it began to blow hard, and early next morning, as the +weather was still stormy and the wind contrary, they hauled up their +galley and bestowed her in a roomy cave, beyond the reach of wind and +water. Odysseus repeated his warnings, and the crew then dispersed, to +while away the time until the weather should mend.</p> + +<p>For a whole month they had nothing but contrary gales from the south +and east, and long before that time had run out they had come to the +end of their store of provisions. For some time they contrived to live +on the fish which they caught by angling from the rocks, though this +was but poor fare for the robust appetites of those heroic days.</p> + +<p>All this time Odysseus kept a careful watch over the movements of his +men, fearing that they might be driven by hunger to break the oath +which they had taken. But one morning he wandered away to a distant +part of the island, that he might spend an hour in solitary prayer and +meditation. Having found a secluded spot, he washed his hands, and +prayed earnestly to the gods for succour: and when he had prayed, +heaven so ordered it that he fell into a deep sleep.</p> + +<p>Then the demon of mischief entered into the heart of Eurylochus, a +factious knave, who had more than once thwarted the counsels of +Odysseus. "Comrades," he said, "let us make an end of this misery. +Death in any shape is loathly to us poor mortals, but death by hunger +is the most hideous of all. Come, let us take the choicest of the +herds of Helios, and feast upon them, after sacrifice to the gods. +When we return to Ithaca we will build a temple to Helios, and appease +him with rich offerings. And even though he choose to wreck our ship +and drown us all, I would rather swallow the brine, and so make an +end, than waste away by inches on a desert island."</p> + +<p>The famishing sailors lent a ready ear to his words, and having picked +out the fattest of the oxen they slaughtered them and offered +sacrifice, plucking the leaves of an oak as a substitute for the +barley-meal for sprinkling between the horns of the victims, and +pouring libations of water instead of wine. When the vain rite was +finished, they spitted slices of the meat, and roasted them over the +glowing embers.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Odysseus had awakened from his sleep, and made his way, not +without forebodings of ill, back to the camp. As he approached, the +steam of roasting meat was borne to his nostrils. "Woe is me!" he +cried, "the deed is done! What a price must we now pay for one hour of +sleep."</p> + +<p>Vengeance, indeed, was already prepared. Helios received prompt news +of the sacrilege from one of the nymphs who had charge of his flocks +and herds, and hastened to Olympus to demand speedy punishment for the +transgressors, vowing that if they escaped he would leave the earth in +darkness and carry the lamp of day to the nether world. Zeus promised +that the retribution should be swift and complete, and Helios +thereupon returned immediately to his daily round, knowing full well +that the father of gods would keep his word.</p> + +<p>When Odysseus entered the camp he rebuked his men bitterly for their +impiety. But no words, and no repentance, could now repair the +mischief; the cattle were slain, and in that very hour dire portents +occurred, to show them the enormity of their crime. A strange moaning +sound, like the lowing of kine, came from the meat on the spits, and +the hides of the slaughtered beasts crawled and writhed.</p> + +<p>In spite of these dreadful omens they continued for six days to feast +upon the herds of Helios. On the seventh day the wind blew fair, and +they launched their vessel and continued their voyage. The last +vestige of the island had hardly been lost to view when the sky became +black with clouds, and a violent squall struck the ship, snapping her +mast, which fell upon the helmsman, and dashed out his brains. A +moment after, a deafening peal of thunder broke overhead, and the +avenging bolt of Zeus fell upon the ship, scattering her timbers, and +strewing the charred carcasses of the crew upon the waves.</p> + +<p>Odysseus alone escaped with his life from that tremendous stroke, and +clinging to a spar floated all day, until he came in sight of the +strait between Scylla and Charybdis. By the favour of heaven he was +once more preserved from this great peril, and on the tenth day after +the loss of his vessel he was thrown ashore by the waves on the island +of Calypso.</p> + +<a name="foot20"></a><p>20. Shakespeare, "Hamlet." <a href="#footret20">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap10"></a><h2>Odysseus lands in Ithaca</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The last farewell has been spoken, the good ship is loosed from her +moorings, and Alcinous is standing on the quay, surrounded by the +nobles of Phæacia, to bid his illustrious guest god-speed. The picked +crew bend to their oars, and the galley leaps forward, like a mettled +steed who knows his master's voice. The setting sun is just gilding +the towers of the city as they cross the harbour bar. Swift as a +falcon the magic vessel skims over the swelling waters, and the +toil-worn hero lays him down to rest on a soft couch prepared for him +in the stern. Then a deep and deathlike sleep falls upon him, and he +lies breathing gently as an infant, while the soft southern breeze +plays with his dark clustering hair.</p> + +<p>There is a certain haven in the island of Ithaca, protected by two +lofty headlands, leaving a narrow passage between them. Within, the +water is so still that ships lie there without moorings, safe and +motionless. At the head of the haven is a long-leaved olive-tree, +overshadowing a cool and pleasant cave, sacred to the "Nymphs called +Naiads, of the running brooks."<sup><a href="#foot21" name="footret21">21</a></sup> Inside the cave are bowls and +pitchers of stone, and great stone looms, at which the Naiads weave +their fine fabrics of sea-purple dye. It is a favourite haunt of the +honey-bee, whose murmurs mingled with the splashing of perennial +springs make drowsy music in the place. There are two gates to the +cavern, one towards the north, where mortal feet may pass, and the +other on the south side, which none may enter save the gods alone.</p> + +<p>The day-star was gazing on that still, glassy mere as the Phæacians +steered between the sentinel cliffs and drove their galley ashore in +front of the cave. They lifted Odysseus, still sleeping, from the +stern, and laid him down gently, couch and all, on the sand. Then they +brought all the rich gifts, and set them down by the root of the +olive-tree, out of the reach of any chance wayfarer; and having +bestowed all safely they launched their ship, and started on their +voyage home.</p> + +<p>But they were destined to pay dear for their good service to the +stranger. Poseidon marked their course with a jealous eye, and he went +to his brother, Zeus, and thus preferred his complaint: "Behold now +this man hath reached home in safety and honour, and brought the oath +to naught which I sware against him, when I vowed that he should +return to Ithaca in evil plight! Is my power to be defied, and my +worship slighted, by these Phæacians, who are of mine own race?"</p> + +<p>"Thine honour is in thine own hands," answered Zeus. "Assert thy +power, lift up thy hand and strike, that all men may fear to infringe +thy privilege as lord of the sea."</p> + +<p>Having thus obtained his brother's consent, Poseidon went and took his +stand by the harbour mouth at Phæacia, and as soon as the vessel drew +near he smote her with his hand, and turned her with all her crew into +a rock, which remains there, rooted in the sea, unto this day.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Twilight had not yielded to day when Odysseus awoke from his +trancelike sleep, and gazed in bewilderment around him. His senses had +not yet fully come back to him, and after his twenty years' absence he +knew not where he was. All seemed strange—the winding paths, the +harbour, the cliffs, and the very trees. With a cry of dismay he +sprang to his feet, and cried aloud: "Good lack, what land have I come +to now, and who be they that dwell there? Are they savage and rude, or +gentle and hospitable to strangers?" Then his eye fell on the gifts +which had been brought with him from Phæacia. What was he to do with +all this wealth? "Now this is a sorry trick which the Phæacians have +played me," he muttered again, "to carry me to a strange land, when +they had promised to convey me safe to Ithaca."</p> + +<p>So unworthily did Odysseus deem of his benefactors that he fell to +counting his goods, for fear lest they should have carried off a +portion of the gifts while he slept. He found the tale complete, and +when he had finished counting them he wandered disconsolate along the +sand, mourning for the country which he thought still far away. As he +went thus, with heavy steps and downcast eyes, a shadow fell across +his path, and looking up he saw a fair youth, clad and armed like a +young prince, who stood before him and smiled in his face with kindly +eyes. Glad to meet anyone of so friendly an aspect, Odysseus greeted +him, asked for his countenance and protection, and inquired the name +of the country.</p> + +<p>"Either thou art simple," answered the youth, "or thy home is far +away, if thou knowest not this land. It is a place not unknown to +fame, but named with honour wherever mortal speech is heard. Rugged +indeed it is, and unfit for horses and for chariots, but rich in corn +and wine, and blessed by the soft rain of heaven. On its green +pastures roam countless flocks and herds, and streams pour their +abundance from its forest-clad hills. Therefore the name of Ithaca is +spoken far and wide, and hath reached even to the distant land of +Troy."</p> + +<p>The wanderer's heart burned within him when he heard his dear native +island described with such loving praise. But dissembling his joy he +set his nimble wits to work, and began to spin a fine fiction for the +stranger's ear. "I have heard of Ithaca," he said, "as thou sayest, +even in Troy, where I fought under Idomeneus, King of Crete. And now I +am an exile, flying from the vengeance of Idomeneus, whose son, +Orsilochus, I slew, because he sought to deprive me of my share in the +Trojan spoil. For he bore a grudge against me, because I would not pay +court to his father at Troy, but made a party of my own, and fought +for my own hand. For him I laid an ambush, and slew him in a secret +place, under cover of night. Then I fled down to the sea, and bribed +the crew of a Phœnician ship to carry me and my goods to Pylos. But +the storm wind drove them out of their course, and they put in here +for shelter. Sore battered and weary we landed here, having hardly +escaped with our lives; and while I slept they brought my goods +ashore, and sailed away for Sidon, leaving me alone with my sorrow."</p> + +<p>Intent on his tale, Odysseus had not noticed the sudden change which +had come over his hearer; for his eyes had been turned away, as he +strove to spell out the features of the country, which still seemed +unfamiliar. Now he looked round again, and instead of that dainty +youth he saw a stately female form, tall and fair, in aspect like the +mighty goddess Athene. And in truth it was the daughter of Zeus +herself who answered him, smiling and touching him with a playful +gesture. "Thou naughty rogue!" she said, "wilt thou never forget thy +cunning shifts, wherein none can surpass thee, no, not the gods +themselves? Yea, thou hast a knavish wit, and no man can equal thee in +craft, as no god can rival me. Yet for all thy skill thou knewest me +not for Pallas Athene, who is ever near thee in all thy trials, and +made thee dear to all the Phæacians. And now am I come to help thee +hide thy goods, and weave a plot to ensnare the foes who beset thy +house. Thou hast still much to endure, before thy final triumph, and +thou must enter thy halls as a stranger, and suffer many things by the +hands of violent men."</p> + +<p>"It is hard, O goddess," answered Odysseus, "for a mortal man to know +thee, keen though he be of wit; for thou appearest in a hundred +shapes. Yet well I know that thou wast kind to me in days of old, when +I fought with the Greeks at Troy. But since that time I have never +seen thee, in all my wanderings and perils, save once in Phæacia. Now +tell me truly, I implore thee, what is this place where I am +wandering? Thou saidst 'twas Ithaca, but in that I think thou speakest +falsely, with intent to deceive me; or is this indeed my native land?"</p> + +<p>"Ever the same Odysseus as of old," said Athene, smiling again, +"cautious and wary, and hard to convince. Verily thou art a man after +mine own heart, and therefore can I never leave thee or forsake thee +in all thy cares. Any other man would have rushed to embrace his wife, +after so many years of wandering; but thou must needs prove her and +make trial of her constancy, before thou takest her to thy heart. And +if thou wouldst know why I held aloof from thee so long, it was +because of Poseidon, my father's brother, who ever pursued thee with +his ire. Yet I knew that thou wouldst return at last, and have waited +patiently for that hour, And now I will open thine eyes, that thou +mayest know the land of thy birth."</p> + +<p>As she spoke she touched his eyes, and a mist seemed to fall away from +them, so that he recognised every feature of the place, the slopes of +Neritus, waving with forest trees, the spreading olive-tree, the +harbour, and the cavern where he had many a time sacrificed to the +nymphs. Then Odysseus rejoiced in spirit, and kneeling down he kissed +his native soil, and put up a prayer to the guardian deities of the +place: "Greeting, lovely Naiads, maiden daughters of Zeus! Ne'er hoped +I to see your faces again, Give ear unto my prayer, and if I live and +prosper by the favour of Athene I will pay you rich offerings, as I +was wont to do."</p> + +<p>"Doubt not my good-will," said Athene, when he had finished; "that is +assured thee. But it is time to secure these goods of thine in a safe +hiding-place. After that we will advise what is next to be done."</p> + +<p>With that she dived into the cave, closely followed by Odysseus, and +showed him where he best might conceal his treasure. When all was +safely bestowed, she set a great stone in the mouth of the cavern, and +sat down at the foot of the olive-tree, motioning Odysseus to take his +place at her side. "Now mark my words," began Athene, "thou hast a +heavy task before thee, to purge thy house of the shameless crew who +for three years past have held the mastery there, and sought to tempt +thy wife from her loyalty to thee. All this time she has been putting +them off with promises which she has no mind to fulfil."</p> + +<p>"Tis well," answered Odysseus, "that thou hast warned me; else had I +fallen in my own hall, even as Agamemnon fell. But come, contrive some +cunning device, whereby I may avenge me, and be thou at my side to aid +me, that my heart fail me not. Pour into me the same might and the +same valour as when we sacked Priam's royal citadel; then should I +fear nothing, though I fought single-handed against three hundred +men."</p> + +<p>"I will not fail thee, of that be sure," replied Athene, "when the +time comes to enter on that task. They shall pay full dear for thy +substance which they devour, even with their very blood and brains, +which shall be shed upon the ground like water. But thou must not +appear among them in this fashion. I will give thee a disguise which +none can penetrate, not even Penelope herself. And when thou leavest +this place, go first to the swineherd, who abides ever by his charge, +faithful to thee and to thy house. Thou wilt find him sitting by the +swine on their feeding ground, near Raven's Rock and the fountain +Arethusa, where there is abundance of acorns and fair water. Remain +there and inquire of him concerning all things, while I go to Sparta +to summon Telemachus, thy son, who went to visit Menelaus to ask news +of thee."</p> + +<p>"Why didst thou permit him to go on a vain errand?" asked Odysseus. +"Was it that he might suffer as I have suffered, in wandering o'er the +deep, while others devour his living?"</p> + +<p>"Be not over anxious for him," answered Athene; "I myself sent him on +that quest, that he might win a good name among men. And now he sits +secure in the wealthy house of Menelaus, dwelling in luxury and +honour. The wooers have laid an ambush against his return; but all +their malice shall be brought to naught."</p> + +<p>It was now time for Odysseus to start on his way to the swineherd. But +first he had to submit to a strange transformation. Athene touched him +with a rod which she was carrying, and instantly the flesh shrivelled +on his limbs, the clustering locks fell away from his head, and the +keen, piercing glance of his eyes was quenched. He who a moment before +had been a mighty man in his prime was now become a wrinkled, aged +beggar, clad in miserable, grimy rags, with a staff, and a tattered +scrip, hanging by a cord from his shoulder. For a cloak she gave him +an old deer's hide, from which all the hair was gone. Thus totally +disguised, he parted from the goddess, and started inland, following a +rugged mountain path, while Athene went to summon Telemachus from +Sparta.</p> + +<a name="foot21"></a><p>21. Shakespeare, "Tempest." <a href="#footret21">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap11"></a><h2>Odysseus and Eumæus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The office of swineherd was a position of great trust and importance +among the patriarchal chieftains of Homeric Greece. The principal diet +was the flesh of swine and oxen, and these animals formed the chief +part of their wealth. Eumæus, the chief swineherd of Odysseus, lived +apart in a lonely place among the hills, where he had enclosed a wide +space of ground with a stone fence defended at the top with brambles, +and in front by a palisade of oak. Within the fence were twelve styes, +and in each stye were fifty sows with their young. The boars had their +quarters outside the enclosure, and their number had been greatly +diminished by the constant demand for hog's flesh among the suitors. +Still, they reached the formidable total of three hundred and fifty—a +noisy and ravenous multitude.</p> + +<p>It was no light task to provide shelter for nearly a thousand swine, +with their young; yet Eumæus had undertaken this duty during his +master's long absence, without the knowledge of Laertes or Penelope. +And here he was sitting, on this sunny morning, cutting up a +well-tanned ox-hide to make straps for sandals, while four dogs, large +and fierce as wolves, prowled near at hand. Three of his helpers were +gone with the swine to their feeding ground, and the fourth had been +sent to the town with a fat hog for the wooers.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the dogs rushed forward, baying furiously, and an old man in +tattered raiment appeared at the gate of the courtyard. It would have +gone hard with the stranger if Eumæus had not promptly come to the +rescue, and driven the dogs off with a volley of stones. "Old man," +said Eumæus, as the dogs slunk away yelping, "it was well that I was +near, or thou hadst surely been torn to pieces, and brought shame on +me. I have trouble enough without that. Here I sit, fattening my +master's swine for other men's tables, while he wanders, perchance, +among strangers, in poverty and want. But come into my hut, and when +thou hast comforted thy soul with meat and wine thou shalt tell thy +tale of sorrow."</p> + +<p>Odysseus (for he it was, though sorely disfigured) followed Eumæus +into the hut, and sat down on a shaggy goatskin, which the swineherd +spread for him on a heap of brushwood. "Heaven bless thee," he said, +when he was seated, "for this kindly welcome!" "I do but my duty," +answered Eumæus. "The stranger and the beggar are sacred, by law +divine. 'Tis but little that I can do, who serve young and haughty +masters, in the absence of my true lord, who would have rewarded me +nobly, and given me a plot of ground and a wife, had he been here to +see how Heaven blesses the work of my hands. But he is gone to swell +the host of those who fell in Helen's cause. Cursed be she, and all +her race, for she hath robbed me of the kindest master that ever man +served."</p> + +<p>In the midst of his sorrow, Eumæus forgot not his duties as host. +Going out he took two young swine, slaughtered and dressed them, and +set the flesh, all smoking on the spits, before Odysseus. Then he +mixed wine in a bowl of ivy wood, and sitting down opposite to his +guest bade him eat and drink.</p> + +<p>"'Tis but poor fare which I have to offer you," he said. "The best of +the herd ever goes to the young lords who are wooing my mistress. +Their wantonness and riot calls aloud to Heaven for vengeance. They +are worse than the wildest band of robbers that ever lived by open +pillage and violence. Such waste of good meat and wine was never seen +before. For a wealthy man was Odysseus, and his flocks and herds still +range over all the hills of Ithaca. And from every flock the fattest +and the choicest is driven off day by day to feed their dainty +mouths."</p> + +<p>Odysseus fell to with keen appetite, for he had eaten nothing since he +left Phæacia. And when he had satisfied his hunger he pledged Eumæus +in a full cup, and led him on to discourse on his favourite theme—the +virtues and the sorrows of his lord. "Tell me more," he said, "of thy +master. Who knows but that I may have met him in my travels, for I +have wandered in many lands."</p> + +<p>"Old man," answered Eumæus, "I see thy bent. Thou wouldst forge some +glozing tale to beguile the ears of that poor stricken lady, Penelope. +Many a beggar has come to her doors crammed full of lies to amuse her +widowed heart; and she listens, and doubts, and weeps. And thou too, +methinks, hast a like fertile fancy; for hunger and want are rare +inventors. But save thy wits for a better purpose; thou canst not +bring him back to life, or clothe with warm flesh his bones, long +since picked clean by carrion birds or ravenous fish. He is lost for +ever, and sorrow is the portion of us who remain, but especially of +me, for he was dearer to me than father and mother, dearer than my +native land."</p> + +<p>"Friend," said Odysseus, "thou hast misjudged me sorely, in thinking +me one of those greedy mendicants who tell lies for the sake of meat +and drink. Believe me or not, I will say what is in my heart, and when +my words are proved true by the event I will claim my reward. Odysseus +is near at hand, and ere many days have passed he shall be seen in +Ithaca, and take vengeance on those who oppress his wife and son. I +swear it by this table at which I have eaten, and by the hearth of +Odysseus, and by Zeus, the god of hospitality."</p> + +<p>Eumæus remained totally unconvinced by this solemn assertion. "Talk no +more of him," he said with emotion, "it cuts me to the heart to hear +his very name. Would that it might be as thou sayest!—but 'tis an +idle dream. Peace be unto his ashes! And may the gods at least +preserve unto us his son, Telemachus, who lately departed on a witless +errand, led thereto, as I think, by some malign deity who hates the +house of Odysseus. But no more of this! Tell me rather of thyself, who +and whence thou art, and how thou camest to Ithaca."</p> + +<p>Eumæus had not extolled the fertile invention of Odysseus for nothing. +Forthwith he began a wondrous tale of adventure, a little epic in +itself, with some points of resemblance to his own true story. "I am a +native of Crete," he began, "and the son of a wealthy man. When my +father died I received but a scanty portion of his goods. +Nevertheless, because of my valour and the might of my hands, I won a +noble and wealthy lady for my wife. Thou wouldst not deem, perhaps, to +see me now, that I was once a mighty man of war; yet even in the +stubble we may judge what the wheat has been. From my youth up I lived +amidst the clash of shield and spear, and loved battle and ambush, +siege and foray. But I cared not for plodding industry, which gives +increase unto a house, and fills it with the bright faces of children. +Such I was as Heaven made me, a man of war and blood.</p> + +<p>"Before the sons of Greece went up to Troy I was nine times chosen +captain of an armed band to make war in the land of strangers, and +came back laden with booty, so that my name was known and dreaded in +Crete. And when the summons went round in all the coasts of Greece to +follow the banner of Agamemnon, who but I was chosen by the common +voice to share the command with Idomeneus? I was fain to renounce that +hard and perilous service, but it might not be; so for nine years I +fought at Troy, and after our return to Crete I abode but one month +with my wife and children, for at the end of that time my spirit +called me to Egypt. I manned nine ships, and on the fifth day the +north wind brought me safe with all my company to the land of Nile.</p> + +<p>"Then I sent out a few chosen men to explore the country, and kept +myself close with the rest of my force until they should bring back +their report. But my scouts forgot their duty, and carried away by +lust of plunder began to harry and ravage the fields of the Egyptians. +Quickly the hue and cry went round, and an armed multitude, both horse +and foot, came suddenly upon us, breathing fury and vengeance. We +could make no stand against such a host, and all my comrades were +speedily slain or taken captive. When I saw that all was lost I threw +away helmet and shield, dropped my spear, and falling on my knees +before the chief captain of the Egyptians begged him to spare my life. +He heard my petition, set me on his chariot, and brought me to his +home. There I remained seven years and gathered much wealth; for I had +found favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave me freely of +their possessions.</p> + +<p>"In the eighth year there came a certain Phœnician to Egypt, a crafty +and covetous rogue, and he persuaded me to go with him to Phœnicia. +So I went, and abode with him a whole year, and when the spring came +round again I sailed with him to Africa, whither he was bound with a +freight of merchandise. His purpose was to sell me in Africa as a +slave for a great price; but Zeus willed it otherwise, for as we +sailed southwards from Crete a great storm arose, and the ship went +down with all her men, while I escaped by clinging to the mast, and +after nine days was carried by the winds and the waves to Thesprotia, +where I was kindly entreated by the king of that country.</p> + +<p>"There I had news of Odysseus, who had touched at that coast on his +voyage to Ithaca, and stayed as a guest in that same house. This I +heard from the king's own lips, and he showed me all the treasure +which Odysseus had left in his charge, while he himself went on a +journey to Dodona, to inquire of the oracle concerning the manner of +his return. Thou wouldst wonder to behold all the wealth which thy +lord had gathered, an exceeding great store.</p> + +<p>"Odysseus himself I saw not; for it chanced that a ship was sailing +for Dulichium, and the king commended me to her captain, bidding him +carry me thither with all care and tenderness. Now this man was a +villain, and be devised evil against me; for when we left the coast of +Thesprotia, he stripped me of the raiment which the king had given me, +clothed me in these rags, and bound me with cords, intending to sell +me as a slave. In the evening he landed in Ithaca, leaving me, bound +as I was, in the ship. But I broke my bonds, and escaped by swimming +to another part of the coast, where I lay all night in a thicket. In +the morning they sought me with great outcry, but found me not; and +after awhile they sailed away. When they were gone I arose, and was +led by Heaven's hand to thy doors."</p> + +<p>The swineherd listened attentively to the well-imagined tale, and when +it was ended he said: "Hapless man, thou hast been the very sport of +Destiny, and my heart is big when I think of thy wanderings and thy +woes. But as touching Odysseus, that part of thy story likes me not; +methinks 'tis a cunning invention to flatter my ears. Long ago I was +deceived by a false report, brought hither by a wandering exile like +thee, who said that he had seen Odysseus repairing his ships in Crete, +and bade us look for his coming in the autumn of that year. Since then +I have closed my ears against all such rumours, and therefore I say, +tell me no more of him, for I cannot and will not believe but that he +is dead."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Evening was now coming on, and it was time for the herdsmen to return +with their charge from the feeding-ground. Presently, with huge +commotion, and multitudinous din, the swine were driven home and +penned in their styes. Then Eumæus called to his helpers, and bade +them bring the best of the herd to make savoury meat for his guest +"Spare not," he said, "to bring the fattest and choicest of them all, +for why should we be careful, when strangers devour our labour?" So +they brought a hog of five years old, exceeding fat, and having +slaughtered it they offered sacrifice, not forgetting a prayer for the +return of Odysseus. When all rites of religion were duly paid, they +roasted the flesh, and served it on wooden platters. Odysseus was +honoured by Eumæus with a choice portion of the loin.</p> + +<p>When they had finished, night came on, dark and stormy, with furious +gusts of rain and wind. Just as they were about to retire to rest, +Odysseus, who seldom spoke without a purpose, turned to his kind host +and said: "Eumæus, the good wine has loosened my tongue, and moved me +to tell thee a story of long ago, when these withered limbs were in +their lusty prime, and my heart burned with the fire of youth. Then I +was chosen with Menelaus and Odysseus to lead an ambush under the +walls of Troy. With a picked company we took up our position in a +marshy place, and lay down in our armour among the rushes. It was a +bitter night, with snow and frost, and our shields were soon coated +with ice. Now it chanced that I had left my cloak in the camp, and +while the others lay warm in their thick woollen mantles, I was +perishing with cold. At last I could bear it no longer, so I nudged +Odysseus, who was lying next to me, with my elbow, and said to him: +'Son of Laertes, the cold is killing me. I came in my folly without a +cloak, and I can never hold out until dawn in this cruel frost.' And +he, ever ready of wit as he was, instantly contrived means to relieve +me. Whispering to me to keep counsel he rose on his elbow, and called +to the others, saying: 'Comrades, I have been warned in a dream that +our numbers are too weak for the task which has been laid upon us. +Will not one of you run down to the camp, and ask Agamemnon to send us +further succour?'</p> + +<p>"Thereupon one of our men arose, and flinging off his cloak ran off to +carry the message to Agamemnon. And I lay wrapped in the garment, warm +and safe, until the dawn. Ah! those were brave days; what changes have +I seen since then!"</p> + +<p>"I read thy meaning," said Eumæus; "and as a reward for thy good story +thou shalt sleep in comfort to-night. But to-morrow thou must make +shift to wear thine own rags again, for I am but ill furnished with +changes of raiment. When Telemachus returns he will supply all thy +wants, and send thee whithersoever thou art minded to go."</p> + +<p>So saying he drew a truckle-bed close to the fire, and heaped it with +the skins of sheep and goats. There Odysseus lay down to rest, and +Eumæus threw over him a stout mantle of his own. All the other +herdsmen slept in the hut; but Eumæus, ever watchful for his master's +property, went out, armed to the teeth, to pass the night among the +swine, under the shelter of a hollow rock, which kept off the cold +north wind. And Odysseus was glad when he saw that good servant so +faithful to his trust.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap12"></a><h2>The Return of Telemachus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>While these important events were happening in Ithaca, Telemachus was +living as an honoured guest in the house of Menelaus. One night, while +he lay between sleeping and waking, full of anxious thought, Athene +appeared to him in her own person, and addressed him thus: "Thou +lingerest too long here, Telemachus. It is time for thee to return and +keep an eye on thy goods, lest thou be stripped of all in thy absence. +Thy mother's kinsmen are urgent with her to wed Eurymachus, the +wealthiest of the wooers; and, if she yield, it may be that she will +take of thy heritage to increase the house of the man who wins her. +Therefore make haste and get thee home, that thou mayest be at hand to +defend thy rights. Know also that the wooers are lying in wait for +thee in the strait between Ithaca and Samos, with intent to slay thee; +take heed then that thou shun that passage, and sail home by another +way. And when thou art come to Ithaca, go straight to the dwelling of +Eumæus, and send him down to Penelope with news of thy return."</p> + +<p>Such a message, brought by such a messenger, was not to be neglected. +Telemachus at once roused Pisistratus, the son of Nestor, who was +sleeping near, and declared his intention of starting at once; but +when Pisistratus pointed out how displeasing such conduct would be to +their princely host he consented to wait till morning.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, when day was come, he went to Menelaus, and asked leave +to depart at once. Menelaus consented, only insisting that he should +remain for the morning meal. While this was preparing, the generous +prince went to his treasure chamber, and returned laden with a +splendid silver bowl, the work of Phœnician artists, which he had +received when he visited the King of Sidon on his voyage from Troy. +And Helen brought an embroidered robe, the work of her own fair hands, +as a wedding gift for his future bride.</p> + +<p>As soon as they had eaten they mounted the chariot, and drove slowly +through the outer gate of the courtyard, Menelaus and Helen following +on foot Here they drew up to say farewell, and Menelaus pledged them +in a bowl of wine, wishing them god-speed. "And forget not," he added, +"to greet Nestor for me when ye come to Pylos, for he was ever gentle +to me as a father when we sojourned in the land of Troy."</p> + +<p>"I will not forget to carry thy message," answered Telemachus; "would +that I were as sure to see my father when I come to Ithaca, that I +might tell him of thy noble hospitality, and show him thy gifts."</p> + +<p>Hardly had the words been uttered when a clamour of voices was heard, +and a crowd of men and women ran past, pursuing with loud cries an +eagle, which had just seized a great white goose from the courtyard, +and was carrying her off in his talons. Straight over the chariot he +flew, and with a scream of triumph sped away to the mountains with his +booty. "Consider now, my prince," said Pisistratus, "whether this omen +was sent to us or to thee."</p> + +<p>Menelaus, who was somewhat slow of wit, paused to deliberate; but +before he could frame an answer, the quick brain of Helen was ready +with an interpretation. "The eagle is thy father, Odysseus," she said +to Telemachus, "and the meaning of the omen is that he is already in +Ithaca, or close at hand, bringing death and doom to his foes."</p> + +<p>Thus encouraged by fair portents, they took leave of their kind hosts, +and started on their way to Pylos, where they arrived on the following +day. As they drew near to the house of Nestor, Telemachus begged his +friend to drive straight down to the sea. "For I know," he said, "that +thy father will constrain me to abide with him, and will take no +denial; and I wish to embark for Ithaca without further delay." +Pisistratus agreed, and avoiding the house of Nestor they passed on to +the place where the ship lay moored.</p> + +<p>Having summoned his crew, Telemachus was preparing to embark, when a +man armed and equipped as a traveller approached the vessel, and +inquired who he was and whither he was bound. Having received an +answer, he requested Telemachus to carry him to Ithaca. "My name," he +said, "is Theoclymenus, and I am descended from Melampus, the famous +seer, from whom I have inherited the prophetic gift. I am an exile +from my native land of Argos, for I have slain a man of my own tribe, +and am flying from the avenger of blood. Set me, I pray thee, on thy +ship, and take me with you, for sore is my need."</p> + +<p>"Heaven forbid," answered Telemachus, "that I should deny thee, seeing +that thy very life is at stake. Make haste, and come on board"; and he +made room for the stranger to sit by him in the stern of the vessel.</p> + +<p>After a quick and prosperous voyage they sighted the coast of Ithaca, +and landed on a deserted part of the coast within easy reach of the +swineherd's dwelling. Here Telemachus dismissed his company, bidding +them take the galley round to the harbour of Ithaca, and promising to +reward them for their good service. He was just about to depart when +Theoclymenus detained him and asked where he was to find shelter. +Telemachus answered in some embarrassment. "'Twere no friendly act," +he said, "to send thee to my house, for my mother lives apart in her +own chamber and sees no man, and I fear lest thou suffer some harm +from the lawless men who riot in my halls. Therefore I advise thee to +go to Eurymachus, who is now the most powerful man in Ithaca, and +hopes to sit in my father's seat; but perchance Zeus will send him +another issue of his wooing."</p> + +<p>Just as he spoke a rushing of wings was heard on the right, and they +saw a falcon passing close at hand with a dove clutched in his talons, +and tearing his prey so that the feathers fluttered down at their +feet. Then Theoclymenus, who was deeply skilled in augury, drew +Telemachus apart and said: "It is a manifest sign of victory to thee +and to thy house." "May Heaven fulfil thy prophecy," answered +Telemachus, "and if thy words prove true I will load thee with +benefits, and give thee cause to bless this hour." Being now convinced +that he had found a friend, he called Peiræus, in whom he had full +confidence, and bade him take Theoclymenus under his care until he +himself returned to the town. Peiræus readily undertook the charge, +and this point being settled they thrust out from the shore and rowed +away in the direction of the harbour, while Telemachus strode off with +rapid footsteps along the path which led to the swineherd's hut.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>On the evening before the arrival of Telemachus Odysseus was sitting +after supper with Eumæus and the other herdsmen, and wishing to learn +the purpose of Eumæus towards him he said: "I will no longer be a +burden to thee and thy fellows. To-morrow I will go to the town and +beg my living, if thou wilt send one of thy men to show me the way. +Perchance also I might visit the house of Odysseus, and have speech +with Penelope. And it may be that the wooers will take me into their +service, for I would have thee know that by favour of Hermes I am +right skilful of my hands, and no one can match me in laying a fire +and cleaving dry logs, in carving and roasting meat, and in pouring of +wine."</p> + +<p>But this proposal found no favour with the honest swineherd. "Who put +such a thought," he asked, "into thy mind? Serve with the wooers! They +would put a speedy end to thy service, and pay thee thy wages in +blood. Those who wait upon them are of a different sort from thee—gay +striplings, daintily clad, with glossy hair and comely faces. Remain +with us until Telemachus comes home; thou art no burden either to me +or to my men."</p> + +<p>"Be it so, then," answered Odysseus, "and may Heaven requite thee for +thy goodness to a poor homeless outcast, who wanders in misery, driven +by hunger from door to door! And since I am still to be thy guest, +tell me something of thy master's mother, and of the father whom he +left behind when he went to the wars. Do they still live, or have they +gone to their rest?"</p> + +<p>"This also thou shalt know," replied Eumæus. "Laertes his father still +lives, though sore stricken with years and sorrows; for his son's long +absence and his wife's miserable end have brought him to the verge of +the grave. She died long ago, and by such a death as I pray may never +come to anyone who is dear to me—she, my kind mistress, who brought +me up with her youngest daughter, and hardly loved me less. As long as +she lived I would often go down to the house, and she ever entertained +me kindly, and gave me something to carry back with me to my dwelling +on the land. Full well she knew how to sweeten the lot of a thrall +with pleasant words, and little acts of tenderness and love. But now I +seldom leave my charge, for since the wooers brought this curse upon +my master's house Penelope hides her face from us, and has no comfort +for us either in word or deed."</p> + +<p>Odysseus listened with deep interest, and when Eumæus paused he +expressed a desire to hear the story of his life. "How was it," he +asked, "that already in early childhood thou wast cast on the mercy of +strangers? Wast thou taken captive in war, or did robbers seize thee +as thou satst watching sheep on the lonely hills, and sell thee into +bondage?"</p> + +<p>"Fill thy cup," answered Eumæus, "we will pledge each other in a +hearty draught, and then thou shalt hear my tale. The nights are long +at this season, and we shall have time enough to sleep when I have +done. Fate has dealt hardly with me, even as with thee; and we can +find some comfort in telling over our sorrows to each other.</p> + +<p>"There is a certain island called Syria, lying north of Ortygia, not +very large or populous, but a good land, rich in pasture, with waving +cornfields and goodly vineyards. There famine never comes, nor +sickness, but all the people reach a good old age, and then die by the +painless shafts of Artemis or of Apollo. There are two cities which +divide the territory equally between them; and there was one king over +both, my father, Ctesius, son of Ormenus.</p> + +<p>"When I was still very young there came to the island a Phœnician +ship, laden with trinkets for barter. Now in my father's house was a +Phœnician woman, tall and fair, and skilled in needlework. She was my +nurse, and I was wont to run about the town with her. One day, as she +was washing clothes not far from the ship, she was recognised by a +Phœnician sailor as being of his own race, and he inquired how she +came to the island. She answered that she was a native of Sidon, and a +rich man's daughter, stolen from her home by pirates, and sold across +the seas. 'And hast thou a mind to see thy native land again?' asked +the fellow. 'Thy father and mother still live and prosper'; for she +had told him that her father's name was Arybas. 'I will go with you,' +answered the woman, 'if ye will swear an oath to carry me home +unharmed.' They all swore to do as she said, and after that she +instructed them how to proceed. 'Keep close counsel,' she said, 'and +let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet +by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that +aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all. Lose no time in selling +your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let +one of you come up to the house and give me a sign. I will not come +empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my +passage. Furthermore, I have charge of my master's child, a knowing +little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye +may sell him for a great price.'</p> + +<p>"The bargain was struck, and the woman departed. Then for a whole year +they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all +their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father's +house, to warn the woman that the time was come. He brought with him a +necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my +mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price, +the fellow made a sign to my nurse. When he was gone she took me by +the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house. +There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had +been dining with his guests. They had now gone forth to attend the +council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets +and hid them in her bosom. Then with one rapid glance round, to make +sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where +the Phœnician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her, +fearing nothing.</p> + +<p>"Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were +sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival. They took +us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze +springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond +the reach of pursuit. On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of +vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible +blow. They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in +Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes."</p> + +<p>"Twas a sad fate for one of thy tender years," remarked Odysseus, when +Eumæus had finished his story. "Nevertheless thou wast happy to find +such a master—happier far than I, who am still a vagabond and a +wanderer in my old age."</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap13"></a><h2>The Meeting of Telemachus and Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Early next day Eumæus and Odysseus were preparing their morning meal, +when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the hut. The hounds +pricked up their ears at the sound, and ran fawning round the +new-comer, who was evidently well known to them. Odysseus called to +Eumæus, who was busy drawing wine, and said: "Some friend of thine is +coming; for the dogs fawn upon him, and bark not."</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke, a tall figure appeared in the open doorway, and his +own dear son stood before him. Eumæus sprang up amazed, and let fall +the pitcher into which he had been drawing the wine. Then with a cry +of joy he ran to greet his young lord, kissed his hands and his face, +and wept over him. Even as a father yearns over his only son, just +returned from abroad after a ten years' absence, so Eumæus yearned +over Telemachus, and hailed him as one returned from the dead. "Thou +art come, Telemachus," he faltered at last, when his emotion suffered +him to speak, "thou art come back again, dear as mine own life! Ne'er +thought I to see thee again, after thou wast gone to Pylos. Sit thee +down, that I may feast mine eyes upon thee; seldom dost thou come this +way, but abidest in the house, to watch the wasteful deeds of the +wooers."</p> + +<p>Odysseus, in his character of beggar, rose respectfully from his seat, +to make room for the young prince, but Telemachus motioned him to +resume his place, and sat down himself on a heap of brushwood, on +which the swineherd had spread a fleece. While Eumæus was bringing +bread and meat, and filling the cups with wine, Telemachus questioned +him as to his mother, and learnt that no change had occurred in her +relation to the wooers since he left Ithaca. Breakfast being over, +Eumæus, in answer to his inquiry, told him the story of the supposed +stranger. "I have done what I could for him," he added, when he had +repeated what he had heard from Odysseus. "Now I deliver him unto +thee, to do with him as thou wilt; all his hopes are in thy grace."</p> + +<p>"What can I do?" answered Telemachus, in perplexity. "Thou knowest +that I am not master in my own house, and my mother is torn between +two purposes: whether to wait still in patience for her lord's coming, +or to choose a new husband from the noblest of the suitors. Neither +she nor I can give protection to such a guest as this. Therefore I +will bestow upon him a new cloak and doublet, with sandals for his +feet, and arm him with a good sword, and send him whithersoever he +chooses to go. Or if thou art willing, thou canst keep him here with +thee, and I will send down food and raiment for him, that he may not +be a burden to thee and thy men. But I will not allow him to go among +the wooers, and suffer ill-treatment which I have no power to +prevent."</p> + +<p>Odysseus, who had not seen his son since he was an infant, desired to +learn something more of his mind and character; and in order to draw +him into further speech he asked, with an air of indignation, who the +wooers were, and how it was that he submitted to their violence. "Is +the public voice against thee," he asked, "or art thou at feud with +thy brethren, so that they will not help thee? If I were in thy place +I would fall upon them singlehanded, for it were better to die once +for all than tamely to submit to such outrage."</p> + +<p>"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered Telemachus. "'Tis +neither by the consent of the people nor by the ill-will of my +brethren, that this evil hath come upon me. But Heaven hath ordained +that the honours and the burden of our house should ever rest upon one +alone. Laertes, my grandsire, was an only son, and Odysseus was the +sole issue of his marriage; and even so I am the only child of +Odysseus. Therefore I sit helpless and alone, at the mercy of this +ruffian band. But enough of this! We have no hope left, save in the +justice of Heaven." Then he turned to Eumæus, and said: "Make haste +now, go down to the house, and tell Penelope that I have come back +safe from Pylos. Let none else hear it, but come back hither at once, +when thou hast delivered thy message, and I will wait here until thy +return."</p> + +<p>"Shall I not go to Laertes, and tell him also?" asked the swineherd. +"Since the day of thy departure he has tasted neither meat nor drink, +but sits alone in his sorrow, and will not be comforted."</p> + +<p>"My mother can send a handmaid to inform him," answered Telemachus. +"But as for thee, see that thou return here straightway, and lose no +time."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Soon after the departure of Eumæus, Odysseus and Telemachus were +sitting before the door of the hut, each lost in his own thoughts, +when their attention was attracted by the strange behaviour of the +dogs. These animals, which had been lying basking in the sun, all at +once started up with a stifled cry, and ran whining, with every sign +of terror, to a distant corner of the courtyard. "What ails the +hounds?" said Telemachus, looking up in surprise. But Odysseus was not +long before he saw the cause of their alarm: standing at the outer +gate was a tall female figure, of majestic countenance, and more than +mortal beauty. Telemachus saw her not, but Odysseus instantly knew who +she was, and, obeying a gesture of her hand, he rose from his seat and +went out through the gate. She led him to a place where they were out +of hearing, and then said: "It is time for thee to reveal thyself to +thy son, that together ye may contrive destruction for the wooers. +When the hour of reckoning comes, I shall be near to aid you." +Thereupon she touched him with her wand, and in a moment he was once +more the old Odysseus, still in the full vigour of his manhood, dark +and sunburnt, with thick black hair and curling beard. His rags also +had been replaced by fair clean raiment; and thus completely +transformed he went back to the hut to reveal himself to Telemachus. +Athene, having done her part, had forthwith disappeared.</p> + +<p>Fear came upon Telemachus, and he marvelled exceedingly, when the real +Odysseus appeared before him. "Who art thou," he asked, "that comest +back in a moment thus wondrously transfigured? If thou be a god, as +methinks thou art, let me find favour in thy sight, and we will honour +thee with rich offerings of gold, and with humble prayers."</p> + +<p>"No god am I," answered Odysseus, "but thine own dear father, for +whose sake thou hast suffered so long with groanings and tears."</p> + +<p>With that he kissed him, and giving vent to the tenderness which he +had hitherto restrained he lifted up his voice and wept. But +Telemachus could not yet believe that it was indeed his father whom he +saw before him. "It cannot be," he said, drawing back in affright. "It +is mere magic and glamour practised against me by some hostile power, +to mock my sorrow. No being of flesh and blood could work such a +change upon himself. A moment since thou wast an old man in sordid +raiment, and now thou art like unto the sons of heaven."</p> + +<p>"Forbear!" said Odysseus, "no more amazement! I am thy father, and no +other; if not, thou shalt never see him more. Much have I suffered, +and wandered far, and now in the twentieth year I am come back to my +native land. This change at which thou marvellest is no work of mine, +but was wrought by Athene, daughter of Zeus. The gods can deal with us +as they will, both for our glory and for our shame."</p> + +<p>Then Telemachus was convinced, and fell into his father's arms, and +they wept long and sore over each other, for joy and grief are near +neighbours. Presently they grew calmer, and Odysseus, in answer to his +son's inquiry, told how the Phæacians had conveyed him to Ithaca, and +of all the treasures which he had brought with him.</p> + +<p>"But now we must speak of a sterner task," said Odysseus, when his +story was ended. "Tell me now the number of the wooers, that I may +know how many and what manner of men they be, and thereafter contrive +how we may best assail them, whether by ourselves or with others to +help us."</p> + +<p>"Father," answered Telemachus, "I knew thy high renown, as a warrior +mighty in word and deed. But I fear me greatly that this task is too +hard for us; how shall two men prevail against so many? Listen now and +I will tell thee their number. From Dulichium are two and fifty, with +six men-servants, from Same twenty-four, from Zacynthus twenty, and +from Ithaca itself twelve, all proper men and tall. If we twain fall +upon such a host, we may find the work of vengeance a bitter morsel, +and our bane. It were better, then, to look for some other help."</p> + +<p>"Helpers we shall find, and stout ones too," said Odysseus. "What +sayest thou to Athene and her father, Zeus? Is their aid enough or +shall we look for more?"</p> + +<p>"Mighty indeed are the champions thou namest," replied Telemachus, +"though throned far remote among the clouds; supreme are they in +sovereignty, both on earth and in heaven."</p> + +<p>"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "and ere long the wooers shall +feel their might. Now learn further what thou must do. To-morrow thou +shalt go up to the house, and join the company of the wooers, and +afterwards the swineherd will bring me thither in the disguise of a +beggar old and miserable. If the wooers use me despitefully seek not +to prevent it, but let thy heart endure, even though they beat me, or +drag me by the feet through the doors. Thou mayest reprove them +gently, and bid them cease from their wantonness, but they will not +heed thee for their lives are forfeit already. Mark further, and take +heed what I say. When the time to strike is come I will give thee a +signal, and, forthwith, thou shalt remove all the weapons from the +halls, and make excuse to the wooers, saying that thou art bestowing +them in a safe place, out of reach of the smoke. Leave only two swords +and two shields and two spears, as weapons for ourselves. But above +all I charge thee to let none know of my coming—neither Laertes, nor +Eumæus, nor Penelope herself. Alone we must work, and watch the temper +of the thralls, to see if there be any on our side."</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>Meanwhile the faithful swineherd made all haste to carry his message +to Penelope. Just as he was approaching the house, he met one of the +crew of Telemachus' ship coming up from the harbour on the same +errand. So they went together, and while Eumæus conveyed the tidings +privately to Penelope, he who was sent from the ship delivered his +report in the hearing of the whole household.</p> + +<p>Great was the dismay of the suitors when they learnt that their foul +plot had been frustrated. One by one they stole out of the house to a +secret place of meeting; and when they were all assembled they began +to devise what was next to be done. While they were debating they were +joined by Antinous and the crew of the ship which had been lying in +wait for Telemachus in the strait. Always the foremost in violent +counsels, Antinous breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the +young prince. "The boy only escaped us by a miracle," he said. "All +day long we had sentinels on all the heights commanding the sea, and +at night we patrolled the waters in our ship. Yet for all our +vigilance he has slipped through our hands. But I will not be baffled +thus," he added, stamping with fury. "This wretched boy must die, or +we shall never accomplish our purpose. Let us make haste and slay him +before he comes back to the town, or he will call a meeting of the +people and proclaim to all Ithaca that we sought to slay him, and +failed. Then the whole city will rise against us, and we shall have to +fly for our lives."</p> + +<p>Then another of the wooers rose up and rebuked Antinous for his +bloodthirsty counsels. This man's name was Amphinomus, and he was the +chief among the wooers who came from Dulichium. More than any of the +other suitors he found favour with Penelope, for he was a prudent man +and a just, and his voice was pleasant to her ear. "Remember," he +said, "that Telemachus is of royal race; and it is a dreadful thing to +shed the blood of kings. I will have no hand in such an act, without +sure and manifest sign that it is the will of Zeus."</p> + +<p>The speech of Amphinomus was received with a murmur of applause; for +most of the wooers were averse to the violent measures proposed by +Antinous. So they arose, and returned to the house.</p> + +<p>Penelope had heard of their plotting from the herald, Medon, and +obeying a sudden impulse she came down from her chamber, and standing +in the doorway began to upbraid Antinous for his wicked purpose. "Thou +hast the name of a wise and eloquent man," she said, "but thy fame is +better than thy deeds. Wretch, why dost thou lay snares against the +life of my son? Hast thou never heard how thy father came to this +house, flying from the wrath of the Ithacans, who would have slain +him, because he had joined the Taphian pirates in a raid on the +Thesprotians, who were our allies? But Odysseus stood between him and +their fury, and saved his life. A fair return thou art making for that +good service, devouring his substance, paying court to his wife, and +compassing the death of his son."</p> + +<p>Antinous sat biting his lips, and made no answer; but Eurymachus, a +subtler villain, smooth and specious, but all the more dangerous, +spoke for him, and said: "Sage daughter of Icarius, fear nothing for +thy son Telemachus, for while I live no man shall offer him violence. +By this sword I swear it, and I care not who hears me, the man who +seeks to harm him shall die by my hand. I at least have not forgotten +the loving-kindness of thy lord, Odysseus, on whose knees I have often +sat, and taken food and drink from his hand. Therefore I love +Telemachus as a brother, and I swear to thee that none of the wooers +shall do him any harm."</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap14"></a><h2>The Home-coming of Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>When Eumæus came back from his errand, Odysseus, who in the meantime +had resumed his disguise, was helping Telemachus to prepare the +evening meal. Telemachus questioned him about the ship which the +wooers had sent out to waylay him on his return from Pylos, but Eumæus +had been in such haste to get back to his farm that he had not stopped +to inquire about the matter. "But thus much I can tell thee," he said: +"as I was crossing the hill which overlooks the town I saw a galley, +bristling with spear and helm, entering the harbour; and I believe +that this was the ship of which thou speakest"</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," answered Telemachus, with a significant glance at +his father. Then they all fell to their suppers with hearty appetite, +and soon afterwards retired to rest.</p> + +<p>The first chill of dawn was still in the air when Telemachus roused +the swineherd, and announced his intention of proceeding at once to +the town. "I know," he said, "that my mother will have no peace until +she sees me with her own eyes. Now as to this stranger, I charge thee +to take him with thee into the town, that he may beg his bread from +house to house. Burdened as I am already, and full of care, I cannot +provide for him. If he thinks it hard, all the worse for him."</p> + +<p>"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "I have no mind to remain here. +I am too old to take orders from a master, and it is better to beg my +living in the town than in the fields. Therefore I will go, when I +have warmed me at the fire, and the sun is up; for I am ill equipped +to face the frosts of morning."</p> + +<p>Away went Telemachus, covering the ground with rapid strides, his mind +occupied all the way with thoughts of vengeance against the wooers. +The first who saw him when he crossed the threshold of his home was +his old nurse, Eurycleia, who was just then spreading fleeces on the +seats in the great hall. With a cry of joy she ran and fell on his +neck, and kissed him; and all the faithful handmaids of Penelope +crowded round to welcome their young master home. The sound of their +voices reached the ears of Penelope, and with swift steps she came +gliding into the hall, fair as Artemis, or golden Aphrodite. When she +saw Telemachus she flung her arms round his neck and covered his face +with kisses. "Welcome," she sobbed, "Telemachus, my heart's darling, +restored to me beyond all hope! Say, hast thou brought any news of thy +father?"</p> + +<p>But Telemachus was too full of the stern task which lay before him to +leave room for softer emotions. Gently extricating himself from his +mother's embrace he said: "Dear mother, thou shalt hear all in due +season; at present I have other work to do. Go thou to thy chamber, +and put on clean raiment, and when thou hast purified thyself pray to +all the immortal gods to hasten the day of atonement for those who +have wronged our house. I will return presently, when I have done my +business in the town."</p> + +<p>The gentle Penelope went to do her son's bidding, and Telemachus +started for the town, with two hounds following close at his heels. He +seemed taller and manlier after his short absence, and many an eye +followed him with wonder as he passed through the streets. Presently +he came to the place where the wooers were assembled, and they came +crowding about him with false words of welcome. But he turned his back +on them with scorn, and seeing a little group of his father's friends, +among whom were Mentor and the aged Halitherses, he went and sat down +among them. While they were questioning him about his travels, Peiræus +came up, bringing with him the seer, Theoclymenus, whom Telemachus had +left in his charge the day before. "I restore to thee thy guest," said +Peiræus, "who has been entertained in all honour at my house; and if +thou wilt send thy handmaids, I will deliver unto them the treasure +which thou hast brought with thee from Pylos."</p> + +<p>"I thank thee," answered Telemachus; "Theoclymenus shall go with me; +but as to the treasure, do thou keep it for me until these evil days +are passed. If aught untoward befall me, I had rather it remained with +thee than that it should fall into the hands of the wooers."</p> + +<p>Having taken leave of his friends, he returned to the house, taking +Theoclymenus with him. And when they had bathed and put on fresh +raiment, they sat down to meat. The meal proceeded in silence, and at +last Penelope, who was sitting near, busy with her distaff, and +longing impatiently to hear her son's news, said in a tone of +displeasure: "Hast thou no word for thy mother, Telemachus? Or art +thou keeping thy tidings until the wooers return? Surely I thought in +this rare interval of quiet to hear how thou hast fared and what thou +hast learnt on this journey. But if thou hast naught to tell me, I +will go to my widowed bed, and weep away the hours until dawn."</p> + +<p>Roused from his reverie by his mother's reproaches, Telemachus gave a +brief account of his visit to Nestor and Menelaus, and of what they +had told him. Penelope was musing on her son's report, when +Theoclymenus, the second-sighted man, started up from his seat, and +cried: "I see him, I see him! He is landed in Ithaca, he is coming +hither, he is here! Woe unto the suitors! Their hour is at hand, and +not one of them shall escape."</p> + +<p>Penelope had heard such prophecies too often to pay much heed to the +seer's vision. "Ah! my friend," she said, with a sad smile, "I can but +pray that thy words will be fulfilled; if ever they are, it shall be a +happy day for thee."</p> + +<p>At this moment the wooers came trooping in, filling the house with +riot and uproar; and there was an end of all quiet converse for that +day.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>It was past noon before Odysseus and Eumæus set out for the town; for +Eumæus had conceived a great liking for his guest, and listened with +delight to his wonderful tales of adventure. "Come," he said at last, +when Odysseus had finished one of his long stories. "It is time to be +going, though I would willingly have kept thee here. But my young lord +has spoken and we must obey." "Lead on," said Odysseus, "I know what +thou wouldst say; but first give me a staff to lean on, for I heard +thee say that the path was rough."</p> + +<p>So saying he threw his tattered wallet over his shoulder, and taking a +stout staff, which Eumæus offered him, started with his friend across +the hills. After a toilsome walk they reached the top of the hill +which overlooked the town, and descending the slope they came to a +copious spring of water, well fenced with stones, and shaded by a +grove of alders. The water descended into a basin from the face of a +rock in a cool and copious stream; and on either side stood an altar +to the nymphs. "It is the common fountain of the townspeople," +explained Eumæus. "The altars and the basin which receives the water +are the work of our ancient kings."</p> + +<p>Odysseus paused a moment, lost in the memories which were awakened by +that familiar scene. But his reverie was rudely interrupted. While he +stood gazing at the fountain, he heard a rude voice hailing them from +the road, and looking round he saw a man leading a pair of fine goats +towards the town. It was Melanthius, his own goatherd, who was +bringing the best of his flock to make savoury meat for the wooers.</p> + +<p>"Here are two birds of a feather!" shouted the fellow, in jeering +tones—"that wretched swineherd, and a ravenous beggar. A fine guest +thou art bringing to our young masters, and a fair welcome, without +doubt, they will give him. Were it not better that I took him with me +to my farm? He could sweep out the pens, and gather green shoots for +the kids; and we would give him whey to drink, and put some flesh on +these shrunk shanks<sup><a href="#foot22" name="footret22">22</a></sup> of his. But the lazy knave will do no work; he +would rather rub his shoulders against every door-post, begging for +broken meat. Broken bones will be his portion, if the wooers see him +near the house of Odysseus."</p> + +<p>While he uttered these taunts Melanthius had gradually come close to +Odysseus, and with the last word he lifted up his foot and kicked him +with all his force on the hip. Odysseus stood like a rock, and stirred +not an inch from his ground; his first impulse was to seize the +ruffian by the ankles, and dash out his brains on the road; but he +checked himself with a great effort, and said not a word.</p> + +<p>But Eumæus rebuked the goatherd, and invoked the vengeance of heaven +against him. "Would that our noble master were here!" he cried, "he +would soon make an end of thee, thou braggart! Unfaithful herdsman, +that rovest ever about the town, leaving thy flock to underlings!"</p> + +<p>"Go to, thou dog!" retorted Melanthius, with a savage laugh. "Wilt +thou be ever harping on that string? Thy noble master is dust long +ago, and I would that Telemachus were lying with him. As for thee, I +will one day cast thee bound into a ship, and sell thee across the +seas for a great price."</p> + +<p>With that he left them, and stepped briskly out towards the house, +while Odysseus and Eumæus followed more slowly. Presently they came to +an extensive enclosure, standing conspicuously on a high level plateau +overlooking the town. Behind the fence towered the roof of a great +timber house. They passed through the outer gates, and as they entered +the courtyard they heard the sounds of a harp, and the steam of roast +flesh was borne to their nostrils.</p> + +<p>"Take heed now," said Eumæus, lowering his voice, as they approached +the door of the house. "I will go in first, and do thou follow me +close, lest anyone find thee outside and do thee some hurt."</p> + +<p>"Fear nothing for me," answered Odysseus, "I am no stranger to blows, +for I have been sore buffeted on land and sea. The belly is a stern +taskmaster, which compels us to face both wounds and death."</p> + +<p>So saying he stepped aside to let Eumæus pass, then checked him with a +hasty exclamation; for he had seen something which sent a pang of +sorrow to his heart. Heaped up against the wall by the doorway was a +great pile of refuse, left there until the thralls should carry it +away and lay it on the fields; and there, grievously neglected, and +almost blind with age, lay a great gaunt hound, to all seeming more +dead than alive. What was the emotion of Odysseus when he recognised +in that poor creature his old favourite, Argus, whom he had reared +with his own hand, and trained to the chase, in the old days before he +sailed to Troy! As he stooped down with a caressing gesture the hound +feebly raised his head; a strange light came into his eyes, he drooped +his ears, and wagged his tail, but was too weak to stir from the place +where he lay. Odysseus brushed away a tear, and said to Eumæus: "'Tis +strange that so fine a hound should lie thus uncared for in his old +age. Or do his looks belie his qualities? Handsome he must have been, +as I can see still; but perhaps his beauty was all he had to boast +of."</p> + +<p>"He was my master's favourite hound," answered Eumæus, "and there was +none swifter or keener of scent in all the land. Formerly the young +men would take him with them to hunt the wild goat or the hare or the +deer; but now that he is sore stricken with years not one of the women +will bring him a morsel to eat, or a little water to drink. So it ever +is when the master is absent; for a slave has no conscience when his +owner's eye is not upon him."</p> + +<p>When Eumæus had entered the house, Odysseus lingered awhile, gazing +sadly at the faithful Argus. The old hound raised himself, and +struggled painfully to drag himself to his master's feet; but the +effort was too much for him, and he sank back on his sorry bed, and +breathed his last.</p> + +<p>With a heavy heart Odysseus turned away, and passing into the hall sat +down on the threshold and laid his scrip beside him. Telemachus was +the first to notice him, and calling the swineherd, who was sitting +near, he gave him a loaf of bread and a good handful of meat, and bade +him carry it to the beggar. "And tell him to go round and beg of all +the wooers," he said: "want and modesty agree ill together." Eumæus +brought the gift and the message, which Odysseus received with a +blessing on the giver. And when he had eaten he rose and went round +the hall, begging of the wooers. All gave him something until he came +to Antinous, who stared at him insolently and asked who he was.</p> + +<a href="images/illus7lg.jpg" name="Illus7"><img + title="The Return of Odysseus (click to enlarge)" alt="The Return of Odysseus" + src="images/illus7.png" align="left" /></a> + +<p>"I saw the fellow," answered Melanthius, "a little while ago. Eumæus +brought him hither, but who he is I know not."</p> + +<p>"Ah! thou rogue," said Antinous to the swineherd, "we know thy ways! +Why didst thou bring this caitiff to the town? Are there not beggars +enough here already to mar our pleasure when we sit down to meat? 'Tis +nought to thee, it seems, that these palmer-worms come swarming round +the house to devour thy master's living."</p> + +<p>"He is no guest of my inviting," answered Eumæus. "I would not invite +to this house any wandering stranger, unless he were a prophet, or +leech, or shipwright, or minstrel; and he is none of these. But thou +art ever hard on the servants of Odysseus, and especially on me; yet I +care not, so long as I satisfy Penelope and my young lord, +Telemachus."</p> + +<p>"Eumæus, thou art overbold of speech," said Telemachus; then turning +to Antinous he added: "I thank thee for thy fatherly care, but we are +not so poor that we need to drive the stranger from our doors—heaven +forbid! Give him something; 'tis I that bid thee: but thou art ever +better at taking than at giving."</p> + +<p>"I will give him something, thou malapert boy," answered Antinous, +grinding his teeth with rage, "something which will keep him from the +house for three months to come." As he spoke he thrust forward a heavy +footstool from under the table, and placed it ready at hand.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Odysseus, having filled his wallet, was preparing to return +to his place on the threshold. But first he came to Antinous, and +addressed to him a long harangue in the common style of the +professional beggar, who had seen better days and been brought to want +by the malice of fortune. He concluded with a fragment of the story +which he had already told to Eumæus.</p> + +<p>Antinous heard him to the end with ill-disguised impatience, and then +broke out in angry tones: "Who brought this wretched fellow here to +vex us? Stand off from my table, thou shameless varlet! Egypt, sayest +thou? I will send thee to Egypt, and with a vengeance, too! It is a +shame to see how they have squandered good meat on a dog like thee"; +and he pointed to the wallet, now filled with the cheap bounty of the +wooers.</p> + +<p>Odysseus drew back and made for the door, saying as he went: "Of a +truth, I wonder to find so princely a presence wedded to so mean a +temper."</p> + +<p>When he heard that Antinous began to curse and to swear, and lifting +the footstool he hurled it with all his force at the retreating figure +of Odysseus. It struck him on the shoulder, with a crash that vibrated +through the hall; but Odysseus heeded it not, but passed on without a +pause or a stumble to his place on the threshold. When he was seated +he complained loudly of the brutal conduct of Antinous. "Accursed be +he," he said, "who lifts up his hand against a helpless beggar; may +Heaven requite him for this foul deed!"</p> + +<p>"Thou hadst best be quiet," said Antinous, "or we will drag thee by +the heels through the hall, until we have stripped the flesh off thy +bones."</p> + +<p>But this was too much even for the wooers. "Antinous," said one of +them, "it was ill done of thee to strike the hapless wanderer. Take +heed that thou bring not a curse upon thyself, if there be gods in +heaven to see such deeds. And what if a god should visit this house in +some strange disguise, to make trial of our hearts? It were no new +thing."</p> + +<p>A chill seemed to have fallen on the company after this shameful +incident. The wooers had ceased their clamour, and sat talking in low +tones together; Odysseus and Telemachus sat silent in their places, +brooding gloomily on the outrage; Antinous alone remained unmoved, +being hardened, within and without, against all reproach.</p> + +<p>When Penelope, who was sitting among her maidens in her chamber, heard +how the stranger had been ill-treated, she cried: "So may Apollo smite +thee, Antinous, thou godless man!" "Ay," said Eurycleia, "if prayers +could slay them, not one of these men would see to-morrow's dawn."</p> + +<p>"Go, one of you," said Penelope, "and bring hither the swineherd. I +would fain speak with this stranger; who knows but he may have +somewhat to tell me of Odysseus, my lord?" Eumæus was summoned, and +having heard the desire of Penelope, he answered: "My queen, there is +a rare pleasure awaiting thee. This man hath a tongue to charm thy +very soul. Three days and nights he abode with me, and all that time +he kept us spellbound by the tale of his adventures. It was as if we +were listening to the lay of some rare minstrel, a god-gifted man, who +sways all hearts as he will by the magic of his voice. And he brings +sure tidings of Odysseus too, if we may believe what he says."</p> + +<p>"Call him hither," answered Penelope, "that he may speak to me face to +face. If his news be true, we may yet see the day when these men shall +pay a heavy price for their plunder of our house."</p> + +<p>As she spoke, a loud sneeze was heard in the room below. "It was my +son," said Penelope, laughing, "I know it by the sound; and it is a +sign that my words will be fulfilled. Make haste now, and bring the +stranger to me."</p> + +<p>Eumæus went, and presently returned with a message from the supposed +beggar, to say that he feared fresh violence from the wooers, if he +left his place by the door and passed through them again. The truth +was that Odysseus feared recognition if he appeared before his wife in +broad daylight; so he affected to complain of the indifference of +Telemachus, who had allowed the savage deed of Antinous to go +unpunished, and begged permission to wait until the evening, when the +wooers would be gone home, and he could tell his story unmolested.</p> + +<p>"He says well," answered Penelope, when she had heard the message. +"And he seems to be a man of sense. We will wait until evening, as he +desires."</p> + +<p>The day was waning when Eumæus returned to the hall, and the wooers +had already begun their evening pastimes. The swineherd went up to +Telemachus, and said to him in a low tone: "It is time for me to +return to my farm, that I may give an eye to the things which I have +in charge. I leave thee to look to the house, and all that it +contains; but above all be careful of thyself, for there are many here +who wish thee ill."</p> + +<a name="foot22"></a><p>22. "A world too wide for his shrunk shanks,"—Shakespeare: +"As You Like It." <a href="#footret22">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap15"></a><h2>The Beggar Irus</h2> + +<p>Just after Eumæus had left, a huge, ungainly fellow came slouching up +to the place where Odysseus was sitting, and eyed him with a look of +great disfavour. He was the town beggar, known far and wide in Ithaca +as the greediest and laziest knave in the whole island. His real name +was Arnæus, but from being employed to run errands about the place he +had received the nickname of Irus. Highly indignant at finding his +rights usurped by a new-comer, and thinking to find in that battered +old man an easy victim, he began to rate his supposed rival in a big, +blustering voice: "Give place, old man, to thy betters, and force me +not to use my hands upon thee. Begone, and that quickly, or it shall +be the worse for thee; out of the way, I say!"</p> + +<p>With a stern look Odysseus answered him, and said: "What possesses +thee, fellow, that thou seekest a quarrel with me? Thou art, as I +perceive, a beggar like me, and I grudge thee not anything which thou +mayest receive in the way of alms from those who sit here. There is +room on this threshold for us both. But I warn thee not to provoke me +to blows, for old as I am I will set a mark upon thee which thou wilt +carry to thy death."</p> + +<p>Trusting in his size, and encouraged by the nods and winks of the +wooers who sat near, Irus was only too ready to take up the challenge. +"Hark to the old starveling cur!" he shouted. "How glib of tongue he +is, like any scolding hag! Get thee to thy fists then, since thou wilt +have it so, and I will knock all thy teeth out, if thou hast any +left"; and he thrust Odysseus with his foot.</p> + +<p>All the wooers now came running up, and crowded round the exasperated +beggars, hoping to see fine sport. Antinous took the lead, such a +scene being exactly to his taste. "Here is matter for mirth," he +cried, laughing, "for many a day. Make a ring quickly, and let them +fight it out."</p> + +<p>In the courtyard there was a red smouldering fire, on which two huge +sausages were roasting, a sort of haggis made by filling the belly of +a goat with fat and blood. It was determined to give one of these +messes to the winner in the fight; and he also was henceforth to have +the sole right to receive the broken meats at the wooers' feasts.</p> + +<p>Odysseus now pretended to draw back, as if he feared an encounter with +a man younger than himself; but at last he consented to the match, on +condition that the wooers would swear an oath not to strike him a foul +blow while he was fighting with Irus. To this they all agreed, and +forthwith Odysseus stripped to the waist, and girded his rags about +his loins. By some strange magic his limbs seemed to have filled out; +and when the wooers saw his mighty chest and broad shoulders they +cried out in amazement "Methinks Irus will pay dearly for his ire,"<sup><a href="#foot23" name="footret23">23</a></sup> +said one. "Look what a brawny thigh the old carle shows under his +rags!"</p> + +<p>Irus himself was not less astonished than dismayed, so that they were +obliged to use force to make him face his opponent; and as he stood +there quaking with fear Antinous reviled him bitterly, and threatened, +if he were defeated, to carry him to the mainland, and hand him over +to a robber chieftain, nicknamed the Mutilator, and notorious for his +cruelties. "He will carve thee into collops and fling them to his +dogs," said the ferocious prince.</p> + +<p>Little encouraged, as may be supposed, this prospect, Irus in his +despair aimed a blow at Odysseus, and struck him on the right +shoulder. Then Odysseus, who had resolved to put forth but half his +force, lest he should betray himself to the wooers, struck the +wretched man under the ear. There was a crash of broken bones, and +down went Irus in the dust, spitting blood, and beating the ground +with his heels. The wooers hailed his fall with shouts of laughter, +and Odysseus, seizing the prostrate beggar by the foot, dragged him +through the courtyard gate, and propped him against the wall. "Sit +there," he said, placing his staff in his hand, "and keep off dogs and +swine. Methinks thou hast had enough of playing the tyrant among +strangers and beggars."</p> + +<p>When he returned to his place on the threshold he found the wooers in +high good humour at the defeat of Irus. "May heaven fulfil all thy +heart's desire!" cried one who sat near, "seeing that thou hast rid us +of that hungry, brawling rogue." His words had a meaning which he +little guessed, and Odysseus rejoiced when he heard them. Then +Antinous brought the pudding, all steaming from the fire, and set it +by him; and Amphinomus gave him two loaves, and filled a cup with +wine. "Hail, old friend!" he said, offering the cup, "and mayest thou +live to see happier days."</p> + +<p>This Amphinomus differed in character from the other suitors, being a +prudent and fair-minded man. Odysseus knew him and his father well, +and being willing to save him, if possible, he looked earnestly at +him, and said: "Amphinomus, thou seemest to be a man of understanding, +and therefore I will give thee a word of warning. Hark, in thine ear! +Quit this company at once! The day of doom is very near to them all, +and I would not that thou shouldst perish with them."</p> + +<p>These words, spoken in a low and solemn tone, so that none besides +might hear, sent a chill to the heart of Amphinomus. Slowly and sadly +he went back to his seat, his mind full of dark foreboding. +Nevertheless, he did not profit by the warning; for he had thrown in +his lot with that guilty band, and had to drink of the same cup.</p> + +<a name="foot23"></a><p>23. The pun is an attempt to reproduce a similar word-play in +the original. <a href="#footret23">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap16"></a><h2>Penelope and the Wooers</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>"How slowly move the hours," said Penelope to Eurycleia, yawning and +then laughing in sheer vacancy of spirit. "How would it be if I showed +myself to the wooers? I hate them, it is true, but it would serve to +pass the time, and I could caution my son not to be so familiar with +these treacherous friends."</p> + +<p>"Do so, my child," answered Eurycleia, "but first wash and anoint +thyself, and go not among them with this tear-stained face. And waste +not thy life in perpetual mourning; think what a comfort thou hast in +thy son."</p> + +<p>"Speak not to me of such vanities," answered Penelope; "why should I +wish to preserve this poor remnant of my beauty? Foul or fair, what +matters it in my widowed state? But send two of my handmaids hither to +attend me, for it is not seemly that I should go alone among the men."</p> + +<p>While the nurse was gone to fetch the maidens, a sudden drowsiness +overpowered Penelope, and she sank back in her chair, subdued by a +short but trancelike sleep. And while she slumbered, invisible hands +were busy with her person, washing away all the stains which sorrow +had left on her face, and shedding upon her immortal loveliness, such +as clothes the Queen of Love herself, when she joins the sister Graces +in the dance. The voices of the women entering her chamber roused her +from that strange sleep, and sitting up she rubbed her cheeks and +said: "Wondrous soft was the slumber which overtook me in my sorrow! +Would that it were death which had come upon me with like softness, +that I might no longer waste away in mourning for the excellence of my +dear, dear lord!"</p> + +<p>Thereupon she arose, and descending the stairs stood in the open +doorway of the hall, with a handmaid on either side. A murmur of +surprise and admiration went round the whole company, for never had +she seemed so wondrous fair. Turning to Telemachus she said: "My son, +with grief I perceive that thy understanding increaseth not with thy +growth, but rather becometh less. Who would think, seeing thee thus +tall and comely, like a prince's true son, that thou wouldst suffer +such deeds to be wrought upon the stranger within thy gates? What if +he had come by his death through this violence? What shame and infamy +to thee!"</p> + +<p>"Mother," answered Telemachus, "thou hast some reason for thine anger. +Howbeit, I have a man's wit, and am not, as thou sayest, more foolish +than a child. But what can one do against so many? And as to this +stranger, thou wouldst know that thy fears are idle, if thou couldst +see Irus as he now sits at the gate, rolling his head like a drunkard, +with no strength to stand on his feet or stir from his place. Would +that all the wooers were in the same plight!"</p> + +<p>While Telemachus was defending himself, Eurymachus had been gazing +with bold eyes on that fair lady; and now he addressed her with smooth +words of flattery: "Daughter of Icarius, sage Penelope, if all the +Greeks could behold thee as now thou art, this house would not contain +the multitude of thy wooers. Thou surpassest all the daughters of men +in beauty, and in stature, and in thy even-balanced wit"</p> + +<p>"Eurymachus," answered Penelope, "all the bloom of my womanhood was +blighted on the evil day when the Greeks embarked for Troy, and +Odysseus, my lord, went with them. But now I am like some poor hunted +creature, hard beset by the hounds of fate. Well I remember my +husband's parting words. Holding my right hand he said: 'Dear wife, I +am going into the midst of perils, and it may be that we shall never +see each other again. Be thou but faithful to thy trust, and remember +whose daughter thou art; and when thou seest thy son with a beard on +his cheeks, thou art free to marry whom thou wilt.' Such were his +words, and now they shall shortly be fulfilled. I see the day +approaching which shall make me another man's wife; better for me if I +were the bride of death! For who ever beheld such wooing as yours? +'Twas ever the custom among those who sought the daughter of a wealthy +house in marriage to bring with them their own sheep and oxen to make +good cheer for the friends of the bride; but ye sit here as unbidden +guests, and devour my living."</p> + +<p>Odysseus smiled to himself with pleasure when he heard this artful +speech of Penelope, for he perceived her intention, which was to draw +gifts from the wooers, and raise their hopes by the prospect of her +approaching marriage. And the artifice was successful, for the wooers, +following the lead of Antinous and Eurymachus, at once despatched +their servants to bring the bride gifts from their houses. Antinous +gave a splendid embroidered robe, with twelve golden clasps, +Eurymachus a necklace of amber and gold, and Eurydamas a pair of +jewelled earrings. These and other costly offerings were brought to +Penelope in her chamber.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>When evening came on, the wooers ordered three braziers to be set up +in the hall, to give them light as they sat at their pastimes. The +braziers were fed with dry chips of pine-wood, and the maid-servants +relieved each other from time to time in the duty of keeping up the +fires. Presently Odysseus drew near to the handmaids, and said: "Go ye +and attend the queen in her chamber, I will serve the fires, and give +light to the company. Yea, though they sit here all night they shall +not tire me out, for I am a much-enduring man."</p> + +<p>The women laughed, and glanced at one another; and one of them, whose +name was Melantho, spoke bitterly to Odysseus, and reviled him, +saying: "Thou wretched old man, why goest thou not to find a bed in +the smithy, or wherever else thou canst, instead of loitering here, +and vexing us with thy prate? Either thou hast drunk a cup too much, +or else thou art stricken in thy wits. Get thee gone, lest a stronger +than Irus lay his hand upon thee and break thy bones."</p> + +<p>"Now will I go straightway to Telemachus," answered Odysseus fiercely, +"yonder where he sits, and tell him what thou sayest, thou vixen, that +he may hew thee in pieces on the spot."</p> + +<p>So menacing were his looks and his tones that the women fled quaking +from the hall and left him to tend the fires. So there he stood in +view of the whole company, to their eyes a poor outcast, intent on his +menial task; but thoughts other than of the fires filled his heart.</p> + +<p>As he stooped over one of the braziers and stirred the fuel into a +blaze, Eurymachus noticed the red gleam which was reflected from the +smooth, bald crown of the supposed beggar. "Look!" he cried, laughing +and pointing at Odysseus, "surely this man is a favourite of heaven; +for see how the light shines like a crown of glory on his hairless +pate!"</p> + +<p>Then he called to Odysseus, and said: "How sayest thou, friend, wilt +thou be my thrall, and work on my farm among the hills for a fixed +wage? Thy business would be to repair the stone fences and work on the +plantation; thou wouldst have a whole coat to thy back, and shoes to +thy feet, and thy penny fee, and bread to eat all the year round. But +I can read thine answer in thy face: thou wouldst rather crouch and +whine for bread than do aught useful to earn thy living."</p> + +<p>"Eurymachus," answered Odysseus firmly, "I would that I could prove my +manhood against thine in any trial of strength and endurance. Let it +be a match of mowing, in a rich meadow-land, on the longest day in +spring, and let us ply the scythe together, fasting, from dawn till +eve. Or give me a stout pair of oxen, mighty beasts, equal in +strength, and both well filled with fodder, and set me to plough a +field of four acres, of rich, deep soil—then wouldst thou see if I +could drive a straight furrow. Or stand by my side on the perilous +edge of battle, with equal arms, and try whether I would flinch sooner +than thou. A great man and a mighty thou seemest to thyself, having +never learnt what true manhood is. Poor windy braggart, if Odysseus +set foot in this house again, the doors would seem too narrow to thee +in thy haste to escape."</p> + +<p>"Thou saucy knave!" cried Eurymachus, incensed by this daring speech, +"I will teach thee respect for thy betters"; and seizing a footstool +he prepared to hurl it at the offender's head. But Odysseus sprang +aside and ran to Amphinomus for protection; the heavy missile flew +hurtling through the air, and struck one of the servants, who was just +crossing the room, on the arm. Down went the man with a cry of pain, +and the wooers raised an uproar throughout the hall. "A murrain on +this begging loon!" exclaimed one. "Why came he hither to bring strife +among us?"</p> + +<p>"Ye are mad, my masters!" said Telemachus, raising his voice; "verily +ye are flown with insolence and wine.<sup><a href="#foot24" name="footret24">24</a></sup> Ye had better go home and +sleep off your liquor before worse comes of it."</p> + +<p>The wooers were indeed in a dangerous mood, and they began to finger +their weapons, and utter fierce threats against Telemachus. But +Amphinomus interposed, and by exerting all his influence induced them +to forgo their murderous purpose and disperse quietly to their homes.</p> + +<a name="foot24"></a><p>24. Milton, "Paradise Lost," i. 502. <a href="#footret24">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap17"></a><h2>Odysseus and Penelope</h2> + +<p>As soon as the house was quiet, Telemachus, obeying a sign from his +father, prepared to convey the weapons which hung about the hall to an +inner chamber, out of the reach of the wooers. First he ordered +Eurycleia to keep the women out of the way, and having barred the +doors leading to the inner apartments, he took down helmet and spear +and shield from the walls, and carried them, with his father's help, +to the upper room. When this important task was performed he withdrew +for the night, and Odysseus was left alone in the hall to await the +coming of Penelope.</p> + +<p>Presently the doors were opened, and by the flickering light of the +braziers Odysseus, for the first time after twenty years, saw the face +of his wife. Lovely indeed she seemed in his eyes, not less than when +he wedded her in her maiden bloom. Her handmaids brought a chair of +silver and ivory, a work of most rare device, and set it by the fire +with a soft fleece upon it. Penelope took the seat prepared for her +and gazed curiously at the stranger, who sat crouched in the shadow of +a pillar, avoiding her eye. Meanwhile the women were bustling about +the hall, removing the remains of the feast, and heaping fresh fuel on +the fires. Among them was Melantho, who had spoken so roughly to +Odysseus an hour or two before. When she saw Odysseus she began +railing at him again, and rudely bade him begone. Penelope soon +reduced her to silence, and then calling Eurycleia she bade her place +a seat for the stranger.</p> + +<p>"Now tell me," began Penelope, when the chair had been brought, "who +art thou, and of what country? And who were thy father and mother?"</p> + +<p>"Ah! lady," answered Odysseus, "I beseech thee, question me not as to +my country and my friends, lest thou open anew the fountain of my +grief. It is not seemly to sit weeping and wailing in a stranger's +house; and I fear that thou wilt say that my tears are the tears of +drunkenness."</p> + +<p>Penelope pressed him for an answer. "Thou surely art of some country," +she said, smiling; "or art thou one of those of whom old stories tell, +born of stocks and stones?"</p> + +<p>"Since thou urgest it so strongly," replied Odysseus, "I cannot deny +thee. In the broad realm of Crete there is a certain city, Cnosus by +name; there reigned Minos, and begat Deucalion, my famous sire. To +Deucalion two sons were born, Idomeneus the elder, and myself, whom he +named Æthon. When war arose between the Greeks and Trojans, Idomeneus +sailed to fight for the sons of Atreus, and I was left behind in my +father's house. Then it was that I saw Odysseus, who was driven by +stress of weather to seek shelter on our coasts. When he had anchored +his ships in the harbour, he came up to the town and inquired for +Idomeneus, whom he said was his friend, honoured and beloved; but we +told him that Idomeneus had departed ten days before. Then I received +him in my house, and feasted him and all his company for twelve days; +for all that time the north wind blew, so that a man could not stand +up against it. On the thirteenth day the wind ceased and they put out +to sea."</p> + +<p>Penelope's tears flowed fast as she listened to that cunning fiction, +which seemed to bring her husband before her eyes. Odysseus watched +her, with eyes set like horn or iron, as she sat before him sobbing +and rocking herself to and fro; but his heart grew big within him, and +he could hardly keep back his own tears. At length she grew calmer, +and wishing to try him, asked him this searching question: "If thou +didst indeed entertain my husband in thy house, tell me what manner of +man he was, and what garments he had on, and who they were that +attended him."</p> + +<p>"It is hard," answered Odysseus, "to tell thee of what thou askest, +after twenty years; nevertheless I will attempt to call up his image +from the past. He wore a purple woollen cloak, of two folds, and it +was held by a golden brooch with a double clasp; and on the brooch was +fashioned a hound, holding in his jaws a fawn; and so skilfully was it +wrought that the figures seemed to live, the fawn struggling to +escape, and the hound clenching his fangs to hold him—so rare a piece +it was. Under his cloak, Odysseus wore a close-fitting tunic, which +glistened like the peel of a dried onion; for very soft and fine was +the texture. I cannot tell whether these were the garments which he +had on when he left you; it may be that they were a gift received on +his voyage, for he had many friends. Even so I gave him a sword of +bronze and a mantle, and a fringed tunic, when I bade him adieu. +Further, I would have thee know that he had a squire with him, +somewhat older than himself, a round-shouldered man, dark of +complexion, and with curling hair. His name was Eurybates, and +Odysseus held him in high regard."</p> + +<p>What were the emotions of Penelope, when she heard the raiment and +ornaments which her husband was wearing the last time she saw him thus +described down to the minutest detail! For a long time she remained +silent, overpowered by her feelings; and when she spoke again there +was a ring of sincere warmth and friendliness in her voice. "I pitied +thee before," she said, "seeing thee thus forlorn, but now thou shalt +be my dear and honoured guest, for I know that thou hast spoken the +truth. These garments, and the golden brooch, were a gift from my own +hands to my dear lord. Alas! I shall never see him again. Cursed be +the day that parted me from him, and sent him to the land of Troy, +that name abhorred of my soul!"</p> + +<p>"Lady," answered Odysseus, "no one could blame thee, or say that thou +sorrowest beyond measure, for such a husband as thine. He was indeed a +man of rare and god-like gifts. Nevertheless be comforted; for ere +many days are passed thou wilt see him here, safe and sound, and +loaded with the wealth which he has gathered in his wanderings." Then +he went on to repeat the story which he had already told to Eumæus, +with some further facts, drawn from his own experience in the last ten +years; and concluded with this solemn adjuration: "Witness, this +hearth of Odysseus, to which I am come, and witness Zeus, the supreme +lord of heaven, if I lie! Ere yonder moon hath waned, Odysseus will be +sitting under this roof."</p> + +<p>Penelope shook her head sadly, as she replied: "It will be a happy day +for thee, if thy prophecy is confirmed by the event. But what am I +saying? 'Tis an empty dream. But come, let the maidens prepare a bath +for thee, and afterwards them shalt sleep sound in a soft, warm bed. +Well hast thou deserved to receive all honour and worship at my hands, +and woe unto him that shall seek to harm thee! I will put a speedy end +to his wooing. For what wilt thou say of me, when thou art wandering +in distant lands, if I suffer thee to abide here thus poorly clad, +unwashed, and uncared for? Few and evil are the days of our life; and +the best we can do is to win a good name by our gentle deeds while we +live, and leave a fair memory behind us when we die."</p> + +<p>"I doubt not thy goodness," replied Odysseus; "but I have long been a +stranger to the comforts of which thou speakest, and they suit not my +forlorn and desolate state. Nor would I that any of thy handmaids +should wash my feet, and mock my infirmities; but if thou hast here an +aged house-dame, like unto me in years and in sorrows, I grudge not +that such a one should wait upon me."</p> + +<p>"Thou speakest as a prudent man," said Penelope, "and I have such an +aged dame as thou describest among my household. She was the first who +took my ill-fated husband in her arms when his mother bare him, and +she nursed him tenderly and well. She shall wash thy feet, old though +she be, and feeble." Then she called Eurycleia, who was sitting near, +and said to her: "Come hither, nurse, and wash the stranger's feet. +Who knows but thy master is now in like evil case, grown old before +his time through care and misery?"</p> + +<p>When she heard that, the old woman lifted up her voice and wept: +"Odysseus," she cried, "child of my sorrow, what have I not borne for +thee! Pious thou wast, and righteous in all thy dealings, yet Zeus +hath chosen thee out from among all men to be the object of his hate. +Yea, and perchance even now he is mocked in the house of strangers, as +these women were lately mocking thee. Yea, I will wash thee, as +Penelope bids me, and for thy sake also, for my heart is moved with +pity because of thy woes."</p> + +<p>With such speed as her years allowed, the dame went and fetched warm +water, and a vessel for washing the feet. She set them down in front +of Odysseus, and before she began her task, stood for some time +peering curiously into his face. "Hear me, friend," she said, after a +while, "of all the strangers that ever entered these doors, ne'er saw +I one so like unto Odysseus as thou art, in form, and in voice, and in +feet."</p> + +<p>"So said everyone who saw us together," answered Odysseus. But her +words filled him with alarm, and recalled to his mind an old scar, +just above the knee, caused by a wound which he had received from a +wild boar while hunting in his boyhood in the valleys of Parnassus, +during a visit to Autolycus, Penelope's father. If his old nurse +should discover the scar she would be certain to recognise him, and +the consequences of the premature discovery might be fatal. However, +he had now no excuse for declining the bath, so he drew back his chair +into the shadow, still hoping to escape detection.</p> + +<a href="images/illus8lg.jpg" name="Illus8"><img + title="Odysseus and Eurycleia (click to enlarge)" alt="Odysseus and Eurycleia" + src="images/illus8.png" align="left" /></a> + +<p>But Eurycleia, whose suspicions were already aroused, was not thus to +be evaded. As she handled the limb her fingers felt the well-known +mark, and she let the foot fall with a loud cry. The vessel was +overset, and the water ran over the floor. Half laughing and half +weeping, the old woman fell upon his neck. "Thou art Odysseus, dear +child!" she cried, "and yet I knew thee not till I had touched thee +with my hands."</p> + +<p>During all this scene Penelope had been sitting like one in a dream, +lost in the memories awakened by the supposed beggar's story. The +nurse now turned to rouse her from her reverie, and tell her the +joyful news; but Odysseus, seeing her intention, pressed a heavy hand +on her mouth, and, drawing her down to him with the other, said in a +fierce whisper: "Peace, woman, or I will slay thee! Wouldst thou +destroy him whom thou hast nursed at thine own breast?"</p> + +<p>Eurycleia had now recovered from the shock of that sudden recognition. +"Fear me not," she said, "I will be as secret as the grave. But see, +the water is all spilt; I go to fetch more." And so with a grave face, +but a heart bounding with delight, the faithful old creature brought a +fresh supply of water, and proceeded with the task of washing her +master's feet.</p> + +<p>When he resumed his place by the fire, he found Penelope in a soft and +pensive mood, and dwelling, as was her wont, on the sorrows of her +widowed state. "Friend," she said, with a gentle sigh, "I will not +keep thee much longer from thy rest, for the hour approaches which +brings sweet oblivion to careworn hearts—all save mine. For the night +brings me no respite from my woes, but rather increases them. When the +day's duties are over, and all the house is still, I lie tossing +ceaselessly, torn by conflicting doubts and fears. E'en as the wakeful +bird sits darkling all night long, and pours her endless plaint, now +low and mellow, now piercing high and shrill, so wavers my spirit in +its purpose, and threads the unending maze of thought. Sweet home of +my wedded joy, must I leave thee, and all the faces which I love so +well, and the great possessions which he gave into my keeping? Shall I +become a byword among the people, as false to the memory of my true +lord? Yet how can I face the reproaches of my son, who since he is +come to manhood grows more impatient day by day, seeing the waste of +his wealth, of which I am the cause?</p> + +<p>"But I wished to ask thee concerning a dream which I had last night. +There are twenty geese which I keep about the house, and I take +pleasure in seeing them crop the grain from the water trough. In my +dream I saw a great eagle swoop down from the mountains and slay them +all, breaking their necks, There they lay dead in one heap; +and I made loud lament for the slaying of my geese, so that the women +gathered round me to comfort me. But the eagle descended again, and +alighted on a jutting beam of the roof, and thus spake unto me with a +human voice: 'Take comfort, daughter of Icarius; no dream is this, but +a waking vision, which shall surely be fulfilled. The geese are the +wooers, and I the eagle am thy husband, who will shortly come and give +them to their doom.' Even as he said this I awoke, and going to the +window I saw the geese by the door, cropping the grain from the +trough, as is their wont."</p> + +<p>"Lady," answered Odysseus, "there is but one interpretation of thy +dream, and thy husband declared it with his own voice. Death looms +near at hand for the wooers, and not one of them shall escape."</p> + +<p>But Penelope shook her head. "It is ill trusting in dreams," she said, +"and hard to discern the false from the true. There are two gates from +which flitting dreams are sent to men: one is of horn, and the other +of ivory: and the dreams which pass through the ivory gate are sent to +beguile, while those which come from the gate of horn are a true +message to him who sees them. And my dream, I believe, was sent me +from the gate of ivory. Yea, the day is approaching, the hateful day, +which shall part me for ever from the house of Odysseus; and this +shall be the manner of the trial whereby I will prove which of the +wooers is to win me: I will set up twelve axes, like the trestles on +which the keel of a ship is laid, in the hall, and he who can send an +arrow through the line of double axeheads from the further end of the +hall shall win me for his bride. This device I learnt from Odysseus, +who was wont thus to prove his skill in archery. Then farewell my +home, the house of my lord, the home of my love, so fair, so full of +plenty, which will haunt me in my dreams even unto life's end."</p> + +<p>"Tis well-imagined, this trial of the wooers," answered Odysseus, "and +I counsel thee to put them to the proof without delay; for I am sure +that Odysseus will return here again before ever one of these men +shall string his bow and shoot an arrow through the line of axes."</p> + +<p>"Well, my friend," said Penelope, "I will now bid thee good-night, +though gladly would I sit here till to-morrow's dawn, and let thee +discourse to enchant mine ear. But there is a time for all things, and +I would not rob thee of thy needful rest. Therefore I will go and lay +my head on my uneasy pillow, and the women shall lay a bed for thee +here, or where thou choosest."</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap18"></a><h2>The End draws near; Signs and Wonders</h2> + +<p>True to his character as a wandering beggar, Odysseus lay down to rest +on a pile of sheepskins in the portico of the house. His mind was full +of the events of the day, and of the terrible task which he had to +perform on the morrow. When he thought of all the insults which had +been heaped upon him in his own house, he ground his teeth with rage, +and muttered bitter curses against the wooers. As if on purpose to +provoke him further, just at this moment Melantho, and several of the +other women, who slept in the town, came forth from the house, and +passed by him with shrill laughter and merry gibes. Then his heart +growled within him, even as a mother-hound growls over her whelps when +she sees a stranger approaching, and in a sudden impulse of fury he +started up to slay those faithless women on the spot; but repressing +his mad purpose he smote his breast and rebuked his fiery spirit. Had +he not borne even worse than this on the day when the Cyclops devoured +his comrades in the cave?</p> + +<p>When anger and shame had had their turn, other and more pressing +anxieties came crowding upon him, banishing sleep from his eyelids. +How was he with such help as Telemachus could give him to overpower +and slay a hundred men in the prime of their youth and strength? It +seemed an impossible feat, and his heart quaked within him as he +counted those fearful odds.</p> + +<p>At last sleep came upon him unawares, and in a dream he saw his divine +friend and helper, Athene, standing by him, robed in awful beauty. +"Where is thy faith?" she asked, in sweet and solemn tones. "Dost thou +doubt my power to help thee? Know this, that with me at thy side thou +couldst rout and slay a thousand armed men. Sleep on, then, and vex +thyself no more; in a few short hours all thy trials shall be passed, +and thou shalt rest in triumph under thine own roof-tree." Then she +touched his brow with her finger, and departed; and after that he +slept on soundly until dawn.</p> + +<p>In the first grey light of morning he awoke, roused by a sound as of +one wailing within the house. He sat up in his bed and listened: it +was the voice of Penelope, his wife; for she too had had her dreams, +sweet, indeed, while they lasted, but bitter to her waking memory. She +thought that her husband came to her, in all the glory of his manhood, +even as when he set out for Troy, and put his arms about her, and +kissed her tenderly. Therefore she wept and wailed, thinking that it +was another false vision, sent by some hostile deity to mock her +widowhood.</p> + +<p>What a sound was that for the lonely watcher before the house! +"Patience, fond, sad heart!" he murmured to himself, "this very night +thou shalt hold me in thine arms, and sob out thy sorrows on my +breast." With that he rose to his feet, and lifting up his hands to +heaven put up a prayer to Zeus: "Dread sire of gods, if with good will +ye have brought me thus far, after so many perils by land and by +water, send me a sign from heaven, and reveal unto me your purpose by +the lips of one of those that be within the house."</p> + +<p>A loud peal of thunder was heard in answer to his prayer; and a second +sign was sent by the voice of a woman in the house. She was one of +twelve maid-servants, whose duty it was to grind wheat and barley for +the daily supply of bread. The others had finished their task, but +she, being old and weak, was still toiling at her mill. When she heard +the thunder she stopped for a moment, and thus uttered her complaint: +"Thunder in a clear sky! That bodes ill to some that be here. Heaven +grant that it may be to the wooers, for whom day by day I suffer this +cruel toil, making meal for them! May this be the very last time that +they sit down to meat in this house!" So saying, she returned to her +labour, and Odysseus rejoiced at the double sign which had been +vouchsafed to him.</p> + +<p>By this time the whole household was afoot, and a score of busy hands +were at work, under the direction of Eurycleia, preparing for the +coming of the wooers. For it was a general holiday, being the festival +of Apollo, and the guests were expected earlier than usual. Some went +to the public fountain to fetch water, some swept and sprinkled the +floor, and some sponged the tables and scoured the drinking vessels. +Presently the herdsmen came in, driving before them the beasts for +sacrifice; and of these the first to arrive was Eumæus, who brought +three fat hogs as his part of the daily tribute. Leaving his charge to +grub about in the courtyard, he came up to Odysseus, and inquired how +he had fared among the wooers on the previous day. "I fared ill," +answered Odysseus, "and ill fare the villains who deal thus with the +stranger under another man's roof!"</p> + +<p>A rude voice here broke in upon him, and Melanthius the goatherd +thrust himself between them, jostling Odysseus, and reviling him in +brutal terms, "What, still loitering here, thou vagabond? Wilt thou go +begging at other men's tables, or art thou waiting to taste of my +fists?" Odysseus deigned no reply, but shook his head, biding his +time.</p> + +<p>Another herdsman now entered the courtyard; this was Philœtius, who +had charge of the herds of Odysseus on the mainland. He brought a +heifer and two or three fat goats, having crossed over to Ithaca by +the ferry. When he saw Odysseus he took Eumæus aside, and inquired who +he was. "He is of kingly aspect," remarked the new-comer, "in spite of +his wretched garb. But even kings may come to beggary, if it be +Heaven's will."</p> + +<p>Having heard from Eumæus what he had to tell, Philœtius approached +Odysseus, and taking his right hand greeted him kindly, saying: +"Welcome, old friend, for my master's sake! E'en such, methinks, is +his case, if he still lives and looks upon the daylight. Ah! what a +thought is that! It brings the sweat of agony to my brow when I think +that even now he may be wandering in rags from door to door, begging +for a morsel of bread, while his flocks and herds roam in thousands on +the hills. What shall I do? It is not to be borne that all this wealth +should increase and multiply, to feed the mouths of thieves and +rogues. Often have I resolved to drive off my cattle into a far +country, and no longer to abet these men in their riotous living; but +my duty to Telemachus, and the hope that even now my lord may return, +still hold me back."</p> + +<p>Perceiving the neatherd to be loyal and staunch, Odysseus resolved to +take him partly into his confidence, and answered accordingly: "Thy +hope is nearer to fulfilment than thou thinkest. Hear me swear, by the +hearth of Odysseus, and by the board at which I have fed, that before +thou leavest Ithaca thou shalt see thy master with thine own +eyes—thou shalt see him slaying the wooers who play the master here."</p> + +<p>"Would that I might live to behold that day!" cried Philœtius. "May I +never eat bread again, if the wooers felt not the might of my hands." +Eumæus also declared himself ready to risk all by the side of +Odysseus.</p> + +<p>While they were thus conversing, the whole body of the wooers came +thronging into the house, and the daily banquet began. At the inner +end of the hall, commanding the door which led to the women's +quarters, was a sort of platform or dais of stone, raised to some +height above the general level of the floor, and facing the main +entrance. Here Telemachus, as giver of the feast, was seated; and +while the servants were handing round the dishes he called Odysseus +from his place by the door, and made him sit down by his side. "Sit +down here," he said, "and eat and drink thy fill. And you, sirs," he +added, addressing the wooers, "keep a guard on your hands and your +tongues. This is no tavern, but my own house, and I will not suffer my +guest to be wronged by word or deed under my roof."</p> + +<p>This bold speech passed for the present unchallenged, though many a +threatening look was directed at the young prince. By order of +Telemachus, Odysseus received an equal portion with the other guests, +and the banquet proceeded. Presently a new instance of the wooers' +brutality was given, as if they were resolved to keep the edge of his +anger fresh and keen. The author of this outrage was Ctesippus, a +wealthy lord of Same. Taking up a bullock's foot from a basket, in +which the refuse of the meal was thrown, he made this merry jest: "The +stranger has received an equal share of our meat, as is but right; for +who would wish to stint a guest of Telemachus? And now I will make him +a present over and above, that he may bestow somewhat on the +bathwoman, or some other of the servants." Suiting the action to the +word he hurled the missile with savage force at Odysseus; but he, ever +on the alert, avoided it by bowing his head, and it struck the wall +with a crash.</p> + +<p>"Ctesippus," said Telemachus sternly, "it is well for thee that thou +hast missed, else thou hadst died by my hand. Is it not enough that ye +slaughter my cattle and pour out my wine like water, but must I sit +here day after day while ye fill my house with riot and injury and +outrage?"</p> + +<p>The wooers sat silent, being somewhat abashed by the just rebuke; and +after a long pause, one of them, whose name was Agelaus, answered +mildly: "Telemachus says well, for indeed he hath been sorely +provoked. Let there be an end of these mad doings, which it is a shame +to see. And if Telemachus will be advised by me he will urge his +mother to make choice of a husband, that he may henceforth dwell +unmolested in his father's house. Why will she delay us further? +Surely by this time she must have given up all hope of ever seeing +Odysseus again."</p> + +<p>"Now by the woes of my father!" answered Telemachus, "I hinder her not +from wedding whom she pleases; nay, I bid her do so, and offer bridal +gifts besides. But I cannot drive her by force from my doors."</p> + +<p>His words had a strange effect on the wooers: with one accord they +broke out into a yelling peal of laughter, like women in a hysteric +fit, while their eyes were filled with tears. And, more awful still! +their meat dropped blood as they conveyed it to their lips, and an +unearthly wailing was heard, like the cry of a spirit in torment.</p> + +<p>Among those present was Theoclymenus, the man of second sight, and in +that very hour the vision came upon him, and he cried aloud from the +place where he sat: "Woe unto you, ye doomed and miserable men! Thick +darkness is wrapped about you, the darkness of the grave! All the air +is loud with wailing, and your cheeks are wet with tears. See, see! +the walls and the rafters are sprinkled with blood, and the porch and +the courtyard are thronged with ghosts, hurrying downward to the +nether pit; and the sun has died out of heaven, and all the house lies +in darkness and the shadow of death."</p> + +<p>But the wooers had now recovered from their strange fit, and they +laughed gaily at the terrible warning of the seer. "Poor man!" said +Eurymachus, "he has left his wits at home. Go, someone, and show him +the way to the town, if he finds it so dark here."</p> + +<p>"I need no guide," answered Theoclymenus, "I have eyes and ears, and +feet, and a steady brain, so that I shall not go astray. Farewell, +unhappy men! Your hour of grace is past." And forthwith he arose and +went his way to the town.</p> + +<p>When he was gone the wooers began jeering at Telemachus, and taunted +him with the behaviour of his guests. "Thou hast a rare taste," said +one, "in the choice of thy company! First, this filthy beggar that +cumbers the ground with his greedy carcass, and after him comes the +mad prophet, and screams like a raven over our meat"</p> + +<p>One meaning glance passed between Telemachus and his father; the day +was drawing on, and they cared not now to bandy words with the wooers. +And so the merry feast came to an end with jesting, and mirth, and +laughter; and after a few short hours they were to sit down to +supper—such a supper as they had never tasted before, with a hero and +a goddess to spread the board.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap19"></a><h2>The Bow of Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The time had now arrived for the great trial of strength and skill of +which Penelope had spoken, and which was to decide deeper and deadlier +issues than those of marriage. Among the treasures which Odysseus had +left behind him was a famous bow, which he had received as a gift from +Iphitus, son of Eurytus, whom he met in his youth during a visit to +Messene. He who strung this bow, and shot an arrow through a line of +axes set up in the hall, was to be rewarded by the hand of Penelope.</p> + +<p>"Mother, it is time!" whispered Telemachus, soon after the departure +of Theoclymenus. Obeying the signal, Penelope, who had been sitting in +the hall listening to the talk of the wooers, left her place, and +ascending a steep staircase made her way to the store-room, which was +situated at the farther end of the house. In her hand she carried a +brazen key with a handle of ivory; and when she came to the door, she +loosened the strap which served to draw the bolt from the outside, and +inserting the key drew back the bolt. The double doors flew open with +a crash, and the treasury with all its wealth was revealed. Great +coffers of cedar-wood lined the walls, filled with fine raiment, which +her own hands had wrought. It was a cool and quiet retreat, dimly +lighted, remote from all rude sounds, full of fragrant odours, and fit +to guard the possessions of a prince. And there, hanging from a pin, +and heedfully wrapped in its case, was seen the fatal bow. She took it +down, and, sitting on one of the coffers, laid it on her knees, and +gazed on it fondly with her eyes full of tears. How often had she seen +it in the hands of Odysseus, when he went forth at sunrise to hunt the +hare and the deer! How often had she taken it from him when he came +back at evening loaded with the spoils of the chase! And now a keen +shaft from this very bow was to cut the last tender chord of memory, +and make her another man's wife!</p> + +<p>With a heavy heart she took the bow with its quiver in her hands, and +descending the staircase re-entered the hall, followed by her maidens, +who carried a chest containing the axes.</p> + +<p>"Behold the bow, fair sirs!" she said to the wooers, "and behold me, +the prize for this fine feat of archery!" Therewith she gave the bow +to Eumæus, who received it with tears; and Philœtius wept likewise +when he saw the treasured weapon of his lord. These signs of emotion +stirred the anger of Antinous, who rebuked the herdsmen fiercely. +"Peace, fools!" he cried. "Peace, miserable churls! Why pierce ye the +heart of the lady with your howlings? Has she not grief enough +already? Go forth, and howl with the dogs outside, and we will make +trial of the bow; yet me thinks it will be long ere anyone here shall +string it"</p> + +<p>"Anyone save thyself, thou wouldst say!" rejoined Telemachus with a +loud laugh. Then, seeing his mother regarding him with gentle +reproach, he added: "Tis strange that I should feel so gay and light +of heart at the moment when I am about to lose my mother. Zeus, +methinks, has turned my brain, and made me laugh when I should weep. +But come, ye bold wooers, which of you will be the first to enter the +lists for this matchless prize, a lady without peer in all the land of +Hellas? Why sit ye thus silent? Must I show you the way? So be it, +then; and if I can bend the bow, and shoot an arrow straight, the +prize shall be mine, and my mother shall abide here in her widowed +state."</p> + +<p>So saying he sprang up, flung off his cloak, and laid aside his sword. +And first he made a long shallow trench in the floor of the hall, and +set up the axes with their double heads in a straight line, stamping +down the earth about the handles to make all firm. Then he took the +bow from Eumæus; it was a weighty and powerful weapon, fashioned from +the horns of an ibex, which were firmly riveted into a massive bridge, +and great force was required to string it. Telemachus set the end +against the floor, and strove with all his might to drive the string +into its socket. Three times he tried, and failed; but the fourth +time, making a great effort, he was on the point of succeeding, when +his father nodded to him to desist. "Plague on it!" cried Telemachus, +laying the bow aside with an air of vexation, "must I be called a +poltroon all my life, or is it that I have not yet attained the full +measure of my strength? Let the others now take their turn."</p> + +<p>Then one by one the wooers rose up, in the order in which they sat, +and tried to bend the bow. The first to essay it was Leiodes, a +soothsayer, and a man of gentle and godly mind. But he was a soft +liver, unpractised in all manly pastimes, and the bow was like iron in +his white, womanish hands. "I fear that this bow will make an end of +many a bold spirit," he said, little guessing how true his words were +to prove; "for better it were to die than to go away beaten and broken +men, after all the long years of our wooing."</p> + +<p>"Fie on thee!" cried Antinous, "thinkest thou that there are no better +men here than thou art? Doubt not that one of those present shall bend +the bow and win the lady." Then he called Melanthius, and bade him +light a fire, and bring a ball of lard to anoint the bow and make it +easier to bend. The lard was brought, and the wooers sat in turn by +the fire, rubbing and anointing the bow, but all to no purpose. Only +Antinous and Eurymachus still held back, each in the full assurance +that he, and none other, had strength to bend the bow.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Odysseus sat watching the wooers from his place at the upper end of +the hall, and his heart misgave him when he thought of the appalling +task which he had undertaken. He had acquitted himself like a hero in +many a hard-fought field, but never in all his life had he faced such +odds as these. While he thus mused, and weighed the chances in his +mind, he saw Eumæus and Philœtius leave the hall together, and pass +out through the courtyard gate. Then a sudden thought struck him, and +muttering to himself, "I must risk it," he rose and followed the two +men. He found them talking together outside the courtyard fence, and +in order to make trial of their temper he addressed them in these +cautious terms: "Tell me truly, good friends, which side would ye +take, if by some miracle Odysseus suddenly appeared in this house? +Would ye be for the wooers or for him?"</p> + +<p>Eumæus and Philœtius with one voice protested that they were ready to +hazard their lives for the rights of their master, whereupon Odysseus +hesitated no longer, but answered: "The miracle has been wrought; I am +he! After twenty years of toil and wandering Heaven hath brought me +home. I have watched ye both, and I know that ye alone among all the +thralls remain true to me. Only continue steadfast for this day, and +your reward is assured. I will build houses for ye both, close to my +own, and ye shall dwell there with your wives, as my friends and +neighbours, equals in honour with Telemachus, my son."</p> + +<p>The swineherd and neatherd listened with amazement, willing to +believe, but still half in doubt; but when Odysseus showed them the +scar, which they had seen many a time before, they were convinced, and +embraced their old master with tears and cries of joy. Having allowed +them some moments to indulge their feelings, Odysseus checked them +with a warning gesture. "Take heed to yourselves," he said, "or your +cries will betray us. And now mark what I shall tell you. I will go +back to the house first, and do ye two follow me one by one. To thee, +Philœtius, I give charge to make fast the gate of the courtyard, with +bolt, and with bar, and with cord. And thou, Eumæus, when the time +comes, shalt bring the bow and place it in my hands, whether the +wooers cry out on thee or not; and when thou hast given me the bow, go +straightway and command the women to make fast the doors of their +apartments, and remain quiet by their work until I have finished what +I have to do."</p> + +<p>At the moment when Odysseus returned to his place in the hall, +Eurymachus was just making a last attempt to bend the bow. "Out on +it!" he cried, finding all his efforts of no avail. "It is a shame to +think how far beneath Odysseus we all are in the strength of our +hands; 'tis this that stings me, much more than the loss of the lady."</p> + +<p>"Thou mistakest the cause," answered Antinous. "This day is the holy +feast of the divine archer, Apollo, and doubtless he is jealous +because we try our skill in his own art on his sacred day. Let us +leave the axes where they stand, and try our fortune again to-morrow."</p> + +<p>The proposal was received with general applause, and forthwith the +whole company called loud for wine, and began drinking heavily to +drown their disappointment Odysseus watched the progress of the revel +with grim satisfaction, and when the flushed faces and thick talk of +the wooers showed that they were far gone in drunkenness he asked, +with an air of deep humility, to be allowed to try his hand at +stringing the bow. His request was greeted with a loud cry of contempt +and indignation from all the wooers; and Antinous especially was +highly incensed, threatening him with dire pains and penalties for his +presumption. Hereupon Penelope interposed, and rebuked Antinous for +his violence. "Why should not the stranger try his skill with the +rest?" asked she. "Thinkest thou that the poor man will win me for his +wife if he succeeds? Sure I am that he is not so foolish as to +entertain such a thought."</p> + +<p>"'Tis not for that," said Eurymachus, answering her. "He cannot be so +mad as that. But what a shame to all this noble company if a houseless +beggar should accomplish a feat which none of us was able to perform."</p> + +<p>"Talk not of shame," replied Penelope with scorn. "Are ye not covered +with shame already, by your foul deeds done in this house in the +absence of its lord? Give him the bow, I say! And if he string it, by +Apollo's grace, I will clothe him in a new cloak and doublet, and give +him a sharp javelin, to keep off dogs and men, and a two-edged sword, +and sandals for his feet, and give him safe conduct to whatsoever +place he desires to reach."</p> + +<p>The decisive moment was at hand, and Telemachus saw the necessity of +removing his mother from the scene of the approaching conflict. +"Mother," he said in a tone of authority, "leave these things to me; I +am master here. Evening draws on, and it is time for thee to retire."</p> + +<p>When Penelope had withdrawn, Eumæus took the bow, and was about to +carry it to Odysseus, but paused half-way, in doubt and alarm, for a +perfect storm of threats and abuse assailed his ears. "Halt, thou dog! +Put down the bow! Art thou tired of thy life?" Appalled by the +menacing cries of the wooers, the swineherd stood hesitating; but +Telemachus raised his voice, and commanded him instantly to deliver +the bow to Odysseus. "I will teach thee," he said, "who is thy master; +thou shalt carry the marks of my hands to thy farm, if thou do not as +I tell thee. Would that I could as easily drive the whole of this +drunken rout from my doors!"</p> + +<p>"Well bragged, Sir Valiant!" cried Antinous; and all the wooers +laughed boisterously when they heard him. Seizing his opportunity +while their attention was thus diverted, Eumæus came and placed the +bow in the hands of Odysseus; then, calling Eurycleia, he bade her +make fast the door of the women's apartments. Meanwhile Philœtius +secured the gates of the courtyard, and returning to his place sat +watching the movements of Odysseus. With anxious eye the hero +scrutinised the great weapon, turning it this way and that, to see if +it had been injured by worms or natural decay. To his great joy he +found that it was sound and untouched. Then, easily as a minstrel +fastens a new cord to a lyre, without effort he strung the bow, and +bending it made the string twang loud and clear, like the shrill voice +of the swallow.</p> + +<p>A hundred mocking eyes and sneering faces had been turned towards him, +as he sat fingering the bow and weighing it in his hands; but pale +grew those faces now, and blank was that gaze. To add to their terror, +at this moment a loud peal of thunder shook the house. Filled with +high courage by the happy omen, Odysseus took an arrow, and, fitting +it to the string, sent it with sure aim from the place where he sat +along the whole line of axeheads, from the first to the last.</p> + +<p>"Telemachus," he said, "thy guest hath not shamed thee. My hand is +firm, and mine eye is true, poor worn-out wanderer though I be. Now +let us give these fair guests their supper, and afterwards entertain +them with music and with dancing, which are the fit accompaniment of a +feast."</p> + +<p>Then he beckoned to his son to draw near; and Telemachus made haste, +and came and stood by his father's side, armed with sword and lance.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap20"></a><h2>The Slaying of the Wooers</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Stripping off his rags, and girding them round his waist, Odysseus +took the quiver, and poured out all the arrows on the ground at his +feet. "Now guide my hand, Apollo," he cried, "and make sure mine aim, +for this time I will shoot at a mark which never man hit before."</p> + +<p>Therewith he bent his bow again, and pointed the arrow at Antinous, +who just at that moment was raising a full goblet of wine to his lips. +Little thought that proud and insolent man, as the wine gleamed red +before him, that he had tasted his last morsel, and drunk his last +drop. He was in the prime of his manhood, surrounded by his friends, +and in the midst of a joyous revel; who would dream of death and doom +in such an hour? Yet at that very instant he felt a sharp, sudden +pang, and fell back in his seat, pierced through the throat by the +arrow of Odysseus. The blood poured from his nostrils, he let fall the +cup, and spurning the table with his feet in his agony he overset it, +and the bread and meat were scattered on the floor.</p> + +<p>Then arose a wild clamour and uproar among the wooers, and starting +from their seats they sought eagerly for the weapons which were wont +to hang along the walls; but not a spear, not a shield, was to be +seen. Finding themselves thus baffled, they turned furiously on +Odysseus, shouting, "Down with the knave!" "Hew him in pieces!" "Fling +his carcass to the vultures!" As yet they had not recognised him, and +they thought that he had slain Antinous by mischance.</p> + +<p>They were soon undeceived. "Ye dogs!" he cried, in a terrible voice, +"long have ye made my house into a den of thieves, thinking that I had +died long ago in a distant land. Ye have devoured my living, and wooed +my wife, and mishandled my servants, having no fear of god or man +before your eyes. But now are ye all fallen into the pit which ye have +digged, and are fast bound in the bonds of death."</p> + +<p>Like beaten hounds, that dastardly crew cowered before the man whom +they had wronged, and every heart quaked with fear. Presently +Eurymachus stood forward, and tried to make terms for them all. "If +thou be indeed Odysseus," he said, "thou speakest justly concerning +the evil doings of the wooers. And there lies the cause of the +mischief, Antinous, struck down by thy righteous hand. He it was who +sought to slay Telemachus, that he might usurp thy place, and make +himself king in Ithaca. But now that he is gone to his own place, let +us, the rest, find favour in thy sight. And as for thy possessions +which have been wasted, we will pay thee back out of our own goods, as +much as thou shalt require."</p> + +<p>But there were no signs of relenting on that stern, set face. "Talk +not to me of payment," he answered, with a brow as black as night; "ye +shall pay me with your lives, every one of you. Fight, if ye will, or +die like sheep. Not one of you shall escape."</p> + +<p>Thus driven to extremity, Eurymachus drew his sword and shouting to +the others to follow his example he picked up a table to serve him as +a shield, and raising his war-cry rushed at Odysseus. In the midst of +his onset an arrow struck him in the liver, and he fell doubled-up +over a table, smiting the floor with his forehead. Then he rolled over +with a groan, and his eyes grew dim in death.</p> + +<p>Before Odysseus could fix another arrow to the string, Amphinomus was +upon him, with sword uplifted to slay him. Telemachus saw his father's +peril, and thrust Amphinomus in the back with his spear. The fall of +their leaders arrested the advance of the wooers, and they drew back +in a body to the lower end of the hall. Leaving the spear in the body +of the fallen man, Telemachus ran to fetch armour for himself and +Odysseus, and the two herdsmen. Quickly he brought shields and helmets +and lances for the four, and they arrayed themselves and took their +stand together on the platform.</p> + +<p>While these preparations were in progress, Odysseus continued +showering his arrows among the huddled troop of terrified men; and at +every shot one of the wooers fell. At last Melanthius, the goatherd, +made a desperate effort to save his party. Assisted by several of the +wooers, he climbed up the wall of the banquet-room, and made his exit +through the open timbers at the top into a narrow passage which gave +access to the inner part of the house. Presently he returned, laden +with spears and shields and helmets, which he had found in the chamber +where they had been stored away by Telemachus.</p> + +<p>What was the dismay of Odysseus when he saw his enemies arming +themselves with spear and shield, and brandishing long lances in their +hands! "Telemachus!" he cried, "we are betrayed! The women have sold +us to the wooers." "Alas! I have erred," answered Telemachus, "for I +left the door of the armoury open, and one of them has observed it."</p> + +<p>While they thus debated, Eumæus saw the goatherd making his way out of +the hall again by the same exit. "It is the traitor Melanthius," he +whispered; "now have we need of prompt action, or we are all undone."</p> + +<p>Odysseus had now recovered his courage, and he issued his orders +without losing another moment. "Go thou with the neatherd," he said to +Eumæus, "and seize that villain before he has time to return. Bind him +hand and foot, and come back with all speed to the hall"</p> + +<p>At the side of the hall, close to the platform where Odysseus and his +party were stationed, there was a door leading into the passage +already mentioned. Through this the two men passed, and made their way +stealthily to the armoury. There they waited on either side of the +door for Melanthius, whom they heard moving within. Before long he +came out, bearing in one hand a helmet, and in the other an old +battered shield, once the property of Laertes. Together they fell upon +him, dragged him down by the hair, and having bound him tight with a +long cord they hauled him up to a beam of the roof and left him +hanging. "Long and sweet be thy slumbers, goatherd!" said Eumæus as he +contemplated his work, "thou hast a soft bed, such as thou lovest. +Rest there till the morning light shall call thee to make breakfast +for the wooers."</p> + +<p>When they returned to the hall they found that a new ally had joined +their party, in the person of Mentor, the old friend of Odysseus. No +one saw when he came thither; but there he was, and right glad they +were to see him. Very different were the feelings of the wooers when +they saw their enemies thus reinforced, and one of them, named +Agelaus, cried out upon Mentor, and threatened him, saying: "Give +place, rash man, or thou wilt bring destruction on thyself and all thy +house."</p> + +<p>When he heard that, Mentor was wroth, and rebuked Odysseus as slow of +hand and cold of heart. "Why standest thou idle?" he cried. "Get thee +to thy weapons, and finish the work which thou hast to do, if thou art +verily that Odysseus who wrought such havoc among the Trojans in the +nine years' war."</p> + +<p>With these words the supposed Mentor vanished as mysteriously as he +had appeared, and a little swallow was seen darting hither and thither +among the smoke-blackened beams of the roof.</p> + +<p>The wooers understood not in whose presence they had been, and, +thinking that Mentor had fled before their threats, they took courage +again, and prepared to make a fresh assault. Agelaus now took the +lead, and at his command six of them advanced and hurled their spears. +But they were all dazed with drink, and weakened by long habits of +loose indulgence, and not one of their weapons took effect.</p> + +<p>"Now hurl ye your spears!" shouted Odysseus, and the four lances flew, +and four wooers bit the dust. At the next discharge from the wooers +Telemachus received a slight wound on the wrist, and Eumæus was +similarly injured on the shoulder by the spear of the brutal +Ctesippus. A moment after Ctesippus himself was struck down by the +lance of Philœtius, who mocked him as he fell saying: "There is for +the ox-foot which thou didst lately bestow on Odysseus, thou noisy +railer!"</p> + +<p>And so the great fight went on, and at every cast of the spear +Odysseus and his men added another to the list of the slain. Seeing +their numbers dwindling fast, the wretched remnant of the wooers lost +heart altogether and huddled together like sheep at the end of the +hall. To complete their discomfiture a terrible voice was suddenly +heard in the air, and a gleam as from a bright shield was seen high up +among the rafters. "Tis Athene herself come to our aid!" cried +Odysseus; "advance, and make an end of them. Athene is on our side!" +Forthwith they all sprang down from the platform and charged the +wooers, of whom some dozen still remained alive. What followed was not +a battle, but a massacre. Like a drove of kine plunging frantically +over a field, tortured by the sting of the hovering gadfly—like a +flock of small birds scattered by the sudden swoop of a falcon—the +panic-stricken wooers fled hither and thither through the hall, +seeking shelter behind pillars and under tables from the blows which +rained upon them. But vain was their flight. In a very short time the +last of that guilty band was sent to his account, and the great act of +vengeance was completed.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Like a lion fresh from the slaughter stood Odysseus, leaning on his +spear, and covered with blood from head to foot. As he glared round +him to see if any of his foes were still alive, his eye fell on +Phemius, the minstrel, who was crouching in a corner near the side +door, and clinging in terror to his harp. Seeing the stern gaze of +Odysseus fixed upon him Phemius sprang forward, with a sudden impulse, +and threw himself at the conqueror's feet, "Pity me, Odysseus," he +cried, "and spare me! Thy days will be darkened by remorse if thou +slay the sweet minstrel whom gods and men revere. I am no common +school-taught bard, who sings what he has learned by rote; but in mine +own heart is a sweet fountain of melody, which shall be shed like the +dew from heaven on thy fame, and keep it green for ever. Therefore +stay thy hand, and harm me not. Telemachus, thy son, knows that it was +not of mine own will, nor for greed of gain, that I sang among the +wooers, but they compelled me by force, being so many, and all +stronger than I."</p> + +<p>Thus appealed to, Telemachus readily confirmed what the minstrel had +said, which was indeed the literal truth. Then he thought of the +trusty Medon, who had been kind to him when a child, and remained +loyal to the last to him and Penelope. "I trust he has not been slain +among the wooers," he said. "Medon, if thou art still alive, come +forth and fear nothing."</p> + +<p>When he heard that, Medon, who had been huddled in a heap behind a +chair, covered with a freshly-flayed ox-hide, flung off his covering, +and came running to Telemachus. The poor man was still half-mad with +terror. "Here I am!" he gasped, with staring eyes, "speak to thy +father, that he slay me not in his rage and his fury,"</p> + +<p>Odysseus smiled grimly at the poor serving-man, and bade him be of +good cheer. "Live," he said, "thou and the minstrel, that ye may know, +and tell it also to others, how much better are good deeds than evil. +Now go ye forth and wait in the courtyard until I have finished what +remains to be done." So forth they went, and sat down by the altar of +Zeus, glancing fearfully about them, as if expecting every moment to +be their last.</p> + +<p>As soon as they were gone Odysseus walked slowly up and down the hall +to see if any of the wooers still survived. But there was no sound or +motion, save the tread of his own feet, to break the awful stillness +in that chamber of death. There they lay, stark and silent, heap upon +heap, like a great draught of fishes which have been hauled to shore +in a drag-net, and have gasped out their lives on the beach. Having +assured himself that he had not done the work negligently, he bade +Telemachus summon the nurse, Eurycleia. Telemachus obeyed, and going +to the door of the women's apartments, he smote upon it, and called +aloud to the nurse. A moment after the bolts were drawn back, and +Eurycleia entered the hall. When she saw Odysseus standing among the +heaps of slain wooers, she opened her mouth to utter a cry of triumph, +but Odysseus checked her, saying: "Hold thy peace, dame, and give not +voice to thy joy: it is an impious thing to exult over the dead. They +are the victims of heaven's righteous law, and I was but the +instrument of divine vengeance. Tell me now which of the women in the +house have dishonoured me, and which of them be blameless."</p> + +<p>"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered the nurse; "fifty +women there are in all in thy house, that card the wool and bear the +yoke of bondage. And of these twelve have been faithless, honouring +neither me nor Penelope, their mistress. But now let me go and tell +the news to thy wife, who all this time has been lying in a deep +sleep."</p> + +<p>"Rouse her not yet," said Odysseus, "but go quickly and send those +guilty women hither."</p> + +<p>While Eurycleia was gone to summon the maid-servants, Telemachus and +the two herdsmen began, by the command of Odysseus, to set the hall in +order, and wash away the traces of slaughter. Presently, with loud +weeping and lamentation, the wretched women entered, and were +compelled to assist in the horrid task. The bodies of the slain were +carried out, and laid in order along the wall of the courtyard. Then +they washed and scoured the tables, and scraped the floor with spades; +and when all was ready Odysseus bade his son and the two others to +drive the women forth, and slay them with the edge of the sword. So +these three drove them into a corner of the courtyard, and Eumæus and +Philœtius drew their swords to slay them. But Telemachus held them +back saying: "Let them die in shame, even as they have lived." So they +took a long ship's cable, which was lying in an outhouse, and +stretched it across an angle of the wall; to this they attached twelve +nooses, and left the women hanging there by the neck until they were +dead.</p> + +<p>A horrid death was reserved for the traitor Melanthius. Dragging him +out into the courtyard, they cut off his nose and ears, and his hands +and feet, and so left him to die.</p> + +<p>After that they washed themselves and went back to the hall. Then +Odysseus bade Eurycleia kindle a fire, and bring sulphur to purify the +chamber. And having thoroughly cleansed the house from the fumes of +slaughter, he sat down to wait for the coming of his wife.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap21"></a><h2>Odysseus and Penelope</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Her face beaming with joy, and her feet stumbling over one another in +their haste, Eurycleia ascended to the chamber where Penelope lay +sleeping. "Awake, Penelope, awake!" she cried, standing by the +bedside; "come and see with thine own eyes the fulfilment of all thy +hopes. Odysseus has come home at last, and all the wooers lie slain by +his hand!"</p> + +<p>"Thou art mad, nurse," answered Penelope pettishly, turning in her bed +and rubbing her eyes; "why mockest thou me in my sorrow with thy +folly? and why hast thou disturbed me in the sweetest sleep that ever +I had since the fatal, the accursed day when my lord sailed for Troy? +But for thy years and thy faithful service I would have paid thee +unkindly for this wanton insult"</p> + +<p>"Heaven forbid that I should mock or insult thee, dear child!" cried +the nurse, her eyes filling with tears. "I have told thee naught but +the truth. The stranger whom we thought a beggar was Odysseus himself. +Telemachus knew this all the time, but kept it from thee by the +command of his father."</p> + +<p>"May the gods ever bless thee for these tidings!" said Penelope, +springing from the couch, and throwing her arms round the nurse's +neck. "But tell me truly, how did he with his single hand gain the +mastery over such a multitude?"</p> + +<p>"I saw not how it was done," answered Eurycleia. "I heard but the +groans of the men as they were stricken, for I was shut up with the +handmaids in the women's chamber. When it was over, he called me, and +I found him standing among the slain, like a lion by his prey. It was +a sight to gladden thy heart."</p> + +<p>But Penelope's first impulse of joyful surprise had passed, and a cold +fit of doubt and distrust succeeded, "It cannot be!" she murmured; +"some god has taken the likeness of my husband, and slain the wooers." +Even when Eurycleia told her how she had discovered the scar, while +washing the feet of Odysseus, she remained unshaken in her unbelief. +"The counsels of the gods," she said, "are beyond our knowing, and +they can take upon them disguises too deep for a poor woman's wit. But +come, let us go and see the slaughtered wooers, and their slayer, +whoever he be."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Odysseus was sitting bowed over the fire, which shone redly on his +face, as he leaned his head upon his hand. He was still clothed in his +beggar's rags, and strangely disfigured by the magic power of Athene; +while the red stains of slaughter, which still lay thick upon him, +served to render his disguise yet deeper. Small wonder then that +Penelope hesitated long to acknowledge him for her husband, as she sat +some way off scanning his features with timid yet attentive gaze, like +one who strives to decipher a blurred and blotted manuscript. More +than once she started up, as if about to fall upon his neck; then the +gleam which had lighted up her face died away, her arms drooped +listlessly at her side, and she remained motionless and cold.</p> + +<p>When this had lasted for some time, Telemachus, who was present, +rebuked his mother in angry terms, saying: "Fie upon thee, my mother! +hast thou no heart at all? Why holdest thou thus aloof from my father, +who has come back to thee after twenty years of suffering and toil? +But 'twas ever thus with thee—thou art harder than stone."</p> + +<p>"My child," answered Penelope, "I am sore amazed; I cannot speak, or +ask any question, or look him in the face. But if this man be indeed +my husband, he knows how to convince me, and scatter all my doubts to +the winds, for there are secrets between us whereof no one knoweth, +save only ourselves."</p> + +<p>Odysseus smiled at his wife's caution. "Not in vain," he thought, "is +she known to all the world as the prudent Penelope." Then, in order to +give her time, he turned to Telemachus and said: "Come not between my +wife and me, Telemachus; we shall know each other in due season. I +have another charge for thee, and do thou mark heedfully what I shall +say. We have slain the noblest in the land, not one, but many, who +leave a host of friends to take up their cause: how then shall we +escape the blood feud? We had best look to it warily and well."</p> + +<p>"Father," answered Telemachus, "thou hast the name of wise, beyond all +living men. Be it thine, therefore, to declare thy counsel, and I will +follow it, to the utmost stretch of my power."</p> + +<p>"Thus, then, shalt thou do," said Odysseus: "let all the household put +on clean raiment, and bid the minstrel take his harp and make sweet +music for the festal dance. Then foot it merrily, everyone, that all +they who pass by the house may think that ye are keeping the marriage +feast. In this wise the rumour of the wooers' death shall not reach +the town until we have had time to collect our men and prepare for our +defence."</p> + +<p>Telemachus went forthwith to carry out his father's orders. The whole +household, men and women, arrayed themselves in festal attire, and +soon the hall echoed to the throbbing notes of the lyre, and the loud +patter of the dancers' feet. And those who heard it from without said +to one another: "So the long wooing of our queen has come to an end at +last! Fickle woman, that could not endure unto the end, and keep faith +with the husband of her youth!"</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>After giving his orders to Telemachus, Odysseus had retired to refresh +himself with the bath, and put on fresh raiment, while Penelope +remained seated in her former place. After an interval of some length +he re-entered the hall, and sat down face to face with his wife. But +what miracle was this? The haggard, timeworn beggar was gone, and in +his place sat her husband, as she had known him in the days of old, +with the added dignity which he had gained by twenty years of +strenuous life. But the frost which had lain upon her spirit during +her long period of weary waiting was not easily to be broken, and +still she doubted. After a long silence Odysseus spoke, and now for +the first time his tones had a ring of reproach: "Still not a word for +thy husband, who has come back to thee after twenty years? Surely the +very demon of unbelief possesses thee!" Even then Penelope made no +answer, for she was waiting to put the final test, and at length +Odysseus gave her the opportunity. "Go, Eurycleia," he said, "and +prepare a bed for me; I will leave this iron-hearted wife and go to my +rest."</p> + +<p>"Ay, do so," said Penelope, "take the bed from the chamber which he +built with his own hands, and lay it in another room, that he may +slumber there." This she said to prove him, for the bed and the +chamber had a secret history, known only to herself and her husband +and the faithful nurse.</p> + +<p>Odysseus rose bravely to the test: whether divining his wife's purpose +or not, he exclaimed, with an air of surprise and indignation: "Lady, +what meanest thou by this order? Who hath moved my bed from its place? +He must be of more than mortal skill who could remove it, for it was +fashioned in wondrous wise, and with my own hands I wrought it, to be +a sign and a secret between thee and me. And this was the manner of +the work. Within the courtyard there grew an olive-tree, a fair tree +and a large, with a world of green leaves, and a stem like a stout +pillar. Round this I built the walls of the chamber with close-fitting +stones, and roofed it over, and hung the door on its hinges. Then I +went to work on the tree, lopping off the boughs, and smoothing the +trunk with the adze, so as to fashion it into a bedpost, and beginning +from this I made the frame of a bed, and decorated it with gold and +silver and ivory, and over the frame I stretched broad bands of +ox-hide, stained with bright purple. This I tell thee as a sign by +which thou mayest know me."</p> + +<p>The last shadow was now removed, and before Odysseus had well ended +what he was saying Penelope sprang towards him, threw her arms round +his neck, and covered his face with kisses. "Be not angry with me, my +dear lord," she murmured tenderly, "because I held back so long, and +gave thee not loving welcome, as I do now. Thou art very wise, and +knowest the dangers which beset a lonely woman who is over hasty to +believe when a stranger comes and calls himself her husband. Many +there be that lie in wait to lay snares for a weak and loving heart. +But now I know thee for mine own dear love, and now is the winter of +my widowhood made glorious summer, since I have seen thy face again."</p> + +<p>So they sat locked in each other's arms, that valiant, long-suffering +man, and his faithful wife, two brave and patient souls, parted so +long, and tried so hard, but now united once more in wedded love and +bliss. The hours went by unheeded, and day would have overtaken them +in that trance of delight, had not Athene marked them with pity from +her heavenly seat, and stayed the steeds of the morning in the east, +and prolonged the reign of night, that the joy of that first meeting +might not be broken until they had tasted all its honey to the lees.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap22"></a><h2>Conclusion</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Early next day Odysseus rose and donned his armour, and having charged +Penelope to keep close in her chamber, and admit no one into the +house, he set forth to visit Laertes on his farm, attended by +Telemachus and the two faithful herdsmen, all armed to the teeth. +Arrived at the farmhouse he left his companions there, bidding them +prepare the morning meal, and went out alone to find his father. +Passing through the courtyard gate, he entered a large plot of ground, +planted by Laertes as a garden and orchard; and there he found the old +man, who was digging about the roots of a young tree. With strange +emotions Odysseus noted every detail of his dress and figure—the +soiled and tattered coat, the gaiters of clouted leather, the old +gauntlets on his hands, and the goatskin cap. He who had once been the +wealthiest prince in Ithaca had now the appearance of an ancient +serving-man, broken down with years and toil.</p> + +<p>But in the midst of his sorrow a freakish whim came into the head of +Odysseus, characteristic of his subtle and tortuous nature. +Approaching his father, who was still stooping over his work, he said +to him in a disguised voice: "Old man, I perceive that thou art well +skilled in the gardener's art: never saw I a garden better tended—not +a tree, not a shrub, but bears witness to thy fostering care. And be +not wroth with me if I say that is a wonder to see the keeper of so +fair a garden himself so squalid and unkempt. Surely he whom thou +servest must be an ungrateful master. Tell me his name, if thou wilt, +and answer me truly if this be indeed the land of Ithaca to which I am +come, as I heard from a man whom I met by the way. He seemed a +churlish fellow, and would not stay to answer my questions; for I was +fain to ask him concerning a friend whom I once entertained in my +house, a native of Ithaca, as he told me, and a son of one Laertes. +Many days he dwelt with me, eating and drinking of the best, and I +sent him away laden with rich gifts, gold and silver, and costly +raiment."</p> + +<p>"Friend," answered Laertes, shedding tears, "to Ithaca indeed art thou +come, but he of whom thou askest is no longer here. In vain were thy +gifts bestowed, for he who would have repaid thee richly for all thy +kindness hath perished long ago, and his bones lie bleaching on the +bare earth, or at the bottom of the sea. Tell me, how long is it since +thou didst receive him, and who art thou, and where is thy home?"</p> + +<p>"I am a man of Alybas," replied Odysseus, "the son of Apheidas the son +of Polypemon, and Eperitus is my name; and it is now five years since +Odysseus departed from my home. Fair omens attended him on his +starting, and we parted in high hopes that we should meet again in his +own land."</p> + +<p>At these words of Odysseus the poor old man was overwhelmed with +sorrow, and he heaped dust upon his grey head, groaning in bitterness +of spirit. Odysseus was moved with pity at the sight of his distress, +and thinking that he had now tried him enough, he revealed himself, +pointing as proofs to the scar above his knee, and to certain trees +which Laertes had allowed him to call his own when he walked with him, +hand-in-hand, as a little child, through the garden.</p> + +<p>The sudden shock of joyful recognition was too much for the old man, +and he fell fainting into his son's arms. When he was somewhat +recovered they went back together towards the house, and on the way +Odysseus spoke of the slaying of the wooers, and of the danger which +threatened him from the vengeance of their friends.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Meanwhile the news of the wooers' violent death had spread like +wildfire through the island, and their kinsmen went with loud clamour +to the house of Odysseus to carry away the dead bodies. When this was +done they gathered together at the place of assembly to devise some +plan of vengeance; and Eupeithes, the father of Antinous, made violent +outcry against Odysseus for his great act of savage justice.</p> + +<p>While they were debating, Medon and Phemius appeared on the scene, and +described the manner in which the wooers had met their end. "The hand +of Heaven," said Medon, "was made manifest in the deed. I myself saw +Athene leading the onset, and your sons were laid low like ripe +sheaves before the sickle." This report chilled their courage not a +little; and Halitherses, seeing the effect produced, exerted all his +eloquence to put an end to the blood feud. Nevertheless more than half +of those present persisted in their purpose, and donning their armour +went forth from the town to meet the party of Odysseus.</p> + +<p>The encounter took place in front of the farmhouse, where Odysseus and +the others had just taken their morning meal. Laertes, who seemed to +have recovered all the vigour of his youth, led the attack, and by a +well-aimed cast of his lance struck down Eupeithes, the leader of the +opposing party. This success was followed up by a vigorous charge, in +the midst of which a supernatural voice was heard in the air, striking +terror into the assailants of Odysseus, who turned and fled in wild +panic towards the town. They were hotly pursued, and not a man would +have been left alive had not Zeus himself interposed to stay the +slaughter. By his command Athene acted as mediator between Odysseus +and the kinsmen of the wooers, and an oath of amnesty was taken on +both sides, confirmed with solemn prayer and sacrifice.</p> + +<br> +<a name="names"></a><h2>PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES</h2> + +<table style="font-size: larger" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" + summary="A list of Greek names, each one followed by its phonetic spelling"> + <tr><td>Achilles</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăkil´ez</td><td> </td> + <td>Iphimedeia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ifĭmĕdī´ă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Æetes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē-ē´-tez</td><td> </td> + <td>Iphitus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">if´ĭtus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ægæan</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ēgē´an</td><td> </td> + <td>Iphthime</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ifthī´mē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ægisthus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ēgis´thus</td><td> </td> + <td>Irus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ī´rus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ægyptus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ēgyp´tus</td><td> </td> + <td>Ithaca</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĭth´ăcă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Æolus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē´ŏlus</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Æthon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē´thon</td><td> </td> + <td>Lacedæmon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lăsĕdē´mon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Agamemnon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăgămĕm´non</td><td> </td> + <td>Laertes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lāĕr´tēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Agelaus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăgĕlā´us</td><td> </td> + <td>Læstrygonia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lēstrĭgŏ´nĭă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ajax</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ā´jax</td><td> </td> + <td>Leda</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lē´dă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Alcinous</td><td style="font-family: monospace">alsĭn´-ŏ-us</td><td> </td> + <td>Leiodes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">līō´dēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Alcmene</td><td style="font-family: monospace">alkmē´nē</td><td> </td> + <td>Lesbos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lĕz´bos</td></tr> + <tr><td>Alybas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">āl´ĭbas</td><td> </td> + <td>Leto</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lē´tō</td></tr> + <tr><td>Amphinomus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">amphĭn´ŏmus</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Anticleia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭklī´a</td><td> </td> + <td>Malea</td><td style="font-family: monospace">măl´ĕă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antilochus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭl´ŏchus</td><td> </td> + <td>Medon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">med´on</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antiphates</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭph´ătēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Melampus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕlam´pus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antinous</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭn´ŏus</td><td> </td> + <td>Melanthius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕlan´thĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antiphus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">an´tĭfus</td><td> </td> + <td>Melantho</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕlan´thō</td></tr> + <tr><td>Apheidas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăfī´das</td><td> </td> + <td>Menelaus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕnĕlā´us</td></tr> + <tr><td>Aphrodite</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăfrŏdī´tē</td><td> </td> + <td>Mentes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">men´tez</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arcady</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ar´cădĭ</td><td> </td> + <td>Mentor</td><td style="font-family: monospace">men´tōr</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arete</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ārē´tē</td><td> </td> + <td>Messene</td><td style="font-family: monospace">messē´nē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arethusa</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ărĕthyū´să</td><td> </td> + <td>Minos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mī´nos</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arnæus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">arnē´us</td><td> </td> + <td>Mycenæ</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mīsē´nē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Artemis</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ar´tĕmis</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Arybas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ă´ribas</td><td> </td> + <td>Nausicaä</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nausĭk´ă-ă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Athene</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăthē´nē</td><td> </td> + <td>Neleus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nē´lyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Atreus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ā´trūs</td><td> </td> + <td>Neoptolemus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">neoptŏl´ĕmus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Aurora</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ōrō´ră</td><td> </td> + <td>Neritus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nē´rĭtus</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Nestor</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nĕs´tōr</td></tr> + <tr><td>Boötes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">bŏō´tēz</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Oceanus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">osē´anus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Calypso</td><td style="font-family: monospace">kălĭp´sō</td><td> </td> + <td>Odysseus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">odis´yūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cassandra</td><td style="font-family: monospace">cassan´dră</td><td> </td> + <td>Orestes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ŏrĕs´tēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Charybdis</td><td style="font-family: monospace">kărib´dis</td><td> </td> + <td>Orion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ōrī´on</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cimmerians</td><td style="font-family: monospace">simmĕ´rĭans</td><td> </td> + <td>Ormenius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ormĕn´ĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Circe</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sĭr´sē</td><td> </td> + <td>Orsilochus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">orsĭl´ŏkus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Clytæmnestra</td><td style="font-family: monospace">clītēmnĕs´tră</td><td> </td> + <td>Ortygia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ortĭ´gĭă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cnosus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">knō´sŭs</td><td> </td> + <td>Otus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ŏ´tus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ctesippus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ktĕ´sĭpus</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Ctesius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ktē´sĭus</td><td> </td> + <td>Patroclus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pătrŏ´clus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cyclopes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sīklō´pēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Peiræus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pīrē´us</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cyclops</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sī´klops</td><td> </td> + <td>Peleus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pē´lyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Pelides</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pĕlī´dēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Deiphobus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dēĭf´ŏbus</td><td> </td> + <td>Pelion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pē´lĭon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Delos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dĕ´los</td><td> </td> + <td>Penelope</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pēnĕl´ŏpē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Demeter</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dēmē´tēr</td><td> </td> + <td>Persephone</td><td style="font-family: monospace">persĕf´ŏnē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Demodocus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dēmŏ´dŏcus</td><td> </td> + <td>Pharos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fā´ros</td></tr> + <tr><td>Deucalion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dūka´lĭon</td><td> </td> + <td>Phæacia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fēā´siă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Diomede</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dĭ´ŏmeed</td><td> </td> + <td>Phemius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fē´mĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Dodona</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dō-dō´nă</td><td> </td> + <td>Pheræ</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fē´rē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Dolius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dŏl´ĭus</td><td> </td> + <td>Philoctetes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fĭloktē´tēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Dulichium</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dyūlĭ´-kĭum</td><td> </td> + <td>Philœtius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fĭlē´tĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Pisistratus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pīsis´trătus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eidothea</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īdō´thĭ-ĕă</td><td> </td> + <td>Pleiades</td><td style="font-family: monospace">plī´adēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Elis</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē´lis</td><td> </td> + <td>Polycaste</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭcas´tē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Elpenor</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕlpē´nōr</td><td> </td> + <td>Polydamna</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭdam´na</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eperitus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕpē´rĭtus</td><td> </td> + <td>Polypemon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭpē´mon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ephialtes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕfĭal´tēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Polyphemus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭfē´mus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ephyra</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕf´ĭră</td><td> </td> + <td>Poseidon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏsī´don</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eriphyle</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕrĭfī´lē</td><td> </td> + <td>Proteus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">prō´tyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eubœa</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūbē´a</td><td> </td> + <td>Pylos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pī´los</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eumæus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūmē´us</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Eupeithes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūpī´thēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Same</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sā´mē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurymachus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭ´măkus</td><td> </td> + <td>Scylla</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sil´lă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurynomus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭ´nŏmus</td><td> </td> + <td>Scyros</td><td style="font-family: monospace">skī´ros</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurycleia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrīclī´ă</td><td> </td> + <td>Sirens</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sī´rens</td></tr> + <tr><td>Euryalus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrī´ălus</td><td> </td> + <td>Sisyphus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sĭ´sĭfus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurylochus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭl´ŏkus</td><td> </td> + <td>Sunium</td><td style="font-family: monospace">syū´nĭum</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurydamas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭd´ămas</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurytus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yū´rĭtus</td><td> </td> + <td>Tantalus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tan´tălus</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Teiresias</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tīrĕ´sĭas</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hades</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hā´dēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Telamon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tĕl´ămon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Halitherses</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hălĭther´sēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Telemachus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tēlē´măkus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Helios</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hĕ´lĭos</td><td> </td> + <td>Tenedos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tĕn´ĕdos</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hephæstus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hēfēs´tus</td><td> </td> + <td>Theoclymenus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">thĕŏcly´mĕnus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hera</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hē´ră</td><td> </td> + <td>Thesprotia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">thĕsprō´tīă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hercules</td><td style="font-family: monospace">her´cŭlēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Thon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">thōn</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hermes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">her´mēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Tityos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tĭt´ĭos</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Tyndareus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tin´dăryūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Iasion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īă´sĭon</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Icarius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īkă´rĭus</td><td> </td> + <td>Zacynthus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">zăkin´thus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Idomeneus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īdōm´ĕnyūs</td><td> </td> + <td>Zeus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">zyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ino</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ī´nŏ</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<div>*** END OF THE 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f5560a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13725 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13725) diff --git a/old/13725-8.txt b/old/13725-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..61fe95a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13725-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7204 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Stories from the Odyssey, by H. L. Havell + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Stories from the Odyssey + +Author: H. L. Havell + +Release Date: October 12, 2004 [eBook #13725] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Fred Robinson, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY + +Retold by + +H. L. HAVELL B.A. + +Late Reader in English in the University of Halle +Formerly Scholar of University College Oxford + +Author of _Stories from Herodotus_, _Stories from Greek Tragedy_, +_Stories from the Æneid_, _Stories from the Iliad_, etc. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Reading from Homer] + + + + "O well for him whose will is strong! + He suffers, but he will not suffer long; + He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong: + For him nor moves the loud world's random mock + Nor all Calamity's hugest waves confound + Who seems a promontory of rock, + That compass'd round with turbulent sound + In middle ocean meets the surging shock, + Tempest-buffeted, citadel-crown'd." + TENNYSON + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION + +TELEMACHUS, PENELOPE, AND THE SUITORS + +THE ASSEMBLY; THE VOYAGE OF TELEMACHUS + +THE VISIT TO NESTOR AT PYLOS + +TELEMACHUS AT SPARTA + +ODYSSEUS AND CALYPSO + +ODYSSEUS AMONG THE PHÆACIANS + +THE WANDERINGS OF ODYSSEUS + +THE VISIT TO HADES + +THE SIRENS; SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS; THRINACIA + +ODYSSEUS LANDS IN ITHACA + +ODYSSEUS AND EUMÆUS + +THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS + +THE MEETING OF TELEMACHUS AND ODYSSEUS + +THE HOME-COMING OF ODYSSEUS + +THE BEGGAR IRUS + +PENELOPE AND THE WOOERS + +ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE + +THE END DRAWS NEAR; SIGNS AND WONDERS + +THE BOW OF ODYSSEUS + +THE SLAYING OF THE WOOERS + +ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE + +CONCLUSION + +PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +READING FROM HOMER (L. Alma Tadema) + +PENELOPE (The Vatican, Rome) + +TELEMACHUS DEPARTING FROM NESTOR (Henry Howard) + +ODYSSEUS AND NAUSICAÄ (Charles Gleyre) + +ODYSSEUS AND POLYPHEMUS (J. M. W. Turner) + +CIRCE (Sir E. Burne-Jones) + +THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS (L. F. Schützenberger) + +ODYSSEUS AND EURYCLEIA (Christian G. Heyne) + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The impersonal character of the Homeric poems has left us entirely in +the dark as to the birthplace, the history, and the date, of their +author. So complete is the darkness which surrounds the name of Homer +that his very existence has been disputed, and his works have been +declared to be an ingenious compilation, drawn from the productions of +a multitude of singers. It is not my intention here to enter into the +endless and barren controversy which has raged round this question. It +will be more to the purpose to try and form some general idea of the +characteristics of the Greek Epic; and to do this it is necessary to +give a brief review of the political and social conditions in which it +was produced. + +I + +The world as known to Homer is a mere fragment of territory, including +a good part of the mainland of Greece, with the islands and coast +districts of the Ægæan. Outside of these limits his knowledge of +geography is narrow indeed. He has heard of Sicily, which he speaks of +under the name of Thrinacia; and he speaks once of Libya, or the north +coast of Africa, as a district famous for its breed of sheep. There is +one vague reference to the vast Scythian or Tartar race (called by +Homer Thracians), who live on the milk of mares; and he mentions a +copper-coloured people, the "Red-faces," who dwell far remote in the +east and west. The Nile is mentioned, under the name of Ægyptus; and +the Egyptians are celebrated by the poet as a people skilled in +medicine, a statement which is repeated by Herodotus. The Phoenicians +appear several times in the _Odyssey_, and we hear once or twice of +the Sidonians, as skilled workers in metal. As soon as we pass these +boundaries, we enter at once into the region of fairyland. + +II + +In speaking of the religion of the Homeric Greeks we have to draw a +distinction between the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_. In the _Iliad_ the +gods play a much livelier and more human part than in the latter poem, +and it is highly remarkable that the only comic scenes in the first +and greatest of epics are those in which the gods are the chief +actors--as when the lame Hephæstus takes upon him the office of +cupbearer at the Olympian banquet, or when Artemis gets her ears boxed +by the angry Hera. It would almost seem as if there were a vein of +deliberate satire running through these descriptions, so daring is the +treatment of the divine personages. + +In the _Odyssey_, on the other hand, religion has become more +spiritual. Olympus is no longer the mountain of that name, but a vague +term, like our "heaven," denoting a place remote from all earthly +cares and passions, a far-off abode in the stainless ether, where the +gods dwell in everlasting peace, and from which they occasionally +descend, to give an eye to the righteous and unrighteous deeds of men. + +In his conception of the state of the soul after death Homer is very +interesting. His _Hades_, or place of departed spirits, is a dim, +shadowy region beyond the setting of the sun, where, after life's +trials are over, the souls of men keep up a faint and feeble being. It +is highly significant that the word which in Homer means "self" has +also the meaning of "body"--showing how intimately the sense of +personal identity was associated with the condition of bodily +existence. The disembodied spirit is compared to a shadow, a dream, or +a waft of smoke. "Alas!" cries Achilles, after a visit from the ghost +of Patroclus, "I perceive that even in the halls of Hades there is a +spirit and a phantom, but understanding none at all"; for the mental +condition of these cold, uncomfortable ghosts is as feeble as their +bodily form is shadowy and unsubstantial. They hover about with a +fitful motion, uttering thin, gibbering cries, like the voice of a +bat, and before they can obtain strength to converse with a visitor +from the other world, they have to be fortified by a draught of fresh +blood. The subject is summed up by Achilles, when Odysseus felicitates +him on the honour which he enjoys, even in Hades: "Tell me not of +comfort in death," he says: "I had rather be the thrall of the poorest +wight that ever tilled a thankless soil for bread, than rule as king +over all the shades of the departed." + +III + +Homeric society is essentially aristocratic. At its head stands the +king, who may be a great potentate, like Agamemnon, ruling over a wide +extent of territory, or a petty prince, like Odysseus, who exercises a +sort of patriarchal authority within the limits of a small island. The +person of the king is sacred, and his office is hereditary. He bears +the title of _Diogenes_, "Jove-born," and is under the especial +protection of the supreme ruler of Olympus. He is leader in war, chief +judge, president of the council of elders, and representative of the +state at the public sacrifices. The symbol of his office is the +sceptre, which in some cases is handed down as an heirloom from father +to son. + +Next to the king stand the elders, a title which has no reference to +age, but merely denotes those of noble birth and breeding. The elders +form a senate, or deliberative body, before which all questions of +public importance are laid by the king. Their decisions are afterwards +communicated to the general assembly of the people, who signify their +approval or dissent by tumultuous cries, but have no power of altering +or reversing the measures proposed by the nobles. Thus we have already +the three main elements of political life: king, lords, and +commons--though the position of the last is at present almost entirely +passive. + +IV + +The morality of the Homeric age is such as we may expect to find among +a people which has only partially emerged from barbarism. Crimes of +violence are very common, and a familiar figure in the society of this +period is that of the fugitive, who "has slain a man," and is flying +from the vengeance of his family. Patroclus, when a mere boy, kills +his youthful playmate in a quarrel over a game of knucklebones--an +incident which may be seen illustrated in one of the statues in the +British Museum. One of the typical scenes of Hellenic life depicted on +the shield of Achilles is a trial for homicide; and such cases were of +so frequent occurrence that they afford materials for a simile in the +last book of the _Iliad_. + +Where life is held so cheap, opinion is not likely to be very strict +in matters of property. And we find accordingly a general acquiescence +in "the good old rule, the ancient plan, that they may take who have +the power, and they may keep who can." Cattle-lifting is as common as +it formerly was on the Scottish border. The bold buccaneer is a +character as familiar as in the good old days when Drake and Raleigh +singed the Spanish king's beard, with this important difference, that +the buccaneer of ancient Greece plundered Greek and barbarian with +fine impartiality. A common question addressed to persons newly +arrived from the sea is, "Are you a merchant, a traveller, or a +pirate?" And this curious query implies no reproach, and calls for no +resentment. Still more startling are the terms in which Autolycus, the +maternal grandfather of Odysseus, is spoken of. This worthy, we are +informed, "surpassed all mankind in thieving and lying"; and the +information is given in a manner which shows that the poet intended it +as a grave compliment. In another passage the same hero is celebrated +as an accomplished burglar. So low was the standard of Homeric ethics +in this respect; and even in the historical age of Greece, want of +honesty and want of truthfulness were too often conspicuous failings +in some of her most famous men. + +Even more shocking to the moral sense is the wild ferocity which +sometimes breaks out in the language and conduct of both men and +women. The horrible practice of mutilating the dead after a battle is +viewed with indifference, and even with complacency, by the bravest +warriors. Even Patroclus, the most amiable of the heroes in the +_Iliad_, proposes to inflict this dastardly outrage on the body of the +fallen Sarpedon. Achilles drags the body of Hector behind his chariot +from the battlefield, and keeps it in his tent for many days, that he +may repeat this hideous form of vengeance in honour of his slaughtered +friend. When the dying Hector begs him to restore his body to the +Trojans for burial he replies with savage taunts, and wishes that he +could find it in his heart to carve the flesh of Hector and eat it +raw! And Hecuba, the venerable Queen of Troy, expresses herself in +similar terms when Priam is preparing to set forth on his mission to +the tent of Achilles. + +Turning now to the more attractive side of the picture, we shall find +much to admire in the character of Homer's heroes. In the first place +we have to note their intense vitality and keen sense of pleasure, +natural to a young and vigorous people. The outlook on life is +generally bright and cheerful, and there is hardly any trace of that +corroding pessimism which meets us in later literature. Cases of +suicide, so common in the tragedians, are almost unknown. + +In one respect, and that too a point of the very highest importance, +the Greeks of this age were far in advance of those who came after +them, and not behind the most polished nations of modern Europe. We +refer to the beauty, the tenderness, and the purity of their domestic +relations. The whole story of the _Odyssey_ is founded on the faithful +wedded love of Odysseus and Penelope, and the contrasted example of +Agamemnon and his demon wife is repeatedly held up to scorn and +abhorrence. The world's poetry affords no nobler scene than the +parting of Hector and Andromache in the _Iliad_, nor has the ideal of +perfect marriage ever found grander expression than in the words +addressed by Odysseus to Nausicaä: "There is nothing mightier and +nobler than when man and wife are of one mind and heart in a house, a +grief to their foes, and to their friends a great joy, but their own +hearts know it best."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Butcher and Lang's translation.] + +Hospitality in a primitive state of society, where inns are unknown, +is not so much a virtue as a necessity. Even in these early times the +Greeks, within the limits of their little world, were great +travellers, and their swift chariots, and galleys propelled by sail +and oar, enabled them to make considerable journeys with speed and +safety. Arrived at their destination for the night they were sure of a +warm welcome at the first house at which they presented themselves; +and he who played the host on one occasion expected and found a like +return when, perhaps years afterwards, he was brought by business or +pleasure to the home of his former guest. Nor were these privileges +confined to the wealthy and noble, who were able, when the time came, +to make payment in kind, but the poorest and most helpless outcast, +the beggar, the fugitive, and the exile, found countenance and +protection, when he made his plea in the name of Zeus, the god of +hospitality. + +V + +This frankness and simplicity of manners runs through the whole life +of the Homeric Greek, and is reflected in every page of the two great +epics which are the lasting monuments of that bright and happy age. As +civilisation advances, and life becomes more complicated and +artificial, human activity tends more and more to split up into an +infinite number of minute occupations, and the whole time and energy +of each individual are not more than sufficient to make him master in +some little corner of art, science, or industry. A vast system of +commerce brings the products of the whole world to our doors; and it +is almost appalling to think of the millions of toiling hands and busy +brains which must pass all their days in unceasing toil, in order that +the humblest citizen may find his daily wants supplied. To give only +one example: how vast and tremendous is the machinery which must be +set at work before a single letter or post-card can reach its +destination! This multiplication of needs, and endless subdivision of +labour, too often results in stunting and crippling the development of +the individual, so that it becomes harder, as time advances, to find a +complete man, with all his faculties matured by equable and harmonious +growth. + +Very different were the conditions of life in the Homeric age. Then +the wealthy man's house was a little world in itself, capable of +supplying all the simple wants of its inhabitants. The women spun wool +and flax, the produce of the estate, and wove them into cloth and +linen, to be dyed and wrought into garments by the same skilful hands. +On the sunny slopes of the hills within sight of the doors the grapes +were ripening against the happy time of vintage, when merry troops of +children would bring them home with dance and song to be trodden in +the winepress. Nearer at hand was the well-kept orchard, bowing under +its burden of apples, pears, and figs; and groves of grey olive-trees +promised abundance of oil. In the valleys waved rich harvests of wheat +and barley, which were reaped, threshed, ground, and made into bread, +by the master's thralls. Herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep and goats, +roved on the broad upland pastures, and in the forest multitudes of +swine were fattening on the beech-mast and acorns. + +And the owner of all these blessings was no luxurious drone, living in +idleness on the labour of other men's hands. He was, in the fullest +sense of the word, the father of his household. His was the vigilant +eye which watched and directed every member in the little army of +workers, and his the generous hand which dealt out bountiful reward +for faithful service. If need were he could take his share in the +hardest field labour, and plough a straight furrow, or mow a heavy +crop of grass from dawn till sunset without breaking his fast. Nothing +was too great or too little to engage his attention, as the necessity +arose. He was a warrior, whose single prowess might go far in deciding +the issue of a hard-fought battle--an orator, discoursing with weighty +eloquence on grave questions of state--a judge, whose decisions helped +to build up the as yet unwritten code of law. Descending from these +high altitudes, he could take up his bow and spear, and go forth to +hunt the boar and the stag, or wield the woodman's axe, or the +carpenter's saw and chisel. He could kill, dress, and serve his own +dinner; and when the strenuous day was over, he could tune the harp, +discourse sweet music, and sing of the deeds of heroes and gods. + +Such was the versatility, and such the many-sided energy, of the Greek +as he appears in the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. And as these two poems +contain the elements of all subsequent thought and progress in the +Greek nation, so in the typical character of Odysseus are concentrated +all the qualities which distinguish the individual Greek--his +insatiable curiosity, which left no field of thought unexplored--his +spirit of daring enterprise, which carried the banner of civilisation +to the borders of India and the Straits of Gibraltar--and his subtlety +and craft, which in a later age made him a byword to the grave +moralists of Rome. + +In the _Iliad_ Odysseus is constantly exhibited as a contrast to the +youthful Achilles. Wherever prudence, experience, and policy, are +required, Odysseus comes to the front. In Achilles, with his furious +passions and ill-regulated impulses, there is always something of the +barbarian; while Odysseus in all his actions obeys the voice of +reason. It will readily be seen that such a character, essentially +intellectual, always moving within due measure, never breaking out +into eccentricity or excess, would appeal less to the popular +imagination than the fiery nature of Pelides, "strenuous, passionate, +implacable, and fierce." And on this ground we may partly explain the +unamiable light in which Odysseus appears in later Greek literature. +Already in Pindar we find him singled out for disapproval. In +Sophocles he has sunk still lower; and in Euripides his degradation is +completed. + +VI + +Space does not allow us to give a detailed criticism of the _Odyssey_ +as a poem, and determine its relation to the _Iliad_. We must content +ourselves with quoting the words of the most eloquent of ancient +critics, which sum up the subject with admirable brevity and insight: +"Homer in his _Odyssey_ may be compared to the setting sun: he is +still as great as ever, but he has lost his fervent heat. The strain +is now pitched in a lower key than in the 'Tale of Troy divine': we +begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or +sinks, that continuous current of moving incidents, those rapid +transitions, that force of eloquence, that opulence of imagery which +is ever true to nature. Like the sea when it retires upon itself and +leaves its shores waste and bare, henceforth the tide of sublimity +begins to ebb, and draws us away into the dim region of myth and +legend."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Longinus: "On the Sublime." Translated by H.L. Havell, +B.A. p. 20. Macmillan & Co.] + + + + +STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY + + + + +Telemachus, Penelope, and the Suitors + + +I + +In a high, level spot, commanding a view of the sea, stands the house +of Odysseus, the mightiest prince in Ithaca. It is a spacious +building, two storeys high, constructed entirely of wood, and +surrounded on all sides by a strong wooden fence. Within the +enclosure, and in front of the house, is a wide courtyard, containing +the stables, and other offices of the household. + +A proud maiden was Penelope, when Odysseus wedded her in her youthful +bloom, and made her the mistress of his fair dwelling and his rich +domain. One happy year they lived together, and a son was born to +them, whom they named Telemachus. Then war arose between Greece and +Asia, and Odysseus was summoned to join the train of chieftains who +followed Agamemnon to win back Helen, his brother's wife. Ten years +the war lasted; then Troy was taken, and those who had survived the +struggle returned to their homes. Among these was Odysseus, who set +sail with joyful heart, hoping, before many days were passed, to take +up anew the thread of domestic happiness which had been so rudely +broken. But since that hour he has vanished from sight, and for ten +long years from the fall of Troy the house has been mourning its +absent lord. + +During the last three years a new trouble has been present, to fill +the cup of Penelope's sorrow to the brim. A host of suitors, drawn +from the most powerful families in Ithaca and the neighbouring +islands, have beset the house of Odysseus, desiring to wed his wife +and possess her wealth. All her friends urge her to make choice of a +husband from that clamorous band; for no one now believes that there +is any hope left of Odysseus' return. Only Penelope still clings to +the belief that he is yet living, and will one day come home. So for +three years she has put them off by a cunning trick. She began to +weave a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, promising that, as soon +as the garment was finished, she would wed one of the suitors. Then +all day long she wove that choice web; and every night she undid the +work of the day, unravelling the threads which she had woven. So for +three years she beguiled the suitors, but at last she was betrayed by +her handmaids, and the fraud was discovered. The princes upbraided her +loudly for her deceit, and became more importunate than ever. The +substance of Odysseus was wasting away; for day after day the wooers +came thronging to the house, a hundred strong, and feasted at the +expense of its absent master, and drank up his wine. + +No hope seems left to the heartbroken, faithful wife. Even her son has +grown impatient at the waste of his goods, and urges her to make the +hard choice, and the hateful hour is at hand which will part her for +ever from the scene of her brief wedded joy. + +[Illustration: Penelope] + +II + +It was the hour of noon, and the sun was beating hot on the rocky +hills of Ithaca, when a solitary wayfarer was seen approaching the +outer gateway which led into the courtyard of Odysseus' house. He was +a man of middle age, dressed like a chieftain, and carrying a long +spear in his hand. Passing through the covered gateway he halted +abruptly, and gazed in astonishment at the strange sight which met his +eyes. All was noise and bustle in the courtyard, where a busy troop of +servants were preparing the materials for a great feast. Some were +carrying smoking joints of roast meat, others were filling huge bowls +with wine and water, and others were washing the tables and setting +them out to dry. In the portico before the house sat a great company +of young nobles, comely of aspect, and daintily attired, taking their +ease on couches of raw ox-hide, and playing at draughts to while away +the time until the banquet should be ready. Loud was their talk, and +boisterous their laughter, as of men who have no respect for +themselves or for others. "Surely this was the house of Odysseus," +murmured the stranger to himself, "but now it seems like a den of +thieves. But who is that tall and goodly lad, who sits apart, with +gloomy brow, and seems ill-pleased with the doings of that riotous +crew? Surely I should know that face, the very face of my old friend +as I knew him long years ago." + +As he spoke, the youth who had attracted his notice glanced in his +direction, and seeing a stranger standing unheeded at the entrance, he +rose from his seat and came with hasty step and heightened colour +towards him. "Forgive me, friend," he said, with hand outstretched in +welcome, "that I marked thee not before. My thoughts were far away. +But come into the house, and sit down to meat, and when thou hast +eaten we will inquire the reason of thy coming." + +So saying, and taking the stranger's spear, he led him into the great +hall of the house, and sat down with him in a corner, remote from the +noise of the revel. And a handmaid bare water in a golden ewer, and +poured it over their hands into a basin of silver; and when they had +washed, a table was set before them, heaped with delicate fare. Then +host and guest took their meal together, and comforted their hearts +with wine. + +Before they had finished, the whole company came trooping in from the +courtyard, and filled the room with uproar, calling aloud for food and +drink. Not a chair was left empty, and the servants hurried to and +fro, supplying the wants of these unwelcome visitors. Vast quantities +of flesh were consumed, and many a stout jar of wine was drained to +the dregs, to supply the wants of that greedy multitude. + +When at last their hunger was appeased, and every goblet stood empty, +Phemius, the minstrel, stood up in their midst, and after striking a +few chords on his harp, began to sing a famous lay. Then the youth who +had been entertaining the stranger drew closer his chair, and thus +addressed him, speaking low in his ear: "Thou seest what fair company +we keep, how wanton they are, and how gay. Yet there was once a man +who would have driven them, like beaten hounds, from this hall, even +he whose substance they are devouring. But his bones lie whitening at +the bottom of the sea, and we who are left must tamely suffer this +wrong. But now thou hast eaten, and I may question thee without +reproach. Say, therefore, who art thou, and where is thy home? Comest +thou for the first time to Ithaca, or art thou an old friend of this +house, bound to us by ties of ancient hospitality?" + +"My name is Mentes," answered the stranger, "and I am a prince of the +Taphians, a bold race of sailors. I am a friend of this house, well +known to its master, Odysseus, and his father, Laertes. Be of good +cheer, for he whom thou mournest is not dead, nor shall his coming be +much longer delayed. But tell me now of a truth, art not thou the son +of that man? I knew him well, and thou hast the very face and eyes of +Odysseus." + +"My mother calls me his son," replied the youth, who was indeed +Telemachus himself, "and I am bound to believe her. Would that it were +otherwise! I have little cause to bless my birth." + +"Yet shalt thou surely be blest," said Mentes; "thou art not unmarked +of the eye of Heaven. But answer me once more, what means this lawless +riot in the house? And what cause has brought all these men hither?" + +"This also thou shalt know," replied Telemachus. "These are the +princes who have come to woo my mother; and while she keeps them +waiting for her answer they eat up my father's goods. Ere long, +methinks, they will make an end of me also." + +"Fit wooers indeed for the wife of such a man!" said Mentes with a +bitter smile. "Would that he were standing among them now as I saw him +once in my father's house, armed with helmet and shield and spear! He +would soon wed them to another bride. But whether it be God's will +that he return or not, 'tis for thee to devise means to drive these +men from thy house. Take heed, therefore, to my words, and do as I bid +thee. To-morrow thou shalt summon the suitors to the place of +assembly, and charge them that they depart to their homes. And do thou +thyself fit out a ship, with twenty rowers, and get thee to Pylos, +where the aged Nestor dwells, and inquire of him concerning thy +father. From Pylos proceed to Sparta, the kingdom of Menelaus; he was +the last of the Greeks to reach home, after the fall of Troy; and +perchance thou mayest learn something from him. And if thou hearest +sure tidings of thy father's death, then get thee home, and raise a +tomb to his memory, and keep his funeral feast. Then let thy mother +wed whom she will; and if these men still beset thee, thou must devise +means to slay them, either by guile or openly. Thou art now a man, and +must play a man's part. Hast thou not heard of the fame which Orestes +won, when he slew the murderer of his sire? Be thou valiant, even as +he; tall thou art, and fair, and shouldst be a stout man of thy hands. +But 'tis time for me to be going; my ship awaits me in the harbour, +and my comrades will be tired of waiting for me." + +"Stay yet awhile," answered Telemachus, "until thou hast refreshed +thyself with the bath; and I will give thee a costly gift to bear with +thee as a memorial of thy visit." But even as he spoke Mentes rose +from his seat and, gliding like a shadow through the sunlit doorway, +disappeared. Telemachus followed, in wonder and displeasure; but no +trace of the strange visitor was to be seen. Looking upward he saw a +great sea-eagle winging his way towards the shore; and a voice seemed +to whisper in his ear: "No mortal was thy guest, but the great goddess +Athene, daughter of Zeus, and ever thy father's true comrade and +faithful ally." + +III + +With a strange elation of spirits Telemachus returned to the hall, and +sat down among the suitors. Hitherto he had shown a certain weakness +and indecision of character, natural in a young lad, who had grown up +without the strong guiding hand of a father, and who, since the first +dawn of his manhood, had been surrounded by a host of subtle foes. But +the words of Athene have gone home, and he resolves that from this +hour he will take his proper place in the house as his mother's +guardian and the heir of a great prince. + +There was an unwonted stillness among that lawless troop, and they sat +silent and attentive in the great, dimly lighted chamber. For the +minstrel was singing a sweet and solemn strain, which told of the +home-coming of the Greeks from Troy, and of all the disasters which +befell them on the way. Suddenly the singer paused in the midst of his +lay, for his fine ear had caught the sound of a sobbing sigh. Looking +round, he saw a tall and stately lady standing in the doorway which +led to the women's apartments at the back of the house. She was +closely veiled, but he instantly recognised the form of Penelope, his +beloved mistress. + +"Phemius," said Penelope, in a tone of gentle reproach, "hast thou no +other lay to sing, but must needs recite this tale of woe, which fills +my soul with tears, by calling up the image of him for whom I sorrow +night and day?" + +Phemius stood abashed, and ventured no reply; but Telemachus answered +for him. "Mother," he said, "blame not the sweet minstrel for his +song. The bard is not the author of the woes of which he sings, but +Zeus assigns to each his portion of good and ill; and thou must submit +to his ordinance, like many another lady who has lost her lord. Thou +hast thy province in the house, and I mine; thine is to govern thy +handmaids, and mine to take the lead where the men are gathered +together. And I say that the minstrel has chosen well." + +There was a new note of command in the voice of Telemachus as he +uttered these words. Penelope heard it, and wondered what change had +come over her son; but a hundred bold eyes were gazing insolently at +her, and without another word she turned away, and ascended the steep +stairs which led to her bower. There she reclined on a couch, and her +tears flowed freely; for the song of Phemius had reopened the fountain +of her grief. Presently the sound of sobbing died away, and she drew +her breath gently in a sweet and placid sleep. + +The sudden appearance of Penelope had excited the suitors, and they +began to brawl noisily among themselves. Presently Telemachus raised +his voice, commanding silence for the minstrel. "And I have something +else to say unto you," he added. "To-morrow at dawn I bid you come to +the place of assembly, that we may make an end of these wild doings in +my house. I will bear it no longer, but will publish your evil deeds +to the ears of gods and men." + +Among the suitors there was a certain Antinous, a tall and stout +fellow, of commanding presence, who was looked up to by the others as +a sort of leader, being the boldest and most brutal in the band. And +now he answered for the rest "Heaven speed thy boasting, young +braggart!" he cried in rude and jeering tones. "It will be a happy day +for the men of Ithaca when they have thee for their king." + +"I claim not the kingdom," answered Telemachus firmly, "but I am +resolved to be master in my own house." + +By the side of Antinous sat Eurymachus, who was next to him in power +and rank. This was a smooth and subtle villain, not less dangerous +than Antinous, but glib and plausible of speech. And he too made +answer after his kind: "Telemachus, thou sayest well, and none can +dispute thy right. But with thy good leave I would ask thee concerning +the stranger. He seemed a goodly man; but why did he start up and +leave us so suddenly? Did he bring any tidings of thy father?" + +"There can be no tidings of him," answered Telemachus sadly, "except +that we shall never see him again. And as to this stranger, it was +Mentes, a friend of my father's, and prince of the Taphians." + +Night was now coming on, the suitors departed to their homes, and +Telemachus, who meditated an early start next day, retired early to +his chamber. The room where he slept stood in the courtyard, apart +from the house, and was reached by a stairway. He was attended by an +aged dame, Eurycleia, who had nursed him in his infancy. And all night +long he lay sleepless, pondering on the perils and the adventures +which awaited him. + + + + +The Assembly; The Voyage of Telemachus + + +I + +At the first peep of dawn Telemachus was afoot, and summoning the +heralds he ordered them to make proclamation of an assembly to be held +in a public place in the town of Ithaca. Then he went down to the +place of assembly, with two favourite hounds following close at his +heels; and when he arrived he found the princes and elders of the +people already gathered together. All eyes were turned to the gallant +lad, as he sat down on his father's seat among the noblest of the sons +of Ithaca. Never had he worn so princely an air, or seemed so worthy +of his mighty sire. + +Then the old chieftain Ægyptus began the debate; he was bent double +with age, and one of his sons, Antiphus, had followed Odysseus to +Troy, while another, Eurynomus, was among the suitors of Penelope. It +was of Antiphus that he thought, as he stood up and made harangue +among the elders: + +"Who has summoned us hither, and what is his need? Never have we met +together in council since the day when Odysseus set sail from Ithaca. +Hath any tidings come of the return of those who followed him to Troy, +or is it some other business of public moment which has called us +hither? But whoever sent out this summons, I doubt not he is a worthy +man, and may Zeus accomplish his purpose, whatever it be." + +Such chance sayings were regarded as a sign of Heaven's will, and +Telemachus rejoiced in spirit at the old man's blessing. And forthwith +he stood up in the midst, and, taking the sceptre from the herald's +hand, rushed at once into the subject of which his mind was full. + +"Behold me here, old man," he said, addressing Ægyptus. "It is I who +have called you together, and surely not without a cause. Is it not +enough that I have lost my brave father, whose gentleness and +loving-kindness ye all knew, when he was your king? But must I sit +still, day after day, and see the fattest of my flocks and herds +slaughtered, and the red wine poured out wastefully, by these men who +have come to woo my mother? Take shame to yourselves, and restrain +them; fear the reproach of men, and the wrath of Heaven, and suffer me +not thus to be evilly entreated, unless ye harbour revengeful thoughts +against my father, for some wrong which he has done you." + +He had spoken thus far, when tears choked his voice, and flinging the +sceptre on the ground he returned to his seat. There was a general +feeling of compassion among his hearers, and not one of the suitors +ventured to answer him, save only Antinous, who began in his wonted +style of brutal insolence, upbraiding Telemachus in violent terms, and +throwing all the blame on Penelope, who, he said, had beguiled them +for three years by holding out promises which she never meant to +fulfil. Then he told the story of Penelope's web, and concluded his +speech with these words: + +"As long as thy mother continues in this mind, so long will we stay +here and consume thy living. If thou wouldst be quit of us, send her +to her father's house and bid her marry the man of her choice." + +Telemachus replied: "How can I drive away the mother who bare me and +nourished me? And where shall I find means to pay back her dower? But +most of all I dread my mother's curse. No, never shall that word be +spoken by me. Therefore, if ye know aught of fair and honest dealing, +depart from my house, and live on your own goods; but if it seems good +to you to eat up another man's living, then will I appeal to the +justice of heaven, and pray for vengeance on your heads." + +"Behold, his prayer is answered," cried Halitherses, a venerable +elder, with snow-white beard, who was skilled in augury; and looking +up they saw two eagles winging their way at full speed towards the +place of assembly. Now the two great birds hovered over the meeting; +and just at this moment they wheeled round and attacked each other +fiercely with beak and claw. After fighting for some time they shot +away to the right and were soon lost to view. Then Halitherses spake +again, interpreting the omen: "Hearken, men of Ithaca, to my words, +and to you, the suitors of Penelope, especially do I speak. Woe is +coming upon you; I see it rising and swelling as a wave. Not long +shall Odysseus be absent, but even now he is near at hand hatching +mischief for those who sit here. And many another shall suffer, +besides these who have done the wrong. Therefore, I say, let us stop +their evil deeds, or let them cease themselves. The hour is near at +hand which I foretold, when Odysseus embarked for Troy: I said that +after many sufferings, having lost all his comrades, unknown to all in +the twentieth year he should come home. And now all these things are +coming to pass." + +Then up rose Eurymachus, in an angry and scornful mood. "Old man," +said he, "go home and prophesy to thine own children, lest some harm +befall thee here. Thinkest thou that every fowl of the air is a +messenger from heaven? Odysseus has perished, and would that thou +hadst perished with him! Art thou not ashamed to take sides with this +malapert boy, feeding his passion and folly with thy crazy prophecies? +Doubtless thou lookest to him for favour and reward, but thou wilt +find that his friendship will cost thee dear. Telemachus has heard our +answer to his complaint; let him keep his eloquence for his froward +mother, and bring her to a better mind, for neither his speeches nor +thy prophecies will turn us from our purpose." + +The principal object of the meeting was now attained: the villainy of +the suitors had been publicly exposed, and they were left without +excuse or hope of mercy when the day of reckoning should arrive. +Accordingly Telemachus, dismissing the subject of his wrongs, now +spoke of his intended voyage to Pylos and Sparta, and begged for the +loan of a ship to carry him and his comrades to the mainland. + +No response was made to his request; but one man still attempted to +rouse public opinion against the suitors. This was Mentor, an old +friend of Odysseus, who had been left in charge of his household on +his departure from Ithaca. "Is there not one among you," he cried +indignantly, "who will speak a word for Telemachus, or testify against +the wickedness of these men? No more let kings be gentle and merciful +towards their people, as was Odysseus when he ruled over you, loving +and tender-hearted as a father. Let righteousness give place to +oppression, if these are its rewards. There you sit, like cowed and +beaten men, and suffer a handful of worthless men to lord it over you +all." + +After this last appeal, which was as fruitless as the others, the +meeting broke up, and the suitors returned to their revels in the +house of Odysseus. + +II + +Full of anxious thought, Telemachus went down to the shore, wondering +how he should find means to accomplish his voyage. Stooping down, he +bathed his hands in the sea, and after this act of purification he +lifted up his hands and prayed to Athene: "O thou who camest yesterday +to our house, and badest me go on this quest, give ear and help me in +this strait." + +He had hardly finished his prayer when he heard a footstep, and +looking round saw Mentor, who had come to his aid at the meeting, +approaching from the town. "Be not cast down," said Mentor, "remember +whose son thou art, and all shall be well with thee. As to this +voyage, that shall be my care. I will find thee a ship, and will go +with thee to Pylos. Meanwhile go thou home and make ready all things +for victualling the ship, corn and wine and barley-meal, and bestow +them heedfully in vessels and in bags of leather. Ships there are in +plenty, new and old, in seagirt Ithaca; I will choose the best of them +all, and man her with a crew who will serve thee freely and with all +goodwill." + +Away went Telemachus, much comforted in spirit, though his heart +fluttered when he thought of the great adventure which lay before him. +When he entered the courtyard of his house he found the suitors +flaying goats and singeing swine for the midday feast. Antinous hailed +his coming with a rude laugh, and running up to him seized his hand +and said mockingly: "Well met, Sir Eloquence! Thy face, I see, is full +of care, as of one who is bent on high designs. But lay thy graver +burdens aside for awhile, and eat and drink with us. Thou shalt want +neither ship nor men to carry thee to holy Pylos." + +Telemachus snatched his hand away, and answered sternly: "My thoughts +are not of feasting and merry-making, nor would I eat and drink with +you if they were. I am no longer a child, to be flouted and robbed +without a word. I tell you I shall find it in my heart to do you a +mischief, before many days are passed. But now I am going, as I said, +on this journey. I must go as a passenger, since ye will not lend me a +ship." + +Many a scornful face was turned upon him, and many a taunt aimed at +him, as he uttered these bold words. "We are all undone!" cried one in +pretended alarm, "Telemachus is gone to gather an army in Pylos or in +Sparta, and he will come back with his mighty men and take all our +lives." "Or perhaps he is going to bring poison from Ephyra," said +another, "and he will cast it in the bowl, and we shall be all dead +corpses.[1]" And a third cried: "Take care of thyself, Telemachus, or +we shall have double labour because of thee, in dividing thy goods +among us." + +[Footnote 1: 2 Kings xix. 35.] + +But the taunts of fools and knaves have no sting for honest ears. +Without another word Telemachus left that gibing mob, and went +straight to the strong-room where his father's treasure was stored. +There lay heaps of gold and silver, and chests full of fine raiment, +and great jars of fragrant olive-oil. Along the wall was a long row of +portly casks, filled with the choicest wine; there they had stood +untouched for twenty years, awaiting the master's return. All this +wealth was given in charge to Eurycleia, the nurse of Telemachus, a +wise and careful dame, who watched the chamber day and night. Her +Telemachus now summoned, and said: "Fill me twelve jars of wine--not +the best, which thou art keeping for my father, but the next best to +that. And take twenty measures of barley-meal, and store it in sacks +of leather, and keep all these things together till I send for them. +Keep close counsel, and above all let not my mother know. I am going +to Sparta and to sandy Pylos to inquire of my father's return; and I +shall start in the evening when my mother is gone to rest." + +"Who put such a thought into thy heart?" cried Eurycleia in wailing +tones. "Why wilt thou take this dreadful journey, thou, an only child, +so loved, and so dear? Odysseus is lost for ever, and if thou go we +shall lose thee too, for the suitors will plot thy ruin while thou art +far away." + +"Fear nothing for me," answered Telemachus, "Heaven's eye is upon me, +and the hand of Zeus is spread over me. Swear to me now that thou wilt +not tell my mother until twelve days have past." Eurycleia swore as he +bade her, and at once set about making the preparations for his +journey. + +The suitors were in high spirits at the result of the meeting, and +they ate heavily and drank deeply to celebrate their triumph. Hence it +happened that they retired to rest earlier than usual, being drowsy +from their intemperate revel; and when Telemachus returned to the +banquet-hall he found all the guests departed, and the servants +removing the remains of the feast. Soon afterwards Mentor appeared, +and announced that the ship lay ready at her moorings outside the +harbour. The stores were carried down to the sea, and stowed under the +rowers' benches. "All hands on board!" cried Mentor, and took his +place in the stern, Telemachus sitting by his side. The crew sat ready +at their oars, the ship was cast loose from the moorings, and a few +vigorous strokes impelled her into deep water. Then a strong breeze +sprang up from the west, the big sail was set, and the good ship +bounded joyfully over the waves, with the white wake roaring behind. +The oars were shipped, the sheets made fast, and all the company +pledged each other in brimming cups, drinking to their prosperous +voyage. + + + + +The Visit to Nestor at Pylos + + +I + +So all night long the ship clave her way; and at sunrise they reached +the flat, sandy coast of Pylos. There they found a great multitude +assembled, keeping the feast of Poseidon with sacrifices of oxen. The +solemn rite was nearly ended when they brought their vessel to land. + +"Courage, now," said Mentor to Telemachus, seeing the young lad +somewhat abashed by the presence of so large a company. "Remember whom +thou seekest, and lay thy modest scruples aside. Thou seest that +venerable man, still tall and erect, though he numbers more than a +hundred years. That is Nestor, son of Neleus, wisest of the Greeks, a +king and the friend and counsellor of kings. Go straight to him, and +tell him thy errand." + +Seeing Telemachus, who was a homebred youth, still hanging back, in +dread of that august presence, Mentor renewed his friendly +remonstrances, "What, still tongue-tied?" he said, taking him by the +arm, and leading him forward. "Heaven mend thy wits, poor lad! Knowest +thou not that thou art a child of great hopes, and a favourite of +heaven?" + +When they came to the place where Nestor was seated with his sons, +they found them busy preparing the feast which followed the sacrifice. +As soon as those of Nestor's company saw the strangers they came +forward in a body to greet them, and made them sit down in places of +honour, where soft fleeces were heaped up on the level sand. A youth, +about the same age as Telemachus, placed a goblet of gold in Mentor's +hand, and gave him that portion of the flesh which was set apart as an +offering to the gods. "Welcome, friend," he said, after pledging him +from the cup. "Put up thy prayer with us to the lord Poseidon, for it +is to his feast that ye have come. And when thou hast prayed, give the +cup to thy young companion, who has been bred, methinks, as I have, to +deeds of piety." + +Mentor first asked a blessing on their hosts, and then prayed for a +prosperous issue to their own adventure. After him Telemachus uttered +his prayer in similar words, and then they all sat down to meat. When +they had finished, Nestor looked earnestly at them, and asked them who +they were, and what was the purpose of their journey. "Are ye +merchants," he said, "or bold buccaneers, who roam the seas, a peril +to others, and ever in peril themselves?" + +Telemachus, cheered by good fare, and encouraged by the kind manner of +Nestor, answered confidently, and explained the nature of his errand. +"Concerning all the other Greeks," he added, "we know at least the +manner of their death; but even this poor comfort is denied to the +wife and son of Odysseus. Therefore, if thou hast aught to tell, I +beseech thee by thy friendship with my father, let me know all, and +soften not the tale, out of kindness or pity to me." + +"Ah! my friend," answered Nestor. "What woeful memories thou hast +awakened by thy words!--perils by land and perils by water, long years +of siege and battle, sleepless nights and toilsome days. Ill-fated +land of Troy! the grave of Grecian chivalry! There lies heroic Ajax, +there lies Achilles, and Patroclus, sage in counsel, and there lies +Antilochus, my own dear son, fleet of foot and strong of hand. And art +thou indeed the son of Odysseus, whom none could match in craft and +strategy? But why do I ask? When thou speakest, I seem to hear the +very tones of his voice. He was my friend, one with me in mind and +heart, and during all the time of the siege we took counsel together +for the weal of Greece. But when the war was over disasters came thick +and fast upon the host. And first, division arose between the two sons +of Atreus; Agamemnon wished to abide in Troy until sacrifice had been +offered to appease the anger of Athene, but Menelaus advised immediate +departure. The party of Menelaus, of whom I was one, launched their +ships and sailed to Tenedos; there Odysseus, who had set sail with us, +put back to the mainland of Asia, wishing to do a favour to Agamemnon. +But I, and Diomede with me, set forth at once, and, crossing the sea +from Lesbos, came to Euboea; thence, after sacrifice to Poseidon, I +steered due south, and parting from Diomede at Argos continued my +voyage, and landed safe in Pylos. Thus it happened that I was not +witness of the good or evil fortunes of the other Greeks on their +voyage home, and know only by rumour how they fared. Of Agamemnon's +fate thou hast surely heard thyself, how he was murdered on his own +hearth by the treachery of Ægisthus, and how the murder was avenged by +Orestes. Happy the father who has such a son! And such, methinks, art +thou." + +"Ay," answered Telemachus, when Nestor had finished his long story, "I +have heard of that glorious deed; and would to heaven that by the +might of my hands I might so take vengeance on the evil men who have +come to woo my mother, and who fill my house with injury and outrage." + +"Ah! thou hast reminded me," said Nestor. "I heard of the shameful +wrong which thou hast suffered. But do not despair! Who knows but that +Odysseus will yet return, and make them drink the cup which they have +filled? It may well come to pass, if Athene continues to thy house the +favour which she showed thy father, plain for all eyes to see, in the +land of Troy." + +"Nay, 'tis too much to hope," answered Telemachus with a sigh, "the +thing is too hard--even a god could hardly bring it to pass." + +"Now out on thy faint heart!" cried Mentor, who hitherto had sat +silent. "Better for him that his homecoming should be long delayed +than that he should have died, like Agamemnon, fresh from his victory. +Heaven will guide him yet to his own door, though now he be at the +uttermost parts of the earth." + +Telemachus shook his head as he answered: "No more of that, I pray +thee; it can never be." Then, addressing Nestor, he said: "I would +fain ask thee more concerning the manner of Agamemnon's death. Where +was Menelaus when that foul deed was done? And how did Ægisthus +contrive to slay a man mightier far than himself?" + +"Thou askest well," replied Nestor. "Menelaus was far away, or we +should have another tale to tell. And had the return of Menelaus not +been delayed, vengeance would have been forestalled by many years. +Yea, the dogs would have eaten the flesh of that vile churl, and not a +tear would have been shed for him. But this is how it fell out: while +we were toiling and warring at Troy, Ægisthus sat close to the ear of +Clytæmnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and poured sweet poison into her mind. +For a long while she refused to hearken to his base proposals, for she +was of a good understanding, and moreover there was ever at her side a +minstrel, into whose care Agamemnon had given her when he went to +Troy. But Ægisthus seized upon the minstrel, and left him on a desert +island to be devoured by carrion birds. Then Clytæmnestra yielded to +his suit, and he brought her to his own house. + +"But as to thy question concerning Menelaus, he left Troy in my +company, as I told thee, and we sailed together as far as Sunium. +There Menelaus lost his steersman, who was visited by Apollo with +sudden death, as he sat by the helm; so he remained there to bury his +comrade. But his misfortunes were not yet over; for when he reached +the steep headland at Malea a violent storm arose, and parted his +fleet. Some of his ships ran into Crete for shelter, while he himself +was carried away to Egypt, where he remained many days, and gathered +store of wealth. + +"Now thou understandest why Ægisthus was able to work his will on +Agamemnon, and why he escaped vengeance so long. For seven years he +sat on the throne of golden Mycenæ, and grievously oppressed the +people. But in the eighth year came Orestes, and cut him off in the +fulness of his sin; and on that very day Menelaus came to him, loaded +with the treasures of Egypt. + +"Far and long had he wandered; but so do not thou, my child. Leave not +thy house unguarded, while so many foes are gathered against thee, +lest when thou return thou find thyself stripped of all. But to +Menelaus I would have thee go; him thou must by all means consult; for +who knows what he may have learnt on that wondrous voyage? Vast is the +space of water over which he has travelled, not to be measured in one +year by a bird in her speediest flight. If thou wilt, thou canst go to +Sparta in thy ship, or if thou choose to go by land, my chariots and +my horses are thine for this service, and my sons shall guide you on +the way." + +II + +Amid such talk as this, with many a brave story "of moving accidents +by flood and field," and many a pithy saw from the white-haired +Nestor, who had lived so long and seen so much, the hours glided +swiftly by, and the red sun was stooping to the horizon when Mentor +rose from his seat and said: "We must be going; the hour of rest is at +hand, and to-morrow we have far to go." + +"Tarry yet a little," said Nestor, "and eat a morsel and drink a cup +with us. And after that, if ye are fain to sleep, ye shall have fit +lodging in my house. Heaven forbid that I should suffer such guests as +you to sleep on the cold deck, covered with dew, as if I were some +needy wretch, with never a blanket to spare for a friend. May the gods +preserve me from such a reproach!" + +"Thou sayest well," answered Mentor, "and Telemachus shall be thy +guest to-night. But for me, I pray thee have me excused. My place is +on the ship, that I may give an eye to the crew, for I am the only man +of experience among them. And to-morrow I must go to Elis, to recover +a debt of long standing due to me there. I leave Telemachus to thy +care, that thou mayest cherish him and speed him on his way." + +As he said these words, while all eyes were fixed upon him, the +speaker vanished from sight, and in his stead a great sea-eagle rose +into the air, and sped westwards towards the setting sun. Long they +sat speechless and amazed, and Nestor was the first to break the +silence. "Great things are in store for thee, my son," said he to +Telemachus, "since thou keepest such company thus early in life. This +was none other than Jove's mighty daughter, Athene, who honoured thy +father so highly among the Greeks. Be gracious to us, our queen, and +let thy blessing rest on me and on my house! and I will offer to thee +a yearling heifer, that hath never felt the yoke. To thee will I +sacrifice her, when I have made gilt her horns with gold." + +Then Nestor led the way to his house, and Telemachus sat down with him +and his sons in the hall. And they filled a bowl with wine eleven +years old, exceeding choice, which was reserved for honoured guests. +And after they had finished the bowl, and offered prayer to Athene, +they parted for the night. For Telemachus a bed was prepared in the +portico, and close by him slept Pisistratus, the youngest of Nestor's +sons. + +When Telemachus rose next morning he found his host already afoot, +giving orders to his sons to prepare the sacrifice to Athene. One was +sent to fetch the heifer, another to summon the goldsmith, and a third +to bring up the crew of Telemachus' ship, while the rest busied +themselves in raising the altar and making all ready for the +sacrifice. + +Presently the heifer was driven lowing into the courtyard, and the +goldsmith followed with the instruments of his art. Nestor gave him +gold, and the smith beat it into thin leaf with his hammer, and laid +it skilfully over the horns of the heifer. A handmaid brought pure +water, and barley-meal in a basket, while one of Nestor's sons stood +ready with an axe, and another held a bowl to catch the blood. Then +Nestor dipped his hands in the water, took barley-meal from the basket +and sprinkled it on the head of the beast, and cutting a tuft of hair +from the forehead cast it into the fire. The prayer was spoken, and +all due rites being ended he who held the axe smote the heifer on the +head, just behind the horns. The women raised the sacrificial cry as +the heifer dropped to the ground; and next they whose office it was +lifted up the victim's head, and Pisistratus cut the throat. When the +last quiver of life was over they flayed the carcass, cut strips of +flesh from the thighs, and enveloping them in fat, burnt them on the +altar. The gods had now their share of the feast; the rest was cut +into slices, and broiled over the live embers. + +While the meal was preparing, Telemachus enjoyed the refreshment of a +bath; and Polycaste, the youngest of Nestor's daughters, waited on +him; for such was the patriarchal simplicity of those days. When he +had bathed, and finished his morning meal, the chariot was brought +out, and a strong pair of horses led under the yoke. And the +house-dame came with a basket, loaded with wine and delicate viands, +and placed it behind the seat. Telemachus took his place by the side +of Pisistratus, who was to drive the horses; the last farewells were +spoken, Pisistratus cracked his whip, and away they went under the +echoing gateway, and on through the streets of Pylos. + +[Illustration: Telemachus departing from Nestor] + +That night they slept at the house of a friend, and early next day +they continued their journey. The way grew steep and difficult, great +masses of mountains rose near at hand, and at length they entered a +wide valley, covered with waving fields of corn. By sunset they +reached the end of their journey, and drew up before the stately +portals of King Menelaus. + + + + +Telemachus at Sparta + + +I + +Menelaus was keeping the double marriage feast of his son and +daughter, and his house was thronged with wedding guests. All sat +silent and attentive, listening to the strains of a harper, and +watching the gambols of a pair of tumblers, who were whirling in giddy +reels round the hall. Presently voices were heard at the entrance, and +one of the squires of Menelaus came and informed his master that two +strangers of noble mien were standing without, craving hospitality. +"Shall I bring them in," asked the squire, "or send them on to another +house?" + +"Hast thou lost thy wits?" answered Menelaus in some heat, being +touched in his most sensitive point. "Shall we, who owe so much to the +kindness of strangers, in the long years of our wanderings, send any +man from our doors? Unyoke the horses, and bid our new guests enter." + +Four or five servants hastened to do his bidding. The horses, covered +with sweat from their hard journey, were unyoked and led into the +stable, and Telemachus, with his companion, was ushered with all +courtesy into the great hall of Menelaus. The palace was one of the +wealthiest and most splendid in Greece; and Telemachus, accustomed to +a much humbler style of dwelling, stood amazed at the glories which +met his eyes. After bathing and changing their raiment they returned +to the hall, and were assigned places close to the chair of Menelaus. + +The prince greeted them kindly, and said: "Welcome to our halls, young +sirs. Ye are, as I see, of no mean descent, for Zeus has set his stamp +on your faces,[1] and none can mistake the signs of kingly birth. When +ye have eaten, we will inquire of you further." + +[Footnote 1: In Homer, all kings and their families are supposed to be +descended from Zeus.] + +A plentiful and delicate meal was promptly set before the young +travellers, and they ate and drank with keen appetite. When they had +finished, Telemachus said to Pisistratus, speaking low, that he might +not be overheard: "Dear son of Nestor, is not this a brave place! Hast +thou ever seen such lavish ornament of silver, and gold, and ivory? +Surely such is the dwelling of Olympian Zeus; more magnificent it can +hardly be." + +The quick ear of Menelaus caught his last words, and he answered, +smiling: "Nay, my friend, no mortal may vie with the everlasting +glories of Zeus. But whether any man can equal me in riches, I know +not. For indeed I wandered far and long to gather all this treasure, +to Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, to Æthiopia, and Sidon, and the +Afric shore, a land unmatched in its countless multitudes of sheep. +There the ewes bring forth young three times a year, and the poorest +shepherd has abundance of cheese, and flesh, and milk. From all these +lands I gathered many a costly freight, and now I dwell in the midst +of plenty. Nevertheless my heart is sad, when I think of all that I +have lost. Had I returned home straight from Troy, I should have come +back a poor man, for my house had gone to waste in my absence; but I +should not have had to mourn for the death of my brother, struck down, +as doubtless ye have heard, by a murderer's hand. And then the thought +lies heavy upon me of all those who fell in my cause at Troy, and +especially of one who was dear to me above all, Odysseus, ever the +foremost in every toil and adventure. His image haunts me by day and +by night, marring my slumbers, and making my food taste bitter in my +mouth. He was a man of many woes, and sorrowful is the lot of his wife +Penelope and Telemachus his son." + +At this mention of his father Telemachus could not control his tears, +but covered his face with his mantle, and wept without restraint. +Menelaus saw his emotion, and began to suspect who he was; but for the +present he said nothing. + +A slight stir was now heard at the back of the hall, and a low murmur +went round among the guests, who whispered to each other: "The Queen! +The Queen!" And in she came softly, with slow and stately step, Helen, +the daughter of Tyndareus, and wife of Menelaus, fairest among all the +high-born dames of Greece. Her wondrous beauty was now ripened into +matronly perfection, but now and then a shadow seemed to pass over her +face, like the ghost of an old sin, long repented and forgiven. A +handmaid set a chair for her, throwing over it a soft rug, and brought +a footstool for her feet, while another bare a silver basket, with +rims of gold, and placed it ready, filled with purple yarn. When Helen +was seated, she gazed long and earnestly at Telemachus, and then, +turning to her husband, she said; "Menelaus, shall I utter the thought +which is in my heart? Nay, speak I must. Ne'er saw I such a likeness, +either in man or woman, as is the likeness of this fair youth to +Odysseus. Surely this is Telemachus, whom he left an infant in Ithaca +when the host was summoned to Troy to fight in a worthless woman's +cause." + +"I have marked it too," answered Menelaus. "Such were his very hands +and feet, and the carriage of his head, and the glance of his eye. +Moreover, when I made mention of Odysseus he covered his face, and +wept full sore." + +Telemachus was still too much distressed to speak, and Pisistratus had +to answer for him: "Thou sayest truly, my lord; it is Telemachus +himself. Nestor sent me with him to inquire of thee, and crave counsel +of thy wisdom. He is left like an orphan in his home, with none to aid +him, and take his father's place." + +Then Menelaus drew near to Telemachus, and taking his hand kindly +said: "Welcome again, and thrice welcome to these halls, thou son of +my trustiest friend and helper! It was the dream of my life to bring +Odysseus and all his household from Ithaca, and give him a home and a +city in this land, that we might grow old together in friendship and +loving-kindness, never to be parted until death. But envious heaven +has blighted my hopes and hindered his return." + +At these sad words every eye was moist, and all sat silent, absorbed +in sorrowful memories. Pisistratus was the first to speak, and his +words roused the rest from their melancholy mood. "Son of Atreus," he +said, "my father has often spoken of thy wisdom, and perchance it has +taught thee that sorrow is an ill guest at a banquet. The dead, +indeed, claim their due, and he would be hard-hearted who would grudge +them the poor tribute of a tear. But we cannot mourn for ever, even +for such a one as my brother Antilochus, whom I never saw, but thou +knewest him well, stout in battle, and swift in the pursuit." + +"'Tis well said," replied Menelaus. "Thou art wise beyond thy years, +and a true son of Nestor. Happy is he, beyond the common lot of men, +and smooth and fair runs the thread of his Destiny. He dwells in a +green old age in his father's house, and sees his sons growing up +around him, true heirs of his valour and prudence. Now let us banish +care, and get to our supper, for the day is far spent, and we have +matter for talk which will last us all the morrow." + +When they had finished eating, and the cups were about to be +replenished, Helen rose from her seat, and, whispering a few words to +the cupbearer, left the hall. In a few minutes she returned, carrying +in her hand a small phial, whose contents she poured into the great +mixing-bowl from which the cups were filled. "Now, drink," she said, +"and fear not that black care will pay us a second visit to-night. I +have poured into the wine a drug of wondrous potency and virtue, which +was given me in Egypt by Polydamna, the wife of Thon. Many such drugs +the soil of Egypt bears, some baneful and some good. And the Egyptians +are skilled in such craft beyond all mankind. He who drinks of this +drug will be armed for that day against all the assaults of sorrow, +and will not shed one tear, though his father and mother were to die, +no, not though he saw his brother or his son slain before his eyes. So +mighty is the virtue of this drug." And when they had drunk of the +magic potion Helen began again: "'Tis now the witching hour, when all +hearts are opened, and the burden of life presses lightest on men's +shoulders. Come, let me tell you a story, one among many, of the deeds +and the hardihood of Odysseus. It was in the days of the siege, and +the Trojans were kept close prisoners in their city by the leaguer of +the Greeks. Then he disguised himself as a beggar, clothed himself in +filthy rags, and marred his goodly person with cruel stripes. In such +fashion he entered the foemen's walls, as if he were a slave flying +from a hard master.[1] And I alone in all the city knew who he was. So +I brought him to my house, and began to question him; but he made as +if he understood not. But when I entertained him as an honoured guest, +and swore a solemn oath not to betray him, he trusted me, and declared +all the purpose of the Greeks. At dead of night he stole out into the +town, and, having slain many of the Trojans with the edge of the +sword, he went back to the camp, and brought much information to his +friends. + +[Footnote 1: Compare the stratagem of Zopyrus, in "Stories from Greek +History."] + +"When morning came, the voice of wailing rose high in the streets of +Troy; but my heart rejoiced, for I was filled with longing for my +home, and my eyes were opened to the folly which I had wrought by the +beguilement of Aphrodite, when I left my fatherland and broke faith +with my lord." + +"Tis a good story, and thou hast told it well, fair wife," said +Menelaus. "Now hear my tale. It was the time when I and the other +champions were shut up in the wooden horse; and Odysseus was with us. +Then thou camest thither, led, I suppose, by some god, hostile to +Greece, who wished to work our ruin; and Deiphobus followed thee. +Three times thou didst pace around our hollow ambush, feeling it with +thy hands, and calling aloud to the princes of Greece by name; and thy +voice was like the voice of all their wives. There we sat, I, and +Diomede, and the rest, and heard thee calling. Now I and Diomede were +minded to answer thee, or to go forth and confer with thee; but +Odysseus suffered it not, and when one of our number was about to lift +up his voice he pressed his hands on that foolish mouth, and +restrained him by force until thou hadst left the place. And so he +saved all our lives." + +"Yes," said Telemachus, "he had a heart of iron. But what has it +availed him? It could not save him from ruin. Howbeit, no more of +this; 'tis time to go to rest and forget our cares in sleep." + +II + +Early next morning Telemachus found his host sitting by his bedside; +and as soon as he was dressed Menelaus led him to a quiet place, and +inquired the reason of his coming. He listened with attention while +Telemachus explained the purpose of his visit; but when he heard of +the suitors, and their riot and waste, he was filled with indignation. + +"What!" he cried, "would these dastards fill the seat and wed the wife +of that mighty man? Their lot shall be the lot of a pair of fawns, +left by the mother hind in a lion's lair. The hind goes forth to +pasture, and in her absence the lion returns, and devours them where +they lie. Even so shall Odysseus return, and bring swift destruction +on the whole crew. + +"But thou hast asked me what I know of the fortunes of Odysseus, since +he departed from Troy; and verily I will tell thee all that I have +heard, without turning aside in my tale. I must go back to the time +when I lay wind-bound with my ships in a little island off the mouth +of the Nile. The island is called Pharos, and it is distant a day's +voyage from the river's mouth. I had lain there twenty days, and still +not a breath of air ruffled the glassy surface of the sea. All our +stores were consumed, and we had nothing to eat but the fish which my +men caught with rudely fashioned hooks and lines. One day I left my +men busy with their angling, and wandered away along the shore, full +of sad thoughts, and wondering how all this would end. Suddenly I +heard a light footstep on the pebbles, and there stepped forth from +behind a tall rock a young maiden in white, flowing robes. Full of +dread I saw her coming towards me; for I knew that she was no mortal +woman. But her look was gracious, and her voice was sweet; so I took +courage as she said: 'Who art thou, stranger, and why lingerest thou +with thy company in this desert place? I am Eidothea, daughter of +Proteus, the ancient one of the sea; and I am ready to help thee, if +thou wilt tell me thy need.' + +"Then I told her how I had been kept an unwilling captive on the +island, and begged her to let me know what power I had offended, that +he might be appeased by sacrifice, and suffer the wind to blow. 'There +is one who can tell thee all that thou desirest to know,' answered +she. 'Yea, Proteus, my father, will show thee how to win thy path +across the watery waste. No secrets are hidden from him, neither on +earth nor in the sea; and he can tell thee all that hath befallen in +thy house in the long years of thine absence. Now hearken, and I will +tell thee how thou mayest wring from him all his secrets. Every day at +noon he comes forth from the sea, and lays him down to sleep in a +rocky cave; and about him are couched his herd of seals. I will bring +thee to the place in the early morning, and set thee in ambush to +await his coming. Choose three of the stoutest of thy men to aid thee +in the adventure, and as soon as thou seest him asleep rush upon him +and hold him fast. He will struggle hard, and take a hundred different +shapes; but loose him not until he return to his own form, and then +will he reveal to thee all that he has to tell.' + +"So saying, the goddess disappeared beneath the waves. Next morning I +went with three picked men to the appointed place, and soon Eidothea +arrived, bearing four hides of seals, freshly flayed. Then she +hollowed out four pits in the sand for us to lie in, and clothed us in +the skins, and couched us together. Now that bed had like to have been +our last, for we were stifled by the dreadful stench of the seabred +seals. But the goddess saw our distress, and found a remedy; for she +brought ambrosia and set it beneath our nostrils, and that heavenly +perfume overpowered the noisome stench. + +"So all the morning we lay and wafted patiently, and at noon the seals +came up out of the sea and lay down in order on the sand. Last of all +came Proteus, and counted his herd, reckoning us among their number, +with no suspicion of guile. We waited until he was fast asleep, and +then we rushed from our ambush and seized him hand and foot. Long and +hard was the struggle, and many the shapes which he took. First he +became a bearded lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a huge boar; +after these he turned into running water and a tall, leafy tree. But +we only held him the more firmly, and at last he grew weary and spake +to me in his own shape: 'What wouldst thou have, son of Atreus, and +who has taught thee to outwit me and take me captive by craft?' + +"'Thou knowest my need,' I answered; 'why dost thou waste thy words? +Tell me rather how I may find release from my present strait' + +"'Hear, then,' said he: 'thou hast forgotten thy duty to Zeus and the +other gods. Not a victim bled, not a prayer was offered, when thou +didst embark on this voyage. Go back to Egypt, to the holy waters of +Nile, and there pay thy vows, and offer a great sacrifice to their +offended deity; thus, and thus only, canst thou win thy return to +thine own country and thy stately home.' + +"When I heard this my heart was broken within me, to think of that +long and perilous path across the misty deep. Nevertheless I consented +to take that journey, for I saw no other way of escape. And after I +had promised to obey him, I began to inquire further of the fate of +Nestor and the rest, whom I left behind me on my way home. + +"''Tis a grievous story that thou requirest of me,' said Proteus, 'and +thou shalt have little joy in the hearing. Many have been taken and +many left. Two only perished in returning, and one is still living, a +prisoner of the sea. Ajax has paid his debt to Athene, whose shrine he +polluted; and this was the manner of his death: when his vessel was +shattered by that great tempest, he himself escaped to a rock, for +Poseidon came to his aid. But even the peril which he had just escaped +could not subdue his haughtiness and his pride, and he uttered an +impious vaunt, boasting that in despite of heaven he had escaped a +watery grave. Then Poseidon was wroth, and smote the rock with his +trident, and that half of the rock on which Ajax was sitting fell into +the sea, bearing him with it. So he died, when he had drunk the brine. + +"'Now harden thy heart, and learn how thy brother Agamemnon fell. +After a long and stormy voyage he at length brought his shattered +vessels safe into harbour, and set foot on his native soil at Argos. +With tears of joy and thankfulness he fell on his knees and kissed the +sod, trusting that now his sorrows were passed. Now there was a +watchman whom Ægisthus had posted on a high place commanding the sea +to look out for Agamemnon's return. A whole year he watched, for he +had been promised a great reward. And when he saw the king's face he +went with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith Ægisthus prepared an +ambush of twenty armed men; these he kept in hiding at the back of the +hall, while he ordered his servants to prepare a great banquet. Then +he went to meet Agamemnon with horses and with chariots, and brought +him to his house, and made good cheer. And when he had feasted him he +smote and slew him, as a man slaughters an ox in his stall.' + +"At that tale of horror I fell upon the sand, weeping bitterly, for I +had no desire to live any longer or look on the light of the sun. Long +I lay mourning, as one who had lost all hope, but at last Proteus +checked the torrent of my passion, and bade me take thought of my own +homecoming. 'This is no time,' he said, 'to melt away in womanish +grief. Haste thee to take vengeance, if so be that Orestes hath not +forestalled thee, and slain his father's murderer.' + +"Somewhat comforted by these words, I took courage to ask who was the +man of whom he had spoken as a prisoner of the sea. 'It is the son of +Laertes,' answered Proteus, 'Odysseus, whose home is in Ithaca. I +myself saw him on an island, in the house of the nymph Calypso; and +sore he wept because he could not leave the goddess, who holds him in +thrall, and will not suffer him to return to his country.' + +"Lastly, he told me concerning my own fate. 'Thou, Menelaus,' he said, +'art exempt from the common lot of men, because thou art the husband +of Helen, and she is a daughter of Zeus. Therefore it is not appointed +for thee to die, but when thine hour is come the gods shall convey +thee to the Elysian fields, where dwell the elect spirits in +everlasting blessedness. There falls not snow nor rain, there blows no +rude blast, but the fresh cool breath of the west comes softly from +Ocean to refresh them that dwell in that happy clime.'" + +Thus happily ended the story of the Spartan prince's wanderings. And +when he had finished, he pressed Telemachus to prolong his visit; but +that prudent youth declined the invitation, pleading the necessity of +a speedy return to Ithaca, that he might keep an eye on the doings of +the suitors. Menelaus was compelled to allow the justice of his plea, +and accordingly all things were made ready for a speedy departure. + +III + +We must now return to Ithaca, and see what reception was preparing for +Telemachus when he came back from his adventurous journey. Two or +three days after he left Ithaca the suitors were gathered before the +doors of Odysseus, playing at quoits, or hurling their javelins at a +mark. Presently a young noble came up to the group, and addressing +Antinous, who was watching the sport, asked him if he had heard aught +of Telemachus. "I would fain know how long he is like to be absent +from Ithaca," he said; "for he has borrowed my ship, and I have need +of her. Know ye when he is to return from Pylos?" + +Antinous heard him with amazement; for neither he nor any other of the +suitors knew that Telemachus had sailed from Ithaca, supposing him to +be absent on his farm. So he questioned the youth closely as to the +time and manner of that voyage, how the crew was composed, and whether +the vessel was lent willingly, or taken by force. "Of my own free will +I lent her," answered the lad, "why should I not help him in his need? +As to the crew, they were all picked men, and well born; and the +captain was Mentor, or some god in his likeness; for I saw Mentor +yesterday in the town, and not a ship has touched at Ithaca since they +sailed." + +When he who had lent the ship was departed the suitors left their +sports, and drawing close together began to converse in low tones. +They were full of anger against Telemachus because of this journey, +which gave the lie to their malicious prophecies, and was not without +prospect of danger to themselves. Accordingly Antinous found ready +hearers when he stood up and spoke as follows:--"This forward boy must +be put down, or he will mar our wooing. It is a great deed which he +has done, and he will not stop here, unless we find means to cut short +his adventures. Now hear what I advise: let us man a ship and moor her +in the narrow sea between Ithaca and Samos, and lie in wait for him +there. This cruise of his is like to cost him dear." + +The plan was highly approved, and the whole body rose and entered the +house together, resolved to act at once on the advice of Antinous. +Before long news of their wicked designs came to the ears of Penelope, +who was still ignorant of her son's departure; for Eurycleia had kept +her counsel well. The evil tidings were brought by Medon, a servant in +the house of Odysseus, who had overheard the suitors plotting +together, while he stood concealed behind a buttress of the courtyard +fence. Without delay he went in search of Penelope, whom he found +sitting with her handmaids in her chamber. As soon as he appeared on +the threshold Penelope looked at him reproachfully, and said: "What +message bringest thou from thy fair masters? Is it their pleasure that +my maidens should leave their tasks and spread the board for them? Out +on your feasting and your wooing! May this be the last morsel that ye +ever taste! Ungrateful men, have ye forgotten all the good deeds that +were wrought here by the hands of Odysseus, and all the kindness that +ye received from him? Yes, all is forgotten; ye have no thought in +your hearts but to grow fat at his cost, and devour his living." + +"Alas! lady," answered Medon, "would that this were the worst! But I +am the bearer of heavier news than this. Telemachus has sailed to +Pylos, to inquire concerning his father, and the suitors have plotted +to slay him on his way home." Having delivered his message, Medon left +the chamber, and the door was shut. + +Long Penelope sat without a word, struck dumb by this cruel blow. +Then, as if seized by a sudden thought, she rose from her seat, and +took two paces towards the door. But her strength failing her she +tottered backward, and sank down upon the ground, leaning against the +wall. Her handmaids gathered round her, and would have lifted her up, +but she waved them off and at last gave utterance to her feelings in +wailing and broken tones: + +"Woeful beyond the lot of all women on earth is my portion! First, I +lost my lion-hearted lord, rich in every excellent gift, a hero among +heroes; and now the powers of the air[1] have carried off my child, my +well-beloved, without one word of farewell. Hearts of stone, why did +ye not tell me of his going? Had I known his purpose I would have +prevailed on him to stay, or he must have left me dead in these halls. +Go, one of you, and call Dolius, the keeper of my garden and orchard, +and send him to tell all to Laertes, if haply he may devise some way +to turn the hearts of the people, and save his race from being utterly +cut off." + +[Footnote 1: Demons, to whom sudden disappearance was attributed.] + +"Sweet lady," answered Eurycleia, who was sitting among the women, "I +will tell thee all the truth, and then thou shalt slay me, if it be +thy will. I was privy to this journey, and Telemachus made me swear a +solemn oath not to reveal it to thee until twelve days were passed, or +thou hadst heard of it from others. For he feared that thou wouldst +waste thy fair cheeks with weeping. But be not cast down; I am sure +that the gods hate not so utterly the house of Odysseus, nor purpose +to destroy it altogether. Vex not the old man Laertes in his sorrow, +but go wash thyself, put on clean raiment, and go up and pray to +Athene in thy upper chamber to guard and keep thy son from harm." + +Then Penelope was comforted, and dried her tears, and went up with her +handmaids to the upper chamber. There she made her offering before the +shrine of Athene, and lifted up her voice in prayer: "Daughter of +Zeus, stern warrior maiden, if ever my lord Odysseus offered +acceptable sacrifice to thee, remember now his service, save my son, +and let not the wooers work evil against him." When her prayer was +ended the women joined their voices with hers, and called again and +again on the awful name of Athene. After that they left her, and she +sank down on a couch, exhausted by her emotions, and full of anxious +thought. At length she ceased her weary tossing, and fell into a quiet +and refreshing sleep. + +Athene had heard her prayer, and being full of pity for the sorely +tried lady she resolved to find means to soothe her troubled spirit. +So she made a phantom, like in form and in feature to Iphthime, a +sister of Penelope, who lived with her husband in distant Pheræ. And +the phantom came to the house of Penelope, and entering her chamber by +the keyhole, stood by her bedside and spake to her thus: "Sorrow not +at all, nor vex thy soul for the sake of Telemachus. The gods love thy +son, and will bring him safe home." + +Then wise Penelope made answer, slumbering right sweetly at the gates +of dreams: "Dear sister, what has brought thee hither from thy far +distant home? Thou biddest me take comfort, but my heart is torn with +fear and grief for my brave lord, and yet more for Telemachus, who is +encompassed with perils by sea and by land." "Fear nothing," answered +the dim phantom. "He has a mighty helper by his side, even Pallas +Athene, who sent me hither to strengthen and console thee." With that +the ghostly visitor vanished as it came, and left Penelope much +cheered by the clear vision which had brought her words of healing at +the blackest hour of the night. + +Meanwhile Antinous had taken steps to carry out his villainous design. +At nightfall he went down to the sea with twenty picked men, boarded +the vessel which had been prepared for their use, and sailed out to a +little island which lies in the middle of the strait between Samos and +Ithaca. There they anchored in a sheltered bay, and waited for the +coming of Telemachus. + + + + +Odysseus and Calypso + + +I + +We have waited long for the appearance of Odysseus, and at last he is +about to enter the scene, which he will never leave again until the +final act of the great drama is played out. Hitherto he has been +pursued by the malice of Poseidon, who wrecked his fleet, drowned all +his men, and kept him confined for seven years in Calypso's island, in +vengeance for the blinding of his son Polyphemus. + +But now the prayers of Athene have prevailed, and Hermes, the +messenger of the gods, is on his way from Olympus, bearing a +peremptory summons to Calypso to let Odysseus depart. Shod with his +golden, winged sandals, which bear him, swift as the wind, over moist +and dry, and holding in his hand his magic wand, Hermes skimmed like a +seagull over the blue waters of the Ægæan, until he came to that far +distant isle. Arrived there, he went straight to the great cavern +where Calypso dwelt; and he found her there, walking about her room, +weaving with a golden shuttle, and singing sweetly at her work. A +great fire was blazing on the hearth, sending forth a sweet odour of +cedar and sandal-wood. Round about the cavern grew a little wood of +blossoming trees, "alder and poplar tall, and cypress sweet of smell"; +and there owls and hawks and cormorants built their nests. Over the +threshold was trained a wide-branching vine, with many a purple +cluster and wealth of rustling leaves. Four springs of clear water +welled up before the cave, and wandered down to the meadows where the +violet and parsley grew. It was a choice and cool retreat, meet +dwelling for a lovely nymph. + +Calypso greeted her visitor kindly, bade him be seated, and set nectar +and ambrosia before him. And when he had refreshed himself, he told +his message. "I bear the commands of Zeus," he said, "and to do his +high will have I travelled this long and weary way. It is said that +thou keepest with thee a man of many woes, who has suffered more than +any of those who fought at Troy. Him thou art commanded to send away +from thee with all speed; for it is not destined for him to end his +days here, but the hour has come when he must go back to his home and +country, Zeus has spoken, and thou must obey." + +This was bitter news to Calypso, for she loved Odysseus, and would +have made him immortal, that he might abide with her for ever. She +wrung her hands, and said in a mournful voice: "Now I know of a truth +that the gods are a jealous race, and will not suffer one of their +kind to wed with a mortal mate. Therefore Orion fell by the unseen +arrows of Artemis, when fair Aurora chose him for her lord; and +therefore Zeus slew Iasion with his lightning, because he was loved of +Demeter. Is not Odysseus mine? Did I not save him and cherish him when +he was flung naked and helpless on these shores? But since no other +deity may evade or frustrate the will of Zeus, let him go, and I will +show him how he may reach his own country without scathe." + +When he had heard Calypso's answer, Hermes took leave of her, and +returned to Olympus, and the nymph went down to the part of the shore +where she knew Odysseus was accustomed to sit. There he would remain +all day, gazing tearfully over the barren waste of waters, and wearing +out his soul with ceaseless lamentation. For he had long grown weary +of his soft slavery in Calypso's cave, and yearned with exceeding +great desire for the familiar hills of Ithaca, so rugged, but so dear. +And there Calypso found him now, sitting on a rock with dejected mien. +She sat down at his side, and said: "A truce to thy complaints, thou +man of woes! Thou hast thy wish; I will let thee go with all +good-will, and I will show thee how to build a broad raft, which +shall bear thee across the misty deep. I will victual her with corn +and wine, and clothe thee in new garments, and send a breeze behind +thee to waft thee safe. Thus am I commanded by the gods, whose +dwelling is in the wide heaven, and their will I do. Up now and fell +me yon tall trees for timber to make the raft." + +Odysseus was by nature a very shrewd and cautious man, and he feared +that Calypso was contriving some mischief against him, in revenge for +his coldness. He looked at her doubtfully, and answered: "I fear thee, +nymph, and I mistrust thy purpose. How shall a man cross this dreadful +gulf, where no ship is ever seen, on a raft? And though that were +possible, I will never leave thee against thy will. Swear to me now +that thou intendest me no harm." + +Calypso smiled at his suspicions, and patted him on the shoulder as +she answered: "Thou art a sad rogue, and very deep of wit, as anyone +may see by these words of thine. Now hear me swear: Witness, thou +earth, and the wide heaven above us, and the dark waterfall of Styx, +the greatest and most awful thing by which a god may swear, that I +intend no ill, but only good, to this man." + +Having sworn that oath Calypso rose, and bidding Odysseus follow led +the way to her cave. There she set meat before him, such as mortal men +eat, and wine to drink; but she herself was served by her handmaids +with immortal food, and nectar, the wine of the gods. When they had +supped, Calypso looked at Odysseus and said: "And wilt thou indeed +leave me, thou strange man? Am I not tall and fair, and worthy to be +called a daughter of heaven? And is thy Penelope so rare a dame, that +thou preferrest her to me! Ah! if thou knewest all the toils which +await thee before thou reachest thy home, and all the perils prepared +for thee there, thou wouldst renounce thy purpose, and dwell for ever +with me. Nevertheless go, if go thou must, and my blessing go with +thee." + +Her words were kind, but some anger lurked in her tone, which Odysseus +hastened to appease. "Fair goddess," he answered, "be not wroth with +me. I know that thou art more lovely far than my wife Penelope; for +thou art divine, and she is but a mortal woman. Nevertheless I long +day and night to see her face, and to sit beneath the shadow of my own +rooftree. And if I be stricken again by the hand of Heaven on the +purple sea, I will bear it, for I have a very patient heart. Long have +I toiled, and much have I suffered, amid waves and wars. If more +remains, I will endure that also." + +II + +At early dawn, when the eastern wave was just silvered by the dim +light, Calypso roused Odysseus, and equipped him for the task of the +day. First she gave him a weighty two-edged axe, well balanced on its +haft of olive-wood, and an adze, freshly ground; then she showed him +where the tall trees grew, and bade him fall to work with the axe. +Twenty great trees fell beneath his sturdy strokes, and he trimmed the +trunks with the axe, and stripped off the bark. Meanwhile Calypso had +brought him an augur, and he bored the timbers, and fitted them +together, and fastened them with bolts and cross-pieces. So the raft +grew under his hands, broad as the floor of a stout merchantship. And +he fenced her with bulwarks, piling up blocks of wood to steady them. +Last of all he made mast and sail and rigging; and when all was ready +he thrust the frail vessel with rollers and levers down to the sea. + +Four times the sun had risen and set before his labour was ended; and +on the fifth day Calypso brought him provisions for the voyage, a +great goatskin bottle full of water, and a smaller one of wine, and a +sack of corn, with other choice viands as a relish to his bread. + +A joyful man was Odysseus when he spread his sail, and took his place +at the helm, and waved a last farewell to his gentle friend. A fair +breeze wafted him swiftly from the shore, and ere long that lovely +island, at once his home and his prison for seven long years, became a +mere shadow in the distance. All night he sat sleepless, tiller in +hand, watching the pilot stars, the Pleiades, and Boötes, and the +Bear, named also the Wain, which turns on one spot, and watches Orion, +and never dips into the ocean stream. For the goddess Calypso had +bidden him keep that star on the left hand as he sailed the seas. Thus +he voyaged for seventeen days, and on the eighteenth he saw afar off, +dimly outlined, a range of hills, rising, like the back of a shield, +above the horizon's verge. + +Now Poseidon, his great enemy, had been absent for many days on a far +journey, and thus had taken no part in the council at Olympus when +Zeus had issued his order for the release of Odysseus. Just at this +time he was on his way back to Olympus, and caught sight of the bold +voyager steering towards the nearest land. "Ha! art thou there?" said +the implacable god, shaking his head; "and have the other powers +plotted against me in my absence, to frustrate my just anger? Thy +wanderings are well-nigh over, poor wretch! But thou shalt taste once +more of my vengeance, before thou reachest yonder shore." + +So saying the lord of ocean took his trident and stirred up the deep; +and the clouds came trooping at his call, covering the sky with a +black curtain. Soon a great tempest broke loose, blowing in violent +and fitful blasts from all the four quarters of heaven. Then pale fear +got hold of Odysseus, as he saw the great curling billows heaving +round his frail craft. "Woe is me!" he cried, "when shall my troubles +have an end? Surely the goddess spoke truth, when she foretold me that +I should perish amid the waves, and never see my home again. Here I +lie helpless, given over to destruction, the sport of all the winds of +heaven. Happy, thrice happy, were my comrades who fell fighting +bravely and found honourable burial in the soil of Troy! Would that I +had died on that great day when the battle raged fiercest over the +body of Pelides; then should I have found death with honour, but now I +am doomed to a miserable and dishonoured end." + +The words were hardly uttered when a huge toppling wave struck the +raft with tremendous force, carrying away mast and sail, and hurling +Odysseus into the sea. Deep down he sank, and the waters darkened over +his head, for he was encumbered by the weight of his clothes. At last +he rose to the surface, gasping, and spitting out the brine, and +though sore spent, he swam towards the raft, and hauled himself on +board. There he sat clinging to the dismasted and rudderless vessel, +which was tossed to and fro from wave to wave, as the winds of autumn +sport with the light thistledown and drive it hither and thither. + +But help was at hand. There was a certain ocean nymph, named Ino, +daughter of Cadmus, who had once been a mortal woman, but now was +numbered among the immortal powers. She saw and pitied Odysseus, and +boarding the raft addressed him in this wise: "Poor man, why is +Poseidon so wroth with thee that he maltreats thee thus? Yet shall he +not destroy thee, for all his malice. Only do as I bid thee, and thou +shalt get safely to land: take this veil, and when thou hast stripped +off thy garments, bind it across thy breast. Then leave the raft to +its fate, and swim manfully to land; and when thou art safe fling the +veil back into the sea, and go thy way." + +So saying the goddess sank beneath the waves, leaving Odysseus with +her veil in his hand. But that cautious veteran did not at once act on +her advice, for he feared that some treachery was intended against +him. He resolved therefore to remain on the raft as long as her +timbers held together, and only to have recourse to the veil in the +last extremity. + +He had just taken this prudent resolution, when another wave, more +huge than the last, thundered down on the raft, scattering her +timbers, as the wind scatters a heap of chaff. Odysseus clung fast to +one beam and, mounting it, sat astride as on a horse, until he had +stripped off his clothes. Then he bound the veil round him, flung +himself head foremost into the billows, and swam lustily towards land. + +The storm was now subsiding, and a steady breeze succeeded, blowing +from the north, which helped that much-tried hero in his struggle for +life. Yet for two days and two nights he battled with the waves, and +when day broke on the third day he found himself close under a +frowning wall of cliffs, at whose foot the sea was breaking with a +noise like thunder. Odysseus ceased swimming, and trod the water, +looking anxiously round for an opening in the cliffs where he might +land. While he hesitated, a great foaming wave came rushing landward, +threatening to sweep him against that rugged shore; but Odysseus saw +his danger in time, and succeeded in gaining a rocky mass which stood +above the surface just before him, and clutching it with hands and +knees, contrived to keep his hold until the huge billow was past. In +another moment he was caught by the recoil of the wave, and flung back +into the boiling surf, with fingers torn and bleeding. With desperate +exertions he fought his way out into the comparatively calm water, +outside the line of breakers, and swam parallel to the shore, until he +saw with delight a sheltered inlet, whence a river flowed into the +sea. Murmuring a prayer to the god of the river he steered for land, +and a few strokes brought him to a smooth sandy beach, where he lay +for a long time without sense or motion. All his flesh was swollen by +his long immersion in the water, the skin was stripped from his hands, +and when his breath came back to him he felt as weak as a child. Then +a deadly nausea came over him, and the water which he had swallowed +gushed up through his mouth and nostrils. Somewhat relieved by this, +he rose to his feet, and tottering to the river's brink loosed the +veil from his waist, and dropped it into the flowing water. For he +remembered the request of Ino, to whom he owed his life. + +He had indeed escaped the sea; but his position seemed almost +hopeless. There he lay, naked, and more dead than alive, without food +or shelter, in a strange land, without a sign of human habitation in +view. Crawling painfully to a bed of rushes he lay down and considered +what was best for him to do. He could not remain where he was, for it +was an exposed place, with no protection from the dew, and open to the +chill breeze from the river, which blows at early dawn. A few hours of +such a vigil would certainly kill him in his exhausted state. If, on +the other hand, he sought the shelter of the woods, he feared that he +would fall a prey to some prowling beast. + +At last he determined to face the less certain peril, and made his way +into a thicket not far from the river side. Searching for a place +where he might lie he soon came upon two dense bushes of olive, whose +leaves and branches were so closely interwoven that they formed a sort +of natural arbour, impenetrable by sun, or rain, or wind. "In good +time!" murmured Odysseus, as he crept beneath that green roof, and +scooped out a deep bed for himself in the fallen leaves. There he lay +down, and piled the leaves high over him. And as a careful housewife +in some remote farmhouse, where there are no neighbours near, covers +up a burning brand among the ashes, so that it may last all night, and +preserve the seed of fire; so lay Odysseus, nursing the spark of life, +in his deep bed of leaves. And soon he forgot all his troubles in a +deep and dreamless sleep. + + + + +Odysseus among the Phæacians + + +I + +The land on which Odysseus had thus been cast like a piece of broken +wreckage was called Phæacia, and derived its name from the Phæacians, +a race of famous mariners, who had settled there some fifty years +before, having been driven from their former seat by the Cyclopes, a +savage tribe, who dwelt on their borders. The Phæacians were an +unwarlike people, and being in no condition to resist the fierce +assaults of these lawless neighbours, they abandoned their homes and +built a new city on a little peninsula, connected with the mainland by +a narrow isthmus. Defended by strong walls they were now safe against +all attacks, and they soon grew rich and prosperous in the exercise of +a thriving trade. + +At this time the king of the Phæacians was Alcinous, who had a fair +daughter, named Nausicaä. On the night when Odysseus lay couched in +his bed of leaves Nausicaä was sleeping in her bower, and with her +were two handmaids, whose beds were set on either side of the door. +And in a dream she seemed to hear one of her girlish friends, the +daughter of a neighbouring house, speaking to her thus: "Nausicaä, why +art thou grown so careless as to suffer all the raiment in thy +father's house to remain unwashen, when thy bridal day is so near? +Wouldst thou be wedded in soiled attire, and have all thy friends clad +unseemly, to put thee to shame? These are a woman's cares, by which +she wins a good report among men, and gladdens her mother's heart. +Arise, therefore, at break of day, and beg thy father to let harness +the mules to the wain, that thou mayest take the linen to the place of +washing, far away by the river's side. I will go with thee, and help +thee in the work." + +So dreamed Nausicaä, and so spake the vision. But the voice which +seemed the voice of her friend came from no mortal lips; it was Athene +herself who had visited the maiden's bower, in her care for Odysseus, +that he might get safe conduct to the city of the Phæacians. And when +she had done her errand the goddess went back to Olympus, where is the +steadfast, everlasting seat of the blessed gods, not shaken of any +wind, nor wet with rain, nor chilled by snow, but steeped for ever in +cloudless, sunny air. There the gods abide for ever and take their +delight. + +Nausicaä rose betimes, with her mind full of the dream, and went down +to the hall, where she found her mother sitting by the hearth with her +women, spinning the bright sea-purple thread. Inquiring for her father +she learnt that he had but that moment gone forth to attend the +council of elders, and hastening after him she found him before the +doors of the house. + +"Father," she said, "may I have the waggon to take the household +raiment to the place of washing? Thou thyself hast ever need of clean +garments when thou goest to the council, and my brothers will reproach +me if they lack clean raiment when they go to the dance." + +Thus spake the maiden, being ashamed to make mention of her own +marriage. But Alcinous knew, and smiled to himself, as he ordered his +thralls to prepare the waggon. So when they had harnessed the mules, +Nausicaä and her handmaids brought the soiled garments, and bestowed +them behind the seat. And her mother brought a basket with food for +the midday meal and oil for her daughter and the other maidens when +they took their bath. Then they took their seats, Nausicaä grasped the +reins, and they went off at a sharp trot towards the riverside. + +After a pleasant drive, they came to the place where stood a row of +cisterns on the river's bank. There they unharnessed the mules, and +left them to crop the sweet clover in the water-meadows. Then they +unloaded the waggon, threw the garments into washing-troughs, and trod +them with their feet until they were thoroughly cleansed, and having +wrung them out, they spread them on the white pebbly beach to dry. +While the garments were bleaching in the wholesome sun and air, they +took their bath, and afterwards sat down to the midday meal. When that +was ended, they threw off their veils, and stood up to play at ball. + +It was a pretty and graceful sight; they were all comely maidens, +glowing with youth and health. Their sport was accompanied by dance +and song, and as they chased the flying ball, keeping time with hand +and foot and voice, they seemed like a choir of mountain nymphs, led +by Artemis, when she goes forth to the chase, in the wild valleys of +Arcady or Lacedæmon. Tallest and fairest of them all was Nausicaä, who +led the sport, moving like a queen among her vassals. + +Presently they grew tired of their sport, and Nausicaä flung the ball +for the last time to one of her handmaids. The girl missed the ball, +and it fell into the middle of the river, whereupon the whole company +set up a sharp cry. The sound came to the ears of Odysseus, and woke +him from his long slumber. He sat up in his bed of leaves and communed +with himself: "Behold I hear the shrill cry of women, or perhaps of +the nymphs who haunt this wild place. Now may I learn of what sort are +the natives of this land, whether they be fierce and inhospitable, or +gentle and kind to strangers." Plucking a leafy bough, and holding it +before him to cover himself, he stepped forth from the thicket, and +came in sight of that gentle company. Grim and dreadful he looked, +like a hungry lion, buffeted by rain and wind, who goes forth in a +tempest to seek his prey; for he was haggard with long fasting, and +sore disfigured by his battle with the sea; his eyes glared with +famine, and his hair and beard hung ragged and unkempt about his face. +At this fearful apparition the maidens fled shrieking along the river +bank, all but Nausicaä, who stood her ground, and gazed fearlessly, +though in wonder, while Odysseus came slowly forward. When he was +still some way off he stopped, fearing to offend her delicacy if he +came nearer. Then with a gesture of entreaty he began to speak, and +Nausicaä knew at once that it was no common man who stood before her. + +"Have pity on me, O queen!" he began, in soft and insinuating tones. +"Art thou a goddess, or a mortal woman? If thou art a goddess, thou +seemest to me most like to Artemis, daughter of great Zeus, both in +face, and in stature, and in form. But if thou art mortal, then thrice +blessed are thy father and mother, and thrice blessed thy brethren, +and their spirits are refreshed because of thee, when thou goest, a +very rose of beauty, to the dance. Happy the man who wins thee for his +bride! Never yet have I seen the like of thee among all the children +of men. Only once have I beheld aught to compare unto thee, a young +palm-tree which I saw growing tall and straight by the altar of Apollo +at Delos. I saw it, and was amazed, for it was wondrous fair; and even +so is my soul filled with wonder and dread when I look upon thy face, +so that I am afraid to draw near unto thee, though sore is my need. +Yesterday I was flung naked on thy coast, after a voyage of twenty +days. Many things have I suffered, and more, I ween, remains for me in +store; for I am a man of many woes. Have compassion on me, dread lady! +I am thy suppliant, and to thee first I address my prayer. Show me the +way to the city, and give me a cloth to wrap round me, that I may go +among the people without shame. And may the gods give thee all, +whatsoever thy heart desireth, a husband and a home, and happy wedded +love, shedding warmth in thine house, and a strong defence against all +ills from without, but above all a sacred treasure in thy husband's +heart, and in thine." + +"Whatever be thy misfortunes," answered Nausicaä, "I am sure they are +not the fruit of thine own folly or wickedness. And since thou art +come as a suppliant to this land of ours, thou shalt want nothing, +whether it be raiment, or aught else that befits thy state. I will +show thee our city, and tell thee the name of the people. Know that +thou hast come to the country of the Phæacians, whose ruler and king +is Alcinous, and I am his daughter." + +Then she called to her handmaids, who were looking on, half +frightened, half curious, from behind rocks and trees, a long way off, +ready to resume their flight at the slightest alarm: "Come hither, and +fear not the man; neither he nor any other shall ever come to this +land with thoughts of harm; for we are very dear to the immortal gods. +Far away we dwell amidst the rolling seas, remote from the haunts of +men. But this is some hapless wanderer, driven by chance to our +shores, and we must cherish him, for from Zeus come all strangers and +beggars, and a little gift is a great thing to them. Take the stranger +to a sheltered place, where he may wash and dress him, and give him +wherewithal to clothe himself, and after that, meat and drink." + +When they heard the words of their mistress the girls came stealing +timidly back, one by one. And they gave Odysseus clean raiment, and +when he had washed and clothed himself, he came back to the place +where Nausicaä was waiting. Wonderful was the change which had been +made in his appearance by the refreshing bath and fitting apparel. +Instead of the squalid, battered wretch who had begged for countenance +and shelter, Nausicaä saw before her a stalwart, stately man, +broad-shouldered, and deep of chest, with dark clustering hair and +beard, like the curling hyacinth, and an air of majesty and command. + +"Hear me, friends," whispered Nausicaä, as she saw him coming, +"methinks some god hath wrought a miracle on this man, who but now was +so hideous to behold. Would that we might prevail with him to make his +abode among us! She would be a proud maiden who should wed with such +as him. Now give the stranger food and drink." And they did so, and +Odysseus ate and drank with keen appetite, having tasted nothing for +many days. While he was eating, the maidens folded the garments and +placed them in the waggon, and when he had finished, Nausicaä mounted +the waggon, and bidding him and the handmaids follow on foot started +the mules and drove slowly towards the city. When they reached the +cultivated lands outside the walls she drew up, and addressed Odysseus +thus: "Stranger, I may not go with thee further, for I fear the +envious tongues of the citizens, who will point the finger at us and +say: 'See what a tall and handsome stranger Nausicaä hath brought with +her!--some seafaring man whom she hath brought with her to be her +husband, since she despises the men of her own nation.' And this will +be a reproach unto me. Therefore wait thou awhile, and do as I bid +thee. Not far from here is a temple and grove of Athene, a fair +coppice of poplar-trees, and a spring of clear water. Go thou thither, +and wait until we have time to reach my father's house, then rise and +go into the city and inquire for the dwelling of Alcinous. A little +child could show thee the way, for there is none like it in all the +city." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Nausicaä] + +So saying, Nausicaä drove on, leaving Odysseus where he was. He soon +found the temple, and going in knelt down and prayed to the goddess to +continue her favour. When he thought that Nausicaä had had time to +reach home, he rose and went into the city. The road lay along a +narrow causeway, which connected the city with the mainland, and on +either side was a sheltered haven, with ships drawn up on the beach. +Passing through the gates he came next to the place of assembly, in +front of a temple of Poseidon, with a circle of massive stones bedded +deeply in the earth. Wherever he looked he saw signs of a busy +seafaring people--masts, and oars, and great coils of rope--and his +ears were filled with the sound of saw and hammer from the +shipwrights' yards. + +II + +As he stood thus gazing about him, he saw a young maiden coming +towards him, carrying a pitcher. He inquired of her the way to the +house of Alcinous, and she bade him follow her, as she was going that +way. "My father's house," she said, "is close to the house which thou +seekest. But thou art a stranger, I perceive, and not of this land; +walk therefore warily, and regard no man, for the Phæacians love not +the face of the stranger, nor are they given to hospitality. Their +home is the deep, and their ships are as swift as a bird--swift as a +thought--for they are the favourites of Poseidon." + +So saying, the maiden led the way swiftly, and Odysseus followed, +keeping close behind. He remarked with wonder that though the streets +were full of people, so that they had to walk carefully, and thread +their way through the crowd, none seemed to notice him or his +companion, or gave any sign of being conscious of their presence. The +truth was that the supposed maiden was none other than his patron +goddess Athene, who so ordered it that he was invisible to all eyes +but hers. + +As they went, his companion entertained him with an account of the +family history of the Phæacian king, Alcinous, whose father, +Nausithous, was the son of Poseidon. Alcinous married Arete, who was +related to him by blood, and was honoured exceedingly by her husband +and by all the Phæacians. "She is the idol of her household," +continued the maiden, "and all eyes follow her with love and reverence +when she goes through the town. So high is her character that even men +consult her in their differences, and defer to her judgment. If thou +canst enlist her on thy side, thou wilt soon obtain the safe conduct +which thou desirest, and reach thy home in safety and honour." + +They had now reached a large enclosed piece of land, surrounded by a +tall fence, above which appeared the boughs of goodly trees, laden +with their burden of fruit. "Here is the garden of Alcinous," +whispered the maiden, "and yonder is the gate. Enter boldly in, and +seek out the queen, who is now sitting at meat with her husband's +guests. Make thy petition to her, for if her heart incline unto thee +all will be well." + +With that word she vanished from his sight, and left him standing at +the gates of Alcinous. Wondering greatly he entered the garden, and +gazed about him. So fair a sight had never met his eyes. Fruit-trees +without number stood ranged in ordered rows, pear-trees, and +pomegranates, and rosy apples, the luscious fig, and olives in their +bloom. Their fruit never failed, summer or winter, all the year round. +There blows the warm west wind without ceasing, nursing the tender +blossom, and mellowing the swelling fruit. He saw pears and figs +hanging on the trees in every stage of growth. Another part of the +enclosure was set apart for the cultivation of the vine; and here also +the same wonder was to be seen, springtime and summer dancing +hand-in-hand, and yellow autumn treading close in their footsteps. +Side by side hung the ripe, purple cluster, the crude grape just +turning from green to red, and tiny green bunches lately formed from +the blossom. There the labour of the vintagers never ceased, and the +winepress overflowed without end. + +Between the rows of fruit-trees were garden-beds, in which grew all +manner of flowers and useful herbs; and the whole was watered by a +perennial stream, divided into channels which brought the water to +every part of the garden. + +Turning with a sigh from that paradise of colour and perfume, Odysseus +passed on to the house, and stood for a while, scanning that stately +structure. His eyes were almost blinded by the light which flashed +from the outer walls, which were built of solid brass, with a coping +of blue steel. The doors were of gold, with silver lintel and +doorposts, and brazen threshold. Then he entered the hall, still +unseen of all eyes; and here new wonders awaited him. Within the +doorway on either side sat dogs wrought in silver and gold, living +creatures, that know neither age nor death, which Hephæstus, the +divine artificer, made, in the wisdom of his heart, to guard the house +of the prince Alcinous day and night. At intervals stood figures of +youths fashioned in gold, with torches in their hands, which at +night-time shed a blaze of light throughout the hall. And all round +the walls were set rows of seats, covered with richly woven cloths, +the work of women's hands. There sat the noble chieftains of Phæacia, +feasting on the bounty of their king. + +Far within, visible through a wide-opened door, was seen another +chamber, where a troop of domestics were busy at their tasks. Some +were grinding the yellow grain in hand-mills, others were walking to +and fro at the loom, and others sat plying distaff and spindle, +nodding their heads like poplars waving in the wind. Very choice was +the fabric woven in that chamber, for the women of Phæacia were famed +beyond all others for their skill in weaving, even as the men +surpassed all the world in seamanship. + +Such were the glories of the house of Alcinous, and when Odysseus had +gazed his fill he began to think of the purpose for which he had come. +The feasters were just pouring a libation to Hermes, to be followed by +a parting cup, before they went home. At that very moment their eyes +were opened, and they saw Odysseus kneeling at the feet of Arete, and +heard him utter these words: + +"Great queen, daughter of a race divine, behold me, a toil-worn +wanderer, who hath come hither to implore thy grace. Intercede for me, +I pray thee, with thy husband, that he may send me speedily to my +native land: and may it be well with thee, and with all this fair +company, and with the children who come after thee." + +Thereupon he sat down by the hearth in the ashes near the fire; and +for awhile not a word was spoken, but all sat gazing at him in wonder. +At last an aged Phæacian broke the silence, and said, looking at +Alcinous: "My prince, it becomes thee not to suffer this stranger to +sit on the ground in the ashes. Behold, we are all waiting for thee to +speak and declare thy will. Give this poor man thy hand, and set him +on a seat, that he may know that his prayer is granted. And let them +give him to eat, and fill a bowl for a libation to Zeus, in whose care +are all suppliants." + +Alcinous rose in response to the words of the elder, who was famed +among the Phæacians for his eloquence and wisdom, and taking Odysseus +by the hand raised him from his abject posture, and seated him by his +side. Food and drink were placed before him, and while he was eating, +Alcinous ordered a bowl to be filled for a libation to Zeus, the god +of hospitality. The wine was served out to the guests, the libations +were poured, and then Alcinous began to speak again, unfolding his +purpose towards Odysseus. + +"Here me, ye princes of Phæacia. Go ye now to your rest, and to-morrow +we will call an assembly of all the elders, and make a great feast and +sacrifice, and after that we will take counsel how we may best send +the stranger on his way. Safe and sound we will bring him to his +native land, but after that he must take up his portion, according as +the Fates have ordained for him, and spun the thread of his life, +rough or smooth, from the hour when his mother bare him. I speak as +supposing our guest to be a man; but if he be a god, come down from +heaven, then I fear that the gods are devising some snare against us. +For never has it been their wont to appear among us in disguise, but +at sacrifice and at feast they freely consort with us in their own +shape, seeing that we are of their own kin." + +"Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "let not this fear trouble thee. I am +no god, as thou mayest see right well. If ye know any man conspicuous +for the burden of sorrow which he bears, ye may learn my lot from his. +But none, methinks, can equal the sum of what I have endured by the +ordinance of heaven. Care sits by my side day and night, but within me +is a monitor whose voice I must obey, even my hungry belly, that calls +aloud to be filled, and will not let me alone to chew the cud of +bitter thought. Shameless he is, and clamorous exceedingly. Therefore +let me sup and question me no further to-night; but rouse thee betimes +to-morrow, and send me with all speed to my native land. Let me once +see my possessions, and my household, and my stately home, and then I +will close mine eyes in peace." + +A murmur of approval went round the hall as Odysseus ended his speech. +One by one the guests took leave of Alcinous, and he and his hosts sat +awhile conversing together, while the servants were removing the +remnants of the feast, and setting the house in order for the night. +Arete was the first to speak, for she recognised the garments which +Odysseus was wearing as the work of her own hands. "Friend," said she, +"let me ask thee one question. How camest thou by this raiment? For +surely thou hast not brought it with thee in thy voyage across the +deep. Say who thou art and whence thou comest." + +Thus challenged Odysseus told her all the story of his shipwreck on +the island of Calypso, of his long sojourn there, of his voyage on the +raft, his second shipwreck, and his landing on the coast of Phæacia. +Concluding he touched feelingly on his meeting with Nausicaä, and the +kindness, courtesy, and modesty of her behaviour. "Never saw I such +grace and prudence," he added, "in one so young and so lovely." + +"Yet in this she did not well," replied Alcinous, "that she brought +thee not straightway to this house, but suffered thee to find thy way +alone." + +"Nay, blame her not," answered Odysseus, "she bade me come hither with +herself and the maidens, but I feared to offend thee, and chose to +come alone." + +"Think not that I am so hasty, or given to causeless anger," said +Alcinous; "excess in all things is evil."[1] Then he looked earnestly +at Odysseus, and continued, after a pause: "I would to heaven that thy +thoughts were as mine; then wouldst thou abide for ever in this land, +and take my daughter to wife, and I would give thee house and lands. +But I see that thou art steadfastly purposed to leave us; and none +shall detain thee against thy will. To-morrow thou shalt go. I will +appoint a ship and a crew, and they shall bear thee sleeping to thine +own land, yea though it be more distant than far Euboea, which lies, +as I am told, in the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet the Phæacians +went thither in their ships, and returned on the same day. They have +no equals, as thou shalt soon learn, in seamanship, and no ships in +all the world are like mine." + +[Footnote 1: _Nothing too much_, the corner-stone of Greek morality.] + +After some further talk they parted for the night, and Odysseus, after +all his hardships, was right glad to lay him down in the soft bed +prepared for him in the gallery before the house. But before he closed +his eyes he muttered a prayer to Zeus that Alcinous might abide by his +promise, and send him safely home. + +III + +Next day was appointed for a great feast in the palace of Alcinous, to +which all the chief men of Phæacia were invited, and when Odysseus +returned to the house, after some hours spent in a visit to the town, +hefound the courts and galleries thronged with a great company. The +preparations for the banquet were on a heroic scale: twelve sheep, +eight fat swine, and two oxen, the choicest of the herd, were +slaughtered, and a goodly row of casks, filled with the finest +vintages, gave further token that Alcinous was no niggardly host. + +"Come," said Alcinous, meeting Odysseus at the gate. "The guests are +seated, and all is ready. Trouble not thyself as to the manner of thy +home-coming; that is cared for already, and the ship lies at her +moorings. But to-day is a day of good cheer, when thou shalt learn how +gay and joyous a life the Phæacians live." + +As he spoke, they entered the banquet hall, and Odysseus sat down by +the side of Alcinous. Rich and dainty was the fare, and many times the +great wine-bowls were filled and emptied; for the Phæacians were a +luxurious race, much given to the pleasures of the table. Among the +guests Odysseus was especially struck by one venerable figure, who sat +by himself against a pillar, on which hung a harp within reach of his +hands. Odysseus noticed that he ate slowly and deliberately, and +seemed to feel for the cup when he wished to drink, "It is Demodocus, +the blind harper," whispered Alcinous. "We shall presently have a +taste of his quality. He is a rare minstrel." + +Accordingly, when the last course was removed, the harp was placed in +the singer's hands, and after striking a deep chord he began to sing, +choosing for his theme a famous tale of Troy, which told how Achilles +and Odysseus quarrelled at a banquet, and reviled each other with +bitter words, and how Agamemnon rejoiced in spirit because of the +strife; for he had heard an oracle from Apollo, foretelling that when +the noblest of the Greeks fell out Troy's end would be near at hand. + +Odysseus listened, and a flood of emotion filled his mind, so sad were +the memories recalled by the minstrel's lay. Of all his gallant peers, +for ten years his companions in many a joyful feast, and many a high +adventure, how many were left? And he, among the last of the +survivors, was now growing old, after twenty years of war and +wandering, far from his wife and home. He was now, indeed, on the eve +of his return; but at what a price had it been won! And who could tell +what heavy trials awaited him when once more he set foot on his native +soil? Was it not but too probable that he would find his house made +desolate, Telemachus dead, and Penelope wedded to another? + +Overpowered by these gloomy forebodings, he covered his face, and wept +aloud. When Demodocus paused in his singing he wiped away his tears, +and poured a drink-offering from his cup; but every time the minstrel +resumed his lay a new fit of weeping succeeded. At last, Alcinous, who +had hitherto been totally absorbed in that rare minstrelsy, observed +his guest's emotion, and partly divining the cause came to his relief. +"How say ye, fair sirs?" he said, rising and addressing the company. +"Shall we go forth for awhile, and show the stranger that we have +other and manlier pastimes, now that we have eaten and drunken, and +cheered our souls with song? Let him not say of us when he goes home +that we sit all day by the wine-cup, but let him learn that the +Phæacians surpass all mankind in boxing, and in wrestling, and in +leaping, and in the speed of their feet." + +So saying he rose from his seat and led the way to the place of +assembly. Crowds soon flocked to see the friendly trial of strength +and skill. The first event was the foot race, and this was followed by +matches of wrestling, boxing, leaping, and throwing the weight. +Odysseus stood watching the Phæacians at their sports, and thinking of +the mighty feats which he had witnessed and shared at the funeral +games of Patroclus. Presently he felt a hand on his shoulder, and +heard himself challenged by a young Phæacian, whose name was Euryalus, +in these terms: "Why so gloomy, father? Away with care! All is ready +for thy departure, and thou shalt soon be home again. But come, give +us a proof of thy manhood, if thou knowest aught of games of skill. +Thou seemest a stout fellow, and I doubt not that thou wilt acquit +thee well." + +"Friend," answered Odysseus, "mock me not. Thou seest how broken I am, +and worn by my long battle with the sea; and care sits heavy on my +heart, forbidding me to think of the things which thou namest." + +"Nay," said Euryalus, with a scornful laugh, "I see that I was +mistaken in thee. Thou art plainly no athlete, but some cunning +merchant, with thy head full of thy cargo, and fingers only skilled in +counting thy gains." + +Then Odysseus bent his brows, and answered with a stern look: "Friend, +thou art over-saucy of thy tongue. But so it ever is; the gods +dispense their gifts with sparing hand, and give not all excellence to +the same man. One man is mean of aspect, but heaven's grace descends +upon his lips, so that men look upon him with delight while he +discourses smoothly with a winning modesty. He is the observed of all +observers, and when he walks through the town all eyes follow him as +if he were a god. Another again is glorious, like a very god, in the +splendour of his face and form, but no grace attends upon his speech. +Even so thou art conspicuous for thy beauty, as though the hand of a +god had fashioned thee, but in understanding thou art naught. Thou +hast stung me by thy unseemly words; I am not ignorant of manly +sports, as thou sayest, but I tell thee that I was among the foremost +as long as I trusted in my youth and in the might of my hands. But now +I am sore spent with woe and pain, for many things have I suffered in +battles by land, and buffeting with the sea. Nevertheless, broken as I +am, I will give proof of my strength, for thou hast provoked me +bitterly by thy wanton words." + +Thereupon, without waiting to throw off his cloak, he sprang into the +arena, and caught up a massy disc of iron, far heavier than those with +which the Phæacians had been throwing. Poising it lightly, with one +hand he flung it, as one who flings a ball. The Phæacians sank back in +dismay as they saw the huge mass flying high over their heads, and +when it fell all rushed to the spot to mark the distance. There it +lay, far beyond the longest cast of the native athletes, and Odysseus +pointed to it, and said: "Reach that mark, my young masters, if ye +can! And if any among you have a mind to try a match with me in boxing +or in wrestling, or in the foot race, they shall have their will; only +with the sons of Alcinous I will not strive, for he is my host, and it +were not fitting or prudent to challenge them. Whatever a man can do +with his hands I can do: I can send an arrow sure and strong, and +strike down my foe, and herein can no archer surpass me, save one +only, Philoctetes, who bare the bow of Hercules; and I can fling a +javelin farther than another man can shoot an arrow. Only in speed of +foot I fear that some of you may surpass me; for my knees are yet weak +from long fasting and fighting with the waves." + +Not one of the Phæacians took up the challenge, but all sat mute, +gazing in wonder and awe at this strange man, who had just given such +signal proof of the power of his arm. At last Alcinous answered and +said: "Stranger, none here can take thy words amiss, for, as thou +sayest, thou hast been bitterly provoked. But hear me now in turn, and +push not thy quarrel further, but rest satisfied with the proof of thy +prowess which thou hast given. I will speak to thee frankly, that thou +mayest know what manner of men the Phæacians are. We are not mighty +men of valour, like thee, yet we too have our own peculiar excellence. +We are good runners, and none can approach us in all that belongs to +the mariner's art. But at home we live softly, loving the banquet, and +music and dancing, clean raiment, warm baths, and long repose." Then +turning to his attendants he added: "Go, some of you, and bring hither +the harper Demodocus, and clear a space for the dancers, that our +guest may see something of the native sports of Phæacia." + +Then those whose business it was chose a fair level space for the +dance, and when Demodocus arrived he took his harp and struck up a +lively measure. A fair troop of boys stood in a circle around him, and +the dance began. Alcinous had not overrated the skill of his people in +this graceful pastime, and Odysseus was filled with wonder as he +watched the intricate yet ordered movements of the youthful troop. + +When the dance was ended, Demodocus sang a soft lay of love, and after +that the two most skilful dancers, one of whom was Laodamas, a son of +Alcinous, stood up to dance a reel together. One of them held a +crimson ball, and, keeping time to the music flung it high into the +air; while the other leaped high from the ground, and caught the ball +as it fell. Then they flung the ball with lightning rapidity from hand +to hand, so that it seemed a mere streak of crimson shooting backward +and forward; and all the time the dance went gaily on, while the whole +company of the Phæacians kept up a merry din, beating time to the +music with their feet. + +"Of a truth," said Odysseus, addressing Alcinous, "thou hast not +boasted for naught; never saw I such dancing in all my long travels." +A proud man was Alcinous to hear such praise from such a man, and he +was not slow to testify his gratitude. "Hear me," he said, "ye princes +of Phæacia! Methinks our guest is a man of exceeding shrewd wit. Let +us bestow on him a parting gift, that he may remember us, and rejoice +in spirit when he thinks of his sojourn in Phæacia. Thirteen there +are, of whom I am one, who sit in high places, and are notable men in +the land; let each of us give him a change of raiment and a talent of +gold. And Euryalus shall crave pardon of him for his ill-chosen words, +and appease him with a gift." + +The generous proposal was well received, and each of the twelve nobles +sent his body-servant to fetch the gifts. Euryalus also was prompt to +make his peace with Odysseus. He presented him with a fine sword of +tempered bronze, with silver hilt, and scabbard of ivory. "Behold my +peace-offering," he said, "and take my goodwill with the gift. Forget +my foolish words, and think of me kindly when thou art safe among +thine own people." + +Odysseus acknowledged the courtesy of Euryalus in becoming terms, and +then the whole company rose and went back to the palace of Alcinous, +where they found the gifts for Odysseus all set in order against his +departure. Then Alcinous brought a golden goblet, beautifully +fashioned, and richly chased, and bade Arete bring a coffer to hold +the gifts. The coffer was displayed, and was in itself a gift of no +mean value, being a choice piece of work. + +"Now bid thy handmaids prepare a bath for our guest," said Alcinous to +his wife, and "Receive this as a memorial of me," he added, placing +the goblet in Odysseus' hands, "that thou mayest remember me all the +days of thy life, when thou pourest libations to Zeus and the other +deathless gods." + +Arete gave the order as required, and while the bath was preparing she +arranged all the gifts in the coffer. Then closing the lid she said to +Odysseus: "Make all fast with thine own hands, that none may meddle +with thy goods as thou liest asleep on thy passage across the sea." +Odysseus made fast the cord, securing it with an intricate and cunning +knot, which he had learnt from the great sorceress Circe; and when he +had finished he was summoned by the eldest of the handmaids to the +bath. When he had bathed and put on fresh raiment he came back to the +dining-hall; and as he entered he saw Nausicaä leaning against a +pillar. Sweet was the maiden's face, and kind her eyes, as she gazed +with innocent admiration on the stately figure of her father's guest. +"Farewell, my friend," said she, "and when thou arrivest home think +sometimes of her to whom thou owest thy life." + +"Fair daughter of Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "if that day ever +comes--if I ever see my home again, by favour of Zeus, the lord of +Hera--be assured that I shall remember thee in my prayers, as long as +this life which thou hast given me shall last." And so he parted from +the maiden, and she went back to her mother's bower. + +Odysseus again received a place of honour by the side of Alcinous, and +a goodly portion of meat was set before him. Looking round the circle +of guests he saw Demodocus, the blind harper, sitting in their midst, +and wishing to show him honour, he cut off a choice piece from the +flesh which had been set before him, and bade a servant carry it to +the bard, and greet him in the giver's name. The servant did as he was +bidden, and Demodocus received the portion of honour with becoming +gratitude. + +When the banquet was drawing towards its close Odysseus approached the +minstrel, and after praising his former lay, which told of the +disastrous homeward voyage of the Greeks, he begged him to sing the +Lay of the Wooden Horse, the device by which Troy was taken. Demodocus +complied, and taking his harp began to chant that famous lay, which +told how the Greeks burnt their tents and sailed away, leaving the +wooden monster behind them, how the Trojans dragged the horse into the +city, and how the fatal engine sent forth its burden of armed men in +the night. The name of Odysseus, the arch-plotter, occurred again and +again as the tale went on; and once more Odysseus was moved to tears +by the memories which the words of the bard awakened. + +Alcinous observed his emotion, and called to Demodocus to cease his +song. "We vex our guest," he said, "for whose sake we are gathered +here. Doubtless the minstrel has touched some hidden spring of sorrow. +But come now," he continued, addressing Odysseus, "we have honoured +thee exceedingly, and given thee of our best. Wilt thou not repay us +by telling something of thyself? Let us hear thy name, and say of what +land and of what city thou art, that our ships may know whither to +steer their course. For know that we mariners of Phæacia need no +pilots nor rudders, but our ships by their own instinct take us to +whatsoever place we would visit, gliding like phantoms, invisible, +swift as thought. Nor has any vessel from our ports ever suffered +shipwreck or harm. + +"Thou likewise hast been a great traveller, and seen many lands and +nations, both such as are wild and fierce and such as are gentle and +of godly mind. Tell us then the tale of thy wanderings, and say why +thou weepest ever at the name of Troy." + +All the guests bent forward with eager faces, and strained their ears +to catch Odysseus' answer; for there was something mysterious about +this strange guest, something which marked him as a man of no common +stamp, and their curiosity, which had hitherto been held in check by +the laws of courtesy, was now set free from all restraint by the frank +question of Alcinous. + +"Illustrious prince," answered Odysseus, after a moment's pause, +"methinks it were best to sit silent and listen to the sweet voice of +the harper; for what better thing has life to offer than a full cup +and brave minstrelsy heard at the quiet hour of eventide? But if thou +must needs hear a tale of sorrow it is not for me to deny thee. First +of all I will tell thee my name. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, and my +name is in all men's mouths because of my deep wit and manifold wiles, +yea, the renown thereof reaches even unto heaven. My home is the sunny +isle of Ithaca, last in a line of islands lying in the western sea. It +is a rugged land, but a nurse of gallant sons; and sweet, ah! very +sweet, is the name of home. Never hath my heart been turned from that +dear spot, no, not by all the loveliness of Calypso, nor by all the +witchery of Circe, but ever I remained faithful to the one lodestar of +my life." + +Here Odysseus began the wondrous story of his wanderings, which kept +his hearers spellbound until far into the night. + + + + +The Wanderings of Odysseus + + +I + +After leaving Troy, Odysseus first sailed to the coast of Thrace, and +collected a rich booty in a sudden raid on the district. But while his +men lingered to enjoy the first-fruits of their spoil, the wild tribes +of the neighbourhood rallied their forces, and falling upon the +invaders, while they were engaged in a drunken revel, drove them with +great slaughter to their ships. No sooner had they put to sea than a +wild tempest came down upon them from the north, and drove them to +seek shelter again on the mainland, where they lay for two days and +nights in constant dread of another attack from the injured Thracians. +On the third day they set sail again and got as far as Malea, the +southernmost headland of Greece. Here they were again driven from +their course, and after nine days' tossing on the waves they reached +the land of the Lotus-Eaters. + +When his men had refreshed themselves, Odysseus sent three of their +number to explore the country and learn the manners of the +inhabitants. Presently these three came to the dwellings of the +Lotus-Eaters, who received them kindly and gave them to eat of the +lotus-plant. With the first taste of that magic food the men forgot +the purpose for which they had been sent, forgot their friends and +their home, and had no desire left in life but to remain there all +their days and feast with the Lotus-Eaters. In this state they were +found by Odysseus, who compelled them by force, though they wept and +complained bitterly, to return to their ships. There he bound them +fast under the benches, and bade the rest take to their oars and fly +from that seductive clime, lest others should fall under the same +fatal spell. + +II + +Thence they came to the land of the Cyclopes, a rude and monstrous +tribe, but favoured of the immortal gods, by whose bounty they live. +They toil not, neither do they sow, nor till the ground, but the earth +of herself brings forth for them a bountiful living, wheat and barley, +and huge swelling clusters of the grape. Naught know they of law or +civil life, but each lives in his cave on the wild mountain-side, +dwelling apart, careless of his neighbours, with his wife and +children. + +It was a dark, cloudy night, and a thick mist overspread the sea, when +suddenly Odysseus heard the booming of breakers on a rocky shore. +Before an order could be given, or any measure taken for the safety of +the ships, the little fleet was caught by a strong landward current, +and whirled pell-mell through a narrow passage between the cliffs into +a land-locked harbour. Drawing their breath with relief at their +wonderful escape, they beached their vessels on the level sand and lay +down to wait for the day. + +In the morning they found that they had been driven to the landward +shore of a long island, which formed a natural breakwater to a +spacious bay, with a narrow entrance at either end. The island was +thickly covered with woods, giving shelter to a multitude of wild +goats, its only inhabitants. For the Cyclopes have no ships, so that +the goats were left in undisturbed possession, though the place was +well suited for human habitation, with a deep, rich soil, and +plentiful springs of water. + +The first care of Odysseus was to supply the crews of his vessels, +which were twelve in number, with fresh meat. Armed with bows and +spears, he and a picked body of men scoured the woods in search of +game. They soon obtained a plentiful booty, and nine goats were +assigned to each vessel, with ten for that of Odysseus. So all that +day till the setting of the sun they sat and feasted on fat venison +and drank of the wine which they had taken in their raid on the +Thracians. + +Early next morning Odysseus manned his own galley, and set forth to +explore the mainland, leaving the rest of the crews to await his +return on the island. As they drew near the opposite shore of the bay, +the mariners came in view of a gigantic cavern overshadowed by +laurel-trees. Round the front of the cavern was a wide court-yard +rudely fenced with huge blocks of stone and unhewn trunks of trees. + +Having moored his vessel in a sheltered place, Odysseus chose twelve +of his men to accompany him on his perilous adventure, and charging +the others to keep close, and not stir from the ship, he prepared for +his visit to the Cyclops, who dwelt apart from his brethren in the +cavern. Amongst the spoils obtained in Thrace was a small store of +peculiarly rich and generous wine, which had been given him by a +priest of Apollo whom he had protected, with his wife and child, while +his men were pillaging the town. Twelve jars of this precious vintage +the priest brought forth from a secret hiding-place, known only to +himself and his wife and one trusty servant. So potent was the wine +that it needed but one measure of it to twenty of water to make a +fragrant and comfortable drink, from which few could refrain. Odysseus +now filled a great goatskin bottle with this wine, and carried it with +him. And well it was for him that he did so. + +During the day the Cyclops was abroad, watching his flocks as they +grazed on the mountain pastures; so that when Odysseus and his men +came to the cavern, they had ample time to look about them. The +courtyard was fenced off into pens, well stocked with ewes and +she-goats, with their young--huge beasts, rivalling in stature their +gigantic shepherd. Within the cavern was a sort of dairy, with great +piles of cheeses, and vessels brimming with whey. + +"Quick now," whispered one of the men to Odysseus. "Let us take of the +cheeses, and drive off the best of the lambs and kids to the ship +before the Cyclops returns; for methinks he will give us but sorry +welcome if he finds us here." "Nay," answered Odysseus, "I will wait +for the master, that I may see him face to face. It may be that he +will bestow on me some gift, such as strangers receive from their +hosts." So they remained, and having kindled a fire they prepared +savoury meat, and ate of the cheeses which they found in the cave. +Then they waited, until the lengthening shadows showed that evening +was drawing near. + +While they sat thus, conversing in low tones, and casting fearful +glances towards the cavern's mouth, all at once they heard a sound +like the trampling of many feet, accompanied by loud bleatings, which +were answered by the ewes and she-goats in the courtyard. Then a vast +shadow darkened the cavern's entrance, and in came Polyphemus, driving +his flock before him. At the sight of that fearful monster, huge as a +mountain, with one vast red eye glaring in the middle of his forehead, +Odysseus and his comrades fled in terror to the darkest corner of the +cave. The Cyclops bore in one hand a mighty log for his evening fire. +Flinging it down with a crash that awakened all the echoes of the +cavern, he closed the entrance with an immense mass of stone, which +served as a door. Then he sat down and began to milk the ewes and +she-goats. Half of the milk he curdled for cheese, and half he kept +for drinking. So when he had strained off the whey, and pressed the +curds into wicker-baskets, he kindled a fire, and as the flame blazed +up, illumining every corner of the cavern, he caught sight of the +intruders, and with a voice which sounded like the roaring of a +torrent cried out: "Who are ye that have come to the cave of +Polyphemus, and what would ye have of him?" + +When he heard that appalling voice, and looked at that horrible face, +fitfully lighted up by the blaze of the fire, Odysseus felt his heart +stand still with terror. Nevertheless he manned himself to answer, and +spake boldly thus: "We are Greeks, driven from our course in our +voyage from Troy, and brought by the winds and waves to these shores. +And we are they who have served Agamemnon, son of Atreus, whose fame +now fills the whole earth; so mighty was the city which he overthrew, +with all the host within her. And now we have come to kneel at thy +feet and beseech thee of thy favour to bestow on us some gift such as +strangers receive. Have pity on us, great and mighty as thou art, and +forget not that Zeus hath the stranger and the suppliant in his +keeping." + +But there was no sign of pity or mercy in the Cyclops' face as he made +answer: "Thou art full simple, my friend, or unversed in the ways of +this land, if thou thinkest that I and my brethren care aught for Zeus +or any other god. Nay, we are mightier far than they, and if thou +seekest aught of me thou must seek it of my favour, and not of my +fears. But tell me truly, where didst thou moor thy vessel on thy +landing? Lies she near at hand, or on a distant part of the coast?" + +Odysseus easily divined the purpose of Polyphemus in putting this +question, and answered accordingly: "My ship was wrecked on a distant +part of your coast, dashed all to pieces against the rocks; and I and +these twelve escaped by swimming." + +Polyphemus made no reply, but sprang up and seized two of the men, +grasping them easily together in one hand, and dashed their brains out +against the rocky ground. Then he cut them in pieces and made his +supper on them. Fearful it was to see him as he ate, crunching up +flesh and bones and marrow all together, like a ravening lion. When he +had devoured the last morsel he took a deep draught of milk, and lay +down on the cavern floor among his flocks to sleep. + +As soon as the heavy breathing of Polyphemus showed that he was fast +asleep, Odysseus crept from his corner, resolved to slay the cannibal +giant on the spot. He had already drawn his sword, when a sudden +thought made him pause. If he killed Polyphemus, how was he to escape +from the cavern? The entrance was blocked by that ponderous stone, +which a hundred men could not have moved; and he and his men must in +that case perish miserably of hunger and thirst. Restrained by this +reflection, he put up his sword, and went back to his companions to +wait for day. + +Polyphemus rose early, and after milking his flocks he laid hold of +two more of the miserable captives, butchered them in the same manner, +and made his breakfast on their warm, quivering bodies. Then he drove +forth his sheep and goats, pushing aside the door of rock, and set it +back in its place, as a man sets the lid on a quiver. They heard his +wild cries, as he called to his flocks, and their loud bleatings as he +drove them out to pasture; then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, +and silence settled on the vast, shadowy cave. + +Forthwith Odysseus began to devise means to escape from that murderous +den, and avenge the slaughter of his friends. As he peered about in +the twilight, he caught sight of a mighty stake of green olive-wood, +tall and stout as the mast of a twenty-oared galley,[1] which had been +cut by the Cyclops for a staff, and laid aside to season. Odysseus cut +off about a fathom's length, and with the help of his comrades made it +round and smooth, and tapered it off at one end to a point. Then he +hardened the sharp end in the fire, and when it was ready he hid the +rude weapon away under a pile of refuse. Of the twelve who had +followed him from the ship, there only remained eight; four of these +were chosen by lot to aid him in his plan of vengeance; and Odysseus +noted with satisfaction that they were the stoutest and bravest of the +company. All being now ready, they sat down to wait for the return of +Polyphemus. + +[Footnote 1: Imitated, with characteristic amplification, by Milton, +"Paradise Lost," i. 292 (Satan's spear).] + +The setting sun was pouring his level rays through the chinks of the +doorway when they heard the ponderous tread of the Cyclops +approaching. This time he drove the whole of his flocks into the cave, +leaving the courtyard empty. Having milked the herd, he laid hands on +two of Odysseus' comrades, and slaughtered and devoured them as +before. The moment had now come for Odysseus to carry out his design. +So he filled a wooden bowl with unmixed wine, and drawing near to +Polyphemus addressed him thus: + +"Take, Polyphemus, and drink of this wine, now that thou hast eaten of +human flesh. I warrant that thou hast never tasted such a choice +vintage as this, and I brought it as a gift to thy divinity, that thou +mightest have pity, and let me go in peace. Little did I dream to find +thee so cruel and so wild. Who in all the world will ever draw near to +thee again, after the hideous deeds which thou hast wrought?" + +Polyphemus took the cup and drained it to the bottom. Then he rolled +his great eye with ecstasy, as the last drop trickled down his +monstrous gullet, and holding out the cup said with a sort of growling +good humour: "Give me to drink again, and make haste and tell me thy +name, that I may bestow on thee a gift of hospitality to gladden thy +heart. I and my brethren have wine in plenty, for the earth gives us +of her abundance, and the soft rain of heaven swells the grape to +ripeness; but this is a drink divine, fit for the banquets of +Olympus." + +Again the cup was filled, and yet a third time; and Polyphemus drank +out every drop. Before long his great head began to droop, and his eye +blinked mistily, like the red sun looming through a fog. Seeing that +the good wine was doing its work, Odysseus lost no time in telling his +name. "Thou askest how I am called," he said in cozening tones, "and +thou shalt hear, that I may receive the gift which thou hast promised +me. My name is Noman; so call me my father and my mother, and all my +friends." When he heard that, Polyphemus "grinned horribly a ghastly +smile," and answered: "This shall be thy gift: I will eat thee last of +all, for the sake of thy good wine." + +With that he sank down backward on the floor, and lay like a +leviathan, with his head lolling sideways, and his mouth gaping, +buried in drunken sleep. + +"Now is our time!" whispered Odysseus, and taking the sharpened stake +from its hiding place he thrust the point into the glowing embers of +the fire. As soon as he saw that the weapon was red hot and about to +burst into flame, he took it up, and gave it to his men. Then, +breathing a prayer to Heaven for strength and courage, they stole +softly to the place where the Cyclops lay. Odysseus clambered up to +the forehead of the Cyclops, holding on by his hair, and while the +others pressed the glowing point of the ponderous stake into the +monster's eye he whirled it round by means of a thong, as men turn an +auger to bore a ship's timber. The point hissed and sputtered as it +sank deep into the pulpy substance of the eye, and there was an acrid +smell of burning flesh, while the great shaggy eyebrow took fire, and +cracked like a burning bush. "It is a fine tempering bath for this +good spear of ours," muttered Odysseus, as he worked away at the +strap. "Temper it well--Polyphemus shall have it as a parting gift" + +At first the Cyclops writhed and groaned in his sleep; then with a +roar as of a hundred lions he awoke, and started up to a sitting +posture, scattering his puny tormentors, who fled in wild haste, and +hid themselves in the angle of a projecting rock. Polyphemus rose +slowly to his feet, tore the stake from the empty eye-socket, and +flung it from him, still uttering his fearful cries. His brethren +heard him, and quitting their caverns, came flocking round his gate, +to see what had befallen. "What ails thee, Polyphemus," they asked, +"that thou makest this dreadful din, murdering our sleep? Is anyone +stealing thy sheep or thy goats? Or seeks anyone to slay thee by force +or by guile?" + +"Friends," answered the afflicted giant, "Noman is slaying me by +guile, neither by force." + +"Go to," replied his brethren, "if no man is using thee despitefully, +why callest thou to us? Thou art stricken, it seems, with some sore +disease: pray, then, to thy father Poseidon, and cumber us no more." +So away they went, growling at their broken sleep, and left their +blinded brother to roar alone. + +Meanwhile Odysseus had been hard at work, taking measures to escape +with his comrades from the cave. Among the flocks of Polyphemus were +several big rams, with fleeces of remarkable thickness and beauty. Of +these he took three at a time, and lashed them together, side by side, +with osiers, which served Polyphemus for a bed. Each middle ram bore +one of the men firmly bound with osiers under his belly; while the two +outside rams served to conceal that living burden. Last of all +Odysseus provided for his own safety. There was one monster ram, the +leader of the flock, with a grand fleece which trailed on the ground, +like the leaves of the weeping ash. Him Odysseus reserved for himself, +and creeping under his belly hauled himself up until he was entirely +hidden by the drooping fleece, and so hung on steadfastly, waiting for +the day. + +At last the weary vigil was over, the huge stone portal was rolled +aside, and the male sheep and goats went forth to pasture, while the +females remained in their pens, bleating and in pain, for they were +swollen with milk, and there was none to relieve them. As the rams +went past Polyphemus felt their backs, to see if the men were there; +but the simple monster never thought of feeling under their bellies. +Last in the train came the big ram, with Odysseus clinging underneath. +Then said Polyphemus, as his great hands passed over his back: "Dear +ram, why art thou the last to leave the cave? Thou wast never wont to +be a sluggard, but ever thou tookest the lead, walking with long +strides, whether thou wast cropping the tender, flowering grass, or +going down to the waterside, or returning at even to the fold. Surely +thou art heavy with sorrow for thy master's eye, which the villain +Noman and his pitiful mates have blinded. Would that thou hadst a +voice, to tell me where he is skulking from my fury! Then would I pour +forth his brains like water on the ground, and lighten my heart of the +woe which hath been brought upon me by the hands of this nithering[1] +Noman." + +[Footnote 1: See Scott, "Ivanhoe."] + +So saying he let the ram go, and as soon as he was clear of the +courtyard Odysseus dropped to the ground, and ran to loose his +comrades. With all speed they made their way down to the ship, driving +the rams before them, with many a fearful backward glance. Right glad +were their friends to see them again, though their faces fell when +they saw their numbers reduced by half. But there was no time for +regrets, for Polyphemus was already close upon them, groping his way +painfully from rock to rock. So they flung the sheep on board, shoved +off the vessel, and took to their oars. While they were still within +earshot Odysseus bade his men cease rowing, and standing up in the +stern called aloud to the Cyclops in mocking tones: "How likest thou +my gift for thy hospitality, my gentle host? Methinks thou art paid in +full, and canst not complain that I have not given thee good measure." + +When he heard that, Polyphemus bellowed with rage, and tearing up a +great boulder from the side of the cliff he flung it with mighty force +in the direction of the voice. It fell into the sea right in front of +the ship, and raised a billow which washed her back to the shore. +Odysseus pushed her off with a long pole, and signalled to his men to +give way. They rowed for dear life, and had attained twice the former +distance from the shore when Odysseus stopped them again, though they +besought him earnestly to forego his rash purpose, and to refrain from +provoking Polyphemus more. But he, being exceeding wroth for the +murder of his men, would not be persuaded; and lifting up his voice he +spake again: "Cyclops, if anyone ask thee to whom thou owest the loss +of thine eye, say that it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, who reft +thee of sight, and his home is in rocky Ithaca." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Polyphemus] + +Now it happened that many a year back Polyphemus had heard a prophecy, +foretelling that he should one day be blinded by a certain Odysseus. +So when he heard that name he was stricken to the very heart, and +cried aloud: "This, then, is the fulfilment of the oracle! Verily I +thought that some tall and proper man would come hither to assail me, +but now I have been outwitted, made drunk, and blinded, by this +little, paltry wretch." After a pause he spoke again, thinking to +fight that man of many wiles with his own weapons. "Come hither, +Odysseus," he said, softening his big voice as well as he could, "that +I may entertain thee with loving-kindness; and afterwards I will pray +to Poseidon, whose son I am, to send a fair breeze for thy homeward +voyage. And he also shall heal my hurt, and give me back my sight." + +Odysseus laughed aloud at the poor monster's simplicity, whereupon +Polyphemus lifted up his hands to heaven, and prayed to his sire, the +lord Poseidon: "Hear me, thou who holdest the earth in thine arms, if +I am indeed thy son. Grant me that Odysseus may never reach his home, +or if that is fixed beyond repeal, let him come home in evil plight, +with the loss of all his men, on a strange ship, to a house of +woe."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Compare Dido's curse ("Stories from the Æneid," p. 84).] + +Such was the curse of Polyphemus, to be fulfilled, as we shall see, to +the letter. And having uttered it he flung another rock, which fell +just short of the vessel's stern, and raised a wave which washed her +towards the island. Soon they reached the harbour where the rest of +the fleet lay moored. Joyful were the greetings of their comrades, who +had given them up for lost; and a merry feast they made on the flesh +of the fat sheep, though their mirth was checkered by sadness when +they thought of the brave six who had come to so horrible an end in +the Cyclops' cave. + +After leaving the land of the Cyclopes they came next to the Æolian +island, where dwelt Æolus with his wife and twelve sons and daughters. +The island floated on the sea, and all around it tall cliffs ran sheer +down to the water, crowned on their summit by a wall of brass. Here +they remained a whole month, and were hospitably entertained by Æolus, +revelling in the abundance of his wealthy house, and whiling away the +time with music, and dance, and song, and brave stories of the Trojan +war. And when they departed he gave Odysseus a leathern bag, tied with +a silver cord, in which were confined all the winds that blow, except +only the good west wind, which he left free to blow behind them and +speed them on their way. + +So for nine days and nights they sailed without let or hindrance, and +on the tenth they came in sight of Ithaca, which they approached so +near that they saw the smoke and flame of the beacon-fires along the +coast. Odysseus was worn out with watching, for during all the voyage +he had not closed his eyes, but had sat the whole time with his hand +on the sheet, and suffered no one to relieve him. But now within sight +of his native land he sank down in utter weariness, and fell into a +deep sleep. + +That fatal moment of weakness led to a long train of disasters. His +men had long gazed with curious and jealous eyes at the mysterious +wallet, which they supposed to be full of gold and silver. As long as +Odysseus was on his guard they durst not give utterance to their +thoughts; but when they saw him overtaken by slumber they began to +murmur among themselves. And thus they spake one to another: "Behold +how this man is honoured and beloved whithersoever he goes! He left +Troy-land laden with booty, and thereto hath Æolus added this rich +treasure, while we must come home with empty hands. Go to, let us have +sight of all this gold and silver." + +So waking folly prevailed over slumbering prudence. In a moment the +silver cord was loosened, and all the boisterous winds rushed forth +and bore them weeping and wailing far from their native land. Roused +by the tumult of the tempest, and the despairing cries of his men, +Odysseus sprang up, just in time to see the last glimpse of the hills +of Ithaca as they melted in the distance. His first impulse was to +fling himself into the sea and perish; but mastering his frenzy he +covered his face, and sat down in speechless misery, while the winds +bore them swiftly back to the isle of Æolus. + +With a heavy heart Odysseus went up to the house where he had been +received so kindly, and told his sorrowful tale. "Pity my weakness," +he pleaded, "and let me not suffer for the sins of my men." But Æolus +was not to be moved. "Begone," he said sternly, "quit this island at +once, thou caitiff! Heaven hath set the seal of its hatred upon thee, +and I may not give countenance to such as thou. Out of my sight!" he +thundered, and Odysseus crept sadly back to his ship. + +Then for six days they voyaged on, toiling continually at the oar, for +now there was no favourable wind to waft them on. They were almost +dead with fatigue when they sighted land on the seventh day, and came +to anchor in a sheltered bay, surrounded on all sides by towering +cliffs, with a narrow entrance, guarded by a tall spire of rock on +either side The place was called Læstrygonia, and the nights in that +country are so short that the shepherd as he drives home his flocks at +sundown meets his fellow-toiler on his way to the pasture. + +The cautious Odysseus moored his ship close to the entrance of the +harbour, while all the others came to anchor at the head of the bay +under the shadow of the cliffs; for there was not a wave, not a +ripple, in that sheltered spot, but the water slumbered, as in a +mountain tarn. Having secured his vessel, by making fast her cable to +the rocks, he scaled the cliff with a few of his men, and seeing smoke +rising in the distance he sent three scouts to explore the country, +meantime going back to his ship to await their return. + +Sooner than he expected he saw two of the men descending the cliff in +headlong haste, and as they drew near he could read on their white, +terror-stricken faces what sort of news they had to bring. Their +report was as dismal as their looks. When they left the coast they +struck into a level road cut through the forest, and presently came to +a spring on the outskirts of a town. Here they met a maiden, drawing +water at the well, who told them that she was the daughter of +Antiphates, king of that country, and offered to conduct them to her +father's house. They went with her, and when she had brought them home +she left them to summon her father. + +"As soon as we caught sight of him," continued he who was telling the +story, "we were stricken with terror, for he was of monstrous stature +and hideous to behold. One of us he seized, and rent him in pieces on +the spot; but we two fled for our lives. There is no time to lose. The +town is in uproar, and before long the whole cannibal tribe will be +upon us." + +Hardly had he finished when a multitude of these huge savages was seen +rushing along the edge of the cliffs which overlooked the harbour. +Arming themselves with great rocks, they began to bombard the ships +which had taken the inside station; and a dreadful din arose of +shattered timbers, mingled with the cries of dying men. Not one ship +escaped destruction, and when that part of their work was ended the +barbarians swarmed down the cliffs, speared the floating corpses, and +dragged them to land for a cannibal feast. + +All this time Odysseus and his crew had been helpless spectators of +this scene of massacre. But when they saw that all was over they cut +their cable, and taking to their oars rowed with might and main until +a wide space of open water divided them from that ill-fated shore, +where all their friends had found a grave. + +IV + +Of the thirteen vessels with which Odysseus sailed from Troy only one +was now left. Weary and broken in spirit they voyaged on over the +waste of waters; and when, after two or three days' sail, they landed +on a low-lying coast, they lay down for two days and two nights, like +men whose last hope in life was gone. On the third morning Odysseus +roused himself, and ascending a rising ground saw to his dismay that +they had landed on a small island. On all sides stretched the +boundless sea, without a trace of land on the whole horizon. + +As he was descending the hill he heard a rustling in a neighbouring +thicket, and a tall stag with branching antlers stepped forth, and +began to make his way down to a little stream which skirted the foot +of the hill. From the high ground on which he stood Odysseus had a +full view of the beast's broad back, and taking steady aim he flung +his spear and pierced him through the spine. Odysseus' eyes glistened +when he saw the splendid quarry at his feet, for never had he seen so +fine a buck. Not without effort he took the carcass on his back, and +bore it down to his ship, where he found his men still lying +listlessly where he had left them. "Courage, comrades," he cried, as +he flung his heavy burden on the sand. "We shall not die before our +day, and while we have life we must eat and drink. Better a full +sorrow than a fasting."[1] So they ate and drank, and made good cheer. + +[Footnote 1: See the whole incident imitated in Virgil ("Stories from +the Æneid," p. 49).] + +Next day Odysseus divided his whole crew into two companies, two and +twenty each, with himself as captain of one division, and Eurylochus, +his faithful squire, in command of the other. Then he drew lots with +Eurylochus to determine which of the two should undertake the perilous +duty of exploring the island. The lot fell upon Eurylochus, and he at +once set forth with his party, pursued by the prayers and tears of +those who remained behind. + +Passing the low hills which skirted the coast, they struck into a +forest path, and presently came to an open glade, in the midst of +which stood a fair stone dwelling. And as they came and drew nigh unto +the house they saw a strange sight: before the doors stalked and +glared a multitude of wolves and lions, and other beasts of prey, and +when they saw the men these fearful creatures came fawning round them, +like hounds welcoming their master, and did them no harm. + +Quaking with wonder and fear, they came and stood on the threshold, +through which they caught sight of a young and lovely dame, pacing to +and fro about her loom, and weaving a wondrous web, fair and large, +such as the daughters of the gods are wont to weave. And as she plied +her task, she sang to herself in a low and thrilling voice, sad and +sweet as the notes of the Æolian harp. Presently she turned her face +to the doorway, and saw the men standing without. With a bright smile +she came forward, and bade them enter; and they all went in, save only +Eurylochus, who was older than the rest, and liked not the look in +that fair lady's eyes. + +"Welcome, fair youths," she said, "to the halls of Circe, daughter of +the sun. Sit ye down, while I prepare you a posset to slake your +thirst on this hot day." So they sat down, and Circe took wine, and +grated cheese, and honey, and barley-meal, and mixed them in a bowl, +muttering strange words, and adding a single drop from a little phial +which she took from a secret cupboard. Then she gave them to drink, +touching them, as she did so, with a wand; and no sooner had they +tasted than their form and countenance was changed into the likeness +of swine, though they kept the mind and feelings of men. Circe now +drove them all together into a stye, and flung down beechmast, and +acorns, and cornel berries, for them to eat. + +It was drawing towards noon when Odysseus saw a solitary figure +descending the slope which led down to the beach. "Eurylochus!" he +cried, recognising the familiar features of his squire. "Why comest +thou alone?" For some time Eurylochus was unable to utter a word; at +last he spoke, in a broken and altered voice, while his face was +blanched with deadly terror. "They are gone," he faltered--"spirited +away--vanished without a sign. The place is haunted: let us away!" + +Without a word, Odysseus caught up his sword and bow, and ordered +Eurylochus to show him the way to the place where he had lost his men. +But Eurylochus clung to his knees, and besought him to remain, and +prepare for instant flight. Seeing him to be unnerved by terror, +Odysseus bade him stay by the ship, and he himself set out alone to +learn the secrets of this mysterious island. + +Just before coming within sight of Circe's palace, he saw, standing in +his path, a fair and comely youth, who greeted him kindly, and took +him by the hand. There was something more than human beauty in the +face of this stranger, and his words showed more than human knowledge +of Odysseus and his affairs; for indeed he was no other than Hermes, +the messenger of the gods, sent down from heaven to aid Odysseus in +this strait. "Son of Laertes," he said, "why goest thou thus unwarily, +even as a silly bird into the net of the fowler? Pause awhile, or, +instead of setting free thy men, thou wilt become even as they are." +So saying he stooped down, and with careful hands tore up a little +plant which was growing at their feet; the flower of it was white as +milk, and the root was black. "Take this plant," he said, giving it to +Odysseus. "It is the magic herb, Moly, and no human hand may pluck it; +having this, thou mayest defy all the spells of Circe. And when thou +comest to the house of that fair witch, she will offer thee a potion, +mixed with baneful drugs: drink thou thereof, for it shall do thee no +harm. But when she smites thee with her wand draw thou thy sword and +make as though thou wouldst slay her; and she will be filled with +fear, for none ever resisted her power before. Then do thou compel her +to swear a great oath that she will devise no further ill against +thee." As the last words were uttered Hermes vanished, leaving +Odysseus standing with the plant in his hand. + +[Illustration: Circe] + +And as the god had spoken, even so it came to pass. Circe welcomed +Odysseus with the same treacherous smile, gave him to drink of the +same cup, and struck him with her wand in the same manner; but when +she saw him standing, unchanged and unmoved, threatening her with +drawn sword, she feared exceedingly, and falling at his feet spake +thus in pitiful tones: "Who art thou, that thou yieldest not to the +power of my drugs, which never mortal resisted before? Art thou that +Odysseus of whom Hermes spake, telling me that he should come hither +on his voyage from Troy? Put up thy sword, and thou shalt be my guest +to-night, and for many days to come." + +"No guest will I be of thine," answered Odysseus sternly, "unless thou +wilt swear a great oath to do me no hurt. Before that I will not trust +thee, or receive aught at thy hands. Hast thou not turned my men into +swine, and didst thou not seek even now to put thy wicked spells upon +me?" + +Then Circe took the oath that was required of her, and thus secured +Odysseus consented to remain. Forthwith his beautiful hostess summoned +her handmaids, sweet nymphs of rivers, and woods, and springs, and +bade them make all things ready to entertain the wanderer. With white +feet tripping nimbly, and many a curious glance at the majestic +stranger, the maidens hastened to obey her command. And soon the +tables, which were all of silver, were set forth with golden vessels, +the chairs spread with purple tapestries, and the rich red wine +mingled in a silver bowl. Others prepared a bath for Odysseus, and +when he had bathed, more than mortal health and vigour seemed to enter +his limbs, such virtue had Circe shed into the water. + +After that they sat down to meat; but Odysseus, whose mind was full of +his comrades, left every dish untasted, and sat without uttering a +word. When she observed it, Circe rallied him for his sullenness: "Art +thou afraid to eat?" she said, smiling: "have I not sworn to do thee +no harm? Ah! thou art thinking of thy friends. Come, then, and I will +restore them to thee." So she brought him to the stye where they were +confined together, and opening the gate drove them all forth, a herd +of bristly swine. Then she anointed them one by one with another drug; +and instantly the bristles fell away from them, and they became men +again, only younger and fairer to behold than they were before. With +tears of joy they embraced Odysseus, and the whole place rang with +their happy greetings, so that even Circe was moved by the tender +scene. + +When they had grown calmer she bade Odysseus go down to the sea, and +bring back all the rest of his company to take up their abode in her +house. Being now quite reassured as to her purpose, he hesitated not +to obey, and went down alone to carry the message from Circe. Arrived +at the ship he was hailed by his comrades as one returned from the +dead; but putting aside their eager questions he told them to beach +the vessel, stow away all her tackle, and follow him to the house of +Circe, where they would find all their fellows feasting and making +merry. + +Much cheered by his words the men set to work with willing hands, and +before an hour had passed the whole company was reunited under Circe's +hospitable roof. The dreaded witch had laid aside all her terrors, and +now appeared only in the character of a kind and generous hostess, +whose sole care was for the comfort and welfare of her guests. Days +lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, and still they lingered +on in that luxurious clime, as if there were no such place as Ithaca, +and no wide waste of sea to be crossed. + +At last, when they had lived a whole year on the island, Odysseus' men +began to grow weary of their long inaction, and begged their leader to +obtain Circe's permission to depart. Not without some misgivings, +Odysseus preferred his request. "Deem me not ungrateful," he said, "if +my heart turns ever to my wife and home. I am but a mortal man, with +human needs and frailties, and no fit mate for a goddess like thee. +And my men weary me with their importunity, when thou art not near." + +Circe heard him graciously, knowing well that they must part. "I will +not keep thee," she said, "against thy will. But a long journey lies +before thee, even to the very ends of the earth, and not until that is +past canst thou set thy sail for home. To the halls of Hades thou must +go, and consult the spirit of Theban Teiresias, who alone among all +the dead hath an understanding heart, while the rest are but flitting +shadows. Now hearken, and I will tell thee all that thou must do. When +thou leavest these shores thou shalt sail ever southward, until thou +hast reached the farther side of the River Oceanus, and come to the +shadowy grove which stands at the confines of the realm of Persephone. +There thou shalt land with thy company, and dig a trench a cubit in +length and breadth, and pour about it a libation of mead and water and +wine; and after that thou shalt offer a sacrifice of black sheep, in +such wise that the blood thereof shall flow into the trench and fill +it. Thither will flock the whole multitude of departed spirits, to +drink of the blood; but do thou draw thy sword, and hold it over the +trench, nor suffer any of the other spirits to draw near until thou +hast seen Teiresias and hearkened to his lore." + +All that night Odysseus remained in deep conference with Circe, and as +soon as day dawned he went to rouse his men who were sleeping in the +outer chamber. "Up, comrades!" he cried, "all is prepared, and we must +embark without delay." His loud summons proved fatal to one of the +company, a certain Elpenor, the youngest of them all, who, the night +before, had lain down to sleep on the housetop, for the sake of the +coolness, being heated with wine. Roused suddenly by the voice of +Odysseus, he staggered to his feet, and, still half asleep, stumbled +over the parapet in his haste, and fell headlong from the roof. + +In the hurry of their departure the body was left where it lay, and +Odysseus, when they reached the ship, did not notice his absence. They +found that Circe had been there before them, and left the victims for +sacrifice bound to the vessel's side. She herself was nowhere to be +seen, and so without another word of farewell they launched their +galley and put out into the deep. + + + + +The Visit to Hades + + +I + +A clear, strong wind came down from the north, sent by the favour of +the mighty enchantress Circe, and over the trackless sea they sped, +where never furrow of mortal ship was seen before. After a long day's +sail they came to the farther shore of the ocean stream, which +surrounds the earth as with a girdle. There is the abode of the people +called the Cimmerians, wrapped in shadow and mist; for never doth the +sun look down upon them with his rays, neither when he climbs the +starry sky, nor yet when he goeth down unto the place of his rest. And +thus they dwell miserably under the curse of perpetual night. + +As they peered through the gloom they saw what seemed a grove of dusky +trees, in shape like the poplar and willow, fringing the shore. "It is +the sign which Circe gave me," whispered Odysseus to his awestruck +comrades; "we are at the very gates of Hades." Landing in silence, +they carried the victims for sacrifice to the verge of the grove, and +Odysseus with his sword dug a trench, a cubit in length and breadth, +and poured about it a libation of mead and water and wine. Then the +sheep were slaughtered, and the trench was filled to the brim with +their blood. When the solemn rite was ended, Odysseus called in a loud +voice to the spirits of the dead, and waited in breathless expectation +with his men. + +Presently a rustling sound was heard, like the sound of the autumn +wind in the dry leaves of the forest; it grew louder and louder, and +out of the gloom the ghosts came flocking, youths and maidens cut off +in their bloom, old men with all their burden of sorrow, and warriors +slain in battle, still wearing the bloodstained armour.[1] With a wild +unearthly cry they came crowding to the trench, eager to drink of the +blood. But Odysseus, though quaking with fear, stood his ground +firmly, and held his drawn sword over the trench to keep off the +multitude, until he had seen and spoken with Teiresias. + +[Footnote 1: Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 119.] + +Among the hosts of spirits there was one who lingered near the trench, +and seemed by his beseeching gestures and earnest looks to desire +speech with Odysseus. When his first fears were over Odysseus +recognised the features of Elpenor, who had come to an untimely end on +the morning of their journey, and whose body still lay unburied in the +house of Circe. Registering a mental vow to perform all due rites to +that poor spirit on his homeward voyage, Odysseus warned him back, and +stood waiting for the coming of the seer. + +At last came one with tottering footsteps, leaning on a golden +sceptre, and halted on the farther edge of the trench. It seemed a +very aged man, with flowing white beard, and sightless eyes; and +Odysseus knew by these signs that he was in the presence of Teiresias, +the famous prophet of Thebes, who alone among departed spirits +preserves his understanding, while the rest are flitting phantoms, +with no sense at all. "What wouldst thou of me, Odysseus, son of +Laertes," said the spectre in faltering tones, "and wherefore hast +thou left the glad light of day to visit this drear and joyless realm +of the dead? Draw back from the trench, and put up thy sword in its +sheath, that I may drink of the blood and tell thee all that thou +wouldst know." + +Thereupon Odysseus fell back, and sheathed his sword; and Teiresias, +when he had drunk of the blood, spoke again in firmer and clearer +tones: "Thou art fain to hear of thy home-coming, illustrious hero; +but thy path to Ithaca shall be beset with sorrows, because of the +wrath of Poseidon, whose son, Polyphemus, thou hast blinded. +Nevertheless thou and all thy company shall return safe to Ithaca, if +only ye leave untouched the sacred flocks and herds of Helios,[1] when +ye come to the island of Thrinacia. But if harm befall them at your +hands, from that hour thy ship and all her crew are doomed and forfeit +to destruction: and though thou thyself escape, yet thou shalt return +after many days, in evil plight, to a house of woe.[2] And now learn +how thou mayest at last appease the anger of the god who pursues thee +with his vengeance. When thou art once more master in thine own house +thou shalt go on a far journey, carrying with thee an oar of thy +vessel, until thou comest to a people that dwell far from the sea, and +know naught of ships or the mariner's art. And there shalt meet thee +by the way a man who shall say that thou bearest a winnowing shovel[3] +on thy shoulder; and this shall be a sign unto thee, whereby thou +shalt know that thou hast reached the end of thy journey. Then plant +thy oar in the ground, and offer sacrifice to Poseidon. This shall be +the end of thy toils, and death shall come softly upon thee where thou +dwellest in a green old age among thy happy people." + +[Footnote 1: The sun god.] + +[Footnote 2: The very words of Polyphemus, p. 93.] + +[Footnote 3: The oar.] + +When he had thus spoken Teiresias vanished into the darkness; and one +by one the spirits came up to the trench, as Odysseus suffered them, +and having drunk of the blood obtained strength to speak and answer +his questions. First among them was the spirit of his mother, +Anticleia, daughter of Autolycus, who had been hovering near during +his conference with Teiresias. When she had drunk she said: "Whence +comest thou, my son? Art thou still wandering on thy long voyage from +Troy, or hast thou been in Ithaca, and seen thy wife?" + +"Nay, mother," answered Odysseus, "I am wandering still, still +treading the path of woe, since the day when I followed Agamemnon to +Troy. But tell me now, and answer me truly, what was the manner of thy +death? Came it slowly, by long disease, or did Artemis lay thee low in +a moment with a painless arrow from her bow?[1] And tell me of my +father and my son whom I left in Ithaca; do they still hold my +possessions, or hath some other thrust them with violence from my +seat? Tell me also of Penelope, my wedded wife, whether she abides +steadfast and guards my goods, or whether she is gone to cheer some +other man's heart." + +[Footnote 1: Sudden death was ascribed to Artemis or Apollo.] + +"Steadfast indeed she is," replied Anticleia, "and wondrous patient of +heart; all her thoughts are ever of thee. No one has yet usurped thy +place in Ithaca, but Telemachus still reaps thy fields and sits down +to meat with the noblest in the land. As to thy father, he comes no +more to the town, but dwells continually on his farm. He lives not +delicately, as princes use, but is clad in sorry raiment, and sleeps +in the winter among the ashes of the hearth with his thralls, and in +summer on a bed of dry leaves in his vineyard. There he lies forsaken, +heavy with years and sorrows, mourning for thee. And in such wise also +death came upon me, neither by wasting sickness nor by the gentle +shafts of Artemis, but my sore longing for thee, Odysseus, and for thy +sweet counsels, at last broke my heart." + +A flood of tenderness overpowered Odysseus at these sad words, and he +sprang forward with arms outstretched to clasp his mother to his +breast. Thrice he essayed to embrace her, and thrice his arms closed +on emptiness,[1] while that ghostly presence still flitted before him +like a shadow or a dream. "O my mother," cried Odysseus in deep +distress, "why dost thou mock me thus? Come to my heart, dear mother; +let me hold thee in mine arms once more, and mingle my tears with +thine. Or art thou but the shadow of a shade, a phantom sent by +Persephone to deceive me?" + +[Footnote 1: Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 24.] + +"Persephone deceives thee not," answered the ghost, "but this is the +fashion of mortals when they die. Flesh and bone and sinew are +consumed by the might of fire, but the spirit takes flight and hovers +ever like a winged dream. But make haste and get thee back to the +daylight, and keep all that thou hast seen in memory that thou mayest +tell it to thy wife." + +When the spirit of Anticleia was gone, a shadowy throng pressed +forward to the trench, all the ghosts of noble dames, wives and +daughters of princes. And Odysseus kept his place, sword in hand, +suffering them only to drink one by one, that he might question them +and learn their story. There he saw Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, +and Leda, to whose twin sons, Castor and Pollux, a strange destiny was +allotted; for after their death they rose to life again on alternate +days, one lying in the tomb, while the other walked the earth as a +living man. There too was Iphimedeia, mother of the giants Otus and +Ephialtes, who at nine years of age were nine fathoms in height and +nine cubits in breadth. Haughty were they, and presumptuous in their +youth; for they made war on the gods, and piled Ossa on Olympus, and +Pelion on Ossa, that they might scale the sky. But they perished in +their impiety, shot down by the bolts of Apollo's golden bow. Last +came Eriphyle, the false wife, who sold her husband's life for a +glittering bribe. + +That dream of fair women melted away and another ghostly band +succeeded, the souls of great captains and mighty men of war. Foremost +among these was seen one of regal port, around whom was gathered a +choice company of veteran warriors, all gored and gashed with recent +wounds. He who seemed their leader stretched out his hands towards +Odysseus with a piteous gesture, and tears such as spirits weep[1] +gushed from his eyes. Instantly Odysseus recognised in that stricken +spirit his great commander Agamemnon, once the proud captain of a +thousand ships, now wandering, forlorn and feeble, with all his glory +faded. + +[Footnote 1: "Tears such as _angels_ weep," Milton, "Paradise Lost," +i. 619.] + +"Royal son of Atreus," he said, in a voice broken with weeping, "is it +here that I find thee, great chieftain of the embattled Greeks? Say, +how comest thou hither, and what arm aimed the stroke which laid thee +low?" "Not in honour's field did I fall," answered Agamemnon, "nor yet +amid the waves. It was a traitor's hand that cut me off, the hand of +Ægisthus, and the guile of my accursed wife. He feasted me at his +board, and slaughtered me as one slaughters a stalled ox; and all my +company fell with me in that den of butchery. It was pitiful to see +all that brave band of veterans writhing in their death agony among +the tables loaded with good cheer, and goblets brimming with wine. But +that which gave me my sorest pang was the dying shriek of Cassandra, +daughter of Priam, who was struck down at my side by the dagger of +Clytæmnestra. Then the murderess turned away and left me with staring +eyes and mouth gaping in death. For naught is so vile, naught so +cruel, as a woman who hath hardened her heart to tread the path of +crime. Even so did she break her marriage vows, and afterwards slew +the husband of her youth. I thought to have found far other welcome +when I passed under the shadow of mine own roof-tree. But this +demon-wife imagined evil against me, and brought infamy on the very +name of woman." + +"Strange ordinance of Zeus!" said Odysseus musingly, "which hath +turned the choicest blessing of man's life, the love of woman, into +the bitterest of curses for thee and for thy house. Yea, and upon all +the land of Hellas hath woe been brought by the deed of a +woman--Helen, thy brother's wife." + +"Ay, trust them not," replied Agamemnon bitterly, "Never give thy +heart into a woman's keeping; she will rifle thy very soul's flower, +and then laugh thee to scorn. But why do I speak thus to thee? Thou +hast indeed a treasure in thy wife; no wiser head, no truer heart, +than hers. Happy art thou, and sweet the refuge which is prepared for +thee after all thy toils, Well I remember the day when we set sail +from Greece, and how fondly thou spakest of her, thy young bride, with +her babe at her breast. Now he will be a tall youth, and with what joy +will he look into the eyes of his father, whom he was then too young +to know!" + +After that Odysseus was silent, his mind full of sweet and anxious +thoughts. Meanwhile other familiar forms had drawn near, the spirits +of warriors renowned, whose very names were as a battle-cry when they +dwelt on earth: Achilles, Patroclus, and Antilochus, and farther off, +looming dimly in the darkness, the gigantic shade of Ajax. Achilles +was the first to speak. "Son of Laertes," he said, "thou man of +daring, hast thou reached the limit of thy rashness, or wilt thou go +yet further? Are there no perils left for thee in the land of the +living that thou must invade the very realm of Hades, the sunless +haunts of the dead?" + +"I came to inquire of Teiresias," answered Odysseus, "concerning my +return to Ithaca. All my life I am a bondslave to toil and woe; but +thou, Achilles, wast happy in thy life, honoured as a god by all the +sons of Hellas; and now thou art happy, even in death, for honour +waits on thy footsteps still." + +"Tell me not of comfort in death," replied Achilles. "Rather would I +breathe the air of heaven, yea, though I were thrall to a man of +little substance, than reign as king over all the shades of the dead. +But give me some news of my son, Neoptolemus. Came he to fight with +the Trojans after I was gone, and did he acquit him well? And knowest +thou aught of my father, Peleus? Lives he still in honour and comfort +among my people, or has he been driven into beggary by violent men, +now that he is old and I am not near to aid him? Oh, for an hour of +life, with such might as was mine when I fought in the van for Greece? +Then should they pay a bitter reckoning, whosoever they be that wrong +him and keep him from his own." + +"Of Peleus," answered Odysseus, "I have heard nothing, but of thy son, +Neoptolemus, I can tell thee much, for I myself brought him from +Scyros to fight in Helen's cause, and thereafter my eye was ever upon +him, to mark how he bore himself. In council none could vie with him, +save only Nestor and myself; ne'er saw I so rare a wit in so young a +head. And when the Greeks were arrayed in battle against the Trojans +he was never seen to hang back, but fought ever in the van among the +foremost champions, like a mighty man of war. Nor was it only in the +clamour and heat of war that he proved his mettle; for in that +perilous hour when we lay ambushed in the wooden horse, when the +stoutest hearts among us quailed, he never changed colour, but sat +fingering his spear and sword, waiting for the signal to go forth to +the assault. And after we had sacked the lofty towers of Troy he +received a goodly portion of the spoil, and a special prize of honour, +and so departed, untouched by point or blade, to his father's house." + +When he heard these brave tidings of his son, Achilles rejoiced in +spirit, and strode with lofty gait along the plain of asphodel. + +So one by one the spirits came up, and inquired of Odysseus of their +dear ones at home. Only the soul of Ajax, son of Telamon, stood +sullenly aloof; for between him and Odysseus there was an old quarrel. +After the death of Achilles a dispute arose among the surviving +chieftains for the possession of his armour. It was decided to refer +the matter to the Trojan captives in the camp, and they were asked who +of all the Greeks had done them most harm. They answered in favour of +Odysseus, who accordingly received the armour. Thereupon Ajax fell +into a frenzy of rage, and slew himself. When Odysseus saw him, and +marked his unforgiving mood, he was filled with remorse and pity, and +strove to soften his resentment with gentle words. "Ah! son of +Telamon," he said, "canst thou not forgive me, even here? Sorely the +Argives mourned thee, and heavy was the loss brought on them by thy +rash act. Thou wast a very tower of strength to the host, and we wept +for thee as for a second Achilles. Draw near, great prince, subdue thy +haughty spirit, and speak to me as thou wast wont to speak before the +will of heaven set enmity between us." + +Thus earnestly Odysseus pleaded, but there was no reply, and the angry +spirit passed away into the gloom of Erebus.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Compare the silence of Dido, "Stories from the Æneid," p. +123.] + +II + +Odysseus still lingered, hoping yet to have speech with other souls of +heroes who had once rivalled him in valour and wisdom while they dwelt +in the flesh. But he was destined to see another and more awful +vision. Suddenly the pall of darkness which shrouded the secrets of +the nether abyss was lifted, and the whole realm of Hades was exposed +to view. There he saw the place of torment, where great malefactors +atone for their crime, and Minos, the infernal judge, sitting at the +gates, passing sentence, and giving judgment among the shades. Within +appeared the gigantic form of Tityos, stretched at full length along +the ground, and two vultures sat ever at his side, tearing his liver. +This was his punishment for violence offered to Leto, the mother of +Apollo and Artemis. Not far from him appeared Tantalus, plunged up to +the neck in a cool stream; the water lapped against his chin, but he +had not power to drink it, though he was tormented with a burning +thirst. As often as he stooped to drink, the water was swallowed up, +and the earth lay dry as the desert sand at his feet. And nodding +boughs of trees drooped, heavy with delicious fruit, over his head; +but when he put forth his hand to pluck the fruit, a furious gust of +wind swept it away far beyond his reach. And yet another famous +criminal he saw, Sisyphus, the most cunning and most covetous of the +sons of men. He was toiling painfully up a steep mountain's side, +heaving a weighty stone before him, and straining with hands and feet +to push it to the summit. But every time he approached the top, the +stone slipped through his hands, and thundered and smoked down the +mountain's side till it reached the plain. + +Other wonders and terrors might still have been revealed, but as that +hardy watcher stood at his post a great tumult and commotion arose in +that populous city of the dead, and the whole multitude of its ghostly +denizens came rushing towards the trench, as if resolved to expel the +daring intruder. Odysseus' heart failed him when he saw the air thick +with hovering spectres, who glared with dreadful eyes, and filled the +air with the sound of their unearthly voices. Turning his back on that +place of horror he made his way slowly towards the shore, where he +found his men anxiously awaiting him. + + + + +The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis; Thrinacia + + +I + +Following the same course as on his outward voyage, Odysseus put in +again at the island of Circe, where his first duty was to bury the +body of the young Elpenor, whose ghost he had seen in an attitude of +mute reproach at the threshold of Hades. They were again received with +all hospitality by Circe. + +After the evening meal Circe drew Odysseus apart, and questioned him +on all that he had seen and heard on that strange journey, from which +he had returned, as she said, like one ransomed from death. And when +he had told his story she instructed him as to the course which he had +to steer on leaving the island, and warned him against the manifold +perils of the voyage. + +"First," said she, "thou wilt come to the rocks of the Sirens, maidens +of no mortal race, who beguile the ears of all that hear them. Woe to +him who draws near to listen to their song! He shall never see the +faces of his wife and children again, or feel their arms about his +neck, but there he shall perish, and there his bones shall rot. +Therefore take heed, and when thou drawest near the place stop the +ears of thy men with wax, and bid them bind thee fast with cords, that +thou mayest hear the song of the Sirens. And when that seducing melody +fills thine ears, thou wilt beg and implore thy comrades to set thee +free, that thou mayest draw near and have speech of the Sirens. Then +let them bind thee more firmly to the mast, and take to their oars, +and fly the enchanted rocks. + +"This peril past, thou hast the choice of two different routes. One of +these will bring thee to the Wandering Isles, which stand, front to +front, with steep slippery sides of rock, running sheer down to the +sea. Between them lies a narrow way, which is the very gate of death. +For if aught living attempts to pass between, those rocky jaws close +upon it and grind it to powder. Only the doves which bear ambrosia to +Father Zeus can pass that awful strait, and one of these pays toll +with her life as she passes, but Zeus sends another to fill her place. +And one ship sailed safely through, even the famous _Argo_ when she +bore Jason and his crew on their voyage from the land of Æetes. All +others when they essayed the task perished, and were brought to naught +in a whirlwind of foam and fire. + +"But if thou takest the other way thou wilt come to another strait, +guarded day and night by two sleepless sentinels, Scylla and +Charybdis. On one side thereof towers a lofty peak, shrouded, even in +the noon of summer, in clouds and thick darkness. No mortal man could +climb that steep and slippery rock, not though he had twenty hands and +twenty feet; for the side is smooth as polished marble, and in the +midst of the cliff is a shadowy cave overlooking the track by which +thou must guide thy ship, Odysseus. Deep down it goes into the heart +of the mountain, so that a man in his lusty prime could not shoot an +arrow from his ship to the bottom of that yawning pit In the cave +dwells Scylla, and yelps without ceasing. Her voice is thin and +shrill, like the cry of a hound newly littered, but she herself is a +monster horrible to behold, so that neither man nor god could face her +without affright. Twelve feet hath she, and six necks of prodigious +length, and on each neck a fearful head, whose ravening jaws are armed +with triple rows of teeth. As far as her waist she is hidden in the +hollow cave, but she thrusts out her serpent necks from the abyss, and +fishes in the waters for dolphins and sea-dogs and other creatures +whose pasture is the sea. On every ship that passes her den she levies +a tribute of six of her crew. + +"On the other side of the strait thou wilt see a second rock, lying +flat and low, about a bowshot from the first. There stands a great +fig-tree, thick with leaves, and under it sits Charybdis, sucking down +the water, and belching it up again three times a day. Beware that +thou approach not when she sucks down the water, for then none could +save thee from destruction, no, not Poseidon himself. Rather steer thy +galley past Scylla's cave, for it is better to lose six of thy men +than to lose them all. + +"Next thou shalt come to the island of Thrinacia, where graze the oxen +of Helios and his goodly sheep--seven herds of oxen, and as many fair +flocks of sheep, and fifty in each flock and herd. They are not born, +neither do they die, and two goddesses have charge of them, +fair-haired nymphs, the daughters of Helios. Take heed that thou harm +not the sacred beasts, that it may be well with thee, and that thou +and thy company may come safely home." + +II + +Once more they were afloat, and the brave little vessel bounded gaily +over the waves, her canvas bellying in the wind. For some hours they +sailed on thus, and Odysseus recited to his men all that he had heard +from Circe. Then suddenly the wind dropped, and the sail hung idly to +the mast. Having furled and stowed the sail, they took to their oars, +while the sea went down, and at last sunk to a level calm. In the +distance a low-lying coast appeared, which Odysseus knew to be the +island of the Sirens, Forthwith he began to make his preparations to +meet the danger which lay before them. Taking a ball of wax he cut it +into small pieces, and having worked each piece in his hand until it +was soft and plastic he carefully stopped the ears of all his men with +the wax. Then two of the crew, to whom he had already given his +orders, bound him hand and foot to the mast of the vessel. All being +ready, they rowed forward until they came within full view of the +island. And there, in a low-lying meadow hard by the sea, sat the +Sirens; lovely they were of aspect, and gracious of mien; but all +around them were piled the bones of men who had fallen victims to +their wicked wit,[1] fleshless ribs, from which the skin still hung in +yellow shreds, and grinning skulls, gazing with eyeless sockets at the +sea. + +[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Hamlet."] + +As the ship drew near, the whole choir lifted up their voices and +began to sing a sweet and piercing strain, which thrilled the very +marrow of Odysseus as he listened. The winds hovered near on flagging +wing, the sea lay locked in deep repose, and all nature paused with +attentive ear, to catch the SONG OF THE SIRENS. + + "Mighty warrior, sage renowned, + Turn, O turn thy bark this way! + Rest upon this holy ground, + Listen to the Sirens' lay. + Never yet was seaman found + Passing our enchanted bay, + But he paused, and left our bound + Filled with wisdom from his stay. + All we know, whatever befell + On the tented fields of Troy, + All the lore that Time can tell, + All the mystic fount of joy." + +It was a strain cunningly calculated to flatter a deep, subtle spirit +like that of Odysseus. To know all! to read all secrets, and unravel +the tangled skein of human destiny! What a bribe was this to this +restless and eager mind! Then the voices of the witch-women were so +liquid, and the music so lovely, that they took the very air with +ravishment, and melted the hearer's soul within him. Odysseus +struggled to break his bonds, and nodded to his men to come and loose +him. But they, who had been warned of this very thing, rose up and +bound him with fresh cords. Then they grasped their oars again, the +water roared under their sturdy strokes, and soon they were out of +hearing of that seductive melody. + +They had not long lost sight of the Sirens' Rocks when they heard the +booming of breakers, which warned them that the fearful strait between +Scylla and Charybdis was close at hand. A strong current caught the +galley and whirled her with appalling swiftness towards the point of +danger. The water boiled and eddied around them, and the blinding +spray was dashed into their faces. Then a sudden panic came upon the +crew, so that they dropped their oars, and sat helpless and unnerved, +expecting instant death. In this emergency, Odysseus summoned up all +his courage, and strode up and down between the benches, exhorting, +entreating, and calling each man by name. "Why sit ye thus," he cried, +"huddled together like sheep? Row, men, row for your lives! And thou, +helmsman, steer straight for the passage, lest we fall into a direr +strait, and be crushed between the Wandering Rocks. We have faced a +worse peril than this, when we were penned together in the Cyclops' +cave; and we shall escape this time also, if only ye will keep a stout +heart." + +Circe had cautioned Odysseus on no account to attempt resistance when +he approached the cave of Scylla; nevertheless, he put on his armour, +and took his stand on the prow of the vessel, holding in each hand a +lance. + +So on they sped, steering close to the tall cliff under which Scylla +lay hid, and gazing fearfully at the boiling whirlpool on the other +side. Just as they passed, a huge column of water shot into the air, +belched up from the vast maw of Charybdis, and the galley was half +swamped under a fountain of falling water. When that ended, a black +yawning chasm appeared, the very throat, as it seemed, of Charybdis, +into which the water rushed in a roaring torrent. + +Odysseus was gazing intently at this wondrous sight when he heard a +sharp cry, and, looking back he saw six of his men, the stoutest of +the crew, dangling high in the air, firmly clutched in the six +sharklike jaws of Scylla. There they hung for a moment, like fishes +just caught by the angler's hook; the next instant they were dragged +into the black mouth of the cavern, calling with their last breath on +their leader's name. This was the most pitiful thing that Odysseus had +ever beheld, in all his long years of travel on the sea. + +III + +The last trial was now at hand, and if they could stand this final +test a happy home-coming was promised to them all. By next day's dawn +they ran down to the fair isle of Helios, and as they drew near they +heard the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep. Then Odysseus +remembered the warnings of Circe and Teiresias, and sought to persuade +his men to sail past the island and fly from the reach of temptation. +But they murmured against him, and Eurylochus, his lieutenant, gave +voice to their feelings thus: "Thou man of iron, thou hast no pity on +us, but thinkest that we are all as hardy and as strong as thou art. +Hungry and weary as we are, wouldst thou have us turn away from this +fair isle, where we could prepare a comfortable meal, and take +refreshing sleep? Shall we add the horrors of night to the horrors of +the sea, and confront the demons of storm that haunt the caverns of +darkness? Nay, suffer us to abide here to-night, and to-morrow we will +hoist sail again." + +Odysseus saw by the looks of his men that it would be useless to +strain his authority, and so he gave way, though with sore reluctance, +only exacting a solemn oath from the whole company that they would +keep their hands off the cattle of Helios. When each in turn had taken +the oath they landed on the shore of a sheltered bay, and encamped by +a fair spring of fresh water. + +During the night it began to blow hard, and early next morning, as the +weather was still stormy and the wind contrary, they hauled up their +galley and bestowed her in a roomy cave, beyond the reach of wind and +water. Odysseus repeated his warnings, and the crew then dispersed, to +while away the time until the weather should mend. + +For a whole month they had nothing but contrary gales from the south +and east, and long before that time had run out they had come to the +end of their store of provisions. For some time they contrived to live +on the fish which they caught by angling from the rocks, though this +was but poor fare for the robust appetites of those heroic days. + +All this time Odysseus kept a careful watch over the movements of his +men, fearing that they might be driven by hunger to break the oath +which they had taken. But one morning he wandered away to a distant +part of the island, that he might spend an hour in solitary prayer and +meditation. Having found a secluded spot, he washed his hands, and +prayed earnestly to the gods for succour: and when he had prayed, +heaven so ordered it that he fell into a deep sleep. + +Then the demon of mischief entered into the heart of Eurylochus, a +factious knave, who had more than once thwarted the counsels of +Odysseus. "Comrades," he said, "let us make an end of this misery. +Death in any shape is loathly to us poor mortals, but death by hunger +is the most hideous of all. Come, let us take the choicest of the +herds of Helios, and feast upon them, after sacrifice to the gods. +When we return to Ithaca we will build a temple to Helios, and appease +him with rich offerings. And even though he choose to wreck our ship +and drown us all, I would rather swallow the brine, and so make an +end, than waste away by inches on a desert island." + +The famishing sailors lent a ready ear to his words, and having picked +out the fattest of the oxen they slaughtered them and offered +sacrifice, plucking the leaves of an oak as a substitute for the +barley-meal for sprinkling between the horns of the victims, and +pouring libations of water instead of wine. When the vain rite was +finished, they spitted slices of the meat, and roasted them over the +glowing embers. + +Meanwhile Odysseus had awakened from his sleep, and made his way, not +without forebodings of ill, back to the camp. As he approached, the +steam of roasting meat was borne to his nostrils. "Woe is me!" he +cried, "the deed is done! What a price must we now pay for one hour of +sleep." + +Vengeance, indeed, was already prepared. Helios received prompt news +of the sacrilege from one of the nymphs who had charge of his flocks +and herds, and hastened to Olympus to demand speedy punishment for the +transgressors, vowing that if they escaped he would leave the earth in +darkness and carry the lamp of day to the nether world. Zeus promised +that the retribution should be swift and complete, and Helios +thereupon returned immediately to his daily round, knowing full well +that the father of gods would keep his word. + +When Odysseus entered the camp he rebuked his men bitterly for their +impiety. But no words, and no repentance, could now repair the +mischief; the cattle were slain, and in that very hour dire portents +occurred, to show them the enormity of their crime. A strange moaning +sound, like the lowing of kine, came from the meat on the spits, and +the hides of the slaughtered beasts crawled and writhed. + +In spite of these dreadful omens they continued for six days to feast +upon the herds of Helios. On the seventh day the wind blew fair, and +they launched their vessel and continued their voyage. The last +vestige of the island had hardly been lost to view when the sky became +black with clouds, and a violent squall struck the ship, snapping her +mast, which fell upon the helmsman, and dashed out his brains. A +moment after, a deafening peal of thunder broke overhead, and the +avenging bolt of Zeus fell upon the ship, scattering her timbers, and +strewing the charred carcasses of the crew upon the waves. + +Odysseus alone escaped with his life from that tremendous stroke, and +clinging to a spar floated all day, until he came in sight of the +strait between Scylla and Charybdis. By the favour of heaven he was +once more preserved from this great peril, and on the tenth day after +the loss of his vessel he was thrown ashore by the waves on the island +of Calypso. + + + + +Odysseus lands in Ithaca + +I + +The last farewell has been spoken, the good ship is loosed from her +moorings, and Alcinous is standing on the quay, surrounded by the +nobles of Phæacia, to bid his illustrious guest god-speed. The picked +crew bend to their oars, and the galley leaps forward, like a mettled +steed who knows his master's voice. The setting sun is just gilding +the towers of the city as they cross the harbour bar. Swift as a +falcon the magic vessel skims over the swelling waters, and the +toil-worn hero lays him down to rest on a soft couch prepared for him +in the stern. Then a deep and deathlike sleep falls upon him, and he +lies breathing gently as an infant, while the soft southern breeze +plays with his dark clustering hair. + +There is a certain haven in the island of Ithaca, protected by two +lofty headlands, leaving a narrow passage between them. Within, the +water is so still that ships lie there without moorings, safe and +motionless. At the head of the haven is a long-leaved olive-tree, +overshadowing a cool and pleasant cave, sacred to the "Nymphs called +Naiads, of the running brooks."[1] Inside the cave are bowls and +pitchers of stone, and great stone looms, at which the Naiads weave +their fine fabrics of sea-purple dye. It is a favourite haunt of the +honey-bee, whose murmurs mingled with the splashing of perennial +springs make drowsy music in the place. There are two gates to the +cavern, one towards the north, where mortal feet may pass, and the +other on the south side, which none may enter save the gods alone. + +[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Tempest."] + +The day-star was gazing on that still, glassy mere as the Phæacians +steered between the sentinel cliffs and drove their galley ashore in +front of the cave. They lifted Odysseus, still sleeping, from the +stern, and laid him down gently, couch and all, on the sand. Then they +brought all the rich gifts, and set them down by the root of the +olive-tree, out of the reach of any chance wayfarer; and having +bestowed all safely they launched their ship, and started on their +voyage home. + +But they were destined to pay dear for their good service to the +stranger. Poseidon marked their course with a jealous eye, and he went +to his brother, Zeus, and thus preferred his complaint: "Behold now +this man hath reached home in safety and honour, and brought the oath +to naught which I sware against him, when I vowed that he should +return to Ithaca in evil plight! Is my power to be defied, and my +worship slighted, by these Phæacians, who are of mine own race?" + +"Thine honour is in thine own hands," answered Zeus. "Assert thy +power, lift up thy hand and strike, that all men may fear to infringe +thy privilege as lord of the sea." + +Having thus obtained his brother's consent, Poseidon went and took his +stand by the harbour mouth at Phæacia, and as soon as the vessel drew +near he smote her with his hand, and turned her with all her crew into +a rock, which remains there, rooted in the sea, unto this day. + +II + +Twilight had not yielded to day when Odysseus awoke from his +trancelike sleep, and gazed in bewilderment around him. His senses had +not yet fully come back to him, and after his twenty years' absence he +knew not where he was. All seemed strange--the winding paths, the +harbour, the cliffs, and the very trees. With a cry of dismay he +sprang to his feet, and cried aloud: "Good lack, what land have I come +to now, and who be they that dwell there? Are they savage and rude, or +gentle and hospitable to strangers?" Then his eye fell on the gifts +which had been brought with him from Phæacia. What was he to do with +all this wealth? "Now this is a sorry trick which the Phæacians have +played me," he muttered again, "to carry me to a strange land, when +they had promised to convey me safe to Ithaca." + +So unworthily did Odysseus deem of his benefactors that he fell to +counting his goods, for fear lest they should have carried off a +portion of the gifts while he slept. He found the tale complete, and +when he had finished counting them he wandered disconsolate along the +sand, mourning for the country which he thought still far away. As he +went thus, with heavy steps and downcast eyes, a shadow fell across +his path, and looking up he saw a fair youth, clad and armed like a +young prince, who stood before him and smiled in his face with kindly +eyes. Glad to meet anyone of so friendly an aspect, Odysseus greeted +him, asked for his countenance and protection, and inquired the name +of the country. + +"Either thou art simple," answered the youth, "or thy home is far +away, if thou knowest not this land. It is a place not unknown to +fame, but named with honour wherever mortal speech is heard. Rugged +indeed it is, and unfit for horses and for chariots, but rich in corn +and wine, and blessed by the soft rain of heaven. On its green +pastures roam countless flocks and herds, and streams pour their +abundance from its forest-clad hills. Therefore the name of Ithaca is +spoken far and wide, and hath reached even to the distant land of +Troy." + +The wanderer's heart burned within him when he heard his dear native +island described with such loving praise. But dissembling his joy he +set his nimble wits to work, and began to spin a fine fiction for the +stranger's ear. "I have heard of Ithaca," he said, "as thou sayest, +even in Troy, where I fought under Idomeneus, King of Crete. And now I +am an exile, flying from the vengeance of Idomeneus, whose son, +Orsilochus, I slew, because he sought to deprive me of my share in the +Trojan spoil. For he bore a grudge against me, because I would not pay +court to his father at Troy, but made a party of my own, and fought +for my own hand. For him I laid an ambush, and slew him in a secret +place, under cover of night. Then I fled down to the sea, and bribed +the crew of a Phoenician ship to carry me and my goods to Pylos. But +the storm wind drove them out of their course, and they put in here +for shelter. Sore battered and weary we landed here, having hardly +escaped with our lives; and while I slept they brought my goods +ashore, and sailed away for Sidon, leaving me alone with my sorrow." + +Intent on his tale, Odysseus had not noticed the sudden change which +had come over his hearer; for his eyes had been turned away, as he +strove to spell out the features of the country, which still seemed +unfamiliar. Now he looked round again, and instead of that dainty +youth he saw a stately female form, tall and fair, in aspect like the +mighty goddess Athene. And in truth it was the daughter of Zeus +herself who answered him, smiling and touching him with a playful +gesture. "Thou naughty rogue!" she said, "wilt thou never forget thy +cunning shifts, wherein none can surpass thee, no, not the gods +themselves? Yea, thou hast a knavish wit, and no man can equal thee in +craft, as no god can rival me. Yet for all thy skill thou knewest me +not for Pallas Athene, who is ever near thee in all thy trials, and +made thee dear to all the Phæacians. And now am I come to help thee +hide thy goods, and weave a plot to ensnare the foes who beset thy +house. Thou hast still much to endure, before thy final triumph, and +thou must enter thy halls as a stranger, and suffer many things by the +hands of violent men." + +"It is hard, O goddess," answered Odysseus, "for a mortal man to know +thee, keen though he be of wit; for thou appearest in a hundred +shapes. Yet well I know that thou wast kind to me in days of old, when +I fought with the Greeks at Troy. But since that time I have never +seen thee, in all my wanderings and perils, save once in Phæacia. Now +tell me truly, I implore thee, what is this place where I am +wandering? Thou saidst 'twas Ithaca, but in that I think thou speakest +falsely, with intent to deceive me; or is this indeed my native land?" + +"Ever the same Odysseus as of old," said Athene, smiling again, +"cautious and wary, and hard to convince. Verily thou art a man after +mine own heart, and therefore can I never leave thee or forsake thee +in all thy cares. Any other man would have rushed to embrace his wife, +after so many years of wandering; but thou must needs prove her and +make trial of her constancy, before thou takest her to thy heart. And +if thou wouldst know why I held aloof from thee so long, it was +because of Poseidon, my father's brother, who ever pursued thee with +his ire. Yet I knew that thou wouldst return at last, and have waited +patiently for that hour, And now I will open thine eyes, that thou +mayest know the land of thy birth." + +As she spoke she touched his eyes, and a mist seemed to fall away from +them, so that he recognised every feature of the place, the slopes of +Neritus, waving with forest trees, the spreading olive-tree, the +harbour, and the cavern where he had many a time sacrificed to the +nymphs. Then Odysseus rejoiced in spirit, and kneeling down he kissed +his native soil, and put up a prayer to the guardian deities of the +place: "Greeting, lovely Naiads, maiden daughters of Zeus! Ne'er hoped +I to see your faces again, Give ear unto my prayer, and if I live and +prosper by the favour of Athene I will pay you rich offerings, as I +was wont to do." + +"Doubt not my good-will," said Athene, when he had finished; "that is +assured thee. But it is time to secure these goods of thine in a safe +hiding-place. After that we will advise what is next to be done." + +With that she dived into the cave, closely followed by Odysseus, and +showed him where he best might conceal his treasure. When all was +safely bestowed, she set a great stone in the mouth of the cavern, and +sat down at the foot of the olive-tree, motioning Odysseus to take his +place at her side. "Now mark my words," began Athene, "thou hast a +heavy task before thee, to purge thy house of the shameless crew who +for three years past have held the mastery there, and sought to tempt +thy wife from her loyalty to thee. All this time she has been putting +them off with promises which she has no mind to fulfil." + +"Tis well," answered Odysseus, "that thou hast warned me; else had I +fallen in my own hall, even as Agamemnon fell. But come, contrive some +cunning device, whereby I may avenge me, and be thou at my side to aid +me, that my heart fail me not. Pour into me the same might and the +same valour as when we sacked Priam's royal citadel; then should I +fear nothing, though I fought single-handed against three hundred +men." + +"I will not fail thee, of that be sure," replied Athene, "when the +time comes to enter on that task. They shall pay full dear for thy +substance which they devour, even with their very blood and brains, +which shall be shed upon the ground like water. But thou must not +appear among them in this fashion. I will give thee a disguise which +none can penetrate, not even Penelope herself. And when thou leavest +this place, go first to the swineherd, who abides ever by his charge, +faithful to thee and to thy house. Thou wilt find him sitting by the +swine on their feeding ground, near Raven's Rock and the fountain +Arethusa, where there is abundance of acorns and fair water. Remain +there and inquire of him concerning all things, while I go to Sparta +to summon Telemachus, thy son, who went to visit Menelaus to ask news +of thee." + +"Why didst thou permit him to go on a vain errand?" asked Odysseus. +"Was it that he might suffer as I have suffered, in wandering o'er the +deep, while others devour his living?" + +"Be not over anxious for him," answered Athene; "I myself sent him on +that quest, that he might win a good name among men. And now he sits +secure in the wealthy house of Menelaus, dwelling in luxury and +honour. The wooers have laid an ambush against his return; but all +their malice shall be brought to naught." + +It was now time for Odysseus to start on his way to the swineherd. But +first he had to submit to a strange transformation. Athene touched him +with a rod which she was carrying, and instantly the flesh shrivelled +on his limbs, the clustering locks fell away from his head, and the +keen, piercing glance of his eyes was quenched. He who a moment before +had been a mighty man in his prime was now become a wrinkled, aged +beggar, clad in miserable, grimy rags, with a staff, and a tattered +scrip, hanging by a cord from his shoulder. For a cloak she gave him +an old deer's hide, from which all the hair was gone. Thus totally +disguised, he parted from the goddess, and started inland, following a +rugged mountain path, while Athene went to summon Telemachus from +Sparta. + + + + +Odysseus and Eumæus + + +I + +The office of swineherd was a position of great trust and importance +among the patriarchal chieftains of Homeric Greece. The principal diet +was the flesh of swine and oxen, and these animals formed the chief +part of their wealth. Eumæus, the chief swineherd of Odysseus, lived +apart in a lonely place among the hills, where he had enclosed a wide +space of ground with a stone fence defended at the top with brambles, +and in front by a palisade of oak. Within the fence were twelve styes, +and in each stye were fifty sows with their young. The boars had their +quarters outside the enclosure, and their number had been greatly +diminished by the constant demand for hog's flesh among the suitors. +Still, they reached the formidable total of three hundred and fifty--a +noisy and ravenous multitude. + +It was no light task to provide shelter for nearly a thousand swine, +with their young; yet Eumæus had undertaken this duty during his +master's long absence, without the knowledge of Laertes or Penelope. +And here he was sitting, on this sunny morning, cutting up a +well-tanned ox-hide to make straps for sandals, while four dogs, large +and fierce as wolves, prowled near at hand. Three of his helpers were +gone with the swine to their feeding ground, and the fourth had been +sent to the town with a fat hog for the wooers. + +Suddenly the dogs rushed forward, baying furiously, and an old man in +tattered raiment appeared at the gate of the courtyard. It would have +gone hard with the stranger if Eumæus had not promptly come to the +rescue, and driven the dogs off with a volley of stones. "Old man," +said Eumæus, as the dogs slunk away yelping, "it was well that I was +near, or thou hadst surely been torn to pieces, and brought shame on +me. I have trouble enough without that. Here I sit, fattening my +master's swine for other men's tables, while he wanders, perchance, +among strangers, in poverty and want. But come into my hut, and when +thou hast comforted thy soul with meat and wine thou shalt tell thy +tale of sorrow." + +Odysseus (for he it was, though sorely disfigured) followed Eumæus +into the hut, and sat down on a shaggy goatskin, which the swineherd +spread for him on a heap of brushwood. "Heaven bless thee," he said, +when he was seated, "for this kindly welcome!" "I do but my duty," +answered Eumæus. "The stranger and the beggar are sacred, by law +divine. 'Tis but little that I can do, who serve young and haughty +masters, in the absence of my true lord, who would have rewarded me +nobly, and given me a plot of ground and a wife, had he been here to +see how Heaven blesses the work of my hands. But he is gone to swell +the host of those who fell in Helen's cause. Cursed be she, and all +her race, for she hath robbed me of the kindest master that ever man +served." + +In the midst of his sorrow, Eumæus forgot not his duties as host. +Going out he took two young swine, slaughtered and dressed them, and +set the flesh, all smoking on the spits, before Odysseus. Then he +mixed wine in a bowl of ivy wood, and sitting down opposite to his +guest bade him eat and drink. + +"'Tis but poor fare which I have to offer you," he said. "The best of +the herd ever goes to the young lords who are wooing my mistress. +Their wantonness and riot calls aloud to Heaven for vengeance. They +are worse than the wildest band of robbers that ever lived by open +pillage and violence. Such waste of good meat and wine was never seen +before. For a wealthy man was Odysseus, and his flocks and herds still +range over all the hills of Ithaca. And from every flock the fattest +and the choicest is driven off day by day to feed their dainty +mouths." + +Odysseus fell to with keen appetite, for he had eaten nothing since he +left Phæacia. And when he had satisfied his hunger he pledged Eumæus +in a full cup, and led him on to discourse on his favourite theme--the +virtues and the sorrows of his lord. "Tell me more," he said, "of thy +master. Who knows but that I may have met him in my travels, for I +have wandered in many lands." + +"Old man," answered Eumæus, "I see thy bent. Thou wouldst forge some +glozing tale to beguile the ears of that poor stricken lady, Penelope. +Many a beggar has come to her doors crammed full of lies to amuse her +widowed heart; and she listens, and doubts, and weeps. And thou too, +methinks, hast a like fertile fancy; for hunger and want are rare +inventors. But save thy wits for a better purpose; thou canst not +bring him back to life, or clothe with warm flesh his bones, long +since picked clean by carrion birds or ravenous fish. He is lost for +ever, and sorrow is the portion of us who remain, but especially of +me, for he was dearer to me than father and mother, dearer than my +native land." + +"Friend," said Odysseus, "thou hast misjudged me sorely, in thinking +me one of those greedy mendicants who tell lies for the sake of meat +and drink. Believe me or not, I will say what is in my heart, and when +my words are proved true by the event I will claim my reward. Odysseus +is near at hand, and ere many days have passed he shall be seen in +Ithaca, and take vengeance on those who oppress his wife and son. I +swear it by this table at which I have eaten, and by the hearth of +Odysseus, and by Zeus, the god of hospitality." + +Eumæus remained totally unconvinced by this solemn assertion. "Talk no +more of him," he said with emotion, "it cuts me to the heart to hear +his very name. Would that it might be as thou sayest!--but 'tis an +idle dream. Peace be unto his ashes! And may the gods at least +preserve unto us his son, Telemachus, who lately departed on a witless +errand, led thereto, as I think, by some malign deity who hates the +house of Odysseus. But no more of this! Tell me rather of thyself, who +and whence thou art, and how thou camest to Ithaca." + +Eumæus had not extolled the fertile invention of Odysseus for nothing. +Forthwith he began a wondrous tale of adventure, a little epic in +itself, with some points of resemblance to his own true story. "I am a +native of Crete," he began, "and the son of a wealthy man. When my +father died I received but a scanty portion of his goods. +Nevertheless, because of my valour and the might of my hands, I won a +noble and wealthy lady for my wife. Thou wouldst not deem, perhaps, to +see me now, that I was once a mighty man of war; yet even in the +stubble we may judge what the wheat has been. From my youth up I lived +amidst the clash of shield and spear, and loved battle and ambush, +siege and foray. But I cared not for plodding industry, which gives +increase unto a house, and fills it with the bright faces of children. +Such I was as Heaven made me, a man of war and blood. + +"Before the sons of Greece went up to Troy I was nine times chosen +captain of an armed band to make war in the land of strangers, and +came back laden with booty, so that my name was known and dreaded in +Crete. And when the summons went round in all the coasts of Greece to +follow the banner of Agamemnon, who but I was chosen by the common +voice to share the command with Idomeneus? I was fain to renounce that +hard and perilous service, but it might not be; so for nine years I +fought at Troy, and after our return to Crete I abode but one month +with my wife and children, for at the end of that time my spirit +called me to Egypt. I manned nine ships, and on the fifth day the +north wind brought me safe with all my company to the land of Nile. + +"Then I sent out a few chosen men to explore the country, and kept +myself close with the rest of my force until they should bring back +their report. But my scouts forgot their duty, and carried away by +lust of plunder began to harry and ravage the fields of the Egyptians. +Quickly the hue and cry went round, and an armed multitude, both horse +and foot, came suddenly upon us, breathing fury and vengeance. We +could make no stand against such a host, and all my comrades were +speedily slain or taken captive. When I saw that all was lost I threw +away helmet and shield, dropped my spear, and falling on my knees +before the chief captain of the Egyptians begged him to spare my life. +He heard my petition, set me on his chariot, and brought me to his +home. There I remained seven years and gathered much wealth; for I had +found favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave me freely of +their possessions. + +"In the eighth year there came a certain Phoenician to Egypt, a crafty +and covetous rogue, and he persuaded me to go with him to Phoenicia. +So I went, and abode with him a whole year, and when the spring came +round again I sailed with him to Africa, whither he was bound with a +freight of merchandise. His purpose was to sell me in Africa as a +slave for a great price; but Zeus willed it otherwise, for as we +sailed southwards from Crete a great storm arose, and the ship went +down with all her men, while I escaped by clinging to the mast, and +after nine days was carried by the winds and the waves to Thesprotia, +where I was kindly entreated by the king of that country. + +"There I had news of Odysseus, who had touched at that coast on his +voyage to Ithaca, and stayed as a guest in that same house. This I +heard from the king's own lips, and he showed me all the treasure +which Odysseus had left in his charge, while he himself went on a +journey to Dodona, to inquire of the oracle concerning the manner of +his return. Thou wouldst wonder to behold all the wealth which thy +lord had gathered, an exceeding great store. + +"Odysseus himself I saw not; for it chanced that a ship was sailing +for Dulichium, and the king commended me to her captain, bidding him +carry me thither with all care and tenderness. Now this man was a +villain, and be devised evil against me; for when we left the coast of +Thesprotia, he stripped me of the raiment which the king had given me, +clothed me in these rags, and bound me with cords, intending to sell +me as a slave. In the evening he landed in Ithaca, leaving me, bound +as I was, in the ship. But I broke my bonds, and escaped by swimming +to another part of the coast, where I lay all night in a thicket. In +the morning they sought me with great outcry, but found me not; and +after awhile they sailed away. When they were gone I arose, and was +led by Heaven's hand to thy doors." + +The swineherd listened attentively to the well-imagined tale, and when +it was ended he said: "Hapless man, thou hast been the very sport of +Destiny, and my heart is big when I think of thy wanderings and thy +woes. But as touching Odysseus, that part of thy story likes me not; +methinks 'tis a cunning invention to flatter my ears. Long ago I was +deceived by a false report, brought hither by a wandering exile like +thee, who said that he had seen Odysseus repairing his ships in Crete, +and bade us look for his coming in the autumn of that year. Since then +I have closed my ears against all such rumours, and therefore I say, +tell me no more of him, for I cannot and will not believe but that he +is dead." + +II + +Evening was now coming on, and it was time for the herdsmen to return +with their charge from the feeding-ground. Presently, with huge +commotion, and multitudinous din, the swine were driven home and +penned in their styes. Then Eumæus called to his helpers, and bade +them bring the best of the herd to make savoury meat for his guest +"Spare not," he said, "to bring the fattest and choicest of them all, +for why should we be careful, when strangers devour our labour?" So +they brought a hog of five years old, exceeding fat, and having +slaughtered it they offered sacrifice, not forgetting a prayer for the +return of Odysseus. When all rites of religion were duly paid, they +roasted the flesh, and served it on wooden platters. Odysseus was +honoured by Eumæus with a choice portion of the loin. + +When they had finished, night came on, dark and stormy, with furious +gusts of rain and wind. Just as they were about to retire to rest, +Odysseus, who seldom spoke without a purpose, turned to his kind host +and said: "Eumæus, the good wine has loosened my tongue, and moved me +to tell thee a story of long ago, when these withered limbs were in +their lusty prime, and my heart burned with the fire of youth. Then I +was chosen with Menelaus and Odysseus to lead an ambush under the +walls of Troy. With a picked company we took up our position in a +marshy place, and lay down in our armour among the rushes. It was a +bitter night, with snow and frost, and our shields were soon coated +with ice. Now it chanced that I had left my cloak in the camp, and +while the others lay warm in their thick woollen mantles, I was +perishing with cold. At last I could bear it no longer, so I nudged +Odysseus, who was lying next to me, with my elbow, and said to him: +'Son of Laertes, the cold is killing me. I came in my folly without a +cloak, and I can never hold out until dawn in this cruel frost.' And +he, ever ready of wit as he was, instantly contrived means to relieve +me. Whispering to me to keep counsel he rose on his elbow, and called +to the others, saying: 'Comrades, I have been warned in a dream that +our numbers are too weak for the task which has been laid upon us. +Will not one of you run down to the camp, and ask Agamemnon to send us +further succour?' + +"Thereupon one of our men arose, and flinging off his cloak ran off to +carry the message to Agamemnon. And I lay wrapped in the garment, warm +and safe, until the dawn. Ah! those were brave days; what changes have +I seen since then!" + +"I read thy meaning," said Eumæus; "and as a reward for thy good story +thou shalt sleep in comfort to-night. But to-morrow thou must make +shift to wear thine own rags again, for I am but ill furnished with +changes of raiment. When Telemachus returns he will supply all thy +wants, and send thee whithersoever thou art minded to go." + +So saying he drew a truckle-bed close to the fire, and heaped it with +the skins of sheep and goats. There Odysseus lay down to rest, and +Eumæus threw over him a stout mantle of his own. All the other +herdsmen slept in the hut; but Eumæus, ever watchful for his master's +property, went out, armed to the teeth, to pass the night among the +swine, under the shelter of a hollow rock, which kept off the cold +north wind. And Odysseus was glad when he saw that good servant so +faithful to his trust. + + + + +The Return of Telemachus + + +I + +While these important events were happening in Ithaca, Telemachus was +living as an honoured guest in the house of Menelaus. One night, while +he lay between sleeping and waking, full of anxious thought, Athene +appeared to him in her own person, and addressed him thus: "Thou +lingerest too long here, Telemachus. It is time for thee to return and +keep an eye on thy goods, lest thou be stripped of all in thy absence. +Thy mother's kinsmen are urgent with her to wed Eurymachus, the +wealthiest of the wooers; and, if she yield, it may be that she will +take of thy heritage to increase the house of the man who wins her. +Therefore make haste and get thee home, that thou mayest be at hand to +defend thy rights. Know also that the wooers are lying in wait for +thee in the strait between Ithaca and Samos, with intent to slay thee; +take heed then that thou shun that passage, and sail home by another +way. And when thou art come to Ithaca, go straight to the dwelling of +Eumæus, and send him down to Penelope with news of thy return." + +Such a message, brought by such a messenger, was not to be neglected. +Telemachus at once roused Pisistratus, the son of Nestor, who was +sleeping near, and declared his intention of starting at once; but +when Pisistratus pointed out how displeasing such conduct would be to +their princely host he consented to wait till morning. + +Accordingly, when day was come, he went to Menelaus, and asked leave +to depart at once. Menelaus consented, only insisting that he should +remain for the morning meal. While this was preparing, the generous +prince went to his treasure chamber, and returned laden with a +splendid silver bowl, the work of Phoenician artists, which he had +received when he visited the King of Sidon on his voyage from Troy. +And Helen brought an embroidered robe, the work of her own fair hands, +as a wedding gift for his future bride. + +As soon as they had eaten they mounted the chariot, and drove slowly +through the outer gate of the courtyard, Menelaus and Helen following +on foot Here they drew up to say farewell, and Menelaus pledged them +in a bowl of wine, wishing them god-speed. "And forget not," he added, +"to greet Nestor for me when ye come to Pylos, for he was ever gentle +to me as a father when we sojourned in the land of Troy." + +"I will not forget to carry thy message," answered Telemachus; "would +that I were as sure to see my father when I come to Ithaca, that I +might tell him of thy noble hospitality, and show him thy gifts." + +Hardly had the words been uttered when a clamour of voices was heard, +and a crowd of men and women ran past, pursuing with loud cries an +eagle, which had just seized a great white goose from the courtyard, +and was carrying her off in his talons. Straight over the chariot he +flew, and with a scream of triumph sped away to the mountains with his +booty. "Consider now, my prince," said Pisistratus, "whether this omen +was sent to us or to thee." + +Menelaus, who was somewhat slow of wit, paused to deliberate; but +before he could frame an answer, the quick brain of Helen was ready +with an interpretation. "The eagle is thy father, Odysseus," she said +to Telemachus, "and the meaning of the omen is that he is already in +Ithaca, or close at hand, bringing death and doom to his foes." + +Thus encouraged by fair portents, they took leave of their kind hosts, +and started on their way to Pylos, where they arrived on the following +day. As they drew near to the house of Nestor, Telemachus begged his +friend to drive straight down to the sea. "For I know," he said, "that +thy father will constrain me to abide with him, and will take no +denial; and I wish to embark for Ithaca without further delay." +Pisistratus agreed, and avoiding the house of Nestor they passed on to +the place where the ship lay moored. + +Having summoned his crew, Telemachus was preparing to embark, when a +man armed and equipped as a traveller approached the vessel, and +inquired who he was and whither he was bound. Having received an +answer, he requested Telemachus to carry him to Ithaca. "My name," he +said, "is Theoclymenus, and I am descended from Melampus, the famous +seer, from whom I have inherited the prophetic gift. I am an exile +from my native land of Argos, for I have slain a man of my own tribe, +and am flying from the avenger of blood. Set me, I pray thee, on thy +ship, and take me with you, for sore is my need." + +"Heaven forbid," answered Telemachus, "that I should deny thee, seeing +that thy very life is at stake. Make haste, and come on board"; and he +made room for the stranger to sit by him in the stern of the vessel. + +After a quick and prosperous voyage they sighted the coast of Ithaca, +and landed on a deserted part of the coast within easy reach of the +swineherd's dwelling. Here Telemachus dismissed his company, bidding +them take the galley round to the harbour of Ithaca, and promising to +reward them for their good service. He was just about to depart when +Theoclymenus detained him and asked where he was to find shelter. +Telemachus answered in some embarrassment. "'Twere no friendly act," +he said, "to send thee to my house, for my mother lives apart in her +own chamber and sees no man, and I fear lest thou suffer some harm +from the lawless men who riot in my halls. Therefore I advise thee to +go to Eurymachus, who is now the most powerful man in Ithaca, and +hopes to sit in my father's seat; but perchance Zeus will send him +another issue of his wooing." + +Just as he spoke a rushing of wings was heard on the right, and they +saw a falcon passing close at hand with a dove clutched in his talons, +and tearing his prey so that the feathers fluttered down at their +feet. Then Theoclymenus, who was deeply skilled in augury, drew +Telemachus apart and said: "It is a manifest sign of victory to thee +and to thy house." "May Heaven fulfil thy prophecy," answered +Telemachus, "and if thy words prove true I will load thee with +benefits, and give thee cause to bless this hour." Being now convinced +that he had found a friend, he called Peiræus, in whom he had full +confidence, and bade him take Theoclymenus under his care until he +himself returned to the town. Peiræus readily undertook the charge, +and this point being settled they thrust out from the shore and rowed +away in the direction of the harbour, while Telemachus strode off with +rapid footsteps along the path which led to the swineherd's hut. + +II + +On the evening before the arrival of Telemachus Odysseus was sitting +after supper with Eumæus and the other herdsmen, and wishing to learn +the purpose of Eumæus towards him he said: "I will no longer be a +burden to thee and thy fellows. To-morrow I will go to the town and +beg my living, if thou wilt send one of thy men to show me the way. +Perchance also I might visit the house of Odysseus, and have speech +with Penelope. And it may be that the wooers will take me into their +service, for I would have thee know that by favour of Hermes I am +right skilful of my hands, and no one can match me in laying a fire +and cleaving dry logs, in carving and roasting meat, and in pouring of +wine." + +But this proposal found no favour with the honest swineherd. "Who put +such a thought," he asked, "into thy mind? Serve with the wooers! They +would put a speedy end to thy service, and pay thee thy wages in +blood. Those who wait upon them are of a different sort from thee--gay +striplings, daintily clad, with glossy hair and comely faces. Remain +with us until Telemachus comes home; thou art no burden either to me +or to my men." + +"Be it so, then," answered Odysseus, "and may Heaven requite thee for +thy goodness to a poor homeless outcast, who wanders in misery, driven +by hunger from door to door! And since I am still to be thy guest, +tell me something of thy master's mother, and of the father whom he +left behind when he went to the wars. Do they still live, or have they +gone to their rest?" + +"This also thou shalt know," replied Eumæus. "Laertes his father still +lives, though sore stricken with years and sorrows; for his son's long +absence and his wife's miserable end have brought him to the verge of +the grave. She died long ago, and by such a death as I pray may never +come to anyone who is dear to me--she, my kind mistress, who brought +me up with her youngest daughter, and hardly loved me less. As long as +she lived I would often go down to the house, and she ever entertained +me kindly, and gave me something to carry back with me to my dwelling +on the land. Full well she knew how to sweeten the lot of a thrall +with pleasant words, and little acts of tenderness and love. But now I +seldom leave my charge, for since the wooers brought this curse upon +my master's house Penelope hides her face from us, and has no comfort +for us either in word or deed." + +Odysseus listened with deep interest, and when Eumæus paused he +expressed a desire to hear the story of his life. "How was it," he +asked, "that already in early childhood thou wast cast on the mercy of +strangers? Wast thou taken captive in war, or did robbers seize thee +as thou satst watching sheep on the lonely hills, and sell thee into +bondage?" + +"Fill thy cup," answered Eumæus, "we will pledge each other in a +hearty draught, and then thou shalt hear my tale. The nights are long +at this season, and we shall have time enough to sleep when I have +done. Fate has dealt hardly with me, even as with thee; and we can +find some comfort in telling over our sorrows to each other. + +"There is a certain island called Syria, lying north of Ortygia, not +very large or populous, but a good land, rich in pasture, with waving +cornfields and goodly vineyards. There famine never comes, nor +sickness, but all the people reach a good old age, and then die by the +painless shafts of Artemis or of Apollo. There are two cities which +divide the territory equally between them; and there was one king over +both, my father, Ctesius, son of Ormenus. + +"When I was still very young there came to the island a Phoenician +ship, laden with trinkets for barter. Now in my father's house was a +Phoenician woman, tall and fair, and skilled in needlework. She was my +nurse, and I was wont to run about the town with her. One day, as she +was washing clothes not far from the ship, she was recognised by a +Phoenician sailor as being of his own race, and he inquired how she +came to the island. She answered that she was a native of Sidon, and a +rich man's daughter, stolen from her home by pirates, and sold across +the seas. 'And hast thou a mind to see thy native land again?' asked +the fellow. 'Thy father and mother still live and prosper'; for she +had told him that her father's name was Arybas. 'I will go with you,' +answered the woman, 'if ye will swear an oath to carry me home +unharmed.' They all swore to do as she said, and after that she +instructed them how to proceed. 'Keep close counsel,' she said, 'and +let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet +by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that +aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all. Lose no time in selling +your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let +one of you come up to the house and give me a sign. I will not come +empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my +passage. Furthermore, I have charge of my master's child, a knowing +little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye +may sell him for a great price.' + +"The bargain was struck, and the woman departed. Then for a whole year +they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all +their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father's +house, to warn the woman that the time was come. He brought with him a +necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my +mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price, +the fellow made a sign to my nurse. When he was gone she took me by +the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house. +There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had +been dining with his guests. They had now gone forth to attend the +council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets +and hid them in her bosom. Then with one rapid glance round, to make +sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where +the Phoenician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her, +fearing nothing. + +"Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were +sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival. They took +us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze +springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond +the reach of pursuit. On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of +vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible +blow. They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in +Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes." + +"Twas a sad fate for one of thy tender years," remarked Odysseus, when +Eumæus had finished his story. "Nevertheless thou wast happy to find +such a master--happier far than I, who am still a vagabond and a +wanderer in my old age." + + + + +The Meeting of Telemachus and Odysseus + + +I + +Early next day Eumæus and Odysseus were preparing their morning meal, +when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the hut. The hounds +pricked up their ears at the sound, and ran fawning round the +new-comer, who was evidently well known to them. Odysseus called to +Eumæus, who was busy drawing wine, and said: "Some friend of thine is +coming; for the dogs fawn upon him, and bark not." + +Even as he spoke, a tall figure appeared in the open doorway, and his +own dear son stood before him. Eumæus sprang up amazed, and let fall +the pitcher into which he had been drawing the wine. Then with a cry +of joy he ran to greet his young lord, kissed his hands and his face, +and wept over him. Even as a father yearns over his only son, just +returned from abroad after a ten years' absence, so Eumæus yearned +over Telemachus, and hailed him as one returned from the dead. "Thou +art come, Telemachus," he faltered at last, when his emotion suffered +him to speak, "thou art come back again, dear as mine own life! Ne'er +thought I to see thee again, after thou wast gone to Pylos. Sit thee +down, that I may feast mine eyes upon thee; seldom dost thou come this +way, but abidest in the house, to watch the wasteful deeds of the +wooers." + +Odysseus, in his character of beggar, rose respectfully from his seat, +to make room for the young prince, but Telemachus motioned him to +resume his place, and sat down himself on a heap of brushwood, on +which the swineherd had spread a fleece. While Eumæus was bringing +bread and meat, and filling the cups with wine, Telemachus questioned +him as to his mother, and learnt that no change had occurred in her +relation to the wooers since he left Ithaca. Breakfast being over, +Eumæus, in answer to his inquiry, told him the story of the supposed +stranger. "I have done what I could for him," he added, when he had +repeated what he had heard from Odysseus. "Now I deliver him unto +thee, to do with him as thou wilt; all his hopes are in thy grace." + +"What can I do?" answered Telemachus, in perplexity. "Thou knowest +that I am not master in my own house, and my mother is torn between +two purposes: whether to wait still in patience for her lord's coming, +or to choose a new husband from the noblest of the suitors. Neither +she nor I can give protection to such a guest as this. Therefore I +will bestow upon him a new cloak and doublet, with sandals for his +feet, and arm him with a good sword, and send him whithersoever he +chooses to go. Or if thou art willing, thou canst keep him here with +thee, and I will send down food and raiment for him, that he may not +be a burden to thee and thy men. But I will not allow him to go among +the wooers, and suffer ill-treatment which I have no power to +prevent." + +Odysseus, who had not seen his son since he was an infant, desired to +learn something more of his mind and character; and in order to draw +him into further speech he asked, with an air of indignation, who the +wooers were, and how it was that he submitted to their violence. "Is +the public voice against thee," he asked, "or art thou at feud with +thy brethren, so that they will not help thee? If I were in thy place +I would fall upon them singlehanded, for it were better to die once +for all than tamely to submit to such outrage." + +"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered Telemachus. "'Tis +neither by the consent of the people nor by the ill-will of my +brethren, that this evil hath come upon me. But Heaven hath ordained +that the honours and the burden of our house should ever rest upon one +alone. Laertes, my grandsire, was an only son, and Odysseus was the +sole issue of his marriage; and even so I am the only child of +Odysseus. Therefore I sit helpless and alone, at the mercy of this +ruffian band. But enough of this! We have no hope left, save in the +justice of Heaven." Then he turned to Eumæus, and said: "Make haste +now, go down to the house, and tell Penelope that I have come back +safe from Pylos. Let none else hear it, but come back hither at once, +when thou hast delivered thy message, and I will wait here until thy +return." + +"Shall I not go to Laertes, and tell him also?" asked the swineherd. +"Since the day of thy departure he has tasted neither meat nor drink, +but sits alone in his sorrow, and will not be comforted." + +"My mother can send a handmaid to inform him," answered Telemachus. +"But as for thee, see that thou return here straightway, and lose no +time." + +II + +Soon after the departure of Eumæus, Odysseus and Telemachus were +sitting before the door of the hut, each lost in his own thoughts, +when their attention was attracted by the strange behaviour of the +dogs. These animals, which had been lying basking in the sun, all at +once started up with a stifled cry, and ran whining, with every sign +of terror, to a distant corner of the courtyard. "What ails the +hounds?" said Telemachus, looking up in surprise. But Odysseus was not +long before he saw the cause of their alarm: standing at the outer +gate was a tall female figure, of majestic countenance, and more than +mortal beauty. Telemachus saw her not, but Odysseus instantly knew who +she was, and, obeying a gesture of her hand, he rose from his seat and +went out through the gate. She led him to a place where they were out +of hearing, and then said: "It is time for thee to reveal thyself to +thy son, that together ye may contrive destruction for the wooers. +When the hour of reckoning comes, I shall be near to aid you." +Thereupon she touched him with her wand, and in a moment he was once +more the old Odysseus, still in the full vigour of his manhood, dark +and sunburnt, with thick black hair and curling beard. His rags also +had been replaced by fair clean raiment; and thus completely +transformed he went back to the hut to reveal himself to Telemachus. +Athene, having done her part, had forthwith disappeared. + +Fear came upon Telemachus, and he marvelled exceedingly, when the real +Odysseus appeared before him. "Who art thou," he asked, "that comest +back in a moment thus wondrously transfigured? If thou be a god, as +methinks thou art, let me find favour in thy sight, and we will honour +thee with rich offerings of gold, and with humble prayers." + +"No god am I," answered Odysseus, "but thine own dear father, for +whose sake thou hast suffered so long with groanings and tears." + +With that he kissed him, and giving vent to the tenderness which he +had hitherto restrained he lifted up his voice and wept. But +Telemachus could not yet believe that it was indeed his father whom he +saw before him. "It cannot be," he said, drawing back in affright. "It +is mere magic and glamour practised against me by some hostile power, +to mock my sorrow. No being of flesh and blood could work such a +change upon himself. A moment since thou wast an old man in sordid +raiment, and now thou art like unto the sons of heaven." + +"Forbear!" said Odysseus, "no more amazement! I am thy father, and no +other; if not, thou shalt never see him more. Much have I suffered, +and wandered far, and now in the twentieth year I am come back to my +native land. This change at which thou marvellest is no work of mine, +but was wrought by Athene, daughter of Zeus. The gods can deal with us +as they will, both for our glory and for our shame." + +Then Telemachus was convinced, and fell into his father's arms, and +they wept long and sore over each other, for joy and grief are near +neighbours. Presently they grew calmer, and Odysseus, in answer to his +son's inquiry, told how the Phæacians had conveyed him to Ithaca, and +of all the treasures which he had brought with him. + +"But now we must speak of a sterner task," said Odysseus, when his +story was ended. "Tell me now the number of the wooers, that I may +know how many and what manner of men they be, and thereafter contrive +how we may best assail them, whether by ourselves or with others to +help us." + +"Father," answered Telemachus, "I knew thy high renown, as a warrior +mighty in word and deed. But I fear me greatly that this task is too +hard for us; how shall two men prevail against so many? Listen now and +I will tell thee their number. From Dulichium are two and fifty, with +six men-servants, from Same twenty-four, from Zacynthus twenty, and +from Ithaca itself twelve, all proper men and tall. If we twain fall +upon such a host, we may find the work of vengeance a bitter morsel, +and our bane. It were better, then, to look for some other help." + +"Helpers we shall find, and stout ones too," said Odysseus. "What +sayest thou to Athene and her father, Zeus? Is their aid enough or +shall we look for more?" + +"Mighty indeed are the champions thou namest," replied Telemachus, +"though throned far remote among the clouds; supreme are they in +sovereignty, both on earth and in heaven." + +"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "and ere long the wooers shall +feel their might. Now learn further what thou must do. To-morrow thou +shalt go up to the house, and join the company of the wooers, and +afterwards the swineherd will bring me thither in the disguise of a +beggar old and miserable. If the wooers use me despitefully seek not +to prevent it, but let thy heart endure, even though they beat me, or +drag me by the feet through the doors. Thou mayest reprove them +gently, and bid them cease from their wantonness, but they will not +heed thee for their lives are forfeit already. Mark further, and take +heed what I say. When the time to strike is come I will give thee a +signal, and, forthwith, thou shalt remove all the weapons from the +halls, and make excuse to the wooers, saying that thou art bestowing +them in a safe place, out of reach of the smoke. Leave only two swords +and two shields and two spears, as weapons for ourselves. But above +all I charge thee to let none know of my coming--neither Laertes, nor +Eumæus, nor Penelope herself. Alone we must work, and watch the temper +of the thralls, to see if there be any on our side." + +III + +Meanwhile the faithful swineherd made all haste to carry his message +to Penelope. Just as he was approaching the house, he met one of the +crew of Telemachus' ship coming up from the harbour on the same +errand. So they went together, and while Eumæus conveyed the tidings +privately to Penelope, he who was sent from the ship delivered his +report in the hearing of the whole household. + +Great was the dismay of the suitors when they learnt that their foul +plot had been frustrated. One by one they stole out of the house to a +secret place of meeting; and when they were all assembled they began +to devise what was next to be done. While they were debating they were +joined by Antinous and the crew of the ship which had been lying in +wait for Telemachus in the strait. Always the foremost in violent +counsels, Antinous breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the +young prince. "The boy only escaped us by a miracle," he said. "All +day long we had sentinels on all the heights commanding the sea, and +at night we patrolled the waters in our ship. Yet for all our +vigilance he has slipped through our hands. But I will not be baffled +thus," he added, stamping with fury. "This wretched boy must die, or +we shall never accomplish our purpose. Let us make haste and slay him +before he comes back to the town, or he will call a meeting of the +people and proclaim to all Ithaca that we sought to slay him, and +failed. Then the whole city will rise against us, and we shall have to +fly for our lives." + +Then another of the wooers rose up and rebuked Antinous for his +bloodthirsty counsels. This man's name was Amphinomus, and he was the +chief among the wooers who came from Dulichium. More than any of the +other suitors he found favour with Penelope, for he was a prudent man +and a just, and his voice was pleasant to her ear. "Remember," he +said, "that Telemachus is of royal race; and it is a dreadful thing to +shed the blood of kings. I will have no hand in such an act, without +sure and manifest sign that it is the will of Zeus." + +The speech of Amphinomus was received with a murmur of applause; for +most of the wooers were averse to the violent measures proposed by +Antinous. So they arose, and returned to the house. + +Penelope had heard of their plotting from the herald, Medon, and +obeying a sudden impulse she came down from her chamber, and standing +in the doorway began to upbraid Antinous for his wicked purpose. "Thou +hast the name of a wise and eloquent man," she said, "but thy fame is +better than thy deeds. Wretch, why dost thou lay snares against the +life of my son? Hast thou never heard how thy father came to this +house, flying from the wrath of the Ithacans, who would have slain +him, because he had joined the Taphian pirates in a raid on the +Thesprotians, who were our allies? But Odysseus stood between him and +their fury, and saved his life. A fair return thou art making for that +good service, devouring his substance, paying court to his wife, and +compassing the death of his son." + +Antinous sat biting his lips, and made no answer; but Eurymachus, a +subtler villain, smooth and specious, but all the more dangerous, +spoke for him, and said: "Sage daughter of Icarius, fear nothing for +thy son Telemachus, for while I live no man shall offer him violence. +By this sword I swear it, and I care not who hears me, the man who +seeks to harm him shall die by my hand. I at least have not forgotten +the loving-kindness of thy lord, Odysseus, on whose knees I have often +sat, and taken food and drink from his hand. Therefore I love +Telemachus as a brother, and I swear to thee that none of the wooers +shall do him any harm." + + + + +The Home-coming of Odysseus + + +I + +When Eumæus came back from his errand, Odysseus, who in the meantime +had resumed his disguise, was helping Telemachus to prepare the +evening meal. Telemachus questioned him about the ship which the +wooers had sent out to waylay him on his return from Pylos, but Eumæus +had been in such haste to get back to his farm that he had not stopped +to inquire about the matter. "But thus much I can tell thee," he said: +"as I was crossing the hill which overlooks the town I saw a galley, +bristling with spear and helm, entering the harbour; and I believe +that this was the ship of which thou speakest" + +"No doubt of it," answered Telemachus, with a significant glance at +his father. Then they all fell to their suppers with hearty appetite, +and soon afterwards retired to rest. + +The first chill of dawn was still in the air when Telemachus roused +the swineherd, and announced his intention of proceeding at once to +the town. "I know," he said, "that my mother will have no peace until +she sees me with her own eyes. Now as to this stranger, I charge thee +to take him with thee into the town, that he may beg his bread from +house to house. Burdened as I am already, and full of care, I cannot +provide for him. If he thinks it hard, all the worse for him." + +"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "I have no mind to remain here. +I am too old to take orders from a master, and it is better to beg my +living in the town than in the fields. Therefore I will go, when I +have warmed me at the fire, and the sun is up; for I am ill equipped +to face the frosts of morning." + +Away went Telemachus, covering the ground with rapid strides, his mind +occupied all the way with thoughts of vengeance against the wooers. +The first who saw him when he crossed the threshold of his home was +his old nurse, Eurycleia, who was just then spreading fleeces on the +seats in the great hall. With a cry of joy she ran and fell on his +neck, and kissed him; and all the faithful handmaids of Penelope +crowded round to welcome their young master home. The sound of their +voices reached the ears of Penelope, and with swift steps she came +gliding into the hall, fair as Artemis, or golden Aphrodite. When she +saw Telemachus she flung her arms round his neck and covered his face +with kisses. "Welcome," she sobbed, "Telemachus, my heart's darling, +restored to me beyond all hope! Say, hast thou brought any news of thy +father?" + +But Telemachus was too full of the stern task which lay before him to +leave room for softer emotions. Gently extricating himself from his +mother's embrace he said: "Dear mother, thou shalt hear all in due +season; at present I have other work to do. Go thou to thy chamber, +and put on clean raiment, and when thou hast purified thyself pray to +all the immortal gods to hasten the day of atonement for those who +have wronged our house. I will return presently, when I have done my +business in the town." + +The gentle Penelope went to do her son's bidding, and Telemachus +started for the town, with two hounds following close at his heels. He +seemed taller and manlier after his short absence, and many an eye +followed him with wonder as he passed through the streets. Presently +he came to the place where the wooers were assembled, and they came +crowding about him with false words of welcome. But he turned his back +on them with scorn, and seeing a little group of his father's friends, +among whom were Mentor and the aged Halitherses, he went and sat down +among them. While they were questioning him about his travels, Peiræus +came up, bringing with him the seer, Theoclymenus, whom Telemachus had +left in his charge the day before. "I restore to thee thy guest," said +Peiræus, "who has been entertained in all honour at my house; and if +thou wilt send thy handmaids, I will deliver unto them the treasure +which thou hast brought with thee from Pylos." + +"I thank thee," answered Telemachus; "Theoclymenus shall go with me; +but as to the treasure, do thou keep it for me until these evil days +are passed. If aught untoward befall me, I had rather it remained with +thee than that it should fall into the hands of the wooers." + +Having taken leave of his friends, he returned to the house, taking +Theoclymenus with him. And when they had bathed and put on fresh +raiment, they sat down to meat. The meal proceeded in silence, and at +last Penelope, who was sitting near, busy with her distaff, and +longing impatiently to hear her son's news, said in a tone of +displeasure: "Hast thou no word for thy mother, Telemachus? Or art +thou keeping thy tidings until the wooers return? Surely I thought in +this rare interval of quiet to hear how thou hast fared and what thou +hast learnt on this journey. But if thou hast naught to tell me, I +will go to my widowed bed, and weep away the hours until dawn." + +Roused from his reverie by his mother's reproaches, Telemachus gave a +brief account of his visit to Nestor and Menelaus, and of what they +had told him. Penelope was musing on her son's report, when +Theoclymenus, the second-sighted man, started up from his seat, and +cried: "I see him, I see him! He is landed in Ithaca, he is coming +hither, he is here! Woe unto the suitors! Their hour is at hand, and +not one of them shall escape." + +Penelope had heard such prophecies too often to pay much heed to the +seer's vision. "Ah! my friend," she said, with a sad smile, "I can but +pray that thy words will be fulfilled; if ever they are, it shall be a +happy day for thee." + +At this moment the wooers came trooping in, filling the house with +riot and uproar; and there was an end of all quiet converse for that +day. + +II + +It was past noon before Odysseus and Eumæus set out for the town; for +Eumæus had conceived a great liking for his guest, and listened with +delight to his wonderful tales of adventure. "Come," he said at last, +when Odysseus had finished one of his long stories. "It is time to be +going, though I would willingly have kept thee here. But my young lord +has spoken and we must obey." "Lead on," said Odysseus, "I know what +thou wouldst say; but first give me a staff to lean on, for I heard +thee say that the path was rough." + +So saying he threw his tattered wallet over his shoulder, and taking a +stout staff, which Eumæus offered him, started with his friend across +the hills. After a toilsome walk they reached the top of the hill +which overlooked the town, and descending the slope they came to a +copious spring of water, well fenced with stones, and shaded by a +grove of alders. The water descended into a basin from the face of a +rock in a cool and copious stream; and on either side stood an altar +to the nymphs. "It is the common fountain of the townspeople," +explained Eumæus. "The altars and the basin which receives the water +are the work of our ancient kings." + +Odysseus paused a moment, lost in the memories which were awakened by +that familiar scene. But his reverie was rudely interrupted. While he +stood gazing at the fountain, he heard a rude voice hailing them from +the road, and looking round he saw a man leading a pair of fine goats +towards the town. It was Melanthius, his own goatherd, who was +bringing the best of his flock to make savoury meat for the wooers. + +"Here are two birds of a feather!" shouted the fellow, in jeering +tones--"that wretched swineherd, and a ravenous beggar. A fine guest +thou art bringing to our young masters, and a fair welcome, without +doubt, they will give him. Were it not better that I took him with me +to my farm? He could sweep out the pens, and gather green shoots for +the kids; and we would give him whey to drink, and put some flesh on +these shrunk shanks[1] of his. But the lazy knave will do no work; he +would rather rub his shoulders against every door-post, begging for +broken meat. Broken bones will be his portion, if the wooers see him +near the house of Odysseus." + +[Footnote 1: "A world too wide for his shrunk shanks,"--Shakespeare: +"As You Like It."] + +While he uttered these taunts Melanthius had gradually come close to +Odysseus, and with the last word he lifted up his foot and kicked him +with all his force on the hip. Odysseus stood like a rock, and stirred +not an inch from his ground; his first impulse was to seize the +ruffian by the ankles, and dash out his brains on the road; but he +checked himself with a great effort, and said not a word. + +But Eumæus rebuked the goatherd, and invoked the vengeance of heaven +against him. "Would that our noble master were here!" he cried, "he +would soon make an end of thee, thou braggart! Unfaithful herdsman, +that rovest ever about the town, leaving thy flock to underlings!" + +"Go to, thou dog!" retorted Melanthius, with a savage laugh. "Wilt +thou be ever harping on that string? Thy noble master is dust long +ago, and I would that Telemachus were lying with him. As for thee, I +will one day cast thee bound into a ship, and sell thee across the +seas for a great price." + +With that he left them, and stepped briskly out towards the house, +while Odysseus and Eumæus followed more slowly. Presently they came to +an extensive enclosure, standing conspicuously on a high level plateau +overlooking the town. Behind the fence towered the roof of a great +timber house. They passed through the outer gates, and as they entered +the courtyard they heard the sounds of a harp, and the steam of roast +flesh was borne to their nostrils. + +"Take heed now," said Eumæus, lowering his voice, as they approached +the door of the house. "I will go in first, and do thou follow me +close, lest anyone find thee outside and do thee some hurt." + +"Fear nothing for me," answered Odysseus, "I am no stranger to blows, +for I have been sore buffeted on land and sea. The belly is a stern +taskmaster, which compels us to face both wounds and death." + +So saying he stepped aside to let Eumæus pass, then checked him with a +hasty exclamation; for he had seen something which sent a pang of +sorrow to his heart. Heaped up against the wall by the doorway was a +great pile of refuse, left there until the thralls should carry it +away and lay it on the fields; and there, grievously neglected, and +almost blind with age, lay a great gaunt hound, to all seeming more +dead than alive. What was the emotion of Odysseus when he recognised +in that poor creature his old favourite, Argus, whom he had reared +with his own hand, and trained to the chase, in the old days before he +sailed to Troy! As he stooped down with a caressing gesture the hound +feebly raised his head; a strange light came into his eyes, he drooped +his ears, and wagged his tail, but was too weak to stir from the place +where he lay. Odysseus brushed away a tear, and said to Eumæus: "'Tis +strange that so fine a hound should lie thus uncared for in his old +age. Or do his looks belie his qualities? Handsome he must have been, +as I can see still; but perhaps his beauty was all he had to boast +of." + +"He was my master's favourite hound," answered Eumæus, "and there was +none swifter or keener of scent in all the land. Formerly the young +men would take him with them to hunt the wild goat or the hare or the +deer; but now that he is sore stricken with years not one of the women +will bring him a morsel to eat, or a little water to drink. So it ever +is when the master is absent; for a slave has no conscience when his +owner's eye is not upon him." + +When Eumæus had entered the house, Odysseus lingered awhile, gazing +sadly at the faithful Argus. The old hound raised himself, and +struggled painfully to drag himself to his master's feet; but the +effort was too much for him, and he sank back on his sorry bed, and +breathed his last. + +With a heavy heart Odysseus turned away, and passing into the hall sat +down on the threshold and laid his scrip beside him. Telemachus was +the first to notice him, and calling the swineherd, who was sitting +near, he gave him a loaf of bread and a good handful of meat, and bade +him carry it to the beggar. "And tell him to go round and beg of all +the wooers," he said: "want and modesty agree ill together." Eumæus +brought the gift and the message, which Odysseus received with a +blessing on the giver. And when he had eaten he rose and went round +the hall, begging of the wooers. All gave him something until he came +to Antinous, who stared at him insolently and asked who he was. + +"I saw the fellow," answered Melanthius, "a little while ago. Eumæus +brought him hither, but who he is I know not." + +"Ah! thou rogue," said Antinous to the swineherd, "we know thy ways! +Why didst thou bring this caitiff to the town? Are there not beggars +enough here already to mar our pleasure when we sit down to meat? 'Tis +nought to thee, it seems, that these palmer-worms come swarming round +the house to devour thy master's living." + +[Illustration: The Return of Odysseus] + +"He is no guest of my inviting," answered Eumæus. "I would not invite +to this house any wandering stranger, unless he were a prophet, or +leech, or shipwright, or minstrel; and he is none of these. But thou +art ever hard on the servants of Odysseus, and especially on me; yet I +care not, so long as I satisfy Penelope and my young lord, +Telemachus." + +"Eumæus, thou art overbold of speech," said Telemachus; then turning +to Antinous he added: "I thank thee for thy fatherly care, but we are +not so poor that we need to drive the stranger from our doors--heaven +forbid! Give him something; 'tis I that bid thee: but thou art ever +better at taking than at giving." + +"I will give him something, thou malapert boy," answered Antinous, +grinding his teeth with rage, "something which will keep him from the +house for three months to come." As he spoke he thrust forward a heavy +footstool from under the table, and placed it ready at hand. + +Meanwhile, Odysseus, having filled his wallet, was preparing to return +to his place on the threshold. But first he came to Antinous, and +addressed to him a long harangue in the common style of the +professional beggar, who had seen better days and been brought to want +by the malice of fortune. He concluded with a fragment of the story +which he had already told to Eumæus. + +Antinous heard him to the end with ill-disguised impatience, and then +broke out in angry tones: "Who brought this wretched fellow here to +vex us? Stand off from my table, thou shameless varlet! Egypt, sayest +thou? I will send thee to Egypt, and with a vengeance, too! It is a +shame to see how they have squandered good meat on a dog like thee"; +and he pointed to the wallet, now filled with the cheap bounty of the +wooers. + +Odysseus drew back and made for the door, saying as he went: "Of a +truth, I wonder to find so princely a presence wedded to so mean a +temper." + +When he heard that Antinous began to curse and to swear, and lifting +the footstool he hurled it with all his force at the retreating figure +of Odysseus. It struck him on the shoulder, with a crash that vibrated +through the hall; but Odysseus heeded it not, but passed on without a +pause or a stumble to his place on the threshold. When he was seated +he complained loudly of the brutal conduct of Antinous. "Accursed be +he," he said, "who lifts up his hand against a helpless beggar; may +Heaven requite him for this foul deed!" + +"Thou hadst best be quiet," said Antinous, "or we will drag thee by +the heels through the hall, until we have stripped the flesh off thy +bones." + +But this was too much even for the wooers. "Antinous," said one of +them, "it was ill done of thee to strike the hapless wanderer. Take +heed that thou bring not a curse upon thyself, if there be gods in +heaven to see such deeds. And what if a god should visit this house in +some strange disguise, to make trial of our hearts? It were no new +thing." + +A chill seemed to have fallen on the company after this shameful +incident. The wooers had ceased their clamour, and sat talking in low +tones together; Odysseus and Telemachus sat silent in their places, +brooding gloomily on the outrage; Antinous alone remained unmoved, +being hardened, within and without, against all reproach. + +When Penelope, who was sitting among her maidens in her chamber, heard +how the stranger had been ill-treated, she cried: "So may Apollo smite +thee, Antinous, thou godless man!" "Ay," said Eurycleia, "if prayers +could slay them, not one of these men would see to-morrow's dawn." + +"Go, one of you," said Penelope, "and bring hither the swineherd. I +would fain speak with this stranger; who knows but he may have +somewhat to tell me of Odysseus, my lord?" Eumæus was summoned, and +having heard the desire of Penelope, he answered: "My queen, there is +a rare pleasure awaiting thee. This man hath a tongue to charm thy +very soul. Three days and nights he abode with me, and all that time +he kept us spellbound by the tale of his adventures. It was as if we +were listening to the lay of some rare minstrel, a god-gifted man, who +sways all hearts as he will by the magic of his voice. And he brings +sure tidings of Odysseus too, if we may believe what he says." + +"Call him hither," answered Penelope, "that he may speak to me face to +face. If his news be true, we may yet see the day when these men shall +pay a heavy price for their plunder of our house." + +As she spoke, a loud sneeze was heard in the room below. "It was my +son," said Penelope, laughing, "I know it by the sound; and it is a +sign that my words will be fulfilled. Make haste now, and bring the +stranger to me." + +Eumæus went, and presently returned with a message from the supposed +beggar, to say that he feared fresh violence from the wooers, if he +left his place by the door and passed through them again. The truth +was that Odysseus feared recognition if he appeared before his wife in +broad daylight; so he affected to complain of the indifference of +Telemachus, who had allowed the savage deed of Antinous to go +unpunished, and begged permission to wait until the evening, when the +wooers would be gone home, and he could tell his story unmolested. + +"He says well," answered Penelope, when she had heard the message. +"And he seems to be a man of sense. We will wait until evening, as he +desires." + +The day was waning when Eumæus returned to the hall, and the wooers +had already begun their evening pastimes. The swineherd went up to +Telemachus, and said to him in a low tone: "It is time for me to +return to my farm, that I may give an eye to the things which I have +in charge. I leave thee to look to the house, and all that it +contains; but above all be careful of thyself, for there are many here +who wish thee ill." + + + + +The Beggar Irus + + +Just after Eumæus had left, a huge, ungainly fellow came slouching up +to the place where Odysseus was sitting, and eyed him with a look of +great disfavour. He was the town beggar, known far and wide in Ithaca +as the greediest and laziest knave in the whole island. His real name +was Arnæus, but from being employed to run errands about the place he +had received the nickname of Irus. Highly indignant at finding his +rights usurped by a new-comer, and thinking to find in that battered +old man an easy victim, he began to rate his supposed rival in a big, +blustering voice: "Give place, old man, to thy betters, and force me +not to use my hands upon thee. Begone, and that quickly, or it shall +be the worse for thee; out of the way, I say!" + +With a stern look Odysseus answered him, and said: "What possesses +thee, fellow, that thou seekest a quarrel with me? Thou art, as I +perceive, a beggar like me, and I grudge thee not anything which thou +mayest receive in the way of alms from those who sit here. There is +room on this threshold for us both. But I warn thee not to provoke me +to blows, for old as I am I will set a mark upon thee which thou wilt +carry to thy death." + +Trusting in his size, and encouraged by the nods and winks of the +wooers who sat near, Irus was only too ready to take up the challenge. +"Hark to the old starveling cur!" he shouted. "How glib of tongue he +is, like any scolding hag! Get thee to thy fists then, since thou wilt +have it so, and I will knock all thy teeth out, if thou hast any +left"; and he thrust Odysseus with his foot. + +All the wooers now came running up, and crowded round the exasperated +beggars, hoping to see fine sport. Antinous took the lead, such a +scene being exactly to his taste. "Here is matter for mirth," he +cried, laughing, "for many a day. Make a ring quickly, and let them +fight it out." + +In the courtyard there was a red smouldering fire, on which two huge +sausages were roasting, a sort of haggis made by filling the belly of +a goat with fat and blood. It was determined to give one of these +messes to the winner in the fight; and he also was henceforth to have +the sole right to receive the broken meats at the wooers' feasts. + +Odysseus now pretended to draw back, as if he feared an encounter with +a man younger than himself; but at last he consented to the match, on +condition that the wooers would swear an oath not to strike him a foul +blow while he was fighting with Irus. To this they all agreed, and +forthwith Odysseus stripped to the waist, and girded his rags about +his loins. By some strange magic his limbs seemed to have filled out; +and when the wooers saw his mighty chest and broad shoulders they +cried out in amazement "Methinks Irus will pay dearly for his ire,"[1] +said one. "Look what a brawny thigh the old carle shows under his +rags!" + +[Footnote 1: The pun is an attempt to reproduce a similar word-play in +the original.] + +Irus himself was not less astonished than dismayed, so that they were +obliged to use force to make him face his opponent; and as he stood +there quaking with fear Antinous reviled him bitterly, and threatened, +if he were defeated, to carry him to the mainland, and hand him over +to a robber chieftain, nicknamed the Mutilator, and notorious for his +cruelties. "He will carve thee into collops and fling them to his +dogs," said the ferocious prince. + +Little encouraged, as may be supposed, this prospect, Irus in his +despair aimed a blow at Odysseus, and struck him on the right +shoulder. Then Odysseus, who had resolved to put forth but half his +force, lest he should betray himself to the wooers, struck the +wretched man under the ear. There was a crash of broken bones, and +down went Irus in the dust, spitting blood, and beating the ground +with his heels. The wooers hailed his fall with shouts of laughter, +and Odysseus, seizing the prostrate beggar by the foot, dragged him +through the courtyard gate, and propped him against the wall. "Sit +there," he said, placing his staff in his hand, "and keep off dogs and +swine. Methinks thou hast had enough of playing the tyrant among +strangers and beggars." + +When he returned to his place on the threshold he found the wooers in +high good humour at the defeat of Irus. "May heaven fulfil all thy +heart's desire!" cried one who sat near, "seeing that thou hast rid us +of that hungry, brawling rogue." His words had a meaning which he +little guessed, and Odysseus rejoiced when he heard them. Then +Antinous brought the pudding, all steaming from the fire, and set it +by him; and Amphinomus gave him two loaves, and filled a cup with +wine. "Hail, old friend!" he said, offering the cup, "and mayest thou +live to see happier days." + +This Amphinomus differed in character from the other suitors, being a +prudent and fair-minded man. Odysseus knew him and his father well, +and being willing to save him, if possible, he looked earnestly at +him, and said: "Amphinomus, thou seemest to be a man of understanding, +and therefore I will give thee a word of warning. Hark, in thine ear! +Quit this company at once! The day of doom is very near to them all, +and I would not that thou shouldst perish with them." + +These words, spoken in a low and solemn tone, so that none besides +might hear, sent a chill to the heart of Amphinomus. Slowly and sadly +he went back to his seat, his mind full of dark foreboding. +Nevertheless, he did not profit by the warning; for he had thrown in +his lot with that guilty band, and had to drink of the same cup. + + + + +Penelope and the Wooers + + +I + +"How slowly move the hours," said Penelope to Eurycleia, yawning and +then laughing in sheer vacancy of spirit. "How would it be if I showed +myself to the wooers? I hate them, it is true, but it would serve to +pass the time, and I could caution my son not to be so familiar with +these treacherous friends." + +"Do so, my child," answered Eurycleia, "but first wash and anoint +thyself, and go not among them with this tear-stained face. And waste +not thy life in perpetual mourning; think what a comfort thou hast in +thy son." + +"Speak not to me of such vanities," answered Penelope; "why should I +wish to preserve this poor remnant of my beauty? Foul or fair, what +matters it in my widowed state? But send two of my handmaids hither to +attend me, for it is not seemly that I should go alone among the men." + +While the nurse was gone to fetch the maidens, a sudden drowsiness +overpowered Penelope, and she sank back in her chair, subdued by a +short but trancelike sleep. And while she slumbered, invisible hands +were busy with her person, washing away all the stains which sorrow +had left on her face, and shedding upon her immortal loveliness, such +as clothes the Queen of Love herself, when she joins the sister Graces +in the dance. The voices of the women entering her chamber roused her +from that strange sleep, and sitting up she rubbed her cheeks and +said: "Wondrous soft was the slumber which overtook me in my sorrow! +Would that it were death which had come upon me with like softness, +that I might no longer waste away in mourning for the excellence of my +dear, dear lord!" + +Thereupon she arose, and descending the stairs stood in the open +doorway of the hall, with a handmaid on either side. A murmur of +surprise and admiration went round the whole company, for never had +she seemed so wondrous fair. Turning to Telemachus she said: "My son, +with grief I perceive that thy understanding increaseth not with thy +growth, but rather becometh less. Who would think, seeing thee thus +tall and comely, like a prince's true son, that thou wouldst suffer +such deeds to be wrought upon the stranger within thy gates? What if +he had come by his death through this violence? What shame and infamy +to thee!" + +"Mother," answered Telemachus, "thou hast some reason for thine anger. +Howbeit, I have a man's wit, and am not, as thou sayest, more foolish +than a child. But what can one do against so many? And as to this +stranger, thou wouldst know that thy fears are idle, if thou couldst +see Irus as he now sits at the gate, rolling his head like a drunkard, +with no strength to stand on his feet or stir from his place. Would +that all the wooers were in the same plight!" + +While Telemachus was defending himself, Eurymachus had been gazing +with bold eyes on that fair lady; and now he addressed her with smooth +words of flattery: "Daughter of Icarius, sage Penelope, if all the +Greeks could behold thee as now thou art, this house would not contain +the multitude of thy wooers. Thou surpassest all the daughters of men +in beauty, and in stature, and in thy even-balanced wit" + +"Eurymachus," answered Penelope, "all the bloom of my womanhood was +blighted on the evil day when the Greeks embarked for Troy, and +Odysseus, my lord, went with them. But now I am like some poor hunted +creature, hard beset by the hounds of fate. Well I remember my +husband's parting words. Holding my right hand he said: 'Dear wife, I +am going into the midst of perils, and it may be that we shall never +see each other again. Be thou but faithful to thy trust, and remember +whose daughter thou art; and when thou seest thy son with a beard on +his cheeks, thou art free to marry whom thou wilt.' Such were his +words, and now they shall shortly be fulfilled. I see the day +approaching which shall make me another man's wife; better for me if I +were the bride of death! For who ever beheld such wooing as yours? +'Twas ever the custom among those who sought the daughter of a wealthy +house in marriage to bring with them their own sheep and oxen to make +good cheer for the friends of the bride; but ye sit here as unbidden +guests, and devour my living." + +Odysseus smiled to himself with pleasure when he heard this artful +speech of Penelope, for he perceived her intention, which was to draw +gifts from the wooers, and raise their hopes by the prospect of her +approaching marriage. And the artifice was successful, for the wooers, +following the lead of Antinous and Eurymachus, at once despatched +their servants to bring the bride gifts from their houses. Antinous +gave a splendid embroidered robe, with twelve golden clasps, +Eurymachus a necklace of amber and gold, and Eurydamas a pair of +jewelled earrings. These and other costly offerings were brought to +Penelope in her chamber. + +II + +When evening came on, the wooers ordered three braziers to be set up +in the hall, to give them light as they sat at their pastimes. The +braziers were fed with dry chips of pine-wood, and the maid-servants +relieved each other from time to time in the duty of keeping up the +fires. Presently Odysseus drew near to the handmaids, and said: "Go ye +and attend the queen in her chamber, I will serve the fires, and give +light to the company. Yea, though they sit here all night they shall +not tire me out, for I am a much-enduring man." + +The women laughed, and glanced at one another; and one of them, whose +name was Melantho, spoke bitterly to Odysseus, and reviled him, +saying: "Thou wretched old man, why goest thou not to find a bed in +the smithy, or wherever else thou canst, instead of loitering here, +and vexing us with thy prate? Either thou hast drunk a cup too much, +or else thou art stricken in thy wits. Get thee gone, lest a stronger +than Irus lay his hand upon thee and break thy bones." + +"Now will I go straightway to Telemachus," answered Odysseus fiercely, +"yonder where he sits, and tell him what thou sayest, thou vixen, that +he may hew thee in pieces on the spot." + +So menacing were his looks and his tones that the women fled quaking +from the hall and left him to tend the fires. So there he stood in +view of the whole company, to their eyes a poor outcast, intent on his +menial task; but thoughts other than of the fires filled his heart. + +As he stooped over one of the braziers and stirred the fuel into a +blaze, Eurymachus noticed the red gleam which was reflected from the +smooth, bald crown of the supposed beggar. "Look!" he cried, laughing +and pointing at Odysseus, "surely this man is a favourite of heaven; +for see how the light shines like a crown of glory on his hairless +pate!" + +Then he called to Odysseus, and said: "How sayest thou, friend, wilt +thou be my thrall, and work on my farm among the hills for a fixed +wage? Thy business would be to repair the stone fences and work on the +plantation; thou wouldst have a whole coat to thy back, and shoes to +thy feet, and thy penny fee, and bread to eat all the year round. But +I can read thine answer in thy face: thou wouldst rather crouch and +whine for bread than do aught useful to earn thy living." + +"Eurymachus," answered Odysseus firmly, "I would that I could prove my +manhood against thine in any trial of strength and endurance. Let it +be a match of mowing, in a rich meadow-land, on the longest day in +spring, and let us ply the scythe together, fasting, from dawn till +eve. Or give me a stout pair of oxen, mighty beasts, equal in +strength, and both well filled with fodder, and set me to plough a +field of four acres, of rich, deep soil--then wouldst thou see if I +could drive a straight furrow. Or stand by my side on the perilous +edge of battle, with equal arms, and try whether I would flinch sooner +than thou. A great man and a mighty thou seemest to thyself, having +never learnt what true manhood is. Poor windy braggart, if Odysseus +set foot in this house again, the doors would seem too narrow to thee +in thy haste to escape." + +"Thou saucy knave!" cried Eurymachus, incensed by this daring speech, +"I will teach thee respect for thy betters"; and seizing a footstool +he prepared to hurl it at the offender's head. But Odysseus sprang +aside and ran to Amphinomus for protection; the heavy missile flew +hurtling through the air, and struck one of the servants, who was just +crossing the room, on the arm. Down went the man with a cry of pain, +and the wooers raised an uproar throughout the hall. "A murrain on +this begging loon!" exclaimed one. "Why came he hither to bring strife +among us?" + +"Ye are mad, my masters!" said Telemachus, raising his voice; "verily +ye are flown with insolence and wine.[1] Ye had better go home and +sleep off your liquor before worse comes of it." + +[Footnote 1: Milton, "Paradise Lost," i. 502.] + +The wooers were indeed in a dangerous mood, and they began to finger +their weapons, and utter fierce threats against Telemachus. But +Amphinomus interposed, and by exerting all his influence induced them +to forgo their murderous purpose and disperse quietly to their homes. + + + + +Odysseus and Penelope + + +As soon as the house was quiet, Telemachus, obeying a sign from his +father, prepared to convey the weapons which hung about the hall to an +inner chamber, out of the reach of the wooers. First he ordered +Eurycleia to keep the women out of the way, and having barred the +doors leading to the inner apartments, he took down helmet and spear +and shield from the walls, and carried them, with his father's help, +to the upper room. When this important task was performed he withdrew +for the night, and Odysseus was left alone in the hall to await the +coming of Penelope. + +Presently the doors were opened, and by the flickering light of the +braziers Odysseus, for the first time after twenty years, saw the face +of his wife. Lovely indeed she seemed in his eyes, not less than when +he wedded her in her maiden bloom. Her handmaids brought a chair of +silver and ivory, a work of most rare device, and set it by the fire +with a soft fleece upon it. Penelope took the seat prepared for her +and gazed curiously at the stranger, who sat crouched in the shadow of +a pillar, avoiding her eye. Meanwhile the women were bustling about +the hall, removing the remains of the feast, and heaping fresh fuel on +the fires. Among them was Melantho, who had spoken so roughly to +Odysseus an hour or two before. When she saw Odysseus she began +railing at him again, and rudely bade him begone. Penelope soon +reduced her to silence, and then calling Eurycleia she bade her place +a seat for the stranger. + +"Now tell me," began Penelope, when the chair had been brought, "who +art thou, and of what country? And who were thy father and mother?" + +"Ah! lady," answered Odysseus, "I beseech thee, question me not as to +my country and my friends, lest thou open anew the fountain of my +grief. It is not seemly to sit weeping and wailing in a stranger's +house; and I fear that thou wilt say that my tears are the tears of +drunkenness." + +Penelope pressed him for an answer. "Thou surely art of some country," +she said, smiling; "or art thou one of those of whom old stories tell, +born of stocks and stones?" + +"Since thou urgest it so strongly," replied Odysseus, "I cannot deny +thee. In the broad realm of Crete there is a certain city, Cnosus by +name; there reigned Minos, and begat Deucalion, my famous sire. To +Deucalion two sons were born, Idomeneus the elder, and myself, whom he +named Æthon. When war arose between the Greeks and Trojans, Idomeneus +sailed to fight for the sons of Atreus, and I was left behind in my +father's house. Then it was that I saw Odysseus, who was driven by +stress of weather to seek shelter on our coasts. When he had anchored +his ships in the harbour, he came up to the town and inquired for +Idomeneus, whom he said was his friend, honoured and beloved; but we +told him that Idomeneus had departed ten days before. Then I received +him in my house, and feasted him and all his company for twelve days; +for all that time the north wind blew, so that a man could not stand +up against it. On the thirteenth day the wind ceased and they put out +to sea." + +Penelope's tears flowed fast as she listened to that cunning fiction, +which seemed to bring her husband before her eyes. Odysseus watched +her, with eyes set like horn or iron, as she sat before him sobbing +and rocking herself to and fro; but his heart grew big within him, and +he could hardly keep back his own tears. At length she grew calmer, +and wishing to try him, asked him this searching question: "If thou +didst indeed entertain my husband in thy house, tell me what manner of +man he was, and what garments he had on, and who they were that +attended him." + +"It is hard," answered Odysseus, "to tell thee of what thou askest, +after twenty years; nevertheless I will attempt to call up his image +from the past. He wore a purple woollen cloak, of two folds, and it +was held by a golden brooch with a double clasp; and on the brooch was +fashioned a hound, holding in his jaws a fawn; and so skilfully was it +wrought that the figures seemed to live, the fawn struggling to +escape, and the hound clenching his fangs to hold him--so rare a piece +it was. Under his cloak, Odysseus wore a close-fitting tunic, which +glistened like the peel of a dried onion; for very soft and fine was +the texture. I cannot tell whether these were the garments which he +had on when he left you; it may be that they were a gift received on +his voyage, for he had many friends. Even so I gave him a sword of +bronze and a mantle, and a fringed tunic, when I bade him adieu. +Further, I would have thee know that he had a squire with him, +somewhat older than himself, a round-shouldered man, dark of +complexion, and with curling hair. His name was Eurybates, and +Odysseus held him in high regard." + +What were the emotions of Penelope, when she heard the raiment and +ornaments which her husband was wearing the last time she saw him thus +described down to the minutest detail! For a long time she remained +silent, overpowered by her feelings; and when she spoke again there +was a ring of sincere warmth and friendliness in her voice. "I pitied +thee before," she said, "seeing thee thus forlorn, but now thou shalt +be my dear and honoured guest, for I know that thou hast spoken the +truth. These garments, and the golden brooch, were a gift from my own +hands to my dear lord. Alas! I shall never see him again. Cursed be +the day that parted me from him, and sent him to the land of Troy, +that name abhorred of my soul!" + +"Lady," answered Odysseus, "no one could blame thee, or say that thou +sorrowest beyond measure, for such a husband as thine. He was indeed a +man of rare and god-like gifts. Nevertheless be comforted; for ere +many days are passed thou wilt see him here, safe and sound, and +loaded with the wealth which he has gathered in his wanderings." Then +he went on to repeat the story which he had already told to Eumæus, +with some further facts, drawn from his own experience in the last ten +years; and concluded with this solemn adjuration: "Witness, this +hearth of Odysseus, to which I am come, and witness Zeus, the supreme +lord of heaven, if I lie! Ere yonder moon hath waned, Odysseus will be +sitting under this roof." + +Penelope shook her head sadly, as she replied: "It will be a happy day +for thee, if thy prophecy is confirmed by the event. But what am I +saying? 'Tis an empty dream. But come, let the maidens prepare a bath +for thee, and afterwards them shalt sleep sound in a soft, warm bed. +Well hast thou deserved to receive all honour and worship at my hands, +and woe unto him that shall seek to harm thee! I will put a speedy end +to his wooing. For what wilt thou say of me, when thou art wandering +in distant lands, if I suffer thee to abide here thus poorly clad, +unwashed, and uncared for? Few and evil are the days of our life; and +the best we can do is to win a good name by our gentle deeds while we +live, and leave a fair memory behind us when we die." + +"I doubt not thy goodness," replied Odysseus; "but I have long been a +stranger to the comforts of which thou speakest, and they suit not my +forlorn and desolate state. Nor would I that any of thy handmaids +should wash my feet, and mock my infirmities; but if thou hast here an +aged house-dame, like unto me in years and in sorrows, I grudge not +that such a one should wait upon me." + +"Thou speakest as a prudent man," said Penelope, "and I have such an +aged dame as thou describest among my household. She was the first who +took my ill-fated husband in her arms when his mother bare him, and +she nursed him tenderly and well. She shall wash thy feet, old though +she be, and feeble." Then she called Eurycleia, who was sitting near, +and said to her: "Come hither, nurse, and wash the stranger's feet. +Who knows but thy master is now in like evil case, grown old before +his time through care and misery?" + +When she heard that, the old woman lifted up her voice and wept: +"Odysseus," she cried, "child of my sorrow, what have I not borne for +thee! Pious thou wast, and righteous in all thy dealings, yet Zeus +hath chosen thee out from among all men to be the object of his hate. +Yea, and perchance even now he is mocked in the house of strangers, as +these women were lately mocking thee. Yea, I will wash thee, as +Penelope bids me, and for thy sake also, for my heart is moved with +pity because of thy woes." + +With such speed as her years allowed, the dame went and fetched warm +water, and a vessel for washing the feet. She set them down in front +of Odysseus, and before she began her task, stood for some time +peering curiously into his face. "Hear me, friend," she said, after a +while, "of all the strangers that ever entered these doors, ne'er saw +I one so like unto Odysseus as thou art, in form, and in voice, and in +feet." + +"So said everyone who saw us together," answered Odysseus. But her +words filled him with alarm, and recalled to his mind an old scar, +just above the knee, caused by a wound which he had received from a +wild boar while hunting in his boyhood in the valleys of Parnassus, +during a visit to Autolycus, Penelope's father. If his old nurse +should discover the scar she would be certain to recognise him, and +the consequences of the premature discovery might be fatal. However, +he had now no excuse for declining the bath, so he drew back his chair +into the shadow, still hoping to escape detection. + +But Eurycleia, whose suspicions were already aroused, was not thus to +be evaded. As she handled the limb her fingers felt the well-known +mark, and she let the foot fall with a loud cry. The vessel was +overset, and the water ran over the floor. Half laughing and half +weeping, the old woman fell upon his neck. "Thou art Odysseus, dear +child!" she cried, "and yet I knew thee not till I had touched thee +with my hands." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Eurycleia] + +During all this scene Penelope had been sitting like one in a dream, +lost in the memories awakened by the supposed beggar's story. The +nurse now turned to rouse her from her reverie, and tell her the +joyful news; but Odysseus, seeing her intention, pressed a heavy hand +on her mouth, and, drawing her down to him with the other, said in a +fierce whisper: "Peace, woman, or I will slay thee! Wouldst thou +destroy him whom thou hast nursed at thine own breast?" + +Eurycleia had now recovered from the shock of that sudden recognition. +"Fear me not," she said, "I will be as secret as the grave. But see, +the water is all spilt; I go to fetch more." And so with a grave face, +but a heart bounding with delight, the faithful old creature brought a +fresh supply of water, and proceeded with the task of washing her +master's feet. + +When he resumed his place by the fire, he found Penelope in a soft and +pensive mood, and dwelling, as was her wont, on the sorrows of her +widowed state. "Friend," she said, with a gentle sigh, "I will not +keep thee much longer from thy rest, for the hour approaches which +brings sweet oblivion to careworn hearts--all save mine. For the night +brings me no respite from my woes, but rather increases them. When the +day's duties are over, and all the house is still, I lie tossing +ceaselessly, torn by conflicting doubts and fears. E'en as the wakeful +bird sits darkling all night long, and pours her endless plaint, now +low and mellow, now piercing high and shrill, so wavers my spirit in +its purpose, and threads the unending maze of thought. Sweet home of +my wedded joy, must I leave thee, and all the faces which I love so +well, and the great possessions which he gave into my keeping? Shall I +become a byword among the people, as false to the memory of my true +lord? Yet how can I face the reproaches of my son, who since he is +come to manhood grows more impatient day by day, seeing the waste of +his wealth, of which I am the cause? + +"But I wished to ask thee concerning a dream which I had last night. +There are twenty geese which I keep about the house, and I take +pleasure in seeing them crop the grain from the water trough. In my +dream I saw a great eagle swoop down from the mountains and slay them +all, breaking their necks, There they lay dead in one heap; +and I made loud lament for the slaying of my geese, so that the women +gathered round me to comfort me. But the eagle descended again, and +alighted on a jutting beam of the roof, and thus spake unto me with a +human voice: 'Take comfort, daughter of Icarius; no dream is this, but +a waking vision, which shall surely be fulfilled. The geese are the +wooers, and I the eagle am thy husband, who will shortly come and give +them to their doom.' Even as he said this I awoke, and going to the +window I saw the geese by the door, cropping the grain from the +trough, as is their wont." + +"Lady," answered Odysseus, "there is but one interpretation of thy +dream, and thy husband declared it with his own voice. Death looms +near at hand for the wooers, and not one of them shall escape." + +But Penelope shook her head. "It is ill trusting in dreams," she said, +"and hard to discern the false from the true. There are two gates from +which flitting dreams are sent to men: one is of horn, and the other +of ivory: and the dreams which pass through the ivory gate are sent to +beguile, while those which come from the gate of horn are a true +message to him who sees them. And my dream, I believe, was sent me +from the gate of ivory. Yea, the day is approaching, the hateful day, +which shall part me for ever from the house of Odysseus; and this +shall be the manner of the trial whereby I will prove which of the +wooers is to win me: I will set up twelve axes, like the trestles on +which the keel of a ship is laid, in the hall, and he who can send an +arrow through the line of double axeheads from the further end of the +hall shall win me for his bride. This device I learnt from Odysseus, +who was wont thus to prove his skill in archery. Then farewell my +home, the house of my lord, the home of my love, so fair, so full of +plenty, which will haunt me in my dreams even unto life's end." + +"Tis well-imagined, this trial of the wooers," answered Odysseus, "and +I counsel thee to put them to the proof without delay; for I am sure +that Odysseus will return here again before ever one of these men +shall string his bow and shoot an arrow through the line of axes." + +"Well, my friend," said Penelope, "I will now bid thee good-night, +though gladly would I sit here till to-morrow's dawn, and let thee +discourse to enchant mine ear. But there is a time for all things, and +I would not rob thee of thy needful rest. Therefore I will go and lay +my head on my uneasy pillow, and the women shall lay a bed for thee +here, or where thou choosest." + + + + +The End draws near; Signs and Wonders + + +True to his character as a wandering beggar, Odysseus lay down to rest +on a pile of sheepskins in the portico of the house. His mind was full +of the events of the day, and of the terrible task which he had to +perform on the morrow. When he thought of all the insults which had +been heaped upon him in his own house, he ground his teeth with rage, +and muttered bitter curses against the wooers. As if on purpose to +provoke him further, just at this moment Melantho, and several of the +other women, who slept in the town, came forth from the house, and +passed by him with shrill laughter and merry gibes. Then his heart +growled within him, even as a mother-hound growls over her whelps when +she sees a stranger approaching, and in a sudden impulse of fury he +started up to slay those faithless women on the spot; but repressing +his mad purpose he smote his breast and rebuked his fiery spirit. Had +he not borne even worse than this on the day when the Cyclops devoured +his comrades in the cave? + +When anger and shame had had their turn, other and more pressing +anxieties came crowding upon him, banishing sleep from his eyelids. +How was he with such help as Telemachus could give him to overpower +and slay a hundred men in the prime of their youth and strength? It +seemed an impossible feat, and his heart quaked within him as he +counted those fearful odds. + +At last sleep came upon him unawares, and in a dream he saw his divine +friend and helper, Athene, standing by him, robed in awful beauty. +"Where is thy faith?" she asked, in sweet and solemn tones. "Dost thou +doubt my power to help thee? Know this, that with me at thy side thou +couldst rout and slay a thousand armed men. Sleep on, then, and vex +thyself no more; in a few short hours all thy trials shall be passed, +and thou shalt rest in triumph under thine own roof-tree." Then she +touched his brow with her finger, and departed; and after that he +slept on soundly until dawn. + +In the first grey light of morning he awoke, roused by a sound as of +one wailing within the house. He sat up in his bed and listened: it +was the voice of Penelope, his wife; for she too had had her dreams, +sweet, indeed, while they lasted, but bitter to her waking memory. She +thought that her husband came to her, in all the glory of his manhood, +even as when he set out for Troy, and put his arms about her, and +kissed her tenderly. Therefore she wept and wailed, thinking that it +was another false vision, sent by some hostile deity to mock her +widowhood. + +What a sound was that for the lonely watcher before the house! +"Patience, fond, sad heart!" he murmured to himself, "this very night +thou shalt hold me in thine arms, and sob out thy sorrows on my +breast." With that he rose to his feet, and lifting up his hands to +heaven put up a prayer to Zeus: "Dread sire of gods, if with good will +ye have brought me thus far, after so many perils by land and by +water, send me a sign from heaven, and reveal unto me your purpose by +the lips of one of those that be within the house." + +A loud peal of thunder was heard in answer to his prayer; and a second +sign was sent by the voice of a woman in the house. She was one of +twelve maid-servants, whose duty it was to grind wheat and barley for +the daily supply of bread. The others had finished their task, but +she, being old and weak, was still toiling at her mill. When she heard +the thunder she stopped for a moment, and thus uttered her complaint: +"Thunder in a clear sky! That bodes ill to some that be here. Heaven +grant that it may be to the wooers, for whom day by day I suffer this +cruel toil, making meal for them! May this be the very last time that +they sit down to meat in this house!" So saying, she returned to her +labour, and Odysseus rejoiced at the double sign which had been +vouchsafed to him. + +By this time the whole household was afoot, and a score of busy hands +were at work, under the direction of Eurycleia, preparing for the +coming of the wooers. For it was a general holiday, being the festival +of Apollo, and the guests were expected earlier than usual. Some went +to the public fountain to fetch water, some swept and sprinkled the +floor, and some sponged the tables and scoured the drinking vessels. +Presently the herdsmen came in, driving before them the beasts for +sacrifice; and of these the first to arrive was Eumæus, who brought +three fat hogs as his part of the daily tribute. Leaving his charge to +grub about in the courtyard, he came up to Odysseus, and inquired how +he had fared among the wooers on the previous day. "I fared ill," +answered Odysseus, "and ill fare the villains who deal thus with the +stranger under another man's roof!" + +A rude voice here broke in upon him, and Melanthius the goatherd +thrust himself between them, jostling Odysseus, and reviling him in +brutal terms, "What, still loitering here, thou vagabond? Wilt thou go +begging at other men's tables, or art thou waiting to taste of my +fists?" Odysseus deigned no reply, but shook his head, biding his +time. + +Another herdsman now entered the courtyard; this was Philoetius, who +had charge of the herds of Odysseus on the mainland. He brought a +heifer and two or three fat goats, having crossed over to Ithaca by +the ferry. When he saw Odysseus he took Eumæus aside, and inquired who +he was. "He is of kingly aspect," remarked the new-comer, "in spite of +his wretched garb. But even kings may come to beggary, if it be +Heaven's will." + +Having heard from Eumæus what he had to tell, Philoetius approached +Odysseus, and taking his right hand greeted him kindly, saying: +"Welcome, old friend, for my master's sake! E'en such, methinks, is +his case, if he still lives and looks upon the daylight. Ah! what a +thought is that! It brings the sweat of agony to my brow when I think +that even now he may be wandering in rags from door to door, begging +for a morsel of bread, while his flocks and herds roam in thousands on +the hills. What shall I do? It is not to be borne that all this wealth +should increase and multiply, to feed the mouths of thieves and +rogues. Often have I resolved to drive off my cattle into a far +country, and no longer to abet these men in their riotous living; but +my duty to Telemachus, and the hope that even now my lord may return, +still hold me back." + +Perceiving the neatherd to be loyal and staunch, Odysseus resolved to +take him partly into his confidence, and answered accordingly: "Thy +hope is nearer to fulfilment than thou thinkest. Hear me swear, by the +hearth of Odysseus, and by the board at which I have fed, that before +thou leavest Ithaca thou shalt see thy master with thine own +eyes--thou shalt see him slaying the wooers who play the master here." + +"Would that I might live to behold that day!" cried Philoetius. "May I +never eat bread again, if the wooers felt not the might of my hands." +Eumæus also declared himself ready to risk all by the side of +Odysseus. + +While they were thus conversing, the whole body of the wooers came +thronging into the house, and the daily banquet began. At the inner +end of the hall, commanding the door which led to the women's +quarters, was a sort of platform or dais of stone, raised to some +height above the general level of the floor, and facing the main +entrance. Here Telemachus, as giver of the feast, was seated; and +while the servants were handing round the dishes he called Odysseus +from his place by the door, and made him sit down by his side. "Sit +down here," he said, "and eat and drink thy fill. And you, sirs," he +added, addressing the wooers, "keep a guard on your hands and your +tongues. This is no tavern, but my own house, and I will not suffer my +guest to be wronged by word or deed under my roof." + +This bold speech passed for the present unchallenged, though many a +threatening look was directed at the young prince. By order of +Telemachus, Odysseus received an equal portion with the other guests, +and the banquet proceeded. Presently a new instance of the wooers' +brutality was given, as if they were resolved to keep the edge of his +anger fresh and keen. The author of this outrage was Ctesippus, a +wealthy lord of Same. Taking up a bullock's foot from a basket, in +which the refuse of the meal was thrown, he made this merry jest: "The +stranger has received an equal share of our meat, as is but right; for +who would wish to stint a guest of Telemachus? And now I will make him +a present over and above, that he may bestow somewhat on the +bathwoman, or some other of the servants." Suiting the action to the +word he hurled the missile with savage force at Odysseus; but he, ever +on the alert, avoided it by bowing his head, and it struck the wall +with a crash. + +"Ctesippus," said Telemachus sternly, "it is well for thee that thou +hast missed, else thou hadst died by my hand. Is it not enough that ye +slaughter my cattle and pour out my wine like water, but must I sit +here day after day while ye fill my house with riot and injury and +outrage?" + +The wooers sat silent, being somewhat abashed by the just rebuke; and +after a long pause, one of them, whose name was Agelaus, answered +mildly: "Telemachus says well, for indeed he hath been sorely +provoked. Let there be an end of these mad doings, which it is a shame +to see. And if Telemachus will be advised by me he will urge his +mother to make choice of a husband, that he may henceforth dwell +unmolested in his father's house. Why will she delay us further? +Surely by this time she must have given up all hope of ever seeing +Odysseus again." + +"Now by the woes of my father!" answered Telemachus, "I hinder her not +from wedding whom she pleases; nay, I bid her do so, and offer bridal +gifts besides. But I cannot drive her by force from my doors." + +His words had a strange effect on the wooers: with one accord they +broke out into a yelling peal of laughter, like women in a hysteric +fit, while their eyes were filled with tears. And, more awful still! +their meat dropped blood as they conveyed it to their lips, and an +unearthly wailing was heard, like the cry of a spirit in torment. + +Among those present was Theoclymenus, the man of second sight, and in +that very hour the vision came upon him, and he cried aloud from the +place where he sat: "Woe unto you, ye doomed and miserable men! Thick +darkness is wrapped about you, the darkness of the grave! All the air +is loud with wailing, and your cheeks are wet with tears. See, see! +the walls and the rafters are sprinkled with blood, and the porch and +the courtyard are thronged with ghosts, hurrying downward to the +nether pit; and the sun has died out of heaven, and all the house lies +in darkness and the shadow of death." + +But the wooers had now recovered from their strange fit, and they +laughed gaily at the terrible warning of the seer. "Poor man!" said +Eurymachus, "he has left his wits at home. Go, someone, and show him +the way to the town, if he finds it so dark here." + +"I need no guide," answered Theoclymenus, "I have eyes and ears, and +feet, and a steady brain, so that I shall not go astray. Farewell, +unhappy men! Your hour of grace is past." And forthwith he arose and +went his way to the town. + +When he was gone the wooers began jeering at Telemachus, and taunted +him with the behaviour of his guests. "Thou hast a rare taste," said +one, "in the choice of thy company! First, this filthy beggar that +cumbers the ground with his greedy carcass, and after him comes the +mad prophet, and screams like a raven over our meat" + +One meaning glance passed between Telemachus and his father; the day +was drawing on, and they cared not now to bandy words with the wooers. +And so the merry feast came to an end with jesting, and mirth, and +laughter; and after a few short hours they were to sit down to +supper--such a supper as they had never tasted before, with a hero and +a goddess to spread the board. + + + + +The Bow of Odysseus + + +I + +The time had now arrived for the great trial of strength and skill of +which Penelope had spoken, and which was to decide deeper and deadlier +issues than those of marriage. Among the treasures which Odysseus had +left behind him was a famous bow, which he had received as a gift from +Iphitus, son of Eurytus, whom he met in his youth during a visit to +Messene. He who strung this bow, and shot an arrow through a line of +axes set up in the hall, was to be rewarded by the hand of Penelope. + +"Mother, it is time!" whispered Telemachus, soon after the departure +of Theoclymenus. Obeying the signal, Penelope, who had been sitting in +the hall listening to the talk of the wooers, left her place, and +ascending a steep staircase made her way to the store-room, which was +situated at the farther end of the house. In her hand she carried a +brazen key with a handle of ivory; and when she came to the door, she +loosened the strap which served to draw the bolt from the outside, and +inserting the key drew back the bolt. The double doors flew open with +a crash, and the treasury with all its wealth was revealed. Great +coffers of cedar-wood lined the walls, filled with fine raiment, which +her own hands had wrought. It was a cool and quiet retreat, dimly +lighted, remote from all rude sounds, full of fragrant odours, and fit +to guard the possessions of a prince. And there, hanging from a pin, +and heedfully wrapped in its case, was seen the fatal bow. She took it +down, and, sitting on one of the coffers, laid it on her knees, and +gazed on it fondly with her eyes full of tears. How often had she seen +it in the hands of Odysseus, when he went forth at sunrise to hunt the +hare and the deer! How often had she taken it from him when he came +back at evening loaded with the spoils of the chase! And now a keen +shaft from this very bow was to cut the last tender chord of memory, +and make her another man's wife! + +With a heavy heart she took the bow with its quiver in her hands, and +descending the staircase re-entered the hall, followed by her maidens, +who carried a chest containing the axes. + +"Behold the bow, fair sirs!" she said to the wooers, "and behold me, +the prize for this fine feat of archery!" Therewith she gave the bow +to Eumæus, who received it with tears; and Philoetius wept likewise +when he saw the treasured weapon of his lord. These signs of emotion +stirred the anger of Antinous, who rebuked the herdsmen fiercely. +"Peace, fools!" he cried. "Peace, miserable churls! Why pierce ye the +heart of the lady with your howlings? Has she not grief enough +already? Go forth, and howl with the dogs outside, and we will make +trial of the bow; yet me thinks it will be long ere anyone here shall +string it" + +"Anyone save thyself, thou wouldst say!" rejoined Telemachus with a +loud laugh. Then, seeing his mother regarding him with gentle +reproach, he added: "Tis strange that I should feel so gay and light +of heart at the moment when I am about to lose my mother. Zeus, +methinks, has turned my brain, and made me laugh when I should weep. +But come, ye bold wooers, which of you will be the first to enter the +lists for this matchless prize, a lady without peer in all the land of +Hellas? Why sit ye thus silent? Must I show you the way? So be it, +then; and if I can bend the bow, and shoot an arrow straight, the +prize shall be mine, and my mother shall abide here in her widowed +state." + +So saying he sprang up, flung off his cloak, and laid aside his sword. +And first he made a long shallow trench in the floor of the hall, and +set up the axes with their double heads in a straight line, stamping +down the earth about the handles to make all firm. Then he took the +bow from Eumæus; it was a weighty and powerful weapon, fashioned from +the horns of an ibex, which were firmly riveted into a massive bridge, +and great force was required to string it. Telemachus set the end +against the floor, and strove with all his might to drive the string +into its socket. Three times he tried, and failed; but the fourth +time, making a great effort, he was on the point of succeeding, when +his father nodded to him to desist. "Plague on it!" cried Telemachus, +laying the bow aside with an air of vexation, "must I be called a +poltroon all my life, or is it that I have not yet attained the full +measure of my strength? Let the others now take their turn." + +Then one by one the wooers rose up, in the order in which they sat, +and tried to bend the bow. The first to essay it was Leiodes, a +soothsayer, and a man of gentle and godly mind. But he was a soft +liver, unpractised in all manly pastimes, and the bow was like iron in +his white, womanish hands. "I fear that this bow will make an end of +many a bold spirit," he said, little guessing how true his words were +to prove; "for better it were to die than to go away beaten and broken +men, after all the long years of our wooing." + +"Fie on thee!" cried Antinous, "thinkest thou that there are no better +men here than thou art? Doubt not that one of those present shall bend +the bow and win the lady." Then he called Melanthius, and bade him +light a fire, and bring a ball of lard to anoint the bow and make it +easier to bend. The lard was brought, and the wooers sat in turn by +the fire, rubbing and anointing the bow, but all to no purpose. Only +Antinous and Eurymachus still held back, each in the full assurance +that he, and none other, had strength to bend the bow. + +II + +Odysseus sat watching the wooers from his place at the upper end of +the hall, and his heart misgave him when he thought of the appalling +task which he had undertaken. He had acquitted himself like a hero in +many a hard-fought field, but never in all his life had he faced such +odds as these. While he thus mused, and weighed the chances in his +mind, he saw Eumæus and Philoetius leave the hall together, and pass +out through the courtyard gate. Then a sudden thought struck him, and +muttering to himself, "I must risk it," he rose and followed the two +men. He found them talking together outside the courtyard fence, and +in order to make trial of their temper he addressed them in these +cautious terms: "Tell me truly, good friends, which side would ye +take, if by some miracle Odysseus suddenly appeared in this house? +Would ye be for the wooers or for him?" + +Eumæus and Philoetius with one voice protested that they were ready to +hazard their lives for the rights of their master, whereupon Odysseus +hesitated no longer, but answered: "The miracle has been wrought; I am +he! After twenty years of toil and wandering Heaven hath brought me +home. I have watched ye both, and I know that ye alone among all the +thralls remain true to me. Only continue steadfast for this day, and +your reward is assured. I will build houses for ye both, close to my +own, and ye shall dwell there with your wives, as my friends and +neighbours, equals in honour with Telemachus, my son." + +The swineherd and neatherd listened with amazement, willing to +believe, but still half in doubt; but when Odysseus showed them the +scar, which they had seen many a time before, they were convinced, and +embraced their old master with tears and cries of joy. Having allowed +them some moments to indulge their feelings, Odysseus checked them +with a warning gesture. "Take heed to yourselves," he said, "or your +cries will betray us. And now mark what I shall tell you. I will go +back to the house first, and do ye two follow me one by one. To thee, +Philoetius, I give charge to make fast the gate of the courtyard, with +bolt, and with bar, and with cord. And thou, Eumæus, when the time +comes, shalt bring the bow and place it in my hands, whether the +wooers cry out on thee or not; and when thou hast given me the bow, go +straightway and command the women to make fast the doors of their +apartments, and remain quiet by their work until I have finished what +I have to do." + +At the moment when Odysseus returned to his place in the hall, +Eurymachus was just making a last attempt to bend the bow. "Out on +it!" he cried, finding all his efforts of no avail. "It is a shame to +think how far beneath Odysseus we all are in the strength of our +hands; 'tis this that stings me, much more than the loss of the lady." + +"Thou mistakest the cause," answered Antinous. "This day is the holy +feast of the divine archer, Apollo, and doubtless he is jealous +because we try our skill in his own art on his sacred day. Let us +leave the axes where they stand, and try our fortune again to-morrow." + +The proposal was received with general applause, and forthwith the +whole company called loud for wine, and began drinking heavily to +drown their disappointment Odysseus watched the progress of the revel +with grim satisfaction, and when the flushed faces and thick talk of +the wooers showed that they were far gone in drunkenness he asked, +with an air of deep humility, to be allowed to try his hand at +stringing the bow. His request was greeted with a loud cry of contempt +and indignation from all the wooers; and Antinous especially was +highly incensed, threatening him with dire pains and penalties for his +presumption. Hereupon Penelope interposed, and rebuked Antinous for +his violence. "Why should not the stranger try his skill with the +rest?" asked she. "Thinkest thou that the poor man will win me for his +wife if he succeeds? Sure I am that he is not so foolish as to +entertain such a thought." + +"'Tis not for that," said Eurymachus, answering her. "He cannot be so +mad as that. But what a shame to all this noble company if a houseless +beggar should accomplish a feat which none of us was able to perform." + +"Talk not of shame," replied Penelope with scorn. "Are ye not covered +with shame already, by your foul deeds done in this house in the +absence of its lord? Give him the bow, I say! And if he string it, by +Apollo's grace, I will clothe him in a new cloak and doublet, and give +him a sharp javelin, to keep off dogs and men, and a two-edged sword, +and sandals for his feet, and give him safe conduct to whatsoever +place he desires to reach." + +The decisive moment was at hand, and Telemachus saw the necessity of +removing his mother from the scene of the approaching conflict. +"Mother," he said in a tone of authority, "leave these things to me; I +am master here. Evening draws on, and it is time for thee to retire." + +When Penelope had withdrawn, Eumæus took the bow, and was about to +carry it to Odysseus, but paused half-way, in doubt and alarm, for a +perfect storm of threats and abuse assailed his ears. "Halt, thou dog! +Put down the bow! Art thou tired of thy life?" Appalled by the +menacing cries of the wooers, the swineherd stood hesitating; but +Telemachus raised his voice, and commanded him instantly to deliver +the bow to Odysseus. "I will teach thee," he said, "who is thy master; +thou shalt carry the marks of my hands to thy farm, if thou do not as +I tell thee. Would that I could as easily drive the whole of this +drunken rout from my doors!" + +"Well bragged, Sir Valiant!" cried Antinous; and all the wooers +laughed boisterously when they heard him. Seizing his opportunity +while their attention was thus diverted, Eumæus came and placed the +bow in the hands of Odysseus; then, calling Eurycleia, he bade her +make fast the door of the women's apartments. Meanwhile Philoetius +secured the gates of the courtyard, and returning to his place sat +watching the movements of Odysseus. With anxious eye the hero +scrutinised the great weapon, turning it this way and that, to see if +it had been injured by worms or natural decay. To his great joy he +found that it was sound and untouched. Then, easily as a minstrel +fastens a new cord to a lyre, without effort he strung the bow, and +bending it made the string twang loud and clear, like the shrill voice +of the swallow. + +A hundred mocking eyes and sneering faces had been turned towards him, +as he sat fingering the bow and weighing it in his hands; but pale +grew those faces now, and blank was that gaze. To add to their terror, +at this moment a loud peal of thunder shook the house. Filled with +high courage by the happy omen, Odysseus took an arrow, and, fitting +it to the string, sent it with sure aim from the place where he sat +along the whole line of axeheads, from the first to the last. + +"Telemachus," he said, "thy guest hath not shamed thee. My hand is +firm, and mine eye is true, poor worn-out wanderer though I be. Now +let us give these fair guests their supper, and afterwards entertain +them with music and with dancing, which are the fit accompaniment of a +feast." + +Then he beckoned to his son to draw near; and Telemachus made haste, +and came and stood by his father's side, armed with sword and lance. + + + + +The Slaying of the Wooers + + +I + +Stripping off his rags, and girding them round his waist, Odysseus +took the quiver, and poured out all the arrows on the ground at his +feet. "Now guide my hand, Apollo," he cried, "and make sure mine aim, +for this time I will shoot at a mark which never man hit before." + +Therewith he bent his bow again, and pointed the arrow at Antinous, +who just at that moment was raising a full goblet of wine to his lips. +Little thought that proud and insolent man, as the wine gleamed red +before him, that he had tasted his last morsel, and drunk his last +drop. He was in the prime of his manhood, surrounded by his friends, +and in the midst of a joyous revel; who would dream of death and doom +in such an hour? Yet at that very instant he felt a sharp, sudden +pang, and fell back in his seat, pierced through the throat by the +arrow of Odysseus. The blood poured from his nostrils, he let fall the +cup, and spurning the table with his feet in his agony he overset it, +and the bread and meat were scattered on the floor. + +Then arose a wild clamour and uproar among the wooers, and starting +from their seats they sought eagerly for the weapons which were wont +to hang along the walls; but not a spear, not a shield, was to be +seen. Finding themselves thus baffled, they turned furiously on +Odysseus, shouting, "Down with the knave!" "Hew him in pieces!" "Fling +his carcass to the vultures!" As yet they had not recognised him, and +they thought that he had slain Antinous by mischance. + +They were soon undeceived. "Ye dogs!" he cried, in a terrible voice, +"long have ye made my house into a den of thieves, thinking that I had +died long ago in a distant land. Ye have devoured my living, and wooed +my wife, and mishandled my servants, having no fear of god or man +before your eyes. But now are ye all fallen into the pit which ye have +digged, and are fast bound in the bonds of death." + +Like beaten hounds, that dastardly crew cowered before the man whom +they had wronged, and every heart quaked with fear. Presently +Eurymachus stood forward, and tried to make terms for them all. "If +thou be indeed Odysseus," he said, "thou speakest justly concerning +the evil doings of the wooers. And there lies the cause of the +mischief, Antinous, struck down by thy righteous hand. He it was who +sought to slay Telemachus, that he might usurp thy place, and make +himself king in Ithaca. But now that he is gone to his own place, let +us, the rest, find favour in thy sight. And as for thy possessions +which have been wasted, we will pay thee back out of our own goods, as +much as thou shalt require." + +But there were no signs of relenting on that stern, set face. "Talk +not to me of payment," he answered, with a brow as black as night; "ye +shall pay me with your lives, every one of you. Fight, if ye will, or +die like sheep. Not one of you shall escape." + +Thus driven to extremity, Eurymachus drew his sword and shouting to +the others to follow his example he picked up a table to serve him as +a shield, and raising his war-cry rushed at Odysseus. In the midst of +his onset an arrow struck him in the liver, and he fell doubled-up +over a table, smiting the floor with his forehead. Then he rolled over +with a groan, and his eyes grew dim in death. + +Before Odysseus could fix another arrow to the string, Amphinomus was +upon him, with sword uplifted to slay him. Telemachus saw his father's +peril, and thrust Amphinomus in the back with his spear. The fall of +their leaders arrested the advance of the wooers, and they drew back +in a body to the lower end of the hall. Leaving the spear in the body +of the fallen man, Telemachus ran to fetch armour for himself and +Odysseus, and the two herdsmen. Quickly he brought shields and helmets +and lances for the four, and they arrayed themselves and took their +stand together on the platform. + +While these preparations were in progress, Odysseus continued +showering his arrows among the huddled troop of terrified men; and at +every shot one of the wooers fell. At last Melanthius, the goatherd, +made a desperate effort to save his party. Assisted by several of the +wooers, he climbed up the wall of the banquet-room, and made his exit +through the open timbers at the top into a narrow passage which gave +access to the inner part of the house. Presently he returned, laden +with spears and shields and helmets, which he had found in the chamber +where they had been stored away by Telemachus. + +What was the dismay of Odysseus when he saw his enemies arming +themselves with spear and shield, and brandishing long lances in their +hands! "Telemachus!" he cried, "we are betrayed! The women have sold +us to the wooers." "Alas! I have erred," answered Telemachus, "for I +left the door of the armoury open, and one of them has observed it." + +While they thus debated, Eumæus saw the goatherd making his way out of +the hall again by the same exit. "It is the traitor Melanthius," he +whispered; "now have we need of prompt action, or we are all undone." + +Odysseus had now recovered his courage, and he issued his orders +without losing another moment. "Go thou with the neatherd," he said to +Eumæus, "and seize that villain before he has time to return. Bind him +hand and foot, and come back with all speed to the hall" + +At the side of the hall, close to the platform where Odysseus and his +party were stationed, there was a door leading into the passage +already mentioned. Through this the two men passed, and made their way +stealthily to the armoury. There they waited on either side of the +door for Melanthius, whom they heard moving within. Before long he +came out, bearing in one hand a helmet, and in the other an old +battered shield, once the property of Laertes. Together they fell upon +him, dragged him down by the hair, and having bound him tight with a +long cord they hauled him up to a beam of the roof and left him +hanging. "Long and sweet be thy slumbers, goatherd!" said Eumæus as he +contemplated his work, "thou hast a soft bed, such as thou lovest. +Rest there till the morning light shall call thee to make breakfast +for the wooers." + +When they returned to the hall they found that a new ally had joined +their party, in the person of Mentor, the old friend of Odysseus. No +one saw when he came thither; but there he was, and right glad they +were to see him. Very different were the feelings of the wooers when +they saw their enemies thus reinforced, and one of them, named +Agelaus, cried out upon Mentor, and threatened him, saying: "Give +place, rash man, or thou wilt bring destruction on thyself and all thy +house." + +When he heard that, Mentor was wroth, and rebuked Odysseus as slow of +hand and cold of heart. "Why standest thou idle?" he cried. "Get thee +to thy weapons, and finish the work which thou hast to do, if thou art +verily that Odysseus who wrought such havoc among the Trojans in the +nine years' war." + +With these words the supposed Mentor vanished as mysteriously as he +had appeared, and a little swallow was seen darting hither and thither +among the smoke-blackened beams of the roof. + +The wooers understood not in whose presence they had been, and, +thinking that Mentor had fled before their threats, they took courage +again, and prepared to make a fresh assault. Agelaus now took the +lead, and at his command six of them advanced and hurled their spears. +But they were all dazed with drink, and weakened by long habits of +loose indulgence, and not one of their weapons took effect. + +"Now hurl ye your spears!" shouted Odysseus, and the four lances flew, +and four wooers bit the dust. At the next discharge from the wooers +Telemachus received a slight wound on the wrist, and Eumæus was +similarly injured on the shoulder by the spear of the brutal +Ctesippus. A moment after Ctesippus himself was struck down by the +lance of Philoetius, who mocked him as he fell saying: "There is for +the ox-foot which thou didst lately bestow on Odysseus, thou noisy +railer!" + +And so the great fight went on, and at every cast of the spear +Odysseus and his men added another to the list of the slain. Seeing +their numbers dwindling fast, the wretched remnant of the wooers lost +heart altogether and huddled together like sheep at the end of the +hall. To complete their discomfiture a terrible voice was suddenly +heard in the air, and a gleam as from a bright shield was seen high up +among the rafters. "Tis Athene herself come to our aid!" cried +Odysseus; "advance, and make an end of them. Athene is on our side!" +Forthwith they all sprang down from the platform and charged the +wooers, of whom some dozen still remained alive. What followed was not +a battle, but a massacre. Like a drove of kine plunging frantically +over a field, tortured by the sting of the hovering gadfly--like a +flock of small birds scattered by the sudden swoop of a falcon--the +panic-stricken wooers fled hither and thither through the hall, +seeking shelter behind pillars and under tables from the blows which +rained upon them. But vain was their flight. In a very short time the +last of that guilty band was sent to his account, and the great act of +vengeance was completed. + +II + +Like a lion fresh from the slaughter stood Odysseus, leaning on his +spear, and covered with blood from head to foot. As he glared round +him to see if any of his foes were still alive, his eye fell on +Phemius, the minstrel, who was crouching in a corner near the side +door, and clinging in terror to his harp. Seeing the stern gaze of +Odysseus fixed upon him Phemius sprang forward, with a sudden impulse, +and threw himself at the conqueror's feet, "Pity me, Odysseus," he +cried, "and spare me! Thy days will be darkened by remorse if thou +slay the sweet minstrel whom gods and men revere. I am no common +school-taught bard, who sings what he has learned by rote; but in mine +own heart is a sweet fountain of melody, which shall be shed like the +dew from heaven on thy fame, and keep it green for ever. Therefore +stay thy hand, and harm me not. Telemachus, thy son, knows that it was +not of mine own will, nor for greed of gain, that I sang among the +wooers, but they compelled me by force, being so many, and all +stronger than I." + +Thus appealed to, Telemachus readily confirmed what the minstrel had +said, which was indeed the literal truth. Then he thought of the +trusty Medon, who had been kind to him when a child, and remained +loyal to the last to him and Penelope. "I trust he has not been slain +among the wooers," he said. "Medon, if thou art still alive, come +forth and fear nothing." + +When he heard that, Medon, who had been huddled in a heap behind a +chair, covered with a freshly-flayed ox-hide, flung off his covering, +and came running to Telemachus. The poor man was still half-mad with +terror. "Here I am!" he gasped, with staring eyes, "speak to thy +father, that he slay me not in his rage and his fury," + +Odysseus smiled grimly at the poor serving-man, and bade him be of +good cheer. "Live," he said, "thou and the minstrel, that ye may know, +and tell it also to others, how much better are good deeds than evil. +Now go ye forth and wait in the courtyard until I have finished what +remains to be done." So forth they went, and sat down by the altar of +Zeus, glancing fearfully about them, as if expecting every moment to +be their last. + +As soon as they were gone Odysseus walked slowly up and down the hall +to see if any of the wooers still survived. But there was no sound or +motion, save the tread of his own feet, to break the awful stillness +in that chamber of death. There they lay, stark and silent, heap upon +heap, like a great draught of fishes which have been hauled to shore +in a drag-net, and have gasped out their lives on the beach. Having +assured himself that he had not done the work negligently, he bade +Telemachus summon the nurse, Eurycleia. Telemachus obeyed, and going +to the door of the women's apartments, he smote upon it, and called +aloud to the nurse. A moment after the bolts were drawn back, and +Eurycleia entered the hall. When she saw Odysseus standing among the +heaps of slain wooers, she opened her mouth to utter a cry of triumph, +but Odysseus checked her, saying: "Hold thy peace, dame, and give not +voice to thy joy: it is an impious thing to exult over the dead. They +are the victims of heaven's righteous law, and I was but the +instrument of divine vengeance. Tell me now which of the women in the +house have dishonoured me, and which of them be blameless." + +"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered the nurse; "fifty +women there are in all in thy house, that card the wool and bear the +yoke of bondage. And of these twelve have been faithless, honouring +neither me nor Penelope, their mistress. But now let me go and tell +the news to thy wife, who all this time has been lying in a deep +sleep." + +"Rouse her not yet," said Odysseus, "but go quickly and send those +guilty women hither." + +While Eurycleia was gone to summon the maid-servants, Telemachus and +the two herdsmen began, by the command of Odysseus, to set the hall in +order, and wash away the traces of slaughter. Presently, with loud +weeping and lamentation, the wretched women entered, and were +compelled to assist in the horrid task. The bodies of the slain were +carried out, and laid in order along the wall of the courtyard. Then +they washed and scoured the tables, and scraped the floor with spades; +and when all was ready Odysseus bade his son and the two others to +drive the women forth, and slay them with the edge of the sword. So +these three drove them into a corner of the courtyard, and Eumæus and +Philoetius drew their swords to slay them. But Telemachus held them +back saying: "Let them die in shame, even as they have lived." So they +took a long ship's cable, which was lying in an outhouse, and +stretched it across an angle of the wall; to this they attached twelve +nooses, and left the women hanging there by the neck until they were +dead. + +A horrid death was reserved for the traitor Melanthius. Dragging him +out into the courtyard, they cut off his nose and ears, and his hands +and feet, and so left him to die. + +After that they washed themselves and went back to the hall. Then +Odysseus bade Eurycleia kindle a fire, and bring sulphur to purify the +chamber. And having thoroughly cleansed the house from the fumes of +slaughter, he sat down to wait for the coming of his wife. + + + + +Odysseus and Penelope + + +I + +Her face beaming with joy, and her feet stumbling over one another in +their haste, Eurycleia ascended to the chamber where Penelope lay +sleeping. "Awake, Penelope, awake!" she cried, standing by the +bedside; "come and see with thine own eyes the fulfilment of all thy +hopes. Odysseus has come home at last, and all the wooers lie slain by +his hand!" + +"Thou art mad, nurse," answered Penelope pettishly, turning in her bed +and rubbing her eyes; "why mockest thou me in my sorrow with thy +folly? and why hast thou disturbed me in the sweetest sleep that ever +I had since the fatal, the accursed day when my lord sailed for Troy? +But for thy years and thy faithful service I would have paid thee +unkindly for this wanton insult" + +"Heaven forbid that I should mock or insult thee, dear child!" cried +the nurse, her eyes filling with tears. "I have told thee naught but +the truth. The stranger whom we thought a beggar was Odysseus himself. +Telemachus knew this all the time, but kept it from thee by the +command of his father." + +"May the gods ever bless thee for these tidings!" said Penelope, +springing from the couch, and throwing her arms round the nurse's +neck. "But tell me truly, how did he with his single hand gain the +mastery over such a multitude?" + +"I saw not how it was done," answered Eurycleia. "I heard but the +groans of the men as they were stricken, for I was shut up with the +handmaids in the women's chamber. When it was over, he called me, and +I found him standing among the slain, like a lion by his prey. It was +a sight to gladden thy heart." + +But Penelope's first impulse of joyful surprise had passed, and a cold +fit of doubt and distrust succeeded, "It cannot be!" she murmured; +"some god has taken the likeness of my husband, and slain the wooers." +Even when Eurycleia told her how she had discovered the scar, while +washing the feet of Odysseus, she remained unshaken in her unbelief. +"The counsels of the gods," she said, "are beyond our knowing, and +they can take upon them disguises too deep for a poor woman's wit. But +come, let us go and see the slaughtered wooers, and their slayer, +whoever he be." + +II + +Odysseus was sitting bowed over the fire, which shone redly on his +face, as he leaned his head upon his hand. He was still clothed in his +beggar's rags, and strangely disfigured by the magic power of Athene; +while the red stains of slaughter, which still lay thick upon him, +served to render his disguise yet deeper. Small wonder then that +Penelope hesitated long to acknowledge him for her husband, as she sat +some way off scanning his features with timid yet attentive gaze, like +one who strives to decipher a blurred and blotted manuscript. More +than once she started up, as if about to fall upon his neck; then the +gleam which had lighted up her face died away, her arms drooped +listlessly at her side, and she remained motionless and cold. + +When this had lasted for some time, Telemachus, who was present, +rebuked his mother in angry terms, saying: "Fie upon thee, my mother! +hast thou no heart at all? Why holdest thou thus aloof from my father, +who has come back to thee after twenty years of suffering and toil? +But 'twas ever thus with thee--thou art harder than stone." + +"My child," answered Penelope, "I am sore amazed; I cannot speak, or +ask any question, or look him in the face. But if this man be indeed +my husband, he knows how to convince me, and scatter all my doubts to +the winds, for there are secrets between us whereof no one knoweth, +save only ourselves." + +Odysseus smiled at his wife's caution. "Not in vain," he thought, "is +she known to all the world as the prudent Penelope." Then, in order to +give her time, he turned to Telemachus and said: "Come not between my +wife and me, Telemachus; we shall know each other in due season. I +have another charge for thee, and do thou mark heedfully what I shall +say. We have slain the noblest in the land, not one, but many, who +leave a host of friends to take up their cause: how then shall we +escape the blood feud? We had best look to it warily and well." + +"Father," answered Telemachus, "thou hast the name of wise, beyond all +living men. Be it thine, therefore, to declare thy counsel, and I will +follow it, to the utmost stretch of my power." + +"Thus, then, shalt thou do," said Odysseus: "let all the household put +on clean raiment, and bid the minstrel take his harp and make sweet +music for the festal dance. Then foot it merrily, everyone, that all +they who pass by the house may think that ye are keeping the marriage +feast. In this wise the rumour of the wooers' death shall not reach +the town until we have had time to collect our men and prepare for our +defence." + +Telemachus went forthwith to carry out his father's orders. The whole +household, men and women, arrayed themselves in festal attire, and +soon the hall echoed to the throbbing notes of the lyre, and the loud +patter of the dancers' feet. And those who heard it from without said +to one another: "So the long wooing of our queen has come to an end at +last! Fickle woman, that could not endure unto the end, and keep faith +with the husband of her youth!" + +III + +After giving his orders to Telemachus, Odysseus had retired to refresh +himself with the bath, and put on fresh raiment, while Penelope +remained seated in her former place. After an interval of some length +he re-entered the hall, and sat down face to face with his wife. But +what miracle was this? The haggard, timeworn beggar was gone, and in +his place sat her husband, as she had known him in the days of old, +with the added dignity which he had gained by twenty years of +strenuous life. But the frost which had lain upon her spirit during +her long period of weary waiting was not easily to be broken, and +still she doubted. After a long silence Odysseus spoke, and now for +the first time his tones had a ring of reproach: "Still not a word for +thy husband, who has come back to thee after twenty years? Surely the +very demon of unbelief possesses thee!" Even then Penelope made no +answer, for she was waiting to put the final test, and at length +Odysseus gave her the opportunity. "Go, Eurycleia," he said, "and +prepare a bed for me; I will leave this iron-hearted wife and go to my +rest." + +"Ay, do so," said Penelope, "take the bed from the chamber which he +built with his own hands, and lay it in another room, that he may +slumber there." This she said to prove him, for the bed and the +chamber had a secret history, known only to herself and her husband +and the faithful nurse. + +Odysseus rose bravely to the test: whether divining his wife's purpose +or not, he exclaimed, with an air of surprise and indignation: "Lady, +what meanest thou by this order? Who hath moved my bed from its place? +He must be of more than mortal skill who could remove it, for it was +fashioned in wondrous wise, and with my own hands I wrought it, to be +a sign and a secret between thee and me. And this was the manner of +the work. Within the courtyard there grew an olive-tree, a fair tree +and a large, with a world of green leaves, and a stem like a stout +pillar. Round this I built the walls of the chamber with close-fitting +stones, and roofed it over, and hung the door on its hinges. Then I +went to work on the tree, lopping off the boughs, and smoothing the +trunk with the adze, so as to fashion it into a bedpost, and beginning +from this I made the frame of a bed, and decorated it with gold and +silver and ivory, and over the frame I stretched broad bands of +ox-hide, stained with bright purple. This I tell thee as a sign by +which thou mayest know me." + +The last shadow was now removed, and before Odysseus had well ended +what he was saying Penelope sprang towards him, threw her arms round +his neck, and covered his face with kisses. "Be not angry with me, my +dear lord," she murmured tenderly, "because I held back so long, and +gave thee not loving welcome, as I do now. Thou art very wise, and +knowest the dangers which beset a lonely woman who is over hasty to +believe when a stranger comes and calls himself her husband. Many +there be that lie in wait to lay snares for a weak and loving heart. +But now I know thee for mine own dear love, and now is the winter of +my widowhood made glorious summer, since I have seen thy face again." + +So they sat locked in each other's arms, that valiant, long-suffering +man, and his faithful wife, two brave and patient souls, parted so +long, and tried so hard, but now united once more in wedded love and +bliss. The hours went by unheeded, and day would have overtaken them +in that trance of delight, had not Athene marked them with pity from +her heavenly seat, and stayed the steeds of the morning in the east, +and prolonged the reign of night, that the joy of that first meeting +might not be broken until they had tasted all its honey to the lees. + + + + +Conclusion + + +I + +Early next day Odysseus rose and donned his armour, and having charged +Penelope to keep close in her chamber, and admit no one into the +house, he set forth to visit Laertes on his farm, attended by +Telemachus and the two faithful herdsmen, all armed to the teeth. +Arrived at the farmhouse he left his companions there, bidding them +prepare the morning meal, and went out alone to find his father. +Passing through the courtyard gate, he entered a large plot of ground, +planted by Laertes as a garden and orchard; and there he found the old +man, who was digging about the roots of a young tree. With strange +emotions Odysseus noted every detail of his dress and figure--the +soiled and tattered coat, the gaiters of clouted leather, the old +gauntlets on his hands, and the goatskin cap. He who had once been the +wealthiest prince in Ithaca had now the appearance of an ancient +serving-man, broken down with years and toil. + +But in the midst of his sorrow a freakish whim came into the head of +Odysseus, characteristic of his subtle and tortuous nature. +Approaching his father, who was still stooping over his work, he said +to him in a disguised voice: "Old man, I perceive that thou art well +skilled in the gardener's art: never saw I a garden better tended--not +a tree, not a shrub, but bears witness to thy fostering care. And be +not wroth with me if I say that is a wonder to see the keeper of so +fair a garden himself so squalid and unkempt. Surely he whom thou +servest must be an ungrateful master. Tell me his name, if thou wilt, +and answer me truly if this be indeed the land of Ithaca to which I am +come, as I heard from a man whom I met by the way. He seemed a +churlish fellow, and would not stay to answer my questions; for I was +fain to ask him concerning a friend whom I once entertained in my +house, a native of Ithaca, as he told me, and a son of one Laertes. +Many days he dwelt with me, eating and drinking of the best, and I +sent him away laden with rich gifts, gold and silver, and costly +raiment." + +"Friend," answered Laertes, shedding tears, "to Ithaca indeed art thou +come, but he of whom thou askest is no longer here. In vain were thy +gifts bestowed, for he who would have repaid thee richly for all thy +kindness hath perished long ago, and his bones lie bleaching on the +bare earth, or at the bottom of the sea. Tell me, how long is it since +thou didst receive him, and who art thou, and where is thy home?" + +"I am a man of Alybas," replied Odysseus, "the son of Apheidas the son +of Polypemon, and Eperitus is my name; and it is now five years since +Odysseus departed from my home. Fair omens attended him on his +starting, and we parted in high hopes that we should meet again in his +own land." + +At these words of Odysseus the poor old man was overwhelmed with +sorrow, and he heaped dust upon his grey head, groaning in bitterness +of spirit. Odysseus was moved with pity at the sight of his distress, +and thinking that he had now tried him enough, he revealed himself, +pointing as proofs to the scar above his knee, and to certain trees +which Laertes had allowed him to call his own when he walked with him, +hand-in-hand, as a little child, through the garden. + +The sudden shock of joyful recognition was too much for the old man, +and he fell fainting into his son's arms. When he was somewhat +recovered they went back together towards the house, and on the way +Odysseus spoke of the slaying of the wooers, and of the danger which +threatened him from the vengeance of their friends. + +II + +Meanwhile the news of the wooers' violent death had spread like +wildfire through the island, and their kinsmen went with loud clamour +to the house of Odysseus to carry away the dead bodies. When this was +done they gathered together at the place of assembly to devise some +plan of vengeance; and Eupeithes, the father of Antinous, made violent +outcry against Odysseus for his great act of savage justice. + +While they were debating, Medon and Phemius appeared on the scene, and +described the manner in which the wooers had met their end. "The hand +of Heaven," said Medon, "was made manifest in the deed. I myself saw +Athene leading the onset, and your sons were laid low like ripe +sheaves before the sickle." This report chilled their courage not a +little; and Halitherses, seeing the effect produced, exerted all his +eloquence to put an end to the blood feud. Nevertheless more than half +of those present persisted in their purpose, and donning their armour +went forth from the town to meet the party of Odysseus. + +The encounter took place in front of the farmhouse, where Odysseus and +the others had just taken their morning meal. Laertes, who seemed to +have recovered all the vigour of his youth, led the attack, and by a +well-aimed cast of his lance struck down Eupeithes, the leader of the +opposing party. This success was followed up by a vigorous charge, in +the midst of which a supernatural voice was heard in the air, striking +terror into the assailants of Odysseus, who turned and fled in wild +panic towards the town. They were hotly pursued, and not a man would +have been left alive had not Zeus himself interposed to stay the +slaughter. By his command Athene acted as mediator between Odysseus +and the kinsmen of the wooers, and an oath of amnesty was taken on +both sides, confirmed with solemn prayer and sacrifice. + + + + +PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES + + +[Transcriber's note: The orignial list contains characters that are +not found in normal ASCII, indicating the long or short stress to be +put on the vowels. These are rendered below by the characters in +[square brackets], thus: A ")" indicates a short vowel, and a "=" +indicates a long. So "hay" would be rendered as "h[=a]" and "aha" +would be "[)a]h[)a]" and so on.] + +Achilles ([)a]kil'ez) +Æetes ([=e]-[=e]'-tez) +Ægæan ([=e]g[=e]'an) +Ægisthus ([=e]gis'thus) +Ægyptus ([=e]gyp'tus) +Æolus ([=e]'[)o]lus) +Æthon ([=e]'thon) +Agamemnon ([)a]g[)a]m[)e]m'non) +Agelaus ([)a]g[)e]l[=a]'us) +Ajax ([=a]'jax) +Alcinous (als[)i]n'-[)o]-us) +Alcmene (alkm[=e]'n[=e]) +Alybas ([=a]l'[)i]bas) +Amphinomus (amph[)i]n'[)o]mus) +Anticleia (ant[)i]kl[=i]'a) +Antilochus (ant[)i]l'[)o]chus) +Antiphates (ant[)i]ph'[)a]t[=e]z) +Antinous (ant[)i]n'[)o]us) +Antiphus (an't[)i]fus) +Apheidas ([)a]f[=i]'das) +Aphrodite ([)a]fr[)o]d[=i]'t[=e]) +Arcady (ar'c[)a]d[)i]) +Arete ([=a]r[=e]'t[=e]) +Arethusa ([)a]r[)e]thy[=u]'s[)a]) +Arnæus (arn[=e]'us) +Artemis (ar't[)e]mis) +Arybas ([)a]'ribas) +Athene ([)a]th[=e]'n[=e]) +Atreus ([=a]'tr[=u]s) +Aurora ([=o]r[=o]'r[)a]) + +Boötes (b[)o][=o]'t[=e]z) + +Calypso (k[)a]l[)i]p's[=o]) +Cassandra (cassan'dr[)a]) +Charybdis (k[)a]rib'dis) +Cimmerians (simm[)e]'r[)i]ans) +Circe (s[)i]r's[=e]) +Clytæmnestra (cl[=i]t[=e]mn[)e]s'tr[)a]) +Cnosus (kn[=o]'s[)u]s) +Ctesippus (kt[)e]'s[)i]pus) +Ctesius (kt[=e]'s[)i]us) +Cyclopes (s[=i]kl[=o]'p[=e]z) +Cyclops (s[=i]'klops) + +Deiphobus (d[=e][)i]f'[)o]bus) +Delos (d[)e]'los) +Demeter (d[=e]m[=e]'t[=e]r) +Demodocus (d[=e]m[)o]'d[)o]cus) +Deucalion (d[=u]ka'l[)i]on) +Diomede (d[)i]'[)o]meed) +Dodona (d[=o]-d[=o]'n[)a]) +Dolius (d[)o]l'[)i]us) +Dulichium (dy[=u]l[)i]'-k[)i]um) + +Eidothea ([=i]d[=o]'th[)i]-[)e][)a]) +Elis ([=e]'lis) +Elpenor ([)e]lp[=e]'n[=o]r) +Eperitus ([)e]p[=e]'r[)i]tus) +Ephialtes ([)e]f[)i]al't[=e]z) +Ephyra ([)e]f'[)i]r[)a]) +Eriphyle ([)e]r[)i]f[=i]'l[=e]) +Euboea (y[=u]b[=e]'a) +Eumæus (y[=u]m[=e]'us) +Eupeithes (y[=u]p[=i]'th[=e]z) +Eurymachus (y[=u]r[)i]'m[)a]kus) +Eurynomus (y[=u]r[)i]'n[)o]mus) +Eurycleia (y[=u]r[=i]cl[=i]'[)a]) +Euryalus (y[=u]r[=i]'[)a]lus) +Eurylochus (y[=u]r[)i]l'[)o]kus) +Eurydamas (y[=u]r[)i]d'[)a]mas) +Eurytus (y[=u]'r[)i]tus) + +Hades (h[=a]'d[=e]z) +Halitherses (h[)a]l[)i]ther's[=e]z) +Helios (h[)e]'l[)i]os) +Hephæstus (h[=e]f[=e]s'tus) +Hera (h[=e]'r[)a]) +Hercules (her'c[)u]l[=e]z) +Hermes (her'm[=e]z) + +Iasion ([=i][)a]'s[)i]on) +Icarius ([=i]k[)a]'r[)i]us) +Idomeneus ([=i]d[=o]m'[)e]ny[=u]s) +Ino ([=i]'n[)o]) +Iphimedeia (if[)i]m[)e]d[=i]'[)a]) +Iphitus (if'[)i]tus) +Iphthime (ifth[=i]'m[=e]) +Irus ([=i]'rus) +Ithaca ([)i]th'[)a]c[)a]) + +Lacedæmon (l[)a]s[)e]d[=e]'mon) +Laertes (l[=a][)e]r't[=e]z) +Læstrygonia (l[=e]str[)i]g[)o]'n[)i][)a]) +Leda (l[=e]'d[)a]) +Leiodes (l[=i][=o]'d[=e]z) +Lesbos (l[)e]z'bos) +Leto (l[=e]'t[=o]) + +Malea (m[)a]l'[)e][)a]) +Medon (med'on) +Melampus (m[)e]lam'pus) +Melanthius (m[)e]lan'th[)i]us) +Melantho (m[)e]lan'th[=o]) +Menelaus (m[)e]n[)e]l[=a]'us) +Mentes (men'tez) +Mentor (men't[=o]r) +Messene (mess[=e]'n[=e]) +Minos (m[=i]'nos) +Mycenæ (m[=i]s[=e]'n[=e]) + +Nausicaa (naus[)i]k'[)a]-[)a]) +Neleus (n[=e]'ly[=u]s) +Neoptolemus (neopt[)o]l'[)e]mus) +Neritus (n[=e]'r[)i]tus) +Nestor (n[)e]s't[=o]r) + +Oceanus (os[=e]'anus) +Odysseus (odis'y[=u]s) +Orestes ([)o]r[)e]s't[=e]z) +Orion ([=o]r[=i]'on) +Ormenius (orm[)e]n'[)i]us) +Orsilochus (ors[)i]l'[)o]kus) +Ortygia (ort[)i]'g[)i][)a]) +Otus ([)o]'tus) + +Patroclus (p[)a]tr[)o]'clus) +Peiræus (p[=i]r[=e]'us) +Peleus (p[=e]'ly[=u]s) +Pelides (p[)e]l[=i]'d[=e]z) +Pelion (p[=e]'l[)i]on) +Penelope (p[=e]n[)e]l'[)o]p[=e]) +Persephone (pers[)e]f'[)o]n[=e]) +Pharos (f[=a]'ros) +Phæacia (f[=e][=a]'si[)a]) +Phemius (f[=e]'m[)i]us) +Pheræ (f[=e]'r[=e]) +Philoctetes (f[)i]lokt[=e]'t[=e]z) +Philoetius (f[)i]l[=e]'t[)i]us) +Pisistratus (p[=i]sis'tr[)a]tus) +Pleiades (pl[=i]'ad[=e]z) +Polycaste (p[)o]l[)i]cas't[=e]) +Polydamna (p[)o]l[)i]dam'na) +Polypemon (p[)o]l[)i]p[=e]'mon) +Polyphemus (p[)o]l[)i]f[=e]'mus) +Poseidon (p[)o]s[=i]'don) +Proteus (pr[=o]'ty[=u]s) +Pylos (p[=i]'los) + +Same (s[=a]'m[=e]) +Scylla (sil'l[)a]) +Scyros (sk[=i]'ros) +Sirens (s[=i]'rens) +Sisyphus (s[)i]'s[)i]fus) +Sunium (sy[=u]'n[)i]um) + +Tantalus (tan't[)a]lus) +Teiresias (t[=i]r[)e]'s[)i]as) +Telamon (t[)e]l'[)a]mon) +Telemachus (t[=e]l[=e]'m[)a]kus) +Tenedos (t[)e]n'[)e]dos) +Theoclymenus (th[)e][)o]cly'm[)e]nus) +Thesprotia (th[)e]spr[=o]'t[=i][)a]) +Thon (th[=o]n) +Tityos (t[)i]t'[)i]os) +Tyndareus (tin'd[)a]ry[=u]s) + +Zacynthus (z[)a]kin'thus) +Zeus (zy[=u]s) + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY*** + + +******* This file should be named 13725-8.txt or 13725-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/7/2/13725 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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L. Havell</title> + <style type="text/css"> + body {margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + text-align: justify; + font-family: 'Californian FB','Times New Roman',serif + } + h1,h2,h3 {text-align: center} + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 9pt;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Stories from the Odyssey, by H. L. Havell</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Stories from the Odyssey</p> +<p>Author: H. L. Havell</p> +<p>Release Date: October 12, 2004 [eBook #13725]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Fred Robinson,<br> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3></center><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus1lg.jpg" name="Illus1"><img + title="Reading Homer (click to enlarge)" alt="Reading Homer" + src="images/illus1.png" /></a> +<br> +<br> +<p><span style="font-size: x-large">STORIES FROM</span> +<br> +<span style="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold">THE ODYSSEY</span></p> +<br> +<p>RETOLD BY</p> +<p style="font-size: large">H. L. HAVELL B.A.</p> +<p>LATE READER IN ENGLISH IN THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE<br> +FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OXFORD</p> +<p>Author of "Stories from Herodotus" "Stories from Greek Tragedy"<br> +"Stories from the Æneid" "Stories from the Iliad" etc.</p><br> + +<p style="margin-left: 30%; text-align: left"><i>"O well for him whose will is strong!<br> +He suffers, but he will not suffer long;<br> +He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong:<br> +For him nor moves the loud world's random mock<br> +Nor all Calamity's hugest waves confound<br> +Who seems a promontory of rock,<br> +That compass'd round with turbulent sound<br> +In middle ocean meets the surging shock,<br> +Tempest-buffeted, citadel-crown'd."</i></p> +<p style="margin-right: 30%; text-align: right">TENNYSON</p> + +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 50%; height: 2px;"> +<br> +<br> +<br> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<p><a href="#intro">INTRODUCTION</a></p> + +<p><a href="#chap01">TELEMACHUS, PENELOPE, AND THE SUITORS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap02">THE ASSEMBLY; THE VOYAGE OF TELEMACHUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap03">THE VISIT TO NESTOR AT PYLOS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap04">TELEMACHUS AT SPARTA</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap05">ODYSSEUS AND CALYPSO</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap06">ODYSSEUS AMONG THE PHÆACIANS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap07">THE WANDERINGS OF ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap08">THE VISIT TO HADES</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap09">THE SIRENS; SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS; THRINACIA</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap10">ODYSSEUS LANDS IN ITHACA</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap11">ODYSSEUS AND EUMÆUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap12">THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap13">THE MEETING OF TELEMACHUS AND ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap14">THE HOME-COMING OF ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap15">THE BEGGAR IRUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap16">PENELOPE AND THE WOOERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap17">ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap18">THE END DRAWS NEAR; SIGNS AND WONDERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap19">THE BOW OF ODYSSEUS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap20">THE SLAYING OF THE WOOERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap21">ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE</a></p> +<p><a href="#chap22">CONCLUSION</a></p> +<p><a href="#names">PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES</a></p> +<br> +<hr style="width: 50%; height: 2px;"> +<br> +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<p><a href="#Illus1">READING FROM HOMER</a><br><i>(L. Alma Tadema)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus2">PENELOPE</a><br><i>(The Vatican, Rome)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus3">TELEMACHUS DEPARTING FROM NESTOR</a><br><i>(Henry Howard)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus4">ODYSSEUS AND NAUSICAÄ</a><br><i>(Charles Gleyre)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus5">ODYSSEUS AND POLYPHEMUS</a><br><i>(J.M.W. Turner)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus6">CIRCE</a><br><i>(Sir E. Burne-Jones)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus7">THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS</a><br><i>(L.F. Schützenberger)</i></p> +<p><a href="#Illus8">ODYSSEUS AND EURYCLEIA</a><br><i>(Christian G. Heyne)</i></p> +<br> +<hr style="width: 50%; height: 2px;"> +<br> +</div> +<a name="intro"></a><h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> + +<p>The impersonal character of the Homeric poems has left us entirely in +the dark as to the birthplace, the history, and the date, of their +author. So complete is the darkness which surrounds the name of Homer +that his very existence has been disputed, and his works have been +declared to be an ingenious compilation, drawn from the productions of +a multitude of singers. It is not my intention here to enter into the +endless and barren controversy which has raged round this question. It +will be more to the purpose to try and form some general idea of the +characteristics of the Greek Epic; and to do this it is necessary to +give a brief review of the political and social conditions in which it +was produced.</p> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The world as known to Homer is a mere fragment of territory, including +a good part of the mainland of Greece, with the islands and coast +districts of the Ægæan. Outside of these limits his knowledge of +geography is narrow indeed. He has heard of Sicily, which he speaks of +under the name of Thrinacia; and he speaks once of Libya, or the north +coast of Africa, as a district famous for its breed of sheep. There is +one vague reference to the vast Scythian or Tartar race (called by +Homer Thracians), who live on the milk of mares; and he mentions a +copper-coloured people, the "Red-faces," who dwell far remote in the +east and west. The Nile is mentioned, under the name of Ægyptus; and +the Egyptians are celebrated by the poet as a people skilled in +medicine, a statement which is repeated by Herodotus. The Phœnicians +appear several times in the <i>Odyssey</i>, and we hear once or twice of +the Sidonians, as skilled workers in metal. As soon as we pass these +boundaries, we enter at once into the region of fairyland.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>In speaking of the religion of the Homeric Greeks we have to draw a +distinction between the <i>Iliad</i> and the <i>Odyssey</i>. In the <i>Iliad</i> the +gods play a much livelier and more human part than in the latter poem, +and it is highly remarkable that the only comic scenes in the first +and greatest of epics are those in which the gods are the chief +actors—as when the lame Hephæstus takes upon him the office of +cupbearer at the Olympian banquet, or when Artemis gets her ears boxed +by the angry Hera. It would almost seem as if there were a vein of +deliberate satire running through these descriptions, so daring is the +treatment of the divine personages.</p> + +<p>In the <i>Odyssey</i>, on the other hand, religion has become more +spiritual. Olympus is no longer the mountain of that name, but a vague +term, like our "heaven," denoting a place remote from all earthly +cares and passions, a far-off abode in the stainless ether, where the +gods dwell in everlasting peace, and from which they occasionally +descend, to give an eye to the righteous and unrighteous deeds of men.</p> + +<p>In his conception of the state of the soul after death Homer is very +interesting. His <i>Hades</i>, or place of departed spirits, is a dim, +shadowy region beyond the setting of the sun, where, after life's +trials are over, the souls of men keep up a faint and feeble being. It +is highly significant that the word which in Homer means "self" has +also the meaning of "body"—showing how intimately the sense of +personal identity was associated with the condition of bodily +existence. The disembodied spirit is compared to a shadow, a dream, or +a waft of smoke. "Alas!" cries Achilles, after a visit from the ghost +of Patroclus, "I perceive that even in the halls of Hades there is a +spirit and a phantom, but understanding none at all"; for the mental +condition of these cold, uncomfortable ghosts is as feeble as their +bodily form is shadowy and unsubstantial. They hover about with a +fitful motion, uttering thin, gibbering cries, like the voice of a +bat, and before they can obtain strength to converse with a visitor +from the other world, they have to be fortified by a draught of fresh +blood. The subject is summed up by Achilles, when Odysseus felicitates +him on the honour which he enjoys, even in Hades: "Tell me not of +comfort in death," he says: "I had rather be the thrall of the poorest +wight that ever tilled a thankless soil for bread, than rule as king +over all the shades of the departed."</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>Homeric society is essentially aristocratic. At its head stands the +king, who may be a great potentate, like Agamemnon, ruling over a wide +extent of territory, or a petty prince, like Odysseus, who exercises a +sort of patriarchal authority within the limits of a small island. The +person of the king is sacred, and his office is hereditary. He bears +the title of <i>Diogenes</i>, "Jove-born," and is under the especial +protection of the supreme ruler of Olympus. He is leader in war, chief +judge, president of the council of elders, and representative of the +state at the public sacrifices. The symbol of his office is the +sceptre, which in some cases is handed down as an heirloom from father +to son.</p> + +<p>Next to the king stand the elders, a title which has no reference to +age, but merely denotes those of noble birth and breeding. The elders +form a senate, or deliberative body, before which all questions of +public importance are laid by the king. Their decisions are afterwards +communicated to the general assembly of the people, who signify their +approval or dissent by tumultuous cries, but have no power of altering +or reversing the measures proposed by the nobles. Thus we have already +the three main elements of political life: king, lords, and +commons—though the position of the last is at present almost entirely +passive.</p> + +<h3>IV</h3> + +<p>The morality of the Homeric age is such as we may expect to find among +a people which has only partially emerged from barbarism. Crimes of +violence are very common, and a familiar figure in the society of this +period is that of the fugitive, who "has slain a man," and is flying +from the vengeance of his family. Patroclus, when a mere boy, kills +his youthful playmate in a quarrel over a game of knucklebones—an +incident which may be seen illustrated in one of the statues in the +British Museum. One of the typical scenes of Hellenic life depicted on +the shield of Achilles is a trial for homicide; and such cases were of +so frequent occurrence that they afford materials for a simile in the +last book of the <i>Iliad</i>.</p> + +<p>Where life is held so cheap, opinion is not likely to be very strict +in matters of property. And we find accordingly a general acquiescence +in "the good old rule, the ancient plan, that they may take who have +the power, and they may keep who can." Cattle-lifting is as common as +it formerly was on the Scottish border. The bold buccaneer is a +character as familiar as in the good old days when Drake and Raleigh +singed the Spanish king's beard, with this important difference, that +the buccaneer of ancient Greece plundered Greek and barbarian with +fine impartiality. A common question addressed to persons newly +arrived from the sea is, "Are you a merchant, a traveller, or a +pirate?" And this curious query implies no reproach, and calls for no +resentment. Still more startling are the terms in which Autolycus, the +maternal grandfather of Odysseus, is spoken of. This worthy, we are +informed, "surpassed all mankind in thieving and lying"; and the +information is given in a manner which shows that the poet intended it +as a grave compliment. In another passage the same hero is celebrated +as an accomplished burglar. So low was the standard of Homeric ethics +in this respect; and even in the historical age of Greece, want of +honesty and want of truthfulness were too often conspicuous failings +in some of her most famous men.</p> + +<p>Even more shocking to the moral sense is the wild ferocity which +sometimes breaks out in the language and conduct of both men and +women. The horrible practice of mutilating the dead after a battle is +viewed with indifference, and even with complacency, by the bravest +warriors. Even Patroclus, the most amiable of the heroes in the +<i>Iliad</i>, proposes to inflict this dastardly outrage on the body of the +fallen Sarpedon. Achilles drags the body of Hector behind his chariot +from the battlefield, and keeps it in his tent for many days, that he +may repeat this hideous form of vengeance in honour of his slaughtered +friend. When the dying Hector begs him to restore his body to the +Trojans for burial he replies with savage taunts, and wishes that he +could find it in his heart to carve the flesh of Hector and eat it +raw! And Hecuba, the venerable Queen of Troy, expresses herself in +similar terms when Priam is preparing to set forth on his mission to +the tent of Achilles.</p> + +<p>Turning now to the more attractive side of the picture, we shall find +much to admire in the character of Homer's heroes. In the first place +we have to note their intense vitality and keen sense of pleasure, +natural to a young and vigorous people. The outlook on life is +generally bright and cheerful, and there is hardly any trace of that +corroding pessimism which meets us in later literature. Cases of +suicide, so common in the tragedians, are almost unknown.</p> + +<p>In one respect, and that too a point of the very highest importance, +the Greeks of this age were far in advance of those who came after +them, and not behind the most polished nations of modern Europe. We +refer to the beauty, the tenderness, and the purity of their domestic +relations. The whole story of the <i>Odyssey</i> is founded on the faithful +wedded love of Odysseus and Penelope, and the contrasted example of +Agamemnon and his demon wife is repeatedly held up to scorn and +abhorrence. The world's poetry affords no nobler scene than the +parting of Hector and Andromache in the <i>Iliad</i>, nor has the ideal of +perfect marriage ever found grander expression than in the words +addressed by Odysseus to Nausicaä: "There is nothing mightier and +nobler than when man and wife are of one mind and heart in a house, a +grief to their foes, and to their friends a great joy, but their own +hearts know it best."<sup><a href="#foot01" name="footret01">1</a></sup></p> + +<p>Hospitality in a primitive state of society, where inns are unknown, +is not so much a virtue as a necessity. Even in these early times the +Greeks, within the limits of their little world, were great +travellers, and their swift chariots, and galleys propelled by sail +and oar, enabled them to make considerable journeys with speed and +safety. Arrived at their destination for the night they were sure of a +warm welcome at the first house at which they presented themselves; +and he who played the host on one occasion expected and found a like +return when, perhaps years afterwards, he was brought by business or +pleasure to the home of his former guest. Nor were these privileges +confined to the wealthy and noble, who were able, when the time came, +to make payment in kind, but the poorest and most helpless outcast, +the beggar, the fugitive, and the exile, found countenance and +protection, when he made his plea in the name of Zeus, the god of +hospitality.</p> + +<h3>V</h3> + +<p>This frankness and simplicity of manners runs through the whole life +of the Homeric Greek, and is reflected in every page of the two great +epics which are the lasting monuments of that bright and happy age. As +civilisation advances, and life becomes more complicated and +artificial, human activity tends more and more to split up into an +infinite number of minute occupations, and the whole time and energy +of each individual are not more than sufficient to make him master in +some little corner of art, science, or industry. A vast system of +commerce brings the products of the whole world to our doors; and it +is almost appalling to think of the millions of toiling hands and busy +brains which must pass all their days in unceasing toil, in order that +the humblest citizen may find his daily wants supplied. To give only +one example: how vast and tremendous is the machinery which must be +set at work before a single letter or post-card can reach its +destination! This multiplication of needs, and endless subdivision of +labour, too often results in stunting and crippling the development of +the individual, so that it becomes harder, as time advances, to find a +complete man, with all his faculties matured by equable and harmonious +growth.</p> + +<p>Very different were the conditions of life in the Homeric age. Then +the wealthy man's house was a little world in itself, capable of +supplying all the simple wants of its inhabitants. The women spun wool +and flax, the produce of the estate, and wove them into cloth and +linen, to be dyed and wrought into garments by the same skilful hands. +On the sunny slopes of the hills within sight of the doors the grapes +were ripening against the happy time of vintage, when merry troops of +children would bring them home with dance and song to be trodden in +the winepress. Nearer at hand was the well-kept orchard, bowing under +its burden of apples, pears, and figs; and groves of grey olive-trees +promised abundance of oil. In the valleys waved rich harvests of wheat +and barley, which were reaped, threshed, ground, and made into bread, +by the master's thralls. Herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep and goats, +roved on the broad upland pastures, and in the forest multitudes of +swine were fattening on the beech-mast and acorns.</p> + +<p>And the owner of all these blessings was no luxurious drone, living in +idleness on the labour of other men's hands. He was, in the fullest +sense of the word, the father of his household. His was the vigilant +eye which watched and directed every member in the little army of +workers, and his the generous hand which dealt out bountiful reward +for faithful service. If need were he could take his share in the +hardest field labour, and plough a straight furrow, or mow a heavy +crop of grass from dawn till sunset without breaking his fast. Nothing +was too great or too little to engage his attention, as the necessity +arose. He was a warrior, whose single prowess might go far in deciding +the issue of a hard-fought battle—an orator, discoursing with weighty +eloquence on grave questions of state—a judge, whose decisions helped +to build up the as yet unwritten code of law. Descending from these +high altitudes, he could take up his bow and spear, and go forth to +hunt the boar and the stag, or wield the woodman's axe, or the +carpenter's saw and chisel. He could kill, dress, and serve his own +dinner; and when the strenuous day was over, he could tune the harp, +discourse sweet music, and sing of the deeds of heroes and gods.</p> + +<p>Such was the versatility, and such the many-sided energy, of the Greek +as he appears in the <i>Iliad</i> and <i>Odyssey</i>. And as these two poems +contain the elements of all subsequent thought and progress in the +Greek nation, so in the typical character of Odysseus are concentrated +all the qualities which distinguish the individual Greek—his +insatiable curiosity, which left no field of thought unexplored—his +spirit of daring enterprise, which carried the banner of civilisation +to the borders of India and the Straits of Gibraltar—and his subtlety +and craft, which in a later age made him a byword to the grave +moralists of Rome.</p> + +<p>In the <i>Iliad</i> Odysseus is constantly exhibited as a contrast to the +youthful Achilles. Wherever prudence, experience, and policy, are +required, Odysseus comes to the front. In Achilles, with his furious +passions and ill-regulated impulses, there is always something of the +barbarian; while Odysseus in all his actions obeys the voice of +reason. It will readily be seen that such a character, essentially +intellectual, always moving within due measure, never breaking out +into eccentricity or excess, would appeal less to the popular +imagination than the fiery nature of Pelides, "strenuous, passionate, +implacable, and fierce." And on this ground we may partly explain the +unamiable light in which Odysseus appears in later Greek literature. +Already in Pindar we find him singled out for disapproval. In +Sophocles he has sunk still lower; and in Euripides his degradation is +completed.</p> + +<h3>VI</h3> + +<p>Space does not allow us to give a detailed criticism of the <i>Odyssey</i> +as a poem, and determine its relation to the <i>Iliad</i>. We must content +ourselves with quoting the words of the most eloquent of ancient +critics, which sum up the subject with admirable brevity and insight: +"Homer in his <i>Odyssey</i> may be compared to the setting sun: he is +still as great as ever, but he has lost his fervent heat. The strain +is now pitched in a lower key than in the 'Tale of Troy divine': we +begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or +sinks, that continuous current of moving incidents, those rapid +transitions, that force of eloquence, that opulence of imagery which +is ever true to nature. Like the sea when it retires upon itself and +leaves its shores waste and bare, henceforth the tide of sublimity +begins to ebb, and draws us away into the dim region of myth and +legend."<sup><a href="#foot02" name="footret02">2</a></sup></p> + +<a name="foot01"></a><p>1. Butcher and Lang's translation. <a href="#footret01">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot02"></a><p>2. Longinus: "On the Sublime." Translated by H.L. Havell, +B.A. p. 20. Macmillan & Co. <a href="#footret02">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY</h1> + +<a name="chap01"></a><h2>Telemachus, Penelope, and the Suitors</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>In a high, level spot, commanding a view of the sea, stands the house +of Odysseus, the mightiest prince in Ithaca. It is a spacious +building, two storeys high, constructed entirely of wood, and +surrounded on all sides by a strong wooden fence. Within the +enclosure, and in front of the house, is a wide courtyard, containing +the stables, and other offices of the household.</p> + +<a href="images/illus2lg.jpg" name="Illus2"><img + title="Penelope (click to enlarge)" alt="Penelope" align="left" + src="images/illus2.png" /></a> + +<p>A proud maiden was Penelope, when Odysseus wedded her in her youthful +bloom, and made her the mistress of his fair dwelling and his rich +domain. One happy year they lived together, and a son was born to +them, whom they named Telemachus. Then war arose between Greece and +Asia, and Odysseus was summoned to join the train of chieftains who +followed Agamemnon to win back Helen, his brother's wife. Ten years +the war lasted; then Troy was taken, and those who had survived the +struggle returned to their homes. Among these was Odysseus, who set +sail with joyful heart, hoping, before many days were passed, to take +up anew the thread of domestic happiness which had been so rudely +broken. But since that hour he has vanished from sight, and for ten +long years from the fall of Troy the house has been mourning its +absent lord.</p> + +<p>During the last three years a new trouble has been present, to fill +the cup of Penelope's sorrow to the brim. A host of suitors, drawn +from the most powerful families in Ithaca and the neighbouring +islands, have beset the house of Odysseus, desiring to wed his wife +and possess her wealth. All her friends urge her to make choice of a +husband from that clamorous band; for no one now believes that there +is any hope left of Odysseus' return. Only Penelope still clings to +the belief that he is yet living, and will one day come home. So for +three years she has put them off by a cunning trick. She began to +weave a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, promising that, as soon +as the garment was finished, she would wed one of the suitors. Then +all day long she wove that choice web; and every night she undid the +work of the day, unravelling the threads which she had woven. So for +three years she beguiled the suitors, but at last she was betrayed by +her handmaids, and the fraud was discovered. The princes upbraided her +loudly for her deceit, and became more importunate than ever. The +substance of Odysseus was wasting away; for day after day the wooers +came thronging to the house, a hundred strong, and feasted at the +expense of its absent master, and drank up his wine.</p> + +<p>No hope seems left to the heartbroken, faithful wife. Even her son has +grown impatient at the waste of his goods, and urges her to make the +hard choice, and the hateful hour is at hand which will part her for +ever from the scene of her brief wedded joy.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>It was the hour of noon, and the sun was beating hot on the rocky +hills of Ithaca, when a solitary wayfarer was seen approaching the +outer gateway which led into the courtyard of Odysseus' house. He was +a man of middle age, dressed like a chieftain, and carrying a long +spear in his hand. Passing through the covered gateway he halted +abruptly, and gazed in astonishment at the strange sight which met his +eyes. All was noise and bustle in the courtyard, where a busy troop of +servants were preparing the materials for a great feast. Some were +carrying smoking joints of roast meat, others were filling huge bowls +with wine and water, and others were washing the tables and setting +them out to dry. In the portico before the house sat a great company +of young nobles, comely of aspect, and daintily attired, taking their +ease on couches of raw ox-hide, and playing at draughts to while away +the time until the banquet should be ready. Loud was their talk, and +boisterous their laughter, as of men who have no respect for +themselves or for others. "Surely this was the house of Odysseus," +murmured the stranger to himself, "but now it seems like a den of +thieves. But who is that tall and goodly lad, who sits apart, with +gloomy brow, and seems ill-pleased with the doings of that riotous +crew? Surely I should know that face, the very face of my old friend +as I knew him long years ago."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, the youth who had attracted his notice glanced in his +direction, and seeing a stranger standing unheeded at the entrance, he +rose from his seat and came with hasty step and heightened colour +towards him. "Forgive me, friend," he said, with hand outstretched in +welcome, "that I marked thee not before. My thoughts were far away. +But come into the house, and sit down to meat, and when thou hast +eaten we will inquire the reason of thy coming."</p> + +<p>So saying, and taking the stranger's spear, he led him into the great +hall of the house, and sat down with him in a corner, remote from the +noise of the revel. And a handmaid bare water in a golden ewer, and +poured it over their hands into a basin of silver; and when they had +washed, a table was set before them, heaped with delicate fare. Then +host and guest took their meal together, and comforted their hearts +with wine.</p> + +<p>Before they had finished, the whole company came trooping in from the +courtyard, and filled the room with uproar, calling aloud for food and +drink. Not a chair was left empty, and the servants hurried to and +fro, supplying the wants of these unwelcome visitors. Vast quantities +of flesh were consumed, and many a stout jar of wine was drained to +the dregs, to supply the wants of that greedy multitude.</p> + +<p>When at last their hunger was appeased, and every goblet stood empty, +Phemius, the minstrel, stood up in their midst, and after striking a +few chords on his harp, began to sing a famous lay. Then the youth who +had been entertaining the stranger drew closer his chair, and thus +addressed him, speaking low in his ear: "Thou seest what fair company +we keep, how wanton they are, and how gay. Yet there was once a man +who would have driven them, like beaten hounds, from this hall, even +he whose substance they are devouring. But his bones lie whitening at +the bottom of the sea, and we who are left must tamely suffer this +wrong. But now thou hast eaten, and I may question thee without +reproach. Say, therefore, who art thou, and where is thy home? Comest +thou for the first time to Ithaca, or art thou an old friend of this +house, bound to us by ties of ancient hospitality?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Mentes," answered the stranger, "and I am a prince of the +Taphians, a bold race of sailors. I am a friend of this house, well +known to its master, Odysseus, and his father, Laertes. Be of good +cheer, for he whom thou mournest is not dead, nor shall his coming be +much longer delayed. But tell me now of a truth, art not thou the son +of that man? I knew him well, and thou hast the very face and eyes of +Odysseus."</p> + +<p>"My mother calls me his son," replied the youth, who was indeed +Telemachus himself, "and I am bound to believe her. Would that it were +otherwise! I have little cause to bless my birth."</p> + +<p>"Yet shalt thou surely be blest," said Mentes; "thou art not unmarked +of the eye of Heaven. But answer me once more, what means this lawless +riot in the house? And what cause has brought all these men hither?"</p> + +<p>"This also thou shalt know," replied Telemachus. "These are the +princes who have come to woo my mother; and while she keeps them +waiting for her answer they eat up my father's goods. Ere long, +methinks, they will make an end of me also."</p> + +<p>"Fit wooers indeed for the wife of such a man!" said Mentes with a +bitter smile. "Would that he were standing among them now as I saw him +once in my father's house, armed with helmet and shield and spear! He +would soon wed them to another bride. But whether it be God's will +that he return or not, 'tis for thee to devise means to drive these +men from thy house. Take heed, therefore, to my words, and do as I bid +thee. To-morrow thou shalt summon the suitors to the place of +assembly, and charge them that they depart to their homes. And do thou +thyself fit out a ship, with twenty rowers, and get thee to Pylos, +where the aged Nestor dwells, and inquire of him concerning thy +father. From Pylos proceed to Sparta, the kingdom of Menelaus; he was +the last of the Greeks to reach home, after the fall of Troy; and +perchance thou mayest learn something from him. And if thou hearest +sure tidings of thy father's death, then get thee home, and raise a +tomb to his memory, and keep his funeral feast. Then let thy mother +wed whom she will; and if these men still beset thee, thou must devise +means to slay them, either by guile or openly. Thou art now a man, and +must play a man's part. Hast thou not heard of the fame which Orestes +won, when he slew the murderer of his sire? Be thou valiant, even as +he; tall thou art, and fair, and shouldst be a stout man of thy hands. +But 'tis time for me to be going; my ship awaits me in the harbour, +and my comrades will be tired of waiting for me."</p> + +<p>"Stay yet awhile," answered Telemachus, "until thou hast refreshed +thyself with the bath; and I will give thee a costly gift to bear with +thee as a memorial of thy visit." But even as he spoke Mentes rose +from his seat and, gliding like a shadow through the sunlit doorway, +disappeared. Telemachus followed, in wonder and displeasure; but no +trace of the strange visitor was to be seen. Looking upward he saw a +great sea-eagle winging his way towards the shore; and a voice seemed +to whisper in his ear: "No mortal was thy guest, but the great goddess +Athene, daughter of Zeus, and ever thy father's true comrade and +faithful ally."</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>With a strange elation of spirits Telemachus returned to the hall, and +sat down among the suitors. Hitherto he had shown a certain weakness +and indecision of character, natural in a young lad, who had grown up +without the strong guiding hand of a father, and who, since the first +dawn of his manhood, had been surrounded by a host of subtle foes. But +the words of Athene have gone home, and he resolves that from this +hour he will take his proper place in the house as his mother's +guardian and the heir of a great prince.</p> + +<p>There was an unwonted stillness among that lawless troop, and they sat +silent and attentive in the great, dimly lighted chamber. For the +minstrel was singing a sweet and solemn strain, which told of the +home-coming of the Greeks from Troy, and of all the disasters which +befell them on the way. Suddenly the singer paused in the midst of his +lay, for his fine ear had caught the sound of a sobbing sigh. Looking +round, he saw a tall and stately lady standing in the doorway which +led to the women's apartments at the back of the house. She was +closely veiled, but he instantly recognised the form of Penelope, his +beloved mistress.</p> + +<p>"Phemius," said Penelope, in a tone of gentle reproach, "hast thou no +other lay to sing, but must needs recite this tale of woe, which fills +my soul with tears, by calling up the image of him for whom I sorrow +night and day?"</p> + +<p>Phemius stood abashed, and ventured no reply; but Telemachus answered +for him. "Mother," he said, "blame not the sweet minstrel for his +song. The bard is not the author of the woes of which he sings, but +Zeus assigns to each his portion of good and ill; and thou must submit +to his ordinance, like many another lady who has lost her lord. Thou +hast thy province in the house, and I mine; thine is to govern thy +handmaids, and mine to take the lead where the men are gathered +together. And I say that the minstrel has chosen well."</p> + +<p>There was a new note of command in the voice of Telemachus as he +uttered these words. Penelope heard it, and wondered what change had +come over her son; but a hundred bold eyes were gazing insolently at +her, and without another word she turned away, and ascended the steep +stairs which led to her bower. There she reclined on a couch, and her +tears flowed freely; for the song of Phemius had reopened the fountain +of her grief. Presently the sound of sobbing died away, and she drew +her breath gently in a sweet and placid sleep.</p> + +<p>The sudden appearance of Penelope had excited the suitors, and they +began to brawl noisily among themselves. Presently Telemachus raised +his voice, commanding silence for the minstrel. "And I have something +else to say unto you," he added. "To-morrow at dawn I bid you come to +the place of assembly, that we may make an end of these wild doings in +my house. I will bear it no longer, but will publish your evil deeds +to the ears of gods and men."</p> + +<p>Among the suitors there was a certain Antinous, a tall and stout +fellow, of commanding presence, who was looked up to by the others as +a sort of leader, being the boldest and most brutal in the band. And +now he answered for the rest "Heaven speed thy boasting, young +braggart!" he cried in rude and jeering tones. "It will be a happy day +for the men of Ithaca when they have thee for their king."</p> + +<p>"I claim not the kingdom," answered Telemachus firmly, "but I am +resolved to be master in my own house."</p> + +<p>By the side of Antinous sat Eurymachus, who was next to him in power +and rank. This was a smooth and subtle villain, not less dangerous +than Antinous, but glib and plausible of speech. And he too made +answer after his kind: "Telemachus, thou sayest well, and none can +dispute thy right. But with thy good leave I would ask thee concerning +the stranger. He seemed a goodly man; but why did he start up and +leave us so suddenly? Did he bring any tidings of thy father?"</p> + +<p>"There can be no tidings of him," answered Telemachus sadly, "except +that we shall never see him again. And as to this stranger, it was +Mentes, a friend of my father's, and prince of the Taphians."</p> + +<p>Night was now coming on, the suitors departed to their homes, and +Telemachus, who meditated an early start next day, retired early to +his chamber. The room where he slept stood in the courtyard, apart +from the house, and was reached by a stairway. He was attended by an +aged dame, Eurycleia, who had nursed him in his infancy. And all night +long he lay sleepless, pondering on the perils and the adventures +which awaited him.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap02"></a><h2>The Assembly; The Voyage of Telemachus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>At the first peep of dawn Telemachus was afoot, and summoning the +heralds he ordered them to make proclamation of an assembly to be held +in a public place in the town of Ithaca. Then he went down to the +place of assembly, with two favourite hounds following close at his +heels; and when he arrived he found the princes and elders of the +people already gathered together. All eyes were turned to the gallant +lad, as he sat down on his father's seat among the noblest of the sons +of Ithaca. Never had he worn so princely an air, or seemed so worthy +of his mighty sire.</p> + +<p>Then the old chieftain Ægyptus began the debate; he was bent double +with age, and one of his sons, Antiphus, had followed Odysseus to +Troy, while another, Eurynomus, was among the suitors of Penelope. It +was of Antiphus that he thought, as he stood up and made harangue +among the elders:</p> + +<p>"Who has summoned us hither, and what is his need? Never have we met +together in council since the day when Odysseus set sail from Ithaca. +Hath any tidings come of the return of those who followed him to Troy, +or is it some other business of public moment which has called us +hither? But whoever sent out this summons, I doubt not he is a worthy +man, and may Zeus accomplish his purpose, whatever it be."</p> + +<p>Such chance sayings were regarded as a sign of Heaven's will, and +Telemachus rejoiced in spirit at the old man's blessing. And forthwith +he stood up in the midst, and, taking the sceptre from the herald's +hand, rushed at once into the subject of which his mind was full.</p> + +<p>"Behold me here, old man," he said, addressing Ægyptus. "It is I who +have called you together, and surely not without a cause. Is it not +enough that I have lost my brave father, whose gentleness and +loving-kindness ye all knew, when he was your king? But must I sit +still, day after day, and see the fattest of my flocks and herds +slaughtered, and the red wine poured out wastefully, by these men who +have come to woo my mother? Take shame to yourselves, and restrain +them; fear the reproach of men, and the wrath of Heaven, and suffer me +not thus to be evilly entreated, unless ye harbour revengeful thoughts +against my father, for some wrong which he has done you."</p> + +<p>He had spoken thus far, when tears choked his voice, and flinging the +sceptre on the ground he returned to his seat. There was a general +feeling of compassion among his hearers, and not one of the suitors +ventured to answer him, save only Antinous, who began in his wonted +style of brutal insolence, upbraiding Telemachus in violent terms, and +throwing all the blame on Penelope, who, he said, had beguiled them +for three years by holding out promises which she never meant to +fulfil. Then he told the story of Penelope's web, and concluded his +speech with these words:</p> + +<p>"As long as thy mother continues in this mind, so long will we stay +here and consume thy living. If thou wouldst be quit of us, send her +to her father's house and bid her marry the man of her choice."</p> + +<p>Telemachus replied: "How can I drive away the mother who bare me and +nourished me? And where shall I find means to pay back her dower? But +most of all I dread my mother's curse. No, never shall that word be +spoken by me. Therefore, if ye know aught of fair and honest dealing, +depart from my house, and live on your own goods; but if it seems good +to you to eat up another man's living, then will I appeal to the +justice of heaven, and pray for vengeance on your heads."</p> + +<p>"Behold, his prayer is answered," cried Halitherses, a venerable +elder, with snow-white beard, who was skilled in augury; and looking +up they saw two eagles winging their way at full speed towards the +place of assembly. Now the two great birds hovered over the meeting; +and just at this moment they wheeled round and attacked each other +fiercely with beak and claw. After fighting for some time they shot +away to the right and were soon lost to view. Then Halitherses spake +again, interpreting the omen: "Hearken, men of Ithaca, to my words, +and to you, the suitors of Penelope, especially do I speak. Woe is +coming upon you; I see it rising and swelling as a wave. Not long +shall Odysseus be absent, but even now he is near at hand hatching +mischief for those who sit here. And many another shall suffer, +besides these who have done the wrong. Therefore, I say, let us stop +their evil deeds, or let them cease themselves. The hour is near at +hand which I foretold, when Odysseus embarked for Troy: I said that +after many sufferings, having lost all his comrades, unknown to all in +the twentieth year he should come home. And now all these things are +coming to pass."</p> + +<p>Then up rose Eurymachus, in an angry and scornful mood. "Old man," +said he, "go home and prophesy to thine own children, lest some harm +befall thee here. Thinkest thou that every fowl of the air is a +messenger from heaven? Odysseus has perished, and would that thou +hadst perished with him! Art thou not ashamed to take sides with this +malapert boy, feeding his passion and folly with thy crazy prophecies? +Doubtless thou lookest to him for favour and reward, but thou wilt +find that his friendship will cost thee dear. Telemachus has heard our +answer to his complaint; let him keep his eloquence for his froward +mother, and bring her to a better mind, for neither his speeches nor +thy prophecies will turn us from our purpose."</p> + +<p>The principal object of the meeting was now attained: the villainy of +the suitors had been publicly exposed, and they were left without +excuse or hope of mercy when the day of reckoning should arrive. +Accordingly Telemachus, dismissing the subject of his wrongs, now +spoke of his intended voyage to Pylos and Sparta, and begged for the +loan of a ship to carry him and his comrades to the mainland.</p> + +<p>No response was made to his request; but one man still attempted to +rouse public opinion against the suitors. This was Mentor, an old +friend of Odysseus, who had been left in charge of his household on +his departure from Ithaca. "Is there not one among you," he cried +indignantly, "who will speak a word for Telemachus, or testify against +the wickedness of these men? No more let kings be gentle and merciful +towards their people, as was Odysseus when he ruled over you, loving +and tender-hearted as a father. Let righteousness give place to +oppression, if these are its rewards. There you sit, like cowed and +beaten men, and suffer a handful of worthless men to lord it over you +all."</p> + +<p>After this last appeal, which was as fruitless as the others, the +meeting broke up, and the suitors returned to their revels in the +house of Odysseus.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Full of anxious thought, Telemachus went down to the shore, wondering +how he should find means to accomplish his voyage. Stooping down, he +bathed his hands in the sea, and after this act of purification he +lifted up his hands and prayed to Athene: "O thou who camest yesterday +to our house, and badest me go on this quest, give ear and help me in +this strait."</p> + +<p>He had hardly finished his prayer when he heard a footstep, and +looking round saw Mentor, who had come to his aid at the meeting, +approaching from the town. "Be not cast down," said Mentor, "remember +whose son thou art, and all shall be well with thee. As to this +voyage, that shall be my care. I will find thee a ship, and will go +with thee to Pylos. Meanwhile go thou home and make ready all things +for victualling the ship, corn and wine and barley-meal, and bestow +them heedfully in vessels and in bags of leather. Ships there are in +plenty, new and old, in seagirt Ithaca; I will choose the best of them +all, and man her with a crew who will serve thee freely and with all +goodwill."</p> + +<p>Away went Telemachus, much comforted in spirit, though his heart +fluttered when he thought of the great adventure which lay before him. +When he entered the courtyard of his house he found the suitors +flaying goats and singeing swine for the midday feast. Antinous hailed +his coming with a rude laugh, and running up to him seized his hand +and said mockingly: "Well met, Sir Eloquence! Thy face, I see, is full +of care, as of one who is bent on high designs. But lay thy graver +burdens aside for awhile, and eat and drink with us. Thou shalt want +neither ship nor men to carry thee to holy Pylos."</p> + +<p>Telemachus snatched his hand away, and answered sternly: "My thoughts +are not of feasting and merry-making, nor would I eat and drink with +you if they were. I am no longer a child, to be flouted and robbed +without a word. I tell you I shall find it in my heart to do you a +mischief, before many days are passed. But now I am going, as I said, +on this journey. I must go as a passenger, since ye will not lend me a +ship."</p> + +<p>Many a scornful face was turned upon him, and many a taunt aimed at +him, as he uttered these bold words. "We are all undone!" cried one in +pretended alarm, "Telemachus is gone to gather an army in Pylos or in +Sparta, and he will come back with his mighty men and take all our +lives." "Or perhaps he is going to bring poison from Ephyra," said +another, "and he will cast it in the bowl, and we shall be all dead +corpses."<sup><a href="#foot03" name="footret03">3</a></sup> And a third cried: "Take care of thyself, Telemachus, or +we shall have double labour because of thee, in dividing thy goods +among us."</p> + +<p>But the taunts of fools and knaves have no sting for honest ears. +Without another word Telemachus left that gibing mob, and went +straight to the strong-room where his father's treasure was stored. +There lay heaps of gold and silver, and chests full of fine raiment, +and great jars of fragrant olive-oil. Along the wall was a long row of +portly casks, filled with the choicest wine; there they had stood +untouched for twenty years, awaiting the master's return. All this +wealth was given in charge to Eurycleia, the nurse of Telemachus, a +wise and careful dame, who watched the chamber day and night. Her +Telemachus now summoned, and said: "Fill me twelve jars of wine—not +the best, which thou art keeping for my father, but the next best to +that. And take twenty measures of barley-meal, and store it in sacks +of leather, and keep all these things together till I send for them. +Keep close counsel, and above all let not my mother know. I am going +to Sparta and to sandy Pylos to inquire of my father's return; and I +shall start in the evening when my mother is gone to rest."</p> + +<p>"Who put such a thought into thy heart?" cried Eurycleia in wailing +tones. "Why wilt thou take this dreadful journey, thou, an only child, +so loved, and so dear? Odysseus is lost for ever, and if thou go we +shall lose thee too, for the suitors will plot thy ruin while thou art +far away."</p> + +<p>"Fear nothing for me," answered Telemachus, "Heaven's eye is upon me, +and the hand of Zeus is spread over me. Swear to me now that thou wilt +not tell my mother until twelve days have past." Eurycleia swore as he +bade her, and at once set about making the preparations for his +journey.</p> + +<p>The suitors were in high spirits at the result of the meeting, and +they ate heavily and drank deeply to celebrate their triumph. Hence it +happened that they retired to rest earlier than usual, being drowsy +from their intemperate revel; and when Telemachus returned to the +banquet-hall he found all the guests departed, and the servants +removing the remains of the feast. Soon afterwards Mentor appeared, +and announced that the ship lay ready at her moorings outside the +harbour. The stores were carried down to the sea, and stowed under the +rowers' benches. "All hands on board!" cried Mentor, and took his +place in the stern, Telemachus sitting by his side. The crew sat ready +at their oars, the ship was cast loose from the moorings, and a few +vigorous strokes impelled her into deep water. Then a strong breeze +sprang up from the west, the big sail was set, and the good ship +bounded joyfully over the waves, with the white wake roaring behind. +The oars were shipped, the sheets made fast, and all the company +pledged each other in brimming cups, drinking to their prosperous +voyage.</p> + +<a name="foot03"></a><p>3. 2 Kings xix. 35. <a href="#footret03">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap03"></a><h2>The Visit to Nestor at Pylos</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>So all night long the ship clave her way; and at sunrise they reached +the flat, sandy coast of Pylos. There they found a great multitude +assembled, keeping the feast of Poseidon with sacrifices of oxen. The +solemn rite was nearly ended when they brought their vessel to land.</p> + +<p>"Courage, now," said Mentor to Telemachus, seeing the young lad +somewhat abashed by the presence of so large a company. "Remember whom +thou seekest, and lay thy modest scruples aside. Thou seest that +venerable man, still tall and erect, though he numbers more than a +hundred years. That is Nestor, son of Neleus, wisest of the Greeks, a +king and the friend and counsellor of kings. Go straight to him, and +tell him thy errand."</p> + +<p>Seeing Telemachus, who was a homebred youth, still hanging back, in +dread of that august presence, Mentor renewed his friendly +remonstrances, "What, still tongue-tied?" he said, taking him by the +arm, and leading him forward. "Heaven mend thy wits, poor lad! Knowest +thou not that thou art a child of great hopes, and a favourite of +heaven?"</p> + +<p>When they came to the place where Nestor was seated with his sons, +they found them busy preparing the feast which followed the sacrifice. +As soon as those of Nestor's company saw the strangers they came +forward in a body to greet them, and made them sit down in places of +honour, where soft fleeces were heaped up on the level sand. A youth, +about the same age as Telemachus, placed a goblet of gold in Mentor's +hand, and gave him that portion of the flesh which was set apart as an +offering to the gods. "Welcome, friend," he said, after pledging him +from the cup. "Put up thy prayer with us to the lord Poseidon, for it +is to his feast that ye have come. And when thou hast prayed, give the +cup to thy young companion, who has been bred, methinks, as I have, to +deeds of piety."</p> + +<p>Mentor first asked a blessing on their hosts, and then prayed for a +prosperous issue to their own adventure. After him Telemachus uttered +his prayer in similar words, and then they all sat down to meat. When +they had finished, Nestor looked earnestly at them, and asked them who +they were, and what was the purpose of their journey. "Are ye +merchants," he said, "or bold buccaneers, who roam the seas, a peril +to others, and ever in peril themselves?"</p> + +<p>Telemachus, cheered by good fare, and encouraged by the kind manner of +Nestor, answered confidently, and explained the nature of his errand. +"Concerning all the other Greeks," he added, "we know at least the +manner of their death; but even this poor comfort is denied to the +wife and son of Odysseus. Therefore, if thou hast aught to tell, I +beseech thee by thy friendship with my father, let me know all, and +soften not the tale, out of kindness or pity to me."</p> + +<p>"Ah! my friend," answered Nestor. "What woeful memories thou hast +awakened by thy words!—perils by land and perils by water, long years +of siege and battle, sleepless nights and toilsome days. Ill-fated +land of Troy! the grave of Grecian chivalry! There lies heroic Ajax, +there lies Achilles, and Patroclus, sage in counsel, and there lies +Antilochus, my own dear son, fleet of foot and strong of hand. And art +thou indeed the son of Odysseus, whom none could match in craft and +strategy? But why do I ask? When thou speakest, I seem to hear the +very tones of his voice. He was my friend, one with me in mind and +heart, and during all the time of the siege we took counsel together +for the weal of Greece. But when the war was over disasters came thick +and fast upon the host. And first, division arose between the two sons +of Atreus; Agamemnon wished to abide in Troy until sacrifice had been +offered to appease the anger of Athene, but Menelaus advised immediate +departure. The party of Menelaus, of whom I was one, launched their +ships and sailed to Tenedos; there Odysseus, who had set sail with us, +put back to the mainland of Asia, wishing to do a favour to Agamemnon. +But I, and Diomede with me, set forth at once, and, crossing the sea +from Lesbos, came to Eubœa; thence, after sacrifice to Poseidon, I +steered due south, and parting from Diomede at Argos continued my +voyage, and landed safe in Pylos. Thus it happened that I was not +witness of the good or evil fortunes of the other Greeks on their +voyage home, and know only by rumour how they fared. Of Agamemnon's +fate thou hast surely heard thyself, how he was murdered on his own +hearth by the treachery of Ægisthus, and how the murder was avenged by +Orestes. Happy the father who has such a son! And such, methinks, art +thou."</p> + +<p>"Ay," answered Telemachus, when Nestor had finished his long story, "I +have heard of that glorious deed; and would to heaven that by the +might of my hands I might so take vengeance on the evil men who have +come to woo my mother, and who fill my house with injury and outrage."</p> + +<p>"Ah! thou hast reminded me," said Nestor. "I heard of the shameful +wrong which thou hast suffered. But do not despair! Who knows but that +Odysseus will yet return, and make them drink the cup which they have +filled? It may well come to pass, if Athene continues to thy house the +favour which she showed thy father, plain for all eyes to see, in the +land of Troy."</p> + +<p>"Nay, 'tis too much to hope," answered Telemachus with a sigh, "the +thing is too hard—even a god could hardly bring it to pass."</p> + +<p>"Now out on thy faint heart!" cried Mentor, who hitherto had sat +silent. "Better for him that his homecoming should be long delayed +than that he should have died, like Agamemnon, fresh from his victory. +Heaven will guide him yet to his own door, though now he be at the +uttermost parts of the earth."</p> + +<p>Telemachus shook his head as he answered: "No more of that, I pray +thee; it can never be." Then, addressing Nestor, he said: "I would +fain ask thee more concerning the manner of Agamemnon's death. Where +was Menelaus when that foul deed was done? And how did Ægisthus +contrive to slay a man mightier far than himself?"</p> + +<p>"Thou askest well," replied Nestor. "Menelaus was far away, or we +should have another tale to tell. And had the return of Menelaus not +been delayed, vengeance would have been forestalled by many years. +Yea, the dogs would have eaten the flesh of that vile churl, and not a +tear would have been shed for him. But this is how it fell out: while +we were toiling and warring at Troy, Ægisthus sat close to the ear of +Clytæmnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and poured sweet poison into her mind. +For a long while she refused to hearken to his base proposals, for she +was of a good understanding, and moreover there was ever at her side a +minstrel, into whose care Agamemnon had given her when he went to +Troy. But Ægisthus seized upon the minstrel, and left him on a desert +island to be devoured by carrion birds. Then Clytæmnestra yielded to +his suit, and he brought her to his own house.</p> + +<p>"But as to thy question concerning Menelaus, he left Troy in my +company, as I told thee, and we sailed together as far as Sunium. +There Menelaus lost his steersman, who was visited by Apollo with +sudden death, as he sat by the helm; so he remained there to bury his +comrade. But his misfortunes were not yet over; for when he reached +the steep headland at Malea a violent storm arose, and parted his +fleet. Some of his ships ran into Crete for shelter, while he himself +was carried away to Egypt, where he remained many days, and gathered +store of wealth.</p> + +<p>"Now thou understandest why Ægisthus was able to work his will on +Agamemnon, and why he escaped vengeance so long. For seven years he +sat on the throne of golden Mycenæ, and grievously oppressed the +people. But in the eighth year came Orestes, and cut him off in the +fulness of his sin; and on that very day Menelaus came to him, loaded +with the treasures of Egypt.</p> + +<p>"Far and long had he wandered; but so do not thou, my child. Leave not +thy house unguarded, while so many foes are gathered against thee, +lest when thou return thou find thyself stripped of all. But to +Menelaus I would have thee go; him thou must by all means consult; for +who knows what he may have learnt on that wondrous voyage? Vast is the +space of water over which he has travelled, not to be measured in one +year by a bird in her speediest flight. If thou wilt, thou canst go to +Sparta in thy ship, or if thou choose to go by land, my chariots and +my horses are thine for this service, and my sons shall guide you on +the way."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Amid such talk as this, with many a brave story "of moving accidents +by flood and field," and many a pithy saw from the white-haired +Nestor, who had lived so long and seen so much, the hours glided +swiftly by, and the red sun was stooping to the horizon when Mentor +rose from his seat and said: "We must be going; the hour of rest is at +hand, and to-morrow we have far to go."</p> + +<p>"Tarry yet a little," said Nestor, "and eat a morsel and drink a cup +with us. And after that, if ye are fain to sleep, ye shall have fit +lodging in my house. Heaven forbid that I should suffer such guests as +you to sleep on the cold deck, covered with dew, as if I were some +needy wretch, with never a blanket to spare for a friend. May the gods +preserve me from such a reproach!"</p> + +<p>"Thou sayest well," answered Mentor, "and Telemachus shall be thy +guest to-night. But for me, I pray thee have me excused. My place is +on the ship, that I may give an eye to the crew, for I am the only man +of experience among them. And to-morrow I must go to Elis, to recover +a debt of long standing due to me there. I leave Telemachus to thy +care, that thou mayest cherish him and speed him on his way."</p> + +<p>As he said these words, while all eyes were fixed upon him, the +speaker vanished from sight, and in his stead a great sea-eagle rose +into the air, and sped westwards towards the setting sun. Long they +sat speechless and amazed, and Nestor was the first to break the +silence. "Great things are in store for thee, my son," said he to +Telemachus, "since thou keepest such company thus early in life. This +was none other than Jove's mighty daughter, Athene, who honoured thy +father so highly among the Greeks. Be gracious to us, our queen, and +let thy blessing rest on me and on my house! and I will offer to thee +a yearling heifer, that hath never felt the yoke. To thee will I +sacrifice her, when I have made gilt her horns with gold."</p> + +<p>Then Nestor led the way to his house, and Telemachus sat down with him +and his sons in the hall. And they filled a bowl with wine eleven +years old, exceeding choice, which was reserved for honoured guests. +And after they had finished the bowl, and offered prayer to Athene, +they parted for the night. For Telemachus a bed was prepared in the +portico, and close by him slept Pisistratus, the youngest of Nestor's +sons.</p> + +<p>When Telemachus rose next morning he found his host already afoot, +giving orders to his sons to prepare the sacrifice to Athene. One was +sent to fetch the heifer, another to summon the goldsmith, and a third +to bring up the crew of Telemachus' ship, while the rest busied +themselves in raising the altar and making all ready for the +sacrifice.</p> + +<p>Presently the heifer was driven lowing into the courtyard, and the +goldsmith followed with the instruments of his art. Nestor gave him +gold, and the smith beat it into thin leaf with his hammer, and laid +it skilfully over the horns of the heifer. A handmaid brought pure +water, and barley-meal in a basket, while one of Nestor's sons stood +ready with an axe, and another held a bowl to catch the blood. Then +Nestor dipped his hands in the water, took barley-meal from the basket +and sprinkled it on the head of the beast, and cutting a tuft of hair +from the forehead cast it into the fire. The prayer was spoken, and +all due rites being ended he who held the axe smote the heifer on the +head, just behind the horns. The women raised the sacrificial cry as +the heifer dropped to the ground; and next they whose office it was +lifted up the victim's head, and Pisistratus cut the throat. When the +last quiver of life was over they flayed the carcass, cut strips of +flesh from the thighs, and enveloping them in fat, burnt them on the +altar. The gods had now their share of the feast; the rest was cut +into slices, and broiled over the live embers.</p> + +<a href="images/illus3lg.jpg" name="Illus3"><img + title="Telemachus Departing from Nestor (click to enlarge)" alt="Telemachus Departing from Nestor" + src="images/illus3.png" align="left" /></a> + +<p>While the meal was preparing, Telemachus enjoyed the refreshment of a +bath; and Polycaste, the youngest of Nestor's daughters, waited on +him; for such was the patriarchal simplicity of those days. When he +had bathed, and finished his morning meal, the chariot was brought +out, and a strong pair of horses led under the yoke. And the +house-dame came with a basket, loaded with wine and delicate viands, +and placed it behind the seat. Telemachus took his place by the side +of Pisistratus, who was to drive the horses; the last farewells were +spoken, Pisistratus cracked his whip, and away they went under the +echoing gateway, and on through the streets of Pylos.</p> + +<p>That night they slept at the house of a friend, and early next day +they continued their journey. The way grew steep and difficult, great +masses of mountains rose near at hand, and at length they entered a +wide valley, covered with waving fields of corn. By sunset they +reached the end of their journey, and drew up before the stately +portals of King Menelaus.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap04"></a><h2>Telemachus at Sparta</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Menelaus was keeping the double marriage feast of his son and +daughter, and his house was thronged with wedding guests. All sat +silent and attentive, listening to the strains of a harper, and +watching the gambols of a pair of tumblers, who were whirling in giddy +reels round the hall. Presently voices were heard at the entrance, and +one of the squires of Menelaus came and informed his master that two +strangers of noble mien were standing without, craving hospitality. +"Shall I bring them in," asked the squire, "or send them on to another +house?"</p> + +<p>"Hast thou lost thy wits?" answered Menelaus in some heat, being +touched in his most sensitive point. "Shall we, who owe so much to the +kindness of strangers, in the long years of our wanderings, send any +man from our doors? Unyoke the horses, and bid our new guests enter."</p> + +<p>Four or five servants hastened to do his bidding. The horses, covered +with sweat from their hard journey, were unyoked and led into the +stable, and Telemachus, with his companion, was ushered with all +courtesy into the great hall of Menelaus. The palace was one of the +wealthiest and most splendid in Greece; and Telemachus, accustomed to +a much humbler style of dwelling, stood amazed at the glories which +met his eyes. After bathing and changing their raiment they returned +to the hall, and were assigned places close to the chair of Menelaus.</p> + +<p>The prince greeted them kindly, and said: "Welcome to our halls, young +sirs. Ye are, as I see, of no mean descent, for Zeus has set his stamp +on your faces,<sup><a href="#foot04" name="footret04">4</a></sup> and none can mistake the signs of kingly birth. When +ye have eaten, we will inquire of you further."</p> + +<p>A plentiful and delicate meal was promptly set before the young +travellers, and they ate and drank with keen appetite. When they had +finished, Telemachus said to Pisistratus, speaking low, that he might +not be overheard: "Dear son of Nestor, is not this a brave place! Hast +thou ever seen such lavish ornament of silver, and gold, and ivory? +Surely such is the dwelling of Olympian Zeus; more magnificent it can +hardly be."</p> + +<p>The quick ear of Menelaus caught his last words, and he answered, +smiling: "Nay, my friend, no mortal may vie with the everlasting +glories of Zeus. But whether any man can equal me in riches, I know +not. For indeed I wandered far and long to gather all this treasure, +to Cyprus, and Phœnicia, and Egypt, to Æthiopia, and Sidon, and the +Afric shore, a land unmatched in its countless multitudes of sheep. +There the ewes bring forth young three times a year, and the poorest +shepherd has abundance of cheese, and flesh, and milk. From all these +lands I gathered many a costly freight, and now I dwell in the midst +of plenty. Nevertheless my heart is sad, when I think of all that I +have lost. Had I returned home straight from Troy, I should have come +back a poor man, for my house had gone to waste in my absence; but I +should not have had to mourn for the death of my brother, struck down, +as doubtless ye have heard, by a murderer's hand. And then the thought +lies heavy upon me of all those who fell in my cause at Troy, and +especially of one who was dear to me above all, Odysseus, ever the +foremost in every toil and adventure. His image haunts me by day and +by night, marring my slumbers, and making my food taste bitter in my +mouth. He was a man of many woes, and sorrowful is the lot of his wife +Penelope and Telemachus his son."</p> + +<p>At this mention of his father Telemachus could not control his tears, +but covered his face with his mantle, and wept without restraint. +Menelaus saw his emotion, and began to suspect who he was; but for the +present he said nothing.</p> + +<p>A slight stir was now heard at the back of the hall, and a low murmur +went round among the guests, who whispered to each other: "The Queen! +The Queen!" And in she came softly, with slow and stately step, Helen, +the daughter of Tyndareus, and wife of Menelaus, fairest among all the +high-born dames of Greece. Her wondrous beauty was now ripened into +matronly perfection, but now and then a shadow seemed to pass over her +face, like the ghost of an old sin, long repented and forgiven. A +handmaid set a chair for her, throwing over it a soft rug, and brought +a footstool for her feet, while another bare a silver basket, with +rims of gold, and placed it ready, filled with purple yarn. When Helen +was seated, she gazed long and earnestly at Telemachus, and then, +turning to her husband, she said; "Menelaus, shall I utter the thought +which is in my heart? Nay, speak I must. Ne'er saw I such a likeness, +either in man or woman, as is the likeness of this fair youth to +Odysseus. Surely this is Telemachus, whom he left an infant in Ithaca +when the host was summoned to Troy to fight in a worthless woman's +cause."</p> + +<p>"I have marked it too," answered Menelaus. "Such were his very hands +and feet, and the carriage of his head, and the glance of his eye. +Moreover, when I made mention of Odysseus he covered his face, and +wept full sore."</p> + +<p>Telemachus was still too much distressed to speak, and Pisistratus had +to answer for him: "Thou sayest truly, my lord; it is Telemachus +himself. Nestor sent me with him to inquire of thee, and crave counsel +of thy wisdom. He is left like an orphan in his home, with none to aid +him, and take his father's place."</p> + +<p>Then Menelaus drew near to Telemachus, and taking his hand kindly +said: "Welcome again, and thrice welcome to these halls, thou son of +my trustiest friend and helper! It was the dream of my life to bring +Odysseus and all his household from Ithaca, and give him a home and a +city in this land, that we might grow old together in friendship and +loving-kindness, never to be parted until death. But envious heaven +has blighted my hopes and hindered his return."</p> + +<p>At these sad words every eye was moist, and all sat silent, absorbed +in sorrowful memories. Pisistratus was the first to speak, and his +words roused the rest from their melancholy mood. "Son of Atreus," he +said, "my father has often spoken of thy wisdom, and perchance it has +taught thee that sorrow is an ill guest at a banquet. The dead, +indeed, claim their due, and he would be hard-hearted who would grudge +them the poor tribute of a tear. But we cannot mourn for ever, even +for such a one as my brother Antilochus, whom I never saw, but thou +knewest him well, stout in battle, and swift in the pursuit."</p> + +<p>"'Tis well said," replied Menelaus. "Thou art wise beyond thy years, +and a true son of Nestor. Happy is he, beyond the common lot of men, +and smooth and fair runs the thread of his Destiny. He dwells in a +green old age in his father's house, and sees his sons growing up +around him, true heirs of his valour and prudence. Now let us banish +care, and get to our supper, for the day is far spent, and we have +matter for talk which will last us all the morrow."</p> + +<p>When they had finished eating, and the cups were about to be +replenished, Helen rose from her seat, and, whispering a few words to +the cupbearer, left the hall. In a few minutes she returned, carrying +in her hand a small phial, whose contents she poured into the great +mixing-bowl from which the cups were filled. "Now, drink," she said, +"and fear not that black care will pay us a second visit to-night. I +have poured into the wine a drug of wondrous potency and virtue, which +was given me in Egypt by Polydamna, the wife of Thon. Many such drugs +the soil of Egypt bears, some baneful and some good. And the Egyptians +are skilled in such craft beyond all mankind. He who drinks of this +drug will be armed for that day against all the assaults of sorrow, +and will not shed one tear, though his father and mother were to die, +no, not though he saw his brother or his son slain before his eyes. So +mighty is the virtue of this drug." And when they had drunk of the +magic potion Helen began again: "'Tis now the witching hour, when all +hearts are opened, and the burden of life presses lightest on men's +shoulders. Come, let me tell you a story, one among many, of the deeds +and the hardihood of Odysseus. It was in the days of the siege, and +the Trojans were kept close prisoners in their city by the leaguer of +the Greeks. Then he disguised himself as a beggar, clothed himself in +filthy rags, and marred his goodly person with cruel stripes. In such +fashion he entered the foemen's walls, as if he were a slave flying +from a hard master.<sup><a href="#foot05" name="footret05">5</a></sup> And I alone in all the city knew who he was. So +I brought him to my house, and began to question him; but he made as +if he understood not. But when I entertained him as an honoured guest, +and swore a solemn oath not to betray him, he trusted me, and declared +all the purpose of the Greeks. At dead of night he stole out into the +town, and, having slain many of the Trojans with the edge of the +sword, he went back to the camp, and brought much information to his +friends.</p> + +<p>"When morning came, the voice of wailing rose high in the streets of +Troy; but my heart rejoiced, for I was filled with longing for my +home, and my eyes were opened to the folly which I had wrought by the +beguilement of Aphrodite, when I left my fatherland and broke faith +with my lord."</p> + +<p>"Tis a good story, and thou hast told it well, fair wife," said +Menelaus. "Now hear my tale. It was the time when I and the other +champions were shut up in the wooden horse; and Odysseus was with us. +Then thou camest thither, led, I suppose, by some god, hostile to +Greece, who wished to work our ruin; and Deiphobus followed thee. +Three times thou didst pace around our hollow ambush, feeling it with +thy hands, and calling aloud to the princes of Greece by name; and thy +voice was like the voice of all their wives. There we sat, I, and +Diomede, and the rest, and heard thee calling. Now I and Diomede were +minded to answer thee, or to go forth and confer with thee; but +Odysseus suffered it not, and when one of our number was about to lift +up his voice he pressed his hands on that foolish mouth, and +restrained him by force until thou hadst left the place. And so he +saved all our lives."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Telemachus, "he had a heart of iron. But what has it +availed him? It could not save him from ruin. Howbeit, no more of +this; 'tis time to go to rest and forget our cares in sleep."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Early next morning Telemachus found his host sitting by his bedside; +and as soon as he was dressed Menelaus led him to a quiet place, and +inquired the reason of his coming. He listened with attention while +Telemachus explained the purpose of his visit; but when he heard of +the suitors, and their riot and waste, he was filled with indignation.</p> + +<p>"What!" he cried, "would these dastards fill the seat and wed the wife +of that mighty man? Their lot shall be the lot of a pair of fawns, +left by the mother hind in a lion's lair. The hind goes forth to +pasture, and in her absence the lion returns, and devours them where +they lie. Even so shall Odysseus return, and bring swift destruction +on the whole crew.</p> + +<p>"But thou hast asked me what I know of the fortunes of Odysseus, since +he departed from Troy; and verily I will tell thee all that I have +heard, without turning aside in my tale. I must go back to the time +when I lay wind-bound with my ships in a little island off the mouth +of the Nile. The island is called Pharos, and it is distant a day's +voyage from the river's mouth. I had lain there twenty days, and still +not a breath of air ruffled the glassy surface of the sea. All our +stores were consumed, and we had nothing to eat but the fish which my +men caught with rudely fashioned hooks and lines. One day I left my +men busy with their angling, and wandered away along the shore, full +of sad thoughts, and wondering how all this would end. Suddenly I +heard a light footstep on the pebbles, and there stepped forth from +behind a tall rock a young maiden in white, flowing robes. Full of +dread I saw her coming towards me; for I knew that she was no mortal +woman. But her look was gracious, and her voice was sweet; so I took +courage as she said: 'Who art thou, stranger, and why lingerest thou +with thy company in this desert place? I am Eidothea, daughter of +Proteus, the ancient one of the sea; and I am ready to help thee, if +thou wilt tell me thy need.'</p> + +<p>"Then I told her how I had been kept an unwilling captive on the +island, and begged her to let me know what power I had offended, that +he might be appeased by sacrifice, and suffer the wind to blow. 'There +is one who can tell thee all that thou desirest to know,' answered +she. 'Yea, Proteus, my father, will show thee how to win thy path +across the watery waste. No secrets are hidden from him, neither on +earth nor in the sea; and he can tell thee all that hath befallen in +thy house in the long years of thine absence. Now hearken, and I will +tell thee how thou mayest wring from him all his secrets. Every day at +noon he comes forth from the sea, and lays him down to sleep in a +rocky cave; and about him are couched his herd of seals. I will bring +thee to the place in the early morning, and set thee in ambush to +await his coming. Choose three of the stoutest of thy men to aid thee +in the adventure, and as soon as thou seest him asleep rush upon him +and hold him fast. He will struggle hard, and take a hundred different +shapes; but loose him not until he return to his own form, and then +will he reveal to thee all that he has to tell.'</p> + +<p>"So saying, the goddess disappeared beneath the waves. Next morning I +went with three picked men to the appointed place, and soon Eidothea +arrived, bearing four hides of seals, freshly flayed. Then she +hollowed out four pits in the sand for us to lie in, and clothed us in +the skins, and couched us together. Now that bed had like to have been +our last, for we were stifled by the dreadful stench of the seabred +seals. But the goddess saw our distress, and found a remedy; for she +brought ambrosia and set it beneath our nostrils, and that heavenly +perfume overpowered the noisome stench.</p> + +<p>"So all the morning we lay and wafted patiently, and at noon the seals +came up out of the sea and lay down in order on the sand. Last of all +came Proteus, and counted his herd, reckoning us among their number, +with no suspicion of guile. We waited until he was fast asleep, and +then we rushed from our ambush and seized him hand and foot. Long and +hard was the struggle, and many the shapes which he took. First he +became a bearded lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a huge boar; +after these he turned into running water and a tall, leafy tree. But +we only held him the more firmly, and at last he grew weary and spake +to me in his own shape: 'What wouldst thou have, son of Atreus, and +who has taught thee to outwit me and take me captive by craft?'</p> + +<p>"'Thou knowest my need,' I answered; 'why dost thou waste thy words? +Tell me rather how I may find release from my present strait'</p> + +<p>"'Hear, then,' said he: 'thou hast forgotten thy duty to Zeus and the +other gods. Not a victim bled, not a prayer was offered, when thou +didst embark on this voyage. Go back to Egypt, to the holy waters of +Nile, and there pay thy vows, and offer a great sacrifice to their +offended deity; thus, and thus only, canst thou win thy return to +thine own country and thy stately home.'</p> + +<p>"When I heard this my heart was broken within me, to think of that +long and perilous path across the misty deep. Nevertheless I consented +to take that journey, for I saw no other way of escape. And after I +had promised to obey him, I began to inquire further of the fate of +Nestor and the rest, whom I left behind me on my way home.</p> + +<p>"''Tis a grievous story that thou requirest of me,' said Proteus, 'and +thou shalt have little joy in the hearing. Many have been taken and +many left. Two only perished in returning, and one is still living, a +prisoner of the sea. Ajax has paid his debt to Athene, whose shrine he +polluted; and this was the manner of his death: when his vessel was +shattered by that great tempest, he himself escaped to a rock, for +Poseidon came to his aid. But even the peril which he had just escaped +could not subdue his haughtiness and his pride, and he uttered an +impious vaunt, boasting that in despite of heaven he had escaped a +watery grave. Then Poseidon was wroth, and smote the rock with his +trident, and that half of the rock on which Ajax was sitting fell into +the sea, bearing him with it. So he died, when he had drunk the brine.</p> + +<p>"'Now harden thy heart, and learn how thy brother Agamemnon fell. +After a long and stormy voyage he at length brought his shattered +vessels safe into harbour, and set foot on his native soil at Argos. +With tears of joy and thankfulness he fell on his knees and kissed the +sod, trusting that now his sorrows were passed. Now there was a +watchman whom Ægisthus had posted on a high place commanding the sea +to look out for Agamemnon's return. A whole year he watched, for he +had been promised a great reward. And when he saw the king's face he +went with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith Ægisthus prepared an +ambush of twenty armed men; these he kept in hiding at the back of the +hall, while he ordered his servants to prepare a great banquet. Then +he went to meet Agamemnon with horses and with chariots, and brought +him to his house, and made good cheer. And when he had feasted him he +smote and slew him, as a man slaughters an ox in his stall.'</p> + +<p>"At that tale of horror I fell upon the sand, weeping bitterly, for I +had no desire to live any longer or look on the light of the sun. Long +I lay mourning, as one who had lost all hope, but at last Proteus +checked the torrent of my passion, and bade me take thought of my own +homecoming. 'This is no time,' he said, 'to melt away in womanish +grief. Haste thee to take vengeance, if so be that Orestes hath not +forestalled thee, and slain his father's murderer.'</p> + +<p>"Somewhat comforted by these words, I took courage to ask who was the +man of whom he had spoken as a prisoner of the sea. 'It is the son of +Laertes,' answered Proteus, 'Odysseus, whose home is in Ithaca. I +myself saw him on an island, in the house of the nymph Calypso; and +sore he wept because he could not leave the goddess, who holds him in +thrall, and will not suffer him to return to his country.'</p> + +<p>"Lastly, he told me concerning my own fate. 'Thou, Menelaus,' he said, +'art exempt from the common lot of men, because thou art the husband +of Helen, and she is a daughter of Zeus. Therefore it is not appointed +for thee to die, but when thine hour is come the gods shall convey +thee to the Elysian fields, where dwell the elect spirits in +everlasting blessedness. There falls not snow nor rain, there blows no +rude blast, but the fresh cool breath of the west comes softly from +Ocean to refresh them that dwell in that happy clime.'"</p> + +<p>Thus happily ended the story of the Spartan prince's wanderings. And +when he had finished, he pressed Telemachus to prolong his visit; but +that prudent youth declined the invitation, pleading the necessity of +a speedy return to Ithaca, that he might keep an eye on the doings of +the suitors. Menelaus was compelled to allow the justice of his plea, +and accordingly all things were made ready for a speedy departure.</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>We must now return to Ithaca, and see what reception was preparing for +Telemachus when he came back from his adventurous journey. Two or +three days after he left Ithaca the suitors were gathered before the +doors of Odysseus, playing at quoits, or hurling their javelins at a +mark. Presently a young noble came up to the group, and addressing +Antinous, who was watching the sport, asked him if he had heard aught +of Telemachus. "I would fain know how long he is like to be absent +from Ithaca," he said; "for he has borrowed my ship, and I have need +of her. Know ye when he is to return from Pylos?"</p> + +<p>Antinous heard him with amazement; for neither he nor any other of the +suitors knew that Telemachus had sailed from Ithaca, supposing him to +be absent on his farm. So he questioned the youth closely as to the +time and manner of that voyage, how the crew was composed, and whether +the vessel was lent willingly, or taken by force. "Of my own free will +I lent her," answered the lad, "why should I not help him in his need? +As to the crew, they were all picked men, and well born; and the +captain was Mentor, or some god in his likeness; for I saw Mentor +yesterday in the town, and not a ship has touched at Ithaca since they +sailed."</p> + +<p>When he who had lent the ship was departed the suitors left their +sports, and drawing close together began to converse in low tones. +They were full of anger against Telemachus because of this journey, +which gave the lie to their malicious prophecies, and was not without +prospect of danger to themselves. Accordingly Antinous found ready +hearers when he stood up and spoke as follows:—"This forward boy must +be put down, or he will mar our wooing. It is a great deed which he +has done, and he will not stop here, unless we find means to cut short +his adventures. Now hear what I advise: let us man a ship and moor her +in the narrow sea between Ithaca and Samos, and lie in wait for him +there. This cruise of his is like to cost him dear."</p> + +<p>The plan was highly approved, and the whole body rose and entered the +house together, resolved to act at once on the advice of Antinous. +Before long news of their wicked designs came to the ears of Penelope, +who was still ignorant of her son's departure; for Eurycleia had kept +her counsel well. The evil tidings were brought by Medon, a servant in +the house of Odysseus, who had overheard the suitors plotting +together, while he stood concealed behind a buttress of the courtyard +fence. Without delay he went in search of Penelope, whom he found +sitting with her handmaids in her chamber. As soon as he appeared on +the threshold Penelope looked at him reproachfully, and said: "What +message bringest thou from thy fair masters? Is it their pleasure that +my maidens should leave their tasks and spread the board for them? Out +on your feasting and your wooing! May this be the last morsel that ye +ever taste! Ungrateful men, have ye forgotten all the good deeds that +were wrought here by the hands of Odysseus, and all the kindness that +ye received from him? Yes, all is forgotten; ye have no thought in +your hearts but to grow fat at his cost, and devour his living."</p> + +<p>"Alas! lady," answered Medon, "would that this were the worst! But I +am the bearer of heavier news than this. Telemachus has sailed to +Pylos, to inquire concerning his father, and the suitors have plotted +to slay him on his way home." Having delivered his message, Medon left +the chamber, and the door was shut.</p> + +<p>Long Penelope sat without a word, struck dumb by this cruel blow. +Then, as if seized by a sudden thought, she rose from her seat, and +took two paces towards the door. But her strength failing her she +tottered backward, and sank down upon the ground, leaning against the +wall. Her handmaids gathered round her, and would have lifted her up, +but she waved them off and at last gave utterance to her feelings in +wailing and broken tones:</p> + +<p>"Woeful beyond the lot of all women on earth is my portion! First, I +lost my lion-hearted lord, rich in every excellent gift, a hero among +heroes; and now the powers of the air<sup><a href="#foot06" name="footret06">6</a></sup> have carried off my child, my +well-beloved, without one word of farewell. Hearts of stone, why did +ye not tell me of his going? Had I known his purpose I would have +prevailed on him to stay, or he must have left me dead in these halls. +Go, one of you, and call Dolius, the keeper of my garden and orchard, +and send him to tell all to Laertes, if haply he may devise some way +to turn the hearts of the people, and save his race from being utterly +cut off."</p> + +<p>"Sweet lady," answered Eurycleia, who was sitting among the women, "I +will tell thee all the truth, and then thou shalt slay me, if it be +thy will. I was privy to this journey, and Telemachus made me swear a +solemn oath not to reveal it to thee until twelve days were passed, or +thou hadst heard of it from others. For he feared that thou wouldst +waste thy fair cheeks with weeping. But be not cast down; I am sure +that the gods hate not so utterly the house of Odysseus, nor purpose +to destroy it altogether. Vex not the old man Laertes in his sorrow, +but go wash thyself, put on clean raiment, and go up and pray to +Athene in thy upper chamber to guard and keep thy son from harm."</p> + +<p>Then Penelope was comforted, and dried her tears, and went up with her +handmaids to the upper chamber. There she made her offering before the +shrine of Athene, and lifted up her voice in prayer: "Daughter of +Zeus, stern warrior maiden, if ever my lord Odysseus offered +acceptable sacrifice to thee, remember now his service, save my son, +and let not the wooers work evil against him." When her prayer was +ended the women joined their voices with hers, and called again and +again on the awful name of Athene. After that they left her, and she +sank down on a couch, exhausted by her emotions, and full of anxious +thought. At length she ceased her weary tossing, and fell into a quiet +and refreshing sleep.</p> + +<p>Athene had heard her prayer, and being full of pity for the sorely +tried lady she resolved to find means to soothe her troubled spirit. +So she made a phantom, like in form and in feature to Iphthime, a +sister of Penelope, who lived with her husband in distant Pheræ. And +the phantom came to the house of Penelope, and entering her chamber by +the keyhole, stood by her bedside and spake to her thus: "Sorrow not +at all, nor vex thy soul for the sake of Telemachus. The gods love thy +son, and will bring him safe home."</p> + +<p>Then wise Penelope made answer, slumbering right sweetly at the gates +of dreams: "Dear sister, what has brought thee hither from thy far +distant home? Thou biddest me take comfort, but my heart is torn with +fear and grief for my brave lord, and yet more for Telemachus, who is +encompassed with perils by sea and by land." "Fear nothing," answered +the dim phantom. "He has a mighty helper by his side, even Pallas +Athene, who sent me hither to strengthen and console thee." With that +the ghostly visitor vanished as it came, and left Penelope much +cheered by the clear vision which had brought her words of healing at +the blackest hour of the night.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Antinous had taken steps to carry out his villainous design. +At nightfall he went down to the sea with twenty picked men, boarded +the vessel which had been prepared for their use, and sailed out to a +little island which lies in the middle of the strait between Samos and +Ithaca. There they anchored in a sheltered bay, and waited for the +coming of Telemachus.</p> + +<a name="foot04"></a><p>4. In Homer, all kings and their families are supposed to be +descended from Zeus. <a href="#footret04">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot05"></a><p>5. Compare the stratagem of Zopyrus, in "Stories from Greek +History." <a href="#footret05">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot06"></a><p>6. Demons, to whom sudden disappearance was attributed. <a href="#footret06">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap05"></a><h2>Odysseus and Calypso</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>We have waited long for the appearancef of Odysseus, and at last he is +about to enter the scene, which he will never leave again until the +final act of the great drama is played out. Hitherto he has been +pursued by the malice of Poseidon, who wrecked his fleet, drowned all +his men, and kept him confined for seven years in Calypso's island, in +vengeance for the blinding of his son Polyphemus.</p> + +<p>But now the prayers of Athene have prevailed, and Hermes, the +messenger of the gods, is on his way from Olympus, bearing a +peremptory summons to Calypso to let Odysseus depart. Shod with his +golden, winged sandals, which bear him, swift as the wind, over moist +and dry, and holding in his hand his magic wand, Hermes skimmed like a +seagull over the blue waters of the Ægæan, until he came to that far +distant isle. Arrived there, he went straight to the great cavern +where Calypso dwelt; and he found her there, walking about her room, +weaving with a golden shuttle, and singing sweetly at her work. A +great fire was blazing on the hearth, sending forth a sweet odour of +cedar and sandal-wood. Round about the cavern grew a little wood of +blossoming trees, "alder and poplar tall, and cypress sweet of smell"; +and there owls and hawks and cormorants built their nests. Over the +threshold was trained a wide-branching vine, with many a purple +cluster and wealth of rustling leaves. Four springs of clear water +welled up before the cave, and wandered down to the meadows where the +violet and parsley grew. It was a choice and cool retreat, meet +dwelling for a lovely nymph.</p> + +<p>Calypso greeted her visitor kindly, bade him be seated, and set nectar +and ambrosia before him. And when he had refreshed himself, he told +his message. "I bear the commands of Zeus," he said, "and to do his +high will have I travelled this long and weary way. It is said that +thou keepest with thee a man of many woes, who has suffered more than +any of those who fought at Troy. Him thou art commanded to send away +from thee with all speed; for it is not destined for him to end his +days here, but the hour has come when he must go back to his home and +country, Zeus has spoken, and thou must obey."</p> + +<p>This was bitter news to Calypso, for she loved Odysseus, and would +have made him immortal, that he might abide with her for ever. She +wrung her hands, and said in a mournful voice: "Now I know of a truth +that the gods are a jealous race, and will not suffer one of their +kind to wed with a mortal mate. Therefore Orion fell by the unseen +arrows of Artemis, when fair Aurora chose him for her lord; and +therefore Zeus slew Iasion with his lightning, because he was loved of +Demeter. Is not Odysseus mine? Did I not save him and cherish him when +he was flung naked and helpless on these shores? But since no other +deity may evade or frustrate the will of Zeus, let him go, and I will +show him how he may reach his own country without scathe."</p> + +<p>When he had heard Calypso's answer, Hermes took leave of her, and +returned to Olympus, and the nymph went down to the part of the shore +where she knew Odysseus was accustomed to sit. There he would remain +all day, gazing tearfully over the barren waste of waters, and wearing +out his soul with ceaseless lamentation. For he had long grown weary +of his soft slavery in Calypso's cave, and yearned with exceeding +great desire for the familiar hills of Ithaca, so rugged, but so dear. +And there Calypso found him now, sitting on a rock with dejected mien. +She sat down at his side, and said: "A truce to thy complaints, thou +man of woes! Thou hast thy wish; I will let thee go with all +good-will, and I will show thee how to build a broad raft, which +shall bear thee across the misty deep. I will victual her with corn +and wine, and clothe thee in new garments, and send a breeze behind +thee to waft thee safe. Thus am I commanded by the gods, whose +dwelling is in the wide heaven, and their will I do. Up now and fell +me yon tall trees for timber to make the raft."</p> + +<p>Odysseus was by nature a very shrewd and cautious man, and he feared +that Calypso was contriving some mischief against him, in revenge for +his coldness. He looked at her doubtfully, and answered: "I fear thee, +nymph, and I mistrust thy purpose. How shall a man cross this dreadful +gulf, where no ship is ever seen, on a raft? And though that were +possible, I will never leave thee against thy will. Swear to me now +that thou intendest me no harm."</p> + +<p>Calypso smiled at his suspicions, and patted him on the shoulder as +she answered: "Thou art a sad rogue, and very deep of wit, as anyone +may see by these words of thine. Now hear me swear: Witness, thou +earth, and the wide heaven above us, and the dark waterfall of Styx, +the greatest and most awful thing by which a god may swear, that I +intend no ill, but only good, to this man."</p> + +<p>Having sworn that oath Calypso rose, and bidding Odysseus follow led +the way to her cave. There she set meat before him, such as mortal men +eat, and wine to drink; but she herself was served by her handmaids +with immortal food, and nectar, the wine of the gods. When they had +supped, Calypso looked at Odysseus and said: "And wilt thou indeed +leave me, thou strange man? Am I not tall and fair, and worthy to be +called a daughter of heaven? And is thy Penelope so rare a dame, that +thou preferrest her to me! Ah! if thou knewest all the toils which +await thee before thou reachest thy home, and all the perils prepared +for thee there, thou wouldst renounce thy purpose, and dwell for ever +with me. Nevertheless go, if go thou must, and my blessing go with +thee."</p> + +<p>Her words were kind, but some anger lurked in her tone, which Odysseus +hastened to appease. "Fair goddess," he answered, "be not wroth with +me. I know that thou art more lovely far than my wife Penelope; for +thou art divine, and she is but a mortal woman. Nevertheless I long +day and night to see her face, and to sit beneath the shadow of my own +rooftree. And if I be stricken again by the hand of Heaven on the +purple sea, I will bear it, for I have a very patient heart. Long have +I toiled, and much have I suffered, amid waves and wars. If more +remains, I will endure that also."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>At early dawn, when the eastern wave was just silvered by the dim +light, Calypso roused Odysseus, and equipped him for the task of the +day. First she gave him a weighty two-edged axe, well balanced on its +haft of olive-wood, and an adze, freshly ground; then she showed him +where the tall trees grew, and bade him fall to work with the axe. +Twenty great trees fell beneath his sturdy strokes, and he trimmed the +trunks with the axe, and stripped off the bark. Meanwhile Calypso had +brought him an augur, and he bored the timbers, and fitted them +together, and fastened them with bolts and cross-pieces. So the raft +grew under his hands, broad as the floor of a stout merchantship. And +he fenced her with bulwarks, piling up blocks of wood to steady them. +Last of all he made mast and sail and rigging; and when all was ready +he thrust the frail vessel with rollers and levers down to the sea.</p> + +<p>Four times the sun had risen and set before his labour was ended; and +on the fifth day Calypso brought him provisions for the voyage, a +great goatskin bottle full of water, and a smaller one of wine, and a +sack of corn, with other choice viands as a relish to his bread.</p> + +<p>A joyful man was Odysseus when he spread his sail, and took his place +at the helm, and waved a last farewell to his gentle friend. A fair +breeze wafted him swiftly from the shore, and ere long that lovely +island, at once his home and his prison for seven long years, became a +mere shadow in the distance. All night he sat sleepless, tiller in +hand, watching the pilot stars, the Pleiades, and Boötes, and the +Bear, named also the Wain, which turns on one spot, and watches Orion, +and never dips into the ocean stream. For the goddess Calypso had +bidden him keep that star on the left hand as he sailed the seas. Thus +he voyaged for seventeen days, and on the eighteenth he saw afar off, +dimly outlined, a range of hills, rising, like the back of a shield, +above the horizon's verge.</p> + +<p>Now Poseidon, his great enemy, had been absent for many days on a far +journey, and thus had taken no part in the council at Olympus when +Zeus had issued his order for the release of Odysseus. Just at this +time he was on his way back to Olympus, and caught sight of the bold +voyager steering towards the nearest land. "Ha! art thou there?" said +the implacable god, shaking his head; "and have the other powers +plotted against me in my absence, to frustrate my just anger? Thy +wanderings are well-nigh over, poor wretch! But thou shalt taste once +more of my vengeance, before thou reachest yonder shore."</p> + +<p>So saying the lord of ocean took his trident and stirred up the deep; +and the clouds came trooping at his call, covering the sky with a +black curtain. Soon a great tempest broke loose, blowing in violent +and fitful blasts from all the four quarters of heaven. Then pale fear +got hold of Odysseus, as he saw the great curling billows heaving +round his frail craft. "Woe is me!" he cried, "when shall my troubles +have an end? Surely the goddess spoke truth, when she foretold me that +I should perish amid the waves, and never see my home again. Here I +lie helpless, given over to destruction, the sport of all the winds of +heaven. Happy, thrice happy, were my comrades who fell fighting +bravely and found honourable burial in the soil of Troy! Would that I +had died on that great day when the battle raged fiercest over the +body of Pelides; then should I have found death with honour, but now I +am doomed to a miserable and dishonoured end."</p> + +<p>The words were hardly uttered when a huge toppling wave struck the +raft with tremendous force, carrying away mast and sail, and hurling +Odysseus into the sea. Deep down he sank, and the waters darkened over +his head, for he was encumbered by the weight of his clothes. At last +he rose to the surface, gasping, and spitting out the brine, and +though sore spent, he swam towards the raft, and hauled himself on +board. There he sat clinging to the dismasted and rudderless vessel, +which was tossed to and fro from wave to wave, as the winds of autumn +sport with the light thistledown and drive it hither and thither.</p> + +<p>But help was at hand. There was a certain ocean nymph, named Ino, +daughter of Cadmus, who had once been a mortal woman, but now was +numbered among the immortal powers. She saw and pitied Odysseus, and +boarding the raft addressed him in this wise: "Poor man, why is +Poseidon so wroth with thee that he maltreats thee thus? Yet shall he +not destroy thee, for all his malice. Only do as I bid thee, and thou +shalt get safely to land: take this veil, and when thou hast stripped +off thy garments, bind it across thy breast. Then leave the raft to +its fate, and swim manfully to land; and when thou art safe fling the +veil back into the sea, and go thy way."</p> + +<p>So saying the goddess sank beneath the waves, leaving Odysseus with +her veil in his hand. But that cautious veteran did not at once act on +her advice, for he feared that some treachery was intended against +him. He resolved therefore to remain on the raft as long as her +timbers held together, and only to have recourse to the veil in the +last extremity.</p> + +<p>He had just taken this prudent resolution, when another wave, more +huge than the last, thundered down on the raft, scattering her +timbers, as the wind scatters a heap of chaff. Odysseus clung fast to +one beam and, mounting it, sat astride as on a horse, until he had +stripped off his clothes. Then he bound the veil round him, flung +himself head foremost into the billows, and swam lustily towards land.</p> + +<p>The storm was now subsiding, and a steady breeze succeeded, blowing +from the north, which helped that much-tried hero in his struggle for +life. Yet for two days and two nights he battled with the waves, and +when day broke on the third day he found himself close under a +frowning wall of cliffs, at whose foot the sea was breaking with a +noise like thunder. Odysseus ceased swimming, and trod the water, +looking anxiously round for an opening in the cliffs where he might +land. While he hesitated, a great foaming wave came rushing landward, +threatening to sweep him against that rugged shore; but Odysseus saw +his danger in time, and succeeded in gaining a rocky mass which stood +above the surface just before him, and clutching it with hands and +knees, contrived to keep his hold until the huge billow was past. In +another moment he was caught by the recoil of the wave, and flung back +into the boiling surf, with fingers torn and bleeding. With desperate +exertions he fought his way out into the comparatively calm water, +outside the line of breakers, and swam parallel to the shore, until he +saw with delight a sheltered inlet, whence a river flowed into the +sea. Murmuring a prayer to the god of the river he steered for land, +and a few strokes brought him to a smooth sandy beach, where he lay +for a long time without sense or motion. All his flesh was swollen by +his long immersion in the water, the skin was stripped from his hands, +and when his breath came back to him he felt as weak as a child. Then +a deadly nausea came over him, and the water which he had swallowed +gushed up through his mouth and nostrils. Somewhat relieved by this, +he rose to his feet, and tottering to the river's brink loosed the +veil from his waist, and dropped it into the flowing water. For he +remembered the request of Ino, to whom he owed his life.</p> + +<p>He had indeed escaped the sea; but his position seemed almost +hopeless. There he lay, naked, and more dead than alive, without food +or shelter, in a strange land, without a sign of human habitation in +view. Crawling painfully to a bed of rushes he lay down and considered +what was best for him to do. He could not remain where he was, for it +was an exposed place, with no protection from the dew, and open to the +chill breeze from the river, which blows at early dawn. A few hours of +such a vigil would certainly kill him in his exhausted state. If, on +the other hand, he sought the shelter of the woods, he feared that he +would fall a prey to some prowling beast.</p> + +<p>At last he determined to face the less certain peril, and made his way +into a thicket not far from the river side. Searching for a place +where he might lie he soon came upon two dense bushes of olive, whose +leaves and branches were so closely interwoven that they formed a sort +of natural arbour, impenetrable by sun, or rain, or wind. "In good +time!" murmured Odysseus, as he crept beneath that green roof, and +scooped out a deep bed for himself in the fallen leaves. There he lay +down, and piled the leaves high over him. And as a careful housewife +in some remote farmhouse, where there are no neighbours near, covers +up a burning brand among the ashes, so that it may last all night, and +preserve the seed of fire; so lay Odysseus, nursing the spark of life, +in his deep bed of leaves. And soon he forgot all his troubles in a +deep and dreamless sleep.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap06"></a><h2>Odysseus among the Phæacians</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The land on which Odysseus had thus been cast like a piece of broken +wreckage was called Phæacia, and derived its name from the Phæacians, +a race of famous mariners, who had settled there some fifty years +before, having been driven from their former seat by the Cyclopes, a +savage tribe, who dwelt on their borders. The Phæacians were an +unwarlike people, and being in no condition to resist the fierce +assaults of these lawless neighbours, they abandoned their homes and +built a new city on a little peninsula, connected with the mainland by +a narrow isthmus. Defended by strong walls they were now safe against +all attacks, and they soon grew rich and prosperous in the exercise of +a thriving trade.</p> + +<p>At this time the king of the Phæacians was Alcinous, who had a fair +daughter, named Nausicaä. On the night when Odysseus lay couched in +his bed of leaves Nausicaä was sleeping in her bower, and with her +were two handmaids, whose beds were set on either side of the door. +And in a dream she seemed to hear one of her girlish friends, the +daughter of a neighbouring house, speaking to her thus: "Nausicaä, why +art thou grown so careless as to suffer all the raiment in thy +father's house to remain unwashen, when thy bridal day is so near? +Wouldst thou be wedded in soiled attire, and have all thy friends clad +unseemly, to put thee to shame? These are a woman's cares, by which +she wins a good report among men, and gladdens her mother's heart. +Arise, therefore, at break of day, and beg thy father to let harness +the mules to the wain, that thou mayest take the linen to the place of +washing, far away by the river's side. I will go with thee, and help +thee in the work."</p> + +<p>So dreamed Nausicaä, and so spake the vision. But the voice which +seemed the voice of her friend came from no mortal lips; it was Athene +herself who had visited the maiden's bower, in her care for Odysseus, +that he might get safe conduct to the city of the Phæacians. And when +she had done her errand the goddess went back to Olympus, where is the +steadfast, everlasting seat of the blessed gods, not shaken of any +wind, nor wet with rain, nor chilled by snow, but steeped for ever in +cloudless, sunny air. There the gods abide for ever and take their +delight.</p> + +<p>Nausicaä rose betimes, with her mind full of the dream, and went down +to the hall, where she found her mother sitting by the hearth with her +women, spinning the bright sea-purple thread. Inquiring for her father +she learnt that he had but that moment gone forth to attend the +council of elders, and hastening after him she found him before the +doors of the house.</p> + +<p>"Father," she said, "may I have the waggon to take the household +raiment to the place of washing? Thou thyself hast ever need of clean +garments when thou goest to the council, and my brothers will reproach +me if they lack clean raiment when they go to the dance."</p> + +<p>Thus spake the maiden, being ashamed to make mention of her own +marriage. But Alcinous knew, and smiled to himself, as he ordered his +thralls to prepare the waggon. So when they had harnessed the mules, +Nausicaä and her handmaids brought the soiled garments, and bestowed +them behind the seat. And her mother brought a basket with food for +the midday meal and oil for her daughter and the other maidens when +they took their bath. Then they took their seats, Nausicaä grasped the +reins, and they went off at a sharp trot towards the riverside.</p> + +<p>After a pleasant drive, they came to the place where stood a row of +cisterns on the river's bank. There they unharnessed the mules, and +left them to crop the sweet clover in the water-meadows. Then they +unloaded the waggon, threw the garments into washing-troughs, and trod +them with their feet until they were thoroughly cleansed, and having +wrung them out, they spread them on the white pebbly beach to dry. +While the garments were bleaching in the wholesome sun and air, they +took their bath, and afterwards sat down to the midday meal. When that +was ended, they threw off their veils, and stood up to play at ball.</p> + +<p>It was a pretty and graceful sight; they were all comely maidens, +glowing with youth and health. Their sport was accompanied by dance +and song, and as they chased the flying ball, keeping time with hand +and foot and voice, they seemed like a choir of mountain nymphs, led +by Artemis, when she goes forth to the chase, in the wild valleys of +Arcady or Lacedæmon. Tallest and fairest of them all was Nausicaä, who +led the sport, moving like a queen among her vassals.</p> + +<p>Presently they grew tired of their sport, and Nausicaä flung the ball +for the last time to one of her handmaids. The girl missed the ball, +and it fell into the middle of the river, whereupon the whole company +set up a sharp cry. The sound came to the ears of Odysseus, and woke +him from his long slumber. He sat up in his bed of leaves and communed +with himself: "Behold I hear the shrill cry of women, or perhaps of +the nymphs who haunt this wild place. Now may I learn of what sort are +the natives of this land, whether they be fierce and inhospitable, or +gentle and kind to strangers." Plucking a leafy bough, and holding it +before him to cover himself, he stepped forth from the thicket, and +came in sight of that gentle company. Grim and dreadful he looked, +like a hungry lion, buffeted by rain and wind, who goes forth in a +tempest to seek his prey; for he was haggard with long fasting, and +sore disfigured by his battle with the sea; his eyes glared with +famine, and his hair and beard hung ragged and unkempt about his face. +At this fearful apparition the maidens fled shrieking along the river +bank, all but Nausicaä, who stood her ground, and gazed fearlessly, +though in wonder, while Odysseus came slowly forward. When he was +still some way off he stopped, fearing to offend her delicacy if he +came nearer. Then with a gesture of entreaty he began to speak, and +Nausicaä knew at once that it was no common man who stood before her.</p> + +<p>"Have pity on me, O queen!" he began, in soft and insinuating tones. +"Art thou a goddess, or a mortal woman? If thou art a goddess, thou +seemest to me most like to Artemis, daughter of great Zeus, both in +face, and in stature, and in form. But if thou art mortal, then thrice +blessed are thy father and mother, and thrice blessed thy brethren, +and their spirits are refreshed because of thee, when thou goest, a +very rose of beauty, to the dance. Happy the man who wins thee for his +bride! Never yet have I seen the like of thee among all the children +of men. Only once have I beheld aught to compare unto thee, a young +palm-tree which I saw growing tall and straight by the altar of Apollo +at Delos. I saw it, and was amazed, for it was wondrous fair; and even +so is my soul filled with wonder and dread when I look upon thy face, +so that I am afraid to draw near unto thee, though sore is my need. +Yesterday I was flung naked on thy coast, after a voyage of twenty +days. Many things have I suffered, and more, I ween, remains for me in +store; for I am a man of many woes. Have compassion on me, dread lady! +I am thy suppliant, and to thee first I address my prayer. Show me the +way to the city, and give me a cloth to wrap round me, that I may go +among the people without shame. And may the gods give thee all, +whatsoever thy heart desireth, a husband and a home, and happy wedded +love, shedding warmth in thine house, and a strong defence against all +ills from without, but above all a sacred treasure in thy husband's +heart, and in thine."</p> + +<p>"Whatever be thy misfortunes," answered Nausicaä, "I am sure they are +not the fruit of thine own folly or wickedness. And since thou art +come as a suppliant to this land of ours, thou shalt want nothing, +whether it be raiment, or aught else that befits thy state. I will +show thee our city, and tell thee the name of the people. Know that +thou hast come to the country of the Phæacians, whose ruler and king +is Alcinous, and I am his daughter."</p> + +<p>Then she called to her handmaids, who were looking on, half +frightened, half curious, from behind rocks and trees, a long way off, +ready to resume their flight at the slightest alarm: "Come hither, and +fear not the man; neither he nor any other shall ever come to this +land with thoughts of harm; for we are very dear to the immortal gods. +Far away we dwell amidst the rolling seas, remote from the haunts of +men. But this is some hapless wanderer, driven by chance to our +shores, and we must cherish him, for from Zeus come all strangers and +beggars, and a little gift is a great thing to them. Take the stranger +to a sheltered place, where he may wash and dress him, and give him +wherewithal to clothe himself, and after that, meat and drink."</p> + +<p>When they heard the words of their mistress the girls came stealing +timidly back, one by one. And they gave Odysseus clean raiment, and +when he had washed and clothed himself, he came back to the place +where Nausicaä was waiting. Wonderful was the change which had been +made in his appearance by the refreshing bath and fitting apparel. +Instead of the squalid, battered wretch who had begged for countenance +and shelter, Nausicaä saw before her a stalwart, stately man, +broad-shouldered, and deep of chest, with dark clustering hair and +beard, like the curling hyacinth, and an air of majesty and command.</p> + +<p>"Hear me, friends," whispered Nausicaä, as she saw him coming, +"methinks some god hath wrought a miracle on this man, who but now was +so hideous to behold. Would that we might prevail with him to make his +abode among us! She would be a proud maiden who should wed with such +as him. Now give the stranger food and drink." And they did so, and +Odysseus ate and drank with keen appetite, having tasted nothing for +many days. While he was eating, the maidens folded the garments and +placed them in the waggon, and when he had finished, Nausicaä mounted +the waggon, and bidding him and the handmaids follow on foot started +the mules and drove slowly towards the city. When they reached the +cultivated lands outside the walls she drew up, and addressed Odysseus +thus: "Stranger, I may not go with thee further, for I fear the +envious tongues of the citizens, who will point the finger at us and +say: 'See what a tall and handsome stranger Nausicaä hath brought with +her!—some seafaring man whom she hath brought with her to be her +husband, since she despises the men of her own nation.' And this will +be a reproach unto me. Therefore wait thou awhile, and do as I bid +thee. Not far from here is a temple and grove of Athene, a fair +coppice of poplar-trees, and a spring of clear water. Go thou thither, +and wait until we have time to reach my father's house, then rise and +go into the city and inquire for the dwelling of Alcinous. A little +child could show thee the way, for there is none like it in all the +city."</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus4lg.jpg" name="Illus4"><img + title="Odysseus and Nausicaä (click to enlarge)" alt="Odysseus and Nausicaä" + src="images/illus4.png" /></a> +</div> + +<p>So saying, Nausicaä drove on, leaving Odysseus where he was. He soon +found the temple, and going in knelt down and prayed to the goddess to +continue her favour. When he thought that Nausicaä had had time to +reach home, he rose and went into the city. The road lay along a +narrow causeway, which connected the city with the mainland, and on +either side was a sheltered haven, with ships drawn up on the beach. +Passing through the gates he came next to the place of assembly, in +front of a temple of Poseidon, with a circle of massive stones bedded +deeply in the earth. Wherever he looked he saw signs of a busy +seafaring people—masts, and oars, and great coils of rope—and his +ears were filled with the sound of saw and hammer from the +shipwrights' yards.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>As he stood thus gazing about him, he saw a young maiden coming +towards him, carrying a pitcher. He inquired of her the way to the +house of Alcinous, and she bade him follow her, as she was going that +way. "My father's house," she said, "is close to the house which thou +seekest. But thou art a stranger, I perceive, and not of this land; +walk therefore warily, and regard no man, for the Phæacians love not +the face of the stranger, nor are they given to hospitality. Their +home is the deep, and their ships are as swift as a bird—swift as a +thought—for they are the favourites of Poseidon."</p> + +<p>So saying, the maiden led the way swiftly, and Odysseus followed, +keeping close behind. He remarked with wonder that though the streets +were full of people, so that they had to walk carefully, and thread +their way through the crowd, none seemed to notice him or his +companion, or gave any sign of being conscious of their presence. The +truth was that the supposed maiden was none other than his patron +goddess Athene, who so ordered it that he was invisible to all eyes +but hers.</p> + +<p>As they went, his companion entertained him with an account of the +family history of the Phæacian king, Alcinous, whose father, +Nausithous, was the son of Poseidon. Alcinous married Arete, who was +related to him by blood, and was honoured exceedingly by her husband +and by all the Phæacians. "She is the idol of her household," +continued the maiden, "and all eyes follow her with love and reverence +when she goes through the town. So high is her character that even men +consult her in their differences, and defer to her judgment. If thou +canst enlist her on thy side, thou wilt soon obtain the safe conduct +which thou desirest, and reach thy home in safety and honour."</p> + +<p>They had now reached a large enclosed piece of land, surrounded by a +tall fence, above which appeared the boughs of goodly trees, laden +with their burden of fruit. "Here is the garden of Alcinous," +whispered the maiden, "and yonder is the gate. Enter boldly in, and +seek out the queen, who is now sitting at meat with her husband's +guests. Make thy petition to her, for if her heart incline unto thee +all will be well."</p> + +<p>With that word she vanished from his sight, and left him standing at +the gates of Alcinous. Wondering greatly he entered the garden, and +gazed about him. So fair a sight had never met his eyes. Fruit-trees +without number stood ranged in ordered rows, pear-trees, and +pomegranates, and rosy apples, the luscious fig, and olives in their +bloom. Their fruit never failed, summer or winter, all the year round. +There blows the warm west wind without ceasing, nursing the tender +blossom, and mellowing the swelling fruit. He saw pears and figs +hanging on the trees in every stage of growth. Another part of the +enclosure was set apart for the cultivation of the vine; and here also +the same wonder was to be seen, springtime and summer dancing +hand-in-hand, and yellow autumn treading close in their footsteps. +Side by side hung the ripe, purple cluster, the crude grape just +turning from green to red, and tiny green bunches lately formed from +the blossom. There the labour of the vintagers never ceased, and the +winepress overflowed without end.</p> + +<p>Between the rows of fruit-trees were garden-beds, in which grew all +manner of flowers and useful herbs; and the whole was watered by a +perennial stream, divided into channels which brought the water to +every part of the garden.</p> + +<p>Turning with a sigh from that paradise of colour and perfume, Odysseus +passed on to the house, and stood for a while, scanning that stately +structure. His eyes were almost blinded by the light which flashed +from the outer walls, which were built of solid brass, with a coping +of blue steel. The doors were of gold, with silver lintel and +doorposts, and brazen threshold. Then he entered the hall, still +unseen of all eyes; and here new wonders awaited him. Within the +doorway on either side sat dogs wrought in silver and gold, living +creatures, that know neither age nor death, which Hephæstus, the +divine artificer, made, in the wisdom of his heart, to guard the house +of the prince Alcinous day and night. At intervals stood figures of +youths fashioned in gold, with torches in their hands, which at +night-time shed a blaze of light throughout the hall. And all round +the walls were set rows of seats, covered with richly woven cloths, +the work of women's hands. There sat the noble chieftains of Phæacia, +feasting on the bounty of their king.</p> + +<p>Far within, visible through a wide-opened door, was seen another +chamber, where a troop of domestics were busy at their tasks. Some +were grinding the yellow grain in hand-mills, others were walking to +and fro at the loom, and others sat plying distaff and spindle, +nodding their heads like poplars waving in the wind. Very choice was +the fabric woven in that chamber, for the women of Phæacia were famed +beyond all others for their skill in weaving, even as the men +surpassed all the world in seamanship.</p> + +<p>Such were the glories of the house of Alcinous, and when Odysseus had +gazed his fill he began to think of the purpose for which he had come. +The feasters were just pouring a libation to Hermes, to be followed by +a parting cup, before they went home. At that very moment their eyes +were opened, and they saw Odysseus kneeling at the feet of Arete, and +heard him utter these words:</p> + +<p>"Great queen, daughter of a race divine, behold me, a toil-worn +wanderer, who hath come hither to implore thy grace. Intercede for me, +I pray thee, with thy husband, that he may send me speedily to my +native land: and may it be well with thee, and with all this fair +company, and with the children who come after thee."</p> + +<p>Thereupon he sat down by the hearth in the ashes near the fire; and +for awhile not a word was spoken, but all sat gazing at him in wonder. +At last an aged Phæacian broke the silence, and said, looking at +Alcinous: "My prince, it becomes thee not to suffer this stranger to +sit on the ground in the ashes. Behold, we are all waiting for thee to +speak and declare thy will. Give this poor man thy hand, and set him +on a seat, that he may know that his prayer is granted. And let them +give him to eat, and fill a bowl for a libation to Zeus, in whose care +are all suppliants."</p> + +<p>Alcinous rose in response to the words of the elder, who was famed +among the Phæacians for his eloquence and wisdom, and taking Odysseus +by the hand raised him from his abject posture, and seated him by his +side. Food and drink were placed before him, and while he was eating, +Alcinous ordered a bowl to be filled for a libation to Zeus, the god +of hospitality. The wine was served out to the guests, the libations +were poured, and then Alcinous began to speak again, unfolding his +purpose towards Odysseus.</p> + +<p>"Here me, ye princes of Phæacia. Go ye now to your rest, and to-morrow +we will call an assembly of all the elders, and make a great feast and +sacrifice, and after that we will take counsel how we may best send +the stranger on his way. Safe and sound we will bring him to his +native land, but after that he must take up his portion, according as +the Fates have ordained for him, and spun the thread of his life, +rough or smooth, from the hour when his mother bare him. I speak as +supposing our guest to be a man; but if he be a god, come down from +heaven, then I fear that the gods are devising some snare against us. +For never has it been their wont to appear among us in disguise, but +at sacrifice and at feast they freely consort with us in their own +shape, seeing that we are of their own kin."</p> + +<p>"Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "let not this fear trouble thee. I am +no god, as thou mayest see right well. If ye know any man conspicuous +for the burden of sorrow which he bears, ye may learn my lot from his. +But none, methinks, can equal the sum of what I have endured by the +ordinance of heaven. Care sits by my side day and night, but within me +is a monitor whose voice I must obey, even my hungry belly, that calls +aloud to be filled, and will not let me alone to chew the cud of +bitter thought. Shameless he is, and clamorous exceedingly. Therefore +let me sup and question me no further to-night; but rouse thee betimes +to-morrow, and send me with all speed to my native land. Let me once +see my possessions, and my household, and my stately home, and then I +will close mine eyes in peace."</p> + +<p>A murmur of approval went round the hall as Odysseus ended his speech. +One by one the guests took leave of Alcinous, and he and his hosts sat +awhile conversing together, while the servants were removing the +remnants of the feast, and setting the house in order for the night. +Arete was the first to speak, for she recognised the garments which +Odysseus was wearing as the work of her own hands. "Friend," said she, +"let me ask thee one question. How camest thou by this raiment? For +surely thou hast not brought it with thee in thy voyage across the +deep. Say who thou art and whence thou comest."</p> + +<p>Thus challenged Odysseus told her all the story of his shipwreck on +the island of Calypso, of his long sojourn there, of his voyage on the +raft, his second shipwreck, and his landing on the coast of Phæacia. +Concluding he touched feelingly on his meeting with Nausicaä, and the +kindness, courtesy, and modesty of her behaviour. "Never saw I such +grace and prudence," he added, "in one so young and so lovely."</p> + +<p>"Yet in this she did not well," replied Alcinous, "that she brought +thee not straightway to this house, but suffered thee to find thy way +alone."</p> + +<p>"Nay, blame her not," answered Odysseus, "she bade me come hither with +herself and the maidens, but I feared to offend thee, and chose to +come alone."</p> + +<p>"Think not that I am so hasty, or given to causeless anger," said +Alcinous; "excess in all things is evil."<sup><a href="#foot07" name="footret07">7</a></sup> Then he looked earnestly +at Odysseus, and continued, after a pause: "I would to heaven that thy +thoughts were as mine; then wouldst thou abide for ever in this land, +and take my daughter to wife, and I would give thee house and lands. +But I see that thou art steadfastly purposed to leave us; and none +shall detain thee against thy will. To-morrow thou shalt go. I will +appoint a ship and a crew, and they shall bear thee sleeping to thine +own land, yea though it be more distant than far Eubœa, which lies, +as I am told, in the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet the Phæacians +went thither in their ships, and returned on the same day. They have +no equals, as thou shalt soon learn, in seamanship, and no ships in +all the world are like mine."</p> + +<p>After some further talk they parted for the night, and Odysseus, after +all his hardships, was right glad to lay him down in the soft bed +prepared for him in the gallery before the house. But before he closed +his eyes he muttered a prayer to Zeus that Alcinous might abide by his +promise, and send him safely home.</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>Next day was appointed for a great feast in the palace of Alcinous, to +which all the chief men of Phæacia were invited, and when Odysseus +returned to the house, after some hours spent in a visit to the town, +hefound the courts and galleries thronged with a great company. The +preparations for the banquet were on a heroic scale: twelve sheep, +eight fat swine, and two oxen, the choicest of the herd, were +slaughtered, and a goodly row of casks, filled with the finest +vintages, gave further token that Alcinous was no niggardly host.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Alcinous, meeting Odysseus at the gate. "The guests are +seated, and all is ready. Trouble not thyself as to the manner of thy +home-coming; that is cared for already, and the ship lies at her +moorings. But to-day is a day of good cheer, when thou shalt learn how +gay and joyous a life the Phæacians live."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, they entered the banquet hall, and Odysseus sat down by +the side of Alcinous. Rich and dainty was the fare, and many times the +great wine-bowls were filled and emptied; for the Phæacians were a +luxurious race, much given to the pleasures of the table. Among the +guests Odysseus was especially struck by one venerable figure, who sat +by himself against a pillar, on which hung a harp within reach of his +hands. Odysseus noticed that he ate slowly and deliberately, and +seemed to feel for the cup when he wished to drink, "It is Demodocus, +the blind harper," whispered Alcinous. "We shall presently have a +taste of his quality. He is a rare minstrel."</p> + +<p>Accordingly, when the last course was removed, the harp was placed in +the singer's hands, and after striking a deep chord he began to sing, +choosing for his theme a famous tale of Troy, which told how Achilles +and Odysseus quarrelled at a banquet, and reviled each other with +bitter words, and how Agamemnon rejoiced in spirit because of the +strife; for he had heard an oracle from Apollo, foretelling that when +the noblest of the Greeks fell out Troy's end would be near at hand.</p> + +<p>Odysseus listened, and a flood of emotion filled his mind, so sad were +the memories recalled by the minstrel's lay. Of all his gallant peers, +for ten years his companions in many a joyful feast, and many a high +adventure, how many were left? And he, among the last of the +survivors, was now growing old, after twenty years of war and +wandering, far from his wife and home. He was now, indeed, on the eve +of his return; but at what a price had it been won! And who could tell +what heavy trials awaited him when once more he set foot on his native +soil? Was it not but too probable that he would find his house made +desolate, Telemachus dead, and Penelope wedded to another?</p> + +<p>Overpowered by these gloomy forebodings, he covered his face, and wept +aloud. When Demodocus paused in his singing he wiped away his tears, +and poured a drink-offering from his cup; but every time the minstrel +resumed his lay a new fit of weeping succeeded. At last, Alcinous, who +had hitherto been totally absorbed in that rare minstrelsy, observed +his guest's emotion, and partly divining the cause came to his relief. +"How say ye, fair sirs?" he said, rising and addressing the company. +"Shall we go forth for awhile, and show the stranger that we have +other and manlier pastimes, now that we have eaten and drunken, and +cheered our souls with song? Let him not say of us when he goes home +that we sit all day by the wine-cup, but let him learn that the +Phæacians surpass all mankind in boxing, and in wrestling, and in +leaping, and in the speed of their feet."</p> + +<p>So saying he rose from his seat and led the way to the place of +assembly. Crowds soon flocked to see the friendly trial of strength +and skill. The first event was the foot race, and this was followed by +matches of wrestling, boxing, leaping, and throwing the weight. +Odysseus stood watching the Phæacians at their sports, and thinking of +the mighty feats which he had witnessed and shared at the funeral +games of Patroclus. Presently he felt a hand on his shoulder, and +heard himself challenged by a young Phæacian, whose name was Euryalus, +in these terms: "Why so gloomy, father? Away with care! All is ready +for thy departure, and thou shalt soon be home again. But come, give +us a proof of thy manhood, if thou knowest aught of games of skill. +Thou seemest a stout fellow, and I doubt not that thou wilt acquit +thee well."</p> + +<p>"Friend," answered Odysseus, "mock me not. Thou seest how broken I am, +and worn by my long battle with the sea; and care sits heavy on my +heart, forbidding me to think of the things which thou namest."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said Euryalus, with a scornful laugh, "I see that I was +mistaken in thee. Thou art plainly no athlete, but some cunning +merchant, with thy head full of thy cargo, and fingers only skilled in +counting thy gains."</p> + +<p>Then Odysseus bent his brows, and answered with a stern look: "Friend, +thou art over-saucy of thy tongue. But so it ever is; the gods +dispense their gifts with sparing hand, and give not all excellence to +the same man. One man is mean of aspect, but heaven's grace descends +upon his lips, so that men look upon him with delight while he +discourses smoothly with a winning modesty. He is the observed of all +observers, and when he walks through the town all eyes follow him as +if he were a god. Another again is glorious, like a very god, in the +splendour of his face and form, but no grace attends upon his speech. +Even so thou art conspicuous for thy beauty, as though the hand of a +god had fashioned thee, but in understanding thou art naught. Thou +hast stung me by thy unseemly words; I am not ignorant of manly +sports, as thou sayest, but I tell thee that I was among the foremost +as long as I trusted in my youth and in the might of my hands. But now +I am sore spent with woe and pain, for many things have I suffered in +battles by land, and buffeting with the sea. Nevertheless, broken as I +am, I will give proof of my strength, for thou hast provoked me +bitterly by thy wanton words."</p> + +<p>Thereupon, without waiting to throw off his cloak, he sprang into the +arena, and caught up a massy disc of iron, far heavier than those with +which the Phæacians had been throwing. Poising it lightly, with one +hand he flung it, as one who flings a ball. The Phæacians sank back in +dismay as they saw the huge mass flying high over their heads, and +when it fell all rushed to the spot to mark the distance. There it +lay, far beyond the longest cast of the native athletes, and Odysseus +pointed to it, and said: "Reach that mark, my young masters, if ye +can! And if any among you have a mind to try a match with me in boxing +or in wrestling, or in the foot race, they shall have their will; only +with the sons of Alcinous I will not strive, for he is my host, and it +were not fitting or prudent to challenge them. Whatever a man can do +with his hands I can do: I can send an arrow sure and strong, and +strike down my foe, and herein can no archer surpass me, save one +only, Philoctetes, who bare the bow of Hercules; and I can fling a +javelin farther than another man can shoot an arrow. Only in speed of +foot I fear that some of you may surpass me; for my knees are yet weak +from long fasting and fighting with the waves."</p> + +<p>Not one of the Phæacians took up the challenge, but all sat mute, +gazing in wonder and awe at this strange man, who had just given such +signal proof of the power of his arm. At last Alcinous answered and +said: "Stranger, none here can take thy words amiss, for, as thou +sayest, thou hast been bitterly provoked. But hear me now in turn, and +push not thy quarrel further, but rest satisfied with the proof of thy +prowess which thou hast given. I will speak to thee frankly, that thou +mayest know what manner of men the Phæacians are. We are not mighty +men of valour, like thee, yet we too have our own peculiar excellence. +We are good runners, and none can approach us in all that belongs to +the mariner's art. But at home we live softly, loving the banquet, and +music and dancing, clean raiment, warm baths, and long repose." Then +turning to his attendants he added: "Go, some of you, and bring hither +the harper Demodocus, and clear a space for the dancers, that our +guest may see something of the native sports of Phæacia."</p> + +<p>Then those whose business it was chose a fair level space for the +dance, and when Demodocus arrived he took his harp and struck up a +lively measure. A fair troop of boys stood in a circle around him, and +the dance began. Alcinous had not overrated the skill of his people in +this graceful pastime, and Odysseus was filled with wonder as he +watched the intricate yet ordered movements of the youthful troop.</p> + +<p>When the dance was ended, Demodocus sang a soft lay of love, and after +that the two most skilful dancers, one of whom was Laodamas, a son of +Alcinous, stood up to dance a reel together. One of them held a +crimson ball, and, keeping time to the music flung it high into the +air; while the other leaped high from the ground, and caught the ball +as it fell. Then they flung the ball with lightning rapidity from hand +to hand, so that it seemed a mere streak of crimson shooting backward +and forward; and all the time the dance went gaily on, while the whole +company of the Phæacians kept up a merry din, beating time to the +music with their feet.</p> + +<p>"Of a truth," said Odysseus, addressing Alcinous, "thou hast not +boasted for naught; never saw I such dancing in all my long travels." +A proud man was Alcinous to hear such praise from such a man, and he +was not slow to testify his gratitude. "Hear me," he said, "ye princes +of Phæacia! Methinks our guest is a man of exceeding shrewd wit. Let +us bestow on him a parting gift, that he may remember us, and rejoice +in spirit when he thinks of his sojourn in Phæacia. Thirteen there +are, of whom I am one, who sit in high places, and are notable men in +the land; let each of us give him a change of raiment and a talent of +gold. And Euryalus shall crave pardon of him for his ill-chosen words, +and appease him with a gift."</p> + +<p>The generous proposal was well received, and each of the twelve nobles +sent his body-servant to fetch the gifts. Euryalus also was prompt to +make his peace with Odysseus. He presented him with a fine sword of +tempered bronze, with silver hilt, and scabbard of ivory. "Behold my +peace-offering," he said, "and take my goodwill with the gift. Forget +my foolish words, and think of me kindly when thou art safe among +thine own people."</p> + +<p>Odysseus acknowledged the courtesy of Euryalus in becoming terms, and +then the whole company rose and went back to the palace of Alcinous, +where they found the gifts for Odysseus all set in order against his +departure. Then Alcinous brought a golden goblet, beautifully +fashioned, and richly chased, and bade Arete bring a coffer to hold +the gifts. The coffer was displayed, and was in itself a gift of no +mean value, being a choice piece of work.</p> + +<p>"Now bid thy handmaids prepare a bath for our guest," said Alcinous to +his wife, and "Receive this as a memorial of me," he added, placing +the goblet in Odysseus' hands, "that thou mayest remember me all the +days of thy life, when thou pourest libations to Zeus and the other +deathless gods."</p> + +<p>Arete gave the order as required, and while the bath was preparing she +arranged all the gifts in the coffer. Then closing the lid she said to +Odysseus: "Make all fast with thine own hands, that none may meddle +with thy goods as thou liest asleep on thy passage across the sea." +Odysseus made fast the cord, securing it with an intricate and cunning +knot, which he had learnt from the great sorceress Circe; and when he +had finished he was summoned by the eldest of the handmaids to the +bath. When he had bathed and put on fresh raiment he came back to the +dining-hall; and as he entered he saw Nausicaä leaning against a +pillar. Sweet was the maiden's face, and kind her eyes, as she gazed +with innocent admiration on the stately figure of her father's guest. +"Farewell, my friend," said she, "and when thou arrivest home think +sometimes of her to whom thou owest thy life."</p> + +<p>"Fair daughter of Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "if that day ever +comes—if I ever see my home again, by favour of Zeus, the lord of +Hera—be assured that I shall remember thee in my prayers, as long as +this life which thou hast given me shall last." And so he parted from +the maiden, and she went back to her mother's bower.</p> + +<p>Odysseus again received a place of honour by the side of Alcinous, and +a goodly portion of meat was set before him. Looking round the circle +of guests he saw Demodocus, the blind harper, sitting in their midst, +and wishing to show him honour, he cut off a choice piece from the +flesh which had been set before him, and bade a servant carry it to +the bard, and greet him in the giver's name. The servant did as he was +bidden, and Demodocus received the portion of honour with becoming +gratitude.</p> + +<p>When the banquet was drawing towards its close Odysseus approached the +minstrel, and after praising his former lay, which told of the +disastrous homeward voyage of the Greeks, he begged him to sing the +Lay of the Wooden Horse, the device by which Troy was taken. Demodocus +complied, and taking his harp began to chant that famous lay, which +told how the Greeks burnt their tents and sailed away, leaving the +wooden monster behind them, how the Trojans dragged the horse into the +city, and how the fatal engine sent forth its burden of armed men in +the night. The name of Odysseus, the arch-plotter, occurred again and +again as the tale went on; and once more Odysseus was moved to tears +by the memories which the words of the bard awakened.</p> + +<p>Alcinous observed his emotion, and called to Demodocus to cease his +song. "We vex our guest," he said, "for whose sake we are gathered +here. Doubtless the minstrel has touched some hidden spring of sorrow. +But come now," he continued, addressing Odysseus, "we have honoured +thee exceedingly, and given thee of our best. Wilt thou not repay us +by telling something of thyself? Let us hear thy name, and say of what +land and of what city thou art, that our ships may know whither to +steer their course. For know that we mariners of Phæacia need no +pilots nor rudders, but our ships by their own instinct take us to +whatsoever place we would visit, gliding like phantoms, invisible, +swift as thought. Nor has any vessel from our ports ever suffered +shipwreck or harm.</p> + +<p>"Thou likewise hast been a great traveller, and seen many lands and +nations, both such as are wild and fierce and such as are gentle and +of godly mind. Tell us then the tale of thy wanderings, and say why +thou weepest ever at the name of Troy."</p> + +<p>All the guests bent forward with eager faces, and strained their ears +to catch Odysseus' answer; for there was something mysterious about +this strange guest, something which marked him as a man of no common +stamp, and their curiosity, which had hitherto been held in check by +the laws of courtesy, was now set free from all restraint by the frank +question of Alcinous.</p> + +<p>"Illustrious prince," answered Odysseus, after a moment's pause, +"methinks it were best to sit silent and listen to the sweet voice of +the harper; for what better thing has life to offer than a full cup +and brave minstrelsy heard at the quiet hour of eventide? But if thou +must needs hear a tale of sorrow it is not for me to deny thee. First +of all I will tell thee my name. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, and my +name is in all men's mouths because of my deep wit and manifold wiles, +yea, the renown thereof reaches even unto heaven. My home is the sunny +isle of Ithaca, last in a line of islands lying in the western sea. It +is a rugged land, but a nurse of gallant sons; and sweet, ah! very +sweet, is the name of home. Never hath my heart been turned from that +dear spot, no, not by all the loveliness of Calypso, nor by all the +witchery of Circe, but ever I remained faithful to the one lodestar of +my life."</p> + +<p>Here Odysseus began the wondrous story of his wanderings, which kept +his hearers spellbound until far into the night.</p> + +<a name="foot07"></a><p>7. <i>Nothing too much</i>, the corner-stone of Greek morality. <a href="#footret07">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap07"></a><h2>The Wanderings of Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>After leaving Troy, Odysseus first sailed to the coast of Thrace, and +collected a rich booty in a sudden raid on the district. But while his +men lingered to enjoy the first-fruits of their spoil, the wild tribes +of the neighbourhood rallied their forces, and falling upon the +invaders, while they were engaged in a drunken revel, drove them with +great slaughter to their ships. No sooner had they put to sea than a +wild tempest came down upon them from the north, and drove them to +seek shelter again on the mainland, where they lay for two days and +nights in constant dread of another attack from the injured Thracians. +On the third day they set sail again and got as far as Malea, the +southernmost headland of Greece. Here they were again driven from +their course, and after nine days' tossing on the waves they reached +the land of the Lotus-Eaters.</p> + +<p>When his men had refreshed themselves, Odysseus sent three of their +number to explore the country and learn the manners of the +inhabitants. Presently these three came to the dwellings of the +Lotus-Eaters, who received them kindly and gave them to eat of the +lotus-plant. With the first taste of that magic food the men forgot +the purpose for which they had been sent, forgot their friends and +their home, and had no desire left in life but to remain there all +their days and feast with the Lotus-Eaters. In this state they were +found by Odysseus, who compelled them by force, though they wept and +complained bitterly, to return to their ships. There he bound them +fast under the benches, and bade the rest take to their oars and fly +from that seductive clime, lest others should fall under the same +fatal spell.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Thence they came to the land of the Cyclopes, a rude and monstrous +tribe, but favoured of the immortal gods, by whose bounty they live. +They toil not, neither do they sow, nor till the ground, but the earth +of herself brings forth for them a bountiful living, wheat and barley, +and huge swelling clusters of the grape. Naught know they of law or +civil life, but each lives in his cave on the wild mountain-side, +dwelling apart, careless of his neighbours, with his wife and +children.</p> + +<p>It was a dark, cloudy night, and a thick mist overspread the sea, when +suddenly Odysseus heard the booming of breakers on a rocky shore. +Before an order could be given, or any measure taken for the safety of +the ships, the little fleet was caught by a strong landward current, +and whirled pell-mell through a narrow passage between the cliffs into +a land-locked harbour. Drawing their breath with relief at their +wonderful escape, they beached their vessels on the level sand and lay +down to wait for the day.</p> + +<p>In the morning they found that they had been driven to the landward +shore of a long island, which formed a natural breakwater to a +spacious bay, with a narrow entrance at either end. The island was +thickly covered with woods, giving shelter to a multitude of wild +goats, its only inhabitants. For the Cyclopes have no ships, so that +the goats were left in undisturbed possession, though the place was +well suited for human habitation, with a deep, rich soil, and +plentiful springs of water.</p> + +<p>The first care of Odysseus was to supply the crews of his vessels, +which were twelve in number, with fresh meat. Armed with bows and +spears, he and a picked body of men scoured the woods in search of +game. They soon obtained a plentiful booty, and nine goats were +assigned to each vessel, with ten for that of Odysseus. So all that +day till the setting of the sun they sat and feasted on fat venison +and drank of the wine which they had taken in their raid on the +Thracians.</p> + +<p>Early next morning Odysseus manned his own galley, and set forth to +explore the mainland, leaving the rest of the crews to await his +return on the island. As they drew near the opposite shore of the bay, +the mariners came in view of a gigantic cavern overshadowed by +laurel-trees. Round the front of the cavern was a wide court-yard +rudely fenced with huge blocks of stone and unhewn trunks of trees.</p> + +<p>Having moored his vessel in a sheltered place, Odysseus chose twelve +of his men to accompany him on his perilous adventure, and charging +the others to keep close, and not stir from the ship, he prepared for +his visit to the Cyclops, who dwelt apart from his brethren in the +cavern. Amongst the spoils obtained in Thrace was a small store of +peculiarly rich and generous wine, which had been given him by a +priest of Apollo whom he had protected, with his wife and child, while +his men were pillaging the town. Twelve jars of this precious vintage +the priest brought forth from a secret hiding-place, known only to +himself and his wife and one trusty servant. So potent was the wine +that it needed but one measure of it to twenty of water to make a +fragrant and comfortable drink, from which few could refrain. Odysseus +now filled a great goatskin bottle with this wine, and carried it with +him. And well it was for him that he did so.</p> + +<p>During the day the Cyclops was abroad, watching his flocks as they +grazed on the mountain pastures; so that when Odysseus and his men +came to the cavern, they had ample time to look about them. The +courtyard was fenced off into pens, well stocked with ewes and +she-goats, with their young—huge beasts, rivalling in stature their +gigantic shepherd. Within the cavern was a sort of dairy, with great +piles of cheeses, and vessels brimming with whey.</p> + +<p>"Quick now," whispered one of the men to Odysseus. "Let us take of the +cheeses, and drive off the best of the lambs and kids to the ship +before the Cyclops returns; for methinks he will give us but sorry +welcome if he finds us here." "Nay," answered Odysseus, "I will wait +for the master, that I may see him face to face. It may be that he +will bestow on me some gift, such as strangers receive from their +hosts." So they remained, and having kindled a fire they prepared +savoury meat, and ate of the cheeses which they found in the cave. +Then they waited, until the lengthening shadows showed that evening +was drawing near.</p> + +<p>While they sat thus, conversing in low tones, and casting fearful +glances towards the cavern's mouth, all at once they heard a sound +like the trampling of many feet, accompanied by loud bleatings, which +were answered by the ewes and she-goats in the courtyard. Then a vast +shadow darkened the cavern's entrance, and in came Polyphemus, driving +his flock before him. At the sight of that fearful monster, huge as a +mountain, with one vast red eye glaring in the middle of his forehead, +Odysseus and his comrades fled in terror to the darkest corner of the +cave. The Cyclops bore in one hand a mighty log for his evening fire. +Flinging it down with a crash that awakened all the echoes of the +cavern, he closed the entrance with an immense mass of stone, which +served as a door. Then he sat down and began to milk the ewes and +she-goats. Half of the milk he curdled for cheese, and half he kept +for drinking. So when he had strained off the whey, and pressed the +curds into wicker-baskets, he kindled a fire, and as the flame blazed +up, illumining every corner of the cavern, he caught sight of the +intruders, and with a voice which sounded like the roaring of a +torrent cried out: "Who are ye that have come to the cave of +Polyphemus, and what would ye have of him?"</p> + +<p>When he heard that appalling voice, and looked at that horrible face, +fitfully lighted up by the blaze of the fire, Odysseus felt his heart +stand still with terror. Nevertheless he manned himself to answer, and +spake boldly thus: "We are Greeks, driven from our course in our +voyage from Troy, and brought by the winds and waves to these shores. +And we are they who have served Agamemnon, son of Atreus, whose fame +now fills the whole earth; so mighty was the city which he overthrew, +with all the host within her. And now we have come to kneel at thy +feet and beseech thee of thy favour to bestow on us some gift such as +strangers receive. Have pity on us, great and mighty as thou art, and +forget not that Zeus hath the stranger and the suppliant in his +keeping."</p> + +<p>But there was no sign of pity or mercy in the Cyclops' face as he made +answer: "Thou art full simple, my friend, or unversed in the ways of +this land, if thou thinkest that I and my brethren care aught for Zeus +or any other god. Nay, we are mightier far than they, and if thou +seekest aught of me thou must seek it of my favour, and not of my +fears. But tell me truly, where didst thou moor thy vessel on thy +landing? Lies she near at hand, or on a distant part of the coast?"</p> + +<p>Odysseus easily divined the purpose of Polyphemus in putting this +question, and answered accordingly: "My ship was wrecked on a distant +part of your coast, dashed all to pieces against the rocks; and I and +these twelve escaped by swimming."</p> + +<p>Polyphemus made no reply, but sprang up and seized two of the men, +grasping them easily together in one hand, and dashed their brains out +against the rocky ground. Then he cut them in pieces and made his +supper on them. Fearful it was to see him as he ate, crunching up +flesh and bones and marrow all together, like a ravening lion. When he +had devoured the last morsel he took a deep draught of milk, and lay +down on the cavern floor among his flocks to sleep.</p> + +<p>As soon as the heavy breathing of Polyphemus showed that he was fast +asleep, Odysseus crept from his corner, resolved to slay the cannibal +giant on the spot. He had already drawn his sword, when a sudden +thought made him pause. If he killed Polyphemus, how was he to escape +from the cavern? The entrance was blocked by that ponderous stone, +which a hundred men could not have moved; and he and his men must in +that case perish miserably of hunger and thirst. Restrained by this +reflection, he put up his sword, and went back to his companions to +wait for day.</p> + +<p>Polyphemus rose early, and after milking his flocks he laid hold of +two more of the miserable captives, butchered them in the same manner, +and made his breakfast on their warm, quivering bodies. Then he drove +forth his sheep and goats, pushing aside the door of rock, and set it +back in its place, as a man sets the lid on a quiver. They heard his +wild cries, as he called to his flocks, and their loud bleatings as he +drove them out to pasture; then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, +and silence settled on the vast, shadowy cave.</p> + +<p>Forthwith Odysseus began to devise means to escape from that murderous +den, and avenge the slaughter of his friends. As he peered about in +the twilight, he caught sight of a mighty stake of green olive-wood, +tall and stout as the mast of a twenty-oared galley,<sup><a href="#foot08" name="footret08">8</a></sup> which had been +cut by the Cyclops for a staff, and laid aside to season. Odysseus cut +off about a fathom's length, and with the help of his comrades made it +round and smooth, and tapered it off at one end to a point. Then he +hardened the sharp end in the fire, and when it was ready he hid the +rude weapon away under a pile of refuse. Of the twelve who had +followed him from the ship, there only remained eight; four of these +were chosen by lot to aid him in his plan of vengeance; and Odysseus +noted with satisfaction that they were the stoutest and bravest of the +company. All being now ready, they sat down to wait for the return of +Polyphemus.</p> + + +<p>The setting sun was pouring his level rays through the chinks of the +doorway when they heard the ponderous tread of the Cyclops +approaching. This time he drove the whole of his flocks into the cave, +leaving the courtyard empty. Having milked the herd, he laid hands on +two of Odysseus' comrades, and slaughtered and devoured them as +before. The moment had now come for Odysseus to carry out his design. +So he filled a wooden bowl with unmixed wine, and drawing near to +Polyphemus addressed him thus:</p> + +<p>"Take, Polyphemus, and drink of this wine, now that thou hast eaten of +human flesh. I warrant that thou hast never tasted such a choice +vintage as this, and I brought it as a gift to thy divinity, that thou +mightest have pity, and let me go in peace. Little did I dream to find +thee so cruel and so wild. Who in all the world will ever draw near to +thee again, after the hideous deeds which thou hast wrought?"</p> + +<p>Polyphemus took the cup and drained it to the bottom. Then he rolled +his great eye with ecstasy, as the last drop trickled down his +monstrous gullet, and holding out the cup said with a sort of growling +good humour: "Give me to drink again, and make haste and tell me thy +name, that I may bestow on thee a gift of hospitality to gladden thy +heart. I and my brethren have wine in plenty, for the earth gives us +of her abundance, and the soft rain of heaven swells the grape to +ripeness; but this is a drink divine, fit for the banquets of +Olympus."</p> + +<p>Again the cup was filled, and yet a third time; and Polyphemus drank +out every drop. Before long his great head began to droop, and his eye +blinked mistily, like the red sun looming through a fog. Seeing that +the good wine was doing its work, Odysseus lost no time in telling his +name. "Thou askest how I am called," he said in cozening tones, "and +thou shalt hear, that I may receive the gift which thou hast promised +me. My name is Noman; so call me my father and my mother, and all my +friends." When he heard that, Polyphemus "grinned horribly a ghastly +smile," and answered: "This shall be thy gift: I will eat thee last of +all, for the sake of thy good wine."</p> + +<p>With that he sank down backward on the floor, and lay like a +leviathan, with his head lolling sideways, and his mouth gaping, +buried in drunken sleep.</p> + +<p>"Now is our time!" whispered Odysseus, and taking the sharpened stake +from its hiding place he thrust the point into the glowing embers of +the fire. As soon as he saw that the weapon was red hot and about to +burst into flame, he took it up, and gave it to his men. Then, +breathing a prayer to Heaven for strength and courage, they stole +softly to the place where the Cyclops lay. Odysseus clambered up to +the forehead of the Cyclops, holding on by his hair, and while the +others pressed the glowing point of the ponderous stake into the +monster's eye he whirled it round by means of a thong, as men turn an +auger to bore a ship's timber. The point hissed and sputtered as it +sank deep into the pulpy substance of the eye, and there was an acrid +smell of burning flesh, while the great shaggy eyebrow took fire, and +cracked like a burning bush. "It is a fine tempering bath for this +good spear of ours," muttered Odysseus, as he worked away at the +strap. "Temper it well—Polyphemus shall have it as a parting gift"</p> + +<p>At first the Cyclops writhed and groaned in his sleep; then with a +roar as of a hundred lions he awoke, and started up to a sitting +posture, scattering his puny tormentors, who fled in wild haste, and +hid themselves in the angle of a projecting rock. Polyphemus rose +slowly to his feet, tore the stake from the empty eye-socket, and +flung it from him, still uttering his fearful cries. His brethren +heard him, and quitting their caverns, came flocking round his gate, +to see what had befallen. "What ails thee, Polyphemus," they asked, +"that thou makest this dreadful din, murdering our sleep? Is anyone +stealing thy sheep or thy goats? Or seeks anyone to slay thee by force +or by guile?"</p> + +<p>"Friends," answered the afflicted giant, "Noman is slaying me by +guile, neither by force."</p> + +<p>"Go to," replied his brethren, "if no man is using thee despitefully, +why callest thou to us? Thou art stricken, it seems, with some sore +disease: pray, then, to thy father Poseidon, and cumber us no more." +So away they went, growling at their broken sleep, and left their +blinded brother to roar alone.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Odysseus had been hard at work, taking measures to escape +with his comrades from the cave. Among the flocks of Polyphemus were +several big rams, with fleeces of remarkable thickness and beauty. Of +these he took three at a time, and lashed them together, side by side, +with osiers, which served Polyphemus for a bed. Each middle ram bore +one of the men firmly bound with osiers under his belly; while the two +outside rams served to conceal that living burden. Last of all +Odysseus provided for his own safety. There was one monster ram, the +leader of the flock, with a grand fleece which trailed on the ground, +like the leaves of the weeping ash. Him Odysseus reserved for himself, +and creeping under his belly hauled himself up until he was entirely +hidden by the drooping fleece, and so hung on steadfastly, waiting for +the day.</p> + +<p>At last the weary vigil was over, the huge stone portal was rolled +aside, and the male sheep and goats went forth to pasture, while the +females remained in their pens, bleating and in pain, for they were +swollen with milk, and there was none to relieve them. As the rams +went past Polyphemus felt their backs, to see if the men were there; +but the simple monster never thought of feeling under their bellies. +Last in the train came the big ram, with Odysseus clinging underneath. +Then said Polyphemus, as his great hands passed over his back: "Dear +ram, why art thou the last to leave the cave? Thou wast never wont to +be a sluggard, but ever thou tookest the lead, walking with long +strides, whether thou wast cropping the tender, flowering grass, or +going down to the waterside, or returning at even to the fold. Surely +thou art heavy with sorrow for thy master's eye, which the villain +Noman and his pitiful mates have blinded. Would that thou hadst a +voice, to tell me where he is skulking from my fury! Then would I pour +forth his brains like water on the ground, and lighten my heart of the +woe which hath been brought upon me by the hands of this nithering<sup><a href="#foot09" name="footret09">9</a></sup> +Noman."</p> + +<p>So saying he let the ram go, and as soon as he was clear of the +courtyard Odysseus dropped to the ground, and ran to loose his +comrades. With all speed they made their way down to the ship, driving +the rams before them, with many a fearful backward glance. Right glad +were their friends to see them again, though their faces fell when +they saw their numbers reduced by half. But there was no time for +regrets, for Polyphemus was already close upon them, groping his way +painfully from rock to rock. So they flung the sheep on board, shoved +off the vessel, and took to their oars. While they were still within +earshot Odysseus bade his men cease rowing, and standing up in the +stern called aloud to the Cyclops in mocking tones: "How likest thou +my gift for thy hospitality, my gentle host? Methinks thou art paid in +full, and canst not complain that I have not given thee good measure."</p> + +<p>When he heard that, Polyphemus bellowed with rage, and tearing up a +great boulder from the side of the cliff he flung it with mighty force +in the direction of the voice. It fell into the sea right in front of +the ship, and raised a billow which washed her back to the shore. +Odysseus pushed her off with a long pole, and signalled to his men to +give way. They rowed for dear life, and had attained twice the former +distance from the shore when Odysseus stopped them again, though they +besought him earnestly to forego his rash purpose, and to refrain from +provoking Polyphemus more. But he, being exceeding wroth for the +murder of his men, would not be persuaded; and lifting up his voice he +spake again: "Cyclops, if anyone ask thee to whom thou owest the loss +of thine eye, say that it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, who reft +thee of sight, and his home is in rocky Ithaca."</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus5lg.jpg" name="Illus5"><img + title="Odysseus and Polyphemus (click to enlarge)" alt="Odysseus and Polyphemus" + src="images/illus5.png" /></a> +</div> + +<p>Now it happened that many a year back Polyphemus had heard a prophecy, +foretelling that he should one day be blinded by a certain Odysseus. +So when he heard that name he was stricken to the very heart, and +cried aloud: "This, then, is the fulfilment of the oracle! Verily I +thought that some tall and proper man would come hither to assail me, +but now I have been outwitted, made drunk, and blinded, by this +little, paltry wretch." After a pause he spoke again, thinking to +fight that man of many wiles with his own weapons. "Come hither, +Odysseus," he said, softening his big voice as well as he could, "that +I may entertain thee with loving-kindness; and afterwards I will pray +to Poseidon, whose son I am, to send a fair breeze for thy homeward +voyage. And he also shall heal my hurt, and give me back my sight."</p> + +<p>Odysseus laughed aloud at the poor monster's simplicity, whereupon +Polyphemus lifted up his hands to heaven, and prayed to his sire, the +lord Poseidon: "Hear me, thou who holdest the earth in thine arms, if +I am indeed thy son. Grant me that Odysseus may never reach his home, +or if that is fixed beyond repeal, let him come home in evil plight, +with the loss of all his men, on a strange ship, to a house of +woe."<sup><a href="#foot10" name="footret10">10</a></sup></p> + +<p>Such was the curse of Polyphemus, to be fulfilled, as we shall see, to +the letter. And having uttered it he flung another rock, which fell +just short of the vessel's stern, and raised a wave which washed her +towards the island. Soon they reached the harbour where the rest of +the fleet lay moored. Joyful were the greetings of their comrades, who +had given them up for lost; and a merry feast they made on the flesh +of the fat sheep, though their mirth was checkered by sadness when +they thought of the brave six who had come to so horrible an end in +the Cyclops' cave.</p> + +<p>After leaving the land of the Cyclopes they came next to the Æolian +island, where dwelt Æolus with his wife and twelve sons and daughters. +The island floated on the sea, and all around it tall cliffs ran sheer +down to the water, crowned on their summit by a wall of brass. Here +they remained a whole month, and were hospitably entertained by Æolus, +revelling in the abundance of his wealthy house, and whiling away the +time with music, and dance, and song, and brave stories of the Trojan +war. And when they departed he gave Odysseus a leathern bag, tied with +a silver cord, in which were confined all the winds that blow, except +only the good west wind, which he left free to blow behind them and +speed them on their way.</p> + +<p>So for nine days and nights they sailed without let or hindrance, and +on the tenth they came in sight of Ithaca, which they approached so +near that they saw the smoke and flame of the beacon-fires along the +coast. Odysseus was worn out with watching, for during all the voyage +he had not closed his eyes, but had sat the whole time with his hand +on the sheet, and suffered no one to relieve him. But now within sight +of his native land he sank down in utter weariness, and fell into a +deep sleep.</p> + +<p>That fatal moment of weakness led to a long train of disasters. His +men had long gazed with curious and jealous eyes at the mysterious +wallet, which they supposed to be full of gold and silver. As long as +Odysseus was on his guard they durst not give utterance to their +thoughts; but when they saw him overtaken by slumber they began to +murmur among themselves. And thus they spake one to another: "Behold +how this man is honoured and beloved whithersoever he goes! He left +Troy-land laden with booty, and thereto hath Æolus added this rich +treasure, while we must come home with empty hands. Go to, let us have +sight of all this gold and silver."</p> + +<p>So waking folly prevailed over slumbering prudence. In a moment the +silver cord was loosened, and all the boisterous winds rushed forth +and bore them weeping and wailing far from their native land. Roused +by the tumult of the tempest, and the despairing cries of his men, +Odysseus sprang up, just in time to see the last glimpse of the hills +of Ithaca as they melted in the distance. His first impulse was to +fling himself into the sea and perish; but mastering his frenzy he +covered his face, and sat down in speechless misery, while the winds +bore them swiftly back to the isle of Æolus.</p> + +<p>With a heavy heart Odysseus went up to the house where he had been +received so kindly, and told his sorrowful tale. "Pity my weakness," +he pleaded, "and let me not suffer for the sins of my men." But Æolus +was not to be moved. "Begone," he said sternly, "quit this island at +once, thou caitiff! Heaven hath set the seal of its hatred upon thee, +and I may not give countenance to such as thou. Out of my sight!" he +thundered, and Odysseus crept sadly back to his ship.</p> + +<p>Then for six days they voyaged on, toiling continually at the oar, for +now there was no favourable wind to waft them on. They were almost +dead with fatigue when they sighted land on the seventh day, and came +to anchor in a sheltered bay, surrounded on all sides by towering +cliffs, with a narrow entrance, guarded by a tall spire of rock on +either side The place was called Læstrygonia, and the nights in that +country are so short that the shepherd as he drives home his flocks at +sundown meets his fellow-toiler on his way to the pasture.</p> + +<p>The cautious Odysseus moored his ship close to the entrance of the +harbour, while all the others came to anchor at the head of the bay +under the shadow of the cliffs; for there was not a wave, not a +ripple, in that sheltered spot, but the water slumbered, as in a +mountain tarn. Having secured his vessel, by making fast her cable to +the rocks, he scaled the cliff with a few of his men, and seeing smoke +rising in the distance he sent three scouts to explore the country, +meantime going back to his ship to await their return.</p> + +<p>Sooner than he expected he saw two of the men descending the cliff in +headlong haste, and as they drew near he could read on their white, +terror-stricken faces what sort of news they had to bring. Their +report was as dismal as their looks. When they left the coast they +struck into a level road cut through the forest, and presently came to +a spring on the outskirts of a town. Here they met a maiden, drawing +water at the well, who told them that she was the daughter of +Antiphates, king of that country, and offered to conduct them to her +father's house. They went with her, and when she had brought them home +she left them to summon her father.</p> + +<p>"As soon as we caught sight of him," continued he who was telling the +story, "we were stricken with terror, for he was of monstrous stature +and hideous to behold. One of us he seized, and rent him in pieces on +the spot; but we two fled for our lives. There is no time to lose. The +town is in uproar, and before long the whole cannibal tribe will be +upon us."</p> + +<p>Hardly had he finished when a multitude of these huge savages was seen +rushing along the edge of the cliffs which overlooked the harbour. +Arming themselves with great rocks, they began to bombard the ships +which had taken the inside station; and a dreadful din arose of +shattered timbers, mingled with the cries of dying men. Not one ship +escaped destruction, and when that part of their work was ended the +barbarians swarmed down the cliffs, speared the floating corpses, and +dragged them to land for a cannibal feast.</p> + +<p>All this time Odysseus and his crew had been helpless spectators of +this scene of massacre. But when they saw that all was over they cut +their cable, and taking to their oars rowed with might and main until +a wide space of open water divided them from that ill-fated shore, +where all their friends had found a grave.</p> + +<h3>IV</h3> + +<p>Of the thirteen vessels with which Odysseus sailed from Troy only one +was now left. Weary and broken in spirit they voyaged on over the +waste of waters; and when, after two or three days' sail, they landed +on a low-lying coast, they lay down for two days and two nights, like +men whose last hope in life was gone. On the third morning Odysseus +roused himself, and ascending a rising ground saw to his dismay that +they had landed on a small island. On all sides stretched the +boundless sea, without a trace of land on the whole horizon.</p> + +<p>As he was descending the hill he heard a rustling in a neighbouring +thicket, and a tall stag with branching antlers stepped forth, and +began to make his way down to a little stream which skirted the foot +of the hill. From the high ground on which he stood Odysseus had a +full view of the beast's broad back, and taking steady aim he flung +his spear and pierced him through the spine. Odysseus' eyes glistened +when he saw the splendid quarry at his feet, for never had he seen so +fine a buck. Not without effort he took the carcass on his back, and +bore it down to his ship, where he found his men still lying +listlessly where he had left them. "Courage, comrades," he cried, as +he flung his heavy burden on the sand. "We shall not die before our +day, and while we have life we must eat and drink. Better a full +sorrow than a fasting."<sup><a href="#foot11" name="footret11">11</a></sup> So they ate and drank, and made good cheer.</p> + +<p>Next day Odysseus divided his whole crew into two companies, two and +twenty each, with himself as captain of one division, and Eurylochus, +his faithful squire, in command of the other. Then he drew lots with +Eurylochus to determine which of the two should undertake the perilous +duty of exploring the island. The lot fell upon Eurylochus, and he at +once set forth with his party, pursued by the prayers and tears of +those who remained behind.</p> + +<p>Passing the low hills which skirted the coast, they struck into a +forest path, and presently came to an open glade, in the midst of +which stood a fair stone dwelling. And as they came and drew nigh unto +the house they saw a strange sight: before the doors stalked and +glared a multitude of wolves and lions, and other beasts of prey, and +when they saw the men these fearful creatures came fawning round them, +like hounds welcoming their master, and did them no harm.</p> + +<p>Quaking with wonder and fear, they came and stood on the threshold, +through which they caught sight of a young and lovely dame, pacing to +and fro about her loom, and weaving a wondrous web, fair and large, +such as the daughters of the gods are wont to weave. And as she plied +her task, she sang to herself in a low and thrilling voice, sad and +sweet as the notes of the Æolian harp. Presently she turned her face +to the doorway, and saw the men standing without. With a bright smile +she came forward, and bade them enter; and they all went in, save only +Eurylochus, who was older than the rest, and liked not the look in +that fair lady's eyes.</p> + +<p>"Welcome, fair youths," she said, "to the halls of Circe, daughter of +the sun. Sit ye down, while I prepare you a posset to slake your +thirst on this hot day." So they sat down, and Circe took wine, and +grated cheese, and honey, and barley-meal, and mixed them in a bowl, +muttering strange words, and adding a single drop from a little phial +which she took from a secret cupboard. Then she gave them to drink, +touching them, as she did so, with a wand; and no sooner had they +tasted than their form and countenance was changed into the likeness +of swine, though they kept the mind and feelings of men. Circe now +drove them all together into a stye, and flung down beechmast, and +acorns, and cornel berries, for them to eat.</p> + +<p>It was drawing towards noon when Odysseus saw a solitary figure +descending the slope which led down to the beach. "Eurylochus!" he +cried, recognising the familiar features of his squire. "Why comest +thou alone?" For some time Eurylochus was unable to utter a word; at +last he spoke, in a broken and altered voice, while his face was +blanched with deadly terror. "They are gone," he faltered—"spirited +away—vanished without a sign. The place is haunted: let us away!"</p> + +<p>Without a word, Odysseus caught up his sword and bow, and ordered +Eurylochus to show him the way to the place where he had lost his men. +But Eurylochus clung to his knees, and besought him to remain, and +prepare for instant flight. Seeing him to be unnerved by terror, +Odysseus bade him stay by the ship, and he himself set out alone to +learn the secrets of this mysterious island.</p> + +<p>Just before coming within sight of Circe's palace, he saw, standing in +his path, a fair and comely youth, who greeted him kindly, and took +him by the hand. There was something more than human beauty in the +face of this stranger, and his words showed more than human knowledge +of Odysseus and his affairs; for indeed he was no other than Hermes, +the messenger of the gods, sent down from heaven to aid Odysseus in +this strait. "Son of Laertes," he said, "why goest thou thus unwarily, +even as a silly bird into the net of the fowler? Pause awhile, or, +instead of setting free thy men, thou wilt become even as they are." +So saying he stooped down, and with careful hands tore up a little +plant which was growing at their feet; the flower of it was white as +milk, and the root was black. "Take this plant," he said, giving it to +Odysseus. "It is the magic herb, Moly, and no human hand may pluck it; +having this, thou mayest defy all the spells of Circe. And when thou +comest to the house of that fair witch, she will offer thee a potion, +mixed with baneful drugs: drink thou thereof, for it shall do thee no +harm. But when she smites thee with her wand draw thou thy sword and +make as though thou wouldst slay her; and she will be filled with +fear, for none ever resisted her power before. Then do thou compel her +to swear a great oath that she will devise no further ill against +thee." As the last words were uttered Hermes vanished, leaving +Odysseus standing with the plant in his hand.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"> +<a href="images/illus6lg.jpg" name="Illus6"><img + title="Circe (click to enlarge)" alt="Circe" + src="images/illus6.png" /></a> +</div> + +<p>And as the god had spoken, even so it came to pass. Circe welcomed +Odysseus with the same treacherous smile, gave him to drink of the +same cup, and struck him with her wand in the same manner; but when +she saw him standing, unchanged and unmoved, threatening her with +drawn sword, she feared exceedingly, and falling at his feet spake +thus in pitiful tones: "Who art thou, that thou yieldest not to the +power of my drugs, which never mortal resisted before? Art thou that +Odysseus of whom Hermes spake, telling me that he should come hither +on his voyage from Troy? Put up thy sword, and thou shalt be my guest +to-night, and for many days to come."</p> + +<p>"No guest will I be of thine," answered Odysseus sternly, "unless thou +wilt swear a great oath to do me no hurt. Before that I will not trust +thee, or receive aught at thy hands. Hast thou not turned my men into +swine, and didst thou not seek even now to put thy wicked spells upon +me?"</p> + +<p>Then Circe took the oath that was required of her, and thus secured +Odysseus consented to remain. Forthwith his beautiful hostess summoned +her handmaids, sweet nymphs of rivers, and woods, and springs, and +bade them make all things ready to entertain the wanderer. With white +feet tripping nimbly, and many a curious glance at the majestic +stranger, the maidens hastened to obey her command. And soon the +tables, which were all of silver, were set forth with golden vessels, +the chairs spread with purple tapestries, and the rich red wine +mingled in a silver bowl. Others prepared a bath for Odysseus, and +when he had bathed, more than mortal health and vigour seemed to enter +his limbs, such virtue had Circe shed into the water.</p> + +<p>After that they sat down to meat; but Odysseus, whose mind was full of +his comrades, left every dish untasted, and sat without uttering a +word. When she observed it, Circe rallied him for his sullenness: "Art +thou afraid to eat?" she said, smiling: "have I not sworn to do thee +no harm? Ah! thou art thinking of thy friends. Come, then, and I will +restore them to thee." So she brought him to the stye where they were +confined together, and opening the gate drove them all forth, a herd +of bristly swine. Then she anointed them one by one with another drug; +and instantly the bristles fell away from them, and they became men +again, only younger and fairer to behold than they were before. With +tears of joy they embraced Odysseus, and the whole place rang with +their happy greetings, so that even Circe was moved by the tender +scene.</p> + +<p>When they had grown calmer she bade Odysseus go down to the sea, and +bring back all the rest of his company to take up their abode in her +house. Being now quite reassured as to her purpose, he hesitated not +to obey, and went down alone to carry the message from Circe. Arrived +at the ship he was hailed by his comrades as one returned from the +dead; but putting aside their eager questions he told them to beach +the vessel, stow away all her tackle, and follow him to the house of +Circe, where they would find all their fellows feasting and making +merry.</p> + +<p>Much cheered by his words the men set to work with willing hands, and +before an hour had passed the whole company was reunited under Circe's +hospitable roof. The dreaded witch had laid aside all her terrors, and +now appeared only in the character of a kind and generous hostess, +whose sole care was for the comfort and welfare of her guests. Days +lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, and still they lingered +on in that luxurious clime, as if there were no such place as Ithaca, +and no wide waste of sea to be crossed.</p> + +<p>At last, when they had lived a whole year on the island, Odysseus' men +began to grow weary of their long inaction, and begged their leader to +obtain Circe's permission to depart. Not without some misgivings, +Odysseus preferred his request. "Deem me not ungrateful," he said, "if +my heart turns ever to my wife and home. I am but a mortal man, with +human needs and frailties, and no fit mate for a goddess like thee. +And my men weary me with their importunity, when thou art not near."</p> + +<p>Circe heard him graciously, knowing well that they must part. "I will +not keep thee," she said, "against thy will. But a long journey lies +before thee, even to the very ends of the earth, and not until that is +past canst thou set thy sail for home. To the halls of Hades thou must +go, and consult the spirit of Theban Teiresias, who alone among all +the dead hath an understanding heart, while the rest are but flitting +shadows. Now hearken, and I will tell thee all that thou must do. When +thou leavest these shores thou shalt sail ever southward, until thou +hast reached the farther side of the River Oceanus, and come to the +shadowy grove which stands at the confines of the realm of Persephone. +There thou shalt land with thy company, and dig a trench a cubit in +length and breadth, and pour about it a libation of mead and water and +wine; and after that thou shalt offer a sacrifice of black sheep, in +such wise that the blood thereof shall flow into the trench and fill +it. Thither will flock the whole multitude of departed spirits, to +drink of the blood; but do thou draw thy sword, and hold it over the +trench, nor suffer any of the other spirits to draw near until thou +hast seen Teiresias and hearkened to his lore."</p> + +<p>All that night Odysseus remained in deep conference with Circe, and as +soon as day dawned he went to rouse his men who were sleeping in the +outer chamber. "Up, comrades!" he cried, "all is prepared, and we must +embark without delay." His loud summons proved fatal to one of the +company, a certain Elpenor, the youngest of them all, who, the night +before, had lain down to sleep on the housetop, for the sake of the +coolness, being heated with wine. Roused suddenly by the voice of +Odysseus, he staggered to his feet, and, still half asleep, stumbled +over the parapet in his haste, and fell headlong from the roof.</p> + +<p>In the hurry of their departure the body was left where it lay, and +Odysseus, when they reached the ship, did not notice his absence. They +found that Circe had been there before them, and left the victims for +sacrifice bound to the vessel's side. She herself was nowhere to be +seen, and so without another word of farewell they launched their +galley and put out into the deep.</p> + +<a name="foot08"></a><p>8. Imitated, with characteristic amplification, by Milton, +"Paradise Lost," i. 292 (Satan's spear). <a href="#footret08">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot09"></a><p>9. See Scott, "Ivanhoe." <a href="#footret09">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot10"></a><p>10. Compare Dido's curse ("Stories from the Æneid," p. +84). <a href="#footret10">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot11"></a><p>11. See the whole incident imitated in Virgil ("Stories from +the Æneid," p. 49). <a href="#footret11">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap08"></a><h2>The Visit to Hades</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>A clear, strong wind came down from the north, sent by the favour of +the mighty enchantress Circe, and over the trackless sea they sped, +where never furrow of mortal ship was seen before. After a long day's +sail they came to the farther shore of the ocean stream, which +surrounds the earth as with a girdle. There is the abode of the people +called the Cimmerians, wrapped in shadow and mist; for never doth the +sun look down upon them with his rays, neither when he climbs the +starry sky, nor yet when he goeth down unto the place of his rest. And +thus they dwell miserably under the curse of perpetual night.</p> + +<p>As they peered through the gloom they saw what seemed a grove of dusky +trees, in shape like the poplar and willow, fringing the shore. "It is +the sign which Circe gave me," whispered Odysseus to his awestruck +comrades; "we are at the very gates of Hades." Landing in silence, +they carried the victims for sacrifice to the verge of the grove, and +Odysseus with his sword dug a trench, a cubit in length and breadth, +and poured about it a libation of mead and water and wine. Then the +sheep were slaughtered, and the trench was filled to the brim with +their blood. When the solemn rite was ended, Odysseus called in a loud +voice to the spirits of the dead, and waited in breathless expectation +with his men.</p> + +<p>Presently a rustling sound was heard, like the sound of the autumn +wind in the dry leaves of the forest; it grew louder and louder, and +out of the gloom the ghosts came flocking, youths and maidens cut off +in their bloom, old men with all their burden of sorrow, and warriors +slain in battle, still wearing the bloodstained armour.<sup><a href="#foot12" name="footret12">12</a></sup> With a wild +unearthly cry they came crowding to the trench, eager to drink of the +blood. But Odysseus, though quaking with fear, stood his ground +firmly, and held his drawn sword over the trench to keep off the +multitude, until he had seen and spoken with Teiresias.</p> + +<p>Among the hosts of spirits there was one who lingered near the trench, +and seemed by his beseeching gestures and earnest looks to desire +speech with Odysseus. When his first fears were over Odysseus +recognised the features of Elpenor, who had come to an untimely end on +the morning of their journey, and whose body still lay unburied in the +house of Circe. Registering a mental vow to perform all due rites to +that poor spirit on his homeward voyage, Odysseus warned him back, and +stood waiting for the coming of the seer.</p> + +<p>At last came one with tottering footsteps, leaning on a golden +sceptre, and halted on the farther edge of the trench. It seemed a +very aged man, with flowing white beard, and sightless eyes; and +Odysseus knew by these signs that he was in the presence of Teiresias, +the famous prophet of Thebes, who alone among departed spirits +preserves his understanding, while the rest are flitting phantoms, +with no sense at all. "What wouldst thou of me, Odysseus, son of +Laertes," said the spectre in faltering tones, "and wherefore hast +thou left the glad light of day to visit this drear and joyless realm +of the dead? Draw back from the trench, and put up thy sword in its +sheath, that I may drink of the blood and tell thee all that thou +wouldst know."</p> + +<p>Thereupon Odysseus fell back, and sheathed his sword; and Teiresias, +when he had drunk of the blood, spoke again in firmer and clearer +tones: "Thou art fain to hear of thy home-coming, illustrious hero; +but thy path to Ithaca shall be beset with sorrows, because of the +wrath of Poseidon, whose son, Polyphemus, thou hast blinded. +Nevertheless thou and all thy company shall return safe to Ithaca, if +only ye leave untouched the sacred flocks and herds of Helios,<sup><a href="#foot13" name="footret13">13</a></sup> when +ye come to the island of Thrinacia. But if harm befall them at your +hands, from that hour thy ship and all her crew are doomed and forfeit +to destruction: and though thou thyself escape, yet thou shalt return +after many days, in evil plight, to a house of woe.<sup><a href="#foot14" name="footret14">14</a></sup> And now learn +how thou mayest at last appease the anger of the god who pursues thee +with his vengeance. When thou art once more master in thine own house +thou shalt go on a far journey, carrying with thee an oar of thy +vessel, until thou comest to a people that dwell far from the sea, and +know naught of ships or the mariner's art. And there shalt meet thee +by the way a man who shall say that thou bearest a winnowing shovel<sup><a href="#foot15" name="footret15">15</a></sup> +on thy shoulder; and this shall be a sign unto thee, whereby thou +shalt know that thou hast reached the end of thy journey. Then plant +thy oar in the ground, and offer sacrifice to Poseidon. This shall be +the end of thy toils, and death shall come softly upon thee where thou +dwellest in a green old age among thy happy people."</p> + +<p>When he had thus spoken Teiresias vanished into the darkness; and one +by one the spirits came up to the trench, as Odysseus suffered them, +and having drunk of the blood obtained strength to speak and answer +his questions. First among them was the spirit of his mother, +Anticleia, daughter of Autolycus, who had been hovering near during +his conference with Teiresias. When she had drunk she said: "Whence +comest thou, my son? Art thou still wandering on thy long voyage from +Troy, or hast thou been in Ithaca, and seen thy wife?"</p> + +<p>"Nay, mother," answered Odysseus, "I am wandering still, still +treading the path of woe, since the day when I followed Agamemnon to +Troy. But tell me now, and answer me truly, what was the manner of thy +death? Came it slowly, by long disease, or did Artemis lay thee low in +a moment with a painless arrow from her bow?<sup><a href="#foot16" name="footret16">16</a></sup> And tell me of my +father and my son whom I left in Ithaca; do they still hold my +possessions, or hath some other thrust them with violence from my +seat? Tell me also of Penelope, my wedded wife, whether she abides +steadfast and guards my goods, or whether she is gone to cheer some +other man's heart."</p> + +<p>"Steadfast indeed she is," replied Anticleia, "and wondrous patient of +heart; all her thoughts are ever of thee. No one has yet usurped thy +place in Ithaca, but Telemachus still reaps thy fields and sits down +to meat with the noblest in the land. As to thy father, he comes no +more to the town, but dwells continually on his farm. He lives not +delicately, as princes use, but is clad in sorry raiment, and sleeps +in the winter among the ashes of the hearth with his thralls, and in +summer on a bed of dry leaves in his vineyard. There he lies forsaken, +heavy with years and sorrows, mourning for thee. And in such wise also +death came upon me, neither by wasting sickness nor by the gentle +shafts of Artemis, but my sore longing for thee, Odysseus, and for thy +sweet counsels, at last broke my heart."</p> + +<p>A flood of tenderness overpowered Odysseus at these sad words, and he +sprang forward with arms outstretched to clasp his mother to his +breast. Thrice he essayed to embrace her, and thrice his arms closed +on emptiness,<sup><a href="#foot17" name="footret17">17</a></sup> while that ghostly presence still flitted before him +like a shadow or a dream. "O my mother," cried Odysseus in deep +distress, "why dost thou mock me thus? Come to my heart, dear mother; +let me hold thee in mine arms once more, and mingle my tears with +thine. Or art thou but the shadow of a shade, a phantom sent by +Persephone to deceive me?"</p> + +<p>"Persephone deceives thee not," answered the ghost, "but this is the +fashion of mortals when they die. Flesh and bone and sinew are +consumed by the might of fire, but the spirit takes flight and hovers +ever like a winged dream. But make haste and get thee back to the +daylight, and keep all that thou hast seen in memory that thou mayest +tell it to thy wife."</p> + +<p>When the spirit of Anticleia was gone, a shadowy throng pressed +forward to the trench, all the ghosts of noble dames, wives and +daughters of princes. And Odysseus kept his place, sword in hand, +suffering them only to drink one by one, that he might question them +and learn their story. There he saw Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, +and Leda, to whose twin sons, Castor and Pollux, a strange destiny was +allotted; for after their death they rose to life again on alternate +days, one lying in the tomb, while the other walked the earth as a +living man. There too was Iphimedeia, mother of the giants Otus and +Ephialtes, who at nine years of age were nine fathoms in height and +nine cubits in breadth. Haughty were they, and presumptuous in their +youth; for they made war on the gods, and piled Ossa on Olympus, and +Pelion on Ossa, that they might scale the sky. But they perished in +their impiety, shot down by the bolts of Apollo's golden bow. Last +came Eriphyle, the false wife, who sold her husband's life for a +glittering bribe.</p> + +<p>That dream of fair women melted away and another ghostly band +succeeded, the souls of great captains and mighty men of war. Foremost +among these was seen one of regal port, around whom was gathered a +choice company of veteran warriors, all gored and gashed with recent +wounds. He who seemed their leader stretched out his hands towards +Odysseus with a piteous gesture, and tears such as spirits weep<sup><a href="#foot18" name="footret18">18</a></sup> +gushed from his eyes. Instantly Odysseus recognised in that stricken +spirit his great commander Agamemnon, once the proud captain of a +thousand ships, now wandering, forlorn and feeble, with all his glory +faded.</p> + +<p>"Royal son of Atreus," he said, in a voice broken with weeping, "is it +here that I find thee, great chieftain of the embattled Greeks? Say, +how comest thou hither, and what arm aimed the stroke which laid thee +low?" "Not in honour's field did I fall," answered Agamemnon, "nor yet +amid the waves. It was a traitor's hand that cut me off, the hand of +Ægisthus, and the guile of my accursed wife. He feasted me at his +board, and slaughtered me as one slaughters a stalled ox; and all my +company fell with me in that den of butchery. It was pitiful to see +all that brave band of veterans writhing in their death agony among +the tables loaded with good cheer, and goblets brimming with wine. But +that which gave me my sorest pang was the dying shriek of Cassandra, +daughter of Priam, who was struck down at my side by the dagger of +Clytæmnestra. Then the murderess turned away and left me with staring +eyes and mouth gaping in death. For naught is so vile, naught so +cruel, as a woman who hath hardened her heart to tread the path of +crime. Even so did she break her marriage vows, and afterwards slew +the husband of her youth. I thought to have found far other welcome +when I passed under the shadow of mine own roof-tree. But this +demon-wife imagined evil against me, and brought infamy on the very +name of woman."</p> + +<p>"Strange ordinance of Zeus!" said Odysseus musingly, "which hath +turned the choicest blessing of man's life, the love of woman, into +the bitterest of curses for thee and for thy house. Yea, and upon all +the land of Hellas hath woe been brought by the deed of a +woman—Helen, thy brother's wife."</p> + +<p>"Ay, trust them not," replied Agamemnon bitterly, "Never give thy +heart into a woman's keeping; she will rifle thy very soul's flower, +and then laugh thee to scorn. But why do I speak thus to thee? Thou +hast indeed a treasure in thy wife; no wiser head, no truer heart, +than hers. Happy art thou, and sweet the refuge which is prepared for +thee after all thy toils, Well I remember the day when we set sail +from Greece, and how fondly thou spakest of her, thy young bride, with +her babe at her breast. Now he will be a tall youth, and with what joy +will he look into the eyes of his father, whom he was then too young +to know!"</p> + +<p>After that Odysseus was silent, his mind full of sweet and anxious +thoughts. Meanwhile other familiar forms had drawn near, the spirits +of warriors renowned, whose very names were as a battle-cry when they +dwelt on earth: Achilles, Patroclus, and Antilochus, and farther off, +looming dimly in the darkness, the gigantic shade of Ajax. Achilles +was the first to speak. "Son of Laertes," he said, "thou man of +daring, hast thou reached the limit of thy rashness, or wilt thou go +yet further? Are there no perils left for thee in the land of the +living that thou must invade the very realm of Hades, the sunless +haunts of the dead?"</p> + +<p>"I came to inquire of Teiresias," answered Odysseus, "concerning my +return to Ithaca. All my life I am a bondslave to toil and woe; but +thou, Achilles, wast happy in thy life, honoured as a god by all the +sons of Hellas; and now thou art happy, even in death, for honour +waits on thy footsteps still."</p> + +<p>"Tell me not of comfort in death," replied Achilles. "Rather would I +breathe the air of heaven, yea, though I were thrall to a man of +little substance, than reign as king over all the shades of the dead. +But give me some news of my son, Neoptolemus. Came he to fight with +the Trojans after I was gone, and did he acquit him well? And knowest +thou aught of my father, Peleus? Lives he still in honour and comfort +among my people, or has he been driven into beggary by violent men, +now that he is old and I am not near to aid him? Oh, for an hour of +life, with such might as was mine when I fought in the van for Greece? +Then should they pay a bitter reckoning, whosoever they be that wrong +him and keep him from his own."</p> + +<p>"Of Peleus," answered Odysseus, "I have heard nothing, but of thy son, +Neoptolemus, I can tell thee much, for I myself brought him from +Scyros to fight in Helen's cause, and thereafter my eye was ever upon +him, to mark how he bore himself. In council none could vie with him, +save only Nestor and myself; ne'er saw I so rare a wit in so young a +head. And when the Greeks were arrayed in battle against the Trojans +he was never seen to hang back, but fought ever in the van among the +foremost champions, like a mighty man of war. Nor was it only in the +clamour and heat of war that he proved his mettle; for in that +perilous hour when we lay ambushed in the wooden horse, when the +stoutest hearts among us quailed, he never changed colour, but sat +fingering his spear and sword, waiting for the signal to go forth to +the assault. And after we had sacked the lofty towers of Troy he +received a goodly portion of the spoil, and a special prize of honour, +and so departed, untouched by point or blade, to his father's house."</p> + +<p>When he heard these brave tidings of his son, Achilles rejoiced in +spirit, and strode with lofty gait along the plain of asphodel.</p> + +<p>So one by one the spirits came up, and inquired of Odysseus of their +dear ones at home. Only the soul of Ajax, son of Telamon, stood +sullenly aloof; for between him and Odysseus there was an old quarrel. +After the death of Achilles a dispute arose among the surviving +chieftains for the possession of his armour. It was decided to refer +the matter to the Trojan captives in the camp, and they were asked who +of all the Greeks had done them most harm. They answered in favour of +Odysseus, who accordingly received the armour. Thereupon Ajax fell +into a frenzy of rage, and slew himself. When Odysseus saw him, and +marked his unforgiving mood, he was filled with remorse and pity, and +strove to soften his resentment with gentle words. "Ah! son of +Telamon," he said, "canst thou not forgive me, even here? Sorely the +Argives mourned thee, and heavy was the loss brought on them by thy +rash act. Thou wast a very tower of strength to the host, and we wept +for thee as for a second Achilles. Draw near, great prince, subdue thy +haughty spirit, and speak to me as thou wast wont to speak before the +will of heaven set enmity between us."</p> + +<p>Thus earnestly Odysseus pleaded, but there was no reply, and the angry +spirit passed away into the gloom of Erebus.<sup><a href="#foot19" name="footret19">19</a></sup></p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Odysseus still lingered, hoping yet to have speech with other souls of +heroes who had once rivalled him in valour and wisdom while they dwelt +in the flesh. But he was destined to see another and more awful +vision. Suddenly the pall of darkness which shrouded the secrets of +the nether abyss was lifted, and the whole realm of Hades was exposed +to view. There he saw the place of torment, where great malefactors +atone for their crime, and Minos, the infernal judge, sitting at the +gates, passing sentence, and giving judgment among the shades. Within +appeared the gigantic form of Tityos, stretched at full length along +the ground, and two vultures sat ever at his side, tearing his liver. +This was his punishment for violence offered to Leto, the mother of +Apollo and Artemis. Not far from him appeared Tantalus, plunged up to +the neck in a cool stream; the water lapped against his chin, but he +had not power to drink it, though he was tormented with a burning +thirst. As often as he stooped to drink, the water was swallowed up, +and the earth lay dry as the desert sand at his feet. And nodding +boughs of trees drooped, heavy with delicious fruit, over his head; +but when he put forth his hand to pluck the fruit, a furious gust of +wind swept it away far beyond his reach. And yet another famous +criminal he saw, Sisyphus, the most cunning and most covetous of the +sons of men. He was toiling painfully up a steep mountain's side, +heaving a weighty stone before him, and straining with hands and feet +to push it to the summit. But every time he approached the top, the +stone slipped through his hands, and thundered and smoked down the +mountain's side till it reached the plain.</p> + +<p>Other wonders and terrors might still have been revealed, but as that +hardy watcher stood at his post a great tumult and commotion arose in +that populous city of the dead, and the whole multitude of its ghostly +denizens came rushing towards the trench, as if resolved to expel the +daring intruder. Odysseus' heart failed him when he saw the air thick +with hovering spectres, who glared with dreadful eyes, and filled the +air with the sound of their unearthly voices. Turning his back on that +place of horror he made his way slowly towards the shore, where he +found his men anxiously awaiting him.</p> + +<a name="foot12"></a><p>12. Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 119. <a href="#footret12">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot13"></a><p>13. The sun god. <a href="#footret13">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot14"></a><p>14. The very words of Polyphemus, p. 93. <a href="#footret14">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot15"></a><p>15. The oar. <a href="#footret15">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot16"></a><p>16. Sudden death was ascribed to Artemis or Apollo. <a href="#footret16">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot17"></a><p>17. Compare "Stories from the Æneid," p. 24. <a href="#footret17">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot18"></a><p>18. "Tears such as <i>angels</i> weep," Milton, "Paradise Lost," +i. 619. <a href="#footret18">(return)</a></p> + +<a name="foot19"></a><p>19. Compare the silence of Dido, "Stories from the Æneid," p. +123. <a href="#footret19">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap09"></a><h2>The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis; Thrinacia</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Following the same course as on his outward voyage, Odysseus put in +again at the island of Circe, where his first duty was to bury the +body of the young Elpenor, whose ghost he had seen in an attitude of +mute reproach at the threshold of Hades. They were again received with +all hospitality by Circe.</p> + +<p>After the evening meal Circe drew Odysseus apart, and questioned him +on all that he had seen and heard on that strange journey, from which +he had returned, as she said, like one ransomed from death. And when +he had told his story she instructed him as to the course which he had +to steer on leaving the island, and warned him against the manifold +perils of the voyage.</p> + +<p>"First," said she, "thou wilt come to the rocks of the Sirens, maidens +of no mortal race, who beguile the ears of all that hear them. Woe to +him who draws near to listen to their song! He shall never see the +faces of his wife and children again, or feel their arms about his +neck, but there he shall perish, and there his bones shall rot. +Therefore take heed, and when thou drawest near the place stop the +ears of thy men with wax, and bid them bind thee fast with cords, that +thou mayest hear the song of the Sirens. And when that seducing melody +fills thine ears, thou wilt beg and implore thy comrades to set thee +free, that thou mayest draw near and have speech of the Sirens. Then +let them bind thee more firmly to the mast, and take to their oars, +and fly the enchanted rocks.</p> + +<p>"This peril past, thou hast the choice of two different routes. One of +these will bring thee to the Wandering Isles, which stand, front to +front, with steep slippery sides of rock, running sheer down to the +sea. Between them lies a narrow way, which is the very gate of death. +For if aught living attempts to pass between, those rocky jaws close +upon it and grind it to powder. Only the doves which bear ambrosia to +Father Zeus can pass that awful strait, and one of these pays toll +with her life as she passes, but Zeus sends another to fill her place. +And one ship sailed safely through, even the famous <i>Argo</i> when she +bore Jason and his crew on their voyage from the land of Æetes. All +others when they essayed the task perished, and were brought to naught +in a whirlwind of foam and fire.</p> + +<p>"But if thou takest the other way thou wilt come to another strait, +guarded day and night by two sleepless sentinels, Scylla and +Charybdis. On one side thereof towers a lofty peak, shrouded, even in +the noon of summer, in clouds and thick darkness. No mortal man could +climb that steep and slippery rock, not though he had twenty hands and +twenty feet; for the side is smooth as polished marble, and in the +midst of the cliff is a shadowy cave overlooking the track by which +thou must guide thy ship, Odysseus. Deep down it goes into the heart +of the mountain, so that a man in his lusty prime could not shoot an +arrow from his ship to the bottom of that yawning pit In the cave +dwells Scylla, and yelps without ceasing. Her voice is thin and +shrill, like the cry of a hound newly littered, but she herself is a +monster horrible to behold, so that neither man nor god could face her +without affright. Twelve feet hath she, and six necks of prodigious +length, and on each neck a fearful head, whose ravening jaws are armed +with triple rows of teeth. As far as her waist she is hidden in the +hollow cave, but she thrusts out her serpent necks from the abyss, and +fishes in the waters for dolphins and sea-dogs and other creatures +whose pasture is the sea. On every ship that passes her den she levies +a tribute of six of her crew.</p> + +<p>"On the other side of the strait thou wilt see a second rock, lying +flat and low, about a bowshot from the first. There stands a great +fig-tree, thick with leaves, and under it sits Charybdis, sucking down +the water, and belching it up again three times a day. Beware that +thou approach not when she sucks down the water, for then none could +save thee from destruction, no, not Poseidon himself. Rather steer thy +galley past Scylla's cave, for it is better to lose six of thy men +than to lose them all.</p> + +<p>"Next thou shalt come to the island of Thrinacia, where graze the oxen +of Helios and his goodly sheep—seven herds of oxen, and as many fair +flocks of sheep, and fifty in each flock and herd. They are not born, +neither do they die, and two goddesses have charge of them, +fair-haired nymphs, the daughters of Helios. Take heed that thou harm +not the sacred beasts, that it may be well with thee, and that thou +and thy company may come safely home."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Once more they were afloat, and the brave little vessel bounded gaily +over the waves, her canvas bellying in the wind. For some hours they +sailed on thus, and Odysseus recited to his men all that he had heard +from Circe. Then suddenly the wind dropped, and the sail hung idly to +the mast. Having furled and stowed the sail, they took to their oars, +while the sea went down, and at last sunk to a level calm. In the +distance a low-lying coast appeared, which Odysseus knew to be the +island of the Sirens, Forthwith he began to make his preparations to +meet the danger which lay before them. Taking a ball of wax he cut it +into small pieces, and having worked each piece in his hand until it +was soft and plastic he carefully stopped the ears of all his men with +the wax. Then two of the crew, to whom he had already given his +orders, bound him hand and foot to the mast of the vessel. All being +ready, they rowed forward until they came within full view of the +island. And there, in a low-lying meadow hard by the sea, sat the +Sirens; lovely they were of aspect, and gracious of mien; but all +around them were piled the bones of men who had fallen victims to +their wicked wit,<sup><a href="#foot20" name="footret20">20</a></sup> fleshless ribs, from which the skin still hung in +yellow shreds, and grinning skulls, gazing with eyeless sockets at the +sea.</p> + +<p>As the ship drew near, the whole choir lifted up their voices and +began to sing a sweet and piercing strain, which thrilled the very +marrow of Odysseus as he listened. The winds hovered near on flagging +wing, the sea lay locked in deep repose, and all nature paused with +attentive ear, to catch the SONG OF THE SIRENS.</p> + +<div style="margin-left: 15%"> +"Mighty warrior, sage renowned,<br> + Turn, O turn thy bark this way!<br> +Rest upon this holy ground,<br> + Listen to the Sirens' lay.<br> +Never yet was seaman found<br> + Passing our enchanted bay,<br> +But he paused, and left our bound<br> + Filled with wisdom from his stay.<br> +All we know, whatever befell<br> + On the tented fields of Troy,<br> +All the lore that Time can tell,<br> + All the mystic fount of joy."<br> +</div> + +<p>It was a strain cunningly calculated to flatter a deep, subtle spirit +like that of Odysseus. To know all! to read all secrets, and unravel +the tangled skein of human destiny! What a bribe was this to this +restless and eager mind! Then the voices of the witch-women were so +liquid, and the music so lovely, that they took the very air with +ravishment, and melted the hearer's soul within him. Odysseus +struggled to break his bonds, and nodded to his men to come and loose +him. But they, who had been warned of this very thing, rose up and +bound him with fresh cords. Then they grasped their oars again, the +water roared under their sturdy strokes, and soon they were out of +hearing of that seductive melody.</p> + +<p>They had not long lost sight of the Sirens' Rocks when they heard the +booming of breakers, which warned them that the fearful strait between +Scylla and Charybdis was close at hand. A strong current caught the +galley and whirled her with appalling swiftness towards the point of +danger. The water boiled and eddied around them, and the blinding +spray was dashed into their faces. Then a sudden panic came upon the +crew, so that they dropped their oars, and sat helpless and unnerved, +expecting instant death. In this emergency, Odysseus summoned up all +his courage, and strode up and down between the benches, exhorting, +entreating, and calling each man by name. "Why sit ye thus," he cried, +"huddled together like sheep? Row, men, row for your lives! And thou, +helmsman, steer straight for the passage, lest we fall into a direr +strait, and be crushed between the Wandering Rocks. We have faced a +worse peril than this, when we were penned together in the Cyclops' +cave; and we shall escape this time also, if only ye will keep a stout +heart."</p> + +<p>Circe had cautioned Odysseus on no account to attempt resistance when +he approached the cave of Scylla; nevertheless, he put on his armour, +and took his stand on the prow of the vessel, holding in each hand a +lance.</p> + +<p>So on they sped, steering close to the tall cliff under which Scylla +lay hid, and gazing fearfully at the boiling whirlpool on the other +side. Just as they passed, a huge column of water shot into the air, +belched up from the vast maw of Charybdis, and the galley was half +swamped under a fountain of falling water. When that ended, a black +yawning chasm appeared, the very throat, as it seemed, of Charybdis, +into which the water rushed in a roaring torrent.</p> + +<p>Odysseus was gazing intently at this wondrous sight when he heard a +sharp cry, and, looking back he saw six of his men, the stoutest of +the crew, dangling high in the air, firmly clutched in the six +sharklike jaws of Scylla. There they hung for a moment, like fishes +just caught by the angler's hook; the next instant they were dragged +into the black mouth of the cavern, calling with their last breath on +their leader's name. This was the most pitiful thing that Odysseus had +ever beheld, in all his long years of travel on the sea.</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>The last trial was now at hand, and if they could stand this final +test a happy home-coming was promised to them all. By next day's dawn +they ran down to the fair isle of Helios, and as they drew near they +heard the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep. Then Odysseus +remembered the warnings of Circe and Teiresias, and sought to persuade +his men to sail past the island and fly from the reach of temptation. +But they murmured against him, and Eurylochus, his lieutenant, gave +voice to their feelings thus: "Thou man of iron, thou hast no pity on +us, but thinkest that we are all as hardy and as strong as thou art. +Hungry and weary as we are, wouldst thou have us turn away from this +fair isle, where we could prepare a comfortable meal, and take +refreshing sleep? Shall we add the horrors of night to the horrors of +the sea, and confront the demons of storm that haunt the caverns of +darkness? Nay, suffer us to abide here to-night, and to-morrow we will +hoist sail again."</p> + +<p>Odysseus saw by the looks of his men that it would be useless to +strain his authority, and so he gave way, though with sore reluctance, +only exacting a solemn oath from the whole company that they would +keep their hands off the cattle of Helios. When each in turn had taken +the oath they landed on the shore of a sheltered bay, and encamped by +a fair spring of fresh water.</p> + +<p>During the night it began to blow hard, and early next morning, as the +weather was still stormy and the wind contrary, they hauled up their +galley and bestowed her in a roomy cave, beyond the reach of wind and +water. Odysseus repeated his warnings, and the crew then dispersed, to +while away the time until the weather should mend.</p> + +<p>For a whole month they had nothing but contrary gales from the south +and east, and long before that time had run out they had come to the +end of their store of provisions. For some time they contrived to live +on the fish which they caught by angling from the rocks, though this +was but poor fare for the robust appetites of those heroic days.</p> + +<p>All this time Odysseus kept a careful watch over the movements of his +men, fearing that they might be driven by hunger to break the oath +which they had taken. But one morning he wandered away to a distant +part of the island, that he might spend an hour in solitary prayer and +meditation. Having found a secluded spot, he washed his hands, and +prayed earnestly to the gods for succour: and when he had prayed, +heaven so ordered it that he fell into a deep sleep.</p> + +<p>Then the demon of mischief entered into the heart of Eurylochus, a +factious knave, who had more than once thwarted the counsels of +Odysseus. "Comrades," he said, "let us make an end of this misery. +Death in any shape is loathly to us poor mortals, but death by hunger +is the most hideous of all. Come, let us take the choicest of the +herds of Helios, and feast upon them, after sacrifice to the gods. +When we return to Ithaca we will build a temple to Helios, and appease +him with rich offerings. And even though he choose to wreck our ship +and drown us all, I would rather swallow the brine, and so make an +end, than waste away by inches on a desert island."</p> + +<p>The famishing sailors lent a ready ear to his words, and having picked +out the fattest of the oxen they slaughtered them and offered +sacrifice, plucking the leaves of an oak as a substitute for the +barley-meal for sprinkling between the horns of the victims, and +pouring libations of water instead of wine. When the vain rite was +finished, they spitted slices of the meat, and roasted them over the +glowing embers.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Odysseus had awakened from his sleep, and made his way, not +without forebodings of ill, back to the camp. As he approached, the +steam of roasting meat was borne to his nostrils. "Woe is me!" he +cried, "the deed is done! What a price must we now pay for one hour of +sleep."</p> + +<p>Vengeance, indeed, was already prepared. Helios received prompt news +of the sacrilege from one of the nymphs who had charge of his flocks +and herds, and hastened to Olympus to demand speedy punishment for the +transgressors, vowing that if they escaped he would leave the earth in +darkness and carry the lamp of day to the nether world. Zeus promised +that the retribution should be swift and complete, and Helios +thereupon returned immediately to his daily round, knowing full well +that the father of gods would keep his word.</p> + +<p>When Odysseus entered the camp he rebuked his men bitterly for their +impiety. But no words, and no repentance, could now repair the +mischief; the cattle were slain, and in that very hour dire portents +occurred, to show them the enormity of their crime. A strange moaning +sound, like the lowing of kine, came from the meat on the spits, and +the hides of the slaughtered beasts crawled and writhed.</p> + +<p>In spite of these dreadful omens they continued for six days to feast +upon the herds of Helios. On the seventh day the wind blew fair, and +they launched their vessel and continued their voyage. The last +vestige of the island had hardly been lost to view when the sky became +black with clouds, and a violent squall struck the ship, snapping her +mast, which fell upon the helmsman, and dashed out his brains. A +moment after, a deafening peal of thunder broke overhead, and the +avenging bolt of Zeus fell upon the ship, scattering her timbers, and +strewing the charred carcasses of the crew upon the waves.</p> + +<p>Odysseus alone escaped with his life from that tremendous stroke, and +clinging to a spar floated all day, until he came in sight of the +strait between Scylla and Charybdis. By the favour of heaven he was +once more preserved from this great peril, and on the tenth day after +the loss of his vessel he was thrown ashore by the waves on the island +of Calypso.</p> + +<a name="foot20"></a><p>20. Shakespeare, "Hamlet." <a href="#footret20">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap10"></a><h2>Odysseus lands in Ithaca</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The last farewell has been spoken, the good ship is loosed from her +moorings, and Alcinous is standing on the quay, surrounded by the +nobles of Phæacia, to bid his illustrious guest god-speed. The picked +crew bend to their oars, and the galley leaps forward, like a mettled +steed who knows his master's voice. The setting sun is just gilding +the towers of the city as they cross the harbour bar. Swift as a +falcon the magic vessel skims over the swelling waters, and the +toil-worn hero lays him down to rest on a soft couch prepared for him +in the stern. Then a deep and deathlike sleep falls upon him, and he +lies breathing gently as an infant, while the soft southern breeze +plays with his dark clustering hair.</p> + +<p>There is a certain haven in the island of Ithaca, protected by two +lofty headlands, leaving a narrow passage between them. Within, the +water is so still that ships lie there without moorings, safe and +motionless. At the head of the haven is a long-leaved olive-tree, +overshadowing a cool and pleasant cave, sacred to the "Nymphs called +Naiads, of the running brooks."<sup><a href="#foot21" name="footret21">21</a></sup> Inside the cave are bowls and +pitchers of stone, and great stone looms, at which the Naiads weave +their fine fabrics of sea-purple dye. It is a favourite haunt of the +honey-bee, whose murmurs mingled with the splashing of perennial +springs make drowsy music in the place. There are two gates to the +cavern, one towards the north, where mortal feet may pass, and the +other on the south side, which none may enter save the gods alone.</p> + +<p>The day-star was gazing on that still, glassy mere as the Phæacians +steered between the sentinel cliffs and drove their galley ashore in +front of the cave. They lifted Odysseus, still sleeping, from the +stern, and laid him down gently, couch and all, on the sand. Then they +brought all the rich gifts, and set them down by the root of the +olive-tree, out of the reach of any chance wayfarer; and having +bestowed all safely they launched their ship, and started on their +voyage home.</p> + +<p>But they were destined to pay dear for their good service to the +stranger. Poseidon marked their course with a jealous eye, and he went +to his brother, Zeus, and thus preferred his complaint: "Behold now +this man hath reached home in safety and honour, and brought the oath +to naught which I sware against him, when I vowed that he should +return to Ithaca in evil plight! Is my power to be defied, and my +worship slighted, by these Phæacians, who are of mine own race?"</p> + +<p>"Thine honour is in thine own hands," answered Zeus. "Assert thy +power, lift up thy hand and strike, that all men may fear to infringe +thy privilege as lord of the sea."</p> + +<p>Having thus obtained his brother's consent, Poseidon went and took his +stand by the harbour mouth at Phæacia, and as soon as the vessel drew +near he smote her with his hand, and turned her with all her crew into +a rock, which remains there, rooted in the sea, unto this day.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Twilight had not yielded to day when Odysseus awoke from his +trancelike sleep, and gazed in bewilderment around him. His senses had +not yet fully come back to him, and after his twenty years' absence he +knew not where he was. All seemed strange—the winding paths, the +harbour, the cliffs, and the very trees. With a cry of dismay he +sprang to his feet, and cried aloud: "Good lack, what land have I come +to now, and who be they that dwell there? Are they savage and rude, or +gentle and hospitable to strangers?" Then his eye fell on the gifts +which had been brought with him from Phæacia. What was he to do with +all this wealth? "Now this is a sorry trick which the Phæacians have +played me," he muttered again, "to carry me to a strange land, when +they had promised to convey me safe to Ithaca."</p> + +<p>So unworthily did Odysseus deem of his benefactors that he fell to +counting his goods, for fear lest they should have carried off a +portion of the gifts while he slept. He found the tale complete, and +when he had finished counting them he wandered disconsolate along the +sand, mourning for the country which he thought still far away. As he +went thus, with heavy steps and downcast eyes, a shadow fell across +his path, and looking up he saw a fair youth, clad and armed like a +young prince, who stood before him and smiled in his face with kindly +eyes. Glad to meet anyone of so friendly an aspect, Odysseus greeted +him, asked for his countenance and protection, and inquired the name +of the country.</p> + +<p>"Either thou art simple," answered the youth, "or thy home is far +away, if thou knowest not this land. It is a place not unknown to +fame, but named with honour wherever mortal speech is heard. Rugged +indeed it is, and unfit for horses and for chariots, but rich in corn +and wine, and blessed by the soft rain of heaven. On its green +pastures roam countless flocks and herds, and streams pour their +abundance from its forest-clad hills. Therefore the name of Ithaca is +spoken far and wide, and hath reached even to the distant land of +Troy."</p> + +<p>The wanderer's heart burned within him when he heard his dear native +island described with such loving praise. But dissembling his joy he +set his nimble wits to work, and began to spin a fine fiction for the +stranger's ear. "I have heard of Ithaca," he said, "as thou sayest, +even in Troy, where I fought under Idomeneus, King of Crete. And now I +am an exile, flying from the vengeance of Idomeneus, whose son, +Orsilochus, I slew, because he sought to deprive me of my share in the +Trojan spoil. For he bore a grudge against me, because I would not pay +court to his father at Troy, but made a party of my own, and fought +for my own hand. For him I laid an ambush, and slew him in a secret +place, under cover of night. Then I fled down to the sea, and bribed +the crew of a Phœnician ship to carry me and my goods to Pylos. But +the storm wind drove them out of their course, and they put in here +for shelter. Sore battered and weary we landed here, having hardly +escaped with our lives; and while I slept they brought my goods +ashore, and sailed away for Sidon, leaving me alone with my sorrow."</p> + +<p>Intent on his tale, Odysseus had not noticed the sudden change which +had come over his hearer; for his eyes had been turned away, as he +strove to spell out the features of the country, which still seemed +unfamiliar. Now he looked round again, and instead of that dainty +youth he saw a stately female form, tall and fair, in aspect like the +mighty goddess Athene. And in truth it was the daughter of Zeus +herself who answered him, smiling and touching him with a playful +gesture. "Thou naughty rogue!" she said, "wilt thou never forget thy +cunning shifts, wherein none can surpass thee, no, not the gods +themselves? Yea, thou hast a knavish wit, and no man can equal thee in +craft, as no god can rival me. Yet for all thy skill thou knewest me +not for Pallas Athene, who is ever near thee in all thy trials, and +made thee dear to all the Phæacians. And now am I come to help thee +hide thy goods, and weave a plot to ensnare the foes who beset thy +house. Thou hast still much to endure, before thy final triumph, and +thou must enter thy halls as a stranger, and suffer many things by the +hands of violent men."</p> + +<p>"It is hard, O goddess," answered Odysseus, "for a mortal man to know +thee, keen though he be of wit; for thou appearest in a hundred +shapes. Yet well I know that thou wast kind to me in days of old, when +I fought with the Greeks at Troy. But since that time I have never +seen thee, in all my wanderings and perils, save once in Phæacia. Now +tell me truly, I implore thee, what is this place where I am +wandering? Thou saidst 'twas Ithaca, but in that I think thou speakest +falsely, with intent to deceive me; or is this indeed my native land?"</p> + +<p>"Ever the same Odysseus as of old," said Athene, smiling again, +"cautious and wary, and hard to convince. Verily thou art a man after +mine own heart, and therefore can I never leave thee or forsake thee +in all thy cares. Any other man would have rushed to embrace his wife, +after so many years of wandering; but thou must needs prove her and +make trial of her constancy, before thou takest her to thy heart. And +if thou wouldst know why I held aloof from thee so long, it was +because of Poseidon, my father's brother, who ever pursued thee with +his ire. Yet I knew that thou wouldst return at last, and have waited +patiently for that hour, And now I will open thine eyes, that thou +mayest know the land of thy birth."</p> + +<p>As she spoke she touched his eyes, and a mist seemed to fall away from +them, so that he recognised every feature of the place, the slopes of +Neritus, waving with forest trees, the spreading olive-tree, the +harbour, and the cavern where he had many a time sacrificed to the +nymphs. Then Odysseus rejoiced in spirit, and kneeling down he kissed +his native soil, and put up a prayer to the guardian deities of the +place: "Greeting, lovely Naiads, maiden daughters of Zeus! Ne'er hoped +I to see your faces again, Give ear unto my prayer, and if I live and +prosper by the favour of Athene I will pay you rich offerings, as I +was wont to do."</p> + +<p>"Doubt not my good-will," said Athene, when he had finished; "that is +assured thee. But it is time to secure these goods of thine in a safe +hiding-place. After that we will advise what is next to be done."</p> + +<p>With that she dived into the cave, closely followed by Odysseus, and +showed him where he best might conceal his treasure. When all was +safely bestowed, she set a great stone in the mouth of the cavern, and +sat down at the foot of the olive-tree, motioning Odysseus to take his +place at her side. "Now mark my words," began Athene, "thou hast a +heavy task before thee, to purge thy house of the shameless crew who +for three years past have held the mastery there, and sought to tempt +thy wife from her loyalty to thee. All this time she has been putting +them off with promises which she has no mind to fulfil."</p> + +<p>"Tis well," answered Odysseus, "that thou hast warned me; else had I +fallen in my own hall, even as Agamemnon fell. But come, contrive some +cunning device, whereby I may avenge me, and be thou at my side to aid +me, that my heart fail me not. Pour into me the same might and the +same valour as when we sacked Priam's royal citadel; then should I +fear nothing, though I fought single-handed against three hundred +men."</p> + +<p>"I will not fail thee, of that be sure," replied Athene, "when the +time comes to enter on that task. They shall pay full dear for thy +substance which they devour, even with their very blood and brains, +which shall be shed upon the ground like water. But thou must not +appear among them in this fashion. I will give thee a disguise which +none can penetrate, not even Penelope herself. And when thou leavest +this place, go first to the swineherd, who abides ever by his charge, +faithful to thee and to thy house. Thou wilt find him sitting by the +swine on their feeding ground, near Raven's Rock and the fountain +Arethusa, where there is abundance of acorns and fair water. Remain +there and inquire of him concerning all things, while I go to Sparta +to summon Telemachus, thy son, who went to visit Menelaus to ask news +of thee."</p> + +<p>"Why didst thou permit him to go on a vain errand?" asked Odysseus. +"Was it that he might suffer as I have suffered, in wandering o'er the +deep, while others devour his living?"</p> + +<p>"Be not over anxious for him," answered Athene; "I myself sent him on +that quest, that he might win a good name among men. And now he sits +secure in the wealthy house of Menelaus, dwelling in luxury and +honour. The wooers have laid an ambush against his return; but all +their malice shall be brought to naught."</p> + +<p>It was now time for Odysseus to start on his way to the swineherd. But +first he had to submit to a strange transformation. Athene touched him +with a rod which she was carrying, and instantly the flesh shrivelled +on his limbs, the clustering locks fell away from his head, and the +keen, piercing glance of his eyes was quenched. He who a moment before +had been a mighty man in his prime was now become a wrinkled, aged +beggar, clad in miserable, grimy rags, with a staff, and a tattered +scrip, hanging by a cord from his shoulder. For a cloak she gave him +an old deer's hide, from which all the hair was gone. Thus totally +disguised, he parted from the goddess, and started inland, following a +rugged mountain path, while Athene went to summon Telemachus from +Sparta.</p> + +<a name="foot21"></a><p>21. Shakespeare, "Tempest." <a href="#footret21">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap11"></a><h2>Odysseus and Eumæus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The office of swineherd was a position of great trust and importance +among the patriarchal chieftains of Homeric Greece. The principal diet +was the flesh of swine and oxen, and these animals formed the chief +part of their wealth. Eumæus, the chief swineherd of Odysseus, lived +apart in a lonely place among the hills, where he had enclosed a wide +space of ground with a stone fence defended at the top with brambles, +and in front by a palisade of oak. Within the fence were twelve styes, +and in each stye were fifty sows with their young. The boars had their +quarters outside the enclosure, and their number had been greatly +diminished by the constant demand for hog's flesh among the suitors. +Still, they reached the formidable total of three hundred and fifty—a +noisy and ravenous multitude.</p> + +<p>It was no light task to provide shelter for nearly a thousand swine, +with their young; yet Eumæus had undertaken this duty during his +master's long absence, without the knowledge of Laertes or Penelope. +And here he was sitting, on this sunny morning, cutting up a +well-tanned ox-hide to make straps for sandals, while four dogs, large +and fierce as wolves, prowled near at hand. Three of his helpers were +gone with the swine to their feeding ground, and the fourth had been +sent to the town with a fat hog for the wooers.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the dogs rushed forward, baying furiously, and an old man in +tattered raiment appeared at the gate of the courtyard. It would have +gone hard with the stranger if Eumæus had not promptly come to the +rescue, and driven the dogs off with a volley of stones. "Old man," +said Eumæus, as the dogs slunk away yelping, "it was well that I was +near, or thou hadst surely been torn to pieces, and brought shame on +me. I have trouble enough without that. Here I sit, fattening my +master's swine for other men's tables, while he wanders, perchance, +among strangers, in poverty and want. But come into my hut, and when +thou hast comforted thy soul with meat and wine thou shalt tell thy +tale of sorrow."</p> + +<p>Odysseus (for he it was, though sorely disfigured) followed Eumæus +into the hut, and sat down on a shaggy goatskin, which the swineherd +spread for him on a heap of brushwood. "Heaven bless thee," he said, +when he was seated, "for this kindly welcome!" "I do but my duty," +answered Eumæus. "The stranger and the beggar are sacred, by law +divine. 'Tis but little that I can do, who serve young and haughty +masters, in the absence of my true lord, who would have rewarded me +nobly, and given me a plot of ground and a wife, had he been here to +see how Heaven blesses the work of my hands. But he is gone to swell +the host of those who fell in Helen's cause. Cursed be she, and all +her race, for she hath robbed me of the kindest master that ever man +served."</p> + +<p>In the midst of his sorrow, Eumæus forgot not his duties as host. +Going out he took two young swine, slaughtered and dressed them, and +set the flesh, all smoking on the spits, before Odysseus. Then he +mixed wine in a bowl of ivy wood, and sitting down opposite to his +guest bade him eat and drink.</p> + +<p>"'Tis but poor fare which I have to offer you," he said. "The best of +the herd ever goes to the young lords who are wooing my mistress. +Their wantonness and riot calls aloud to Heaven for vengeance. They +are worse than the wildest band of robbers that ever lived by open +pillage and violence. Such waste of good meat and wine was never seen +before. For a wealthy man was Odysseus, and his flocks and herds still +range over all the hills of Ithaca. And from every flock the fattest +and the choicest is driven off day by day to feed their dainty +mouths."</p> + +<p>Odysseus fell to with keen appetite, for he had eaten nothing since he +left Phæacia. And when he had satisfied his hunger he pledged Eumæus +in a full cup, and led him on to discourse on his favourite theme—the +virtues and the sorrows of his lord. "Tell me more," he said, "of thy +master. Who knows but that I may have met him in my travels, for I +have wandered in many lands."</p> + +<p>"Old man," answered Eumæus, "I see thy bent. Thou wouldst forge some +glozing tale to beguile the ears of that poor stricken lady, Penelope. +Many a beggar has come to her doors crammed full of lies to amuse her +widowed heart; and she listens, and doubts, and weeps. And thou too, +methinks, hast a like fertile fancy; for hunger and want are rare +inventors. But save thy wits for a better purpose; thou canst not +bring him back to life, or clothe with warm flesh his bones, long +since picked clean by carrion birds or ravenous fish. He is lost for +ever, and sorrow is the portion of us who remain, but especially of +me, for he was dearer to me than father and mother, dearer than my +native land."</p> + +<p>"Friend," said Odysseus, "thou hast misjudged me sorely, in thinking +me one of those greedy mendicants who tell lies for the sake of meat +and drink. Believe me or not, I will say what is in my heart, and when +my words are proved true by the event I will claim my reward. Odysseus +is near at hand, and ere many days have passed he shall be seen in +Ithaca, and take vengeance on those who oppress his wife and son. I +swear it by this table at which I have eaten, and by the hearth of +Odysseus, and by Zeus, the god of hospitality."</p> + +<p>Eumæus remained totally unconvinced by this solemn assertion. "Talk no +more of him," he said with emotion, "it cuts me to the heart to hear +his very name. Would that it might be as thou sayest!—but 'tis an +idle dream. Peace be unto his ashes! And may the gods at least +preserve unto us his son, Telemachus, who lately departed on a witless +errand, led thereto, as I think, by some malign deity who hates the +house of Odysseus. But no more of this! Tell me rather of thyself, who +and whence thou art, and how thou camest to Ithaca."</p> + +<p>Eumæus had not extolled the fertile invention of Odysseus for nothing. +Forthwith he began a wondrous tale of adventure, a little epic in +itself, with some points of resemblance to his own true story. "I am a +native of Crete," he began, "and the son of a wealthy man. When my +father died I received but a scanty portion of his goods. +Nevertheless, because of my valour and the might of my hands, I won a +noble and wealthy lady for my wife. Thou wouldst not deem, perhaps, to +see me now, that I was once a mighty man of war; yet even in the +stubble we may judge what the wheat has been. From my youth up I lived +amidst the clash of shield and spear, and loved battle and ambush, +siege and foray. But I cared not for plodding industry, which gives +increase unto a house, and fills it with the bright faces of children. +Such I was as Heaven made me, a man of war and blood.</p> + +<p>"Before the sons of Greece went up to Troy I was nine times chosen +captain of an armed band to make war in the land of strangers, and +came back laden with booty, so that my name was known and dreaded in +Crete. And when the summons went round in all the coasts of Greece to +follow the banner of Agamemnon, who but I was chosen by the common +voice to share the command with Idomeneus? I was fain to renounce that +hard and perilous service, but it might not be; so for nine years I +fought at Troy, and after our return to Crete I abode but one month +with my wife and children, for at the end of that time my spirit +called me to Egypt. I manned nine ships, and on the fifth day the +north wind brought me safe with all my company to the land of Nile.</p> + +<p>"Then I sent out a few chosen men to explore the country, and kept +myself close with the rest of my force until they should bring back +their report. But my scouts forgot their duty, and carried away by +lust of plunder began to harry and ravage the fields of the Egyptians. +Quickly the hue and cry went round, and an armed multitude, both horse +and foot, came suddenly upon us, breathing fury and vengeance. We +could make no stand against such a host, and all my comrades were +speedily slain or taken captive. When I saw that all was lost I threw +away helmet and shield, dropped my spear, and falling on my knees +before the chief captain of the Egyptians begged him to spare my life. +He heard my petition, set me on his chariot, and brought me to his +home. There I remained seven years and gathered much wealth; for I had +found favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave me freely of +their possessions.</p> + +<p>"In the eighth year there came a certain Phœnician to Egypt, a crafty +and covetous rogue, and he persuaded me to go with him to Phœnicia. +So I went, and abode with him a whole year, and when the spring came +round again I sailed with him to Africa, whither he was bound with a +freight of merchandise. His purpose was to sell me in Africa as a +slave for a great price; but Zeus willed it otherwise, for as we +sailed southwards from Crete a great storm arose, and the ship went +down with all her men, while I escaped by clinging to the mast, and +after nine days was carried by the winds and the waves to Thesprotia, +where I was kindly entreated by the king of that country.</p> + +<p>"There I had news of Odysseus, who had touched at that coast on his +voyage to Ithaca, and stayed as a guest in that same house. This I +heard from the king's own lips, and he showed me all the treasure +which Odysseus had left in his charge, while he himself went on a +journey to Dodona, to inquire of the oracle concerning the manner of +his return. Thou wouldst wonder to behold all the wealth which thy +lord had gathered, an exceeding great store.</p> + +<p>"Odysseus himself I saw not; for it chanced that a ship was sailing +for Dulichium, and the king commended me to her captain, bidding him +carry me thither with all care and tenderness. Now this man was a +villain, and be devised evil against me; for when we left the coast of +Thesprotia, he stripped me of the raiment which the king had given me, +clothed me in these rags, and bound me with cords, intending to sell +me as a slave. In the evening he landed in Ithaca, leaving me, bound +as I was, in the ship. But I broke my bonds, and escaped by swimming +to another part of the coast, where I lay all night in a thicket. In +the morning they sought me with great outcry, but found me not; and +after awhile they sailed away. When they were gone I arose, and was +led by Heaven's hand to thy doors."</p> + +<p>The swineherd listened attentively to the well-imagined tale, and when +it was ended he said: "Hapless man, thou hast been the very sport of +Destiny, and my heart is big when I think of thy wanderings and thy +woes. But as touching Odysseus, that part of thy story likes me not; +methinks 'tis a cunning invention to flatter my ears. Long ago I was +deceived by a false report, brought hither by a wandering exile like +thee, who said that he had seen Odysseus repairing his ships in Crete, +and bade us look for his coming in the autumn of that year. Since then +I have closed my ears against all such rumours, and therefore I say, +tell me no more of him, for I cannot and will not believe but that he +is dead."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Evening was now coming on, and it was time for the herdsmen to return +with their charge from the feeding-ground. Presently, with huge +commotion, and multitudinous din, the swine were driven home and +penned in their styes. Then Eumæus called to his helpers, and bade +them bring the best of the herd to make savoury meat for his guest +"Spare not," he said, "to bring the fattest and choicest of them all, +for why should we be careful, when strangers devour our labour?" So +they brought a hog of five years old, exceeding fat, and having +slaughtered it they offered sacrifice, not forgetting a prayer for the +return of Odysseus. When all rites of religion were duly paid, they +roasted the flesh, and served it on wooden platters. Odysseus was +honoured by Eumæus with a choice portion of the loin.</p> + +<p>When they had finished, night came on, dark and stormy, with furious +gusts of rain and wind. Just as they were about to retire to rest, +Odysseus, who seldom spoke without a purpose, turned to his kind host +and said: "Eumæus, the good wine has loosened my tongue, and moved me +to tell thee a story of long ago, when these withered limbs were in +their lusty prime, and my heart burned with the fire of youth. Then I +was chosen with Menelaus and Odysseus to lead an ambush under the +walls of Troy. With a picked company we took up our position in a +marshy place, and lay down in our armour among the rushes. It was a +bitter night, with snow and frost, and our shields were soon coated +with ice. Now it chanced that I had left my cloak in the camp, and +while the others lay warm in their thick woollen mantles, I was +perishing with cold. At last I could bear it no longer, so I nudged +Odysseus, who was lying next to me, with my elbow, and said to him: +'Son of Laertes, the cold is killing me. I came in my folly without a +cloak, and I can never hold out until dawn in this cruel frost.' And +he, ever ready of wit as he was, instantly contrived means to relieve +me. Whispering to me to keep counsel he rose on his elbow, and called +to the others, saying: 'Comrades, I have been warned in a dream that +our numbers are too weak for the task which has been laid upon us. +Will not one of you run down to the camp, and ask Agamemnon to send us +further succour?'</p> + +<p>"Thereupon one of our men arose, and flinging off his cloak ran off to +carry the message to Agamemnon. And I lay wrapped in the garment, warm +and safe, until the dawn. Ah! those were brave days; what changes have +I seen since then!"</p> + +<p>"I read thy meaning," said Eumæus; "and as a reward for thy good story +thou shalt sleep in comfort to-night. But to-morrow thou must make +shift to wear thine own rags again, for I am but ill furnished with +changes of raiment. When Telemachus returns he will supply all thy +wants, and send thee whithersoever thou art minded to go."</p> + +<p>So saying he drew a truckle-bed close to the fire, and heaped it with +the skins of sheep and goats. There Odysseus lay down to rest, and +Eumæus threw over him a stout mantle of his own. All the other +herdsmen slept in the hut; but Eumæus, ever watchful for his master's +property, went out, armed to the teeth, to pass the night among the +swine, under the shelter of a hollow rock, which kept off the cold +north wind. And Odysseus was glad when he saw that good servant so +faithful to his trust.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap12"></a><h2>The Return of Telemachus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>While these important events were happening in Ithaca, Telemachus was +living as an honoured guest in the house of Menelaus. One night, while +he lay between sleeping and waking, full of anxious thought, Athene +appeared to him in her own person, and addressed him thus: "Thou +lingerest too long here, Telemachus. It is time for thee to return and +keep an eye on thy goods, lest thou be stripped of all in thy absence. +Thy mother's kinsmen are urgent with her to wed Eurymachus, the +wealthiest of the wooers; and, if she yield, it may be that she will +take of thy heritage to increase the house of the man who wins her. +Therefore make haste and get thee home, that thou mayest be at hand to +defend thy rights. Know also that the wooers are lying in wait for +thee in the strait between Ithaca and Samos, with intent to slay thee; +take heed then that thou shun that passage, and sail home by another +way. And when thou art come to Ithaca, go straight to the dwelling of +Eumæus, and send him down to Penelope with news of thy return."</p> + +<p>Such a message, brought by such a messenger, was not to be neglected. +Telemachus at once roused Pisistratus, the son of Nestor, who was +sleeping near, and declared his intention of starting at once; but +when Pisistratus pointed out how displeasing such conduct would be to +their princely host he consented to wait till morning.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, when day was come, he went to Menelaus, and asked leave +to depart at once. Menelaus consented, only insisting that he should +remain for the morning meal. While this was preparing, the generous +prince went to his treasure chamber, and returned laden with a +splendid silver bowl, the work of Phœnician artists, which he had +received when he visited the King of Sidon on his voyage from Troy. +And Helen brought an embroidered robe, the work of her own fair hands, +as a wedding gift for his future bride.</p> + +<p>As soon as they had eaten they mounted the chariot, and drove slowly +through the outer gate of the courtyard, Menelaus and Helen following +on foot Here they drew up to say farewell, and Menelaus pledged them +in a bowl of wine, wishing them god-speed. "And forget not," he added, +"to greet Nestor for me when ye come to Pylos, for he was ever gentle +to me as a father when we sojourned in the land of Troy."</p> + +<p>"I will not forget to carry thy message," answered Telemachus; "would +that I were as sure to see my father when I come to Ithaca, that I +might tell him of thy noble hospitality, and show him thy gifts."</p> + +<p>Hardly had the words been uttered when a clamour of voices was heard, +and a crowd of men and women ran past, pursuing with loud cries an +eagle, which had just seized a great white goose from the courtyard, +and was carrying her off in his talons. Straight over the chariot he +flew, and with a scream of triumph sped away to the mountains with his +booty. "Consider now, my prince," said Pisistratus, "whether this omen +was sent to us or to thee."</p> + +<p>Menelaus, who was somewhat slow of wit, paused to deliberate; but +before he could frame an answer, the quick brain of Helen was ready +with an interpretation. "The eagle is thy father, Odysseus," she said +to Telemachus, "and the meaning of the omen is that he is already in +Ithaca, or close at hand, bringing death and doom to his foes."</p> + +<p>Thus encouraged by fair portents, they took leave of their kind hosts, +and started on their way to Pylos, where they arrived on the following +day. As they drew near to the house of Nestor, Telemachus begged his +friend to drive straight down to the sea. "For I know," he said, "that +thy father will constrain me to abide with him, and will take no +denial; and I wish to embark for Ithaca without further delay." +Pisistratus agreed, and avoiding the house of Nestor they passed on to +the place where the ship lay moored.</p> + +<p>Having summoned his crew, Telemachus was preparing to embark, when a +man armed and equipped as a traveller approached the vessel, and +inquired who he was and whither he was bound. Having received an +answer, he requested Telemachus to carry him to Ithaca. "My name," he +said, "is Theoclymenus, and I am descended from Melampus, the famous +seer, from whom I have inherited the prophetic gift. I am an exile +from my native land of Argos, for I have slain a man of my own tribe, +and am flying from the avenger of blood. Set me, I pray thee, on thy +ship, and take me with you, for sore is my need."</p> + +<p>"Heaven forbid," answered Telemachus, "that I should deny thee, seeing +that thy very life is at stake. Make haste, and come on board"; and he +made room for the stranger to sit by him in the stern of the vessel.</p> + +<p>After a quick and prosperous voyage they sighted the coast of Ithaca, +and landed on a deserted part of the coast within easy reach of the +swineherd's dwelling. Here Telemachus dismissed his company, bidding +them take the galley round to the harbour of Ithaca, and promising to +reward them for their good service. He was just about to depart when +Theoclymenus detained him and asked where he was to find shelter. +Telemachus answered in some embarrassment. "'Twere no friendly act," +he said, "to send thee to my house, for my mother lives apart in her +own chamber and sees no man, and I fear lest thou suffer some harm +from the lawless men who riot in my halls. Therefore I advise thee to +go to Eurymachus, who is now the most powerful man in Ithaca, and +hopes to sit in my father's seat; but perchance Zeus will send him +another issue of his wooing."</p> + +<p>Just as he spoke a rushing of wings was heard on the right, and they +saw a falcon passing close at hand with a dove clutched in his talons, +and tearing his prey so that the feathers fluttered down at their +feet. Then Theoclymenus, who was deeply skilled in augury, drew +Telemachus apart and said: "It is a manifest sign of victory to thee +and to thy house." "May Heaven fulfil thy prophecy," answered +Telemachus, "and if thy words prove true I will load thee with +benefits, and give thee cause to bless this hour." Being now convinced +that he had found a friend, he called Peiræus, in whom he had full +confidence, and bade him take Theoclymenus under his care until he +himself returned to the town. Peiræus readily undertook the charge, +and this point being settled they thrust out from the shore and rowed +away in the direction of the harbour, while Telemachus strode off with +rapid footsteps along the path which led to the swineherd's hut.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>On the evening before the arrival of Telemachus Odysseus was sitting +after supper with Eumæus and the other herdsmen, and wishing to learn +the purpose of Eumæus towards him he said: "I will no longer be a +burden to thee and thy fellows. To-morrow I will go to the town and +beg my living, if thou wilt send one of thy men to show me the way. +Perchance also I might visit the house of Odysseus, and have speech +with Penelope. And it may be that the wooers will take me into their +service, for I would have thee know that by favour of Hermes I am +right skilful of my hands, and no one can match me in laying a fire +and cleaving dry logs, in carving and roasting meat, and in pouring of +wine."</p> + +<p>But this proposal found no favour with the honest swineherd. "Who put +such a thought," he asked, "into thy mind? Serve with the wooers! They +would put a speedy end to thy service, and pay thee thy wages in +blood. Those who wait upon them are of a different sort from thee—gay +striplings, daintily clad, with glossy hair and comely faces. Remain +with us until Telemachus comes home; thou art no burden either to me +or to my men."</p> + +<p>"Be it so, then," answered Odysseus, "and may Heaven requite thee for +thy goodness to a poor homeless outcast, who wanders in misery, driven +by hunger from door to door! And since I am still to be thy guest, +tell me something of thy master's mother, and of the father whom he +left behind when he went to the wars. Do they still live, or have they +gone to their rest?"</p> + +<p>"This also thou shalt know," replied Eumæus. "Laertes his father still +lives, though sore stricken with years and sorrows; for his son's long +absence and his wife's miserable end have brought him to the verge of +the grave. She died long ago, and by such a death as I pray may never +come to anyone who is dear to me—she, my kind mistress, who brought +me up with her youngest daughter, and hardly loved me less. As long as +she lived I would often go down to the house, and she ever entertained +me kindly, and gave me something to carry back with me to my dwelling +on the land. Full well she knew how to sweeten the lot of a thrall +with pleasant words, and little acts of tenderness and love. But now I +seldom leave my charge, for since the wooers brought this curse upon +my master's house Penelope hides her face from us, and has no comfort +for us either in word or deed."</p> + +<p>Odysseus listened with deep interest, and when Eumæus paused he +expressed a desire to hear the story of his life. "How was it," he +asked, "that already in early childhood thou wast cast on the mercy of +strangers? Wast thou taken captive in war, or did robbers seize thee +as thou satst watching sheep on the lonely hills, and sell thee into +bondage?"</p> + +<p>"Fill thy cup," answered Eumæus, "we will pledge each other in a +hearty draught, and then thou shalt hear my tale. The nights are long +at this season, and we shall have time enough to sleep when I have +done. Fate has dealt hardly with me, even as with thee; and we can +find some comfort in telling over our sorrows to each other.</p> + +<p>"There is a certain island called Syria, lying north of Ortygia, not +very large or populous, but a good land, rich in pasture, with waving +cornfields and goodly vineyards. There famine never comes, nor +sickness, but all the people reach a good old age, and then die by the +painless shafts of Artemis or of Apollo. There are two cities which +divide the territory equally between them; and there was one king over +both, my father, Ctesius, son of Ormenus.</p> + +<p>"When I was still very young there came to the island a Phœnician +ship, laden with trinkets for barter. Now in my father's house was a +Phœnician woman, tall and fair, and skilled in needlework. She was my +nurse, and I was wont to run about the town with her. One day, as she +was washing clothes not far from the ship, she was recognised by a +Phœnician sailor as being of his own race, and he inquired how she +came to the island. She answered that she was a native of Sidon, and a +rich man's daughter, stolen from her home by pirates, and sold across +the seas. 'And hast thou a mind to see thy native land again?' asked +the fellow. 'Thy father and mother still live and prosper'; for she +had told him that her father's name was Arybas. 'I will go with you,' +answered the woman, 'if ye will swear an oath to carry me home +unharmed.' They all swore to do as she said, and after that she +instructed them how to proceed. 'Keep close counsel,' she said, 'and +let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet +by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that +aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all. Lose no time in selling +your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let +one of you come up to the house and give me a sign. I will not come +empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my +passage. Furthermore, I have charge of my master's child, a knowing +little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye +may sell him for a great price.'</p> + +<p>"The bargain was struck, and the woman departed. Then for a whole year +they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all +their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father's +house, to warn the woman that the time was come. He brought with him a +necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my +mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price, +the fellow made a sign to my nurse. When he was gone she took me by +the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house. +There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had +been dining with his guests. They had now gone forth to attend the +council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets +and hid them in her bosom. Then with one rapid glance round, to make +sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where +the Phœnician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her, +fearing nothing.</p> + +<p>"Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were +sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival. They took +us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze +springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond +the reach of pursuit. On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of +vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible +blow. They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in +Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes."</p> + +<p>"Twas a sad fate for one of thy tender years," remarked Odysseus, when +Eumæus had finished his story. "Nevertheless thou wast happy to find +such a master—happier far than I, who am still a vagabond and a +wanderer in my old age."</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap13"></a><h2>The Meeting of Telemachus and Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Early next day Eumæus and Odysseus were preparing their morning meal, +when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the hut. The hounds +pricked up their ears at the sound, and ran fawning round the +new-comer, who was evidently well known to them. Odysseus called to +Eumæus, who was busy drawing wine, and said: "Some friend of thine is +coming; for the dogs fawn upon him, and bark not."</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke, a tall figure appeared in the open doorway, and his +own dear son stood before him. Eumæus sprang up amazed, and let fall +the pitcher into which he had been drawing the wine. Then with a cry +of joy he ran to greet his young lord, kissed his hands and his face, +and wept over him. Even as a father yearns over his only son, just +returned from abroad after a ten years' absence, so Eumæus yearned +over Telemachus, and hailed him as one returned from the dead. "Thou +art come, Telemachus," he faltered at last, when his emotion suffered +him to speak, "thou art come back again, dear as mine own life! Ne'er +thought I to see thee again, after thou wast gone to Pylos. Sit thee +down, that I may feast mine eyes upon thee; seldom dost thou come this +way, but abidest in the house, to watch the wasteful deeds of the +wooers."</p> + +<p>Odysseus, in his character of beggar, rose respectfully from his seat, +to make room for the young prince, but Telemachus motioned him to +resume his place, and sat down himself on a heap of brushwood, on +which the swineherd had spread a fleece. While Eumæus was bringing +bread and meat, and filling the cups with wine, Telemachus questioned +him as to his mother, and learnt that no change had occurred in her +relation to the wooers since he left Ithaca. Breakfast being over, +Eumæus, in answer to his inquiry, told him the story of the supposed +stranger. "I have done what I could for him," he added, when he had +repeated what he had heard from Odysseus. "Now I deliver him unto +thee, to do with him as thou wilt; all his hopes are in thy grace."</p> + +<p>"What can I do?" answered Telemachus, in perplexity. "Thou knowest +that I am not master in my own house, and my mother is torn between +two purposes: whether to wait still in patience for her lord's coming, +or to choose a new husband from the noblest of the suitors. Neither +she nor I can give protection to such a guest as this. Therefore I +will bestow upon him a new cloak and doublet, with sandals for his +feet, and arm him with a good sword, and send him whithersoever he +chooses to go. Or if thou art willing, thou canst keep him here with +thee, and I will send down food and raiment for him, that he may not +be a burden to thee and thy men. But I will not allow him to go among +the wooers, and suffer ill-treatment which I have no power to +prevent."</p> + +<p>Odysseus, who had not seen his son since he was an infant, desired to +learn something more of his mind and character; and in order to draw +him into further speech he asked, with an air of indignation, who the +wooers were, and how it was that he submitted to their violence. "Is +the public voice against thee," he asked, "or art thou at feud with +thy brethren, so that they will not help thee? If I were in thy place +I would fall upon them singlehanded, for it were better to die once +for all than tamely to submit to such outrage."</p> + +<p>"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered Telemachus. "'Tis +neither by the consent of the people nor by the ill-will of my +brethren, that this evil hath come upon me. But Heaven hath ordained +that the honours and the burden of our house should ever rest upon one +alone. Laertes, my grandsire, was an only son, and Odysseus was the +sole issue of his marriage; and even so I am the only child of +Odysseus. Therefore I sit helpless and alone, at the mercy of this +ruffian band. But enough of this! We have no hope left, save in the +justice of Heaven." Then he turned to Eumæus, and said: "Make haste +now, go down to the house, and tell Penelope that I have come back +safe from Pylos. Let none else hear it, but come back hither at once, +when thou hast delivered thy message, and I will wait here until thy +return."</p> + +<p>"Shall I not go to Laertes, and tell him also?" asked the swineherd. +"Since the day of thy departure he has tasted neither meat nor drink, +but sits alone in his sorrow, and will not be comforted."</p> + +<p>"My mother can send a handmaid to inform him," answered Telemachus. +"But as for thee, see that thou return here straightway, and lose no +time."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Soon after the departure of Eumæus, Odysseus and Telemachus were +sitting before the door of the hut, each lost in his own thoughts, +when their attention was attracted by the strange behaviour of the +dogs. These animals, which had been lying basking in the sun, all at +once started up with a stifled cry, and ran whining, with every sign +of terror, to a distant corner of the courtyard. "What ails the +hounds?" said Telemachus, looking up in surprise. But Odysseus was not +long before he saw the cause of their alarm: standing at the outer +gate was a tall female figure, of majestic countenance, and more than +mortal beauty. Telemachus saw her not, but Odysseus instantly knew who +she was, and, obeying a gesture of her hand, he rose from his seat and +went out through the gate. She led him to a place where they were out +of hearing, and then said: "It is time for thee to reveal thyself to +thy son, that together ye may contrive destruction for the wooers. +When the hour of reckoning comes, I shall be near to aid you." +Thereupon she touched him with her wand, and in a moment he was once +more the old Odysseus, still in the full vigour of his manhood, dark +and sunburnt, with thick black hair and curling beard. His rags also +had been replaced by fair clean raiment; and thus completely +transformed he went back to the hut to reveal himself to Telemachus. +Athene, having done her part, had forthwith disappeared.</p> + +<p>Fear came upon Telemachus, and he marvelled exceedingly, when the real +Odysseus appeared before him. "Who art thou," he asked, "that comest +back in a moment thus wondrously transfigured? If thou be a god, as +methinks thou art, let me find favour in thy sight, and we will honour +thee with rich offerings of gold, and with humble prayers."</p> + +<p>"No god am I," answered Odysseus, "but thine own dear father, for +whose sake thou hast suffered so long with groanings and tears."</p> + +<p>With that he kissed him, and giving vent to the tenderness which he +had hitherto restrained he lifted up his voice and wept. But +Telemachus could not yet believe that it was indeed his father whom he +saw before him. "It cannot be," he said, drawing back in affright. "It +is mere magic and glamour practised against me by some hostile power, +to mock my sorrow. No being of flesh and blood could work such a +change upon himself. A moment since thou wast an old man in sordid +raiment, and now thou art like unto the sons of heaven."</p> + +<p>"Forbear!" said Odysseus, "no more amazement! I am thy father, and no +other; if not, thou shalt never see him more. Much have I suffered, +and wandered far, and now in the twentieth year I am come back to my +native land. This change at which thou marvellest is no work of mine, +but was wrought by Athene, daughter of Zeus. The gods can deal with us +as they will, both for our glory and for our shame."</p> + +<p>Then Telemachus was convinced, and fell into his father's arms, and +they wept long and sore over each other, for joy and grief are near +neighbours. Presently they grew calmer, and Odysseus, in answer to his +son's inquiry, told how the Phæacians had conveyed him to Ithaca, and +of all the treasures which he had brought with him.</p> + +<p>"But now we must speak of a sterner task," said Odysseus, when his +story was ended. "Tell me now the number of the wooers, that I may +know how many and what manner of men they be, and thereafter contrive +how we may best assail them, whether by ourselves or with others to +help us."</p> + +<p>"Father," answered Telemachus, "I knew thy high renown, as a warrior +mighty in word and deed. But I fear me greatly that this task is too +hard for us; how shall two men prevail against so many? Listen now and +I will tell thee their number. From Dulichium are two and fifty, with +six men-servants, from Same twenty-four, from Zacynthus twenty, and +from Ithaca itself twelve, all proper men and tall. If we twain fall +upon such a host, we may find the work of vengeance a bitter morsel, +and our bane. It were better, then, to look for some other help."</p> + +<p>"Helpers we shall find, and stout ones too," said Odysseus. "What +sayest thou to Athene and her father, Zeus? Is their aid enough or +shall we look for more?"</p> + +<p>"Mighty indeed are the champions thou namest," replied Telemachus, +"though throned far remote among the clouds; supreme are they in +sovereignty, both on earth and in heaven."</p> + +<p>"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "and ere long the wooers shall +feel their might. Now learn further what thou must do. To-morrow thou +shalt go up to the house, and join the company of the wooers, and +afterwards the swineherd will bring me thither in the disguise of a +beggar old and miserable. If the wooers use me despitefully seek not +to prevent it, but let thy heart endure, even though they beat me, or +drag me by the feet through the doors. Thou mayest reprove them +gently, and bid them cease from their wantonness, but they will not +heed thee for their lives are forfeit already. Mark further, and take +heed what I say. When the time to strike is come I will give thee a +signal, and, forthwith, thou shalt remove all the weapons from the +halls, and make excuse to the wooers, saying that thou art bestowing +them in a safe place, out of reach of the smoke. Leave only two swords +and two shields and two spears, as weapons for ourselves. But above +all I charge thee to let none know of my coming—neither Laertes, nor +Eumæus, nor Penelope herself. Alone we must work, and watch the temper +of the thralls, to see if there be any on our side."</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>Meanwhile the faithful swineherd made all haste to carry his message +to Penelope. Just as he was approaching the house, he met one of the +crew of Telemachus' ship coming up from the harbour on the same +errand. So they went together, and while Eumæus conveyed the tidings +privately to Penelope, he who was sent from the ship delivered his +report in the hearing of the whole household.</p> + +<p>Great was the dismay of the suitors when they learnt that their foul +plot had been frustrated. One by one they stole out of the house to a +secret place of meeting; and when they were all assembled they began +to devise what was next to be done. While they were debating they were +joined by Antinous and the crew of the ship which had been lying in +wait for Telemachus in the strait. Always the foremost in violent +counsels, Antinous breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the +young prince. "The boy only escaped us by a miracle," he said. "All +day long we had sentinels on all the heights commanding the sea, and +at night we patrolled the waters in our ship. Yet for all our +vigilance he has slipped through our hands. But I will not be baffled +thus," he added, stamping with fury. "This wretched boy must die, or +we shall never accomplish our purpose. Let us make haste and slay him +before he comes back to the town, or he will call a meeting of the +people and proclaim to all Ithaca that we sought to slay him, and +failed. Then the whole city will rise against us, and we shall have to +fly for our lives."</p> + +<p>Then another of the wooers rose up and rebuked Antinous for his +bloodthirsty counsels. This man's name was Amphinomus, and he was the +chief among the wooers who came from Dulichium. More than any of the +other suitors he found favour with Penelope, for he was a prudent man +and a just, and his voice was pleasant to her ear. "Remember," he +said, "that Telemachus is of royal race; and it is a dreadful thing to +shed the blood of kings. I will have no hand in such an act, without +sure and manifest sign that it is the will of Zeus."</p> + +<p>The speech of Amphinomus was received with a murmur of applause; for +most of the wooers were averse to the violent measures proposed by +Antinous. So they arose, and returned to the house.</p> + +<p>Penelope had heard of their plotting from the herald, Medon, and +obeying a sudden impulse she came down from her chamber, and standing +in the doorway began to upbraid Antinous for his wicked purpose. "Thou +hast the name of a wise and eloquent man," she said, "but thy fame is +better than thy deeds. Wretch, why dost thou lay snares against the +life of my son? Hast thou never heard how thy father came to this +house, flying from the wrath of the Ithacans, who would have slain +him, because he had joined the Taphian pirates in a raid on the +Thesprotians, who were our allies? But Odysseus stood between him and +their fury, and saved his life. A fair return thou art making for that +good service, devouring his substance, paying court to his wife, and +compassing the death of his son."</p> + +<p>Antinous sat biting his lips, and made no answer; but Eurymachus, a +subtler villain, smooth and specious, but all the more dangerous, +spoke for him, and said: "Sage daughter of Icarius, fear nothing for +thy son Telemachus, for while I live no man shall offer him violence. +By this sword I swear it, and I care not who hears me, the man who +seeks to harm him shall die by my hand. I at least have not forgotten +the loving-kindness of thy lord, Odysseus, on whose knees I have often +sat, and taken food and drink from his hand. Therefore I love +Telemachus as a brother, and I swear to thee that none of the wooers +shall do him any harm."</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap14"></a><h2>The Home-coming of Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>When Eumæus came back from his errand, Odysseus, who in the meantime +had resumed his disguise, was helping Telemachus to prepare the +evening meal. Telemachus questioned him about the ship which the +wooers had sent out to waylay him on his return from Pylos, but Eumæus +had been in such haste to get back to his farm that he had not stopped +to inquire about the matter. "But thus much I can tell thee," he said: +"as I was crossing the hill which overlooks the town I saw a galley, +bristling with spear and helm, entering the harbour; and I believe +that this was the ship of which thou speakest"</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," answered Telemachus, with a significant glance at +his father. Then they all fell to their suppers with hearty appetite, +and soon afterwards retired to rest.</p> + +<p>The first chill of dawn was still in the air when Telemachus roused +the swineherd, and announced his intention of proceeding at once to +the town. "I know," he said, "that my mother will have no peace until +she sees me with her own eyes. Now as to this stranger, I charge thee +to take him with thee into the town, that he may beg his bread from +house to house. Burdened as I am already, and full of care, I cannot +provide for him. If he thinks it hard, all the worse for him."</p> + +<p>"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "I have no mind to remain here. +I am too old to take orders from a master, and it is better to beg my +living in the town than in the fields. Therefore I will go, when I +have warmed me at the fire, and the sun is up; for I am ill equipped +to face the frosts of morning."</p> + +<p>Away went Telemachus, covering the ground with rapid strides, his mind +occupied all the way with thoughts of vengeance against the wooers. +The first who saw him when he crossed the threshold of his home was +his old nurse, Eurycleia, who was just then spreading fleeces on the +seats in the great hall. With a cry of joy she ran and fell on his +neck, and kissed him; and all the faithful handmaids of Penelope +crowded round to welcome their young master home. The sound of their +voices reached the ears of Penelope, and with swift steps she came +gliding into the hall, fair as Artemis, or golden Aphrodite. When she +saw Telemachus she flung her arms round his neck and covered his face +with kisses. "Welcome," she sobbed, "Telemachus, my heart's darling, +restored to me beyond all hope! Say, hast thou brought any news of thy +father?"</p> + +<p>But Telemachus was too full of the stern task which lay before him to +leave room for softer emotions. Gently extricating himself from his +mother's embrace he said: "Dear mother, thou shalt hear all in due +season; at present I have other work to do. Go thou to thy chamber, +and put on clean raiment, and when thou hast purified thyself pray to +all the immortal gods to hasten the day of atonement for those who +have wronged our house. I will return presently, when I have done my +business in the town."</p> + +<p>The gentle Penelope went to do her son's bidding, and Telemachus +started for the town, with two hounds following close at his heels. He +seemed taller and manlier after his short absence, and many an eye +followed him with wonder as he passed through the streets. Presently +he came to the place where the wooers were assembled, and they came +crowding about him with false words of welcome. But he turned his back +on them with scorn, and seeing a little group of his father's friends, +among whom were Mentor and the aged Halitherses, he went and sat down +among them. While they were questioning him about his travels, Peiræus +came up, bringing with him the seer, Theoclymenus, whom Telemachus had +left in his charge the day before. "I restore to thee thy guest," said +Peiræus, "who has been entertained in all honour at my house; and if +thou wilt send thy handmaids, I will deliver unto them the treasure +which thou hast brought with thee from Pylos."</p> + +<p>"I thank thee," answered Telemachus; "Theoclymenus shall go with me; +but as to the treasure, do thou keep it for me until these evil days +are passed. If aught untoward befall me, I had rather it remained with +thee than that it should fall into the hands of the wooers."</p> + +<p>Having taken leave of his friends, he returned to the house, taking +Theoclymenus with him. And when they had bathed and put on fresh +raiment, they sat down to meat. The meal proceeded in silence, and at +last Penelope, who was sitting near, busy with her distaff, and +longing impatiently to hear her son's news, said in a tone of +displeasure: "Hast thou no word for thy mother, Telemachus? Or art +thou keeping thy tidings until the wooers return? Surely I thought in +this rare interval of quiet to hear how thou hast fared and what thou +hast learnt on this journey. But if thou hast naught to tell me, I +will go to my widowed bed, and weep away the hours until dawn."</p> + +<p>Roused from his reverie by his mother's reproaches, Telemachus gave a +brief account of his visit to Nestor and Menelaus, and of what they +had told him. Penelope was musing on her son's report, when +Theoclymenus, the second-sighted man, started up from his seat, and +cried: "I see him, I see him! He is landed in Ithaca, he is coming +hither, he is here! Woe unto the suitors! Their hour is at hand, and +not one of them shall escape."</p> + +<p>Penelope had heard such prophecies too often to pay much heed to the +seer's vision. "Ah! my friend," she said, with a sad smile, "I can but +pray that thy words will be fulfilled; if ever they are, it shall be a +happy day for thee."</p> + +<p>At this moment the wooers came trooping in, filling the house with +riot and uproar; and there was an end of all quiet converse for that +day.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>It was past noon before Odysseus and Eumæus set out for the town; for +Eumæus had conceived a great liking for his guest, and listened with +delight to his wonderful tales of adventure. "Come," he said at last, +when Odysseus had finished one of his long stories. "It is time to be +going, though I would willingly have kept thee here. But my young lord +has spoken and we must obey." "Lead on," said Odysseus, "I know what +thou wouldst say; but first give me a staff to lean on, for I heard +thee say that the path was rough."</p> + +<p>So saying he threw his tattered wallet over his shoulder, and taking a +stout staff, which Eumæus offered him, started with his friend across +the hills. After a toilsome walk they reached the top of the hill +which overlooked the town, and descending the slope they came to a +copious spring of water, well fenced with stones, and shaded by a +grove of alders. The water descended into a basin from the face of a +rock in a cool and copious stream; and on either side stood an altar +to the nymphs. "It is the common fountain of the townspeople," +explained Eumæus. "The altars and the basin which receives the water +are the work of our ancient kings."</p> + +<p>Odysseus paused a moment, lost in the memories which were awakened by +that familiar scene. But his reverie was rudely interrupted. While he +stood gazing at the fountain, he heard a rude voice hailing them from +the road, and looking round he saw a man leading a pair of fine goats +towards the town. It was Melanthius, his own goatherd, who was +bringing the best of his flock to make savoury meat for the wooers.</p> + +<p>"Here are two birds of a feather!" shouted the fellow, in jeering +tones—"that wretched swineherd, and a ravenous beggar. A fine guest +thou art bringing to our young masters, and a fair welcome, without +doubt, they will give him. Were it not better that I took him with me +to my farm? He could sweep out the pens, and gather green shoots for +the kids; and we would give him whey to drink, and put some flesh on +these shrunk shanks<sup><a href="#foot22" name="footret22">22</a></sup> of his. But the lazy knave will do no work; he +would rather rub his shoulders against every door-post, begging for +broken meat. Broken bones will be his portion, if the wooers see him +near the house of Odysseus."</p> + +<p>While he uttered these taunts Melanthius had gradually come close to +Odysseus, and with the last word he lifted up his foot and kicked him +with all his force on the hip. Odysseus stood like a rock, and stirred +not an inch from his ground; his first impulse was to seize the +ruffian by the ankles, and dash out his brains on the road; but he +checked himself with a great effort, and said not a word.</p> + +<p>But Eumæus rebuked the goatherd, and invoked the vengeance of heaven +against him. "Would that our noble master were here!" he cried, "he +would soon make an end of thee, thou braggart! Unfaithful herdsman, +that rovest ever about the town, leaving thy flock to underlings!"</p> + +<p>"Go to, thou dog!" retorted Melanthius, with a savage laugh. "Wilt +thou be ever harping on that string? Thy noble master is dust long +ago, and I would that Telemachus were lying with him. As for thee, I +will one day cast thee bound into a ship, and sell thee across the +seas for a great price."</p> + +<p>With that he left them, and stepped briskly out towards the house, +while Odysseus and Eumæus followed more slowly. Presently they came to +an extensive enclosure, standing conspicuously on a high level plateau +overlooking the town. Behind the fence towered the roof of a great +timber house. They passed through the outer gates, and as they entered +the courtyard they heard the sounds of a harp, and the steam of roast +flesh was borne to their nostrils.</p> + +<p>"Take heed now," said Eumæus, lowering his voice, as they approached +the door of the house. "I will go in first, and do thou follow me +close, lest anyone find thee outside and do thee some hurt."</p> + +<p>"Fear nothing for me," answered Odysseus, "I am no stranger to blows, +for I have been sore buffeted on land and sea. The belly is a stern +taskmaster, which compels us to face both wounds and death."</p> + +<p>So saying he stepped aside to let Eumæus pass, then checked him with a +hasty exclamation; for he had seen something which sent a pang of +sorrow to his heart. Heaped up against the wall by the doorway was a +great pile of refuse, left there until the thralls should carry it +away and lay it on the fields; and there, grievously neglected, and +almost blind with age, lay a great gaunt hound, to all seeming more +dead than alive. What was the emotion of Odysseus when he recognised +in that poor creature his old favourite, Argus, whom he had reared +with his own hand, and trained to the chase, in the old days before he +sailed to Troy! As he stooped down with a caressing gesture the hound +feebly raised his head; a strange light came into his eyes, he drooped +his ears, and wagged his tail, but was too weak to stir from the place +where he lay. Odysseus brushed away a tear, and said to Eumæus: "'Tis +strange that so fine a hound should lie thus uncared for in his old +age. Or do his looks belie his qualities? Handsome he must have been, +as I can see still; but perhaps his beauty was all he had to boast +of."</p> + +<p>"He was my master's favourite hound," answered Eumæus, "and there was +none swifter or keener of scent in all the land. Formerly the young +men would take him with them to hunt the wild goat or the hare or the +deer; but now that he is sore stricken with years not one of the women +will bring him a morsel to eat, or a little water to drink. So it ever +is when the master is absent; for a slave has no conscience when his +owner's eye is not upon him."</p> + +<p>When Eumæus had entered the house, Odysseus lingered awhile, gazing +sadly at the faithful Argus. The old hound raised himself, and +struggled painfully to drag himself to his master's feet; but the +effort was too much for him, and he sank back on his sorry bed, and +breathed his last.</p> + +<p>With a heavy heart Odysseus turned away, and passing into the hall sat +down on the threshold and laid his scrip beside him. Telemachus was +the first to notice him, and calling the swineherd, who was sitting +near, he gave him a loaf of bread and a good handful of meat, and bade +him carry it to the beggar. "And tell him to go round and beg of all +the wooers," he said: "want and modesty agree ill together." Eumæus +brought the gift and the message, which Odysseus received with a +blessing on the giver. And when he had eaten he rose and went round +the hall, begging of the wooers. All gave him something until he came +to Antinous, who stared at him insolently and asked who he was.</p> + +<a href="images/illus7lg.jpg" name="Illus7"><img + title="The Return of Odysseus (click to enlarge)" alt="The Return of Odysseus" + src="images/illus7.png" align="left" /></a> + +<p>"I saw the fellow," answered Melanthius, "a little while ago. Eumæus +brought him hither, but who he is I know not."</p> + +<p>"Ah! thou rogue," said Antinous to the swineherd, "we know thy ways! +Why didst thou bring this caitiff to the town? Are there not beggars +enough here already to mar our pleasure when we sit down to meat? 'Tis +nought to thee, it seems, that these palmer-worms come swarming round +the house to devour thy master's living."</p> + +<p>"He is no guest of my inviting," answered Eumæus. "I would not invite +to this house any wandering stranger, unless he were a prophet, or +leech, or shipwright, or minstrel; and he is none of these. But thou +art ever hard on the servants of Odysseus, and especially on me; yet I +care not, so long as I satisfy Penelope and my young lord, +Telemachus."</p> + +<p>"Eumæus, thou art overbold of speech," said Telemachus; then turning +to Antinous he added: "I thank thee for thy fatherly care, but we are +not so poor that we need to drive the stranger from our doors—heaven +forbid! Give him something; 'tis I that bid thee: but thou art ever +better at taking than at giving."</p> + +<p>"I will give him something, thou malapert boy," answered Antinous, +grinding his teeth with rage, "something which will keep him from the +house for three months to come." As he spoke he thrust forward a heavy +footstool from under the table, and placed it ready at hand.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Odysseus, having filled his wallet, was preparing to return +to his place on the threshold. But first he came to Antinous, and +addressed to him a long harangue in the common style of the +professional beggar, who had seen better days and been brought to want +by the malice of fortune. He concluded with a fragment of the story +which he had already told to Eumæus.</p> + +<p>Antinous heard him to the end with ill-disguised impatience, and then +broke out in angry tones: "Who brought this wretched fellow here to +vex us? Stand off from my table, thou shameless varlet! Egypt, sayest +thou? I will send thee to Egypt, and with a vengeance, too! It is a +shame to see how they have squandered good meat on a dog like thee"; +and he pointed to the wallet, now filled with the cheap bounty of the +wooers.</p> + +<p>Odysseus drew back and made for the door, saying as he went: "Of a +truth, I wonder to find so princely a presence wedded to so mean a +temper."</p> + +<p>When he heard that Antinous began to curse and to swear, and lifting +the footstool he hurled it with all his force at the retreating figure +of Odysseus. It struck him on the shoulder, with a crash that vibrated +through the hall; but Odysseus heeded it not, but passed on without a +pause or a stumble to his place on the threshold. When he was seated +he complained loudly of the brutal conduct of Antinous. "Accursed be +he," he said, "who lifts up his hand against a helpless beggar; may +Heaven requite him for this foul deed!"</p> + +<p>"Thou hadst best be quiet," said Antinous, "or we will drag thee by +the heels through the hall, until we have stripped the flesh off thy +bones."</p> + +<p>But this was too much even for the wooers. "Antinous," said one of +them, "it was ill done of thee to strike the hapless wanderer. Take +heed that thou bring not a curse upon thyself, if there be gods in +heaven to see such deeds. And what if a god should visit this house in +some strange disguise, to make trial of our hearts? It were no new +thing."</p> + +<p>A chill seemed to have fallen on the company after this shameful +incident. The wooers had ceased their clamour, and sat talking in low +tones together; Odysseus and Telemachus sat silent in their places, +brooding gloomily on the outrage; Antinous alone remained unmoved, +being hardened, within and without, against all reproach.</p> + +<p>When Penelope, who was sitting among her maidens in her chamber, heard +how the stranger had been ill-treated, she cried: "So may Apollo smite +thee, Antinous, thou godless man!" "Ay," said Eurycleia, "if prayers +could slay them, not one of these men would see to-morrow's dawn."</p> + +<p>"Go, one of you," said Penelope, "and bring hither the swineherd. I +would fain speak with this stranger; who knows but he may have +somewhat to tell me of Odysseus, my lord?" Eumæus was summoned, and +having heard the desire of Penelope, he answered: "My queen, there is +a rare pleasure awaiting thee. This man hath a tongue to charm thy +very soul. Three days and nights he abode with me, and all that time +he kept us spellbound by the tale of his adventures. It was as if we +were listening to the lay of some rare minstrel, a god-gifted man, who +sways all hearts as he will by the magic of his voice. And he brings +sure tidings of Odysseus too, if we may believe what he says."</p> + +<p>"Call him hither," answered Penelope, "that he may speak to me face to +face. If his news be true, we may yet see the day when these men shall +pay a heavy price for their plunder of our house."</p> + +<p>As she spoke, a loud sneeze was heard in the room below. "It was my +son," said Penelope, laughing, "I know it by the sound; and it is a +sign that my words will be fulfilled. Make haste now, and bring the +stranger to me."</p> + +<p>Eumæus went, and presently returned with a message from the supposed +beggar, to say that he feared fresh violence from the wooers, if he +left his place by the door and passed through them again. The truth +was that Odysseus feared recognition if he appeared before his wife in +broad daylight; so he affected to complain of the indifference of +Telemachus, who had allowed the savage deed of Antinous to go +unpunished, and begged permission to wait until the evening, when the +wooers would be gone home, and he could tell his story unmolested.</p> + +<p>"He says well," answered Penelope, when she had heard the message. +"And he seems to be a man of sense. We will wait until evening, as he +desires."</p> + +<p>The day was waning when Eumæus returned to the hall, and the wooers +had already begun their evening pastimes. The swineherd went up to +Telemachus, and said to him in a low tone: "It is time for me to +return to my farm, that I may give an eye to the things which I have +in charge. I leave thee to look to the house, and all that it +contains; but above all be careful of thyself, for there are many here +who wish thee ill."</p> + +<a name="foot22"></a><p>22. "A world too wide for his shrunk shanks,"—Shakespeare: +"As You Like It." <a href="#footret22">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap15"></a><h2>The Beggar Irus</h2> + +<p>Just after Eumæus had left, a huge, ungainly fellow came slouching up +to the place where Odysseus was sitting, and eyed him with a look of +great disfavour. He was the town beggar, known far and wide in Ithaca +as the greediest and laziest knave in the whole island. His real name +was Arnæus, but from being employed to run errands about the place he +had received the nickname of Irus. Highly indignant at finding his +rights usurped by a new-comer, and thinking to find in that battered +old man an easy victim, he began to rate his supposed rival in a big, +blustering voice: "Give place, old man, to thy betters, and force me +not to use my hands upon thee. Begone, and that quickly, or it shall +be the worse for thee; out of the way, I say!"</p> + +<p>With a stern look Odysseus answered him, and said: "What possesses +thee, fellow, that thou seekest a quarrel with me? Thou art, as I +perceive, a beggar like me, and I grudge thee not anything which thou +mayest receive in the way of alms from those who sit here. There is +room on this threshold for us both. But I warn thee not to provoke me +to blows, for old as I am I will set a mark upon thee which thou wilt +carry to thy death."</p> + +<p>Trusting in his size, and encouraged by the nods and winks of the +wooers who sat near, Irus was only too ready to take up the challenge. +"Hark to the old starveling cur!" he shouted. "How glib of tongue he +is, like any scolding hag! Get thee to thy fists then, since thou wilt +have it so, and I will knock all thy teeth out, if thou hast any +left"; and he thrust Odysseus with his foot.</p> + +<p>All the wooers now came running up, and crowded round the exasperated +beggars, hoping to see fine sport. Antinous took the lead, such a +scene being exactly to his taste. "Here is matter for mirth," he +cried, laughing, "for many a day. Make a ring quickly, and let them +fight it out."</p> + +<p>In the courtyard there was a red smouldering fire, on which two huge +sausages were roasting, a sort of haggis made by filling the belly of +a goat with fat and blood. It was determined to give one of these +messes to the winner in the fight; and he also was henceforth to have +the sole right to receive the broken meats at the wooers' feasts.</p> + +<p>Odysseus now pretended to draw back, as if he feared an encounter with +a man younger than himself; but at last he consented to the match, on +condition that the wooers would swear an oath not to strike him a foul +blow while he was fighting with Irus. To this they all agreed, and +forthwith Odysseus stripped to the waist, and girded his rags about +his loins. By some strange magic his limbs seemed to have filled out; +and when the wooers saw his mighty chest and broad shoulders they +cried out in amazement "Methinks Irus will pay dearly for his ire,"<sup><a href="#foot23" name="footret23">23</a></sup> +said one. "Look what a brawny thigh the old carle shows under his +rags!"</p> + +<p>Irus himself was not less astonished than dismayed, so that they were +obliged to use force to make him face his opponent; and as he stood +there quaking with fear Antinous reviled him bitterly, and threatened, +if he were defeated, to carry him to the mainland, and hand him over +to a robber chieftain, nicknamed the Mutilator, and notorious for his +cruelties. "He will carve thee into collops and fling them to his +dogs," said the ferocious prince.</p> + +<p>Little encouraged, as may be supposed, this prospect, Irus in his +despair aimed a blow at Odysseus, and struck him on the right +shoulder. Then Odysseus, who had resolved to put forth but half his +force, lest he should betray himself to the wooers, struck the +wretched man under the ear. There was a crash of broken bones, and +down went Irus in the dust, spitting blood, and beating the ground +with his heels. The wooers hailed his fall with shouts of laughter, +and Odysseus, seizing the prostrate beggar by the foot, dragged him +through the courtyard gate, and propped him against the wall. "Sit +there," he said, placing his staff in his hand, "and keep off dogs and +swine. Methinks thou hast had enough of playing the tyrant among +strangers and beggars."</p> + +<p>When he returned to his place on the threshold he found the wooers in +high good humour at the defeat of Irus. "May heaven fulfil all thy +heart's desire!" cried one who sat near, "seeing that thou hast rid us +of that hungry, brawling rogue." His words had a meaning which he +little guessed, and Odysseus rejoiced when he heard them. Then +Antinous brought the pudding, all steaming from the fire, and set it +by him; and Amphinomus gave him two loaves, and filled a cup with +wine. "Hail, old friend!" he said, offering the cup, "and mayest thou +live to see happier days."</p> + +<p>This Amphinomus differed in character from the other suitors, being a +prudent and fair-minded man. Odysseus knew him and his father well, +and being willing to save him, if possible, he looked earnestly at +him, and said: "Amphinomus, thou seemest to be a man of understanding, +and therefore I will give thee a word of warning. Hark, in thine ear! +Quit this company at once! The day of doom is very near to them all, +and I would not that thou shouldst perish with them."</p> + +<p>These words, spoken in a low and solemn tone, so that none besides +might hear, sent a chill to the heart of Amphinomus. Slowly and sadly +he went back to his seat, his mind full of dark foreboding. +Nevertheless, he did not profit by the warning; for he had thrown in +his lot with that guilty band, and had to drink of the same cup.</p> + +<a name="foot23"></a><p>23. The pun is an attempt to reproduce a similar word-play in +the original. <a href="#footret23">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap16"></a><h2>Penelope and the Wooers</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>"How slowly move the hours," said Penelope to Eurycleia, yawning and +then laughing in sheer vacancy of spirit. "How would it be if I showed +myself to the wooers? I hate them, it is true, but it would serve to +pass the time, and I could caution my son not to be so familiar with +these treacherous friends."</p> + +<p>"Do so, my child," answered Eurycleia, "but first wash and anoint +thyself, and go not among them with this tear-stained face. And waste +not thy life in perpetual mourning; think what a comfort thou hast in +thy son."</p> + +<p>"Speak not to me of such vanities," answered Penelope; "why should I +wish to preserve this poor remnant of my beauty? Foul or fair, what +matters it in my widowed state? But send two of my handmaids hither to +attend me, for it is not seemly that I should go alone among the men."</p> + +<p>While the nurse was gone to fetch the maidens, a sudden drowsiness +overpowered Penelope, and she sank back in her chair, subdued by a +short but trancelike sleep. And while she slumbered, invisible hands +were busy with her person, washing away all the stains which sorrow +had left on her face, and shedding upon her immortal loveliness, such +as clothes the Queen of Love herself, when she joins the sister Graces +in the dance. The voices of the women entering her chamber roused her +from that strange sleep, and sitting up she rubbed her cheeks and +said: "Wondrous soft was the slumber which overtook me in my sorrow! +Would that it were death which had come upon me with like softness, +that I might no longer waste away in mourning for the excellence of my +dear, dear lord!"</p> + +<p>Thereupon she arose, and descending the stairs stood in the open +doorway of the hall, with a handmaid on either side. A murmur of +surprise and admiration went round the whole company, for never had +she seemed so wondrous fair. Turning to Telemachus she said: "My son, +with grief I perceive that thy understanding increaseth not with thy +growth, but rather becometh less. Who would think, seeing thee thus +tall and comely, like a prince's true son, that thou wouldst suffer +such deeds to be wrought upon the stranger within thy gates? What if +he had come by his death through this violence? What shame and infamy +to thee!"</p> + +<p>"Mother," answered Telemachus, "thou hast some reason for thine anger. +Howbeit, I have a man's wit, and am not, as thou sayest, more foolish +than a child. But what can one do against so many? And as to this +stranger, thou wouldst know that thy fears are idle, if thou couldst +see Irus as he now sits at the gate, rolling his head like a drunkard, +with no strength to stand on his feet or stir from his place. Would +that all the wooers were in the same plight!"</p> + +<p>While Telemachus was defending himself, Eurymachus had been gazing +with bold eyes on that fair lady; and now he addressed her with smooth +words of flattery: "Daughter of Icarius, sage Penelope, if all the +Greeks could behold thee as now thou art, this house would not contain +the multitude of thy wooers. Thou surpassest all the daughters of men +in beauty, and in stature, and in thy even-balanced wit"</p> + +<p>"Eurymachus," answered Penelope, "all the bloom of my womanhood was +blighted on the evil day when the Greeks embarked for Troy, and +Odysseus, my lord, went with them. But now I am like some poor hunted +creature, hard beset by the hounds of fate. Well I remember my +husband's parting words. Holding my right hand he said: 'Dear wife, I +am going into the midst of perils, and it may be that we shall never +see each other again. Be thou but faithful to thy trust, and remember +whose daughter thou art; and when thou seest thy son with a beard on +his cheeks, thou art free to marry whom thou wilt.' Such were his +words, and now they shall shortly be fulfilled. I see the day +approaching which shall make me another man's wife; better for me if I +were the bride of death! For who ever beheld such wooing as yours? +'Twas ever the custom among those who sought the daughter of a wealthy +house in marriage to bring with them their own sheep and oxen to make +good cheer for the friends of the bride; but ye sit here as unbidden +guests, and devour my living."</p> + +<p>Odysseus smiled to himself with pleasure when he heard this artful +speech of Penelope, for he perceived her intention, which was to draw +gifts from the wooers, and raise their hopes by the prospect of her +approaching marriage. And the artifice was successful, for the wooers, +following the lead of Antinous and Eurymachus, at once despatched +their servants to bring the bride gifts from their houses. Antinous +gave a splendid embroidered robe, with twelve golden clasps, +Eurymachus a necklace of amber and gold, and Eurydamas a pair of +jewelled earrings. These and other costly offerings were brought to +Penelope in her chamber.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>When evening came on, the wooers ordered three braziers to be set up +in the hall, to give them light as they sat at their pastimes. The +braziers were fed with dry chips of pine-wood, and the maid-servants +relieved each other from time to time in the duty of keeping up the +fires. Presently Odysseus drew near to the handmaids, and said: "Go ye +and attend the queen in her chamber, I will serve the fires, and give +light to the company. Yea, though they sit here all night they shall +not tire me out, for I am a much-enduring man."</p> + +<p>The women laughed, and glanced at one another; and one of them, whose +name was Melantho, spoke bitterly to Odysseus, and reviled him, +saying: "Thou wretched old man, why goest thou not to find a bed in +the smithy, or wherever else thou canst, instead of loitering here, +and vexing us with thy prate? Either thou hast drunk a cup too much, +or else thou art stricken in thy wits. Get thee gone, lest a stronger +than Irus lay his hand upon thee and break thy bones."</p> + +<p>"Now will I go straightway to Telemachus," answered Odysseus fiercely, +"yonder where he sits, and tell him what thou sayest, thou vixen, that +he may hew thee in pieces on the spot."</p> + +<p>So menacing were his looks and his tones that the women fled quaking +from the hall and left him to tend the fires. So there he stood in +view of the whole company, to their eyes a poor outcast, intent on his +menial task; but thoughts other than of the fires filled his heart.</p> + +<p>As he stooped over one of the braziers and stirred the fuel into a +blaze, Eurymachus noticed the red gleam which was reflected from the +smooth, bald crown of the supposed beggar. "Look!" he cried, laughing +and pointing at Odysseus, "surely this man is a favourite of heaven; +for see how the light shines like a crown of glory on his hairless +pate!"</p> + +<p>Then he called to Odysseus, and said: "How sayest thou, friend, wilt +thou be my thrall, and work on my farm among the hills for a fixed +wage? Thy business would be to repair the stone fences and work on the +plantation; thou wouldst have a whole coat to thy back, and shoes to +thy feet, and thy penny fee, and bread to eat all the year round. But +I can read thine answer in thy face: thou wouldst rather crouch and +whine for bread than do aught useful to earn thy living."</p> + +<p>"Eurymachus," answered Odysseus firmly, "I would that I could prove my +manhood against thine in any trial of strength and endurance. Let it +be a match of mowing, in a rich meadow-land, on the longest day in +spring, and let us ply the scythe together, fasting, from dawn till +eve. Or give me a stout pair of oxen, mighty beasts, equal in +strength, and both well filled with fodder, and set me to plough a +field of four acres, of rich, deep soil—then wouldst thou see if I +could drive a straight furrow. Or stand by my side on the perilous +edge of battle, with equal arms, and try whether I would flinch sooner +than thou. A great man and a mighty thou seemest to thyself, having +never learnt what true manhood is. Poor windy braggart, if Odysseus +set foot in this house again, the doors would seem too narrow to thee +in thy haste to escape."</p> + +<p>"Thou saucy knave!" cried Eurymachus, incensed by this daring speech, +"I will teach thee respect for thy betters"; and seizing a footstool +he prepared to hurl it at the offender's head. But Odysseus sprang +aside and ran to Amphinomus for protection; the heavy missile flew +hurtling through the air, and struck one of the servants, who was just +crossing the room, on the arm. Down went the man with a cry of pain, +and the wooers raised an uproar throughout the hall. "A murrain on +this begging loon!" exclaimed one. "Why came he hither to bring strife +among us?"</p> + +<p>"Ye are mad, my masters!" said Telemachus, raising his voice; "verily +ye are flown with insolence and wine.<sup><a href="#foot24" name="footret24">24</a></sup> Ye had better go home and +sleep off your liquor before worse comes of it."</p> + +<p>The wooers were indeed in a dangerous mood, and they began to finger +their weapons, and utter fierce threats against Telemachus. But +Amphinomus interposed, and by exerting all his influence induced them +to forgo their murderous purpose and disperse quietly to their homes.</p> + +<a name="foot24"></a><p>24. Milton, "Paradise Lost," i. 502. <a href="#footret24">(return)</a></p> + +<br> +<a name="chap17"></a><h2>Odysseus and Penelope</h2> + +<p>As soon as the house was quiet, Telemachus, obeying a sign from his +father, prepared to convey the weapons which hung about the hall to an +inner chamber, out of the reach of the wooers. First he ordered +Eurycleia to keep the women out of the way, and having barred the +doors leading to the inner apartments, he took down helmet and spear +and shield from the walls, and carried them, with his father's help, +to the upper room. When this important task was performed he withdrew +for the night, and Odysseus was left alone in the hall to await the +coming of Penelope.</p> + +<p>Presently the doors were opened, and by the flickering light of the +braziers Odysseus, for the first time after twenty years, saw the face +of his wife. Lovely indeed she seemed in his eyes, not less than when +he wedded her in her maiden bloom. Her handmaids brought a chair of +silver and ivory, a work of most rare device, and set it by the fire +with a soft fleece upon it. Penelope took the seat prepared for her +and gazed curiously at the stranger, who sat crouched in the shadow of +a pillar, avoiding her eye. Meanwhile the women were bustling about +the hall, removing the remains of the feast, and heaping fresh fuel on +the fires. Among them was Melantho, who had spoken so roughly to +Odysseus an hour or two before. When she saw Odysseus she began +railing at him again, and rudely bade him begone. Penelope soon +reduced her to silence, and then calling Eurycleia she bade her place +a seat for the stranger.</p> + +<p>"Now tell me," began Penelope, when the chair had been brought, "who +art thou, and of what country? And who were thy father and mother?"</p> + +<p>"Ah! lady," answered Odysseus, "I beseech thee, question me not as to +my country and my friends, lest thou open anew the fountain of my +grief. It is not seemly to sit weeping and wailing in a stranger's +house; and I fear that thou wilt say that my tears are the tears of +drunkenness."</p> + +<p>Penelope pressed him for an answer. "Thou surely art of some country," +she said, smiling; "or art thou one of those of whom old stories tell, +born of stocks and stones?"</p> + +<p>"Since thou urgest it so strongly," replied Odysseus, "I cannot deny +thee. In the broad realm of Crete there is a certain city, Cnosus by +name; there reigned Minos, and begat Deucalion, my famous sire. To +Deucalion two sons were born, Idomeneus the elder, and myself, whom he +named Æthon. When war arose between the Greeks and Trojans, Idomeneus +sailed to fight for the sons of Atreus, and I was left behind in my +father's house. Then it was that I saw Odysseus, who was driven by +stress of weather to seek shelter on our coasts. When he had anchored +his ships in the harbour, he came up to the town and inquired for +Idomeneus, whom he said was his friend, honoured and beloved; but we +told him that Idomeneus had departed ten days before. Then I received +him in my house, and feasted him and all his company for twelve days; +for all that time the north wind blew, so that a man could not stand +up against it. On the thirteenth day the wind ceased and they put out +to sea."</p> + +<p>Penelope's tears flowed fast as she listened to that cunning fiction, +which seemed to bring her husband before her eyes. Odysseus watched +her, with eyes set like horn or iron, as she sat before him sobbing +and rocking herself to and fro; but his heart grew big within him, and +he could hardly keep back his own tears. At length she grew calmer, +and wishing to try him, asked him this searching question: "If thou +didst indeed entertain my husband in thy house, tell me what manner of +man he was, and what garments he had on, and who they were that +attended him."</p> + +<p>"It is hard," answered Odysseus, "to tell thee of what thou askest, +after twenty years; nevertheless I will attempt to call up his image +from the past. He wore a purple woollen cloak, of two folds, and it +was held by a golden brooch with a double clasp; and on the brooch was +fashioned a hound, holding in his jaws a fawn; and so skilfully was it +wrought that the figures seemed to live, the fawn struggling to +escape, and the hound clenching his fangs to hold him—so rare a piece +it was. Under his cloak, Odysseus wore a close-fitting tunic, which +glistened like the peel of a dried onion; for very soft and fine was +the texture. I cannot tell whether these were the garments which he +had on when he left you; it may be that they were a gift received on +his voyage, for he had many friends. Even so I gave him a sword of +bronze and a mantle, and a fringed tunic, when I bade him adieu. +Further, I would have thee know that he had a squire with him, +somewhat older than himself, a round-shouldered man, dark of +complexion, and with curling hair. His name was Eurybates, and +Odysseus held him in high regard."</p> + +<p>What were the emotions of Penelope, when she heard the raiment and +ornaments which her husband was wearing the last time she saw him thus +described down to the minutest detail! For a long time she remained +silent, overpowered by her feelings; and when she spoke again there +was a ring of sincere warmth and friendliness in her voice. "I pitied +thee before," she said, "seeing thee thus forlorn, but now thou shalt +be my dear and honoured guest, for I know that thou hast spoken the +truth. These garments, and the golden brooch, were a gift from my own +hands to my dear lord. Alas! I shall never see him again. Cursed be +the day that parted me from him, and sent him to the land of Troy, +that name abhorred of my soul!"</p> + +<p>"Lady," answered Odysseus, "no one could blame thee, or say that thou +sorrowest beyond measure, for such a husband as thine. He was indeed a +man of rare and god-like gifts. Nevertheless be comforted; for ere +many days are passed thou wilt see him here, safe and sound, and +loaded with the wealth which he has gathered in his wanderings." Then +he went on to repeat the story which he had already told to Eumæus, +with some further facts, drawn from his own experience in the last ten +years; and concluded with this solemn adjuration: "Witness, this +hearth of Odysseus, to which I am come, and witness Zeus, the supreme +lord of heaven, if I lie! Ere yonder moon hath waned, Odysseus will be +sitting under this roof."</p> + +<p>Penelope shook her head sadly, as she replied: "It will be a happy day +for thee, if thy prophecy is confirmed by the event. But what am I +saying? 'Tis an empty dream. But come, let the maidens prepare a bath +for thee, and afterwards them shalt sleep sound in a soft, warm bed. +Well hast thou deserved to receive all honour and worship at my hands, +and woe unto him that shall seek to harm thee! I will put a speedy end +to his wooing. For what wilt thou say of me, when thou art wandering +in distant lands, if I suffer thee to abide here thus poorly clad, +unwashed, and uncared for? Few and evil are the days of our life; and +the best we can do is to win a good name by our gentle deeds while we +live, and leave a fair memory behind us when we die."</p> + +<p>"I doubt not thy goodness," replied Odysseus; "but I have long been a +stranger to the comforts of which thou speakest, and they suit not my +forlorn and desolate state. Nor would I that any of thy handmaids +should wash my feet, and mock my infirmities; but if thou hast here an +aged house-dame, like unto me in years and in sorrows, I grudge not +that such a one should wait upon me."</p> + +<p>"Thou speakest as a prudent man," said Penelope, "and I have such an +aged dame as thou describest among my household. She was the first who +took my ill-fated husband in her arms when his mother bare him, and +she nursed him tenderly and well. She shall wash thy feet, old though +she be, and feeble." Then she called Eurycleia, who was sitting near, +and said to her: "Come hither, nurse, and wash the stranger's feet. +Who knows but thy master is now in like evil case, grown old before +his time through care and misery?"</p> + +<p>When she heard that, the old woman lifted up her voice and wept: +"Odysseus," she cried, "child of my sorrow, what have I not borne for +thee! Pious thou wast, and righteous in all thy dealings, yet Zeus +hath chosen thee out from among all men to be the object of his hate. +Yea, and perchance even now he is mocked in the house of strangers, as +these women were lately mocking thee. Yea, I will wash thee, as +Penelope bids me, and for thy sake also, for my heart is moved with +pity because of thy woes."</p> + +<p>With such speed as her years allowed, the dame went and fetched warm +water, and a vessel for washing the feet. She set them down in front +of Odysseus, and before she began her task, stood for some time +peering curiously into his face. "Hear me, friend," she said, after a +while, "of all the strangers that ever entered these doors, ne'er saw +I one so like unto Odysseus as thou art, in form, and in voice, and in +feet."</p> + +<p>"So said everyone who saw us together," answered Odysseus. But her +words filled him with alarm, and recalled to his mind an old scar, +just above the knee, caused by a wound which he had received from a +wild boar while hunting in his boyhood in the valleys of Parnassus, +during a visit to Autolycus, Penelope's father. If his old nurse +should discover the scar she would be certain to recognise him, and +the consequences of the premature discovery might be fatal. However, +he had now no excuse for declining the bath, so he drew back his chair +into the shadow, still hoping to escape detection.</p> + +<a href="images/illus8lg.jpg" name="Illus8"><img + title="Odysseus and Eurycleia (click to enlarge)" alt="Odysseus and Eurycleia" + src="images/illus8.png" align="left" /></a> + +<p>But Eurycleia, whose suspicions were already aroused, was not thus to +be evaded. As she handled the limb her fingers felt the well-known +mark, and she let the foot fall with a loud cry. The vessel was +overset, and the water ran over the floor. Half laughing and half +weeping, the old woman fell upon his neck. "Thou art Odysseus, dear +child!" she cried, "and yet I knew thee not till I had touched thee +with my hands."</p> + +<p>During all this scene Penelope had been sitting like one in a dream, +lost in the memories awakened by the supposed beggar's story. The +nurse now turned to rouse her from her reverie, and tell her the +joyful news; but Odysseus, seeing her intention, pressed a heavy hand +on her mouth, and, drawing her down to him with the other, said in a +fierce whisper: "Peace, woman, or I will slay thee! Wouldst thou +destroy him whom thou hast nursed at thine own breast?"</p> + +<p>Eurycleia had now recovered from the shock of that sudden recognition. +"Fear me not," she said, "I will be as secret as the grave. But see, +the water is all spilt; I go to fetch more." And so with a grave face, +but a heart bounding with delight, the faithful old creature brought a +fresh supply of water, and proceeded with the task of washing her +master's feet.</p> + +<p>When he resumed his place by the fire, he found Penelope in a soft and +pensive mood, and dwelling, as was her wont, on the sorrows of her +widowed state. "Friend," she said, with a gentle sigh, "I will not +keep thee much longer from thy rest, for the hour approaches which +brings sweet oblivion to careworn hearts—all save mine. For the night +brings me no respite from my woes, but rather increases them. When the +day's duties are over, and all the house is still, I lie tossing +ceaselessly, torn by conflicting doubts and fears. E'en as the wakeful +bird sits darkling all night long, and pours her endless plaint, now +low and mellow, now piercing high and shrill, so wavers my spirit in +its purpose, and threads the unending maze of thought. Sweet home of +my wedded joy, must I leave thee, and all the faces which I love so +well, and the great possessions which he gave into my keeping? Shall I +become a byword among the people, as false to the memory of my true +lord? Yet how can I face the reproaches of my son, who since he is +come to manhood grows more impatient day by day, seeing the waste of +his wealth, of which I am the cause?</p> + +<p>"But I wished to ask thee concerning a dream which I had last night. +There are twenty geese which I keep about the house, and I take +pleasure in seeing them crop the grain from the water trough. In my +dream I saw a great eagle swoop down from the mountains and slay them +all, breaking their necks, There they lay dead in one heap; +and I made loud lament for the slaying of my geese, so that the women +gathered round me to comfort me. But the eagle descended again, and +alighted on a jutting beam of the roof, and thus spake unto me with a +human voice: 'Take comfort, daughter of Icarius; no dream is this, but +a waking vision, which shall surely be fulfilled. The geese are the +wooers, and I the eagle am thy husband, who will shortly come and give +them to their doom.' Even as he said this I awoke, and going to the +window I saw the geese by the door, cropping the grain from the +trough, as is their wont."</p> + +<p>"Lady," answered Odysseus, "there is but one interpretation of thy +dream, and thy husband declared it with his own voice. Death looms +near at hand for the wooers, and not one of them shall escape."</p> + +<p>But Penelope shook her head. "It is ill trusting in dreams," she said, +"and hard to discern the false from the true. There are two gates from +which flitting dreams are sent to men: one is of horn, and the other +of ivory: and the dreams which pass through the ivory gate are sent to +beguile, while those which come from the gate of horn are a true +message to him who sees them. And my dream, I believe, was sent me +from the gate of ivory. Yea, the day is approaching, the hateful day, +which shall part me for ever from the house of Odysseus; and this +shall be the manner of the trial whereby I will prove which of the +wooers is to win me: I will set up twelve axes, like the trestles on +which the keel of a ship is laid, in the hall, and he who can send an +arrow through the line of double axeheads from the further end of the +hall shall win me for his bride. This device I learnt from Odysseus, +who was wont thus to prove his skill in archery. Then farewell my +home, the house of my lord, the home of my love, so fair, so full of +plenty, which will haunt me in my dreams even unto life's end."</p> + +<p>"Tis well-imagined, this trial of the wooers," answered Odysseus, "and +I counsel thee to put them to the proof without delay; for I am sure +that Odysseus will return here again before ever one of these men +shall string his bow and shoot an arrow through the line of axes."</p> + +<p>"Well, my friend," said Penelope, "I will now bid thee good-night, +though gladly would I sit here till to-morrow's dawn, and let thee +discourse to enchant mine ear. But there is a time for all things, and +I would not rob thee of thy needful rest. Therefore I will go and lay +my head on my uneasy pillow, and the women shall lay a bed for thee +here, or where thou choosest."</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap18"></a><h2>The End draws near; Signs and Wonders</h2> + +<p>True to his character as a wandering beggar, Odysseus lay down to rest +on a pile of sheepskins in the portico of the house. His mind was full +of the events of the day, and of the terrible task which he had to +perform on the morrow. When he thought of all the insults which had +been heaped upon him in his own house, he ground his teeth with rage, +and muttered bitter curses against the wooers. As if on purpose to +provoke him further, just at this moment Melantho, and several of the +other women, who slept in the town, came forth from the house, and +passed by him with shrill laughter and merry gibes. Then his heart +growled within him, even as a mother-hound growls over her whelps when +she sees a stranger approaching, and in a sudden impulse of fury he +started up to slay those faithless women on the spot; but repressing +his mad purpose he smote his breast and rebuked his fiery spirit. Had +he not borne even worse than this on the day when the Cyclops devoured +his comrades in the cave?</p> + +<p>When anger and shame had had their turn, other and more pressing +anxieties came crowding upon him, banishing sleep from his eyelids. +How was he with such help as Telemachus could give him to overpower +and slay a hundred men in the prime of their youth and strength? It +seemed an impossible feat, and his heart quaked within him as he +counted those fearful odds.</p> + +<p>At last sleep came upon him unawares, and in a dream he saw his divine +friend and helper, Athene, standing by him, robed in awful beauty. +"Where is thy faith?" she asked, in sweet and solemn tones. "Dost thou +doubt my power to help thee? Know this, that with me at thy side thou +couldst rout and slay a thousand armed men. Sleep on, then, and vex +thyself no more; in a few short hours all thy trials shall be passed, +and thou shalt rest in triumph under thine own roof-tree." Then she +touched his brow with her finger, and departed; and after that he +slept on soundly until dawn.</p> + +<p>In the first grey light of morning he awoke, roused by a sound as of +one wailing within the house. He sat up in his bed and listened: it +was the voice of Penelope, his wife; for she too had had her dreams, +sweet, indeed, while they lasted, but bitter to her waking memory. She +thought that her husband came to her, in all the glory of his manhood, +even as when he set out for Troy, and put his arms about her, and +kissed her tenderly. Therefore she wept and wailed, thinking that it +was another false vision, sent by some hostile deity to mock her +widowhood.</p> + +<p>What a sound was that for the lonely watcher before the house! +"Patience, fond, sad heart!" he murmured to himself, "this very night +thou shalt hold me in thine arms, and sob out thy sorrows on my +breast." With that he rose to his feet, and lifting up his hands to +heaven put up a prayer to Zeus: "Dread sire of gods, if with good will +ye have brought me thus far, after so many perils by land and by +water, send me a sign from heaven, and reveal unto me your purpose by +the lips of one of those that be within the house."</p> + +<p>A loud peal of thunder was heard in answer to his prayer; and a second +sign was sent by the voice of a woman in the house. She was one of +twelve maid-servants, whose duty it was to grind wheat and barley for +the daily supply of bread. The others had finished their task, but +she, being old and weak, was still toiling at her mill. When she heard +the thunder she stopped for a moment, and thus uttered her complaint: +"Thunder in a clear sky! That bodes ill to some that be here. Heaven +grant that it may be to the wooers, for whom day by day I suffer this +cruel toil, making meal for them! May this be the very last time that +they sit down to meat in this house!" So saying, she returned to her +labour, and Odysseus rejoiced at the double sign which had been +vouchsafed to him.</p> + +<p>By this time the whole household was afoot, and a score of busy hands +were at work, under the direction of Eurycleia, preparing for the +coming of the wooers. For it was a general holiday, being the festival +of Apollo, and the guests were expected earlier than usual. Some went +to the public fountain to fetch water, some swept and sprinkled the +floor, and some sponged the tables and scoured the drinking vessels. +Presently the herdsmen came in, driving before them the beasts for +sacrifice; and of these the first to arrive was Eumæus, who brought +three fat hogs as his part of the daily tribute. Leaving his charge to +grub about in the courtyard, he came up to Odysseus, and inquired how +he had fared among the wooers on the previous day. "I fared ill," +answered Odysseus, "and ill fare the villains who deal thus with the +stranger under another man's roof!"</p> + +<p>A rude voice here broke in upon him, and Melanthius the goatherd +thrust himself between them, jostling Odysseus, and reviling him in +brutal terms, "What, still loitering here, thou vagabond? Wilt thou go +begging at other men's tables, or art thou waiting to taste of my +fists?" Odysseus deigned no reply, but shook his head, biding his +time.</p> + +<p>Another herdsman now entered the courtyard; this was Philœtius, who +had charge of the herds of Odysseus on the mainland. He brought a +heifer and two or three fat goats, having crossed over to Ithaca by +the ferry. When he saw Odysseus he took Eumæus aside, and inquired who +he was. "He is of kingly aspect," remarked the new-comer, "in spite of +his wretched garb. But even kings may come to beggary, if it be +Heaven's will."</p> + +<p>Having heard from Eumæus what he had to tell, Philœtius approached +Odysseus, and taking his right hand greeted him kindly, saying: +"Welcome, old friend, for my master's sake! E'en such, methinks, is +his case, if he still lives and looks upon the daylight. Ah! what a +thought is that! It brings the sweat of agony to my brow when I think +that even now he may be wandering in rags from door to door, begging +for a morsel of bread, while his flocks and herds roam in thousands on +the hills. What shall I do? It is not to be borne that all this wealth +should increase and multiply, to feed the mouths of thieves and +rogues. Often have I resolved to drive off my cattle into a far +country, and no longer to abet these men in their riotous living; but +my duty to Telemachus, and the hope that even now my lord may return, +still hold me back."</p> + +<p>Perceiving the neatherd to be loyal and staunch, Odysseus resolved to +take him partly into his confidence, and answered accordingly: "Thy +hope is nearer to fulfilment than thou thinkest. Hear me swear, by the +hearth of Odysseus, and by the board at which I have fed, that before +thou leavest Ithaca thou shalt see thy master with thine own +eyes—thou shalt see him slaying the wooers who play the master here."</p> + +<p>"Would that I might live to behold that day!" cried Philœtius. "May I +never eat bread again, if the wooers felt not the might of my hands." +Eumæus also declared himself ready to risk all by the side of +Odysseus.</p> + +<p>While they were thus conversing, the whole body of the wooers came +thronging into the house, and the daily banquet began. At the inner +end of the hall, commanding the door which led to the women's +quarters, was a sort of platform or dais of stone, raised to some +height above the general level of the floor, and facing the main +entrance. Here Telemachus, as giver of the feast, was seated; and +while the servants were handing round the dishes he called Odysseus +from his place by the door, and made him sit down by his side. "Sit +down here," he said, "and eat and drink thy fill. And you, sirs," he +added, addressing the wooers, "keep a guard on your hands and your +tongues. This is no tavern, but my own house, and I will not suffer my +guest to be wronged by word or deed under my roof."</p> + +<p>This bold speech passed for the present unchallenged, though many a +threatening look was directed at the young prince. By order of +Telemachus, Odysseus received an equal portion with the other guests, +and the banquet proceeded. Presently a new instance of the wooers' +brutality was given, as if they were resolved to keep the edge of his +anger fresh and keen. The author of this outrage was Ctesippus, a +wealthy lord of Same. Taking up a bullock's foot from a basket, in +which the refuse of the meal was thrown, he made this merry jest: "The +stranger has received an equal share of our meat, as is but right; for +who would wish to stint a guest of Telemachus? And now I will make him +a present over and above, that he may bestow somewhat on the +bathwoman, or some other of the servants." Suiting the action to the +word he hurled the missile with savage force at Odysseus; but he, ever +on the alert, avoided it by bowing his head, and it struck the wall +with a crash.</p> + +<p>"Ctesippus," said Telemachus sternly, "it is well for thee that thou +hast missed, else thou hadst died by my hand. Is it not enough that ye +slaughter my cattle and pour out my wine like water, but must I sit +here day after day while ye fill my house with riot and injury and +outrage?"</p> + +<p>The wooers sat silent, being somewhat abashed by the just rebuke; and +after a long pause, one of them, whose name was Agelaus, answered +mildly: "Telemachus says well, for indeed he hath been sorely +provoked. Let there be an end of these mad doings, which it is a shame +to see. And if Telemachus will be advised by me he will urge his +mother to make choice of a husband, that he may henceforth dwell +unmolested in his father's house. Why will she delay us further? +Surely by this time she must have given up all hope of ever seeing +Odysseus again."</p> + +<p>"Now by the woes of my father!" answered Telemachus, "I hinder her not +from wedding whom she pleases; nay, I bid her do so, and offer bridal +gifts besides. But I cannot drive her by force from my doors."</p> + +<p>His words had a strange effect on the wooers: with one accord they +broke out into a yelling peal of laughter, like women in a hysteric +fit, while their eyes were filled with tears. And, more awful still! +their meat dropped blood as they conveyed it to their lips, and an +unearthly wailing was heard, like the cry of a spirit in torment.</p> + +<p>Among those present was Theoclymenus, the man of second sight, and in +that very hour the vision came upon him, and he cried aloud from the +place where he sat: "Woe unto you, ye doomed and miserable men! Thick +darkness is wrapped about you, the darkness of the grave! All the air +is loud with wailing, and your cheeks are wet with tears. See, see! +the walls and the rafters are sprinkled with blood, and the porch and +the courtyard are thronged with ghosts, hurrying downward to the +nether pit; and the sun has died out of heaven, and all the house lies +in darkness and the shadow of death."</p> + +<p>But the wooers had now recovered from their strange fit, and they +laughed gaily at the terrible warning of the seer. "Poor man!" said +Eurymachus, "he has left his wits at home. Go, someone, and show him +the way to the town, if he finds it so dark here."</p> + +<p>"I need no guide," answered Theoclymenus, "I have eyes and ears, and +feet, and a steady brain, so that I shall not go astray. Farewell, +unhappy men! Your hour of grace is past." And forthwith he arose and +went his way to the town.</p> + +<p>When he was gone the wooers began jeering at Telemachus, and taunted +him with the behaviour of his guests. "Thou hast a rare taste," said +one, "in the choice of thy company! First, this filthy beggar that +cumbers the ground with his greedy carcass, and after him comes the +mad prophet, and screams like a raven over our meat"</p> + +<p>One meaning glance passed between Telemachus and his father; the day +was drawing on, and they cared not now to bandy words with the wooers. +And so the merry feast came to an end with jesting, and mirth, and +laughter; and after a few short hours they were to sit down to +supper—such a supper as they had never tasted before, with a hero and +a goddess to spread the board.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap19"></a><h2>The Bow of Odysseus</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>The time had now arrived for the great trial of strength and skill of +which Penelope had spoken, and which was to decide deeper and deadlier +issues than those of marriage. Among the treasures which Odysseus had +left behind him was a famous bow, which he had received as a gift from +Iphitus, son of Eurytus, whom he met in his youth during a visit to +Messene. He who strung this bow, and shot an arrow through a line of +axes set up in the hall, was to be rewarded by the hand of Penelope.</p> + +<p>"Mother, it is time!" whispered Telemachus, soon after the departure +of Theoclymenus. Obeying the signal, Penelope, who had been sitting in +the hall listening to the talk of the wooers, left her place, and +ascending a steep staircase made her way to the store-room, which was +situated at the farther end of the house. In her hand she carried a +brazen key with a handle of ivory; and when she came to the door, she +loosened the strap which served to draw the bolt from the outside, and +inserting the key drew back the bolt. The double doors flew open with +a crash, and the treasury with all its wealth was revealed. Great +coffers of cedar-wood lined the walls, filled with fine raiment, which +her own hands had wrought. It was a cool and quiet retreat, dimly +lighted, remote from all rude sounds, full of fragrant odours, and fit +to guard the possessions of a prince. And there, hanging from a pin, +and heedfully wrapped in its case, was seen the fatal bow. She took it +down, and, sitting on one of the coffers, laid it on her knees, and +gazed on it fondly with her eyes full of tears. How often had she seen +it in the hands of Odysseus, when he went forth at sunrise to hunt the +hare and the deer! How often had she taken it from him when he came +back at evening loaded with the spoils of the chase! And now a keen +shaft from this very bow was to cut the last tender chord of memory, +and make her another man's wife!</p> + +<p>With a heavy heart she took the bow with its quiver in her hands, and +descending the staircase re-entered the hall, followed by her maidens, +who carried a chest containing the axes.</p> + +<p>"Behold the bow, fair sirs!" she said to the wooers, "and behold me, +the prize for this fine feat of archery!" Therewith she gave the bow +to Eumæus, who received it with tears; and Philœtius wept likewise +when he saw the treasured weapon of his lord. These signs of emotion +stirred the anger of Antinous, who rebuked the herdsmen fiercely. +"Peace, fools!" he cried. "Peace, miserable churls! Why pierce ye the +heart of the lady with your howlings? Has she not grief enough +already? Go forth, and howl with the dogs outside, and we will make +trial of the bow; yet me thinks it will be long ere anyone here shall +string it"</p> + +<p>"Anyone save thyself, thou wouldst say!" rejoined Telemachus with a +loud laugh. Then, seeing his mother regarding him with gentle +reproach, he added: "Tis strange that I should feel so gay and light +of heart at the moment when I am about to lose my mother. Zeus, +methinks, has turned my brain, and made me laugh when I should weep. +But come, ye bold wooers, which of you will be the first to enter the +lists for this matchless prize, a lady without peer in all the land of +Hellas? Why sit ye thus silent? Must I show you the way? So be it, +then; and if I can bend the bow, and shoot an arrow straight, the +prize shall be mine, and my mother shall abide here in her widowed +state."</p> + +<p>So saying he sprang up, flung off his cloak, and laid aside his sword. +And first he made a long shallow trench in the floor of the hall, and +set up the axes with their double heads in a straight line, stamping +down the earth about the handles to make all firm. Then he took the +bow from Eumæus; it was a weighty and powerful weapon, fashioned from +the horns of an ibex, which were firmly riveted into a massive bridge, +and great force was required to string it. Telemachus set the end +against the floor, and strove with all his might to drive the string +into its socket. Three times he tried, and failed; but the fourth +time, making a great effort, he was on the point of succeeding, when +his father nodded to him to desist. "Plague on it!" cried Telemachus, +laying the bow aside with an air of vexation, "must I be called a +poltroon all my life, or is it that I have not yet attained the full +measure of my strength? Let the others now take their turn."</p> + +<p>Then one by one the wooers rose up, in the order in which they sat, +and tried to bend the bow. The first to essay it was Leiodes, a +soothsayer, and a man of gentle and godly mind. But he was a soft +liver, unpractised in all manly pastimes, and the bow was like iron in +his white, womanish hands. "I fear that this bow will make an end of +many a bold spirit," he said, little guessing how true his words were +to prove; "for better it were to die than to go away beaten and broken +men, after all the long years of our wooing."</p> + +<p>"Fie on thee!" cried Antinous, "thinkest thou that there are no better +men here than thou art? Doubt not that one of those present shall bend +the bow and win the lady." Then he called Melanthius, and bade him +light a fire, and bring a ball of lard to anoint the bow and make it +easier to bend. The lard was brought, and the wooers sat in turn by +the fire, rubbing and anointing the bow, but all to no purpose. Only +Antinous and Eurymachus still held back, each in the full assurance +that he, and none other, had strength to bend the bow.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Odysseus sat watching the wooers from his place at the upper end of +the hall, and his heart misgave him when he thought of the appalling +task which he had undertaken. He had acquitted himself like a hero in +many a hard-fought field, but never in all his life had he faced such +odds as these. While he thus mused, and weighed the chances in his +mind, he saw Eumæus and Philœtius leave the hall together, and pass +out through the courtyard gate. Then a sudden thought struck him, and +muttering to himself, "I must risk it," he rose and followed the two +men. He found them talking together outside the courtyard fence, and +in order to make trial of their temper he addressed them in these +cautious terms: "Tell me truly, good friends, which side would ye +take, if by some miracle Odysseus suddenly appeared in this house? +Would ye be for the wooers or for him?"</p> + +<p>Eumæus and Philœtius with one voice protested that they were ready to +hazard their lives for the rights of their master, whereupon Odysseus +hesitated no longer, but answered: "The miracle has been wrought; I am +he! After twenty years of toil and wandering Heaven hath brought me +home. I have watched ye both, and I know that ye alone among all the +thralls remain true to me. Only continue steadfast for this day, and +your reward is assured. I will build houses for ye both, close to my +own, and ye shall dwell there with your wives, as my friends and +neighbours, equals in honour with Telemachus, my son."</p> + +<p>The swineherd and neatherd listened with amazement, willing to +believe, but still half in doubt; but when Odysseus showed them the +scar, which they had seen many a time before, they were convinced, and +embraced their old master with tears and cries of joy. Having allowed +them some moments to indulge their feelings, Odysseus checked them +with a warning gesture. "Take heed to yourselves," he said, "or your +cries will betray us. And now mark what I shall tell you. I will go +back to the house first, and do ye two follow me one by one. To thee, +Philœtius, I give charge to make fast the gate of the courtyard, with +bolt, and with bar, and with cord. And thou, Eumæus, when the time +comes, shalt bring the bow and place it in my hands, whether the +wooers cry out on thee or not; and when thou hast given me the bow, go +straightway and command the women to make fast the doors of their +apartments, and remain quiet by their work until I have finished what +I have to do."</p> + +<p>At the moment when Odysseus returned to his place in the hall, +Eurymachus was just making a last attempt to bend the bow. "Out on +it!" he cried, finding all his efforts of no avail. "It is a shame to +think how far beneath Odysseus we all are in the strength of our +hands; 'tis this that stings me, much more than the loss of the lady."</p> + +<p>"Thou mistakest the cause," answered Antinous. "This day is the holy +feast of the divine archer, Apollo, and doubtless he is jealous +because we try our skill in his own art on his sacred day. Let us +leave the axes where they stand, and try our fortune again to-morrow."</p> + +<p>The proposal was received with general applause, and forthwith the +whole company called loud for wine, and began drinking heavily to +drown their disappointment Odysseus watched the progress of the revel +with grim satisfaction, and when the flushed faces and thick talk of +the wooers showed that they were far gone in drunkenness he asked, +with an air of deep humility, to be allowed to try his hand at +stringing the bow. His request was greeted with a loud cry of contempt +and indignation from all the wooers; and Antinous especially was +highly incensed, threatening him with dire pains and penalties for his +presumption. Hereupon Penelope interposed, and rebuked Antinous for +his violence. "Why should not the stranger try his skill with the +rest?" asked she. "Thinkest thou that the poor man will win me for his +wife if he succeeds? Sure I am that he is not so foolish as to +entertain such a thought."</p> + +<p>"'Tis not for that," said Eurymachus, answering her. "He cannot be so +mad as that. But what a shame to all this noble company if a houseless +beggar should accomplish a feat which none of us was able to perform."</p> + +<p>"Talk not of shame," replied Penelope with scorn. "Are ye not covered +with shame already, by your foul deeds done in this house in the +absence of its lord? Give him the bow, I say! And if he string it, by +Apollo's grace, I will clothe him in a new cloak and doublet, and give +him a sharp javelin, to keep off dogs and men, and a two-edged sword, +and sandals for his feet, and give him safe conduct to whatsoever +place he desires to reach."</p> + +<p>The decisive moment was at hand, and Telemachus saw the necessity of +removing his mother from the scene of the approaching conflict. +"Mother," he said in a tone of authority, "leave these things to me; I +am master here. Evening draws on, and it is time for thee to retire."</p> + +<p>When Penelope had withdrawn, Eumæus took the bow, and was about to +carry it to Odysseus, but paused half-way, in doubt and alarm, for a +perfect storm of threats and abuse assailed his ears. "Halt, thou dog! +Put down the bow! Art thou tired of thy life?" Appalled by the +menacing cries of the wooers, the swineherd stood hesitating; but +Telemachus raised his voice, and commanded him instantly to deliver +the bow to Odysseus. "I will teach thee," he said, "who is thy master; +thou shalt carry the marks of my hands to thy farm, if thou do not as +I tell thee. Would that I could as easily drive the whole of this +drunken rout from my doors!"</p> + +<p>"Well bragged, Sir Valiant!" cried Antinous; and all the wooers +laughed boisterously when they heard him. Seizing his opportunity +while their attention was thus diverted, Eumæus came and placed the +bow in the hands of Odysseus; then, calling Eurycleia, he bade her +make fast the door of the women's apartments. Meanwhile Philœtius +secured the gates of the courtyard, and returning to his place sat +watching the movements of Odysseus. With anxious eye the hero +scrutinised the great weapon, turning it this way and that, to see if +it had been injured by worms or natural decay. To his great joy he +found that it was sound and untouched. Then, easily as a minstrel +fastens a new cord to a lyre, without effort he strung the bow, and +bending it made the string twang loud and clear, like the shrill voice +of the swallow.</p> + +<p>A hundred mocking eyes and sneering faces had been turned towards him, +as he sat fingering the bow and weighing it in his hands; but pale +grew those faces now, and blank was that gaze. To add to their terror, +at this moment a loud peal of thunder shook the house. Filled with +high courage by the happy omen, Odysseus took an arrow, and, fitting +it to the string, sent it with sure aim from the place where he sat +along the whole line of axeheads, from the first to the last.</p> + +<p>"Telemachus," he said, "thy guest hath not shamed thee. My hand is +firm, and mine eye is true, poor worn-out wanderer though I be. Now +let us give these fair guests their supper, and afterwards entertain +them with music and with dancing, which are the fit accompaniment of a +feast."</p> + +<p>Then he beckoned to his son to draw near; and Telemachus made haste, +and came and stood by his father's side, armed with sword and lance.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap20"></a><h2>The Slaying of the Wooers</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Stripping off his rags, and girding them round his waist, Odysseus +took the quiver, and poured out all the arrows on the ground at his +feet. "Now guide my hand, Apollo," he cried, "and make sure mine aim, +for this time I will shoot at a mark which never man hit before."</p> + +<p>Therewith he bent his bow again, and pointed the arrow at Antinous, +who just at that moment was raising a full goblet of wine to his lips. +Little thought that proud and insolent man, as the wine gleamed red +before him, that he had tasted his last morsel, and drunk his last +drop. He was in the prime of his manhood, surrounded by his friends, +and in the midst of a joyous revel; who would dream of death and doom +in such an hour? Yet at that very instant he felt a sharp, sudden +pang, and fell back in his seat, pierced through the throat by the +arrow of Odysseus. The blood poured from his nostrils, he let fall the +cup, and spurning the table with his feet in his agony he overset it, +and the bread and meat were scattered on the floor.</p> + +<p>Then arose a wild clamour and uproar among the wooers, and starting +from their seats they sought eagerly for the weapons which were wont +to hang along the walls; but not a spear, not a shield, was to be +seen. Finding themselves thus baffled, they turned furiously on +Odysseus, shouting, "Down with the knave!" "Hew him in pieces!" "Fling +his carcass to the vultures!" As yet they had not recognised him, and +they thought that he had slain Antinous by mischance.</p> + +<p>They were soon undeceived. "Ye dogs!" he cried, in a terrible voice, +"long have ye made my house into a den of thieves, thinking that I had +died long ago in a distant land. Ye have devoured my living, and wooed +my wife, and mishandled my servants, having no fear of god or man +before your eyes. But now are ye all fallen into the pit which ye have +digged, and are fast bound in the bonds of death."</p> + +<p>Like beaten hounds, that dastardly crew cowered before the man whom +they had wronged, and every heart quaked with fear. Presently +Eurymachus stood forward, and tried to make terms for them all. "If +thou be indeed Odysseus," he said, "thou speakest justly concerning +the evil doings of the wooers. And there lies the cause of the +mischief, Antinous, struck down by thy righteous hand. He it was who +sought to slay Telemachus, that he might usurp thy place, and make +himself king in Ithaca. But now that he is gone to his own place, let +us, the rest, find favour in thy sight. And as for thy possessions +which have been wasted, we will pay thee back out of our own goods, as +much as thou shalt require."</p> + +<p>But there were no signs of relenting on that stern, set face. "Talk +not to me of payment," he answered, with a brow as black as night; "ye +shall pay me with your lives, every one of you. Fight, if ye will, or +die like sheep. Not one of you shall escape."</p> + +<p>Thus driven to extremity, Eurymachus drew his sword and shouting to +the others to follow his example he picked up a table to serve him as +a shield, and raising his war-cry rushed at Odysseus. In the midst of +his onset an arrow struck him in the liver, and he fell doubled-up +over a table, smiting the floor with his forehead. Then he rolled over +with a groan, and his eyes grew dim in death.</p> + +<p>Before Odysseus could fix another arrow to the string, Amphinomus was +upon him, with sword uplifted to slay him. Telemachus saw his father's +peril, and thrust Amphinomus in the back with his spear. The fall of +their leaders arrested the advance of the wooers, and they drew back +in a body to the lower end of the hall. Leaving the spear in the body +of the fallen man, Telemachus ran to fetch armour for himself and +Odysseus, and the two herdsmen. Quickly he brought shields and helmets +and lances for the four, and they arrayed themselves and took their +stand together on the platform.</p> + +<p>While these preparations were in progress, Odysseus continued +showering his arrows among the huddled troop of terrified men; and at +every shot one of the wooers fell. At last Melanthius, the goatherd, +made a desperate effort to save his party. Assisted by several of the +wooers, he climbed up the wall of the banquet-room, and made his exit +through the open timbers at the top into a narrow passage which gave +access to the inner part of the house. Presently he returned, laden +with spears and shields and helmets, which he had found in the chamber +where they had been stored away by Telemachus.</p> + +<p>What was the dismay of Odysseus when he saw his enemies arming +themselves with spear and shield, and brandishing long lances in their +hands! "Telemachus!" he cried, "we are betrayed! The women have sold +us to the wooers." "Alas! I have erred," answered Telemachus, "for I +left the door of the armoury open, and one of them has observed it."</p> + +<p>While they thus debated, Eumæus saw the goatherd making his way out of +the hall again by the same exit. "It is the traitor Melanthius," he +whispered; "now have we need of prompt action, or we are all undone."</p> + +<p>Odysseus had now recovered his courage, and he issued his orders +without losing another moment. "Go thou with the neatherd," he said to +Eumæus, "and seize that villain before he has time to return. Bind him +hand and foot, and come back with all speed to the hall"</p> + +<p>At the side of the hall, close to the platform where Odysseus and his +party were stationed, there was a door leading into the passage +already mentioned. Through this the two men passed, and made their way +stealthily to the armoury. There they waited on either side of the +door for Melanthius, whom they heard moving within. Before long he +came out, bearing in one hand a helmet, and in the other an old +battered shield, once the property of Laertes. Together they fell upon +him, dragged him down by the hair, and having bound him tight with a +long cord they hauled him up to a beam of the roof and left him +hanging. "Long and sweet be thy slumbers, goatherd!" said Eumæus as he +contemplated his work, "thou hast a soft bed, such as thou lovest. +Rest there till the morning light shall call thee to make breakfast +for the wooers."</p> + +<p>When they returned to the hall they found that a new ally had joined +their party, in the person of Mentor, the old friend of Odysseus. No +one saw when he came thither; but there he was, and right glad they +were to see him. Very different were the feelings of the wooers when +they saw their enemies thus reinforced, and one of them, named +Agelaus, cried out upon Mentor, and threatened him, saying: "Give +place, rash man, or thou wilt bring destruction on thyself and all thy +house."</p> + +<p>When he heard that, Mentor was wroth, and rebuked Odysseus as slow of +hand and cold of heart. "Why standest thou idle?" he cried. "Get thee +to thy weapons, and finish the work which thou hast to do, if thou art +verily that Odysseus who wrought such havoc among the Trojans in the +nine years' war."</p> + +<p>With these words the supposed Mentor vanished as mysteriously as he +had appeared, and a little swallow was seen darting hither and thither +among the smoke-blackened beams of the roof.</p> + +<p>The wooers understood not in whose presence they had been, and, +thinking that Mentor had fled before their threats, they took courage +again, and prepared to make a fresh assault. Agelaus now took the +lead, and at his command six of them advanced and hurled their spears. +But they were all dazed with drink, and weakened by long habits of +loose indulgence, and not one of their weapons took effect.</p> + +<p>"Now hurl ye your spears!" shouted Odysseus, and the four lances flew, +and four wooers bit the dust. At the next discharge from the wooers +Telemachus received a slight wound on the wrist, and Eumæus was +similarly injured on the shoulder by the spear of the brutal +Ctesippus. A moment after Ctesippus himself was struck down by the +lance of Philœtius, who mocked him as he fell saying: "There is for +the ox-foot which thou didst lately bestow on Odysseus, thou noisy +railer!"</p> + +<p>And so the great fight went on, and at every cast of the spear +Odysseus and his men added another to the list of the slain. Seeing +their numbers dwindling fast, the wretched remnant of the wooers lost +heart altogether and huddled together like sheep at the end of the +hall. To complete their discomfiture a terrible voice was suddenly +heard in the air, and a gleam as from a bright shield was seen high up +among the rafters. "Tis Athene herself come to our aid!" cried +Odysseus; "advance, and make an end of them. Athene is on our side!" +Forthwith they all sprang down from the platform and charged the +wooers, of whom some dozen still remained alive. What followed was not +a battle, but a massacre. Like a drove of kine plunging frantically +over a field, tortured by the sting of the hovering gadfly—like a +flock of small birds scattered by the sudden swoop of a falcon—the +panic-stricken wooers fled hither and thither through the hall, +seeking shelter behind pillars and under tables from the blows which +rained upon them. But vain was their flight. In a very short time the +last of that guilty band was sent to his account, and the great act of +vengeance was completed.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Like a lion fresh from the slaughter stood Odysseus, leaning on his +spear, and covered with blood from head to foot. As he glared round +him to see if any of his foes were still alive, his eye fell on +Phemius, the minstrel, who was crouching in a corner near the side +door, and clinging in terror to his harp. Seeing the stern gaze of +Odysseus fixed upon him Phemius sprang forward, with a sudden impulse, +and threw himself at the conqueror's feet, "Pity me, Odysseus," he +cried, "and spare me! Thy days will be darkened by remorse if thou +slay the sweet minstrel whom gods and men revere. I am no common +school-taught bard, who sings what he has learned by rote; but in mine +own heart is a sweet fountain of melody, which shall be shed like the +dew from heaven on thy fame, and keep it green for ever. Therefore +stay thy hand, and harm me not. Telemachus, thy son, knows that it was +not of mine own will, nor for greed of gain, that I sang among the +wooers, but they compelled me by force, being so many, and all +stronger than I."</p> + +<p>Thus appealed to, Telemachus readily confirmed what the minstrel had +said, which was indeed the literal truth. Then he thought of the +trusty Medon, who had been kind to him when a child, and remained +loyal to the last to him and Penelope. "I trust he has not been slain +among the wooers," he said. "Medon, if thou art still alive, come +forth and fear nothing."</p> + +<p>When he heard that, Medon, who had been huddled in a heap behind a +chair, covered with a freshly-flayed ox-hide, flung off his covering, +and came running to Telemachus. The poor man was still half-mad with +terror. "Here I am!" he gasped, with staring eyes, "speak to thy +father, that he slay me not in his rage and his fury,"</p> + +<p>Odysseus smiled grimly at the poor serving-man, and bade him be of +good cheer. "Live," he said, "thou and the minstrel, that ye may know, +and tell it also to others, how much better are good deeds than evil. +Now go ye forth and wait in the courtyard until I have finished what +remains to be done." So forth they went, and sat down by the altar of +Zeus, glancing fearfully about them, as if expecting every moment to +be their last.</p> + +<p>As soon as they were gone Odysseus walked slowly up and down the hall +to see if any of the wooers still survived. But there was no sound or +motion, save the tread of his own feet, to break the awful stillness +in that chamber of death. There they lay, stark and silent, heap upon +heap, like a great draught of fishes which have been hauled to shore +in a drag-net, and have gasped out their lives on the beach. Having +assured himself that he had not done the work negligently, he bade +Telemachus summon the nurse, Eurycleia. Telemachus obeyed, and going +to the door of the women's apartments, he smote upon it, and called +aloud to the nurse. A moment after the bolts were drawn back, and +Eurycleia entered the hall. When she saw Odysseus standing among the +heaps of slain wooers, she opened her mouth to utter a cry of triumph, +but Odysseus checked her, saying: "Hold thy peace, dame, and give not +voice to thy joy: it is an impious thing to exult over the dead. They +are the victims of heaven's righteous law, and I was but the +instrument of divine vengeance. Tell me now which of the women in the +house have dishonoured me, and which of them be blameless."</p> + +<p>"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered the nurse; "fifty +women there are in all in thy house, that card the wool and bear the +yoke of bondage. And of these twelve have been faithless, honouring +neither me nor Penelope, their mistress. But now let me go and tell +the news to thy wife, who all this time has been lying in a deep +sleep."</p> + +<p>"Rouse her not yet," said Odysseus, "but go quickly and send those +guilty women hither."</p> + +<p>While Eurycleia was gone to summon the maid-servants, Telemachus and +the two herdsmen began, by the command of Odysseus, to set the hall in +order, and wash away the traces of slaughter. Presently, with loud +weeping and lamentation, the wretched women entered, and were +compelled to assist in the horrid task. The bodies of the slain were +carried out, and laid in order along the wall of the courtyard. Then +they washed and scoured the tables, and scraped the floor with spades; +and when all was ready Odysseus bade his son and the two others to +drive the women forth, and slay them with the edge of the sword. So +these three drove them into a corner of the courtyard, and Eumæus and +Philœtius drew their swords to slay them. But Telemachus held them +back saying: "Let them die in shame, even as they have lived." So they +took a long ship's cable, which was lying in an outhouse, and +stretched it across an angle of the wall; to this they attached twelve +nooses, and left the women hanging there by the neck until they were +dead.</p> + +<p>A horrid death was reserved for the traitor Melanthius. Dragging him +out into the courtyard, they cut off his nose and ears, and his hands +and feet, and so left him to die.</p> + +<p>After that they washed themselves and went back to the hall. Then +Odysseus bade Eurycleia kindle a fire, and bring sulphur to purify the +chamber. And having thoroughly cleansed the house from the fumes of +slaughter, he sat down to wait for the coming of his wife.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap21"></a><h2>Odysseus and Penelope</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Her face beaming with joy, and her feet stumbling over one another in +their haste, Eurycleia ascended to the chamber where Penelope lay +sleeping. "Awake, Penelope, awake!" she cried, standing by the +bedside; "come and see with thine own eyes the fulfilment of all thy +hopes. Odysseus has come home at last, and all the wooers lie slain by +his hand!"</p> + +<p>"Thou art mad, nurse," answered Penelope pettishly, turning in her bed +and rubbing her eyes; "why mockest thou me in my sorrow with thy +folly? and why hast thou disturbed me in the sweetest sleep that ever +I had since the fatal, the accursed day when my lord sailed for Troy? +But for thy years and thy faithful service I would have paid thee +unkindly for this wanton insult"</p> + +<p>"Heaven forbid that I should mock or insult thee, dear child!" cried +the nurse, her eyes filling with tears. "I have told thee naught but +the truth. The stranger whom we thought a beggar was Odysseus himself. +Telemachus knew this all the time, but kept it from thee by the +command of his father."</p> + +<p>"May the gods ever bless thee for these tidings!" said Penelope, +springing from the couch, and throwing her arms round the nurse's +neck. "But tell me truly, how did he with his single hand gain the +mastery over such a multitude?"</p> + +<p>"I saw not how it was done," answered Eurycleia. "I heard but the +groans of the men as they were stricken, for I was shut up with the +handmaids in the women's chamber. When it was over, he called me, and +I found him standing among the slain, like a lion by his prey. It was +a sight to gladden thy heart."</p> + +<p>But Penelope's first impulse of joyful surprise had passed, and a cold +fit of doubt and distrust succeeded, "It cannot be!" she murmured; +"some god has taken the likeness of my husband, and slain the wooers." +Even when Eurycleia told her how she had discovered the scar, while +washing the feet of Odysseus, she remained unshaken in her unbelief. +"The counsels of the gods," she said, "are beyond our knowing, and +they can take upon them disguises too deep for a poor woman's wit. But +come, let us go and see the slaughtered wooers, and their slayer, +whoever he be."</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Odysseus was sitting bowed over the fire, which shone redly on his +face, as he leaned his head upon his hand. He was still clothed in his +beggar's rags, and strangely disfigured by the magic power of Athene; +while the red stains of slaughter, which still lay thick upon him, +served to render his disguise yet deeper. Small wonder then that +Penelope hesitated long to acknowledge him for her husband, as she sat +some way off scanning his features with timid yet attentive gaze, like +one who strives to decipher a blurred and blotted manuscript. More +than once she started up, as if about to fall upon his neck; then the +gleam which had lighted up her face died away, her arms drooped +listlessly at her side, and she remained motionless and cold.</p> + +<p>When this had lasted for some time, Telemachus, who was present, +rebuked his mother in angry terms, saying: "Fie upon thee, my mother! +hast thou no heart at all? Why holdest thou thus aloof from my father, +who has come back to thee after twenty years of suffering and toil? +But 'twas ever thus with thee—thou art harder than stone."</p> + +<p>"My child," answered Penelope, "I am sore amazed; I cannot speak, or +ask any question, or look him in the face. But if this man be indeed +my husband, he knows how to convince me, and scatter all my doubts to +the winds, for there are secrets between us whereof no one knoweth, +save only ourselves."</p> + +<p>Odysseus smiled at his wife's caution. "Not in vain," he thought, "is +she known to all the world as the prudent Penelope." Then, in order to +give her time, he turned to Telemachus and said: "Come not between my +wife and me, Telemachus; we shall know each other in due season. I +have another charge for thee, and do thou mark heedfully what I shall +say. We have slain the noblest in the land, not one, but many, who +leave a host of friends to take up their cause: how then shall we +escape the blood feud? We had best look to it warily and well."</p> + +<p>"Father," answered Telemachus, "thou hast the name of wise, beyond all +living men. Be it thine, therefore, to declare thy counsel, and I will +follow it, to the utmost stretch of my power."</p> + +<p>"Thus, then, shalt thou do," said Odysseus: "let all the household put +on clean raiment, and bid the minstrel take his harp and make sweet +music for the festal dance. Then foot it merrily, everyone, that all +they who pass by the house may think that ye are keeping the marriage +feast. In this wise the rumour of the wooers' death shall not reach +the town until we have had time to collect our men and prepare for our +defence."</p> + +<p>Telemachus went forthwith to carry out his father's orders. The whole +household, men and women, arrayed themselves in festal attire, and +soon the hall echoed to the throbbing notes of the lyre, and the loud +patter of the dancers' feet. And those who heard it from without said +to one another: "So the long wooing of our queen has come to an end at +last! Fickle woman, that could not endure unto the end, and keep faith +with the husband of her youth!"</p> + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>After giving his orders to Telemachus, Odysseus had retired to refresh +himself with the bath, and put on fresh raiment, while Penelope +remained seated in her former place. After an interval of some length +he re-entered the hall, and sat down face to face with his wife. But +what miracle was this? The haggard, timeworn beggar was gone, and in +his place sat her husband, as she had known him in the days of old, +with the added dignity which he had gained by twenty years of +strenuous life. But the frost which had lain upon her spirit during +her long period of weary waiting was not easily to be broken, and +still she doubted. After a long silence Odysseus spoke, and now for +the first time his tones had a ring of reproach: "Still not a word for +thy husband, who has come back to thee after twenty years? Surely the +very demon of unbelief possesses thee!" Even then Penelope made no +answer, for she was waiting to put the final test, and at length +Odysseus gave her the opportunity. "Go, Eurycleia," he said, "and +prepare a bed for me; I will leave this iron-hearted wife and go to my +rest."</p> + +<p>"Ay, do so," said Penelope, "take the bed from the chamber which he +built with his own hands, and lay it in another room, that he may +slumber there." This she said to prove him, for the bed and the +chamber had a secret history, known only to herself and her husband +and the faithful nurse.</p> + +<p>Odysseus rose bravely to the test: whether divining his wife's purpose +or not, he exclaimed, with an air of surprise and indignation: "Lady, +what meanest thou by this order? Who hath moved my bed from its place? +He must be of more than mortal skill who could remove it, for it was +fashioned in wondrous wise, and with my own hands I wrought it, to be +a sign and a secret between thee and me. And this was the manner of +the work. Within the courtyard there grew an olive-tree, a fair tree +and a large, with a world of green leaves, and a stem like a stout +pillar. Round this I built the walls of the chamber with close-fitting +stones, and roofed it over, and hung the door on its hinges. Then I +went to work on the tree, lopping off the boughs, and smoothing the +trunk with the adze, so as to fashion it into a bedpost, and beginning +from this I made the frame of a bed, and decorated it with gold and +silver and ivory, and over the frame I stretched broad bands of +ox-hide, stained with bright purple. This I tell thee as a sign by +which thou mayest know me."</p> + +<p>The last shadow was now removed, and before Odysseus had well ended +what he was saying Penelope sprang towards him, threw her arms round +his neck, and covered his face with kisses. "Be not angry with me, my +dear lord," she murmured tenderly, "because I held back so long, and +gave thee not loving welcome, as I do now. Thou art very wise, and +knowest the dangers which beset a lonely woman who is over hasty to +believe when a stranger comes and calls himself her husband. Many +there be that lie in wait to lay snares for a weak and loving heart. +But now I know thee for mine own dear love, and now is the winter of +my widowhood made glorious summer, since I have seen thy face again."</p> + +<p>So they sat locked in each other's arms, that valiant, long-suffering +man, and his faithful wife, two brave and patient souls, parted so +long, and tried so hard, but now united once more in wedded love and +bliss. The hours went by unheeded, and day would have overtaken them +in that trance of delight, had not Athene marked them with pity from +her heavenly seat, and stayed the steeds of the morning in the east, +and prolonged the reign of night, that the joy of that first meeting +might not be broken until they had tasted all its honey to the lees.</p> + +<br> +<a name="chap22"></a><h2>Conclusion</h2> + +<h3>I</h3> + +<p>Early next day Odysseus rose and donned his armour, and having charged +Penelope to keep close in her chamber, and admit no one into the +house, he set forth to visit Laertes on his farm, attended by +Telemachus and the two faithful herdsmen, all armed to the teeth. +Arrived at the farmhouse he left his companions there, bidding them +prepare the morning meal, and went out alone to find his father. +Passing through the courtyard gate, he entered a large plot of ground, +planted by Laertes as a garden and orchard; and there he found the old +man, who was digging about the roots of a young tree. With strange +emotions Odysseus noted every detail of his dress and figure—the +soiled and tattered coat, the gaiters of clouted leather, the old +gauntlets on his hands, and the goatskin cap. He who had once been the +wealthiest prince in Ithaca had now the appearance of an ancient +serving-man, broken down with years and toil.</p> + +<p>But in the midst of his sorrow a freakish whim came into the head of +Odysseus, characteristic of his subtle and tortuous nature. +Approaching his father, who was still stooping over his work, he said +to him in a disguised voice: "Old man, I perceive that thou art well +skilled in the gardener's art: never saw I a garden better tended—not +a tree, not a shrub, but bears witness to thy fostering care. And be +not wroth with me if I say that is a wonder to see the keeper of so +fair a garden himself so squalid and unkempt. Surely he whom thou +servest must be an ungrateful master. Tell me his name, if thou wilt, +and answer me truly if this be indeed the land of Ithaca to which I am +come, as I heard from a man whom I met by the way. He seemed a +churlish fellow, and would not stay to answer my questions; for I was +fain to ask him concerning a friend whom I once entertained in my +house, a native of Ithaca, as he told me, and a son of one Laertes. +Many days he dwelt with me, eating and drinking of the best, and I +sent him away laden with rich gifts, gold and silver, and costly +raiment."</p> + +<p>"Friend," answered Laertes, shedding tears, "to Ithaca indeed art thou +come, but he of whom thou askest is no longer here. In vain were thy +gifts bestowed, for he who would have repaid thee richly for all thy +kindness hath perished long ago, and his bones lie bleaching on the +bare earth, or at the bottom of the sea. Tell me, how long is it since +thou didst receive him, and who art thou, and where is thy home?"</p> + +<p>"I am a man of Alybas," replied Odysseus, "the son of Apheidas the son +of Polypemon, and Eperitus is my name; and it is now five years since +Odysseus departed from my home. Fair omens attended him on his +starting, and we parted in high hopes that we should meet again in his +own land."</p> + +<p>At these words of Odysseus the poor old man was overwhelmed with +sorrow, and he heaped dust upon his grey head, groaning in bitterness +of spirit. Odysseus was moved with pity at the sight of his distress, +and thinking that he had now tried him enough, he revealed himself, +pointing as proofs to the scar above his knee, and to certain trees +which Laertes had allowed him to call his own when he walked with him, +hand-in-hand, as a little child, through the garden.</p> + +<p>The sudden shock of joyful recognition was too much for the old man, +and he fell fainting into his son's arms. When he was somewhat +recovered they went back together towards the house, and on the way +Odysseus spoke of the slaying of the wooers, and of the danger which +threatened him from the vengeance of their friends.</p> + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>Meanwhile the news of the wooers' violent death had spread like +wildfire through the island, and their kinsmen went with loud clamour +to the house of Odysseus to carry away the dead bodies. When this was +done they gathered together at the place of assembly to devise some +plan of vengeance; and Eupeithes, the father of Antinous, made violent +outcry against Odysseus for his great act of savage justice.</p> + +<p>While they were debating, Medon and Phemius appeared on the scene, and +described the manner in which the wooers had met their end. "The hand +of Heaven," said Medon, "was made manifest in the deed. I myself saw +Athene leading the onset, and your sons were laid low like ripe +sheaves before the sickle." This report chilled their courage not a +little; and Halitherses, seeing the effect produced, exerted all his +eloquence to put an end to the blood feud. Nevertheless more than half +of those present persisted in their purpose, and donning their armour +went forth from the town to meet the party of Odysseus.</p> + +<p>The encounter took place in front of the farmhouse, where Odysseus and +the others had just taken their morning meal. Laertes, who seemed to +have recovered all the vigour of his youth, led the attack, and by a +well-aimed cast of his lance struck down Eupeithes, the leader of the +opposing party. This success was followed up by a vigorous charge, in +the midst of which a supernatural voice was heard in the air, striking +terror into the assailants of Odysseus, who turned and fled in wild +panic towards the town. They were hotly pursued, and not a man would +have been left alive had not Zeus himself interposed to stay the +slaughter. By his command Athene acted as mediator between Odysseus +and the kinsmen of the wooers, and an oath of amnesty was taken on +both sides, confirmed with solemn prayer and sacrifice.</p> + +<br> +<a name="names"></a><h2>PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES</h2> + +<table style="font-size: larger" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" + summary="A list of Greek names, each one followed by its phonetic spelling"> + <tr><td>Achilles</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăkil´ez</td><td> </td> + <td>Iphimedeia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ifĭmĕdī´ă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Æetes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē-ē´-tez</td><td> </td> + <td>Iphitus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">if´ĭtus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ægæan</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ēgē´an</td><td> </td> + <td>Iphthime</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ifthī´mē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ægisthus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ēgis´thus</td><td> </td> + <td>Irus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ī´rus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ægyptus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ēgyp´tus</td><td> </td> + <td>Ithaca</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĭth´ăcă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Æolus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē´ŏlus</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Æthon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē´thon</td><td> </td> + <td>Lacedæmon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lăsĕdē´mon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Agamemnon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăgămĕm´non</td><td> </td> + <td>Laertes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lāĕr´tēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Agelaus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăgĕlā´us</td><td> </td> + <td>Læstrygonia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lēstrĭgŏ´nĭă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ajax</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ā´jax</td><td> </td> + <td>Leda</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lē´dă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Alcinous</td><td style="font-family: monospace">alsĭn´-ŏ-us</td><td> </td> + <td>Leiodes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">līō´dēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Alcmene</td><td style="font-family: monospace">alkmē´nē</td><td> </td> + <td>Lesbos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lĕz´bos</td></tr> + <tr><td>Alybas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">āl´ĭbas</td><td> </td> + <td>Leto</td><td style="font-family: monospace">lē´tō</td></tr> + <tr><td>Amphinomus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">amphĭn´ŏmus</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Anticleia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭklī´a</td><td> </td> + <td>Malea</td><td style="font-family: monospace">măl´ĕă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antilochus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭl´ŏchus</td><td> </td> + <td>Medon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">med´on</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antiphates</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭph´ătēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Melampus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕlam´pus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antinous</td><td style="font-family: monospace">antĭn´ŏus</td><td> </td> + <td>Melanthius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕlan´thĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Antiphus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">an´tĭfus</td><td> </td> + <td>Melantho</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕlan´thō</td></tr> + <tr><td>Apheidas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăfī´das</td><td> </td> + <td>Menelaus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mĕnĕlā´us</td></tr> + <tr><td>Aphrodite</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăfrŏdī´tē</td><td> </td> + <td>Mentes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">men´tez</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arcady</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ar´cădĭ</td><td> </td> + <td>Mentor</td><td style="font-family: monospace">men´tōr</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arete</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ārē´tē</td><td> </td> + <td>Messene</td><td style="font-family: monospace">messē´nē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arethusa</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ărĕthyū´să</td><td> </td> + <td>Minos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mī´nos</td></tr> + <tr><td>Arnæus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">arnē´us</td><td> </td> + <td>Mycenæ</td><td style="font-family: monospace">mīsē´nē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Artemis</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ar´tĕmis</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Arybas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ă´ribas</td><td> </td> + <td>Nausicaä</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nausĭk´ă-ă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Athene</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ăthē´nē</td><td> </td> + <td>Neleus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nē´lyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Atreus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ā´trūs</td><td> </td> + <td>Neoptolemus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">neoptŏl´ĕmus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Aurora</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ōrō´ră</td><td> </td> + <td>Neritus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nē´rĭtus</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Nestor</td><td style="font-family: monospace">nĕs´tōr</td></tr> + <tr><td>Boötes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">bŏō´tēz</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Oceanus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">osē´anus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Calypso</td><td style="font-family: monospace">kălĭp´sō</td><td> </td> + <td>Odysseus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">odis´yūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cassandra</td><td style="font-family: monospace">cassan´dră</td><td> </td> + <td>Orestes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ŏrĕs´tēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Charybdis</td><td style="font-family: monospace">kărib´dis</td><td> </td> + <td>Orion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ōrī´on</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cimmerians</td><td style="font-family: monospace">simmĕ´rĭans</td><td> </td> + <td>Ormenius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ormĕn´ĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Circe</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sĭr´sē</td><td> </td> + <td>Orsilochus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">orsĭl´ŏkus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Clytæmnestra</td><td style="font-family: monospace">clītēmnĕs´tră</td><td> </td> + <td>Ortygia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ortĭ´gĭă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cnosus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">knō´sŭs</td><td> </td> + <td>Otus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ŏ´tus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ctesippus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ktĕ´sĭpus</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Ctesius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ktē´sĭus</td><td> </td> + <td>Patroclus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pătrŏ´clus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cyclopes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sīklō´pēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Peiræus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pīrē´us</td></tr> + <tr><td>Cyclops</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sī´klops</td><td> </td> + <td>Peleus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pē´lyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Pelides</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pĕlī´dēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Deiphobus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dēĭf´ŏbus</td><td> </td> + <td>Pelion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pē´lĭon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Delos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dĕ´los</td><td> </td> + <td>Penelope</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pēnĕl´ŏpē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Demeter</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dēmē´tēr</td><td> </td> + <td>Persephone</td><td style="font-family: monospace">persĕf´ŏnē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Demodocus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dēmŏ´dŏcus</td><td> </td> + <td>Pharos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fā´ros</td></tr> + <tr><td>Deucalion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dūka´lĭon</td><td> </td> + <td>Phæacia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fēā´siă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Diomede</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dĭ´ŏmeed</td><td> </td> + <td>Phemius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fē´mĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Dodona</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dō-dō´nă</td><td> </td> + <td>Pheræ</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fē´rē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Dolius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dŏl´ĭus</td><td> </td> + <td>Philoctetes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fĭloktē´tēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Dulichium</td><td style="font-family: monospace">dyūlĭ´-kĭum</td><td> </td> + <td>Philœtius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">fĭlē´tĭus</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Pisistratus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pīsis´trătus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eidothea</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īdō´thĭ-ĕă</td><td> </td> + <td>Pleiades</td><td style="font-family: monospace">plī´adēz</td></tr> + <tr><td>Elis</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ē´lis</td><td> </td> + <td>Polycaste</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭcas´tē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Elpenor</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕlpē´nōr</td><td> </td> + <td>Polydamna</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭdam´na</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eperitus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕpē´rĭtus</td><td> </td> + <td>Polypemon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭpē´mon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ephialtes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕfĭal´tēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Polyphemus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏlĭfē´mus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ephyra</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕf´ĭră</td><td> </td> + <td>Poseidon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pŏsī´don</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eriphyle</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ĕrĭfī´lē</td><td> </td> + <td>Proteus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">prō´tyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eubœa</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūbē´a</td><td> </td> + <td>Pylos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">pī´los</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eumæus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūmē´us</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Eupeithes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūpī´thēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Same</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sā´mē</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurymachus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭ´măkus</td><td> </td> + <td>Scylla</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sil´lă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurynomus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭ´nŏmus</td><td> </td> + <td>Scyros</td><td style="font-family: monospace">skī´ros</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurycleia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrīclī´ă</td><td> </td> + <td>Sirens</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sī´rens</td></tr> + <tr><td>Euryalus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrī´ălus</td><td> </td> + <td>Sisyphus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">sĭ´sĭfus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurylochus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭl´ŏkus</td><td> </td> + <td>Sunium</td><td style="font-family: monospace">syū´nĭum</td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurydamas</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yūrĭd´ămas</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Eurytus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">yū´rĭtus</td><td> </td> + <td>Tantalus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tan´tălus</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Teiresias</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tīrĕ´sĭas</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hades</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hā´dēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Telamon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tĕl´ămon</td></tr> + <tr><td>Halitherses</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hălĭther´sēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Telemachus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tēlē´măkus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Helios</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hĕ´lĭos</td><td> </td> + <td>Tenedos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tĕn´ĕdos</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hephæstus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hēfēs´tus</td><td> </td> + <td>Theoclymenus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">thĕŏcly´mĕnus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hera</td><td style="font-family: monospace">hē´ră</td><td> </td> + <td>Thesprotia</td><td style="font-family: monospace">thĕsprō´tīă</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hercules</td><td style="font-family: monospace">her´cŭlēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Thon</td><td style="font-family: monospace">thōn</td></tr> + <tr><td>Hermes</td><td style="font-family: monospace">her´mēz</td><td> </td> + <td>Tityos</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tĭt´ĭos</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td> + <td>Tyndareus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">tin´dăryūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Iasion</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īă´sĭon</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> + <tr><td>Icarius</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īkă´rĭus</td><td> </td> + <td>Zacynthus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">zăkin´thus</td></tr> + <tr><td>Idomeneus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">īdōm´ĕnyūs</td><td> </td> + <td>Zeus</td><td style="font-family: monospace">zyūs</td></tr> + <tr><td>Ino</td><td style="font-family: monospace">ī´nŏ</td><td> </td> + <td> </td><td> </td></tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" 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L. Havell + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Stories from the Odyssey + +Author: H. L. Havell + +Release Date: October 12, 2004 [eBook #13725] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Fred Robinson, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY + +Retold by + +H. L. HAVELL B.A. + +Late Reader in English in the University of Halle +Formerly Scholar of University College Oxford + +Author of _Stories from Herodotus_, _Stories from Greek Tragedy_, +_Stories from the AEneid_, _Stories from the Iliad_, etc. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Reading from Homer] + + + + "O well for him whose will is strong! + He suffers, but he will not suffer long; + He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong: + For him nor moves the loud world's random mock + Nor all Calamity's hugest waves confound + Who seems a promontory of rock, + That compass'd round with turbulent sound + In middle ocean meets the surging shock, + Tempest-buffeted, citadel-crown'd." + TENNYSON + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION + +TELEMACHUS, PENELOPE, AND THE SUITORS + +THE ASSEMBLY; THE VOYAGE OF TELEMACHUS + +THE VISIT TO NESTOR AT PYLOS + +TELEMACHUS AT SPARTA + +ODYSSEUS AND CALYPSO + +ODYSSEUS AMONG THE PHAEACIANS + +THE WANDERINGS OF ODYSSEUS + +THE VISIT TO HADES + +THE SIRENS; SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS; THRINACIA + +ODYSSEUS LANDS IN ITHACA + +ODYSSEUS AND EUMAEUS + +THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS + +THE MEETING OF TELEMACHUS AND ODYSSEUS + +THE HOME-COMING OF ODYSSEUS + +THE BEGGAR IRUS + +PENELOPE AND THE WOOERS + +ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE + +THE END DRAWS NEAR; SIGNS AND WONDERS + +THE BOW OF ODYSSEUS + +THE SLAYING OF THE WOOERS + +ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE + +CONCLUSION + +PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +READING FROM HOMER (L. Alma Tadema) + +PENELOPE (The Vatican, Rome) + +TELEMACHUS DEPARTING FROM NESTOR (Henry Howard) + +ODYSSEUS AND NAUSICAAe (Charles Gleyre) + +ODYSSEUS AND POLYPHEMUS (J. M. W. Turner) + +CIRCE (Sir E. Burne-Jones) + +THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS (L. F. Schuetzenberger) + +ODYSSEUS AND EURYCLEIA (Christian G. Heyne) + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The impersonal character of the Homeric poems has left us entirely in +the dark as to the birthplace, the history, and the date, of their +author. So complete is the darkness which surrounds the name of Homer +that his very existence has been disputed, and his works have been +declared to be an ingenious compilation, drawn from the productions of +a multitude of singers. It is not my intention here to enter into the +endless and barren controversy which has raged round this question. It +will be more to the purpose to try and form some general idea of the +characteristics of the Greek Epic; and to do this it is necessary to +give a brief review of the political and social conditions in which it +was produced. + +I + +The world as known to Homer is a mere fragment of territory, including +a good part of the mainland of Greece, with the islands and coast +districts of the AEgaean. Outside of these limits his knowledge of +geography is narrow indeed. He has heard of Sicily, which he speaks of +under the name of Thrinacia; and he speaks once of Libya, or the north +coast of Africa, as a district famous for its breed of sheep. There is +one vague reference to the vast Scythian or Tartar race (called by +Homer Thracians), who live on the milk of mares; and he mentions a +copper-coloured people, the "Red-faces," who dwell far remote in the +east and west. The Nile is mentioned, under the name of AEgyptus; and +the Egyptians are celebrated by the poet as a people skilled in +medicine, a statement which is repeated by Herodotus. The Phoenicians +appear several times in the _Odyssey_, and we hear once or twice of +the Sidonians, as skilled workers in metal. As soon as we pass these +boundaries, we enter at once into the region of fairyland. + +II + +In speaking of the religion of the Homeric Greeks we have to draw a +distinction between the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_. In the _Iliad_ the +gods play a much livelier and more human part than in the latter poem, +and it is highly remarkable that the only comic scenes in the first +and greatest of epics are those in which the gods are the chief +actors--as when the lame Hephaestus takes upon him the office of +cupbearer at the Olympian banquet, or when Artemis gets her ears boxed +by the angry Hera. It would almost seem as if there were a vein of +deliberate satire running through these descriptions, so daring is the +treatment of the divine personages. + +In the _Odyssey_, on the other hand, religion has become more +spiritual. Olympus is no longer the mountain of that name, but a vague +term, like our "heaven," denoting a place remote from all earthly +cares and passions, a far-off abode in the stainless ether, where the +gods dwell in everlasting peace, and from which they occasionally +descend, to give an eye to the righteous and unrighteous deeds of men. + +In his conception of the state of the soul after death Homer is very +interesting. His _Hades_, or place of departed spirits, is a dim, +shadowy region beyond the setting of the sun, where, after life's +trials are over, the souls of men keep up a faint and feeble being. It +is highly significant that the word which in Homer means "self" has +also the meaning of "body"--showing how intimately the sense of +personal identity was associated with the condition of bodily +existence. The disembodied spirit is compared to a shadow, a dream, or +a waft of smoke. "Alas!" cries Achilles, after a visit from the ghost +of Patroclus, "I perceive that even in the halls of Hades there is a +spirit and a phantom, but understanding none at all"; for the mental +condition of these cold, uncomfortable ghosts is as feeble as their +bodily form is shadowy and unsubstantial. They hover about with a +fitful motion, uttering thin, gibbering cries, like the voice of a +bat, and before they can obtain strength to converse with a visitor +from the other world, they have to be fortified by a draught of fresh +blood. The subject is summed up by Achilles, when Odysseus felicitates +him on the honour which he enjoys, even in Hades: "Tell me not of +comfort in death," he says: "I had rather be the thrall of the poorest +wight that ever tilled a thankless soil for bread, than rule as king +over all the shades of the departed." + +III + +Homeric society is essentially aristocratic. At its head stands the +king, who may be a great potentate, like Agamemnon, ruling over a wide +extent of territory, or a petty prince, like Odysseus, who exercises a +sort of patriarchal authority within the limits of a small island. The +person of the king is sacred, and his office is hereditary. He bears +the title of _Diogenes_, "Jove-born," and is under the especial +protection of the supreme ruler of Olympus. He is leader in war, chief +judge, president of the council of elders, and representative of the +state at the public sacrifices. The symbol of his office is the +sceptre, which in some cases is handed down as an heirloom from father +to son. + +Next to the king stand the elders, a title which has no reference to +age, but merely denotes those of noble birth and breeding. The elders +form a senate, or deliberative body, before which all questions of +public importance are laid by the king. Their decisions are afterwards +communicated to the general assembly of the people, who signify their +approval or dissent by tumultuous cries, but have no power of altering +or reversing the measures proposed by the nobles. Thus we have already +the three main elements of political life: king, lords, and +commons--though the position of the last is at present almost entirely +passive. + +IV + +The morality of the Homeric age is such as we may expect to find among +a people which has only partially emerged from barbarism. Crimes of +violence are very common, and a familiar figure in the society of this +period is that of the fugitive, who "has slain a man," and is flying +from the vengeance of his family. Patroclus, when a mere boy, kills +his youthful playmate in a quarrel over a game of knucklebones--an +incident which may be seen illustrated in one of the statues in the +British Museum. One of the typical scenes of Hellenic life depicted on +the shield of Achilles is a trial for homicide; and such cases were of +so frequent occurrence that they afford materials for a simile in the +last book of the _Iliad_. + +Where life is held so cheap, opinion is not likely to be very strict +in matters of property. And we find accordingly a general acquiescence +in "the good old rule, the ancient plan, that they may take who have +the power, and they may keep who can." Cattle-lifting is as common as +it formerly was on the Scottish border. The bold buccaneer is a +character as familiar as in the good old days when Drake and Raleigh +singed the Spanish king's beard, with this important difference, that +the buccaneer of ancient Greece plundered Greek and barbarian with +fine impartiality. A common question addressed to persons newly +arrived from the sea is, "Are you a merchant, a traveller, or a +pirate?" And this curious query implies no reproach, and calls for no +resentment. Still more startling are the terms in which Autolycus, the +maternal grandfather of Odysseus, is spoken of. This worthy, we are +informed, "surpassed all mankind in thieving and lying"; and the +information is given in a manner which shows that the poet intended it +as a grave compliment. In another passage the same hero is celebrated +as an accomplished burglar. So low was the standard of Homeric ethics +in this respect; and even in the historical age of Greece, want of +honesty and want of truthfulness were too often conspicuous failings +in some of her most famous men. + +Even more shocking to the moral sense is the wild ferocity which +sometimes breaks out in the language and conduct of both men and +women. The horrible practice of mutilating the dead after a battle is +viewed with indifference, and even with complacency, by the bravest +warriors. Even Patroclus, the most amiable of the heroes in the +_Iliad_, proposes to inflict this dastardly outrage on the body of the +fallen Sarpedon. Achilles drags the body of Hector behind his chariot +from the battlefield, and keeps it in his tent for many days, that he +may repeat this hideous form of vengeance in honour of his slaughtered +friend. When the dying Hector begs him to restore his body to the +Trojans for burial he replies with savage taunts, and wishes that he +could find it in his heart to carve the flesh of Hector and eat it +raw! And Hecuba, the venerable Queen of Troy, expresses herself in +similar terms when Priam is preparing to set forth on his mission to +the tent of Achilles. + +Turning now to the more attractive side of the picture, we shall find +much to admire in the character of Homer's heroes. In the first place +we have to note their intense vitality and keen sense of pleasure, +natural to a young and vigorous people. The outlook on life is +generally bright and cheerful, and there is hardly any trace of that +corroding pessimism which meets us in later literature. Cases of +suicide, so common in the tragedians, are almost unknown. + +In one respect, and that too a point of the very highest importance, +the Greeks of this age were far in advance of those who came after +them, and not behind the most polished nations of modern Europe. We +refer to the beauty, the tenderness, and the purity of their domestic +relations. The whole story of the _Odyssey_ is founded on the faithful +wedded love of Odysseus and Penelope, and the contrasted example of +Agamemnon and his demon wife is repeatedly held up to scorn and +abhorrence. The world's poetry affords no nobler scene than the +parting of Hector and Andromache in the _Iliad_, nor has the ideal of +perfect marriage ever found grander expression than in the words +addressed by Odysseus to Nausicaae: "There is nothing mightier and +nobler than when man and wife are of one mind and heart in a house, a +grief to their foes, and to their friends a great joy, but their own +hearts know it best."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Butcher and Lang's translation.] + +Hospitality in a primitive state of society, where inns are unknown, +is not so much a virtue as a necessity. Even in these early times the +Greeks, within the limits of their little world, were great +travellers, and their swift chariots, and galleys propelled by sail +and oar, enabled them to make considerable journeys with speed and +safety. Arrived at their destination for the night they were sure of a +warm welcome at the first house at which they presented themselves; +and he who played the host on one occasion expected and found a like +return when, perhaps years afterwards, he was brought by business or +pleasure to the home of his former guest. Nor were these privileges +confined to the wealthy and noble, who were able, when the time came, +to make payment in kind, but the poorest and most helpless outcast, +the beggar, the fugitive, and the exile, found countenance and +protection, when he made his plea in the name of Zeus, the god of +hospitality. + +V + +This frankness and simplicity of manners runs through the whole life +of the Homeric Greek, and is reflected in every page of the two great +epics which are the lasting monuments of that bright and happy age. As +civilisation advances, and life becomes more complicated and +artificial, human activity tends more and more to split up into an +infinite number of minute occupations, and the whole time and energy +of each individual are not more than sufficient to make him master in +some little corner of art, science, or industry. A vast system of +commerce brings the products of the whole world to our doors; and it +is almost appalling to think of the millions of toiling hands and busy +brains which must pass all their days in unceasing toil, in order that +the humblest citizen may find his daily wants supplied. To give only +one example: how vast and tremendous is the machinery which must be +set at work before a single letter or post-card can reach its +destination! This multiplication of needs, and endless subdivision of +labour, too often results in stunting and crippling the development of +the individual, so that it becomes harder, as time advances, to find a +complete man, with all his faculties matured by equable and harmonious +growth. + +Very different were the conditions of life in the Homeric age. Then +the wealthy man's house was a little world in itself, capable of +supplying all the simple wants of its inhabitants. The women spun wool +and flax, the produce of the estate, and wove them into cloth and +linen, to be dyed and wrought into garments by the same skilful hands. +On the sunny slopes of the hills within sight of the doors the grapes +were ripening against the happy time of vintage, when merry troops of +children would bring them home with dance and song to be trodden in +the winepress. Nearer at hand was the well-kept orchard, bowing under +its burden of apples, pears, and figs; and groves of grey olive-trees +promised abundance of oil. In the valleys waved rich harvests of wheat +and barley, which were reaped, threshed, ground, and made into bread, +by the master's thralls. Herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep and goats, +roved on the broad upland pastures, and in the forest multitudes of +swine were fattening on the beech-mast and acorns. + +And the owner of all these blessings was no luxurious drone, living in +idleness on the labour of other men's hands. He was, in the fullest +sense of the word, the father of his household. His was the vigilant +eye which watched and directed every member in the little army of +workers, and his the generous hand which dealt out bountiful reward +for faithful service. If need were he could take his share in the +hardest field labour, and plough a straight furrow, or mow a heavy +crop of grass from dawn till sunset without breaking his fast. Nothing +was too great or too little to engage his attention, as the necessity +arose. He was a warrior, whose single prowess might go far in deciding +the issue of a hard-fought battle--an orator, discoursing with weighty +eloquence on grave questions of state--a judge, whose decisions helped +to build up the as yet unwritten code of law. Descending from these +high altitudes, he could take up his bow and spear, and go forth to +hunt the boar and the stag, or wield the woodman's axe, or the +carpenter's saw and chisel. He could kill, dress, and serve his own +dinner; and when the strenuous day was over, he could tune the harp, +discourse sweet music, and sing of the deeds of heroes and gods. + +Such was the versatility, and such the many-sided energy, of the Greek +as he appears in the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. And as these two poems +contain the elements of all subsequent thought and progress in the +Greek nation, so in the typical character of Odysseus are concentrated +all the qualities which distinguish the individual Greek--his +insatiable curiosity, which left no field of thought unexplored--his +spirit of daring enterprise, which carried the banner of civilisation +to the borders of India and the Straits of Gibraltar--and his subtlety +and craft, which in a later age made him a byword to the grave +moralists of Rome. + +In the _Iliad_ Odysseus is constantly exhibited as a contrast to the +youthful Achilles. Wherever prudence, experience, and policy, are +required, Odysseus comes to the front. In Achilles, with his furious +passions and ill-regulated impulses, there is always something of the +barbarian; while Odysseus in all his actions obeys the voice of +reason. It will readily be seen that such a character, essentially +intellectual, always moving within due measure, never breaking out +into eccentricity or excess, would appeal less to the popular +imagination than the fiery nature of Pelides, "strenuous, passionate, +implacable, and fierce." And on this ground we may partly explain the +unamiable light in which Odysseus appears in later Greek literature. +Already in Pindar we find him singled out for disapproval. In +Sophocles he has sunk still lower; and in Euripides his degradation is +completed. + +VI + +Space does not allow us to give a detailed criticism of the _Odyssey_ +as a poem, and determine its relation to the _Iliad_. We must content +ourselves with quoting the words of the most eloquent of ancient +critics, which sum up the subject with admirable brevity and insight: +"Homer in his _Odyssey_ may be compared to the setting sun: he is +still as great as ever, but he has lost his fervent heat. The strain +is now pitched in a lower key than in the 'Tale of Troy divine': we +begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or +sinks, that continuous current of moving incidents, those rapid +transitions, that force of eloquence, that opulence of imagery which +is ever true to nature. Like the sea when it retires upon itself and +leaves its shores waste and bare, henceforth the tide of sublimity +begins to ebb, and draws us away into the dim region of myth and +legend."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Longinus: "On the Sublime." Translated by H.L. Havell, +B.A. p. 20. Macmillan & Co.] + + + + +STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY + + + + +Telemachus, Penelope, and the Suitors + + +I + +In a high, level spot, commanding a view of the sea, stands the house +of Odysseus, the mightiest prince in Ithaca. It is a spacious +building, two storeys high, constructed entirely of wood, and +surrounded on all sides by a strong wooden fence. Within the +enclosure, and in front of the house, is a wide courtyard, containing +the stables, and other offices of the household. + +A proud maiden was Penelope, when Odysseus wedded her in her youthful +bloom, and made her the mistress of his fair dwelling and his rich +domain. One happy year they lived together, and a son was born to +them, whom they named Telemachus. Then war arose between Greece and +Asia, and Odysseus was summoned to join the train of chieftains who +followed Agamemnon to win back Helen, his brother's wife. Ten years +the war lasted; then Troy was taken, and those who had survived the +struggle returned to their homes. Among these was Odysseus, who set +sail with joyful heart, hoping, before many days were passed, to take +up anew the thread of domestic happiness which had been so rudely +broken. But since that hour he has vanished from sight, and for ten +long years from the fall of Troy the house has been mourning its +absent lord. + +During the last three years a new trouble has been present, to fill +the cup of Penelope's sorrow to the brim. A host of suitors, drawn +from the most powerful families in Ithaca and the neighbouring +islands, have beset the house of Odysseus, desiring to wed his wife +and possess her wealth. All her friends urge her to make choice of a +husband from that clamorous band; for no one now believes that there +is any hope left of Odysseus' return. Only Penelope still clings to +the belief that he is yet living, and will one day come home. So for +three years she has put them off by a cunning trick. She began to +weave a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, promising that, as soon +as the garment was finished, she would wed one of the suitors. Then +all day long she wove that choice web; and every night she undid the +work of the day, unravelling the threads which she had woven. So for +three years she beguiled the suitors, but at last she was betrayed by +her handmaids, and the fraud was discovered. The princes upbraided her +loudly for her deceit, and became more importunate than ever. The +substance of Odysseus was wasting away; for day after day the wooers +came thronging to the house, a hundred strong, and feasted at the +expense of its absent master, and drank up his wine. + +No hope seems left to the heartbroken, faithful wife. Even her son has +grown impatient at the waste of his goods, and urges her to make the +hard choice, and the hateful hour is at hand which will part her for +ever from the scene of her brief wedded joy. + +[Illustration: Penelope] + +II + +It was the hour of noon, and the sun was beating hot on the rocky +hills of Ithaca, when a solitary wayfarer was seen approaching the +outer gateway which led into the courtyard of Odysseus' house. He was +a man of middle age, dressed like a chieftain, and carrying a long +spear in his hand. Passing through the covered gateway he halted +abruptly, and gazed in astonishment at the strange sight which met his +eyes. All was noise and bustle in the courtyard, where a busy troop of +servants were preparing the materials for a great feast. Some were +carrying smoking joints of roast meat, others were filling huge bowls +with wine and water, and others were washing the tables and setting +them out to dry. In the portico before the house sat a great company +of young nobles, comely of aspect, and daintily attired, taking their +ease on couches of raw ox-hide, and playing at draughts to while away +the time until the banquet should be ready. Loud was their talk, and +boisterous their laughter, as of men who have no respect for +themselves or for others. "Surely this was the house of Odysseus," +murmured the stranger to himself, "but now it seems like a den of +thieves. But who is that tall and goodly lad, who sits apart, with +gloomy brow, and seems ill-pleased with the doings of that riotous +crew? Surely I should know that face, the very face of my old friend +as I knew him long years ago." + +As he spoke, the youth who had attracted his notice glanced in his +direction, and seeing a stranger standing unheeded at the entrance, he +rose from his seat and came with hasty step and heightened colour +towards him. "Forgive me, friend," he said, with hand outstretched in +welcome, "that I marked thee not before. My thoughts were far away. +But come into the house, and sit down to meat, and when thou hast +eaten we will inquire the reason of thy coming." + +So saying, and taking the stranger's spear, he led him into the great +hall of the house, and sat down with him in a corner, remote from the +noise of the revel. And a handmaid bare water in a golden ewer, and +poured it over their hands into a basin of silver; and when they had +washed, a table was set before them, heaped with delicate fare. Then +host and guest took their meal together, and comforted their hearts +with wine. + +Before they had finished, the whole company came trooping in from the +courtyard, and filled the room with uproar, calling aloud for food and +drink. Not a chair was left empty, and the servants hurried to and +fro, supplying the wants of these unwelcome visitors. Vast quantities +of flesh were consumed, and many a stout jar of wine was drained to +the dregs, to supply the wants of that greedy multitude. + +When at last their hunger was appeased, and every goblet stood empty, +Phemius, the minstrel, stood up in their midst, and after striking a +few chords on his harp, began to sing a famous lay. Then the youth who +had been entertaining the stranger drew closer his chair, and thus +addressed him, speaking low in his ear: "Thou seest what fair company +we keep, how wanton they are, and how gay. Yet there was once a man +who would have driven them, like beaten hounds, from this hall, even +he whose substance they are devouring. But his bones lie whitening at +the bottom of the sea, and we who are left must tamely suffer this +wrong. But now thou hast eaten, and I may question thee without +reproach. Say, therefore, who art thou, and where is thy home? Comest +thou for the first time to Ithaca, or art thou an old friend of this +house, bound to us by ties of ancient hospitality?" + +"My name is Mentes," answered the stranger, "and I am a prince of the +Taphians, a bold race of sailors. I am a friend of this house, well +known to its master, Odysseus, and his father, Laertes. Be of good +cheer, for he whom thou mournest is not dead, nor shall his coming be +much longer delayed. But tell me now of a truth, art not thou the son +of that man? I knew him well, and thou hast the very face and eyes of +Odysseus." + +"My mother calls me his son," replied the youth, who was indeed +Telemachus himself, "and I am bound to believe her. Would that it were +otherwise! I have little cause to bless my birth." + +"Yet shalt thou surely be blest," said Mentes; "thou art not unmarked +of the eye of Heaven. But answer me once more, what means this lawless +riot in the house? And what cause has brought all these men hither?" + +"This also thou shalt know," replied Telemachus. "These are the +princes who have come to woo my mother; and while she keeps them +waiting for her answer they eat up my father's goods. Ere long, +methinks, they will make an end of me also." + +"Fit wooers indeed for the wife of such a man!" said Mentes with a +bitter smile. "Would that he were standing among them now as I saw him +once in my father's house, armed with helmet and shield and spear! He +would soon wed them to another bride. But whether it be God's will +that he return or not, 'tis for thee to devise means to drive these +men from thy house. Take heed, therefore, to my words, and do as I bid +thee. To-morrow thou shalt summon the suitors to the place of +assembly, and charge them that they depart to their homes. And do thou +thyself fit out a ship, with twenty rowers, and get thee to Pylos, +where the aged Nestor dwells, and inquire of him concerning thy +father. From Pylos proceed to Sparta, the kingdom of Menelaus; he was +the last of the Greeks to reach home, after the fall of Troy; and +perchance thou mayest learn something from him. And if thou hearest +sure tidings of thy father's death, then get thee home, and raise a +tomb to his memory, and keep his funeral feast. Then let thy mother +wed whom she will; and if these men still beset thee, thou must devise +means to slay them, either by guile or openly. Thou art now a man, and +must play a man's part. Hast thou not heard of the fame which Orestes +won, when he slew the murderer of his sire? Be thou valiant, even as +he; tall thou art, and fair, and shouldst be a stout man of thy hands. +But 'tis time for me to be going; my ship awaits me in the harbour, +and my comrades will be tired of waiting for me." + +"Stay yet awhile," answered Telemachus, "until thou hast refreshed +thyself with the bath; and I will give thee a costly gift to bear with +thee as a memorial of thy visit." But even as he spoke Mentes rose +from his seat and, gliding like a shadow through the sunlit doorway, +disappeared. Telemachus followed, in wonder and displeasure; but no +trace of the strange visitor was to be seen. Looking upward he saw a +great sea-eagle winging his way towards the shore; and a voice seemed +to whisper in his ear: "No mortal was thy guest, but the great goddess +Athene, daughter of Zeus, and ever thy father's true comrade and +faithful ally." + +III + +With a strange elation of spirits Telemachus returned to the hall, and +sat down among the suitors. Hitherto he had shown a certain weakness +and indecision of character, natural in a young lad, who had grown up +without the strong guiding hand of a father, and who, since the first +dawn of his manhood, had been surrounded by a host of subtle foes. But +the words of Athene have gone home, and he resolves that from this +hour he will take his proper place in the house as his mother's +guardian and the heir of a great prince. + +There was an unwonted stillness among that lawless troop, and they sat +silent and attentive in the great, dimly lighted chamber. For the +minstrel was singing a sweet and solemn strain, which told of the +home-coming of the Greeks from Troy, and of all the disasters which +befell them on the way. Suddenly the singer paused in the midst of his +lay, for his fine ear had caught the sound of a sobbing sigh. Looking +round, he saw a tall and stately lady standing in the doorway which +led to the women's apartments at the back of the house. She was +closely veiled, but he instantly recognised the form of Penelope, his +beloved mistress. + +"Phemius," said Penelope, in a tone of gentle reproach, "hast thou no +other lay to sing, but must needs recite this tale of woe, which fills +my soul with tears, by calling up the image of him for whom I sorrow +night and day?" + +Phemius stood abashed, and ventured no reply; but Telemachus answered +for him. "Mother," he said, "blame not the sweet minstrel for his +song. The bard is not the author of the woes of which he sings, but +Zeus assigns to each his portion of good and ill; and thou must submit +to his ordinance, like many another lady who has lost her lord. Thou +hast thy province in the house, and I mine; thine is to govern thy +handmaids, and mine to take the lead where the men are gathered +together. And I say that the minstrel has chosen well." + +There was a new note of command in the voice of Telemachus as he +uttered these words. Penelope heard it, and wondered what change had +come over her son; but a hundred bold eyes were gazing insolently at +her, and without another word she turned away, and ascended the steep +stairs which led to her bower. There she reclined on a couch, and her +tears flowed freely; for the song of Phemius had reopened the fountain +of her grief. Presently the sound of sobbing died away, and she drew +her breath gently in a sweet and placid sleep. + +The sudden appearance of Penelope had excited the suitors, and they +began to brawl noisily among themselves. Presently Telemachus raised +his voice, commanding silence for the minstrel. "And I have something +else to say unto you," he added. "To-morrow at dawn I bid you come to +the place of assembly, that we may make an end of these wild doings in +my house. I will bear it no longer, but will publish your evil deeds +to the ears of gods and men." + +Among the suitors there was a certain Antinous, a tall and stout +fellow, of commanding presence, who was looked up to by the others as +a sort of leader, being the boldest and most brutal in the band. And +now he answered for the rest "Heaven speed thy boasting, young +braggart!" he cried in rude and jeering tones. "It will be a happy day +for the men of Ithaca when they have thee for their king." + +"I claim not the kingdom," answered Telemachus firmly, "but I am +resolved to be master in my own house." + +By the side of Antinous sat Eurymachus, who was next to him in power +and rank. This was a smooth and subtle villain, not less dangerous +than Antinous, but glib and plausible of speech. And he too made +answer after his kind: "Telemachus, thou sayest well, and none can +dispute thy right. But with thy good leave I would ask thee concerning +the stranger. He seemed a goodly man; but why did he start up and +leave us so suddenly? Did he bring any tidings of thy father?" + +"There can be no tidings of him," answered Telemachus sadly, "except +that we shall never see him again. And as to this stranger, it was +Mentes, a friend of my father's, and prince of the Taphians." + +Night was now coming on, the suitors departed to their homes, and +Telemachus, who meditated an early start next day, retired early to +his chamber. The room where he slept stood in the courtyard, apart +from the house, and was reached by a stairway. He was attended by an +aged dame, Eurycleia, who had nursed him in his infancy. And all night +long he lay sleepless, pondering on the perils and the adventures +which awaited him. + + + + +The Assembly; The Voyage of Telemachus + + +I + +At the first peep of dawn Telemachus was afoot, and summoning the +heralds he ordered them to make proclamation of an assembly to be held +in a public place in the town of Ithaca. Then he went down to the +place of assembly, with two favourite hounds following close at his +heels; and when he arrived he found the princes and elders of the +people already gathered together. All eyes were turned to the gallant +lad, as he sat down on his father's seat among the noblest of the sons +of Ithaca. Never had he worn so princely an air, or seemed so worthy +of his mighty sire. + +Then the old chieftain AEgyptus began the debate; he was bent double +with age, and one of his sons, Antiphus, had followed Odysseus to +Troy, while another, Eurynomus, was among the suitors of Penelope. It +was of Antiphus that he thought, as he stood up and made harangue +among the elders: + +"Who has summoned us hither, and what is his need? Never have we met +together in council since the day when Odysseus set sail from Ithaca. +Hath any tidings come of the return of those who followed him to Troy, +or is it some other business of public moment which has called us +hither? But whoever sent out this summons, I doubt not he is a worthy +man, and may Zeus accomplish his purpose, whatever it be." + +Such chance sayings were regarded as a sign of Heaven's will, and +Telemachus rejoiced in spirit at the old man's blessing. And forthwith +he stood up in the midst, and, taking the sceptre from the herald's +hand, rushed at once into the subject of which his mind was full. + +"Behold me here, old man," he said, addressing AEgyptus. "It is I who +have called you together, and surely not without a cause. Is it not +enough that I have lost my brave father, whose gentleness and +loving-kindness ye all knew, when he was your king? But must I sit +still, day after day, and see the fattest of my flocks and herds +slaughtered, and the red wine poured out wastefully, by these men who +have come to woo my mother? Take shame to yourselves, and restrain +them; fear the reproach of men, and the wrath of Heaven, and suffer me +not thus to be evilly entreated, unless ye harbour revengeful thoughts +against my father, for some wrong which he has done you." + +He had spoken thus far, when tears choked his voice, and flinging the +sceptre on the ground he returned to his seat. There was a general +feeling of compassion among his hearers, and not one of the suitors +ventured to answer him, save only Antinous, who began in his wonted +style of brutal insolence, upbraiding Telemachus in violent terms, and +throwing all the blame on Penelope, who, he said, had beguiled them +for three years by holding out promises which she never meant to +fulfil. Then he told the story of Penelope's web, and concluded his +speech with these words: + +"As long as thy mother continues in this mind, so long will we stay +here and consume thy living. If thou wouldst be quit of us, send her +to her father's house and bid her marry the man of her choice." + +Telemachus replied: "How can I drive away the mother who bare me and +nourished me? And where shall I find means to pay back her dower? But +most of all I dread my mother's curse. No, never shall that word be +spoken by me. Therefore, if ye know aught of fair and honest dealing, +depart from my house, and live on your own goods; but if it seems good +to you to eat up another man's living, then will I appeal to the +justice of heaven, and pray for vengeance on your heads." + +"Behold, his prayer is answered," cried Halitherses, a venerable +elder, with snow-white beard, who was skilled in augury; and looking +up they saw two eagles winging their way at full speed towards the +place of assembly. Now the two great birds hovered over the meeting; +and just at this moment they wheeled round and attacked each other +fiercely with beak and claw. After fighting for some time they shot +away to the right and were soon lost to view. Then Halitherses spake +again, interpreting the omen: "Hearken, men of Ithaca, to my words, +and to you, the suitors of Penelope, especially do I speak. Woe is +coming upon you; I see it rising and swelling as a wave. Not long +shall Odysseus be absent, but even now he is near at hand hatching +mischief for those who sit here. And many another shall suffer, +besides these who have done the wrong. Therefore, I say, let us stop +their evil deeds, or let them cease themselves. The hour is near at +hand which I foretold, when Odysseus embarked for Troy: I said that +after many sufferings, having lost all his comrades, unknown to all in +the twentieth year he should come home. And now all these things are +coming to pass." + +Then up rose Eurymachus, in an angry and scornful mood. "Old man," +said he, "go home and prophesy to thine own children, lest some harm +befall thee here. Thinkest thou that every fowl of the air is a +messenger from heaven? Odysseus has perished, and would that thou +hadst perished with him! Art thou not ashamed to take sides with this +malapert boy, feeding his passion and folly with thy crazy prophecies? +Doubtless thou lookest to him for favour and reward, but thou wilt +find that his friendship will cost thee dear. Telemachus has heard our +answer to his complaint; let him keep his eloquence for his froward +mother, and bring her to a better mind, for neither his speeches nor +thy prophecies will turn us from our purpose." + +The principal object of the meeting was now attained: the villainy of +the suitors had been publicly exposed, and they were left without +excuse or hope of mercy when the day of reckoning should arrive. +Accordingly Telemachus, dismissing the subject of his wrongs, now +spoke of his intended voyage to Pylos and Sparta, and begged for the +loan of a ship to carry him and his comrades to the mainland. + +No response was made to his request; but one man still attempted to +rouse public opinion against the suitors. This was Mentor, an old +friend of Odysseus, who had been left in charge of his household on +his departure from Ithaca. "Is there not one among you," he cried +indignantly, "who will speak a word for Telemachus, or testify against +the wickedness of these men? No more let kings be gentle and merciful +towards their people, as was Odysseus when he ruled over you, loving +and tender-hearted as a father. Let righteousness give place to +oppression, if these are its rewards. There you sit, like cowed and +beaten men, and suffer a handful of worthless men to lord it over you +all." + +After this last appeal, which was as fruitless as the others, the +meeting broke up, and the suitors returned to their revels in the +house of Odysseus. + +II + +Full of anxious thought, Telemachus went down to the shore, wondering +how he should find means to accomplish his voyage. Stooping down, he +bathed his hands in the sea, and after this act of purification he +lifted up his hands and prayed to Athene: "O thou who camest yesterday +to our house, and badest me go on this quest, give ear and help me in +this strait." + +He had hardly finished his prayer when he heard a footstep, and +looking round saw Mentor, who had come to his aid at the meeting, +approaching from the town. "Be not cast down," said Mentor, "remember +whose son thou art, and all shall be well with thee. As to this +voyage, that shall be my care. I will find thee a ship, and will go +with thee to Pylos. Meanwhile go thou home and make ready all things +for victualling the ship, corn and wine and barley-meal, and bestow +them heedfully in vessels and in bags of leather. Ships there are in +plenty, new and old, in seagirt Ithaca; I will choose the best of them +all, and man her with a crew who will serve thee freely and with all +goodwill." + +Away went Telemachus, much comforted in spirit, though his heart +fluttered when he thought of the great adventure which lay before him. +When he entered the courtyard of his house he found the suitors +flaying goats and singeing swine for the midday feast. Antinous hailed +his coming with a rude laugh, and running up to him seized his hand +and said mockingly: "Well met, Sir Eloquence! Thy face, I see, is full +of care, as of one who is bent on high designs. But lay thy graver +burdens aside for awhile, and eat and drink with us. Thou shalt want +neither ship nor men to carry thee to holy Pylos." + +Telemachus snatched his hand away, and answered sternly: "My thoughts +are not of feasting and merry-making, nor would I eat and drink with +you if they were. I am no longer a child, to be flouted and robbed +without a word. I tell you I shall find it in my heart to do you a +mischief, before many days are passed. But now I am going, as I said, +on this journey. I must go as a passenger, since ye will not lend me a +ship." + +Many a scornful face was turned upon him, and many a taunt aimed at +him, as he uttered these bold words. "We are all undone!" cried one in +pretended alarm, "Telemachus is gone to gather an army in Pylos or in +Sparta, and he will come back with his mighty men and take all our +lives." "Or perhaps he is going to bring poison from Ephyra," said +another, "and he will cast it in the bowl, and we shall be all dead +corpses.[1]" And a third cried: "Take care of thyself, Telemachus, or +we shall have double labour because of thee, in dividing thy goods +among us." + +[Footnote 1: 2 Kings xix. 35.] + +But the taunts of fools and knaves have no sting for honest ears. +Without another word Telemachus left that gibing mob, and went +straight to the strong-room where his father's treasure was stored. +There lay heaps of gold and silver, and chests full of fine raiment, +and great jars of fragrant olive-oil. Along the wall was a long row of +portly casks, filled with the choicest wine; there they had stood +untouched for twenty years, awaiting the master's return. All this +wealth was given in charge to Eurycleia, the nurse of Telemachus, a +wise and careful dame, who watched the chamber day and night. Her +Telemachus now summoned, and said: "Fill me twelve jars of wine--not +the best, which thou art keeping for my father, but the next best to +that. And take twenty measures of barley-meal, and store it in sacks +of leather, and keep all these things together till I send for them. +Keep close counsel, and above all let not my mother know. I am going +to Sparta and to sandy Pylos to inquire of my father's return; and I +shall start in the evening when my mother is gone to rest." + +"Who put such a thought into thy heart?" cried Eurycleia in wailing +tones. "Why wilt thou take this dreadful journey, thou, an only child, +so loved, and so dear? Odysseus is lost for ever, and if thou go we +shall lose thee too, for the suitors will plot thy ruin while thou art +far away." + +"Fear nothing for me," answered Telemachus, "Heaven's eye is upon me, +and the hand of Zeus is spread over me. Swear to me now that thou wilt +not tell my mother until twelve days have past." Eurycleia swore as he +bade her, and at once set about making the preparations for his +journey. + +The suitors were in high spirits at the result of the meeting, and +they ate heavily and drank deeply to celebrate their triumph. Hence it +happened that they retired to rest earlier than usual, being drowsy +from their intemperate revel; and when Telemachus returned to the +banquet-hall he found all the guests departed, and the servants +removing the remains of the feast. Soon afterwards Mentor appeared, +and announced that the ship lay ready at her moorings outside the +harbour. The stores were carried down to the sea, and stowed under the +rowers' benches. "All hands on board!" cried Mentor, and took his +place in the stern, Telemachus sitting by his side. The crew sat ready +at their oars, the ship was cast loose from the moorings, and a few +vigorous strokes impelled her into deep water. Then a strong breeze +sprang up from the west, the big sail was set, and the good ship +bounded joyfully over the waves, with the white wake roaring behind. +The oars were shipped, the sheets made fast, and all the company +pledged each other in brimming cups, drinking to their prosperous +voyage. + + + + +The Visit to Nestor at Pylos + + +I + +So all night long the ship clave her way; and at sunrise they reached +the flat, sandy coast of Pylos. There they found a great multitude +assembled, keeping the feast of Poseidon with sacrifices of oxen. The +solemn rite was nearly ended when they brought their vessel to land. + +"Courage, now," said Mentor to Telemachus, seeing the young lad +somewhat abashed by the presence of so large a company. "Remember whom +thou seekest, and lay thy modest scruples aside. Thou seest that +venerable man, still tall and erect, though he numbers more than a +hundred years. That is Nestor, son of Neleus, wisest of the Greeks, a +king and the friend and counsellor of kings. Go straight to him, and +tell him thy errand." + +Seeing Telemachus, who was a homebred youth, still hanging back, in +dread of that august presence, Mentor renewed his friendly +remonstrances, "What, still tongue-tied?" he said, taking him by the +arm, and leading him forward. "Heaven mend thy wits, poor lad! Knowest +thou not that thou art a child of great hopes, and a favourite of +heaven?" + +When they came to the place where Nestor was seated with his sons, +they found them busy preparing the feast which followed the sacrifice. +As soon as those of Nestor's company saw the strangers they came +forward in a body to greet them, and made them sit down in places of +honour, where soft fleeces were heaped up on the level sand. A youth, +about the same age as Telemachus, placed a goblet of gold in Mentor's +hand, and gave him that portion of the flesh which was set apart as an +offering to the gods. "Welcome, friend," he said, after pledging him +from the cup. "Put up thy prayer with us to the lord Poseidon, for it +is to his feast that ye have come. And when thou hast prayed, give the +cup to thy young companion, who has been bred, methinks, as I have, to +deeds of piety." + +Mentor first asked a blessing on their hosts, and then prayed for a +prosperous issue to their own adventure. After him Telemachus uttered +his prayer in similar words, and then they all sat down to meat. When +they had finished, Nestor looked earnestly at them, and asked them who +they were, and what was the purpose of their journey. "Are ye +merchants," he said, "or bold buccaneers, who roam the seas, a peril +to others, and ever in peril themselves?" + +Telemachus, cheered by good fare, and encouraged by the kind manner of +Nestor, answered confidently, and explained the nature of his errand. +"Concerning all the other Greeks," he added, "we know at least the +manner of their death; but even this poor comfort is denied to the +wife and son of Odysseus. Therefore, if thou hast aught to tell, I +beseech thee by thy friendship with my father, let me know all, and +soften not the tale, out of kindness or pity to me." + +"Ah! my friend," answered Nestor. "What woeful memories thou hast +awakened by thy words!--perils by land and perils by water, long years +of siege and battle, sleepless nights and toilsome days. Ill-fated +land of Troy! the grave of Grecian chivalry! There lies heroic Ajax, +there lies Achilles, and Patroclus, sage in counsel, and there lies +Antilochus, my own dear son, fleet of foot and strong of hand. And art +thou indeed the son of Odysseus, whom none could match in craft and +strategy? But why do I ask? When thou speakest, I seem to hear the +very tones of his voice. He was my friend, one with me in mind and +heart, and during all the time of the siege we took counsel together +for the weal of Greece. But when the war was over disasters came thick +and fast upon the host. And first, division arose between the two sons +of Atreus; Agamemnon wished to abide in Troy until sacrifice had been +offered to appease the anger of Athene, but Menelaus advised immediate +departure. The party of Menelaus, of whom I was one, launched their +ships and sailed to Tenedos; there Odysseus, who had set sail with us, +put back to the mainland of Asia, wishing to do a favour to Agamemnon. +But I, and Diomede with me, set forth at once, and, crossing the sea +from Lesbos, came to Euboea; thence, after sacrifice to Poseidon, I +steered due south, and parting from Diomede at Argos continued my +voyage, and landed safe in Pylos. Thus it happened that I was not +witness of the good or evil fortunes of the other Greeks on their +voyage home, and know only by rumour how they fared. Of Agamemnon's +fate thou hast surely heard thyself, how he was murdered on his own +hearth by the treachery of AEgisthus, and how the murder was avenged by +Orestes. Happy the father who has such a son! And such, methinks, art +thou." + +"Ay," answered Telemachus, when Nestor had finished his long story, "I +have heard of that glorious deed; and would to heaven that by the +might of my hands I might so take vengeance on the evil men who have +come to woo my mother, and who fill my house with injury and outrage." + +"Ah! thou hast reminded me," said Nestor. "I heard of the shameful +wrong which thou hast suffered. But do not despair! Who knows but that +Odysseus will yet return, and make them drink the cup which they have +filled? It may well come to pass, if Athene continues to thy house the +favour which she showed thy father, plain for all eyes to see, in the +land of Troy." + +"Nay, 'tis too much to hope," answered Telemachus with a sigh, "the +thing is too hard--even a god could hardly bring it to pass." + +"Now out on thy faint heart!" cried Mentor, who hitherto had sat +silent. "Better for him that his homecoming should be long delayed +than that he should have died, like Agamemnon, fresh from his victory. +Heaven will guide him yet to his own door, though now he be at the +uttermost parts of the earth." + +Telemachus shook his head as he answered: "No more of that, I pray +thee; it can never be." Then, addressing Nestor, he said: "I would +fain ask thee more concerning the manner of Agamemnon's death. Where +was Menelaus when that foul deed was done? And how did AEgisthus +contrive to slay a man mightier far than himself?" + +"Thou askest well," replied Nestor. "Menelaus was far away, or we +should have another tale to tell. And had the return of Menelaus not +been delayed, vengeance would have been forestalled by many years. +Yea, the dogs would have eaten the flesh of that vile churl, and not a +tear would have been shed for him. But this is how it fell out: while +we were toiling and warring at Troy, AEgisthus sat close to the ear of +Clytaemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and poured sweet poison into her mind. +For a long while she refused to hearken to his base proposals, for she +was of a good understanding, and moreover there was ever at her side a +minstrel, into whose care Agamemnon had given her when he went to +Troy. But AEgisthus seized upon the minstrel, and left him on a desert +island to be devoured by carrion birds. Then Clytaemnestra yielded to +his suit, and he brought her to his own house. + +"But as to thy question concerning Menelaus, he left Troy in my +company, as I told thee, and we sailed together as far as Sunium. +There Menelaus lost his steersman, who was visited by Apollo with +sudden death, as he sat by the helm; so he remained there to bury his +comrade. But his misfortunes were not yet over; for when he reached +the steep headland at Malea a violent storm arose, and parted his +fleet. Some of his ships ran into Crete for shelter, while he himself +was carried away to Egypt, where he remained many days, and gathered +store of wealth. + +"Now thou understandest why AEgisthus was able to work his will on +Agamemnon, and why he escaped vengeance so long. For seven years he +sat on the throne of golden Mycenae, and grievously oppressed the +people. But in the eighth year came Orestes, and cut him off in the +fulness of his sin; and on that very day Menelaus came to him, loaded +with the treasures of Egypt. + +"Far and long had he wandered; but so do not thou, my child. Leave not +thy house unguarded, while so many foes are gathered against thee, +lest when thou return thou find thyself stripped of all. But to +Menelaus I would have thee go; him thou must by all means consult; for +who knows what he may have learnt on that wondrous voyage? Vast is the +space of water over which he has travelled, not to be measured in one +year by a bird in her speediest flight. If thou wilt, thou canst go to +Sparta in thy ship, or if thou choose to go by land, my chariots and +my horses are thine for this service, and my sons shall guide you on +the way." + +II + +Amid such talk as this, with many a brave story "of moving accidents +by flood and field," and many a pithy saw from the white-haired +Nestor, who had lived so long and seen so much, the hours glided +swiftly by, and the red sun was stooping to the horizon when Mentor +rose from his seat and said: "We must be going; the hour of rest is at +hand, and to-morrow we have far to go." + +"Tarry yet a little," said Nestor, "and eat a morsel and drink a cup +with us. And after that, if ye are fain to sleep, ye shall have fit +lodging in my house. Heaven forbid that I should suffer such guests as +you to sleep on the cold deck, covered with dew, as if I were some +needy wretch, with never a blanket to spare for a friend. May the gods +preserve me from such a reproach!" + +"Thou sayest well," answered Mentor, "and Telemachus shall be thy +guest to-night. But for me, I pray thee have me excused. My place is +on the ship, that I may give an eye to the crew, for I am the only man +of experience among them. And to-morrow I must go to Elis, to recover +a debt of long standing due to me there. I leave Telemachus to thy +care, that thou mayest cherish him and speed him on his way." + +As he said these words, while all eyes were fixed upon him, the +speaker vanished from sight, and in his stead a great sea-eagle rose +into the air, and sped westwards towards the setting sun. Long they +sat speechless and amazed, and Nestor was the first to break the +silence. "Great things are in store for thee, my son," said he to +Telemachus, "since thou keepest such company thus early in life. This +was none other than Jove's mighty daughter, Athene, who honoured thy +father so highly among the Greeks. Be gracious to us, our queen, and +let thy blessing rest on me and on my house! and I will offer to thee +a yearling heifer, that hath never felt the yoke. To thee will I +sacrifice her, when I have made gilt her horns with gold." + +Then Nestor led the way to his house, and Telemachus sat down with him +and his sons in the hall. And they filled a bowl with wine eleven +years old, exceeding choice, which was reserved for honoured guests. +And after they had finished the bowl, and offered prayer to Athene, +they parted for the night. For Telemachus a bed was prepared in the +portico, and close by him slept Pisistratus, the youngest of Nestor's +sons. + +When Telemachus rose next morning he found his host already afoot, +giving orders to his sons to prepare the sacrifice to Athene. One was +sent to fetch the heifer, another to summon the goldsmith, and a third +to bring up the crew of Telemachus' ship, while the rest busied +themselves in raising the altar and making all ready for the +sacrifice. + +Presently the heifer was driven lowing into the courtyard, and the +goldsmith followed with the instruments of his art. Nestor gave him +gold, and the smith beat it into thin leaf with his hammer, and laid +it skilfully over the horns of the heifer. A handmaid brought pure +water, and barley-meal in a basket, while one of Nestor's sons stood +ready with an axe, and another held a bowl to catch the blood. Then +Nestor dipped his hands in the water, took barley-meal from the basket +and sprinkled it on the head of the beast, and cutting a tuft of hair +from the forehead cast it into the fire. The prayer was spoken, and +all due rites being ended he who held the axe smote the heifer on the +head, just behind the horns. The women raised the sacrificial cry as +the heifer dropped to the ground; and next they whose office it was +lifted up the victim's head, and Pisistratus cut the throat. When the +last quiver of life was over they flayed the carcass, cut strips of +flesh from the thighs, and enveloping them in fat, burnt them on the +altar. The gods had now their share of the feast; the rest was cut +into slices, and broiled over the live embers. + +While the meal was preparing, Telemachus enjoyed the refreshment of a +bath; and Polycaste, the youngest of Nestor's daughters, waited on +him; for such was the patriarchal simplicity of those days. When he +had bathed, and finished his morning meal, the chariot was brought +out, and a strong pair of horses led under the yoke. And the +house-dame came with a basket, loaded with wine and delicate viands, +and placed it behind the seat. Telemachus took his place by the side +of Pisistratus, who was to drive the horses; the last farewells were +spoken, Pisistratus cracked his whip, and away they went under the +echoing gateway, and on through the streets of Pylos. + +[Illustration: Telemachus departing from Nestor] + +That night they slept at the house of a friend, and early next day +they continued their journey. The way grew steep and difficult, great +masses of mountains rose near at hand, and at length they entered a +wide valley, covered with waving fields of corn. By sunset they +reached the end of their journey, and drew up before the stately +portals of King Menelaus. + + + + +Telemachus at Sparta + + +I + +Menelaus was keeping the double marriage feast of his son and +daughter, and his house was thronged with wedding guests. All sat +silent and attentive, listening to the strains of a harper, and +watching the gambols of a pair of tumblers, who were whirling in giddy +reels round the hall. Presently voices were heard at the entrance, and +one of the squires of Menelaus came and informed his master that two +strangers of noble mien were standing without, craving hospitality. +"Shall I bring them in," asked the squire, "or send them on to another +house?" + +"Hast thou lost thy wits?" answered Menelaus in some heat, being +touched in his most sensitive point. "Shall we, who owe so much to the +kindness of strangers, in the long years of our wanderings, send any +man from our doors? Unyoke the horses, and bid our new guests enter." + +Four or five servants hastened to do his bidding. The horses, covered +with sweat from their hard journey, were unyoked and led into the +stable, and Telemachus, with his companion, was ushered with all +courtesy into the great hall of Menelaus. The palace was one of the +wealthiest and most splendid in Greece; and Telemachus, accustomed to +a much humbler style of dwelling, stood amazed at the glories which +met his eyes. After bathing and changing their raiment they returned +to the hall, and were assigned places close to the chair of Menelaus. + +The prince greeted them kindly, and said: "Welcome to our halls, young +sirs. Ye are, as I see, of no mean descent, for Zeus has set his stamp +on your faces,[1] and none can mistake the signs of kingly birth. When +ye have eaten, we will inquire of you further." + +[Footnote 1: In Homer, all kings and their families are supposed to be +descended from Zeus.] + +A plentiful and delicate meal was promptly set before the young +travellers, and they ate and drank with keen appetite. When they had +finished, Telemachus said to Pisistratus, speaking low, that he might +not be overheard: "Dear son of Nestor, is not this a brave place! Hast +thou ever seen such lavish ornament of silver, and gold, and ivory? +Surely such is the dwelling of Olympian Zeus; more magnificent it can +hardly be." + +The quick ear of Menelaus caught his last words, and he answered, +smiling: "Nay, my friend, no mortal may vie with the everlasting +glories of Zeus. But whether any man can equal me in riches, I know +not. For indeed I wandered far and long to gather all this treasure, +to Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, to AEthiopia, and Sidon, and the +Afric shore, a land unmatched in its countless multitudes of sheep. +There the ewes bring forth young three times a year, and the poorest +shepherd has abundance of cheese, and flesh, and milk. From all these +lands I gathered many a costly freight, and now I dwell in the midst +of plenty. Nevertheless my heart is sad, when I think of all that I +have lost. Had I returned home straight from Troy, I should have come +back a poor man, for my house had gone to waste in my absence; but I +should not have had to mourn for the death of my brother, struck down, +as doubtless ye have heard, by a murderer's hand. And then the thought +lies heavy upon me of all those who fell in my cause at Troy, and +especially of one who was dear to me above all, Odysseus, ever the +foremost in every toil and adventure. His image haunts me by day and +by night, marring my slumbers, and making my food taste bitter in my +mouth. He was a man of many woes, and sorrowful is the lot of his wife +Penelope and Telemachus his son." + +At this mention of his father Telemachus could not control his tears, +but covered his face with his mantle, and wept without restraint. +Menelaus saw his emotion, and began to suspect who he was; but for the +present he said nothing. + +A slight stir was now heard at the back of the hall, and a low murmur +went round among the guests, who whispered to each other: "The Queen! +The Queen!" And in she came softly, with slow and stately step, Helen, +the daughter of Tyndareus, and wife of Menelaus, fairest among all the +high-born dames of Greece. Her wondrous beauty was now ripened into +matronly perfection, but now and then a shadow seemed to pass over her +face, like the ghost of an old sin, long repented and forgiven. A +handmaid set a chair for her, throwing over it a soft rug, and brought +a footstool for her feet, while another bare a silver basket, with +rims of gold, and placed it ready, filled with purple yarn. When Helen +was seated, she gazed long and earnestly at Telemachus, and then, +turning to her husband, she said; "Menelaus, shall I utter the thought +which is in my heart? Nay, speak I must. Ne'er saw I such a likeness, +either in man or woman, as is the likeness of this fair youth to +Odysseus. Surely this is Telemachus, whom he left an infant in Ithaca +when the host was summoned to Troy to fight in a worthless woman's +cause." + +"I have marked it too," answered Menelaus. "Such were his very hands +and feet, and the carriage of his head, and the glance of his eye. +Moreover, when I made mention of Odysseus he covered his face, and +wept full sore." + +Telemachus was still too much distressed to speak, and Pisistratus had +to answer for him: "Thou sayest truly, my lord; it is Telemachus +himself. Nestor sent me with him to inquire of thee, and crave counsel +of thy wisdom. He is left like an orphan in his home, with none to aid +him, and take his father's place." + +Then Menelaus drew near to Telemachus, and taking his hand kindly +said: "Welcome again, and thrice welcome to these halls, thou son of +my trustiest friend and helper! It was the dream of my life to bring +Odysseus and all his household from Ithaca, and give him a home and a +city in this land, that we might grow old together in friendship and +loving-kindness, never to be parted until death. But envious heaven +has blighted my hopes and hindered his return." + +At these sad words every eye was moist, and all sat silent, absorbed +in sorrowful memories. Pisistratus was the first to speak, and his +words roused the rest from their melancholy mood. "Son of Atreus," he +said, "my father has often spoken of thy wisdom, and perchance it has +taught thee that sorrow is an ill guest at a banquet. The dead, +indeed, claim their due, and he would be hard-hearted who would grudge +them the poor tribute of a tear. But we cannot mourn for ever, even +for such a one as my brother Antilochus, whom I never saw, but thou +knewest him well, stout in battle, and swift in the pursuit." + +"'Tis well said," replied Menelaus. "Thou art wise beyond thy years, +and a true son of Nestor. Happy is he, beyond the common lot of men, +and smooth and fair runs the thread of his Destiny. He dwells in a +green old age in his father's house, and sees his sons growing up +around him, true heirs of his valour and prudence. Now let us banish +care, and get to our supper, for the day is far spent, and we have +matter for talk which will last us all the morrow." + +When they had finished eating, and the cups were about to be +replenished, Helen rose from her seat, and, whispering a few words to +the cupbearer, left the hall. In a few minutes she returned, carrying +in her hand a small phial, whose contents she poured into the great +mixing-bowl from which the cups were filled. "Now, drink," she said, +"and fear not that black care will pay us a second visit to-night. I +have poured into the wine a drug of wondrous potency and virtue, which +was given me in Egypt by Polydamna, the wife of Thon. Many such drugs +the soil of Egypt bears, some baneful and some good. And the Egyptians +are skilled in such craft beyond all mankind. He who drinks of this +drug will be armed for that day against all the assaults of sorrow, +and will not shed one tear, though his father and mother were to die, +no, not though he saw his brother or his son slain before his eyes. So +mighty is the virtue of this drug." And when they had drunk of the +magic potion Helen began again: "'Tis now the witching hour, when all +hearts are opened, and the burden of life presses lightest on men's +shoulders. Come, let me tell you a story, one among many, of the deeds +and the hardihood of Odysseus. It was in the days of the siege, and +the Trojans were kept close prisoners in their city by the leaguer of +the Greeks. Then he disguised himself as a beggar, clothed himself in +filthy rags, and marred his goodly person with cruel stripes. In such +fashion he entered the foemen's walls, as if he were a slave flying +from a hard master.[1] And I alone in all the city knew who he was. So +I brought him to my house, and began to question him; but he made as +if he understood not. But when I entertained him as an honoured guest, +and swore a solemn oath not to betray him, he trusted me, and declared +all the purpose of the Greeks. At dead of night he stole out into the +town, and, having slain many of the Trojans with the edge of the +sword, he went back to the camp, and brought much information to his +friends. + +[Footnote 1: Compare the stratagem of Zopyrus, in "Stories from Greek +History."] + +"When morning came, the voice of wailing rose high in the streets of +Troy; but my heart rejoiced, for I was filled with longing for my +home, and my eyes were opened to the folly which I had wrought by the +beguilement of Aphrodite, when I left my fatherland and broke faith +with my lord." + +"Tis a good story, and thou hast told it well, fair wife," said +Menelaus. "Now hear my tale. It was the time when I and the other +champions were shut up in the wooden horse; and Odysseus was with us. +Then thou camest thither, led, I suppose, by some god, hostile to +Greece, who wished to work our ruin; and Deiphobus followed thee. +Three times thou didst pace around our hollow ambush, feeling it with +thy hands, and calling aloud to the princes of Greece by name; and thy +voice was like the voice of all their wives. There we sat, I, and +Diomede, and the rest, and heard thee calling. Now I and Diomede were +minded to answer thee, or to go forth and confer with thee; but +Odysseus suffered it not, and when one of our number was about to lift +up his voice he pressed his hands on that foolish mouth, and +restrained him by force until thou hadst left the place. And so he +saved all our lives." + +"Yes," said Telemachus, "he had a heart of iron. But what has it +availed him? It could not save him from ruin. Howbeit, no more of +this; 'tis time to go to rest and forget our cares in sleep." + +II + +Early next morning Telemachus found his host sitting by his bedside; +and as soon as he was dressed Menelaus led him to a quiet place, and +inquired the reason of his coming. He listened with attention while +Telemachus explained the purpose of his visit; but when he heard of +the suitors, and their riot and waste, he was filled with indignation. + +"What!" he cried, "would these dastards fill the seat and wed the wife +of that mighty man? Their lot shall be the lot of a pair of fawns, +left by the mother hind in a lion's lair. The hind goes forth to +pasture, and in her absence the lion returns, and devours them where +they lie. Even so shall Odysseus return, and bring swift destruction +on the whole crew. + +"But thou hast asked me what I know of the fortunes of Odysseus, since +he departed from Troy; and verily I will tell thee all that I have +heard, without turning aside in my tale. I must go back to the time +when I lay wind-bound with my ships in a little island off the mouth +of the Nile. The island is called Pharos, and it is distant a day's +voyage from the river's mouth. I had lain there twenty days, and still +not a breath of air ruffled the glassy surface of the sea. All our +stores were consumed, and we had nothing to eat but the fish which my +men caught with rudely fashioned hooks and lines. One day I left my +men busy with their angling, and wandered away along the shore, full +of sad thoughts, and wondering how all this would end. Suddenly I +heard a light footstep on the pebbles, and there stepped forth from +behind a tall rock a young maiden in white, flowing robes. Full of +dread I saw her coming towards me; for I knew that she was no mortal +woman. But her look was gracious, and her voice was sweet; so I took +courage as she said: 'Who art thou, stranger, and why lingerest thou +with thy company in this desert place? I am Eidothea, daughter of +Proteus, the ancient one of the sea; and I am ready to help thee, if +thou wilt tell me thy need.' + +"Then I told her how I had been kept an unwilling captive on the +island, and begged her to let me know what power I had offended, that +he might be appeased by sacrifice, and suffer the wind to blow. 'There +is one who can tell thee all that thou desirest to know,' answered +she. 'Yea, Proteus, my father, will show thee how to win thy path +across the watery waste. No secrets are hidden from him, neither on +earth nor in the sea; and he can tell thee all that hath befallen in +thy house in the long years of thine absence. Now hearken, and I will +tell thee how thou mayest wring from him all his secrets. Every day at +noon he comes forth from the sea, and lays him down to sleep in a +rocky cave; and about him are couched his herd of seals. I will bring +thee to the place in the early morning, and set thee in ambush to +await his coming. Choose three of the stoutest of thy men to aid thee +in the adventure, and as soon as thou seest him asleep rush upon him +and hold him fast. He will struggle hard, and take a hundred different +shapes; but loose him not until he return to his own form, and then +will he reveal to thee all that he has to tell.' + +"So saying, the goddess disappeared beneath the waves. Next morning I +went with three picked men to the appointed place, and soon Eidothea +arrived, bearing four hides of seals, freshly flayed. Then she +hollowed out four pits in the sand for us to lie in, and clothed us in +the skins, and couched us together. Now that bed had like to have been +our last, for we were stifled by the dreadful stench of the seabred +seals. But the goddess saw our distress, and found a remedy; for she +brought ambrosia and set it beneath our nostrils, and that heavenly +perfume overpowered the noisome stench. + +"So all the morning we lay and wafted patiently, and at noon the seals +came up out of the sea and lay down in order on the sand. Last of all +came Proteus, and counted his herd, reckoning us among their number, +with no suspicion of guile. We waited until he was fast asleep, and +then we rushed from our ambush and seized him hand and foot. Long and +hard was the struggle, and many the shapes which he took. First he +became a bearded lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a huge boar; +after these he turned into running water and a tall, leafy tree. But +we only held him the more firmly, and at last he grew weary and spake +to me in his own shape: 'What wouldst thou have, son of Atreus, and +who has taught thee to outwit me and take me captive by craft?' + +"'Thou knowest my need,' I answered; 'why dost thou waste thy words? +Tell me rather how I may find release from my present strait' + +"'Hear, then,' said he: 'thou hast forgotten thy duty to Zeus and the +other gods. Not a victim bled, not a prayer was offered, when thou +didst embark on this voyage. Go back to Egypt, to the holy waters of +Nile, and there pay thy vows, and offer a great sacrifice to their +offended deity; thus, and thus only, canst thou win thy return to +thine own country and thy stately home.' + +"When I heard this my heart was broken within me, to think of that +long and perilous path across the misty deep. Nevertheless I consented +to take that journey, for I saw no other way of escape. And after I +had promised to obey him, I began to inquire further of the fate of +Nestor and the rest, whom I left behind me on my way home. + +"''Tis a grievous story that thou requirest of me,' said Proteus, 'and +thou shalt have little joy in the hearing. Many have been taken and +many left. Two only perished in returning, and one is still living, a +prisoner of the sea. Ajax has paid his debt to Athene, whose shrine he +polluted; and this was the manner of his death: when his vessel was +shattered by that great tempest, he himself escaped to a rock, for +Poseidon came to his aid. But even the peril which he had just escaped +could not subdue his haughtiness and his pride, and he uttered an +impious vaunt, boasting that in despite of heaven he had escaped a +watery grave. Then Poseidon was wroth, and smote the rock with his +trident, and that half of the rock on which Ajax was sitting fell into +the sea, bearing him with it. So he died, when he had drunk the brine. + +"'Now harden thy heart, and learn how thy brother Agamemnon fell. +After a long and stormy voyage he at length brought his shattered +vessels safe into harbour, and set foot on his native soil at Argos. +With tears of joy and thankfulness he fell on his knees and kissed the +sod, trusting that now his sorrows were passed. Now there was a +watchman whom AEgisthus had posted on a high place commanding the sea +to look out for Agamemnon's return. A whole year he watched, for he +had been promised a great reward. And when he saw the king's face he +went with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith AEgisthus prepared an +ambush of twenty armed men; these he kept in hiding at the back of the +hall, while he ordered his servants to prepare a great banquet. Then +he went to meet Agamemnon with horses and with chariots, and brought +him to his house, and made good cheer. And when he had feasted him he +smote and slew him, as a man slaughters an ox in his stall.' + +"At that tale of horror I fell upon the sand, weeping bitterly, for I +had no desire to live any longer or look on the light of the sun. Long +I lay mourning, as one who had lost all hope, but at last Proteus +checked the torrent of my passion, and bade me take thought of my own +homecoming. 'This is no time,' he said, 'to melt away in womanish +grief. Haste thee to take vengeance, if so be that Orestes hath not +forestalled thee, and slain his father's murderer.' + +"Somewhat comforted by these words, I took courage to ask who was the +man of whom he had spoken as a prisoner of the sea. 'It is the son of +Laertes,' answered Proteus, 'Odysseus, whose home is in Ithaca. I +myself saw him on an island, in the house of the nymph Calypso; and +sore he wept because he could not leave the goddess, who holds him in +thrall, and will not suffer him to return to his country.' + +"Lastly, he told me concerning my own fate. 'Thou, Menelaus,' he said, +'art exempt from the common lot of men, because thou art the husband +of Helen, and she is a daughter of Zeus. Therefore it is not appointed +for thee to die, but when thine hour is come the gods shall convey +thee to the Elysian fields, where dwell the elect spirits in +everlasting blessedness. There falls not snow nor rain, there blows no +rude blast, but the fresh cool breath of the west comes softly from +Ocean to refresh them that dwell in that happy clime.'" + +Thus happily ended the story of the Spartan prince's wanderings. And +when he had finished, he pressed Telemachus to prolong his visit; but +that prudent youth declined the invitation, pleading the necessity of +a speedy return to Ithaca, that he might keep an eye on the doings of +the suitors. Menelaus was compelled to allow the justice of his plea, +and accordingly all things were made ready for a speedy departure. + +III + +We must now return to Ithaca, and see what reception was preparing for +Telemachus when he came back from his adventurous journey. Two or +three days after he left Ithaca the suitors were gathered before the +doors of Odysseus, playing at quoits, or hurling their javelins at a +mark. Presently a young noble came up to the group, and addressing +Antinous, who was watching the sport, asked him if he had heard aught +of Telemachus. "I would fain know how long he is like to be absent +from Ithaca," he said; "for he has borrowed my ship, and I have need +of her. Know ye when he is to return from Pylos?" + +Antinous heard him with amazement; for neither he nor any other of the +suitors knew that Telemachus had sailed from Ithaca, supposing him to +be absent on his farm. So he questioned the youth closely as to the +time and manner of that voyage, how the crew was composed, and whether +the vessel was lent willingly, or taken by force. "Of my own free will +I lent her," answered the lad, "why should I not help him in his need? +As to the crew, they were all picked men, and well born; and the +captain was Mentor, or some god in his likeness; for I saw Mentor +yesterday in the town, and not a ship has touched at Ithaca since they +sailed." + +When he who had lent the ship was departed the suitors left their +sports, and drawing close together began to converse in low tones. +They were full of anger against Telemachus because of this journey, +which gave the lie to their malicious prophecies, and was not without +prospect of danger to themselves. Accordingly Antinous found ready +hearers when he stood up and spoke as follows:--"This forward boy must +be put down, or he will mar our wooing. It is a great deed which he +has done, and he will not stop here, unless we find means to cut short +his adventures. Now hear what I advise: let us man a ship and moor her +in the narrow sea between Ithaca and Samos, and lie in wait for him +there. This cruise of his is like to cost him dear." + +The plan was highly approved, and the whole body rose and entered the +house together, resolved to act at once on the advice of Antinous. +Before long news of their wicked designs came to the ears of Penelope, +who was still ignorant of her son's departure; for Eurycleia had kept +her counsel well. The evil tidings were brought by Medon, a servant in +the house of Odysseus, who had overheard the suitors plotting +together, while he stood concealed behind a buttress of the courtyard +fence. Without delay he went in search of Penelope, whom he found +sitting with her handmaids in her chamber. As soon as he appeared on +the threshold Penelope looked at him reproachfully, and said: "What +message bringest thou from thy fair masters? Is it their pleasure that +my maidens should leave their tasks and spread the board for them? Out +on your feasting and your wooing! May this be the last morsel that ye +ever taste! Ungrateful men, have ye forgotten all the good deeds that +were wrought here by the hands of Odysseus, and all the kindness that +ye received from him? Yes, all is forgotten; ye have no thought in +your hearts but to grow fat at his cost, and devour his living." + +"Alas! lady," answered Medon, "would that this were the worst! But I +am the bearer of heavier news than this. Telemachus has sailed to +Pylos, to inquire concerning his father, and the suitors have plotted +to slay him on his way home." Having delivered his message, Medon left +the chamber, and the door was shut. + +Long Penelope sat without a word, struck dumb by this cruel blow. +Then, as if seized by a sudden thought, she rose from her seat, and +took two paces towards the door. But her strength failing her she +tottered backward, and sank down upon the ground, leaning against the +wall. Her handmaids gathered round her, and would have lifted her up, +but she waved them off and at last gave utterance to her feelings in +wailing and broken tones: + +"Woeful beyond the lot of all women on earth is my portion! First, I +lost my lion-hearted lord, rich in every excellent gift, a hero among +heroes; and now the powers of the air[1] have carried off my child, my +well-beloved, without one word of farewell. Hearts of stone, why did +ye not tell me of his going? Had I known his purpose I would have +prevailed on him to stay, or he must have left me dead in these halls. +Go, one of you, and call Dolius, the keeper of my garden and orchard, +and send him to tell all to Laertes, if haply he may devise some way +to turn the hearts of the people, and save his race from being utterly +cut off." + +[Footnote 1: Demons, to whom sudden disappearance was attributed.] + +"Sweet lady," answered Eurycleia, who was sitting among the women, "I +will tell thee all the truth, and then thou shalt slay me, if it be +thy will. I was privy to this journey, and Telemachus made me swear a +solemn oath not to reveal it to thee until twelve days were passed, or +thou hadst heard of it from others. For he feared that thou wouldst +waste thy fair cheeks with weeping. But be not cast down; I am sure +that the gods hate not so utterly the house of Odysseus, nor purpose +to destroy it altogether. Vex not the old man Laertes in his sorrow, +but go wash thyself, put on clean raiment, and go up and pray to +Athene in thy upper chamber to guard and keep thy son from harm." + +Then Penelope was comforted, and dried her tears, and went up with her +handmaids to the upper chamber. There she made her offering before the +shrine of Athene, and lifted up her voice in prayer: "Daughter of +Zeus, stern warrior maiden, if ever my lord Odysseus offered +acceptable sacrifice to thee, remember now his service, save my son, +and let not the wooers work evil against him." When her prayer was +ended the women joined their voices with hers, and called again and +again on the awful name of Athene. After that they left her, and she +sank down on a couch, exhausted by her emotions, and full of anxious +thought. At length she ceased her weary tossing, and fell into a quiet +and refreshing sleep. + +Athene had heard her prayer, and being full of pity for the sorely +tried lady she resolved to find means to soothe her troubled spirit. +So she made a phantom, like in form and in feature to Iphthime, a +sister of Penelope, who lived with her husband in distant Pherae. And +the phantom came to the house of Penelope, and entering her chamber by +the keyhole, stood by her bedside and spake to her thus: "Sorrow not +at all, nor vex thy soul for the sake of Telemachus. The gods love thy +son, and will bring him safe home." + +Then wise Penelope made answer, slumbering right sweetly at the gates +of dreams: "Dear sister, what has brought thee hither from thy far +distant home? Thou biddest me take comfort, but my heart is torn with +fear and grief for my brave lord, and yet more for Telemachus, who is +encompassed with perils by sea and by land." "Fear nothing," answered +the dim phantom. "He has a mighty helper by his side, even Pallas +Athene, who sent me hither to strengthen and console thee." With that +the ghostly visitor vanished as it came, and left Penelope much +cheered by the clear vision which had brought her words of healing at +the blackest hour of the night. + +Meanwhile Antinous had taken steps to carry out his villainous design. +At nightfall he went down to the sea with twenty picked men, boarded +the vessel which had been prepared for their use, and sailed out to a +little island which lies in the middle of the strait between Samos and +Ithaca. There they anchored in a sheltered bay, and waited for the +coming of Telemachus. + + + + +Odysseus and Calypso + + +I + +We have waited long for the appearance of Odysseus, and at last he is +about to enter the scene, which he will never leave again until the +final act of the great drama is played out. Hitherto he has been +pursued by the malice of Poseidon, who wrecked his fleet, drowned all +his men, and kept him confined for seven years in Calypso's island, in +vengeance for the blinding of his son Polyphemus. + +But now the prayers of Athene have prevailed, and Hermes, the +messenger of the gods, is on his way from Olympus, bearing a +peremptory summons to Calypso to let Odysseus depart. Shod with his +golden, winged sandals, which bear him, swift as the wind, over moist +and dry, and holding in his hand his magic wand, Hermes skimmed like a +seagull over the blue waters of the AEgaean, until he came to that far +distant isle. Arrived there, he went straight to the great cavern +where Calypso dwelt; and he found her there, walking about her room, +weaving with a golden shuttle, and singing sweetly at her work. A +great fire was blazing on the hearth, sending forth a sweet odour of +cedar and sandal-wood. Round about the cavern grew a little wood of +blossoming trees, "alder and poplar tall, and cypress sweet of smell"; +and there owls and hawks and cormorants built their nests. Over the +threshold was trained a wide-branching vine, with many a purple +cluster and wealth of rustling leaves. Four springs of clear water +welled up before the cave, and wandered down to the meadows where the +violet and parsley grew. It was a choice and cool retreat, meet +dwelling for a lovely nymph. + +Calypso greeted her visitor kindly, bade him be seated, and set nectar +and ambrosia before him. And when he had refreshed himself, he told +his message. "I bear the commands of Zeus," he said, "and to do his +high will have I travelled this long and weary way. It is said that +thou keepest with thee a man of many woes, who has suffered more than +any of those who fought at Troy. Him thou art commanded to send away +from thee with all speed; for it is not destined for him to end his +days here, but the hour has come when he must go back to his home and +country, Zeus has spoken, and thou must obey." + +This was bitter news to Calypso, for she loved Odysseus, and would +have made him immortal, that he might abide with her for ever. She +wrung her hands, and said in a mournful voice: "Now I know of a truth +that the gods are a jealous race, and will not suffer one of their +kind to wed with a mortal mate. Therefore Orion fell by the unseen +arrows of Artemis, when fair Aurora chose him for her lord; and +therefore Zeus slew Iasion with his lightning, because he was loved of +Demeter. Is not Odysseus mine? Did I not save him and cherish him when +he was flung naked and helpless on these shores? But since no other +deity may evade or frustrate the will of Zeus, let him go, and I will +show him how he may reach his own country without scathe." + +When he had heard Calypso's answer, Hermes took leave of her, and +returned to Olympus, and the nymph went down to the part of the shore +where she knew Odysseus was accustomed to sit. There he would remain +all day, gazing tearfully over the barren waste of waters, and wearing +out his soul with ceaseless lamentation. For he had long grown weary +of his soft slavery in Calypso's cave, and yearned with exceeding +great desire for the familiar hills of Ithaca, so rugged, but so dear. +And there Calypso found him now, sitting on a rock with dejected mien. +She sat down at his side, and said: "A truce to thy complaints, thou +man of woes! Thou hast thy wish; I will let thee go with all +good-will, and I will show thee how to build a broad raft, which +shall bear thee across the misty deep. I will victual her with corn +and wine, and clothe thee in new garments, and send a breeze behind +thee to waft thee safe. Thus am I commanded by the gods, whose +dwelling is in the wide heaven, and their will I do. Up now and fell +me yon tall trees for timber to make the raft." + +Odysseus was by nature a very shrewd and cautious man, and he feared +that Calypso was contriving some mischief against him, in revenge for +his coldness. He looked at her doubtfully, and answered: "I fear thee, +nymph, and I mistrust thy purpose. How shall a man cross this dreadful +gulf, where no ship is ever seen, on a raft? And though that were +possible, I will never leave thee against thy will. Swear to me now +that thou intendest me no harm." + +Calypso smiled at his suspicions, and patted him on the shoulder as +she answered: "Thou art a sad rogue, and very deep of wit, as anyone +may see by these words of thine. Now hear me swear: Witness, thou +earth, and the wide heaven above us, and the dark waterfall of Styx, +the greatest and most awful thing by which a god may swear, that I +intend no ill, but only good, to this man." + +Having sworn that oath Calypso rose, and bidding Odysseus follow led +the way to her cave. There she set meat before him, such as mortal men +eat, and wine to drink; but she herself was served by her handmaids +with immortal food, and nectar, the wine of the gods. When they had +supped, Calypso looked at Odysseus and said: "And wilt thou indeed +leave me, thou strange man? Am I not tall and fair, and worthy to be +called a daughter of heaven? And is thy Penelope so rare a dame, that +thou preferrest her to me! Ah! if thou knewest all the toils which +await thee before thou reachest thy home, and all the perils prepared +for thee there, thou wouldst renounce thy purpose, and dwell for ever +with me. Nevertheless go, if go thou must, and my blessing go with +thee." + +Her words were kind, but some anger lurked in her tone, which Odysseus +hastened to appease. "Fair goddess," he answered, "be not wroth with +me. I know that thou art more lovely far than my wife Penelope; for +thou art divine, and she is but a mortal woman. Nevertheless I long +day and night to see her face, and to sit beneath the shadow of my own +rooftree. And if I be stricken again by the hand of Heaven on the +purple sea, I will bear it, for I have a very patient heart. Long have +I toiled, and much have I suffered, amid waves and wars. If more +remains, I will endure that also." + +II + +At early dawn, when the eastern wave was just silvered by the dim +light, Calypso roused Odysseus, and equipped him for the task of the +day. First she gave him a weighty two-edged axe, well balanced on its +haft of olive-wood, and an adze, freshly ground; then she showed him +where the tall trees grew, and bade him fall to work with the axe. +Twenty great trees fell beneath his sturdy strokes, and he trimmed the +trunks with the axe, and stripped off the bark. Meanwhile Calypso had +brought him an augur, and he bored the timbers, and fitted them +together, and fastened them with bolts and cross-pieces. So the raft +grew under his hands, broad as the floor of a stout merchantship. And +he fenced her with bulwarks, piling up blocks of wood to steady them. +Last of all he made mast and sail and rigging; and when all was ready +he thrust the frail vessel with rollers and levers down to the sea. + +Four times the sun had risen and set before his labour was ended; and +on the fifth day Calypso brought him provisions for the voyage, a +great goatskin bottle full of water, and a smaller one of wine, and a +sack of corn, with other choice viands as a relish to his bread. + +A joyful man was Odysseus when he spread his sail, and took his place +at the helm, and waved a last farewell to his gentle friend. A fair +breeze wafted him swiftly from the shore, and ere long that lovely +island, at once his home and his prison for seven long years, became a +mere shadow in the distance. All night he sat sleepless, tiller in +hand, watching the pilot stars, the Pleiades, and Booetes, and the +Bear, named also the Wain, which turns on one spot, and watches Orion, +and never dips into the ocean stream. For the goddess Calypso had +bidden him keep that star on the left hand as he sailed the seas. Thus +he voyaged for seventeen days, and on the eighteenth he saw afar off, +dimly outlined, a range of hills, rising, like the back of a shield, +above the horizon's verge. + +Now Poseidon, his great enemy, had been absent for many days on a far +journey, and thus had taken no part in the council at Olympus when +Zeus had issued his order for the release of Odysseus. Just at this +time he was on his way back to Olympus, and caught sight of the bold +voyager steering towards the nearest land. "Ha! art thou there?" said +the implacable god, shaking his head; "and have the other powers +plotted against me in my absence, to frustrate my just anger? Thy +wanderings are well-nigh over, poor wretch! But thou shalt taste once +more of my vengeance, before thou reachest yonder shore." + +So saying the lord of ocean took his trident and stirred up the deep; +and the clouds came trooping at his call, covering the sky with a +black curtain. Soon a great tempest broke loose, blowing in violent +and fitful blasts from all the four quarters of heaven. Then pale fear +got hold of Odysseus, as he saw the great curling billows heaving +round his frail craft. "Woe is me!" he cried, "when shall my troubles +have an end? Surely the goddess spoke truth, when she foretold me that +I should perish amid the waves, and never see my home again. Here I +lie helpless, given over to destruction, the sport of all the winds of +heaven. Happy, thrice happy, were my comrades who fell fighting +bravely and found honourable burial in the soil of Troy! Would that I +had died on that great day when the battle raged fiercest over the +body of Pelides; then should I have found death with honour, but now I +am doomed to a miserable and dishonoured end." + +The words were hardly uttered when a huge toppling wave struck the +raft with tremendous force, carrying away mast and sail, and hurling +Odysseus into the sea. Deep down he sank, and the waters darkened over +his head, for he was encumbered by the weight of his clothes. At last +he rose to the surface, gasping, and spitting out the brine, and +though sore spent, he swam towards the raft, and hauled himself on +board. There he sat clinging to the dismasted and rudderless vessel, +which was tossed to and fro from wave to wave, as the winds of autumn +sport with the light thistledown and drive it hither and thither. + +But help was at hand. There was a certain ocean nymph, named Ino, +daughter of Cadmus, who had once been a mortal woman, but now was +numbered among the immortal powers. She saw and pitied Odysseus, and +boarding the raft addressed him in this wise: "Poor man, why is +Poseidon so wroth with thee that he maltreats thee thus? Yet shall he +not destroy thee, for all his malice. Only do as I bid thee, and thou +shalt get safely to land: take this veil, and when thou hast stripped +off thy garments, bind it across thy breast. Then leave the raft to +its fate, and swim manfully to land; and when thou art safe fling the +veil back into the sea, and go thy way." + +So saying the goddess sank beneath the waves, leaving Odysseus with +her veil in his hand. But that cautious veteran did not at once act on +her advice, for he feared that some treachery was intended against +him. He resolved therefore to remain on the raft as long as her +timbers held together, and only to have recourse to the veil in the +last extremity. + +He had just taken this prudent resolution, when another wave, more +huge than the last, thundered down on the raft, scattering her +timbers, as the wind scatters a heap of chaff. Odysseus clung fast to +one beam and, mounting it, sat astride as on a horse, until he had +stripped off his clothes. Then he bound the veil round him, flung +himself head foremost into the billows, and swam lustily towards land. + +The storm was now subsiding, and a steady breeze succeeded, blowing +from the north, which helped that much-tried hero in his struggle for +life. Yet for two days and two nights he battled with the waves, and +when day broke on the third day he found himself close under a +frowning wall of cliffs, at whose foot the sea was breaking with a +noise like thunder. Odysseus ceased swimming, and trod the water, +looking anxiously round for an opening in the cliffs where he might +land. While he hesitated, a great foaming wave came rushing landward, +threatening to sweep him against that rugged shore; but Odysseus saw +his danger in time, and succeeded in gaining a rocky mass which stood +above the surface just before him, and clutching it with hands and +knees, contrived to keep his hold until the huge billow was past. In +another moment he was caught by the recoil of the wave, and flung back +into the boiling surf, with fingers torn and bleeding. With desperate +exertions he fought his way out into the comparatively calm water, +outside the line of breakers, and swam parallel to the shore, until he +saw with delight a sheltered inlet, whence a river flowed into the +sea. Murmuring a prayer to the god of the river he steered for land, +and a few strokes brought him to a smooth sandy beach, where he lay +for a long time without sense or motion. All his flesh was swollen by +his long immersion in the water, the skin was stripped from his hands, +and when his breath came back to him he felt as weak as a child. Then +a deadly nausea came over him, and the water which he had swallowed +gushed up through his mouth and nostrils. Somewhat relieved by this, +he rose to his feet, and tottering to the river's brink loosed the +veil from his waist, and dropped it into the flowing water. For he +remembered the request of Ino, to whom he owed his life. + +He had indeed escaped the sea; but his position seemed almost +hopeless. There he lay, naked, and more dead than alive, without food +or shelter, in a strange land, without a sign of human habitation in +view. Crawling painfully to a bed of rushes he lay down and considered +what was best for him to do. He could not remain where he was, for it +was an exposed place, with no protection from the dew, and open to the +chill breeze from the river, which blows at early dawn. A few hours of +such a vigil would certainly kill him in his exhausted state. If, on +the other hand, he sought the shelter of the woods, he feared that he +would fall a prey to some prowling beast. + +At last he determined to face the less certain peril, and made his way +into a thicket not far from the river side. Searching for a place +where he might lie he soon came upon two dense bushes of olive, whose +leaves and branches were so closely interwoven that they formed a sort +of natural arbour, impenetrable by sun, or rain, or wind. "In good +time!" murmured Odysseus, as he crept beneath that green roof, and +scooped out a deep bed for himself in the fallen leaves. There he lay +down, and piled the leaves high over him. And as a careful housewife +in some remote farmhouse, where there are no neighbours near, covers +up a burning brand among the ashes, so that it may last all night, and +preserve the seed of fire; so lay Odysseus, nursing the spark of life, +in his deep bed of leaves. And soon he forgot all his troubles in a +deep and dreamless sleep. + + + + +Odysseus among the Phaeacians + + +I + +The land on which Odysseus had thus been cast like a piece of broken +wreckage was called Phaeacia, and derived its name from the Phaeacians, +a race of famous mariners, who had settled there some fifty years +before, having been driven from their former seat by the Cyclopes, a +savage tribe, who dwelt on their borders. The Phaeacians were an +unwarlike people, and being in no condition to resist the fierce +assaults of these lawless neighbours, they abandoned their homes and +built a new city on a little peninsula, connected with the mainland by +a narrow isthmus. Defended by strong walls they were now safe against +all attacks, and they soon grew rich and prosperous in the exercise of +a thriving trade. + +At this time the king of the Phaeacians was Alcinous, who had a fair +daughter, named Nausicaae. On the night when Odysseus lay couched in +his bed of leaves Nausicaae was sleeping in her bower, and with her +were two handmaids, whose beds were set on either side of the door. +And in a dream she seemed to hear one of her girlish friends, the +daughter of a neighbouring house, speaking to her thus: "Nausicaae, why +art thou grown so careless as to suffer all the raiment in thy +father's house to remain unwashen, when thy bridal day is so near? +Wouldst thou be wedded in soiled attire, and have all thy friends clad +unseemly, to put thee to shame? These are a woman's cares, by which +she wins a good report among men, and gladdens her mother's heart. +Arise, therefore, at break of day, and beg thy father to let harness +the mules to the wain, that thou mayest take the linen to the place of +washing, far away by the river's side. I will go with thee, and help +thee in the work." + +So dreamed Nausicaae, and so spake the vision. But the voice which +seemed the voice of her friend came from no mortal lips; it was Athene +herself who had visited the maiden's bower, in her care for Odysseus, +that he might get safe conduct to the city of the Phaeacians. And when +she had done her errand the goddess went back to Olympus, where is the +steadfast, everlasting seat of the blessed gods, not shaken of any +wind, nor wet with rain, nor chilled by snow, but steeped for ever in +cloudless, sunny air. There the gods abide for ever and take their +delight. + +Nausicaae rose betimes, with her mind full of the dream, and went down +to the hall, where she found her mother sitting by the hearth with her +women, spinning the bright sea-purple thread. Inquiring for her father +she learnt that he had but that moment gone forth to attend the +council of elders, and hastening after him she found him before the +doors of the house. + +"Father," she said, "may I have the waggon to take the household +raiment to the place of washing? Thou thyself hast ever need of clean +garments when thou goest to the council, and my brothers will reproach +me if they lack clean raiment when they go to the dance." + +Thus spake the maiden, being ashamed to make mention of her own +marriage. But Alcinous knew, and smiled to himself, as he ordered his +thralls to prepare the waggon. So when they had harnessed the mules, +Nausicaae and her handmaids brought the soiled garments, and bestowed +them behind the seat. And her mother brought a basket with food for +the midday meal and oil for her daughter and the other maidens when +they took their bath. Then they took their seats, Nausicaae grasped the +reins, and they went off at a sharp trot towards the riverside. + +After a pleasant drive, they came to the place where stood a row of +cisterns on the river's bank. There they unharnessed the mules, and +left them to crop the sweet clover in the water-meadows. Then they +unloaded the waggon, threw the garments into washing-troughs, and trod +them with their feet until they were thoroughly cleansed, and having +wrung them out, they spread them on the white pebbly beach to dry. +While the garments were bleaching in the wholesome sun and air, they +took their bath, and afterwards sat down to the midday meal. When that +was ended, they threw off their veils, and stood up to play at ball. + +It was a pretty and graceful sight; they were all comely maidens, +glowing with youth and health. Their sport was accompanied by dance +and song, and as they chased the flying ball, keeping time with hand +and foot and voice, they seemed like a choir of mountain nymphs, led +by Artemis, when she goes forth to the chase, in the wild valleys of +Arcady or Lacedaemon. Tallest and fairest of them all was Nausicaae, who +led the sport, moving like a queen among her vassals. + +Presently they grew tired of their sport, and Nausicaae flung the ball +for the last time to one of her handmaids. The girl missed the ball, +and it fell into the middle of the river, whereupon the whole company +set up a sharp cry. The sound came to the ears of Odysseus, and woke +him from his long slumber. He sat up in his bed of leaves and communed +with himself: "Behold I hear the shrill cry of women, or perhaps of +the nymphs who haunt this wild place. Now may I learn of what sort are +the natives of this land, whether they be fierce and inhospitable, or +gentle and kind to strangers." Plucking a leafy bough, and holding it +before him to cover himself, he stepped forth from the thicket, and +came in sight of that gentle company. Grim and dreadful he looked, +like a hungry lion, buffeted by rain and wind, who goes forth in a +tempest to seek his prey; for he was haggard with long fasting, and +sore disfigured by his battle with the sea; his eyes glared with +famine, and his hair and beard hung ragged and unkempt about his face. +At this fearful apparition the maidens fled shrieking along the river +bank, all but Nausicaae, who stood her ground, and gazed fearlessly, +though in wonder, while Odysseus came slowly forward. When he was +still some way off he stopped, fearing to offend her delicacy if he +came nearer. Then with a gesture of entreaty he began to speak, and +Nausicaae knew at once that it was no common man who stood before her. + +"Have pity on me, O queen!" he began, in soft and insinuating tones. +"Art thou a goddess, or a mortal woman? If thou art a goddess, thou +seemest to me most like to Artemis, daughter of great Zeus, both in +face, and in stature, and in form. But if thou art mortal, then thrice +blessed are thy father and mother, and thrice blessed thy brethren, +and their spirits are refreshed because of thee, when thou goest, a +very rose of beauty, to the dance. Happy the man who wins thee for his +bride! Never yet have I seen the like of thee among all the children +of men. Only once have I beheld aught to compare unto thee, a young +palm-tree which I saw growing tall and straight by the altar of Apollo +at Delos. I saw it, and was amazed, for it was wondrous fair; and even +so is my soul filled with wonder and dread when I look upon thy face, +so that I am afraid to draw near unto thee, though sore is my need. +Yesterday I was flung naked on thy coast, after a voyage of twenty +days. Many things have I suffered, and more, I ween, remains for me in +store; for I am a man of many woes. Have compassion on me, dread lady! +I am thy suppliant, and to thee first I address my prayer. Show me the +way to the city, and give me a cloth to wrap round me, that I may go +among the people without shame. And may the gods give thee all, +whatsoever thy heart desireth, a husband and a home, and happy wedded +love, shedding warmth in thine house, and a strong defence against all +ills from without, but above all a sacred treasure in thy husband's +heart, and in thine." + +"Whatever be thy misfortunes," answered Nausicaae, "I am sure they are +not the fruit of thine own folly or wickedness. And since thou art +come as a suppliant to this land of ours, thou shalt want nothing, +whether it be raiment, or aught else that befits thy state. I will +show thee our city, and tell thee the name of the people. Know that +thou hast come to the country of the Phaeacians, whose ruler and king +is Alcinous, and I am his daughter." + +Then she called to her handmaids, who were looking on, half +frightened, half curious, from behind rocks and trees, a long way off, +ready to resume their flight at the slightest alarm: "Come hither, and +fear not the man; neither he nor any other shall ever come to this +land with thoughts of harm; for we are very dear to the immortal gods. +Far away we dwell amidst the rolling seas, remote from the haunts of +men. But this is some hapless wanderer, driven by chance to our +shores, and we must cherish him, for from Zeus come all strangers and +beggars, and a little gift is a great thing to them. Take the stranger +to a sheltered place, where he may wash and dress him, and give him +wherewithal to clothe himself, and after that, meat and drink." + +When they heard the words of their mistress the girls came stealing +timidly back, one by one. And they gave Odysseus clean raiment, and +when he had washed and clothed himself, he came back to the place +where Nausicaae was waiting. Wonderful was the change which had been +made in his appearance by the refreshing bath and fitting apparel. +Instead of the squalid, battered wretch who had begged for countenance +and shelter, Nausicaae saw before her a stalwart, stately man, +broad-shouldered, and deep of chest, with dark clustering hair and +beard, like the curling hyacinth, and an air of majesty and command. + +"Hear me, friends," whispered Nausicaae, as she saw him coming, +"methinks some god hath wrought a miracle on this man, who but now was +so hideous to behold. Would that we might prevail with him to make his +abode among us! She would be a proud maiden who should wed with such +as him. Now give the stranger food and drink." And they did so, and +Odysseus ate and drank with keen appetite, having tasted nothing for +many days. While he was eating, the maidens folded the garments and +placed them in the waggon, and when he had finished, Nausicaae mounted +the waggon, and bidding him and the handmaids follow on foot started +the mules and drove slowly towards the city. When they reached the +cultivated lands outside the walls she drew up, and addressed Odysseus +thus: "Stranger, I may not go with thee further, for I fear the +envious tongues of the citizens, who will point the finger at us and +say: 'See what a tall and handsome stranger Nausicaae hath brought with +her!--some seafaring man whom she hath brought with her to be her +husband, since she despises the men of her own nation.' And this will +be a reproach unto me. Therefore wait thou awhile, and do as I bid +thee. Not far from here is a temple and grove of Athene, a fair +coppice of poplar-trees, and a spring of clear water. Go thou thither, +and wait until we have time to reach my father's house, then rise and +go into the city and inquire for the dwelling of Alcinous. A little +child could show thee the way, for there is none like it in all the +city." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Nausicaae] + +So saying, Nausicaae drove on, leaving Odysseus where he was. He soon +found the temple, and going in knelt down and prayed to the goddess to +continue her favour. When he thought that Nausicaae had had time to +reach home, he rose and went into the city. The road lay along a +narrow causeway, which connected the city with the mainland, and on +either side was a sheltered haven, with ships drawn up on the beach. +Passing through the gates he came next to the place of assembly, in +front of a temple of Poseidon, with a circle of massive stones bedded +deeply in the earth. Wherever he looked he saw signs of a busy +seafaring people--masts, and oars, and great coils of rope--and his +ears were filled with the sound of saw and hammer from the +shipwrights' yards. + +II + +As he stood thus gazing about him, he saw a young maiden coming +towards him, carrying a pitcher. He inquired of her the way to the +house of Alcinous, and she bade him follow her, as she was going that +way. "My father's house," she said, "is close to the house which thou +seekest. But thou art a stranger, I perceive, and not of this land; +walk therefore warily, and regard no man, for the Phaeacians love not +the face of the stranger, nor are they given to hospitality. Their +home is the deep, and their ships are as swift as a bird--swift as a +thought--for they are the favourites of Poseidon." + +So saying, the maiden led the way swiftly, and Odysseus followed, +keeping close behind. He remarked with wonder that though the streets +were full of people, so that they had to walk carefully, and thread +their way through the crowd, none seemed to notice him or his +companion, or gave any sign of being conscious of their presence. The +truth was that the supposed maiden was none other than his patron +goddess Athene, who so ordered it that he was invisible to all eyes +but hers. + +As they went, his companion entertained him with an account of the +family history of the Phaeacian king, Alcinous, whose father, +Nausithous, was the son of Poseidon. Alcinous married Arete, who was +related to him by blood, and was honoured exceedingly by her husband +and by all the Phaeacians. "She is the idol of her household," +continued the maiden, "and all eyes follow her with love and reverence +when she goes through the town. So high is her character that even men +consult her in their differences, and defer to her judgment. If thou +canst enlist her on thy side, thou wilt soon obtain the safe conduct +which thou desirest, and reach thy home in safety and honour." + +They had now reached a large enclosed piece of land, surrounded by a +tall fence, above which appeared the boughs of goodly trees, laden +with their burden of fruit. "Here is the garden of Alcinous," +whispered the maiden, "and yonder is the gate. Enter boldly in, and +seek out the queen, who is now sitting at meat with her husband's +guests. Make thy petition to her, for if her heart incline unto thee +all will be well." + +With that word she vanished from his sight, and left him standing at +the gates of Alcinous. Wondering greatly he entered the garden, and +gazed about him. So fair a sight had never met his eyes. Fruit-trees +without number stood ranged in ordered rows, pear-trees, and +pomegranates, and rosy apples, the luscious fig, and olives in their +bloom. Their fruit never failed, summer or winter, all the year round. +There blows the warm west wind without ceasing, nursing the tender +blossom, and mellowing the swelling fruit. He saw pears and figs +hanging on the trees in every stage of growth. Another part of the +enclosure was set apart for the cultivation of the vine; and here also +the same wonder was to be seen, springtime and summer dancing +hand-in-hand, and yellow autumn treading close in their footsteps. +Side by side hung the ripe, purple cluster, the crude grape just +turning from green to red, and tiny green bunches lately formed from +the blossom. There the labour of the vintagers never ceased, and the +winepress overflowed without end. + +Between the rows of fruit-trees were garden-beds, in which grew all +manner of flowers and useful herbs; and the whole was watered by a +perennial stream, divided into channels which brought the water to +every part of the garden. + +Turning with a sigh from that paradise of colour and perfume, Odysseus +passed on to the house, and stood for a while, scanning that stately +structure. His eyes were almost blinded by the light which flashed +from the outer walls, which were built of solid brass, with a coping +of blue steel. The doors were of gold, with silver lintel and +doorposts, and brazen threshold. Then he entered the hall, still +unseen of all eyes; and here new wonders awaited him. Within the +doorway on either side sat dogs wrought in silver and gold, living +creatures, that know neither age nor death, which Hephaestus, the +divine artificer, made, in the wisdom of his heart, to guard the house +of the prince Alcinous day and night. At intervals stood figures of +youths fashioned in gold, with torches in their hands, which at +night-time shed a blaze of light throughout the hall. And all round +the walls were set rows of seats, covered with richly woven cloths, +the work of women's hands. There sat the noble chieftains of Phaeacia, +feasting on the bounty of their king. + +Far within, visible through a wide-opened door, was seen another +chamber, where a troop of domestics were busy at their tasks. Some +were grinding the yellow grain in hand-mills, others were walking to +and fro at the loom, and others sat plying distaff and spindle, +nodding their heads like poplars waving in the wind. Very choice was +the fabric woven in that chamber, for the women of Phaeacia were famed +beyond all others for their skill in weaving, even as the men +surpassed all the world in seamanship. + +Such were the glories of the house of Alcinous, and when Odysseus had +gazed his fill he began to think of the purpose for which he had come. +The feasters were just pouring a libation to Hermes, to be followed by +a parting cup, before they went home. At that very moment their eyes +were opened, and they saw Odysseus kneeling at the feet of Arete, and +heard him utter these words: + +"Great queen, daughter of a race divine, behold me, a toil-worn +wanderer, who hath come hither to implore thy grace. Intercede for me, +I pray thee, with thy husband, that he may send me speedily to my +native land: and may it be well with thee, and with all this fair +company, and with the children who come after thee." + +Thereupon he sat down by the hearth in the ashes near the fire; and +for awhile not a word was spoken, but all sat gazing at him in wonder. +At last an aged Phaeacian broke the silence, and said, looking at +Alcinous: "My prince, it becomes thee not to suffer this stranger to +sit on the ground in the ashes. Behold, we are all waiting for thee to +speak and declare thy will. Give this poor man thy hand, and set him +on a seat, that he may know that his prayer is granted. And let them +give him to eat, and fill a bowl for a libation to Zeus, in whose care +are all suppliants." + +Alcinous rose in response to the words of the elder, who was famed +among the Phaeacians for his eloquence and wisdom, and taking Odysseus +by the hand raised him from his abject posture, and seated him by his +side. Food and drink were placed before him, and while he was eating, +Alcinous ordered a bowl to be filled for a libation to Zeus, the god +of hospitality. The wine was served out to the guests, the libations +were poured, and then Alcinous began to speak again, unfolding his +purpose towards Odysseus. + +"Here me, ye princes of Phaeacia. Go ye now to your rest, and to-morrow +we will call an assembly of all the elders, and make a great feast and +sacrifice, and after that we will take counsel how we may best send +the stranger on his way. Safe and sound we will bring him to his +native land, but after that he must take up his portion, according as +the Fates have ordained for him, and spun the thread of his life, +rough or smooth, from the hour when his mother bare him. I speak as +supposing our guest to be a man; but if he be a god, come down from +heaven, then I fear that the gods are devising some snare against us. +For never has it been their wont to appear among us in disguise, but +at sacrifice and at feast they freely consort with us in their own +shape, seeing that we are of their own kin." + +"Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "let not this fear trouble thee. I am +no god, as thou mayest see right well. If ye know any man conspicuous +for the burden of sorrow which he bears, ye may learn my lot from his. +But none, methinks, can equal the sum of what I have endured by the +ordinance of heaven. Care sits by my side day and night, but within me +is a monitor whose voice I must obey, even my hungry belly, that calls +aloud to be filled, and will not let me alone to chew the cud of +bitter thought. Shameless he is, and clamorous exceedingly. Therefore +let me sup and question me no further to-night; but rouse thee betimes +to-morrow, and send me with all speed to my native land. Let me once +see my possessions, and my household, and my stately home, and then I +will close mine eyes in peace." + +A murmur of approval went round the hall as Odysseus ended his speech. +One by one the guests took leave of Alcinous, and he and his hosts sat +awhile conversing together, while the servants were removing the +remnants of the feast, and setting the house in order for the night. +Arete was the first to speak, for she recognised the garments which +Odysseus was wearing as the work of her own hands. "Friend," said she, +"let me ask thee one question. How camest thou by this raiment? For +surely thou hast not brought it with thee in thy voyage across the +deep. Say who thou art and whence thou comest." + +Thus challenged Odysseus told her all the story of his shipwreck on +the island of Calypso, of his long sojourn there, of his voyage on the +raft, his second shipwreck, and his landing on the coast of Phaeacia. +Concluding he touched feelingly on his meeting with Nausicaae, and the +kindness, courtesy, and modesty of her behaviour. "Never saw I such +grace and prudence," he added, "in one so young and so lovely." + +"Yet in this she did not well," replied Alcinous, "that she brought +thee not straightway to this house, but suffered thee to find thy way +alone." + +"Nay, blame her not," answered Odysseus, "she bade me come hither with +herself and the maidens, but I feared to offend thee, and chose to +come alone." + +"Think not that I am so hasty, or given to causeless anger," said +Alcinous; "excess in all things is evil."[1] Then he looked earnestly +at Odysseus, and continued, after a pause: "I would to heaven that thy +thoughts were as mine; then wouldst thou abide for ever in this land, +and take my daughter to wife, and I would give thee house and lands. +But I see that thou art steadfastly purposed to leave us; and none +shall detain thee against thy will. To-morrow thou shalt go. I will +appoint a ship and a crew, and they shall bear thee sleeping to thine +own land, yea though it be more distant than far Euboea, which lies, +as I am told, in the uttermost parts of the earth. Yet the Phaeacians +went thither in their ships, and returned on the same day. They have +no equals, as thou shalt soon learn, in seamanship, and no ships in +all the world are like mine." + +[Footnote 1: _Nothing too much_, the corner-stone of Greek morality.] + +After some further talk they parted for the night, and Odysseus, after +all his hardships, was right glad to lay him down in the soft bed +prepared for him in the gallery before the house. But before he closed +his eyes he muttered a prayer to Zeus that Alcinous might abide by his +promise, and send him safely home. + +III + +Next day was appointed for a great feast in the palace of Alcinous, to +which all the chief men of Phaeacia were invited, and when Odysseus +returned to the house, after some hours spent in a visit to the town, +hefound the courts and galleries thronged with a great company. The +preparations for the banquet were on a heroic scale: twelve sheep, +eight fat swine, and two oxen, the choicest of the herd, were +slaughtered, and a goodly row of casks, filled with the finest +vintages, gave further token that Alcinous was no niggardly host. + +"Come," said Alcinous, meeting Odysseus at the gate. "The guests are +seated, and all is ready. Trouble not thyself as to the manner of thy +home-coming; that is cared for already, and the ship lies at her +moorings. But to-day is a day of good cheer, when thou shalt learn how +gay and joyous a life the Phaeacians live." + +As he spoke, they entered the banquet hall, and Odysseus sat down by +the side of Alcinous. Rich and dainty was the fare, and many times the +great wine-bowls were filled and emptied; for the Phaeacians were a +luxurious race, much given to the pleasures of the table. Among the +guests Odysseus was especially struck by one venerable figure, who sat +by himself against a pillar, on which hung a harp within reach of his +hands. Odysseus noticed that he ate slowly and deliberately, and +seemed to feel for the cup when he wished to drink, "It is Demodocus, +the blind harper," whispered Alcinous. "We shall presently have a +taste of his quality. He is a rare minstrel." + +Accordingly, when the last course was removed, the harp was placed in +the singer's hands, and after striking a deep chord he began to sing, +choosing for his theme a famous tale of Troy, which told how Achilles +and Odysseus quarrelled at a banquet, and reviled each other with +bitter words, and how Agamemnon rejoiced in spirit because of the +strife; for he had heard an oracle from Apollo, foretelling that when +the noblest of the Greeks fell out Troy's end would be near at hand. + +Odysseus listened, and a flood of emotion filled his mind, so sad were +the memories recalled by the minstrel's lay. Of all his gallant peers, +for ten years his companions in many a joyful feast, and many a high +adventure, how many were left? And he, among the last of the +survivors, was now growing old, after twenty years of war and +wandering, far from his wife and home. He was now, indeed, on the eve +of his return; but at what a price had it been won! And who could tell +what heavy trials awaited him when once more he set foot on his native +soil? Was it not but too probable that he would find his house made +desolate, Telemachus dead, and Penelope wedded to another? + +Overpowered by these gloomy forebodings, he covered his face, and wept +aloud. When Demodocus paused in his singing he wiped away his tears, +and poured a drink-offering from his cup; but every time the minstrel +resumed his lay a new fit of weeping succeeded. At last, Alcinous, who +had hitherto been totally absorbed in that rare minstrelsy, observed +his guest's emotion, and partly divining the cause came to his relief. +"How say ye, fair sirs?" he said, rising and addressing the company. +"Shall we go forth for awhile, and show the stranger that we have +other and manlier pastimes, now that we have eaten and drunken, and +cheered our souls with song? Let him not say of us when he goes home +that we sit all day by the wine-cup, but let him learn that the +Phaeacians surpass all mankind in boxing, and in wrestling, and in +leaping, and in the speed of their feet." + +So saying he rose from his seat and led the way to the place of +assembly. Crowds soon flocked to see the friendly trial of strength +and skill. The first event was the foot race, and this was followed by +matches of wrestling, boxing, leaping, and throwing the weight. +Odysseus stood watching the Phaeacians at their sports, and thinking of +the mighty feats which he had witnessed and shared at the funeral +games of Patroclus. Presently he felt a hand on his shoulder, and +heard himself challenged by a young Phaeacian, whose name was Euryalus, +in these terms: "Why so gloomy, father? Away with care! All is ready +for thy departure, and thou shalt soon be home again. But come, give +us a proof of thy manhood, if thou knowest aught of games of skill. +Thou seemest a stout fellow, and I doubt not that thou wilt acquit +thee well." + +"Friend," answered Odysseus, "mock me not. Thou seest how broken I am, +and worn by my long battle with the sea; and care sits heavy on my +heart, forbidding me to think of the things which thou namest." + +"Nay," said Euryalus, with a scornful laugh, "I see that I was +mistaken in thee. Thou art plainly no athlete, but some cunning +merchant, with thy head full of thy cargo, and fingers only skilled in +counting thy gains." + +Then Odysseus bent his brows, and answered with a stern look: "Friend, +thou art over-saucy of thy tongue. But so it ever is; the gods +dispense their gifts with sparing hand, and give not all excellence to +the same man. One man is mean of aspect, but heaven's grace descends +upon his lips, so that men look upon him with delight while he +discourses smoothly with a winning modesty. He is the observed of all +observers, and when he walks through the town all eyes follow him as +if he were a god. Another again is glorious, like a very god, in the +splendour of his face and form, but no grace attends upon his speech. +Even so thou art conspicuous for thy beauty, as though the hand of a +god had fashioned thee, but in understanding thou art naught. Thou +hast stung me by thy unseemly words; I am not ignorant of manly +sports, as thou sayest, but I tell thee that I was among the foremost +as long as I trusted in my youth and in the might of my hands. But now +I am sore spent with woe and pain, for many things have I suffered in +battles by land, and buffeting with the sea. Nevertheless, broken as I +am, I will give proof of my strength, for thou hast provoked me +bitterly by thy wanton words." + +Thereupon, without waiting to throw off his cloak, he sprang into the +arena, and caught up a massy disc of iron, far heavier than those with +which the Phaeacians had been throwing. Poising it lightly, with one +hand he flung it, as one who flings a ball. The Phaeacians sank back in +dismay as they saw the huge mass flying high over their heads, and +when it fell all rushed to the spot to mark the distance. There it +lay, far beyond the longest cast of the native athletes, and Odysseus +pointed to it, and said: "Reach that mark, my young masters, if ye +can! And if any among you have a mind to try a match with me in boxing +or in wrestling, or in the foot race, they shall have their will; only +with the sons of Alcinous I will not strive, for he is my host, and it +were not fitting or prudent to challenge them. Whatever a man can do +with his hands I can do: I can send an arrow sure and strong, and +strike down my foe, and herein can no archer surpass me, save one +only, Philoctetes, who bare the bow of Hercules; and I can fling a +javelin farther than another man can shoot an arrow. Only in speed of +foot I fear that some of you may surpass me; for my knees are yet weak +from long fasting and fighting with the waves." + +Not one of the Phaeacians took up the challenge, but all sat mute, +gazing in wonder and awe at this strange man, who had just given such +signal proof of the power of his arm. At last Alcinous answered and +said: "Stranger, none here can take thy words amiss, for, as thou +sayest, thou hast been bitterly provoked. But hear me now in turn, and +push not thy quarrel further, but rest satisfied with the proof of thy +prowess which thou hast given. I will speak to thee frankly, that thou +mayest know what manner of men the Phaeacians are. We are not mighty +men of valour, like thee, yet we too have our own peculiar excellence. +We are good runners, and none can approach us in all that belongs to +the mariner's art. But at home we live softly, loving the banquet, and +music and dancing, clean raiment, warm baths, and long repose." Then +turning to his attendants he added: "Go, some of you, and bring hither +the harper Demodocus, and clear a space for the dancers, that our +guest may see something of the native sports of Phaeacia." + +Then those whose business it was chose a fair level space for the +dance, and when Demodocus arrived he took his harp and struck up a +lively measure. A fair troop of boys stood in a circle around him, and +the dance began. Alcinous had not overrated the skill of his people in +this graceful pastime, and Odysseus was filled with wonder as he +watched the intricate yet ordered movements of the youthful troop. + +When the dance was ended, Demodocus sang a soft lay of love, and after +that the two most skilful dancers, one of whom was Laodamas, a son of +Alcinous, stood up to dance a reel together. One of them held a +crimson ball, and, keeping time to the music flung it high into the +air; while the other leaped high from the ground, and caught the ball +as it fell. Then they flung the ball with lightning rapidity from hand +to hand, so that it seemed a mere streak of crimson shooting backward +and forward; and all the time the dance went gaily on, while the whole +company of the Phaeacians kept up a merry din, beating time to the +music with their feet. + +"Of a truth," said Odysseus, addressing Alcinous, "thou hast not +boasted for naught; never saw I such dancing in all my long travels." +A proud man was Alcinous to hear such praise from such a man, and he +was not slow to testify his gratitude. "Hear me," he said, "ye princes +of Phaeacia! Methinks our guest is a man of exceeding shrewd wit. Let +us bestow on him a parting gift, that he may remember us, and rejoice +in spirit when he thinks of his sojourn in Phaeacia. Thirteen there +are, of whom I am one, who sit in high places, and are notable men in +the land; let each of us give him a change of raiment and a talent of +gold. And Euryalus shall crave pardon of him for his ill-chosen words, +and appease him with a gift." + +The generous proposal was well received, and each of the twelve nobles +sent his body-servant to fetch the gifts. Euryalus also was prompt to +make his peace with Odysseus. He presented him with a fine sword of +tempered bronze, with silver hilt, and scabbard of ivory. "Behold my +peace-offering," he said, "and take my goodwill with the gift. Forget +my foolish words, and think of me kindly when thou art safe among +thine own people." + +Odysseus acknowledged the courtesy of Euryalus in becoming terms, and +then the whole company rose and went back to the palace of Alcinous, +where they found the gifts for Odysseus all set in order against his +departure. Then Alcinous brought a golden goblet, beautifully +fashioned, and richly chased, and bade Arete bring a coffer to hold +the gifts. The coffer was displayed, and was in itself a gift of no +mean value, being a choice piece of work. + +"Now bid thy handmaids prepare a bath for our guest," said Alcinous to +his wife, and "Receive this as a memorial of me," he added, placing +the goblet in Odysseus' hands, "that thou mayest remember me all the +days of thy life, when thou pourest libations to Zeus and the other +deathless gods." + +Arete gave the order as required, and while the bath was preparing she +arranged all the gifts in the coffer. Then closing the lid she said to +Odysseus: "Make all fast with thine own hands, that none may meddle +with thy goods as thou liest asleep on thy passage across the sea." +Odysseus made fast the cord, securing it with an intricate and cunning +knot, which he had learnt from the great sorceress Circe; and when he +had finished he was summoned by the eldest of the handmaids to the +bath. When he had bathed and put on fresh raiment he came back to the +dining-hall; and as he entered he saw Nausicaae leaning against a +pillar. Sweet was the maiden's face, and kind her eyes, as she gazed +with innocent admiration on the stately figure of her father's guest. +"Farewell, my friend," said she, "and when thou arrivest home think +sometimes of her to whom thou owest thy life." + +"Fair daughter of Alcinous," answered Odysseus, "if that day ever +comes--if I ever see my home again, by favour of Zeus, the lord of +Hera--be assured that I shall remember thee in my prayers, as long as +this life which thou hast given me shall last." And so he parted from +the maiden, and she went back to her mother's bower. + +Odysseus again received a place of honour by the side of Alcinous, and +a goodly portion of meat was set before him. Looking round the circle +of guests he saw Demodocus, the blind harper, sitting in their midst, +and wishing to show him honour, he cut off a choice piece from the +flesh which had been set before him, and bade a servant carry it to +the bard, and greet him in the giver's name. The servant did as he was +bidden, and Demodocus received the portion of honour with becoming +gratitude. + +When the banquet was drawing towards its close Odysseus approached the +minstrel, and after praising his former lay, which told of the +disastrous homeward voyage of the Greeks, he begged him to sing the +Lay of the Wooden Horse, the device by which Troy was taken. Demodocus +complied, and taking his harp began to chant that famous lay, which +told how the Greeks burnt their tents and sailed away, leaving the +wooden monster behind them, how the Trojans dragged the horse into the +city, and how the fatal engine sent forth its burden of armed men in +the night. The name of Odysseus, the arch-plotter, occurred again and +again as the tale went on; and once more Odysseus was moved to tears +by the memories which the words of the bard awakened. + +Alcinous observed his emotion, and called to Demodocus to cease his +song. "We vex our guest," he said, "for whose sake we are gathered +here. Doubtless the minstrel has touched some hidden spring of sorrow. +But come now," he continued, addressing Odysseus, "we have honoured +thee exceedingly, and given thee of our best. Wilt thou not repay us +by telling something of thyself? Let us hear thy name, and say of what +land and of what city thou art, that our ships may know whither to +steer their course. For know that we mariners of Phaeacia need no +pilots nor rudders, but our ships by their own instinct take us to +whatsoever place we would visit, gliding like phantoms, invisible, +swift as thought. Nor has any vessel from our ports ever suffered +shipwreck or harm. + +"Thou likewise hast been a great traveller, and seen many lands and +nations, both such as are wild and fierce and such as are gentle and +of godly mind. Tell us then the tale of thy wanderings, and say why +thou weepest ever at the name of Troy." + +All the guests bent forward with eager faces, and strained their ears +to catch Odysseus' answer; for there was something mysterious about +this strange guest, something which marked him as a man of no common +stamp, and their curiosity, which had hitherto been held in check by +the laws of courtesy, was now set free from all restraint by the frank +question of Alcinous. + +"Illustrious prince," answered Odysseus, after a moment's pause, +"methinks it were best to sit silent and listen to the sweet voice of +the harper; for what better thing has life to offer than a full cup +and brave minstrelsy heard at the quiet hour of eventide? But if thou +must needs hear a tale of sorrow it is not for me to deny thee. First +of all I will tell thee my name. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, and my +name is in all men's mouths because of my deep wit and manifold wiles, +yea, the renown thereof reaches even unto heaven. My home is the sunny +isle of Ithaca, last in a line of islands lying in the western sea. It +is a rugged land, but a nurse of gallant sons; and sweet, ah! very +sweet, is the name of home. Never hath my heart been turned from that +dear spot, no, not by all the loveliness of Calypso, nor by all the +witchery of Circe, but ever I remained faithful to the one lodestar of +my life." + +Here Odysseus began the wondrous story of his wanderings, which kept +his hearers spellbound until far into the night. + + + + +The Wanderings of Odysseus + + +I + +After leaving Troy, Odysseus first sailed to the coast of Thrace, and +collected a rich booty in a sudden raid on the district. But while his +men lingered to enjoy the first-fruits of their spoil, the wild tribes +of the neighbourhood rallied their forces, and falling upon the +invaders, while they were engaged in a drunken revel, drove them with +great slaughter to their ships. No sooner had they put to sea than a +wild tempest came down upon them from the north, and drove them to +seek shelter again on the mainland, where they lay for two days and +nights in constant dread of another attack from the injured Thracians. +On the third day they set sail again and got as far as Malea, the +southernmost headland of Greece. Here they were again driven from +their course, and after nine days' tossing on the waves they reached +the land of the Lotus-Eaters. + +When his men had refreshed themselves, Odysseus sent three of their +number to explore the country and learn the manners of the +inhabitants. Presently these three came to the dwellings of the +Lotus-Eaters, who received them kindly and gave them to eat of the +lotus-plant. With the first taste of that magic food the men forgot +the purpose for which they had been sent, forgot their friends and +their home, and had no desire left in life but to remain there all +their days and feast with the Lotus-Eaters. In this state they were +found by Odysseus, who compelled them by force, though they wept and +complained bitterly, to return to their ships. There he bound them +fast under the benches, and bade the rest take to their oars and fly +from that seductive clime, lest others should fall under the same +fatal spell. + +II + +Thence they came to the land of the Cyclopes, a rude and monstrous +tribe, but favoured of the immortal gods, by whose bounty they live. +They toil not, neither do they sow, nor till the ground, but the earth +of herself brings forth for them a bountiful living, wheat and barley, +and huge swelling clusters of the grape. Naught know they of law or +civil life, but each lives in his cave on the wild mountain-side, +dwelling apart, careless of his neighbours, with his wife and +children. + +It was a dark, cloudy night, and a thick mist overspread the sea, when +suddenly Odysseus heard the booming of breakers on a rocky shore. +Before an order could be given, or any measure taken for the safety of +the ships, the little fleet was caught by a strong landward current, +and whirled pell-mell through a narrow passage between the cliffs into +a land-locked harbour. Drawing their breath with relief at their +wonderful escape, they beached their vessels on the level sand and lay +down to wait for the day. + +In the morning they found that they had been driven to the landward +shore of a long island, which formed a natural breakwater to a +spacious bay, with a narrow entrance at either end. The island was +thickly covered with woods, giving shelter to a multitude of wild +goats, its only inhabitants. For the Cyclopes have no ships, so that +the goats were left in undisturbed possession, though the place was +well suited for human habitation, with a deep, rich soil, and +plentiful springs of water. + +The first care of Odysseus was to supply the crews of his vessels, +which were twelve in number, with fresh meat. Armed with bows and +spears, he and a picked body of men scoured the woods in search of +game. They soon obtained a plentiful booty, and nine goats were +assigned to each vessel, with ten for that of Odysseus. So all that +day till the setting of the sun they sat and feasted on fat venison +and drank of the wine which they had taken in their raid on the +Thracians. + +Early next morning Odysseus manned his own galley, and set forth to +explore the mainland, leaving the rest of the crews to await his +return on the island. As they drew near the opposite shore of the bay, +the mariners came in view of a gigantic cavern overshadowed by +laurel-trees. Round the front of the cavern was a wide court-yard +rudely fenced with huge blocks of stone and unhewn trunks of trees. + +Having moored his vessel in a sheltered place, Odysseus chose twelve +of his men to accompany him on his perilous adventure, and charging +the others to keep close, and not stir from the ship, he prepared for +his visit to the Cyclops, who dwelt apart from his brethren in the +cavern. Amongst the spoils obtained in Thrace was a small store of +peculiarly rich and generous wine, which had been given him by a +priest of Apollo whom he had protected, with his wife and child, while +his men were pillaging the town. Twelve jars of this precious vintage +the priest brought forth from a secret hiding-place, known only to +himself and his wife and one trusty servant. So potent was the wine +that it needed but one measure of it to twenty of water to make a +fragrant and comfortable drink, from which few could refrain. Odysseus +now filled a great goatskin bottle with this wine, and carried it with +him. And well it was for him that he did so. + +During the day the Cyclops was abroad, watching his flocks as they +grazed on the mountain pastures; so that when Odysseus and his men +came to the cavern, they had ample time to look about them. The +courtyard was fenced off into pens, well stocked with ewes and +she-goats, with their young--huge beasts, rivalling in stature their +gigantic shepherd. Within the cavern was a sort of dairy, with great +piles of cheeses, and vessels brimming with whey. + +"Quick now," whispered one of the men to Odysseus. "Let us take of the +cheeses, and drive off the best of the lambs and kids to the ship +before the Cyclops returns; for methinks he will give us but sorry +welcome if he finds us here." "Nay," answered Odysseus, "I will wait +for the master, that I may see him face to face. It may be that he +will bestow on me some gift, such as strangers receive from their +hosts." So they remained, and having kindled a fire they prepared +savoury meat, and ate of the cheeses which they found in the cave. +Then they waited, until the lengthening shadows showed that evening +was drawing near. + +While they sat thus, conversing in low tones, and casting fearful +glances towards the cavern's mouth, all at once they heard a sound +like the trampling of many feet, accompanied by loud bleatings, which +were answered by the ewes and she-goats in the courtyard. Then a vast +shadow darkened the cavern's entrance, and in came Polyphemus, driving +his flock before him. At the sight of that fearful monster, huge as a +mountain, with one vast red eye glaring in the middle of his forehead, +Odysseus and his comrades fled in terror to the darkest corner of the +cave. The Cyclops bore in one hand a mighty log for his evening fire. +Flinging it down with a crash that awakened all the echoes of the +cavern, he closed the entrance with an immense mass of stone, which +served as a door. Then he sat down and began to milk the ewes and +she-goats. Half of the milk he curdled for cheese, and half he kept +for drinking. So when he had strained off the whey, and pressed the +curds into wicker-baskets, he kindled a fire, and as the flame blazed +up, illumining every corner of the cavern, he caught sight of the +intruders, and with a voice which sounded like the roaring of a +torrent cried out: "Who are ye that have come to the cave of +Polyphemus, and what would ye have of him?" + +When he heard that appalling voice, and looked at that horrible face, +fitfully lighted up by the blaze of the fire, Odysseus felt his heart +stand still with terror. Nevertheless he manned himself to answer, and +spake boldly thus: "We are Greeks, driven from our course in our +voyage from Troy, and brought by the winds and waves to these shores. +And we are they who have served Agamemnon, son of Atreus, whose fame +now fills the whole earth; so mighty was the city which he overthrew, +with all the host within her. And now we have come to kneel at thy +feet and beseech thee of thy favour to bestow on us some gift such as +strangers receive. Have pity on us, great and mighty as thou art, and +forget not that Zeus hath the stranger and the suppliant in his +keeping." + +But there was no sign of pity or mercy in the Cyclops' face as he made +answer: "Thou art full simple, my friend, or unversed in the ways of +this land, if thou thinkest that I and my brethren care aught for Zeus +or any other god. Nay, we are mightier far than they, and if thou +seekest aught of me thou must seek it of my favour, and not of my +fears. But tell me truly, where didst thou moor thy vessel on thy +landing? Lies she near at hand, or on a distant part of the coast?" + +Odysseus easily divined the purpose of Polyphemus in putting this +question, and answered accordingly: "My ship was wrecked on a distant +part of your coast, dashed all to pieces against the rocks; and I and +these twelve escaped by swimming." + +Polyphemus made no reply, but sprang up and seized two of the men, +grasping them easily together in one hand, and dashed their brains out +against the rocky ground. Then he cut them in pieces and made his +supper on them. Fearful it was to see him as he ate, crunching up +flesh and bones and marrow all together, like a ravening lion. When he +had devoured the last morsel he took a deep draught of milk, and lay +down on the cavern floor among his flocks to sleep. + +As soon as the heavy breathing of Polyphemus showed that he was fast +asleep, Odysseus crept from his corner, resolved to slay the cannibal +giant on the spot. He had already drawn his sword, when a sudden +thought made him pause. If he killed Polyphemus, how was he to escape +from the cavern? The entrance was blocked by that ponderous stone, +which a hundred men could not have moved; and he and his men must in +that case perish miserably of hunger and thirst. Restrained by this +reflection, he put up his sword, and went back to his companions to +wait for day. + +Polyphemus rose early, and after milking his flocks he laid hold of +two more of the miserable captives, butchered them in the same manner, +and made his breakfast on their warm, quivering bodies. Then he drove +forth his sheep and goats, pushing aside the door of rock, and set it +back in its place, as a man sets the lid on a quiver. They heard his +wild cries, as he called to his flocks, and their loud bleatings as he +drove them out to pasture; then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, +and silence settled on the vast, shadowy cave. + +Forthwith Odysseus began to devise means to escape from that murderous +den, and avenge the slaughter of his friends. As he peered about in +the twilight, he caught sight of a mighty stake of green olive-wood, +tall and stout as the mast of a twenty-oared galley,[1] which had been +cut by the Cyclops for a staff, and laid aside to season. Odysseus cut +off about a fathom's length, and with the help of his comrades made it +round and smooth, and tapered it off at one end to a point. Then he +hardened the sharp end in the fire, and when it was ready he hid the +rude weapon away under a pile of refuse. Of the twelve who had +followed him from the ship, there only remained eight; four of these +were chosen by lot to aid him in his plan of vengeance; and Odysseus +noted with satisfaction that they were the stoutest and bravest of the +company. All being now ready, they sat down to wait for the return of +Polyphemus. + +[Footnote 1: Imitated, with characteristic amplification, by Milton, +"Paradise Lost," i. 292 (Satan's spear).] + +The setting sun was pouring his level rays through the chinks of the +doorway when they heard the ponderous tread of the Cyclops +approaching. This time he drove the whole of his flocks into the cave, +leaving the courtyard empty. Having milked the herd, he laid hands on +two of Odysseus' comrades, and slaughtered and devoured them as +before. The moment had now come for Odysseus to carry out his design. +So he filled a wooden bowl with unmixed wine, and drawing near to +Polyphemus addressed him thus: + +"Take, Polyphemus, and drink of this wine, now that thou hast eaten of +human flesh. I warrant that thou hast never tasted such a choice +vintage as this, and I brought it as a gift to thy divinity, that thou +mightest have pity, and let me go in peace. Little did I dream to find +thee so cruel and so wild. Who in all the world will ever draw near to +thee again, after the hideous deeds which thou hast wrought?" + +Polyphemus took the cup and drained it to the bottom. Then he rolled +his great eye with ecstasy, as the last drop trickled down his +monstrous gullet, and holding out the cup said with a sort of growling +good humour: "Give me to drink again, and make haste and tell me thy +name, that I may bestow on thee a gift of hospitality to gladden thy +heart. I and my brethren have wine in plenty, for the earth gives us +of her abundance, and the soft rain of heaven swells the grape to +ripeness; but this is a drink divine, fit for the banquets of +Olympus." + +Again the cup was filled, and yet a third time; and Polyphemus drank +out every drop. Before long his great head began to droop, and his eye +blinked mistily, like the red sun looming through a fog. Seeing that +the good wine was doing its work, Odysseus lost no time in telling his +name. "Thou askest how I am called," he said in cozening tones, "and +thou shalt hear, that I may receive the gift which thou hast promised +me. My name is Noman; so call me my father and my mother, and all my +friends." When he heard that, Polyphemus "grinned horribly a ghastly +smile," and answered: "This shall be thy gift: I will eat thee last of +all, for the sake of thy good wine." + +With that he sank down backward on the floor, and lay like a +leviathan, with his head lolling sideways, and his mouth gaping, +buried in drunken sleep. + +"Now is our time!" whispered Odysseus, and taking the sharpened stake +from its hiding place he thrust the point into the glowing embers of +the fire. As soon as he saw that the weapon was red hot and about to +burst into flame, he took it up, and gave it to his men. Then, +breathing a prayer to Heaven for strength and courage, they stole +softly to the place where the Cyclops lay. Odysseus clambered up to +the forehead of the Cyclops, holding on by his hair, and while the +others pressed the glowing point of the ponderous stake into the +monster's eye he whirled it round by means of a thong, as men turn an +auger to bore a ship's timber. The point hissed and sputtered as it +sank deep into the pulpy substance of the eye, and there was an acrid +smell of burning flesh, while the great shaggy eyebrow took fire, and +cracked like a burning bush. "It is a fine tempering bath for this +good spear of ours," muttered Odysseus, as he worked away at the +strap. "Temper it well--Polyphemus shall have it as a parting gift" + +At first the Cyclops writhed and groaned in his sleep; then with a +roar as of a hundred lions he awoke, and started up to a sitting +posture, scattering his puny tormentors, who fled in wild haste, and +hid themselves in the angle of a projecting rock. Polyphemus rose +slowly to his feet, tore the stake from the empty eye-socket, and +flung it from him, still uttering his fearful cries. His brethren +heard him, and quitting their caverns, came flocking round his gate, +to see what had befallen. "What ails thee, Polyphemus," they asked, +"that thou makest this dreadful din, murdering our sleep? Is anyone +stealing thy sheep or thy goats? Or seeks anyone to slay thee by force +or by guile?" + +"Friends," answered the afflicted giant, "Noman is slaying me by +guile, neither by force." + +"Go to," replied his brethren, "if no man is using thee despitefully, +why callest thou to us? Thou art stricken, it seems, with some sore +disease: pray, then, to thy father Poseidon, and cumber us no more." +So away they went, growling at their broken sleep, and left their +blinded brother to roar alone. + +Meanwhile Odysseus had been hard at work, taking measures to escape +with his comrades from the cave. Among the flocks of Polyphemus were +several big rams, with fleeces of remarkable thickness and beauty. Of +these he took three at a time, and lashed them together, side by side, +with osiers, which served Polyphemus for a bed. Each middle ram bore +one of the men firmly bound with osiers under his belly; while the two +outside rams served to conceal that living burden. Last of all +Odysseus provided for his own safety. There was one monster ram, the +leader of the flock, with a grand fleece which trailed on the ground, +like the leaves of the weeping ash. Him Odysseus reserved for himself, +and creeping under his belly hauled himself up until he was entirely +hidden by the drooping fleece, and so hung on steadfastly, waiting for +the day. + +At last the weary vigil was over, the huge stone portal was rolled +aside, and the male sheep and goats went forth to pasture, while the +females remained in their pens, bleating and in pain, for they were +swollen with milk, and there was none to relieve them. As the rams +went past Polyphemus felt their backs, to see if the men were there; +but the simple monster never thought of feeling under their bellies. +Last in the train came the big ram, with Odysseus clinging underneath. +Then said Polyphemus, as his great hands passed over his back: "Dear +ram, why art thou the last to leave the cave? Thou wast never wont to +be a sluggard, but ever thou tookest the lead, walking with long +strides, whether thou wast cropping the tender, flowering grass, or +going down to the waterside, or returning at even to the fold. Surely +thou art heavy with sorrow for thy master's eye, which the villain +Noman and his pitiful mates have blinded. Would that thou hadst a +voice, to tell me where he is skulking from my fury! Then would I pour +forth his brains like water on the ground, and lighten my heart of the +woe which hath been brought upon me by the hands of this nithering[1] +Noman." + +[Footnote 1: See Scott, "Ivanhoe."] + +So saying he let the ram go, and as soon as he was clear of the +courtyard Odysseus dropped to the ground, and ran to loose his +comrades. With all speed they made their way down to the ship, driving +the rams before them, with many a fearful backward glance. Right glad +were their friends to see them again, though their faces fell when +they saw their numbers reduced by half. But there was no time for +regrets, for Polyphemus was already close upon them, groping his way +painfully from rock to rock. So they flung the sheep on board, shoved +off the vessel, and took to their oars. While they were still within +earshot Odysseus bade his men cease rowing, and standing up in the +stern called aloud to the Cyclops in mocking tones: "How likest thou +my gift for thy hospitality, my gentle host? Methinks thou art paid in +full, and canst not complain that I have not given thee good measure." + +When he heard that, Polyphemus bellowed with rage, and tearing up a +great boulder from the side of the cliff he flung it with mighty force +in the direction of the voice. It fell into the sea right in front of +the ship, and raised a billow which washed her back to the shore. +Odysseus pushed her off with a long pole, and signalled to his men to +give way. They rowed for dear life, and had attained twice the former +distance from the shore when Odysseus stopped them again, though they +besought him earnestly to forego his rash purpose, and to refrain from +provoking Polyphemus more. But he, being exceeding wroth for the +murder of his men, would not be persuaded; and lifting up his voice he +spake again: "Cyclops, if anyone ask thee to whom thou owest the loss +of thine eye, say that it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, who reft +thee of sight, and his home is in rocky Ithaca." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Polyphemus] + +Now it happened that many a year back Polyphemus had heard a prophecy, +foretelling that he should one day be blinded by a certain Odysseus. +So when he heard that name he was stricken to the very heart, and +cried aloud: "This, then, is the fulfilment of the oracle! Verily I +thought that some tall and proper man would come hither to assail me, +but now I have been outwitted, made drunk, and blinded, by this +little, paltry wretch." After a pause he spoke again, thinking to +fight that man of many wiles with his own weapons. "Come hither, +Odysseus," he said, softening his big voice as well as he could, "that +I may entertain thee with loving-kindness; and afterwards I will pray +to Poseidon, whose son I am, to send a fair breeze for thy homeward +voyage. And he also shall heal my hurt, and give me back my sight." + +Odysseus laughed aloud at the poor monster's simplicity, whereupon +Polyphemus lifted up his hands to heaven, and prayed to his sire, the +lord Poseidon: "Hear me, thou who holdest the earth in thine arms, if +I am indeed thy son. Grant me that Odysseus may never reach his home, +or if that is fixed beyond repeal, let him come home in evil plight, +with the loss of all his men, on a strange ship, to a house of +woe."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Compare Dido's curse ("Stories from the AEneid," p. 84).] + +Such was the curse of Polyphemus, to be fulfilled, as we shall see, to +the letter. And having uttered it he flung another rock, which fell +just short of the vessel's stern, and raised a wave which washed her +towards the island. Soon they reached the harbour where the rest of +the fleet lay moored. Joyful were the greetings of their comrades, who +had given them up for lost; and a merry feast they made on the flesh +of the fat sheep, though their mirth was checkered by sadness when +they thought of the brave six who had come to so horrible an end in +the Cyclops' cave. + +After leaving the land of the Cyclopes they came next to the AEolian +island, where dwelt AEolus with his wife and twelve sons and daughters. +The island floated on the sea, and all around it tall cliffs ran sheer +down to the water, crowned on their summit by a wall of brass. Here +they remained a whole month, and were hospitably entertained by AEolus, +revelling in the abundance of his wealthy house, and whiling away the +time with music, and dance, and song, and brave stories of the Trojan +war. And when they departed he gave Odysseus a leathern bag, tied with +a silver cord, in which were confined all the winds that blow, except +only the good west wind, which he left free to blow behind them and +speed them on their way. + +So for nine days and nights they sailed without let or hindrance, and +on the tenth they came in sight of Ithaca, which they approached so +near that they saw the smoke and flame of the beacon-fires along the +coast. Odysseus was worn out with watching, for during all the voyage +he had not closed his eyes, but had sat the whole time with his hand +on the sheet, and suffered no one to relieve him. But now within sight +of his native land he sank down in utter weariness, and fell into a +deep sleep. + +That fatal moment of weakness led to a long train of disasters. His +men had long gazed with curious and jealous eyes at the mysterious +wallet, which they supposed to be full of gold and silver. As long as +Odysseus was on his guard they durst not give utterance to their +thoughts; but when they saw him overtaken by slumber they began to +murmur among themselves. And thus they spake one to another: "Behold +how this man is honoured and beloved whithersoever he goes! He left +Troy-land laden with booty, and thereto hath AEolus added this rich +treasure, while we must come home with empty hands. Go to, let us have +sight of all this gold and silver." + +So waking folly prevailed over slumbering prudence. In a moment the +silver cord was loosened, and all the boisterous winds rushed forth +and bore them weeping and wailing far from their native land. Roused +by the tumult of the tempest, and the despairing cries of his men, +Odysseus sprang up, just in time to see the last glimpse of the hills +of Ithaca as they melted in the distance. His first impulse was to +fling himself into the sea and perish; but mastering his frenzy he +covered his face, and sat down in speechless misery, while the winds +bore them swiftly back to the isle of AEolus. + +With a heavy heart Odysseus went up to the house where he had been +received so kindly, and told his sorrowful tale. "Pity my weakness," +he pleaded, "and let me not suffer for the sins of my men." But AEolus +was not to be moved. "Begone," he said sternly, "quit this island at +once, thou caitiff! Heaven hath set the seal of its hatred upon thee, +and I may not give countenance to such as thou. Out of my sight!" he +thundered, and Odysseus crept sadly back to his ship. + +Then for six days they voyaged on, toiling continually at the oar, for +now there was no favourable wind to waft them on. They were almost +dead with fatigue when they sighted land on the seventh day, and came +to anchor in a sheltered bay, surrounded on all sides by towering +cliffs, with a narrow entrance, guarded by a tall spire of rock on +either side The place was called Laestrygonia, and the nights in that +country are so short that the shepherd as he drives home his flocks at +sundown meets his fellow-toiler on his way to the pasture. + +The cautious Odysseus moored his ship close to the entrance of the +harbour, while all the others came to anchor at the head of the bay +under the shadow of the cliffs; for there was not a wave, not a +ripple, in that sheltered spot, but the water slumbered, as in a +mountain tarn. Having secured his vessel, by making fast her cable to +the rocks, he scaled the cliff with a few of his men, and seeing smoke +rising in the distance he sent three scouts to explore the country, +meantime going back to his ship to await their return. + +Sooner than he expected he saw two of the men descending the cliff in +headlong haste, and as they drew near he could read on their white, +terror-stricken faces what sort of news they had to bring. Their +report was as dismal as their looks. When they left the coast they +struck into a level road cut through the forest, and presently came to +a spring on the outskirts of a town. Here they met a maiden, drawing +water at the well, who told them that she was the daughter of +Antiphates, king of that country, and offered to conduct them to her +father's house. They went with her, and when she had brought them home +she left them to summon her father. + +"As soon as we caught sight of him," continued he who was telling the +story, "we were stricken with terror, for he was of monstrous stature +and hideous to behold. One of us he seized, and rent him in pieces on +the spot; but we two fled for our lives. There is no time to lose. The +town is in uproar, and before long the whole cannibal tribe will be +upon us." + +Hardly had he finished when a multitude of these huge savages was seen +rushing along the edge of the cliffs which overlooked the harbour. +Arming themselves with great rocks, they began to bombard the ships +which had taken the inside station; and a dreadful din arose of +shattered timbers, mingled with the cries of dying men. Not one ship +escaped destruction, and when that part of their work was ended the +barbarians swarmed down the cliffs, speared the floating corpses, and +dragged them to land for a cannibal feast. + +All this time Odysseus and his crew had been helpless spectators of +this scene of massacre. But when they saw that all was over they cut +their cable, and taking to their oars rowed with might and main until +a wide space of open water divided them from that ill-fated shore, +where all their friends had found a grave. + +IV + +Of the thirteen vessels with which Odysseus sailed from Troy only one +was now left. Weary and broken in spirit they voyaged on over the +waste of waters; and when, after two or three days' sail, they landed +on a low-lying coast, they lay down for two days and two nights, like +men whose last hope in life was gone. On the third morning Odysseus +roused himself, and ascending a rising ground saw to his dismay that +they had landed on a small island. On all sides stretched the +boundless sea, without a trace of land on the whole horizon. + +As he was descending the hill he heard a rustling in a neighbouring +thicket, and a tall stag with branching antlers stepped forth, and +began to make his way down to a little stream which skirted the foot +of the hill. From the high ground on which he stood Odysseus had a +full view of the beast's broad back, and taking steady aim he flung +his spear and pierced him through the spine. Odysseus' eyes glistened +when he saw the splendid quarry at his feet, for never had he seen so +fine a buck. Not without effort he took the carcass on his back, and +bore it down to his ship, where he found his men still lying +listlessly where he had left them. "Courage, comrades," he cried, as +he flung his heavy burden on the sand. "We shall not die before our +day, and while we have life we must eat and drink. Better a full +sorrow than a fasting."[1] So they ate and drank, and made good cheer. + +[Footnote 1: See the whole incident imitated in Virgil ("Stories from +the AEneid," p. 49).] + +Next day Odysseus divided his whole crew into two companies, two and +twenty each, with himself as captain of one division, and Eurylochus, +his faithful squire, in command of the other. Then he drew lots with +Eurylochus to determine which of the two should undertake the perilous +duty of exploring the island. The lot fell upon Eurylochus, and he at +once set forth with his party, pursued by the prayers and tears of +those who remained behind. + +Passing the low hills which skirted the coast, they struck into a +forest path, and presently came to an open glade, in the midst of +which stood a fair stone dwelling. And as they came and drew nigh unto +the house they saw a strange sight: before the doors stalked and +glared a multitude of wolves and lions, and other beasts of prey, and +when they saw the men these fearful creatures came fawning round them, +like hounds welcoming their master, and did them no harm. + +Quaking with wonder and fear, they came and stood on the threshold, +through which they caught sight of a young and lovely dame, pacing to +and fro about her loom, and weaving a wondrous web, fair and large, +such as the daughters of the gods are wont to weave. And as she plied +her task, she sang to herself in a low and thrilling voice, sad and +sweet as the notes of the AEolian harp. Presently she turned her face +to the doorway, and saw the men standing without. With a bright smile +she came forward, and bade them enter; and they all went in, save only +Eurylochus, who was older than the rest, and liked not the look in +that fair lady's eyes. + +"Welcome, fair youths," she said, "to the halls of Circe, daughter of +the sun. Sit ye down, while I prepare you a posset to slake your +thirst on this hot day." So they sat down, and Circe took wine, and +grated cheese, and honey, and barley-meal, and mixed them in a bowl, +muttering strange words, and adding a single drop from a little phial +which she took from a secret cupboard. Then she gave them to drink, +touching them, as she did so, with a wand; and no sooner had they +tasted than their form and countenance was changed into the likeness +of swine, though they kept the mind and feelings of men. Circe now +drove them all together into a stye, and flung down beechmast, and +acorns, and cornel berries, for them to eat. + +It was drawing towards noon when Odysseus saw a solitary figure +descending the slope which led down to the beach. "Eurylochus!" he +cried, recognising the familiar features of his squire. "Why comest +thou alone?" For some time Eurylochus was unable to utter a word; at +last he spoke, in a broken and altered voice, while his face was +blanched with deadly terror. "They are gone," he faltered--"spirited +away--vanished without a sign. The place is haunted: let us away!" + +Without a word, Odysseus caught up his sword and bow, and ordered +Eurylochus to show him the way to the place where he had lost his men. +But Eurylochus clung to his knees, and besought him to remain, and +prepare for instant flight. Seeing him to be unnerved by terror, +Odysseus bade him stay by the ship, and he himself set out alone to +learn the secrets of this mysterious island. + +Just before coming within sight of Circe's palace, he saw, standing in +his path, a fair and comely youth, who greeted him kindly, and took +him by the hand. There was something more than human beauty in the +face of this stranger, and his words showed more than human knowledge +of Odysseus and his affairs; for indeed he was no other than Hermes, +the messenger of the gods, sent down from heaven to aid Odysseus in +this strait. "Son of Laertes," he said, "why goest thou thus unwarily, +even as a silly bird into the net of the fowler? Pause awhile, or, +instead of setting free thy men, thou wilt become even as they are." +So saying he stooped down, and with careful hands tore up a little +plant which was growing at their feet; the flower of it was white as +milk, and the root was black. "Take this plant," he said, giving it to +Odysseus. "It is the magic herb, Moly, and no human hand may pluck it; +having this, thou mayest defy all the spells of Circe. And when thou +comest to the house of that fair witch, she will offer thee a potion, +mixed with baneful drugs: drink thou thereof, for it shall do thee no +harm. But when she smites thee with her wand draw thou thy sword and +make as though thou wouldst slay her; and she will be filled with +fear, for none ever resisted her power before. Then do thou compel her +to swear a great oath that she will devise no further ill against +thee." As the last words were uttered Hermes vanished, leaving +Odysseus standing with the plant in his hand. + +[Illustration: Circe] + +And as the god had spoken, even so it came to pass. Circe welcomed +Odysseus with the same treacherous smile, gave him to drink of the +same cup, and struck him with her wand in the same manner; but when +she saw him standing, unchanged and unmoved, threatening her with +drawn sword, she feared exceedingly, and falling at his feet spake +thus in pitiful tones: "Who art thou, that thou yieldest not to the +power of my drugs, which never mortal resisted before? Art thou that +Odysseus of whom Hermes spake, telling me that he should come hither +on his voyage from Troy? Put up thy sword, and thou shalt be my guest +to-night, and for many days to come." + +"No guest will I be of thine," answered Odysseus sternly, "unless thou +wilt swear a great oath to do me no hurt. Before that I will not trust +thee, or receive aught at thy hands. Hast thou not turned my men into +swine, and didst thou not seek even now to put thy wicked spells upon +me?" + +Then Circe took the oath that was required of her, and thus secured +Odysseus consented to remain. Forthwith his beautiful hostess summoned +her handmaids, sweet nymphs of rivers, and woods, and springs, and +bade them make all things ready to entertain the wanderer. With white +feet tripping nimbly, and many a curious glance at the majestic +stranger, the maidens hastened to obey her command. And soon the +tables, which were all of silver, were set forth with golden vessels, +the chairs spread with purple tapestries, and the rich red wine +mingled in a silver bowl. Others prepared a bath for Odysseus, and +when he had bathed, more than mortal health and vigour seemed to enter +his limbs, such virtue had Circe shed into the water. + +After that they sat down to meat; but Odysseus, whose mind was full of +his comrades, left every dish untasted, and sat without uttering a +word. When she observed it, Circe rallied him for his sullenness: "Art +thou afraid to eat?" she said, smiling: "have I not sworn to do thee +no harm? Ah! thou art thinking of thy friends. Come, then, and I will +restore them to thee." So she brought him to the stye where they were +confined together, and opening the gate drove them all forth, a herd +of bristly swine. Then she anointed them one by one with another drug; +and instantly the bristles fell away from them, and they became men +again, only younger and fairer to behold than they were before. With +tears of joy they embraced Odysseus, and the whole place rang with +their happy greetings, so that even Circe was moved by the tender +scene. + +When they had grown calmer she bade Odysseus go down to the sea, and +bring back all the rest of his company to take up their abode in her +house. Being now quite reassured as to her purpose, he hesitated not +to obey, and went down alone to carry the message from Circe. Arrived +at the ship he was hailed by his comrades as one returned from the +dead; but putting aside their eager questions he told them to beach +the vessel, stow away all her tackle, and follow him to the house of +Circe, where they would find all their fellows feasting and making +merry. + +Much cheered by his words the men set to work with willing hands, and +before an hour had passed the whole company was reunited under Circe's +hospitable roof. The dreaded witch had laid aside all her terrors, and +now appeared only in the character of a kind and generous hostess, +whose sole care was for the comfort and welfare of her guests. Days +lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, and still they lingered +on in that luxurious clime, as if there were no such place as Ithaca, +and no wide waste of sea to be crossed. + +At last, when they had lived a whole year on the island, Odysseus' men +began to grow weary of their long inaction, and begged their leader to +obtain Circe's permission to depart. Not without some misgivings, +Odysseus preferred his request. "Deem me not ungrateful," he said, "if +my heart turns ever to my wife and home. I am but a mortal man, with +human needs and frailties, and no fit mate for a goddess like thee. +And my men weary me with their importunity, when thou art not near." + +Circe heard him graciously, knowing well that they must part. "I will +not keep thee," she said, "against thy will. But a long journey lies +before thee, even to the very ends of the earth, and not until that is +past canst thou set thy sail for home. To the halls of Hades thou must +go, and consult the spirit of Theban Teiresias, who alone among all +the dead hath an understanding heart, while the rest are but flitting +shadows. Now hearken, and I will tell thee all that thou must do. When +thou leavest these shores thou shalt sail ever southward, until thou +hast reached the farther side of the River Oceanus, and come to the +shadowy grove which stands at the confines of the realm of Persephone. +There thou shalt land with thy company, and dig a trench a cubit in +length and breadth, and pour about it a libation of mead and water and +wine; and after that thou shalt offer a sacrifice of black sheep, in +such wise that the blood thereof shall flow into the trench and fill +it. Thither will flock the whole multitude of departed spirits, to +drink of the blood; but do thou draw thy sword, and hold it over the +trench, nor suffer any of the other spirits to draw near until thou +hast seen Teiresias and hearkened to his lore." + +All that night Odysseus remained in deep conference with Circe, and as +soon as day dawned he went to rouse his men who were sleeping in the +outer chamber. "Up, comrades!" he cried, "all is prepared, and we must +embark without delay." His loud summons proved fatal to one of the +company, a certain Elpenor, the youngest of them all, who, the night +before, had lain down to sleep on the housetop, for the sake of the +coolness, being heated with wine. Roused suddenly by the voice of +Odysseus, he staggered to his feet, and, still half asleep, stumbled +over the parapet in his haste, and fell headlong from the roof. + +In the hurry of their departure the body was left where it lay, and +Odysseus, when they reached the ship, did not notice his absence. They +found that Circe had been there before them, and left the victims for +sacrifice bound to the vessel's side. She herself was nowhere to be +seen, and so without another word of farewell they launched their +galley and put out into the deep. + + + + +The Visit to Hades + + +I + +A clear, strong wind came down from the north, sent by the favour of +the mighty enchantress Circe, and over the trackless sea they sped, +where never furrow of mortal ship was seen before. After a long day's +sail they came to the farther shore of the ocean stream, which +surrounds the earth as with a girdle. There is the abode of the people +called the Cimmerians, wrapped in shadow and mist; for never doth the +sun look down upon them with his rays, neither when he climbs the +starry sky, nor yet when he goeth down unto the place of his rest. And +thus they dwell miserably under the curse of perpetual night. + +As they peered through the gloom they saw what seemed a grove of dusky +trees, in shape like the poplar and willow, fringing the shore. "It is +the sign which Circe gave me," whispered Odysseus to his awestruck +comrades; "we are at the very gates of Hades." Landing in silence, +they carried the victims for sacrifice to the verge of the grove, and +Odysseus with his sword dug a trench, a cubit in length and breadth, +and poured about it a libation of mead and water and wine. Then the +sheep were slaughtered, and the trench was filled to the brim with +their blood. When the solemn rite was ended, Odysseus called in a loud +voice to the spirits of the dead, and waited in breathless expectation +with his men. + +Presently a rustling sound was heard, like the sound of the autumn +wind in the dry leaves of the forest; it grew louder and louder, and +out of the gloom the ghosts came flocking, youths and maidens cut off +in their bloom, old men with all their burden of sorrow, and warriors +slain in battle, still wearing the bloodstained armour.[1] With a wild +unearthly cry they came crowding to the trench, eager to drink of the +blood. But Odysseus, though quaking with fear, stood his ground +firmly, and held his drawn sword over the trench to keep off the +multitude, until he had seen and spoken with Teiresias. + +[Footnote 1: Compare "Stories from the AEneid," p. 119.] + +Among the hosts of spirits there was one who lingered near the trench, +and seemed by his beseeching gestures and earnest looks to desire +speech with Odysseus. When his first fears were over Odysseus +recognised the features of Elpenor, who had come to an untimely end on +the morning of their journey, and whose body still lay unburied in the +house of Circe. Registering a mental vow to perform all due rites to +that poor spirit on his homeward voyage, Odysseus warned him back, and +stood waiting for the coming of the seer. + +At last came one with tottering footsteps, leaning on a golden +sceptre, and halted on the farther edge of the trench. It seemed a +very aged man, with flowing white beard, and sightless eyes; and +Odysseus knew by these signs that he was in the presence of Teiresias, +the famous prophet of Thebes, who alone among departed spirits +preserves his understanding, while the rest are flitting phantoms, +with no sense at all. "What wouldst thou of me, Odysseus, son of +Laertes," said the spectre in faltering tones, "and wherefore hast +thou left the glad light of day to visit this drear and joyless realm +of the dead? Draw back from the trench, and put up thy sword in its +sheath, that I may drink of the blood and tell thee all that thou +wouldst know." + +Thereupon Odysseus fell back, and sheathed his sword; and Teiresias, +when he had drunk of the blood, spoke again in firmer and clearer +tones: "Thou art fain to hear of thy home-coming, illustrious hero; +but thy path to Ithaca shall be beset with sorrows, because of the +wrath of Poseidon, whose son, Polyphemus, thou hast blinded. +Nevertheless thou and all thy company shall return safe to Ithaca, if +only ye leave untouched the sacred flocks and herds of Helios,[1] when +ye come to the island of Thrinacia. But if harm befall them at your +hands, from that hour thy ship and all her crew are doomed and forfeit +to destruction: and though thou thyself escape, yet thou shalt return +after many days, in evil plight, to a house of woe.[2] And now learn +how thou mayest at last appease the anger of the god who pursues thee +with his vengeance. When thou art once more master in thine own house +thou shalt go on a far journey, carrying with thee an oar of thy +vessel, until thou comest to a people that dwell far from the sea, and +know naught of ships or the mariner's art. And there shalt meet thee +by the way a man who shall say that thou bearest a winnowing shovel[3] +on thy shoulder; and this shall be a sign unto thee, whereby thou +shalt know that thou hast reached the end of thy journey. Then plant +thy oar in the ground, and offer sacrifice to Poseidon. This shall be +the end of thy toils, and death shall come softly upon thee where thou +dwellest in a green old age among thy happy people." + +[Footnote 1: The sun god.] + +[Footnote 2: The very words of Polyphemus, p. 93.] + +[Footnote 3: The oar.] + +When he had thus spoken Teiresias vanished into the darkness; and one +by one the spirits came up to the trench, as Odysseus suffered them, +and having drunk of the blood obtained strength to speak and answer +his questions. First among them was the spirit of his mother, +Anticleia, daughter of Autolycus, who had been hovering near during +his conference with Teiresias. When she had drunk she said: "Whence +comest thou, my son? Art thou still wandering on thy long voyage from +Troy, or hast thou been in Ithaca, and seen thy wife?" + +"Nay, mother," answered Odysseus, "I am wandering still, still +treading the path of woe, since the day when I followed Agamemnon to +Troy. But tell me now, and answer me truly, what was the manner of thy +death? Came it slowly, by long disease, or did Artemis lay thee low in +a moment with a painless arrow from her bow?[1] And tell me of my +father and my son whom I left in Ithaca; do they still hold my +possessions, or hath some other thrust them with violence from my +seat? Tell me also of Penelope, my wedded wife, whether she abides +steadfast and guards my goods, or whether she is gone to cheer some +other man's heart." + +[Footnote 1: Sudden death was ascribed to Artemis or Apollo.] + +"Steadfast indeed she is," replied Anticleia, "and wondrous patient of +heart; all her thoughts are ever of thee. No one has yet usurped thy +place in Ithaca, but Telemachus still reaps thy fields and sits down +to meat with the noblest in the land. As to thy father, he comes no +more to the town, but dwells continually on his farm. He lives not +delicately, as princes use, but is clad in sorry raiment, and sleeps +in the winter among the ashes of the hearth with his thralls, and in +summer on a bed of dry leaves in his vineyard. There he lies forsaken, +heavy with years and sorrows, mourning for thee. And in such wise also +death came upon me, neither by wasting sickness nor by the gentle +shafts of Artemis, but my sore longing for thee, Odysseus, and for thy +sweet counsels, at last broke my heart." + +A flood of tenderness overpowered Odysseus at these sad words, and he +sprang forward with arms outstretched to clasp his mother to his +breast. Thrice he essayed to embrace her, and thrice his arms closed +on emptiness,[1] while that ghostly presence still flitted before him +like a shadow or a dream. "O my mother," cried Odysseus in deep +distress, "why dost thou mock me thus? Come to my heart, dear mother; +let me hold thee in mine arms once more, and mingle my tears with +thine. Or art thou but the shadow of a shade, a phantom sent by +Persephone to deceive me?" + +[Footnote 1: Compare "Stories from the AEneid," p. 24.] + +"Persephone deceives thee not," answered the ghost, "but this is the +fashion of mortals when they die. Flesh and bone and sinew are +consumed by the might of fire, but the spirit takes flight and hovers +ever like a winged dream. But make haste and get thee back to the +daylight, and keep all that thou hast seen in memory that thou mayest +tell it to thy wife." + +When the spirit of Anticleia was gone, a shadowy throng pressed +forward to the trench, all the ghosts of noble dames, wives and +daughters of princes. And Odysseus kept his place, sword in hand, +suffering them only to drink one by one, that he might question them +and learn their story. There he saw Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, +and Leda, to whose twin sons, Castor and Pollux, a strange destiny was +allotted; for after their death they rose to life again on alternate +days, one lying in the tomb, while the other walked the earth as a +living man. There too was Iphimedeia, mother of the giants Otus and +Ephialtes, who at nine years of age were nine fathoms in height and +nine cubits in breadth. Haughty were they, and presumptuous in their +youth; for they made war on the gods, and piled Ossa on Olympus, and +Pelion on Ossa, that they might scale the sky. But they perished in +their impiety, shot down by the bolts of Apollo's golden bow. Last +came Eriphyle, the false wife, who sold her husband's life for a +glittering bribe. + +That dream of fair women melted away and another ghostly band +succeeded, the souls of great captains and mighty men of war. Foremost +among these was seen one of regal port, around whom was gathered a +choice company of veteran warriors, all gored and gashed with recent +wounds. He who seemed their leader stretched out his hands towards +Odysseus with a piteous gesture, and tears such as spirits weep[1] +gushed from his eyes. Instantly Odysseus recognised in that stricken +spirit his great commander Agamemnon, once the proud captain of a +thousand ships, now wandering, forlorn and feeble, with all his glory +faded. + +[Footnote 1: "Tears such as _angels_ weep," Milton, "Paradise Lost," +i. 619.] + +"Royal son of Atreus," he said, in a voice broken with weeping, "is it +here that I find thee, great chieftain of the embattled Greeks? Say, +how comest thou hither, and what arm aimed the stroke which laid thee +low?" "Not in honour's field did I fall," answered Agamemnon, "nor yet +amid the waves. It was a traitor's hand that cut me off, the hand of +AEgisthus, and the guile of my accursed wife. He feasted me at his +board, and slaughtered me as one slaughters a stalled ox; and all my +company fell with me in that den of butchery. It was pitiful to see +all that brave band of veterans writhing in their death agony among +the tables loaded with good cheer, and goblets brimming with wine. But +that which gave me my sorest pang was the dying shriek of Cassandra, +daughter of Priam, who was struck down at my side by the dagger of +Clytaemnestra. Then the murderess turned away and left me with staring +eyes and mouth gaping in death. For naught is so vile, naught so +cruel, as a woman who hath hardened her heart to tread the path of +crime. Even so did she break her marriage vows, and afterwards slew +the husband of her youth. I thought to have found far other welcome +when I passed under the shadow of mine own roof-tree. But this +demon-wife imagined evil against me, and brought infamy on the very +name of woman." + +"Strange ordinance of Zeus!" said Odysseus musingly, "which hath +turned the choicest blessing of man's life, the love of woman, into +the bitterest of curses for thee and for thy house. Yea, and upon all +the land of Hellas hath woe been brought by the deed of a +woman--Helen, thy brother's wife." + +"Ay, trust them not," replied Agamemnon bitterly, "Never give thy +heart into a woman's keeping; she will rifle thy very soul's flower, +and then laugh thee to scorn. But why do I speak thus to thee? Thou +hast indeed a treasure in thy wife; no wiser head, no truer heart, +than hers. Happy art thou, and sweet the refuge which is prepared for +thee after all thy toils, Well I remember the day when we set sail +from Greece, and how fondly thou spakest of her, thy young bride, with +her babe at her breast. Now he will be a tall youth, and with what joy +will he look into the eyes of his father, whom he was then too young +to know!" + +After that Odysseus was silent, his mind full of sweet and anxious +thoughts. Meanwhile other familiar forms had drawn near, the spirits +of warriors renowned, whose very names were as a battle-cry when they +dwelt on earth: Achilles, Patroclus, and Antilochus, and farther off, +looming dimly in the darkness, the gigantic shade of Ajax. Achilles +was the first to speak. "Son of Laertes," he said, "thou man of +daring, hast thou reached the limit of thy rashness, or wilt thou go +yet further? Are there no perils left for thee in the land of the +living that thou must invade the very realm of Hades, the sunless +haunts of the dead?" + +"I came to inquire of Teiresias," answered Odysseus, "concerning my +return to Ithaca. All my life I am a bondslave to toil and woe; but +thou, Achilles, wast happy in thy life, honoured as a god by all the +sons of Hellas; and now thou art happy, even in death, for honour +waits on thy footsteps still." + +"Tell me not of comfort in death," replied Achilles. "Rather would I +breathe the air of heaven, yea, though I were thrall to a man of +little substance, than reign as king over all the shades of the dead. +But give me some news of my son, Neoptolemus. Came he to fight with +the Trojans after I was gone, and did he acquit him well? And knowest +thou aught of my father, Peleus? Lives he still in honour and comfort +among my people, or has he been driven into beggary by violent men, +now that he is old and I am not near to aid him? Oh, for an hour of +life, with such might as was mine when I fought in the van for Greece? +Then should they pay a bitter reckoning, whosoever they be that wrong +him and keep him from his own." + +"Of Peleus," answered Odysseus, "I have heard nothing, but of thy son, +Neoptolemus, I can tell thee much, for I myself brought him from +Scyros to fight in Helen's cause, and thereafter my eye was ever upon +him, to mark how he bore himself. In council none could vie with him, +save only Nestor and myself; ne'er saw I so rare a wit in so young a +head. And when the Greeks were arrayed in battle against the Trojans +he was never seen to hang back, but fought ever in the van among the +foremost champions, like a mighty man of war. Nor was it only in the +clamour and heat of war that he proved his mettle; for in that +perilous hour when we lay ambushed in the wooden horse, when the +stoutest hearts among us quailed, he never changed colour, but sat +fingering his spear and sword, waiting for the signal to go forth to +the assault. And after we had sacked the lofty towers of Troy he +received a goodly portion of the spoil, and a special prize of honour, +and so departed, untouched by point or blade, to his father's house." + +When he heard these brave tidings of his son, Achilles rejoiced in +spirit, and strode with lofty gait along the plain of asphodel. + +So one by one the spirits came up, and inquired of Odysseus of their +dear ones at home. Only the soul of Ajax, son of Telamon, stood +sullenly aloof; for between him and Odysseus there was an old quarrel. +After the death of Achilles a dispute arose among the surviving +chieftains for the possession of his armour. It was decided to refer +the matter to the Trojan captives in the camp, and they were asked who +of all the Greeks had done them most harm. They answered in favour of +Odysseus, who accordingly received the armour. Thereupon Ajax fell +into a frenzy of rage, and slew himself. When Odysseus saw him, and +marked his unforgiving mood, he was filled with remorse and pity, and +strove to soften his resentment with gentle words. "Ah! son of +Telamon," he said, "canst thou not forgive me, even here? Sorely the +Argives mourned thee, and heavy was the loss brought on them by thy +rash act. Thou wast a very tower of strength to the host, and we wept +for thee as for a second Achilles. Draw near, great prince, subdue thy +haughty spirit, and speak to me as thou wast wont to speak before the +will of heaven set enmity between us." + +Thus earnestly Odysseus pleaded, but there was no reply, and the angry +spirit passed away into the gloom of Erebus.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Compare the silence of Dido, "Stories from the AEneid," p. +123.] + +II + +Odysseus still lingered, hoping yet to have speech with other souls of +heroes who had once rivalled him in valour and wisdom while they dwelt +in the flesh. But he was destined to see another and more awful +vision. Suddenly the pall of darkness which shrouded the secrets of +the nether abyss was lifted, and the whole realm of Hades was exposed +to view. There he saw the place of torment, where great malefactors +atone for their crime, and Minos, the infernal judge, sitting at the +gates, passing sentence, and giving judgment among the shades. Within +appeared the gigantic form of Tityos, stretched at full length along +the ground, and two vultures sat ever at his side, tearing his liver. +This was his punishment for violence offered to Leto, the mother of +Apollo and Artemis. Not far from him appeared Tantalus, plunged up to +the neck in a cool stream; the water lapped against his chin, but he +had not power to drink it, though he was tormented with a burning +thirst. As often as he stooped to drink, the water was swallowed up, +and the earth lay dry as the desert sand at his feet. And nodding +boughs of trees drooped, heavy with delicious fruit, over his head; +but when he put forth his hand to pluck the fruit, a furious gust of +wind swept it away far beyond his reach. And yet another famous +criminal he saw, Sisyphus, the most cunning and most covetous of the +sons of men. He was toiling painfully up a steep mountain's side, +heaving a weighty stone before him, and straining with hands and feet +to push it to the summit. But every time he approached the top, the +stone slipped through his hands, and thundered and smoked down the +mountain's side till it reached the plain. + +Other wonders and terrors might still have been revealed, but as that +hardy watcher stood at his post a great tumult and commotion arose in +that populous city of the dead, and the whole multitude of its ghostly +denizens came rushing towards the trench, as if resolved to expel the +daring intruder. Odysseus' heart failed him when he saw the air thick +with hovering spectres, who glared with dreadful eyes, and filled the +air with the sound of their unearthly voices. Turning his back on that +place of horror he made his way slowly towards the shore, where he +found his men anxiously awaiting him. + + + + +The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis; Thrinacia + + +I + +Following the same course as on his outward voyage, Odysseus put in +again at the island of Circe, where his first duty was to bury the +body of the young Elpenor, whose ghost he had seen in an attitude of +mute reproach at the threshold of Hades. They were again received with +all hospitality by Circe. + +After the evening meal Circe drew Odysseus apart, and questioned him +on all that he had seen and heard on that strange journey, from which +he had returned, as she said, like one ransomed from death. And when +he had told his story she instructed him as to the course which he had +to steer on leaving the island, and warned him against the manifold +perils of the voyage. + +"First," said she, "thou wilt come to the rocks of the Sirens, maidens +of no mortal race, who beguile the ears of all that hear them. Woe to +him who draws near to listen to their song! He shall never see the +faces of his wife and children again, or feel their arms about his +neck, but there he shall perish, and there his bones shall rot. +Therefore take heed, and when thou drawest near the place stop the +ears of thy men with wax, and bid them bind thee fast with cords, that +thou mayest hear the song of the Sirens. And when that seducing melody +fills thine ears, thou wilt beg and implore thy comrades to set thee +free, that thou mayest draw near and have speech of the Sirens. Then +let them bind thee more firmly to the mast, and take to their oars, +and fly the enchanted rocks. + +"This peril past, thou hast the choice of two different routes. One of +these will bring thee to the Wandering Isles, which stand, front to +front, with steep slippery sides of rock, running sheer down to the +sea. Between them lies a narrow way, which is the very gate of death. +For if aught living attempts to pass between, those rocky jaws close +upon it and grind it to powder. Only the doves which bear ambrosia to +Father Zeus can pass that awful strait, and one of these pays toll +with her life as she passes, but Zeus sends another to fill her place. +And one ship sailed safely through, even the famous _Argo_ when she +bore Jason and his crew on their voyage from the land of AEetes. All +others when they essayed the task perished, and were brought to naught +in a whirlwind of foam and fire. + +"But if thou takest the other way thou wilt come to another strait, +guarded day and night by two sleepless sentinels, Scylla and +Charybdis. On one side thereof towers a lofty peak, shrouded, even in +the noon of summer, in clouds and thick darkness. No mortal man could +climb that steep and slippery rock, not though he had twenty hands and +twenty feet; for the side is smooth as polished marble, and in the +midst of the cliff is a shadowy cave overlooking the track by which +thou must guide thy ship, Odysseus. Deep down it goes into the heart +of the mountain, so that a man in his lusty prime could not shoot an +arrow from his ship to the bottom of that yawning pit In the cave +dwells Scylla, and yelps without ceasing. Her voice is thin and +shrill, like the cry of a hound newly littered, but she herself is a +monster horrible to behold, so that neither man nor god could face her +without affright. Twelve feet hath she, and six necks of prodigious +length, and on each neck a fearful head, whose ravening jaws are armed +with triple rows of teeth. As far as her waist she is hidden in the +hollow cave, but she thrusts out her serpent necks from the abyss, and +fishes in the waters for dolphins and sea-dogs and other creatures +whose pasture is the sea. On every ship that passes her den she levies +a tribute of six of her crew. + +"On the other side of the strait thou wilt see a second rock, lying +flat and low, about a bowshot from the first. There stands a great +fig-tree, thick with leaves, and under it sits Charybdis, sucking down +the water, and belching it up again three times a day. Beware that +thou approach not when she sucks down the water, for then none could +save thee from destruction, no, not Poseidon himself. Rather steer thy +galley past Scylla's cave, for it is better to lose six of thy men +than to lose them all. + +"Next thou shalt come to the island of Thrinacia, where graze the oxen +of Helios and his goodly sheep--seven herds of oxen, and as many fair +flocks of sheep, and fifty in each flock and herd. They are not born, +neither do they die, and two goddesses have charge of them, +fair-haired nymphs, the daughters of Helios. Take heed that thou harm +not the sacred beasts, that it may be well with thee, and that thou +and thy company may come safely home." + +II + +Once more they were afloat, and the brave little vessel bounded gaily +over the waves, her canvas bellying in the wind. For some hours they +sailed on thus, and Odysseus recited to his men all that he had heard +from Circe. Then suddenly the wind dropped, and the sail hung idly to +the mast. Having furled and stowed the sail, they took to their oars, +while the sea went down, and at last sunk to a level calm. In the +distance a low-lying coast appeared, which Odysseus knew to be the +island of the Sirens, Forthwith he began to make his preparations to +meet the danger which lay before them. Taking a ball of wax he cut it +into small pieces, and having worked each piece in his hand until it +was soft and plastic he carefully stopped the ears of all his men with +the wax. Then two of the crew, to whom he had already given his +orders, bound him hand and foot to the mast of the vessel. All being +ready, they rowed forward until they came within full view of the +island. And there, in a low-lying meadow hard by the sea, sat the +Sirens; lovely they were of aspect, and gracious of mien; but all +around them were piled the bones of men who had fallen victims to +their wicked wit,[1] fleshless ribs, from which the skin still hung in +yellow shreds, and grinning skulls, gazing with eyeless sockets at the +sea. + +[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Hamlet."] + +As the ship drew near, the whole choir lifted up their voices and +began to sing a sweet and piercing strain, which thrilled the very +marrow of Odysseus as he listened. The winds hovered near on flagging +wing, the sea lay locked in deep repose, and all nature paused with +attentive ear, to catch the SONG OF THE SIRENS. + + "Mighty warrior, sage renowned, + Turn, O turn thy bark this way! + Rest upon this holy ground, + Listen to the Sirens' lay. + Never yet was seaman found + Passing our enchanted bay, + But he paused, and left our bound + Filled with wisdom from his stay. + All we know, whatever befell + On the tented fields of Troy, + All the lore that Time can tell, + All the mystic fount of joy." + +It was a strain cunningly calculated to flatter a deep, subtle spirit +like that of Odysseus. To know all! to read all secrets, and unravel +the tangled skein of human destiny! What a bribe was this to this +restless and eager mind! Then the voices of the witch-women were so +liquid, and the music so lovely, that they took the very air with +ravishment, and melted the hearer's soul within him. Odysseus +struggled to break his bonds, and nodded to his men to come and loose +him. But they, who had been warned of this very thing, rose up and +bound him with fresh cords. Then they grasped their oars again, the +water roared under their sturdy strokes, and soon they were out of +hearing of that seductive melody. + +They had not long lost sight of the Sirens' Rocks when they heard the +booming of breakers, which warned them that the fearful strait between +Scylla and Charybdis was close at hand. A strong current caught the +galley and whirled her with appalling swiftness towards the point of +danger. The water boiled and eddied around them, and the blinding +spray was dashed into their faces. Then a sudden panic came upon the +crew, so that they dropped their oars, and sat helpless and unnerved, +expecting instant death. In this emergency, Odysseus summoned up all +his courage, and strode up and down between the benches, exhorting, +entreating, and calling each man by name. "Why sit ye thus," he cried, +"huddled together like sheep? Row, men, row for your lives! And thou, +helmsman, steer straight for the passage, lest we fall into a direr +strait, and be crushed between the Wandering Rocks. We have faced a +worse peril than this, when we were penned together in the Cyclops' +cave; and we shall escape this time also, if only ye will keep a stout +heart." + +Circe had cautioned Odysseus on no account to attempt resistance when +he approached the cave of Scylla; nevertheless, he put on his armour, +and took his stand on the prow of the vessel, holding in each hand a +lance. + +So on they sped, steering close to the tall cliff under which Scylla +lay hid, and gazing fearfully at the boiling whirlpool on the other +side. Just as they passed, a huge column of water shot into the air, +belched up from the vast maw of Charybdis, and the galley was half +swamped under a fountain of falling water. When that ended, a black +yawning chasm appeared, the very throat, as it seemed, of Charybdis, +into which the water rushed in a roaring torrent. + +Odysseus was gazing intently at this wondrous sight when he heard a +sharp cry, and, looking back he saw six of his men, the stoutest of +the crew, dangling high in the air, firmly clutched in the six +sharklike jaws of Scylla. There they hung for a moment, like fishes +just caught by the angler's hook; the next instant they were dragged +into the black mouth of the cavern, calling with their last breath on +their leader's name. This was the most pitiful thing that Odysseus had +ever beheld, in all his long years of travel on the sea. + +III + +The last trial was now at hand, and if they could stand this final +test a happy home-coming was promised to them all. By next day's dawn +they ran down to the fair isle of Helios, and as they drew near they +heard the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep. Then Odysseus +remembered the warnings of Circe and Teiresias, and sought to persuade +his men to sail past the island and fly from the reach of temptation. +But they murmured against him, and Eurylochus, his lieutenant, gave +voice to their feelings thus: "Thou man of iron, thou hast no pity on +us, but thinkest that we are all as hardy and as strong as thou art. +Hungry and weary as we are, wouldst thou have us turn away from this +fair isle, where we could prepare a comfortable meal, and take +refreshing sleep? Shall we add the horrors of night to the horrors of +the sea, and confront the demons of storm that haunt the caverns of +darkness? Nay, suffer us to abide here to-night, and to-morrow we will +hoist sail again." + +Odysseus saw by the looks of his men that it would be useless to +strain his authority, and so he gave way, though with sore reluctance, +only exacting a solemn oath from the whole company that they would +keep their hands off the cattle of Helios. When each in turn had taken +the oath they landed on the shore of a sheltered bay, and encamped by +a fair spring of fresh water. + +During the night it began to blow hard, and early next morning, as the +weather was still stormy and the wind contrary, they hauled up their +galley and bestowed her in a roomy cave, beyond the reach of wind and +water. Odysseus repeated his warnings, and the crew then dispersed, to +while away the time until the weather should mend. + +For a whole month they had nothing but contrary gales from the south +and east, and long before that time had run out they had come to the +end of their store of provisions. For some time they contrived to live +on the fish which they caught by angling from the rocks, though this +was but poor fare for the robust appetites of those heroic days. + +All this time Odysseus kept a careful watch over the movements of his +men, fearing that they might be driven by hunger to break the oath +which they had taken. But one morning he wandered away to a distant +part of the island, that he might spend an hour in solitary prayer and +meditation. Having found a secluded spot, he washed his hands, and +prayed earnestly to the gods for succour: and when he had prayed, +heaven so ordered it that he fell into a deep sleep. + +Then the demon of mischief entered into the heart of Eurylochus, a +factious knave, who had more than once thwarted the counsels of +Odysseus. "Comrades," he said, "let us make an end of this misery. +Death in any shape is loathly to us poor mortals, but death by hunger +is the most hideous of all. Come, let us take the choicest of the +herds of Helios, and feast upon them, after sacrifice to the gods. +When we return to Ithaca we will build a temple to Helios, and appease +him with rich offerings. And even though he choose to wreck our ship +and drown us all, I would rather swallow the brine, and so make an +end, than waste away by inches on a desert island." + +The famishing sailors lent a ready ear to his words, and having picked +out the fattest of the oxen they slaughtered them and offered +sacrifice, plucking the leaves of an oak as a substitute for the +barley-meal for sprinkling between the horns of the victims, and +pouring libations of water instead of wine. When the vain rite was +finished, they spitted slices of the meat, and roasted them over the +glowing embers. + +Meanwhile Odysseus had awakened from his sleep, and made his way, not +without forebodings of ill, back to the camp. As he approached, the +steam of roasting meat was borne to his nostrils. "Woe is me!" he +cried, "the deed is done! What a price must we now pay for one hour of +sleep." + +Vengeance, indeed, was already prepared. Helios received prompt news +of the sacrilege from one of the nymphs who had charge of his flocks +and herds, and hastened to Olympus to demand speedy punishment for the +transgressors, vowing that if they escaped he would leave the earth in +darkness and carry the lamp of day to the nether world. Zeus promised +that the retribution should be swift and complete, and Helios +thereupon returned immediately to his daily round, knowing full well +that the father of gods would keep his word. + +When Odysseus entered the camp he rebuked his men bitterly for their +impiety. But no words, and no repentance, could now repair the +mischief; the cattle were slain, and in that very hour dire portents +occurred, to show them the enormity of their crime. A strange moaning +sound, like the lowing of kine, came from the meat on the spits, and +the hides of the slaughtered beasts crawled and writhed. + +In spite of these dreadful omens they continued for six days to feast +upon the herds of Helios. On the seventh day the wind blew fair, and +they launched their vessel and continued their voyage. The last +vestige of the island had hardly been lost to view when the sky became +black with clouds, and a violent squall struck the ship, snapping her +mast, which fell upon the helmsman, and dashed out his brains. A +moment after, a deafening peal of thunder broke overhead, and the +avenging bolt of Zeus fell upon the ship, scattering her timbers, and +strewing the charred carcasses of the crew upon the waves. + +Odysseus alone escaped with his life from that tremendous stroke, and +clinging to a spar floated all day, until he came in sight of the +strait between Scylla and Charybdis. By the favour of heaven he was +once more preserved from this great peril, and on the tenth day after +the loss of his vessel he was thrown ashore by the waves on the island +of Calypso. + + + + +Odysseus lands in Ithaca + +I + +The last farewell has been spoken, the good ship is loosed from her +moorings, and Alcinous is standing on the quay, surrounded by the +nobles of Phaeacia, to bid his illustrious guest god-speed. The picked +crew bend to their oars, and the galley leaps forward, like a mettled +steed who knows his master's voice. The setting sun is just gilding +the towers of the city as they cross the harbour bar. Swift as a +falcon the magic vessel skims over the swelling waters, and the +toil-worn hero lays him down to rest on a soft couch prepared for him +in the stern. Then a deep and deathlike sleep falls upon him, and he +lies breathing gently as an infant, while the soft southern breeze +plays with his dark clustering hair. + +There is a certain haven in the island of Ithaca, protected by two +lofty headlands, leaving a narrow passage between them. Within, the +water is so still that ships lie there without moorings, safe and +motionless. At the head of the haven is a long-leaved olive-tree, +overshadowing a cool and pleasant cave, sacred to the "Nymphs called +Naiads, of the running brooks."[1] Inside the cave are bowls and +pitchers of stone, and great stone looms, at which the Naiads weave +their fine fabrics of sea-purple dye. It is a favourite haunt of the +honey-bee, whose murmurs mingled with the splashing of perennial +springs make drowsy music in the place. There are two gates to the +cavern, one towards the north, where mortal feet may pass, and the +other on the south side, which none may enter save the gods alone. + +[Footnote 1: Shakespeare, "Tempest."] + +The day-star was gazing on that still, glassy mere as the Phaeacians +steered between the sentinel cliffs and drove their galley ashore in +front of the cave. They lifted Odysseus, still sleeping, from the +stern, and laid him down gently, couch and all, on the sand. Then they +brought all the rich gifts, and set them down by the root of the +olive-tree, out of the reach of any chance wayfarer; and having +bestowed all safely they launched their ship, and started on their +voyage home. + +But they were destined to pay dear for their good service to the +stranger. Poseidon marked their course with a jealous eye, and he went +to his brother, Zeus, and thus preferred his complaint: "Behold now +this man hath reached home in safety and honour, and brought the oath +to naught which I sware against him, when I vowed that he should +return to Ithaca in evil plight! Is my power to be defied, and my +worship slighted, by these Phaeacians, who are of mine own race?" + +"Thine honour is in thine own hands," answered Zeus. "Assert thy +power, lift up thy hand and strike, that all men may fear to infringe +thy privilege as lord of the sea." + +Having thus obtained his brother's consent, Poseidon went and took his +stand by the harbour mouth at Phaeacia, and as soon as the vessel drew +near he smote her with his hand, and turned her with all her crew into +a rock, which remains there, rooted in the sea, unto this day. + +II + +Twilight had not yielded to day when Odysseus awoke from his +trancelike sleep, and gazed in bewilderment around him. His senses had +not yet fully come back to him, and after his twenty years' absence he +knew not where he was. All seemed strange--the winding paths, the +harbour, the cliffs, and the very trees. With a cry of dismay he +sprang to his feet, and cried aloud: "Good lack, what land have I come +to now, and who be they that dwell there? Are they savage and rude, or +gentle and hospitable to strangers?" Then his eye fell on the gifts +which had been brought with him from Phaeacia. What was he to do with +all this wealth? "Now this is a sorry trick which the Phaeacians have +played me," he muttered again, "to carry me to a strange land, when +they had promised to convey me safe to Ithaca." + +So unworthily did Odysseus deem of his benefactors that he fell to +counting his goods, for fear lest they should have carried off a +portion of the gifts while he slept. He found the tale complete, and +when he had finished counting them he wandered disconsolate along the +sand, mourning for the country which he thought still far away. As he +went thus, with heavy steps and downcast eyes, a shadow fell across +his path, and looking up he saw a fair youth, clad and armed like a +young prince, who stood before him and smiled in his face with kindly +eyes. Glad to meet anyone of so friendly an aspect, Odysseus greeted +him, asked for his countenance and protection, and inquired the name +of the country. + +"Either thou art simple," answered the youth, "or thy home is far +away, if thou knowest not this land. It is a place not unknown to +fame, but named with honour wherever mortal speech is heard. Rugged +indeed it is, and unfit for horses and for chariots, but rich in corn +and wine, and blessed by the soft rain of heaven. On its green +pastures roam countless flocks and herds, and streams pour their +abundance from its forest-clad hills. Therefore the name of Ithaca is +spoken far and wide, and hath reached even to the distant land of +Troy." + +The wanderer's heart burned within him when he heard his dear native +island described with such loving praise. But dissembling his joy he +set his nimble wits to work, and began to spin a fine fiction for the +stranger's ear. "I have heard of Ithaca," he said, "as thou sayest, +even in Troy, where I fought under Idomeneus, King of Crete. And now I +am an exile, flying from the vengeance of Idomeneus, whose son, +Orsilochus, I slew, because he sought to deprive me of my share in the +Trojan spoil. For he bore a grudge against me, because I would not pay +court to his father at Troy, but made a party of my own, and fought +for my own hand. For him I laid an ambush, and slew him in a secret +place, under cover of night. Then I fled down to the sea, and bribed +the crew of a Phoenician ship to carry me and my goods to Pylos. But +the storm wind drove them out of their course, and they put in here +for shelter. Sore battered and weary we landed here, having hardly +escaped with our lives; and while I slept they brought my goods +ashore, and sailed away for Sidon, leaving me alone with my sorrow." + +Intent on his tale, Odysseus had not noticed the sudden change which +had come over his hearer; for his eyes had been turned away, as he +strove to spell out the features of the country, which still seemed +unfamiliar. Now he looked round again, and instead of that dainty +youth he saw a stately female form, tall and fair, in aspect like the +mighty goddess Athene. And in truth it was the daughter of Zeus +herself who answered him, smiling and touching him with a playful +gesture. "Thou naughty rogue!" she said, "wilt thou never forget thy +cunning shifts, wherein none can surpass thee, no, not the gods +themselves? Yea, thou hast a knavish wit, and no man can equal thee in +craft, as no god can rival me. Yet for all thy skill thou knewest me +not for Pallas Athene, who is ever near thee in all thy trials, and +made thee dear to all the Phaeacians. And now am I come to help thee +hide thy goods, and weave a plot to ensnare the foes who beset thy +house. Thou hast still much to endure, before thy final triumph, and +thou must enter thy halls as a stranger, and suffer many things by the +hands of violent men." + +"It is hard, O goddess," answered Odysseus, "for a mortal man to know +thee, keen though he be of wit; for thou appearest in a hundred +shapes. Yet well I know that thou wast kind to me in days of old, when +I fought with the Greeks at Troy. But since that time I have never +seen thee, in all my wanderings and perils, save once in Phaeacia. Now +tell me truly, I implore thee, what is this place where I am +wandering? Thou saidst 'twas Ithaca, but in that I think thou speakest +falsely, with intent to deceive me; or is this indeed my native land?" + +"Ever the same Odysseus as of old," said Athene, smiling again, +"cautious and wary, and hard to convince. Verily thou art a man after +mine own heart, and therefore can I never leave thee or forsake thee +in all thy cares. Any other man would have rushed to embrace his wife, +after so many years of wandering; but thou must needs prove her and +make trial of her constancy, before thou takest her to thy heart. And +if thou wouldst know why I held aloof from thee so long, it was +because of Poseidon, my father's brother, who ever pursued thee with +his ire. Yet I knew that thou wouldst return at last, and have waited +patiently for that hour, And now I will open thine eyes, that thou +mayest know the land of thy birth." + +As she spoke she touched his eyes, and a mist seemed to fall away from +them, so that he recognised every feature of the place, the slopes of +Neritus, waving with forest trees, the spreading olive-tree, the +harbour, and the cavern where he had many a time sacrificed to the +nymphs. Then Odysseus rejoiced in spirit, and kneeling down he kissed +his native soil, and put up a prayer to the guardian deities of the +place: "Greeting, lovely Naiads, maiden daughters of Zeus! Ne'er hoped +I to see your faces again, Give ear unto my prayer, and if I live and +prosper by the favour of Athene I will pay you rich offerings, as I +was wont to do." + +"Doubt not my good-will," said Athene, when he had finished; "that is +assured thee. But it is time to secure these goods of thine in a safe +hiding-place. After that we will advise what is next to be done." + +With that she dived into the cave, closely followed by Odysseus, and +showed him where he best might conceal his treasure. When all was +safely bestowed, she set a great stone in the mouth of the cavern, and +sat down at the foot of the olive-tree, motioning Odysseus to take his +place at her side. "Now mark my words," began Athene, "thou hast a +heavy task before thee, to purge thy house of the shameless crew who +for three years past have held the mastery there, and sought to tempt +thy wife from her loyalty to thee. All this time she has been putting +them off with promises which she has no mind to fulfil." + +"Tis well," answered Odysseus, "that thou hast warned me; else had I +fallen in my own hall, even as Agamemnon fell. But come, contrive some +cunning device, whereby I may avenge me, and be thou at my side to aid +me, that my heart fail me not. Pour into me the same might and the +same valour as when we sacked Priam's royal citadel; then should I +fear nothing, though I fought single-handed against three hundred +men." + +"I will not fail thee, of that be sure," replied Athene, "when the +time comes to enter on that task. They shall pay full dear for thy +substance which they devour, even with their very blood and brains, +which shall be shed upon the ground like water. But thou must not +appear among them in this fashion. I will give thee a disguise which +none can penetrate, not even Penelope herself. And when thou leavest +this place, go first to the swineherd, who abides ever by his charge, +faithful to thee and to thy house. Thou wilt find him sitting by the +swine on their feeding ground, near Raven's Rock and the fountain +Arethusa, where there is abundance of acorns and fair water. Remain +there and inquire of him concerning all things, while I go to Sparta +to summon Telemachus, thy son, who went to visit Menelaus to ask news +of thee." + +"Why didst thou permit him to go on a vain errand?" asked Odysseus. +"Was it that he might suffer as I have suffered, in wandering o'er the +deep, while others devour his living?" + +"Be not over anxious for him," answered Athene; "I myself sent him on +that quest, that he might win a good name among men. And now he sits +secure in the wealthy house of Menelaus, dwelling in luxury and +honour. The wooers have laid an ambush against his return; but all +their malice shall be brought to naught." + +It was now time for Odysseus to start on his way to the swineherd. But +first he had to submit to a strange transformation. Athene touched him +with a rod which she was carrying, and instantly the flesh shrivelled +on his limbs, the clustering locks fell away from his head, and the +keen, piercing glance of his eyes was quenched. He who a moment before +had been a mighty man in his prime was now become a wrinkled, aged +beggar, clad in miserable, grimy rags, with a staff, and a tattered +scrip, hanging by a cord from his shoulder. For a cloak she gave him +an old deer's hide, from which all the hair was gone. Thus totally +disguised, he parted from the goddess, and started inland, following a +rugged mountain path, while Athene went to summon Telemachus from +Sparta. + + + + +Odysseus and Eumaeus + + +I + +The office of swineherd was a position of great trust and importance +among the patriarchal chieftains of Homeric Greece. The principal diet +was the flesh of swine and oxen, and these animals formed the chief +part of their wealth. Eumaeus, the chief swineherd of Odysseus, lived +apart in a lonely place among the hills, where he had enclosed a wide +space of ground with a stone fence defended at the top with brambles, +and in front by a palisade of oak. Within the fence were twelve styes, +and in each stye were fifty sows with their young. The boars had their +quarters outside the enclosure, and their number had been greatly +diminished by the constant demand for hog's flesh among the suitors. +Still, they reached the formidable total of three hundred and fifty--a +noisy and ravenous multitude. + +It was no light task to provide shelter for nearly a thousand swine, +with their young; yet Eumaeus had undertaken this duty during his +master's long absence, without the knowledge of Laertes or Penelope. +And here he was sitting, on this sunny morning, cutting up a +well-tanned ox-hide to make straps for sandals, while four dogs, large +and fierce as wolves, prowled near at hand. Three of his helpers were +gone with the swine to their feeding ground, and the fourth had been +sent to the town with a fat hog for the wooers. + +Suddenly the dogs rushed forward, baying furiously, and an old man in +tattered raiment appeared at the gate of the courtyard. It would have +gone hard with the stranger if Eumaeus had not promptly come to the +rescue, and driven the dogs off with a volley of stones. "Old man," +said Eumaeus, as the dogs slunk away yelping, "it was well that I was +near, or thou hadst surely been torn to pieces, and brought shame on +me. I have trouble enough without that. Here I sit, fattening my +master's swine for other men's tables, while he wanders, perchance, +among strangers, in poverty and want. But come into my hut, and when +thou hast comforted thy soul with meat and wine thou shalt tell thy +tale of sorrow." + +Odysseus (for he it was, though sorely disfigured) followed Eumaeus +into the hut, and sat down on a shaggy goatskin, which the swineherd +spread for him on a heap of brushwood. "Heaven bless thee," he said, +when he was seated, "for this kindly welcome!" "I do but my duty," +answered Eumaeus. "The stranger and the beggar are sacred, by law +divine. 'Tis but little that I can do, who serve young and haughty +masters, in the absence of my true lord, who would have rewarded me +nobly, and given me a plot of ground and a wife, had he been here to +see how Heaven blesses the work of my hands. But he is gone to swell +the host of those who fell in Helen's cause. Cursed be she, and all +her race, for she hath robbed me of the kindest master that ever man +served." + +In the midst of his sorrow, Eumaeus forgot not his duties as host. +Going out he took two young swine, slaughtered and dressed them, and +set the flesh, all smoking on the spits, before Odysseus. Then he +mixed wine in a bowl of ivy wood, and sitting down opposite to his +guest bade him eat and drink. + +"'Tis but poor fare which I have to offer you," he said. "The best of +the herd ever goes to the young lords who are wooing my mistress. +Their wantonness and riot calls aloud to Heaven for vengeance. They +are worse than the wildest band of robbers that ever lived by open +pillage and violence. Such waste of good meat and wine was never seen +before. For a wealthy man was Odysseus, and his flocks and herds still +range over all the hills of Ithaca. And from every flock the fattest +and the choicest is driven off day by day to feed their dainty +mouths." + +Odysseus fell to with keen appetite, for he had eaten nothing since he +left Phaeacia. And when he had satisfied his hunger he pledged Eumaeus +in a full cup, and led him on to discourse on his favourite theme--the +virtues and the sorrows of his lord. "Tell me more," he said, "of thy +master. Who knows but that I may have met him in my travels, for I +have wandered in many lands." + +"Old man," answered Eumaeus, "I see thy bent. Thou wouldst forge some +glozing tale to beguile the ears of that poor stricken lady, Penelope. +Many a beggar has come to her doors crammed full of lies to amuse her +widowed heart; and she listens, and doubts, and weeps. And thou too, +methinks, hast a like fertile fancy; for hunger and want are rare +inventors. But save thy wits for a better purpose; thou canst not +bring him back to life, or clothe with warm flesh his bones, long +since picked clean by carrion birds or ravenous fish. He is lost for +ever, and sorrow is the portion of us who remain, but especially of +me, for he was dearer to me than father and mother, dearer than my +native land." + +"Friend," said Odysseus, "thou hast misjudged me sorely, in thinking +me one of those greedy mendicants who tell lies for the sake of meat +and drink. Believe me or not, I will say what is in my heart, and when +my words are proved true by the event I will claim my reward. Odysseus +is near at hand, and ere many days have passed he shall be seen in +Ithaca, and take vengeance on those who oppress his wife and son. I +swear it by this table at which I have eaten, and by the hearth of +Odysseus, and by Zeus, the god of hospitality." + +Eumaeus remained totally unconvinced by this solemn assertion. "Talk no +more of him," he said with emotion, "it cuts me to the heart to hear +his very name. Would that it might be as thou sayest!--but 'tis an +idle dream. Peace be unto his ashes! And may the gods at least +preserve unto us his son, Telemachus, who lately departed on a witless +errand, led thereto, as I think, by some malign deity who hates the +house of Odysseus. But no more of this! Tell me rather of thyself, who +and whence thou art, and how thou camest to Ithaca." + +Eumaeus had not extolled the fertile invention of Odysseus for nothing. +Forthwith he began a wondrous tale of adventure, a little epic in +itself, with some points of resemblance to his own true story. "I am a +native of Crete," he began, "and the son of a wealthy man. When my +father died I received but a scanty portion of his goods. +Nevertheless, because of my valour and the might of my hands, I won a +noble and wealthy lady for my wife. Thou wouldst not deem, perhaps, to +see me now, that I was once a mighty man of war; yet even in the +stubble we may judge what the wheat has been. From my youth up I lived +amidst the clash of shield and spear, and loved battle and ambush, +siege and foray. But I cared not for plodding industry, which gives +increase unto a house, and fills it with the bright faces of children. +Such I was as Heaven made me, a man of war and blood. + +"Before the sons of Greece went up to Troy I was nine times chosen +captain of an armed band to make war in the land of strangers, and +came back laden with booty, so that my name was known and dreaded in +Crete. And when the summons went round in all the coasts of Greece to +follow the banner of Agamemnon, who but I was chosen by the common +voice to share the command with Idomeneus? I was fain to renounce that +hard and perilous service, but it might not be; so for nine years I +fought at Troy, and after our return to Crete I abode but one month +with my wife and children, for at the end of that time my spirit +called me to Egypt. I manned nine ships, and on the fifth day the +north wind brought me safe with all my company to the land of Nile. + +"Then I sent out a few chosen men to explore the country, and kept +myself close with the rest of my force until they should bring back +their report. But my scouts forgot their duty, and carried away by +lust of plunder began to harry and ravage the fields of the Egyptians. +Quickly the hue and cry went round, and an armed multitude, both horse +and foot, came suddenly upon us, breathing fury and vengeance. We +could make no stand against such a host, and all my comrades were +speedily slain or taken captive. When I saw that all was lost I threw +away helmet and shield, dropped my spear, and falling on my knees +before the chief captain of the Egyptians begged him to spare my life. +He heard my petition, set me on his chariot, and brought me to his +home. There I remained seven years and gathered much wealth; for I had +found favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave me freely of +their possessions. + +"In the eighth year there came a certain Phoenician to Egypt, a crafty +and covetous rogue, and he persuaded me to go with him to Phoenicia. +So I went, and abode with him a whole year, and when the spring came +round again I sailed with him to Africa, whither he was bound with a +freight of merchandise. His purpose was to sell me in Africa as a +slave for a great price; but Zeus willed it otherwise, for as we +sailed southwards from Crete a great storm arose, and the ship went +down with all her men, while I escaped by clinging to the mast, and +after nine days was carried by the winds and the waves to Thesprotia, +where I was kindly entreated by the king of that country. + +"There I had news of Odysseus, who had touched at that coast on his +voyage to Ithaca, and stayed as a guest in that same house. This I +heard from the king's own lips, and he showed me all the treasure +which Odysseus had left in his charge, while he himself went on a +journey to Dodona, to inquire of the oracle concerning the manner of +his return. Thou wouldst wonder to behold all the wealth which thy +lord had gathered, an exceeding great store. + +"Odysseus himself I saw not; for it chanced that a ship was sailing +for Dulichium, and the king commended me to her captain, bidding him +carry me thither with all care and tenderness. Now this man was a +villain, and be devised evil against me; for when we left the coast of +Thesprotia, he stripped me of the raiment which the king had given me, +clothed me in these rags, and bound me with cords, intending to sell +me as a slave. In the evening he landed in Ithaca, leaving me, bound +as I was, in the ship. But I broke my bonds, and escaped by swimming +to another part of the coast, where I lay all night in a thicket. In +the morning they sought me with great outcry, but found me not; and +after awhile they sailed away. When they were gone I arose, and was +led by Heaven's hand to thy doors." + +The swineherd listened attentively to the well-imagined tale, and when +it was ended he said: "Hapless man, thou hast been the very sport of +Destiny, and my heart is big when I think of thy wanderings and thy +woes. But as touching Odysseus, that part of thy story likes me not; +methinks 'tis a cunning invention to flatter my ears. Long ago I was +deceived by a false report, brought hither by a wandering exile like +thee, who said that he had seen Odysseus repairing his ships in Crete, +and bade us look for his coming in the autumn of that year. Since then +I have closed my ears against all such rumours, and therefore I say, +tell me no more of him, for I cannot and will not believe but that he +is dead." + +II + +Evening was now coming on, and it was time for the herdsmen to return +with their charge from the feeding-ground. Presently, with huge +commotion, and multitudinous din, the swine were driven home and +penned in their styes. Then Eumaeus called to his helpers, and bade +them bring the best of the herd to make savoury meat for his guest +"Spare not," he said, "to bring the fattest and choicest of them all, +for why should we be careful, when strangers devour our labour?" So +they brought a hog of five years old, exceeding fat, and having +slaughtered it they offered sacrifice, not forgetting a prayer for the +return of Odysseus. When all rites of religion were duly paid, they +roasted the flesh, and served it on wooden platters. Odysseus was +honoured by Eumaeus with a choice portion of the loin. + +When they had finished, night came on, dark and stormy, with furious +gusts of rain and wind. Just as they were about to retire to rest, +Odysseus, who seldom spoke without a purpose, turned to his kind host +and said: "Eumaeus, the good wine has loosened my tongue, and moved me +to tell thee a story of long ago, when these withered limbs were in +their lusty prime, and my heart burned with the fire of youth. Then I +was chosen with Menelaus and Odysseus to lead an ambush under the +walls of Troy. With a picked company we took up our position in a +marshy place, and lay down in our armour among the rushes. It was a +bitter night, with snow and frost, and our shields were soon coated +with ice. Now it chanced that I had left my cloak in the camp, and +while the others lay warm in their thick woollen mantles, I was +perishing with cold. At last I could bear it no longer, so I nudged +Odysseus, who was lying next to me, with my elbow, and said to him: +'Son of Laertes, the cold is killing me. I came in my folly without a +cloak, and I can never hold out until dawn in this cruel frost.' And +he, ever ready of wit as he was, instantly contrived means to relieve +me. Whispering to me to keep counsel he rose on his elbow, and called +to the others, saying: 'Comrades, I have been warned in a dream that +our numbers are too weak for the task which has been laid upon us. +Will not one of you run down to the camp, and ask Agamemnon to send us +further succour?' + +"Thereupon one of our men arose, and flinging off his cloak ran off to +carry the message to Agamemnon. And I lay wrapped in the garment, warm +and safe, until the dawn. Ah! those were brave days; what changes have +I seen since then!" + +"I read thy meaning," said Eumaeus; "and as a reward for thy good story +thou shalt sleep in comfort to-night. But to-morrow thou must make +shift to wear thine own rags again, for I am but ill furnished with +changes of raiment. When Telemachus returns he will supply all thy +wants, and send thee whithersoever thou art minded to go." + +So saying he drew a truckle-bed close to the fire, and heaped it with +the skins of sheep and goats. There Odysseus lay down to rest, and +Eumaeus threw over him a stout mantle of his own. All the other +herdsmen slept in the hut; but Eumaeus, ever watchful for his master's +property, went out, armed to the teeth, to pass the night among the +swine, under the shelter of a hollow rock, which kept off the cold +north wind. And Odysseus was glad when he saw that good servant so +faithful to his trust. + + + + +The Return of Telemachus + + +I + +While these important events were happening in Ithaca, Telemachus was +living as an honoured guest in the house of Menelaus. One night, while +he lay between sleeping and waking, full of anxious thought, Athene +appeared to him in her own person, and addressed him thus: "Thou +lingerest too long here, Telemachus. It is time for thee to return and +keep an eye on thy goods, lest thou be stripped of all in thy absence. +Thy mother's kinsmen are urgent with her to wed Eurymachus, the +wealthiest of the wooers; and, if she yield, it may be that she will +take of thy heritage to increase the house of the man who wins her. +Therefore make haste and get thee home, that thou mayest be at hand to +defend thy rights. Know also that the wooers are lying in wait for +thee in the strait between Ithaca and Samos, with intent to slay thee; +take heed then that thou shun that passage, and sail home by another +way. And when thou art come to Ithaca, go straight to the dwelling of +Eumaeus, and send him down to Penelope with news of thy return." + +Such a message, brought by such a messenger, was not to be neglected. +Telemachus at once roused Pisistratus, the son of Nestor, who was +sleeping near, and declared his intention of starting at once; but +when Pisistratus pointed out how displeasing such conduct would be to +their princely host he consented to wait till morning. + +Accordingly, when day was come, he went to Menelaus, and asked leave +to depart at once. Menelaus consented, only insisting that he should +remain for the morning meal. While this was preparing, the generous +prince went to his treasure chamber, and returned laden with a +splendid silver bowl, the work of Phoenician artists, which he had +received when he visited the King of Sidon on his voyage from Troy. +And Helen brought an embroidered robe, the work of her own fair hands, +as a wedding gift for his future bride. + +As soon as they had eaten they mounted the chariot, and drove slowly +through the outer gate of the courtyard, Menelaus and Helen following +on foot Here they drew up to say farewell, and Menelaus pledged them +in a bowl of wine, wishing them god-speed. "And forget not," he added, +"to greet Nestor for me when ye come to Pylos, for he was ever gentle +to me as a father when we sojourned in the land of Troy." + +"I will not forget to carry thy message," answered Telemachus; "would +that I were as sure to see my father when I come to Ithaca, that I +might tell him of thy noble hospitality, and show him thy gifts." + +Hardly had the words been uttered when a clamour of voices was heard, +and a crowd of men and women ran past, pursuing with loud cries an +eagle, which had just seized a great white goose from the courtyard, +and was carrying her off in his talons. Straight over the chariot he +flew, and with a scream of triumph sped away to the mountains with his +booty. "Consider now, my prince," said Pisistratus, "whether this omen +was sent to us or to thee." + +Menelaus, who was somewhat slow of wit, paused to deliberate; but +before he could frame an answer, the quick brain of Helen was ready +with an interpretation. "The eagle is thy father, Odysseus," she said +to Telemachus, "and the meaning of the omen is that he is already in +Ithaca, or close at hand, bringing death and doom to his foes." + +Thus encouraged by fair portents, they took leave of their kind hosts, +and started on their way to Pylos, where they arrived on the following +day. As they drew near to the house of Nestor, Telemachus begged his +friend to drive straight down to the sea. "For I know," he said, "that +thy father will constrain me to abide with him, and will take no +denial; and I wish to embark for Ithaca without further delay." +Pisistratus agreed, and avoiding the house of Nestor they passed on to +the place where the ship lay moored. + +Having summoned his crew, Telemachus was preparing to embark, when a +man armed and equipped as a traveller approached the vessel, and +inquired who he was and whither he was bound. Having received an +answer, he requested Telemachus to carry him to Ithaca. "My name," he +said, "is Theoclymenus, and I am descended from Melampus, the famous +seer, from whom I have inherited the prophetic gift. I am an exile +from my native land of Argos, for I have slain a man of my own tribe, +and am flying from the avenger of blood. Set me, I pray thee, on thy +ship, and take me with you, for sore is my need." + +"Heaven forbid," answered Telemachus, "that I should deny thee, seeing +that thy very life is at stake. Make haste, and come on board"; and he +made room for the stranger to sit by him in the stern of the vessel. + +After a quick and prosperous voyage they sighted the coast of Ithaca, +and landed on a deserted part of the coast within easy reach of the +swineherd's dwelling. Here Telemachus dismissed his company, bidding +them take the galley round to the harbour of Ithaca, and promising to +reward them for their good service. He was just about to depart when +Theoclymenus detained him and asked where he was to find shelter. +Telemachus answered in some embarrassment. "'Twere no friendly act," +he said, "to send thee to my house, for my mother lives apart in her +own chamber and sees no man, and I fear lest thou suffer some harm +from the lawless men who riot in my halls. Therefore I advise thee to +go to Eurymachus, who is now the most powerful man in Ithaca, and +hopes to sit in my father's seat; but perchance Zeus will send him +another issue of his wooing." + +Just as he spoke a rushing of wings was heard on the right, and they +saw a falcon passing close at hand with a dove clutched in his talons, +and tearing his prey so that the feathers fluttered down at their +feet. Then Theoclymenus, who was deeply skilled in augury, drew +Telemachus apart and said: "It is a manifest sign of victory to thee +and to thy house." "May Heaven fulfil thy prophecy," answered +Telemachus, "and if thy words prove true I will load thee with +benefits, and give thee cause to bless this hour." Being now convinced +that he had found a friend, he called Peiraeus, in whom he had full +confidence, and bade him take Theoclymenus under his care until he +himself returned to the town. Peiraeus readily undertook the charge, +and this point being settled they thrust out from the shore and rowed +away in the direction of the harbour, while Telemachus strode off with +rapid footsteps along the path which led to the swineherd's hut. + +II + +On the evening before the arrival of Telemachus Odysseus was sitting +after supper with Eumaeus and the other herdsmen, and wishing to learn +the purpose of Eumaeus towards him he said: "I will no longer be a +burden to thee and thy fellows. To-morrow I will go to the town and +beg my living, if thou wilt send one of thy men to show me the way. +Perchance also I might visit the house of Odysseus, and have speech +with Penelope. And it may be that the wooers will take me into their +service, for I would have thee know that by favour of Hermes I am +right skilful of my hands, and no one can match me in laying a fire +and cleaving dry logs, in carving and roasting meat, and in pouring of +wine." + +But this proposal found no favour with the honest swineherd. "Who put +such a thought," he asked, "into thy mind? Serve with the wooers! They +would put a speedy end to thy service, and pay thee thy wages in +blood. Those who wait upon them are of a different sort from thee--gay +striplings, daintily clad, with glossy hair and comely faces. Remain +with us until Telemachus comes home; thou art no burden either to me +or to my men." + +"Be it so, then," answered Odysseus, "and may Heaven requite thee for +thy goodness to a poor homeless outcast, who wanders in misery, driven +by hunger from door to door! And since I am still to be thy guest, +tell me something of thy master's mother, and of the father whom he +left behind when he went to the wars. Do they still live, or have they +gone to their rest?" + +"This also thou shalt know," replied Eumaeus. "Laertes his father still +lives, though sore stricken with years and sorrows; for his son's long +absence and his wife's miserable end have brought him to the verge of +the grave. She died long ago, and by such a death as I pray may never +come to anyone who is dear to me--she, my kind mistress, who brought +me up with her youngest daughter, and hardly loved me less. As long as +she lived I would often go down to the house, and she ever entertained +me kindly, and gave me something to carry back with me to my dwelling +on the land. Full well she knew how to sweeten the lot of a thrall +with pleasant words, and little acts of tenderness and love. But now I +seldom leave my charge, for since the wooers brought this curse upon +my master's house Penelope hides her face from us, and has no comfort +for us either in word or deed." + +Odysseus listened with deep interest, and when Eumaeus paused he +expressed a desire to hear the story of his life. "How was it," he +asked, "that already in early childhood thou wast cast on the mercy of +strangers? Wast thou taken captive in war, or did robbers seize thee +as thou satst watching sheep on the lonely hills, and sell thee into +bondage?" + +"Fill thy cup," answered Eumaeus, "we will pledge each other in a +hearty draught, and then thou shalt hear my tale. The nights are long +at this season, and we shall have time enough to sleep when I have +done. Fate has dealt hardly with me, even as with thee; and we can +find some comfort in telling over our sorrows to each other. + +"There is a certain island called Syria, lying north of Ortygia, not +very large or populous, but a good land, rich in pasture, with waving +cornfields and goodly vineyards. There famine never comes, nor +sickness, but all the people reach a good old age, and then die by the +painless shafts of Artemis or of Apollo. There are two cities which +divide the territory equally between them; and there was one king over +both, my father, Ctesius, son of Ormenus. + +"When I was still very young there came to the island a Phoenician +ship, laden with trinkets for barter. Now in my father's house was a +Phoenician woman, tall and fair, and skilled in needlework. She was my +nurse, and I was wont to run about the town with her. One day, as she +was washing clothes not far from the ship, she was recognised by a +Phoenician sailor as being of his own race, and he inquired how she +came to the island. She answered that she was a native of Sidon, and a +rich man's daughter, stolen from her home by pirates, and sold across +the seas. 'And hast thou a mind to see thy native land again?' asked +the fellow. 'Thy father and mother still live and prosper'; for she +had told him that her father's name was Arybas. 'I will go with you,' +answered the woman, 'if ye will swear an oath to carry me home +unharmed.' They all swore to do as she said, and after that she +instructed them how to proceed. 'Keep close counsel,' she said, 'and +let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet +by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that +aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all. Lose no time in selling +your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let +one of you come up to the house and give me a sign. I will not come +empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my +passage. Furthermore, I have charge of my master's child, a knowing +little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye +may sell him for a great price.' + +"The bargain was struck, and the woman departed. Then for a whole year +they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all +their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father's +house, to warn the woman that the time was come. He brought with him a +necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my +mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price, +the fellow made a sign to my nurse. When he was gone she took me by +the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house. +There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had +been dining with his guests. They had now gone forth to attend the +council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets +and hid them in her bosom. Then with one rapid glance round, to make +sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where +the Phoenician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her, +fearing nothing. + +"Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were +sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival. They took +us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze +springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond +the reach of pursuit. On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of +vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible +blow. They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in +Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes." + +"Twas a sad fate for one of thy tender years," remarked Odysseus, when +Eumaeus had finished his story. "Nevertheless thou wast happy to find +such a master--happier far than I, who am still a vagabond and a +wanderer in my old age." + + + + +The Meeting of Telemachus and Odysseus + + +I + +Early next day Eumaeus and Odysseus were preparing their morning meal, +when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the hut. The hounds +pricked up their ears at the sound, and ran fawning round the +new-comer, who was evidently well known to them. Odysseus called to +Eumaeus, who was busy drawing wine, and said: "Some friend of thine is +coming; for the dogs fawn upon him, and bark not." + +Even as he spoke, a tall figure appeared in the open doorway, and his +own dear son stood before him. Eumaeus sprang up amazed, and let fall +the pitcher into which he had been drawing the wine. Then with a cry +of joy he ran to greet his young lord, kissed his hands and his face, +and wept over him. Even as a father yearns over his only son, just +returned from abroad after a ten years' absence, so Eumaeus yearned +over Telemachus, and hailed him as one returned from the dead. "Thou +art come, Telemachus," he faltered at last, when his emotion suffered +him to speak, "thou art come back again, dear as mine own life! Ne'er +thought I to see thee again, after thou wast gone to Pylos. Sit thee +down, that I may feast mine eyes upon thee; seldom dost thou come this +way, but abidest in the house, to watch the wasteful deeds of the +wooers." + +Odysseus, in his character of beggar, rose respectfully from his seat, +to make room for the young prince, but Telemachus motioned him to +resume his place, and sat down himself on a heap of brushwood, on +which the swineherd had spread a fleece. While Eumaeus was bringing +bread and meat, and filling the cups with wine, Telemachus questioned +him as to his mother, and learnt that no change had occurred in her +relation to the wooers since he left Ithaca. Breakfast being over, +Eumaeus, in answer to his inquiry, told him the story of the supposed +stranger. "I have done what I could for him," he added, when he had +repeated what he had heard from Odysseus. "Now I deliver him unto +thee, to do with him as thou wilt; all his hopes are in thy grace." + +"What can I do?" answered Telemachus, in perplexity. "Thou knowest +that I am not master in my own house, and my mother is torn between +two purposes: whether to wait still in patience for her lord's coming, +or to choose a new husband from the noblest of the suitors. Neither +she nor I can give protection to such a guest as this. Therefore I +will bestow upon him a new cloak and doublet, with sandals for his +feet, and arm him with a good sword, and send him whithersoever he +chooses to go. Or if thou art willing, thou canst keep him here with +thee, and I will send down food and raiment for him, that he may not +be a burden to thee and thy men. But I will not allow him to go among +the wooers, and suffer ill-treatment which I have no power to +prevent." + +Odysseus, who had not seen his son since he was an infant, desired to +learn something more of his mind and character; and in order to draw +him into further speech he asked, with an air of indignation, who the +wooers were, and how it was that he submitted to their violence. "Is +the public voice against thee," he asked, "or art thou at feud with +thy brethren, so that they will not help thee? If I were in thy place +I would fall upon them singlehanded, for it were better to die once +for all than tamely to submit to such outrage." + +"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered Telemachus. "'Tis +neither by the consent of the people nor by the ill-will of my +brethren, that this evil hath come upon me. But Heaven hath ordained +that the honours and the burden of our house should ever rest upon one +alone. Laertes, my grandsire, was an only son, and Odysseus was the +sole issue of his marriage; and even so I am the only child of +Odysseus. Therefore I sit helpless and alone, at the mercy of this +ruffian band. But enough of this! We have no hope left, save in the +justice of Heaven." Then he turned to Eumaeus, and said: "Make haste +now, go down to the house, and tell Penelope that I have come back +safe from Pylos. Let none else hear it, but come back hither at once, +when thou hast delivered thy message, and I will wait here until thy +return." + +"Shall I not go to Laertes, and tell him also?" asked the swineherd. +"Since the day of thy departure he has tasted neither meat nor drink, +but sits alone in his sorrow, and will not be comforted." + +"My mother can send a handmaid to inform him," answered Telemachus. +"But as for thee, see that thou return here straightway, and lose no +time." + +II + +Soon after the departure of Eumaeus, Odysseus and Telemachus were +sitting before the door of the hut, each lost in his own thoughts, +when their attention was attracted by the strange behaviour of the +dogs. These animals, which had been lying basking in the sun, all at +once started up with a stifled cry, and ran whining, with every sign +of terror, to a distant corner of the courtyard. "What ails the +hounds?" said Telemachus, looking up in surprise. But Odysseus was not +long before he saw the cause of their alarm: standing at the outer +gate was a tall female figure, of majestic countenance, and more than +mortal beauty. Telemachus saw her not, but Odysseus instantly knew who +she was, and, obeying a gesture of her hand, he rose from his seat and +went out through the gate. She led him to a place where they were out +of hearing, and then said: "It is time for thee to reveal thyself to +thy son, that together ye may contrive destruction for the wooers. +When the hour of reckoning comes, I shall be near to aid you." +Thereupon she touched him with her wand, and in a moment he was once +more the old Odysseus, still in the full vigour of his manhood, dark +and sunburnt, with thick black hair and curling beard. His rags also +had been replaced by fair clean raiment; and thus completely +transformed he went back to the hut to reveal himself to Telemachus. +Athene, having done her part, had forthwith disappeared. + +Fear came upon Telemachus, and he marvelled exceedingly, when the real +Odysseus appeared before him. "Who art thou," he asked, "that comest +back in a moment thus wondrously transfigured? If thou be a god, as +methinks thou art, let me find favour in thy sight, and we will honour +thee with rich offerings of gold, and with humble prayers." + +"No god am I," answered Odysseus, "but thine own dear father, for +whose sake thou hast suffered so long with groanings and tears." + +With that he kissed him, and giving vent to the tenderness which he +had hitherto restrained he lifted up his voice and wept. But +Telemachus could not yet believe that it was indeed his father whom he +saw before him. "It cannot be," he said, drawing back in affright. "It +is mere magic and glamour practised against me by some hostile power, +to mock my sorrow. No being of flesh and blood could work such a +change upon himself. A moment since thou wast an old man in sordid +raiment, and now thou art like unto the sons of heaven." + +"Forbear!" said Odysseus, "no more amazement! I am thy father, and no +other; if not, thou shalt never see him more. Much have I suffered, +and wandered far, and now in the twentieth year I am come back to my +native land. This change at which thou marvellest is no work of mine, +but was wrought by Athene, daughter of Zeus. The gods can deal with us +as they will, both for our glory and for our shame." + +Then Telemachus was convinced, and fell into his father's arms, and +they wept long and sore over each other, for joy and grief are near +neighbours. Presently they grew calmer, and Odysseus, in answer to his +son's inquiry, told how the Phaeacians had conveyed him to Ithaca, and +of all the treasures which he had brought with him. + +"But now we must speak of a sterner task," said Odysseus, when his +story was ended. "Tell me now the number of the wooers, that I may +know how many and what manner of men they be, and thereafter contrive +how we may best assail them, whether by ourselves or with others to +help us." + +"Father," answered Telemachus, "I knew thy high renown, as a warrior +mighty in word and deed. But I fear me greatly that this task is too +hard for us; how shall two men prevail against so many? Listen now and +I will tell thee their number. From Dulichium are two and fifty, with +six men-servants, from Same twenty-four, from Zacynthus twenty, and +from Ithaca itself twelve, all proper men and tall. If we twain fall +upon such a host, we may find the work of vengeance a bitter morsel, +and our bane. It were better, then, to look for some other help." + +"Helpers we shall find, and stout ones too," said Odysseus. "What +sayest thou to Athene and her father, Zeus? Is their aid enough or +shall we look for more?" + +"Mighty indeed are the champions thou namest," replied Telemachus, +"though throned far remote among the clouds; supreme are they in +sovereignty, both on earth and in heaven." + +"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "and ere long the wooers shall +feel their might. Now learn further what thou must do. To-morrow thou +shalt go up to the house, and join the company of the wooers, and +afterwards the swineherd will bring me thither in the disguise of a +beggar old and miserable. If the wooers use me despitefully seek not +to prevent it, but let thy heart endure, even though they beat me, or +drag me by the feet through the doors. Thou mayest reprove them +gently, and bid them cease from their wantonness, but they will not +heed thee for their lives are forfeit already. Mark further, and take +heed what I say. When the time to strike is come I will give thee a +signal, and, forthwith, thou shalt remove all the weapons from the +halls, and make excuse to the wooers, saying that thou art bestowing +them in a safe place, out of reach of the smoke. Leave only two swords +and two shields and two spears, as weapons for ourselves. But above +all I charge thee to let none know of my coming--neither Laertes, nor +Eumaeus, nor Penelope herself. Alone we must work, and watch the temper +of the thralls, to see if there be any on our side." + +III + +Meanwhile the faithful swineherd made all haste to carry his message +to Penelope. Just as he was approaching the house, he met one of the +crew of Telemachus' ship coming up from the harbour on the same +errand. So they went together, and while Eumaeus conveyed the tidings +privately to Penelope, he who was sent from the ship delivered his +report in the hearing of the whole household. + +Great was the dismay of the suitors when they learnt that their foul +plot had been frustrated. One by one they stole out of the house to a +secret place of meeting; and when they were all assembled they began +to devise what was next to be done. While they were debating they were +joined by Antinous and the crew of the ship which had been lying in +wait for Telemachus in the strait. Always the foremost in violent +counsels, Antinous breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the +young prince. "The boy only escaped us by a miracle," he said. "All +day long we had sentinels on all the heights commanding the sea, and +at night we patrolled the waters in our ship. Yet for all our +vigilance he has slipped through our hands. But I will not be baffled +thus," he added, stamping with fury. "This wretched boy must die, or +we shall never accomplish our purpose. Let us make haste and slay him +before he comes back to the town, or he will call a meeting of the +people and proclaim to all Ithaca that we sought to slay him, and +failed. Then the whole city will rise against us, and we shall have to +fly for our lives." + +Then another of the wooers rose up and rebuked Antinous for his +bloodthirsty counsels. This man's name was Amphinomus, and he was the +chief among the wooers who came from Dulichium. More than any of the +other suitors he found favour with Penelope, for he was a prudent man +and a just, and his voice was pleasant to her ear. "Remember," he +said, "that Telemachus is of royal race; and it is a dreadful thing to +shed the blood of kings. I will have no hand in such an act, without +sure and manifest sign that it is the will of Zeus." + +The speech of Amphinomus was received with a murmur of applause; for +most of the wooers were averse to the violent measures proposed by +Antinous. So they arose, and returned to the house. + +Penelope had heard of their plotting from the herald, Medon, and +obeying a sudden impulse she came down from her chamber, and standing +in the doorway began to upbraid Antinous for his wicked purpose. "Thou +hast the name of a wise and eloquent man," she said, "but thy fame is +better than thy deeds. Wretch, why dost thou lay snares against the +life of my son? Hast thou never heard how thy father came to this +house, flying from the wrath of the Ithacans, who would have slain +him, because he had joined the Taphian pirates in a raid on the +Thesprotians, who were our allies? But Odysseus stood between him and +their fury, and saved his life. A fair return thou art making for that +good service, devouring his substance, paying court to his wife, and +compassing the death of his son." + +Antinous sat biting his lips, and made no answer; but Eurymachus, a +subtler villain, smooth and specious, but all the more dangerous, +spoke for him, and said: "Sage daughter of Icarius, fear nothing for +thy son Telemachus, for while I live no man shall offer him violence. +By this sword I swear it, and I care not who hears me, the man who +seeks to harm him shall die by my hand. I at least have not forgotten +the loving-kindness of thy lord, Odysseus, on whose knees I have often +sat, and taken food and drink from his hand. Therefore I love +Telemachus as a brother, and I swear to thee that none of the wooers +shall do him any harm." + + + + +The Home-coming of Odysseus + + +I + +When Eumaeus came back from his errand, Odysseus, who in the meantime +had resumed his disguise, was helping Telemachus to prepare the +evening meal. Telemachus questioned him about the ship which the +wooers had sent out to waylay him on his return from Pylos, but Eumaeus +had been in such haste to get back to his farm that he had not stopped +to inquire about the matter. "But thus much I can tell thee," he said: +"as I was crossing the hill which overlooks the town I saw a galley, +bristling with spear and helm, entering the harbour; and I believe +that this was the ship of which thou speakest" + +"No doubt of it," answered Telemachus, with a significant glance at +his father. Then they all fell to their suppers with hearty appetite, +and soon afterwards retired to rest. + +The first chill of dawn was still in the air when Telemachus roused +the swineherd, and announced his intention of proceeding at once to +the town. "I know," he said, "that my mother will have no peace until +she sees me with her own eyes. Now as to this stranger, I charge thee +to take him with thee into the town, that he may beg his bread from +house to house. Burdened as I am already, and full of care, I cannot +provide for him. If he thinks it hard, all the worse for him." + +"Thou sayest well," answered Odysseus; "I have no mind to remain here. +I am too old to take orders from a master, and it is better to beg my +living in the town than in the fields. Therefore I will go, when I +have warmed me at the fire, and the sun is up; for I am ill equipped +to face the frosts of morning." + +Away went Telemachus, covering the ground with rapid strides, his mind +occupied all the way with thoughts of vengeance against the wooers. +The first who saw him when he crossed the threshold of his home was +his old nurse, Eurycleia, who was just then spreading fleeces on the +seats in the great hall. With a cry of joy she ran and fell on his +neck, and kissed him; and all the faithful handmaids of Penelope +crowded round to welcome their young master home. The sound of their +voices reached the ears of Penelope, and with swift steps she came +gliding into the hall, fair as Artemis, or golden Aphrodite. When she +saw Telemachus she flung her arms round his neck and covered his face +with kisses. "Welcome," she sobbed, "Telemachus, my heart's darling, +restored to me beyond all hope! Say, hast thou brought any news of thy +father?" + +But Telemachus was too full of the stern task which lay before him to +leave room for softer emotions. Gently extricating himself from his +mother's embrace he said: "Dear mother, thou shalt hear all in due +season; at present I have other work to do. Go thou to thy chamber, +and put on clean raiment, and when thou hast purified thyself pray to +all the immortal gods to hasten the day of atonement for those who +have wronged our house. I will return presently, when I have done my +business in the town." + +The gentle Penelope went to do her son's bidding, and Telemachus +started for the town, with two hounds following close at his heels. He +seemed taller and manlier after his short absence, and many an eye +followed him with wonder as he passed through the streets. Presently +he came to the place where the wooers were assembled, and they came +crowding about him with false words of welcome. But he turned his back +on them with scorn, and seeing a little group of his father's friends, +among whom were Mentor and the aged Halitherses, he went and sat down +among them. While they were questioning him about his travels, Peiraeus +came up, bringing with him the seer, Theoclymenus, whom Telemachus had +left in his charge the day before. "I restore to thee thy guest," said +Peiraeus, "who has been entertained in all honour at my house; and if +thou wilt send thy handmaids, I will deliver unto them the treasure +which thou hast brought with thee from Pylos." + +"I thank thee," answered Telemachus; "Theoclymenus shall go with me; +but as to the treasure, do thou keep it for me until these evil days +are passed. If aught untoward befall me, I had rather it remained with +thee than that it should fall into the hands of the wooers." + +Having taken leave of his friends, he returned to the house, taking +Theoclymenus with him. And when they had bathed and put on fresh +raiment, they sat down to meat. The meal proceeded in silence, and at +last Penelope, who was sitting near, busy with her distaff, and +longing impatiently to hear her son's news, said in a tone of +displeasure: "Hast thou no word for thy mother, Telemachus? Or art +thou keeping thy tidings until the wooers return? Surely I thought in +this rare interval of quiet to hear how thou hast fared and what thou +hast learnt on this journey. But if thou hast naught to tell me, I +will go to my widowed bed, and weep away the hours until dawn." + +Roused from his reverie by his mother's reproaches, Telemachus gave a +brief account of his visit to Nestor and Menelaus, and of what they +had told him. Penelope was musing on her son's report, when +Theoclymenus, the second-sighted man, started up from his seat, and +cried: "I see him, I see him! He is landed in Ithaca, he is coming +hither, he is here! Woe unto the suitors! Their hour is at hand, and +not one of them shall escape." + +Penelope had heard such prophecies too often to pay much heed to the +seer's vision. "Ah! my friend," she said, with a sad smile, "I can but +pray that thy words will be fulfilled; if ever they are, it shall be a +happy day for thee." + +At this moment the wooers came trooping in, filling the house with +riot and uproar; and there was an end of all quiet converse for that +day. + +II + +It was past noon before Odysseus and Eumaeus set out for the town; for +Eumaeus had conceived a great liking for his guest, and listened with +delight to his wonderful tales of adventure. "Come," he said at last, +when Odysseus had finished one of his long stories. "It is time to be +going, though I would willingly have kept thee here. But my young lord +has spoken and we must obey." "Lead on," said Odysseus, "I know what +thou wouldst say; but first give me a staff to lean on, for I heard +thee say that the path was rough." + +So saying he threw his tattered wallet over his shoulder, and taking a +stout staff, which Eumaeus offered him, started with his friend across +the hills. After a toilsome walk they reached the top of the hill +which overlooked the town, and descending the slope they came to a +copious spring of water, well fenced with stones, and shaded by a +grove of alders. The water descended into a basin from the face of a +rock in a cool and copious stream; and on either side stood an altar +to the nymphs. "It is the common fountain of the townspeople," +explained Eumaeus. "The altars and the basin which receives the water +are the work of our ancient kings." + +Odysseus paused a moment, lost in the memories which were awakened by +that familiar scene. But his reverie was rudely interrupted. While he +stood gazing at the fountain, he heard a rude voice hailing them from +the road, and looking round he saw a man leading a pair of fine goats +towards the town. It was Melanthius, his own goatherd, who was +bringing the best of his flock to make savoury meat for the wooers. + +"Here are two birds of a feather!" shouted the fellow, in jeering +tones--"that wretched swineherd, and a ravenous beggar. A fine guest +thou art bringing to our young masters, and a fair welcome, without +doubt, they will give him. Were it not better that I took him with me +to my farm? He could sweep out the pens, and gather green shoots for +the kids; and we would give him whey to drink, and put some flesh on +these shrunk shanks[1] of his. But the lazy knave will do no work; he +would rather rub his shoulders against every door-post, begging for +broken meat. Broken bones will be his portion, if the wooers see him +near the house of Odysseus." + +[Footnote 1: "A world too wide for his shrunk shanks,"--Shakespeare: +"As You Like It."] + +While he uttered these taunts Melanthius had gradually come close to +Odysseus, and with the last word he lifted up his foot and kicked him +with all his force on the hip. Odysseus stood like a rock, and stirred +not an inch from his ground; his first impulse was to seize the +ruffian by the ankles, and dash out his brains on the road; but he +checked himself with a great effort, and said not a word. + +But Eumaeus rebuked the goatherd, and invoked the vengeance of heaven +against him. "Would that our noble master were here!" he cried, "he +would soon make an end of thee, thou braggart! Unfaithful herdsman, +that rovest ever about the town, leaving thy flock to underlings!" + +"Go to, thou dog!" retorted Melanthius, with a savage laugh. "Wilt +thou be ever harping on that string? Thy noble master is dust long +ago, and I would that Telemachus were lying with him. As for thee, I +will one day cast thee bound into a ship, and sell thee across the +seas for a great price." + +With that he left them, and stepped briskly out towards the house, +while Odysseus and Eumaeus followed more slowly. Presently they came to +an extensive enclosure, standing conspicuously on a high level plateau +overlooking the town. Behind the fence towered the roof of a great +timber house. They passed through the outer gates, and as they entered +the courtyard they heard the sounds of a harp, and the steam of roast +flesh was borne to their nostrils. + +"Take heed now," said Eumaeus, lowering his voice, as they approached +the door of the house. "I will go in first, and do thou follow me +close, lest anyone find thee outside and do thee some hurt." + +"Fear nothing for me," answered Odysseus, "I am no stranger to blows, +for I have been sore buffeted on land and sea. The belly is a stern +taskmaster, which compels us to face both wounds and death." + +So saying he stepped aside to let Eumaeus pass, then checked him with a +hasty exclamation; for he had seen something which sent a pang of +sorrow to his heart. Heaped up against the wall by the doorway was a +great pile of refuse, left there until the thralls should carry it +away and lay it on the fields; and there, grievously neglected, and +almost blind with age, lay a great gaunt hound, to all seeming more +dead than alive. What was the emotion of Odysseus when he recognised +in that poor creature his old favourite, Argus, whom he had reared +with his own hand, and trained to the chase, in the old days before he +sailed to Troy! As he stooped down with a caressing gesture the hound +feebly raised his head; a strange light came into his eyes, he drooped +his ears, and wagged his tail, but was too weak to stir from the place +where he lay. Odysseus brushed away a tear, and said to Eumaeus: "'Tis +strange that so fine a hound should lie thus uncared for in his old +age. Or do his looks belie his qualities? Handsome he must have been, +as I can see still; but perhaps his beauty was all he had to boast +of." + +"He was my master's favourite hound," answered Eumaeus, "and there was +none swifter or keener of scent in all the land. Formerly the young +men would take him with them to hunt the wild goat or the hare or the +deer; but now that he is sore stricken with years not one of the women +will bring him a morsel to eat, or a little water to drink. So it ever +is when the master is absent; for a slave has no conscience when his +owner's eye is not upon him." + +When Eumaeus had entered the house, Odysseus lingered awhile, gazing +sadly at the faithful Argus. The old hound raised himself, and +struggled painfully to drag himself to his master's feet; but the +effort was too much for him, and he sank back on his sorry bed, and +breathed his last. + +With a heavy heart Odysseus turned away, and passing into the hall sat +down on the threshold and laid his scrip beside him. Telemachus was +the first to notice him, and calling the swineherd, who was sitting +near, he gave him a loaf of bread and a good handful of meat, and bade +him carry it to the beggar. "And tell him to go round and beg of all +the wooers," he said: "want and modesty agree ill together." Eumaeus +brought the gift and the message, which Odysseus received with a +blessing on the giver. And when he had eaten he rose and went round +the hall, begging of the wooers. All gave him something until he came +to Antinous, who stared at him insolently and asked who he was. + +"I saw the fellow," answered Melanthius, "a little while ago. Eumaeus +brought him hither, but who he is I know not." + +"Ah! thou rogue," said Antinous to the swineherd, "we know thy ways! +Why didst thou bring this caitiff to the town? Are there not beggars +enough here already to mar our pleasure when we sit down to meat? 'Tis +nought to thee, it seems, that these palmer-worms come swarming round +the house to devour thy master's living." + +[Illustration: The Return of Odysseus] + +"He is no guest of my inviting," answered Eumaeus. "I would not invite +to this house any wandering stranger, unless he were a prophet, or +leech, or shipwright, or minstrel; and he is none of these. But thou +art ever hard on the servants of Odysseus, and especially on me; yet I +care not, so long as I satisfy Penelope and my young lord, +Telemachus." + +"Eumaeus, thou art overbold of speech," said Telemachus; then turning +to Antinous he added: "I thank thee for thy fatherly care, but we are +not so poor that we need to drive the stranger from our doors--heaven +forbid! Give him something; 'tis I that bid thee: but thou art ever +better at taking than at giving." + +"I will give him something, thou malapert boy," answered Antinous, +grinding his teeth with rage, "something which will keep him from the +house for three months to come." As he spoke he thrust forward a heavy +footstool from under the table, and placed it ready at hand. + +Meanwhile, Odysseus, having filled his wallet, was preparing to return +to his place on the threshold. But first he came to Antinous, and +addressed to him a long harangue in the common style of the +professional beggar, who had seen better days and been brought to want +by the malice of fortune. He concluded with a fragment of the story +which he had already told to Eumaeus. + +Antinous heard him to the end with ill-disguised impatience, and then +broke out in angry tones: "Who brought this wretched fellow here to +vex us? Stand off from my table, thou shameless varlet! Egypt, sayest +thou? I will send thee to Egypt, and with a vengeance, too! It is a +shame to see how they have squandered good meat on a dog like thee"; +and he pointed to the wallet, now filled with the cheap bounty of the +wooers. + +Odysseus drew back and made for the door, saying as he went: "Of a +truth, I wonder to find so princely a presence wedded to so mean a +temper." + +When he heard that Antinous began to curse and to swear, and lifting +the footstool he hurled it with all his force at the retreating figure +of Odysseus. It struck him on the shoulder, with a crash that vibrated +through the hall; but Odysseus heeded it not, but passed on without a +pause or a stumble to his place on the threshold. When he was seated +he complained loudly of the brutal conduct of Antinous. "Accursed be +he," he said, "who lifts up his hand against a helpless beggar; may +Heaven requite him for this foul deed!" + +"Thou hadst best be quiet," said Antinous, "or we will drag thee by +the heels through the hall, until we have stripped the flesh off thy +bones." + +But this was too much even for the wooers. "Antinous," said one of +them, "it was ill done of thee to strike the hapless wanderer. Take +heed that thou bring not a curse upon thyself, if there be gods in +heaven to see such deeds. And what if a god should visit this house in +some strange disguise, to make trial of our hearts? It were no new +thing." + +A chill seemed to have fallen on the company after this shameful +incident. The wooers had ceased their clamour, and sat talking in low +tones together; Odysseus and Telemachus sat silent in their places, +brooding gloomily on the outrage; Antinous alone remained unmoved, +being hardened, within and without, against all reproach. + +When Penelope, who was sitting among her maidens in her chamber, heard +how the stranger had been ill-treated, she cried: "So may Apollo smite +thee, Antinous, thou godless man!" "Ay," said Eurycleia, "if prayers +could slay them, not one of these men would see to-morrow's dawn." + +"Go, one of you," said Penelope, "and bring hither the swineherd. I +would fain speak with this stranger; who knows but he may have +somewhat to tell me of Odysseus, my lord?" Eumaeus was summoned, and +having heard the desire of Penelope, he answered: "My queen, there is +a rare pleasure awaiting thee. This man hath a tongue to charm thy +very soul. Three days and nights he abode with me, and all that time +he kept us spellbound by the tale of his adventures. It was as if we +were listening to the lay of some rare minstrel, a god-gifted man, who +sways all hearts as he will by the magic of his voice. And he brings +sure tidings of Odysseus too, if we may believe what he says." + +"Call him hither," answered Penelope, "that he may speak to me face to +face. If his news be true, we may yet see the day when these men shall +pay a heavy price for their plunder of our house." + +As she spoke, a loud sneeze was heard in the room below. "It was my +son," said Penelope, laughing, "I know it by the sound; and it is a +sign that my words will be fulfilled. Make haste now, and bring the +stranger to me." + +Eumaeus went, and presently returned with a message from the supposed +beggar, to say that he feared fresh violence from the wooers, if he +left his place by the door and passed through them again. The truth +was that Odysseus feared recognition if he appeared before his wife in +broad daylight; so he affected to complain of the indifference of +Telemachus, who had allowed the savage deed of Antinous to go +unpunished, and begged permission to wait until the evening, when the +wooers would be gone home, and he could tell his story unmolested. + +"He says well," answered Penelope, when she had heard the message. +"And he seems to be a man of sense. We will wait until evening, as he +desires." + +The day was waning when Eumaeus returned to the hall, and the wooers +had already begun their evening pastimes. The swineherd went up to +Telemachus, and said to him in a low tone: "It is time for me to +return to my farm, that I may give an eye to the things which I have +in charge. I leave thee to look to the house, and all that it +contains; but above all be careful of thyself, for there are many here +who wish thee ill." + + + + +The Beggar Irus + + +Just after Eumaeus had left, a huge, ungainly fellow came slouching up +to the place where Odysseus was sitting, and eyed him with a look of +great disfavour. He was the town beggar, known far and wide in Ithaca +as the greediest and laziest knave in the whole island. His real name +was Arnaeus, but from being employed to run errands about the place he +had received the nickname of Irus. Highly indignant at finding his +rights usurped by a new-comer, and thinking to find in that battered +old man an easy victim, he began to rate his supposed rival in a big, +blustering voice: "Give place, old man, to thy betters, and force me +not to use my hands upon thee. Begone, and that quickly, or it shall +be the worse for thee; out of the way, I say!" + +With a stern look Odysseus answered him, and said: "What possesses +thee, fellow, that thou seekest a quarrel with me? Thou art, as I +perceive, a beggar like me, and I grudge thee not anything which thou +mayest receive in the way of alms from those who sit here. There is +room on this threshold for us both. But I warn thee not to provoke me +to blows, for old as I am I will set a mark upon thee which thou wilt +carry to thy death." + +Trusting in his size, and encouraged by the nods and winks of the +wooers who sat near, Irus was only too ready to take up the challenge. +"Hark to the old starveling cur!" he shouted. "How glib of tongue he +is, like any scolding hag! Get thee to thy fists then, since thou wilt +have it so, and I will knock all thy teeth out, if thou hast any +left"; and he thrust Odysseus with his foot. + +All the wooers now came running up, and crowded round the exasperated +beggars, hoping to see fine sport. Antinous took the lead, such a +scene being exactly to his taste. "Here is matter for mirth," he +cried, laughing, "for many a day. Make a ring quickly, and let them +fight it out." + +In the courtyard there was a red smouldering fire, on which two huge +sausages were roasting, a sort of haggis made by filling the belly of +a goat with fat and blood. It was determined to give one of these +messes to the winner in the fight; and he also was henceforth to have +the sole right to receive the broken meats at the wooers' feasts. + +Odysseus now pretended to draw back, as if he feared an encounter with +a man younger than himself; but at last he consented to the match, on +condition that the wooers would swear an oath not to strike him a foul +blow while he was fighting with Irus. To this they all agreed, and +forthwith Odysseus stripped to the waist, and girded his rags about +his loins. By some strange magic his limbs seemed to have filled out; +and when the wooers saw his mighty chest and broad shoulders they +cried out in amazement "Methinks Irus will pay dearly for his ire,"[1] +said one. "Look what a brawny thigh the old carle shows under his +rags!" + +[Footnote 1: The pun is an attempt to reproduce a similar word-play in +the original.] + +Irus himself was not less astonished than dismayed, so that they were +obliged to use force to make him face his opponent; and as he stood +there quaking with fear Antinous reviled him bitterly, and threatened, +if he were defeated, to carry him to the mainland, and hand him over +to a robber chieftain, nicknamed the Mutilator, and notorious for his +cruelties. "He will carve thee into collops and fling them to his +dogs," said the ferocious prince. + +Little encouraged, as may be supposed, this prospect, Irus in his +despair aimed a blow at Odysseus, and struck him on the right +shoulder. Then Odysseus, who had resolved to put forth but half his +force, lest he should betray himself to the wooers, struck the +wretched man under the ear. There was a crash of broken bones, and +down went Irus in the dust, spitting blood, and beating the ground +with his heels. The wooers hailed his fall with shouts of laughter, +and Odysseus, seizing the prostrate beggar by the foot, dragged him +through the courtyard gate, and propped him against the wall. "Sit +there," he said, placing his staff in his hand, "and keep off dogs and +swine. Methinks thou hast had enough of playing the tyrant among +strangers and beggars." + +When he returned to his place on the threshold he found the wooers in +high good humour at the defeat of Irus. "May heaven fulfil all thy +heart's desire!" cried one who sat near, "seeing that thou hast rid us +of that hungry, brawling rogue." His words had a meaning which he +little guessed, and Odysseus rejoiced when he heard them. Then +Antinous brought the pudding, all steaming from the fire, and set it +by him; and Amphinomus gave him two loaves, and filled a cup with +wine. "Hail, old friend!" he said, offering the cup, "and mayest thou +live to see happier days." + +This Amphinomus differed in character from the other suitors, being a +prudent and fair-minded man. Odysseus knew him and his father well, +and being willing to save him, if possible, he looked earnestly at +him, and said: "Amphinomus, thou seemest to be a man of understanding, +and therefore I will give thee a word of warning. Hark, in thine ear! +Quit this company at once! The day of doom is very near to them all, +and I would not that thou shouldst perish with them." + +These words, spoken in a low and solemn tone, so that none besides +might hear, sent a chill to the heart of Amphinomus. Slowly and sadly +he went back to his seat, his mind full of dark foreboding. +Nevertheless, he did not profit by the warning; for he had thrown in +his lot with that guilty band, and had to drink of the same cup. + + + + +Penelope and the Wooers + + +I + +"How slowly move the hours," said Penelope to Eurycleia, yawning and +then laughing in sheer vacancy of spirit. "How would it be if I showed +myself to the wooers? I hate them, it is true, but it would serve to +pass the time, and I could caution my son not to be so familiar with +these treacherous friends." + +"Do so, my child," answered Eurycleia, "but first wash and anoint +thyself, and go not among them with this tear-stained face. And waste +not thy life in perpetual mourning; think what a comfort thou hast in +thy son." + +"Speak not to me of such vanities," answered Penelope; "why should I +wish to preserve this poor remnant of my beauty? Foul or fair, what +matters it in my widowed state? But send two of my handmaids hither to +attend me, for it is not seemly that I should go alone among the men." + +While the nurse was gone to fetch the maidens, a sudden drowsiness +overpowered Penelope, and she sank back in her chair, subdued by a +short but trancelike sleep. And while she slumbered, invisible hands +were busy with her person, washing away all the stains which sorrow +had left on her face, and shedding upon her immortal loveliness, such +as clothes the Queen of Love herself, when she joins the sister Graces +in the dance. The voices of the women entering her chamber roused her +from that strange sleep, and sitting up she rubbed her cheeks and +said: "Wondrous soft was the slumber which overtook me in my sorrow! +Would that it were death which had come upon me with like softness, +that I might no longer waste away in mourning for the excellence of my +dear, dear lord!" + +Thereupon she arose, and descending the stairs stood in the open +doorway of the hall, with a handmaid on either side. A murmur of +surprise and admiration went round the whole company, for never had +she seemed so wondrous fair. Turning to Telemachus she said: "My son, +with grief I perceive that thy understanding increaseth not with thy +growth, but rather becometh less. Who would think, seeing thee thus +tall and comely, like a prince's true son, that thou wouldst suffer +such deeds to be wrought upon the stranger within thy gates? What if +he had come by his death through this violence? What shame and infamy +to thee!" + +"Mother," answered Telemachus, "thou hast some reason for thine anger. +Howbeit, I have a man's wit, and am not, as thou sayest, more foolish +than a child. But what can one do against so many? And as to this +stranger, thou wouldst know that thy fears are idle, if thou couldst +see Irus as he now sits at the gate, rolling his head like a drunkard, +with no strength to stand on his feet or stir from his place. Would +that all the wooers were in the same plight!" + +While Telemachus was defending himself, Eurymachus had been gazing +with bold eyes on that fair lady; and now he addressed her with smooth +words of flattery: "Daughter of Icarius, sage Penelope, if all the +Greeks could behold thee as now thou art, this house would not contain +the multitude of thy wooers. Thou surpassest all the daughters of men +in beauty, and in stature, and in thy even-balanced wit" + +"Eurymachus," answered Penelope, "all the bloom of my womanhood was +blighted on the evil day when the Greeks embarked for Troy, and +Odysseus, my lord, went with them. But now I am like some poor hunted +creature, hard beset by the hounds of fate. Well I remember my +husband's parting words. Holding my right hand he said: 'Dear wife, I +am going into the midst of perils, and it may be that we shall never +see each other again. Be thou but faithful to thy trust, and remember +whose daughter thou art; and when thou seest thy son with a beard on +his cheeks, thou art free to marry whom thou wilt.' Such were his +words, and now they shall shortly be fulfilled. I see the day +approaching which shall make me another man's wife; better for me if I +were the bride of death! For who ever beheld such wooing as yours? +'Twas ever the custom among those who sought the daughter of a wealthy +house in marriage to bring with them their own sheep and oxen to make +good cheer for the friends of the bride; but ye sit here as unbidden +guests, and devour my living." + +Odysseus smiled to himself with pleasure when he heard this artful +speech of Penelope, for he perceived her intention, which was to draw +gifts from the wooers, and raise their hopes by the prospect of her +approaching marriage. And the artifice was successful, for the wooers, +following the lead of Antinous and Eurymachus, at once despatched +their servants to bring the bride gifts from their houses. Antinous +gave a splendid embroidered robe, with twelve golden clasps, +Eurymachus a necklace of amber and gold, and Eurydamas a pair of +jewelled earrings. These and other costly offerings were brought to +Penelope in her chamber. + +II + +When evening came on, the wooers ordered three braziers to be set up +in the hall, to give them light as they sat at their pastimes. The +braziers were fed with dry chips of pine-wood, and the maid-servants +relieved each other from time to time in the duty of keeping up the +fires. Presently Odysseus drew near to the handmaids, and said: "Go ye +and attend the queen in her chamber, I will serve the fires, and give +light to the company. Yea, though they sit here all night they shall +not tire me out, for I am a much-enduring man." + +The women laughed, and glanced at one another; and one of them, whose +name was Melantho, spoke bitterly to Odysseus, and reviled him, +saying: "Thou wretched old man, why goest thou not to find a bed in +the smithy, or wherever else thou canst, instead of loitering here, +and vexing us with thy prate? Either thou hast drunk a cup too much, +or else thou art stricken in thy wits. Get thee gone, lest a stronger +than Irus lay his hand upon thee and break thy bones." + +"Now will I go straightway to Telemachus," answered Odysseus fiercely, +"yonder where he sits, and tell him what thou sayest, thou vixen, that +he may hew thee in pieces on the spot." + +So menacing were his looks and his tones that the women fled quaking +from the hall and left him to tend the fires. So there he stood in +view of the whole company, to their eyes a poor outcast, intent on his +menial task; but thoughts other than of the fires filled his heart. + +As he stooped over one of the braziers and stirred the fuel into a +blaze, Eurymachus noticed the red gleam which was reflected from the +smooth, bald crown of the supposed beggar. "Look!" he cried, laughing +and pointing at Odysseus, "surely this man is a favourite of heaven; +for see how the light shines like a crown of glory on his hairless +pate!" + +Then he called to Odysseus, and said: "How sayest thou, friend, wilt +thou be my thrall, and work on my farm among the hills for a fixed +wage? Thy business would be to repair the stone fences and work on the +plantation; thou wouldst have a whole coat to thy back, and shoes to +thy feet, and thy penny fee, and bread to eat all the year round. But +I can read thine answer in thy face: thou wouldst rather crouch and +whine for bread than do aught useful to earn thy living." + +"Eurymachus," answered Odysseus firmly, "I would that I could prove my +manhood against thine in any trial of strength and endurance. Let it +be a match of mowing, in a rich meadow-land, on the longest day in +spring, and let us ply the scythe together, fasting, from dawn till +eve. Or give me a stout pair of oxen, mighty beasts, equal in +strength, and both well filled with fodder, and set me to plough a +field of four acres, of rich, deep soil--then wouldst thou see if I +could drive a straight furrow. Or stand by my side on the perilous +edge of battle, with equal arms, and try whether I would flinch sooner +than thou. A great man and a mighty thou seemest to thyself, having +never learnt what true manhood is. Poor windy braggart, if Odysseus +set foot in this house again, the doors would seem too narrow to thee +in thy haste to escape." + +"Thou saucy knave!" cried Eurymachus, incensed by this daring speech, +"I will teach thee respect for thy betters"; and seizing a footstool +he prepared to hurl it at the offender's head. But Odysseus sprang +aside and ran to Amphinomus for protection; the heavy missile flew +hurtling through the air, and struck one of the servants, who was just +crossing the room, on the arm. Down went the man with a cry of pain, +and the wooers raised an uproar throughout the hall. "A murrain on +this begging loon!" exclaimed one. "Why came he hither to bring strife +among us?" + +"Ye are mad, my masters!" said Telemachus, raising his voice; "verily +ye are flown with insolence and wine.[1] Ye had better go home and +sleep off your liquor before worse comes of it." + +[Footnote 1: Milton, "Paradise Lost," i. 502.] + +The wooers were indeed in a dangerous mood, and they began to finger +their weapons, and utter fierce threats against Telemachus. But +Amphinomus interposed, and by exerting all his influence induced them +to forgo their murderous purpose and disperse quietly to their homes. + + + + +Odysseus and Penelope + + +As soon as the house was quiet, Telemachus, obeying a sign from his +father, prepared to convey the weapons which hung about the hall to an +inner chamber, out of the reach of the wooers. First he ordered +Eurycleia to keep the women out of the way, and having barred the +doors leading to the inner apartments, he took down helmet and spear +and shield from the walls, and carried them, with his father's help, +to the upper room. When this important task was performed he withdrew +for the night, and Odysseus was left alone in the hall to await the +coming of Penelope. + +Presently the doors were opened, and by the flickering light of the +braziers Odysseus, for the first time after twenty years, saw the face +of his wife. Lovely indeed she seemed in his eyes, not less than when +he wedded her in her maiden bloom. Her handmaids brought a chair of +silver and ivory, a work of most rare device, and set it by the fire +with a soft fleece upon it. Penelope took the seat prepared for her +and gazed curiously at the stranger, who sat crouched in the shadow of +a pillar, avoiding her eye. Meanwhile the women were bustling about +the hall, removing the remains of the feast, and heaping fresh fuel on +the fires. Among them was Melantho, who had spoken so roughly to +Odysseus an hour or two before. When she saw Odysseus she began +railing at him again, and rudely bade him begone. Penelope soon +reduced her to silence, and then calling Eurycleia she bade her place +a seat for the stranger. + +"Now tell me," began Penelope, when the chair had been brought, "who +art thou, and of what country? And who were thy father and mother?" + +"Ah! lady," answered Odysseus, "I beseech thee, question me not as to +my country and my friends, lest thou open anew the fountain of my +grief. It is not seemly to sit weeping and wailing in a stranger's +house; and I fear that thou wilt say that my tears are the tears of +drunkenness." + +Penelope pressed him for an answer. "Thou surely art of some country," +she said, smiling; "or art thou one of those of whom old stories tell, +born of stocks and stones?" + +"Since thou urgest it so strongly," replied Odysseus, "I cannot deny +thee. In the broad realm of Crete there is a certain city, Cnosus by +name; there reigned Minos, and begat Deucalion, my famous sire. To +Deucalion two sons were born, Idomeneus the elder, and myself, whom he +named AEthon. When war arose between the Greeks and Trojans, Idomeneus +sailed to fight for the sons of Atreus, and I was left behind in my +father's house. Then it was that I saw Odysseus, who was driven by +stress of weather to seek shelter on our coasts. When he had anchored +his ships in the harbour, he came up to the town and inquired for +Idomeneus, whom he said was his friend, honoured and beloved; but we +told him that Idomeneus had departed ten days before. Then I received +him in my house, and feasted him and all his company for twelve days; +for all that time the north wind blew, so that a man could not stand +up against it. On the thirteenth day the wind ceased and they put out +to sea." + +Penelope's tears flowed fast as she listened to that cunning fiction, +which seemed to bring her husband before her eyes. Odysseus watched +her, with eyes set like horn or iron, as she sat before him sobbing +and rocking herself to and fro; but his heart grew big within him, and +he could hardly keep back his own tears. At length she grew calmer, +and wishing to try him, asked him this searching question: "If thou +didst indeed entertain my husband in thy house, tell me what manner of +man he was, and what garments he had on, and who they were that +attended him." + +"It is hard," answered Odysseus, "to tell thee of what thou askest, +after twenty years; nevertheless I will attempt to call up his image +from the past. He wore a purple woollen cloak, of two folds, and it +was held by a golden brooch with a double clasp; and on the brooch was +fashioned a hound, holding in his jaws a fawn; and so skilfully was it +wrought that the figures seemed to live, the fawn struggling to +escape, and the hound clenching his fangs to hold him--so rare a piece +it was. Under his cloak, Odysseus wore a close-fitting tunic, which +glistened like the peel of a dried onion; for very soft and fine was +the texture. I cannot tell whether these were the garments which he +had on when he left you; it may be that they were a gift received on +his voyage, for he had many friends. Even so I gave him a sword of +bronze and a mantle, and a fringed tunic, when I bade him adieu. +Further, I would have thee know that he had a squire with him, +somewhat older than himself, a round-shouldered man, dark of +complexion, and with curling hair. His name was Eurybates, and +Odysseus held him in high regard." + +What were the emotions of Penelope, when she heard the raiment and +ornaments which her husband was wearing the last time she saw him thus +described down to the minutest detail! For a long time she remained +silent, overpowered by her feelings; and when she spoke again there +was a ring of sincere warmth and friendliness in her voice. "I pitied +thee before," she said, "seeing thee thus forlorn, but now thou shalt +be my dear and honoured guest, for I know that thou hast spoken the +truth. These garments, and the golden brooch, were a gift from my own +hands to my dear lord. Alas! I shall never see him again. Cursed be +the day that parted me from him, and sent him to the land of Troy, +that name abhorred of my soul!" + +"Lady," answered Odysseus, "no one could blame thee, or say that thou +sorrowest beyond measure, for such a husband as thine. He was indeed a +man of rare and god-like gifts. Nevertheless be comforted; for ere +many days are passed thou wilt see him here, safe and sound, and +loaded with the wealth which he has gathered in his wanderings." Then +he went on to repeat the story which he had already told to Eumaeus, +with some further facts, drawn from his own experience in the last ten +years; and concluded with this solemn adjuration: "Witness, this +hearth of Odysseus, to which I am come, and witness Zeus, the supreme +lord of heaven, if I lie! Ere yonder moon hath waned, Odysseus will be +sitting under this roof." + +Penelope shook her head sadly, as she replied: "It will be a happy day +for thee, if thy prophecy is confirmed by the event. But what am I +saying? 'Tis an empty dream. But come, let the maidens prepare a bath +for thee, and afterwards them shalt sleep sound in a soft, warm bed. +Well hast thou deserved to receive all honour and worship at my hands, +and woe unto him that shall seek to harm thee! I will put a speedy end +to his wooing. For what wilt thou say of me, when thou art wandering +in distant lands, if I suffer thee to abide here thus poorly clad, +unwashed, and uncared for? Few and evil are the days of our life; and +the best we can do is to win a good name by our gentle deeds while we +live, and leave a fair memory behind us when we die." + +"I doubt not thy goodness," replied Odysseus; "but I have long been a +stranger to the comforts of which thou speakest, and they suit not my +forlorn and desolate state. Nor would I that any of thy handmaids +should wash my feet, and mock my infirmities; but if thou hast here an +aged house-dame, like unto me in years and in sorrows, I grudge not +that such a one should wait upon me." + +"Thou speakest as a prudent man," said Penelope, "and I have such an +aged dame as thou describest among my household. She was the first who +took my ill-fated husband in her arms when his mother bare him, and +she nursed him tenderly and well. She shall wash thy feet, old though +she be, and feeble." Then she called Eurycleia, who was sitting near, +and said to her: "Come hither, nurse, and wash the stranger's feet. +Who knows but thy master is now in like evil case, grown old before +his time through care and misery?" + +When she heard that, the old woman lifted up her voice and wept: +"Odysseus," she cried, "child of my sorrow, what have I not borne for +thee! Pious thou wast, and righteous in all thy dealings, yet Zeus +hath chosen thee out from among all men to be the object of his hate. +Yea, and perchance even now he is mocked in the house of strangers, as +these women were lately mocking thee. Yea, I will wash thee, as +Penelope bids me, and for thy sake also, for my heart is moved with +pity because of thy woes." + +With such speed as her years allowed, the dame went and fetched warm +water, and a vessel for washing the feet. She set them down in front +of Odysseus, and before she began her task, stood for some time +peering curiously into his face. "Hear me, friend," she said, after a +while, "of all the strangers that ever entered these doors, ne'er saw +I one so like unto Odysseus as thou art, in form, and in voice, and in +feet." + +"So said everyone who saw us together," answered Odysseus. But her +words filled him with alarm, and recalled to his mind an old scar, +just above the knee, caused by a wound which he had received from a +wild boar while hunting in his boyhood in the valleys of Parnassus, +during a visit to Autolycus, Penelope's father. If his old nurse +should discover the scar she would be certain to recognise him, and +the consequences of the premature discovery might be fatal. However, +he had now no excuse for declining the bath, so he drew back his chair +into the shadow, still hoping to escape detection. + +But Eurycleia, whose suspicions were already aroused, was not thus to +be evaded. As she handled the limb her fingers felt the well-known +mark, and she let the foot fall with a loud cry. The vessel was +overset, and the water ran over the floor. Half laughing and half +weeping, the old woman fell upon his neck. "Thou art Odysseus, dear +child!" she cried, "and yet I knew thee not till I had touched thee +with my hands." + +[Illustration: Odysseus and Eurycleia] + +During all this scene Penelope had been sitting like one in a dream, +lost in the memories awakened by the supposed beggar's story. The +nurse now turned to rouse her from her reverie, and tell her the +joyful news; but Odysseus, seeing her intention, pressed a heavy hand +on her mouth, and, drawing her down to him with the other, said in a +fierce whisper: "Peace, woman, or I will slay thee! Wouldst thou +destroy him whom thou hast nursed at thine own breast?" + +Eurycleia had now recovered from the shock of that sudden recognition. +"Fear me not," she said, "I will be as secret as the grave. But see, +the water is all spilt; I go to fetch more." And so with a grave face, +but a heart bounding with delight, the faithful old creature brought a +fresh supply of water, and proceeded with the task of washing her +master's feet. + +When he resumed his place by the fire, he found Penelope in a soft and +pensive mood, and dwelling, as was her wont, on the sorrows of her +widowed state. "Friend," she said, with a gentle sigh, "I will not +keep thee much longer from thy rest, for the hour approaches which +brings sweet oblivion to careworn hearts--all save mine. For the night +brings me no respite from my woes, but rather increases them. When the +day's duties are over, and all the house is still, I lie tossing +ceaselessly, torn by conflicting doubts and fears. E'en as the wakeful +bird sits darkling all night long, and pours her endless plaint, now +low and mellow, now piercing high and shrill, so wavers my spirit in +its purpose, and threads the unending maze of thought. Sweet home of +my wedded joy, must I leave thee, and all the faces which I love so +well, and the great possessions which he gave into my keeping? Shall I +become a byword among the people, as false to the memory of my true +lord? Yet how can I face the reproaches of my son, who since he is +come to manhood grows more impatient day by day, seeing the waste of +his wealth, of which I am the cause? + +"But I wished to ask thee concerning a dream which I had last night. +There are twenty geese which I keep about the house, and I take +pleasure in seeing them crop the grain from the water trough. In my +dream I saw a great eagle swoop down from the mountains and slay them +all, breaking their necks, There they lay dead in one heap; +and I made loud lament for the slaying of my geese, so that the women +gathered round me to comfort me. But the eagle descended again, and +alighted on a jutting beam of the roof, and thus spake unto me with a +human voice: 'Take comfort, daughter of Icarius; no dream is this, but +a waking vision, which shall surely be fulfilled. The geese are the +wooers, and I the eagle am thy husband, who will shortly come and give +them to their doom.' Even as he said this I awoke, and going to the +window I saw the geese by the door, cropping the grain from the +trough, as is their wont." + +"Lady," answered Odysseus, "there is but one interpretation of thy +dream, and thy husband declared it with his own voice. Death looms +near at hand for the wooers, and not one of them shall escape." + +But Penelope shook her head. "It is ill trusting in dreams," she said, +"and hard to discern the false from the true. There are two gates from +which flitting dreams are sent to men: one is of horn, and the other +of ivory: and the dreams which pass through the ivory gate are sent to +beguile, while those which come from the gate of horn are a true +message to him who sees them. And my dream, I believe, was sent me +from the gate of ivory. Yea, the day is approaching, the hateful day, +which shall part me for ever from the house of Odysseus; and this +shall be the manner of the trial whereby I will prove which of the +wooers is to win me: I will set up twelve axes, like the trestles on +which the keel of a ship is laid, in the hall, and he who can send an +arrow through the line of double axeheads from the further end of the +hall shall win me for his bride. This device I learnt from Odysseus, +who was wont thus to prove his skill in archery. Then farewell my +home, the house of my lord, the home of my love, so fair, so full of +plenty, which will haunt me in my dreams even unto life's end." + +"Tis well-imagined, this trial of the wooers," answered Odysseus, "and +I counsel thee to put them to the proof without delay; for I am sure +that Odysseus will return here again before ever one of these men +shall string his bow and shoot an arrow through the line of axes." + +"Well, my friend," said Penelope, "I will now bid thee good-night, +though gladly would I sit here till to-morrow's dawn, and let thee +discourse to enchant mine ear. But there is a time for all things, and +I would not rob thee of thy needful rest. Therefore I will go and lay +my head on my uneasy pillow, and the women shall lay a bed for thee +here, or where thou choosest." + + + + +The End draws near; Signs and Wonders + + +True to his character as a wandering beggar, Odysseus lay down to rest +on a pile of sheepskins in the portico of the house. His mind was full +of the events of the day, and of the terrible task which he had to +perform on the morrow. When he thought of all the insults which had +been heaped upon him in his own house, he ground his teeth with rage, +and muttered bitter curses against the wooers. As if on purpose to +provoke him further, just at this moment Melantho, and several of the +other women, who slept in the town, came forth from the house, and +passed by him with shrill laughter and merry gibes. Then his heart +growled within him, even as a mother-hound growls over her whelps when +she sees a stranger approaching, and in a sudden impulse of fury he +started up to slay those faithless women on the spot; but repressing +his mad purpose he smote his breast and rebuked his fiery spirit. Had +he not borne even worse than this on the day when the Cyclops devoured +his comrades in the cave? + +When anger and shame had had their turn, other and more pressing +anxieties came crowding upon him, banishing sleep from his eyelids. +How was he with such help as Telemachus could give him to overpower +and slay a hundred men in the prime of their youth and strength? It +seemed an impossible feat, and his heart quaked within him as he +counted those fearful odds. + +At last sleep came upon him unawares, and in a dream he saw his divine +friend and helper, Athene, standing by him, robed in awful beauty. +"Where is thy faith?" she asked, in sweet and solemn tones. "Dost thou +doubt my power to help thee? Know this, that with me at thy side thou +couldst rout and slay a thousand armed men. Sleep on, then, and vex +thyself no more; in a few short hours all thy trials shall be passed, +and thou shalt rest in triumph under thine own roof-tree." Then she +touched his brow with her finger, and departed; and after that he +slept on soundly until dawn. + +In the first grey light of morning he awoke, roused by a sound as of +one wailing within the house. He sat up in his bed and listened: it +was the voice of Penelope, his wife; for she too had had her dreams, +sweet, indeed, while they lasted, but bitter to her waking memory. She +thought that her husband came to her, in all the glory of his manhood, +even as when he set out for Troy, and put his arms about her, and +kissed her tenderly. Therefore she wept and wailed, thinking that it +was another false vision, sent by some hostile deity to mock her +widowhood. + +What a sound was that for the lonely watcher before the house! +"Patience, fond, sad heart!" he murmured to himself, "this very night +thou shalt hold me in thine arms, and sob out thy sorrows on my +breast." With that he rose to his feet, and lifting up his hands to +heaven put up a prayer to Zeus: "Dread sire of gods, if with good will +ye have brought me thus far, after so many perils by land and by +water, send me a sign from heaven, and reveal unto me your purpose by +the lips of one of those that be within the house." + +A loud peal of thunder was heard in answer to his prayer; and a second +sign was sent by the voice of a woman in the house. She was one of +twelve maid-servants, whose duty it was to grind wheat and barley for +the daily supply of bread. The others had finished their task, but +she, being old and weak, was still toiling at her mill. When she heard +the thunder she stopped for a moment, and thus uttered her complaint: +"Thunder in a clear sky! That bodes ill to some that be here. Heaven +grant that it may be to the wooers, for whom day by day I suffer this +cruel toil, making meal for them! May this be the very last time that +they sit down to meat in this house!" So saying, she returned to her +labour, and Odysseus rejoiced at the double sign which had been +vouchsafed to him. + +By this time the whole household was afoot, and a score of busy hands +were at work, under the direction of Eurycleia, preparing for the +coming of the wooers. For it was a general holiday, being the festival +of Apollo, and the guests were expected earlier than usual. Some went +to the public fountain to fetch water, some swept and sprinkled the +floor, and some sponged the tables and scoured the drinking vessels. +Presently the herdsmen came in, driving before them the beasts for +sacrifice; and of these the first to arrive was Eumaeus, who brought +three fat hogs as his part of the daily tribute. Leaving his charge to +grub about in the courtyard, he came up to Odysseus, and inquired how +he had fared among the wooers on the previous day. "I fared ill," +answered Odysseus, "and ill fare the villains who deal thus with the +stranger under another man's roof!" + +A rude voice here broke in upon him, and Melanthius the goatherd +thrust himself between them, jostling Odysseus, and reviling him in +brutal terms, "What, still loitering here, thou vagabond? Wilt thou go +begging at other men's tables, or art thou waiting to taste of my +fists?" Odysseus deigned no reply, but shook his head, biding his +time. + +Another herdsman now entered the courtyard; this was Philoetius, who +had charge of the herds of Odysseus on the mainland. He brought a +heifer and two or three fat goats, having crossed over to Ithaca by +the ferry. When he saw Odysseus he took Eumaeus aside, and inquired who +he was. "He is of kingly aspect," remarked the new-comer, "in spite of +his wretched garb. But even kings may come to beggary, if it be +Heaven's will." + +Having heard from Eumaeus what he had to tell, Philoetius approached +Odysseus, and taking his right hand greeted him kindly, saying: +"Welcome, old friend, for my master's sake! E'en such, methinks, is +his case, if he still lives and looks upon the daylight. Ah! what a +thought is that! It brings the sweat of agony to my brow when I think +that even now he may be wandering in rags from door to door, begging +for a morsel of bread, while his flocks and herds roam in thousands on +the hills. What shall I do? It is not to be borne that all this wealth +should increase and multiply, to feed the mouths of thieves and +rogues. Often have I resolved to drive off my cattle into a far +country, and no longer to abet these men in their riotous living; but +my duty to Telemachus, and the hope that even now my lord may return, +still hold me back." + +Perceiving the neatherd to be loyal and staunch, Odysseus resolved to +take him partly into his confidence, and answered accordingly: "Thy +hope is nearer to fulfilment than thou thinkest. Hear me swear, by the +hearth of Odysseus, and by the board at which I have fed, that before +thou leavest Ithaca thou shalt see thy master with thine own +eyes--thou shalt see him slaying the wooers who play the master here." + +"Would that I might live to behold that day!" cried Philoetius. "May I +never eat bread again, if the wooers felt not the might of my hands." +Eumaeus also declared himself ready to risk all by the side of +Odysseus. + +While they were thus conversing, the whole body of the wooers came +thronging into the house, and the daily banquet began. At the inner +end of the hall, commanding the door which led to the women's +quarters, was a sort of platform or dais of stone, raised to some +height above the general level of the floor, and facing the main +entrance. Here Telemachus, as giver of the feast, was seated; and +while the servants were handing round the dishes he called Odysseus +from his place by the door, and made him sit down by his side. "Sit +down here," he said, "and eat and drink thy fill. And you, sirs," he +added, addressing the wooers, "keep a guard on your hands and your +tongues. This is no tavern, but my own house, and I will not suffer my +guest to be wronged by word or deed under my roof." + +This bold speech passed for the present unchallenged, though many a +threatening look was directed at the young prince. By order of +Telemachus, Odysseus received an equal portion with the other guests, +and the banquet proceeded. Presently a new instance of the wooers' +brutality was given, as if they were resolved to keep the edge of his +anger fresh and keen. The author of this outrage was Ctesippus, a +wealthy lord of Same. Taking up a bullock's foot from a basket, in +which the refuse of the meal was thrown, he made this merry jest: "The +stranger has received an equal share of our meat, as is but right; for +who would wish to stint a guest of Telemachus? And now I will make him +a present over and above, that he may bestow somewhat on the +bathwoman, or some other of the servants." Suiting the action to the +word he hurled the missile with savage force at Odysseus; but he, ever +on the alert, avoided it by bowing his head, and it struck the wall +with a crash. + +"Ctesippus," said Telemachus sternly, "it is well for thee that thou +hast missed, else thou hadst died by my hand. Is it not enough that ye +slaughter my cattle and pour out my wine like water, but must I sit +here day after day while ye fill my house with riot and injury and +outrage?" + +The wooers sat silent, being somewhat abashed by the just rebuke; and +after a long pause, one of them, whose name was Agelaus, answered +mildly: "Telemachus says well, for indeed he hath been sorely +provoked. Let there be an end of these mad doings, which it is a shame +to see. And if Telemachus will be advised by me he will urge his +mother to make choice of a husband, that he may henceforth dwell +unmolested in his father's house. Why will she delay us further? +Surely by this time she must have given up all hope of ever seeing +Odysseus again." + +"Now by the woes of my father!" answered Telemachus, "I hinder her not +from wedding whom she pleases; nay, I bid her do so, and offer bridal +gifts besides. But I cannot drive her by force from my doors." + +His words had a strange effect on the wooers: with one accord they +broke out into a yelling peal of laughter, like women in a hysteric +fit, while their eyes were filled with tears. And, more awful still! +their meat dropped blood as they conveyed it to their lips, and an +unearthly wailing was heard, like the cry of a spirit in torment. + +Among those present was Theoclymenus, the man of second sight, and in +that very hour the vision came upon him, and he cried aloud from the +place where he sat: "Woe unto you, ye doomed and miserable men! Thick +darkness is wrapped about you, the darkness of the grave! All the air +is loud with wailing, and your cheeks are wet with tears. See, see! +the walls and the rafters are sprinkled with blood, and the porch and +the courtyard are thronged with ghosts, hurrying downward to the +nether pit; and the sun has died out of heaven, and all the house lies +in darkness and the shadow of death." + +But the wooers had now recovered from their strange fit, and they +laughed gaily at the terrible warning of the seer. "Poor man!" said +Eurymachus, "he has left his wits at home. Go, someone, and show him +the way to the town, if he finds it so dark here." + +"I need no guide," answered Theoclymenus, "I have eyes and ears, and +feet, and a steady brain, so that I shall not go astray. Farewell, +unhappy men! Your hour of grace is past." And forthwith he arose and +went his way to the town. + +When he was gone the wooers began jeering at Telemachus, and taunted +him with the behaviour of his guests. "Thou hast a rare taste," said +one, "in the choice of thy company! First, this filthy beggar that +cumbers the ground with his greedy carcass, and after him comes the +mad prophet, and screams like a raven over our meat" + +One meaning glance passed between Telemachus and his father; the day +was drawing on, and they cared not now to bandy words with the wooers. +And so the merry feast came to an end with jesting, and mirth, and +laughter; and after a few short hours they were to sit down to +supper--such a supper as they had never tasted before, with a hero and +a goddess to spread the board. + + + + +The Bow of Odysseus + + +I + +The time had now arrived for the great trial of strength and skill of +which Penelope had spoken, and which was to decide deeper and deadlier +issues than those of marriage. Among the treasures which Odysseus had +left behind him was a famous bow, which he had received as a gift from +Iphitus, son of Eurytus, whom he met in his youth during a visit to +Messene. He who strung this bow, and shot an arrow through a line of +axes set up in the hall, was to be rewarded by the hand of Penelope. + +"Mother, it is time!" whispered Telemachus, soon after the departure +of Theoclymenus. Obeying the signal, Penelope, who had been sitting in +the hall listening to the talk of the wooers, left her place, and +ascending a steep staircase made her way to the store-room, which was +situated at the farther end of the house. In her hand she carried a +brazen key with a handle of ivory; and when she came to the door, she +loosened the strap which served to draw the bolt from the outside, and +inserting the key drew back the bolt. The double doors flew open with +a crash, and the treasury with all its wealth was revealed. Great +coffers of cedar-wood lined the walls, filled with fine raiment, which +her own hands had wrought. It was a cool and quiet retreat, dimly +lighted, remote from all rude sounds, full of fragrant odours, and fit +to guard the possessions of a prince. And there, hanging from a pin, +and heedfully wrapped in its case, was seen the fatal bow. She took it +down, and, sitting on one of the coffers, laid it on her knees, and +gazed on it fondly with her eyes full of tears. How often had she seen +it in the hands of Odysseus, when he went forth at sunrise to hunt the +hare and the deer! How often had she taken it from him when he came +back at evening loaded with the spoils of the chase! And now a keen +shaft from this very bow was to cut the last tender chord of memory, +and make her another man's wife! + +With a heavy heart she took the bow with its quiver in her hands, and +descending the staircase re-entered the hall, followed by her maidens, +who carried a chest containing the axes. + +"Behold the bow, fair sirs!" she said to the wooers, "and behold me, +the prize for this fine feat of archery!" Therewith she gave the bow +to Eumaeus, who received it with tears; and Philoetius wept likewise +when he saw the treasured weapon of his lord. These signs of emotion +stirred the anger of Antinous, who rebuked the herdsmen fiercely. +"Peace, fools!" he cried. "Peace, miserable churls! Why pierce ye the +heart of the lady with your howlings? Has she not grief enough +already? Go forth, and howl with the dogs outside, and we will make +trial of the bow; yet me thinks it will be long ere anyone here shall +string it" + +"Anyone save thyself, thou wouldst say!" rejoined Telemachus with a +loud laugh. Then, seeing his mother regarding him with gentle +reproach, he added: "Tis strange that I should feel so gay and light +of heart at the moment when I am about to lose my mother. Zeus, +methinks, has turned my brain, and made me laugh when I should weep. +But come, ye bold wooers, which of you will be the first to enter the +lists for this matchless prize, a lady without peer in all the land of +Hellas? Why sit ye thus silent? Must I show you the way? So be it, +then; and if I can bend the bow, and shoot an arrow straight, the +prize shall be mine, and my mother shall abide here in her widowed +state." + +So saying he sprang up, flung off his cloak, and laid aside his sword. +And first he made a long shallow trench in the floor of the hall, and +set up the axes with their double heads in a straight line, stamping +down the earth about the handles to make all firm. Then he took the +bow from Eumaeus; it was a weighty and powerful weapon, fashioned from +the horns of an ibex, which were firmly riveted into a massive bridge, +and great force was required to string it. Telemachus set the end +against the floor, and strove with all his might to drive the string +into its socket. Three times he tried, and failed; but the fourth +time, making a great effort, he was on the point of succeeding, when +his father nodded to him to desist. "Plague on it!" cried Telemachus, +laying the bow aside with an air of vexation, "must I be called a +poltroon all my life, or is it that I have not yet attained the full +measure of my strength? Let the others now take their turn." + +Then one by one the wooers rose up, in the order in which they sat, +and tried to bend the bow. The first to essay it was Leiodes, a +soothsayer, and a man of gentle and godly mind. But he was a soft +liver, unpractised in all manly pastimes, and the bow was like iron in +his white, womanish hands. "I fear that this bow will make an end of +many a bold spirit," he said, little guessing how true his words were +to prove; "for better it were to die than to go away beaten and broken +men, after all the long years of our wooing." + +"Fie on thee!" cried Antinous, "thinkest thou that there are no better +men here than thou art? Doubt not that one of those present shall bend +the bow and win the lady." Then he called Melanthius, and bade him +light a fire, and bring a ball of lard to anoint the bow and make it +easier to bend. The lard was brought, and the wooers sat in turn by +the fire, rubbing and anointing the bow, but all to no purpose. Only +Antinous and Eurymachus still held back, each in the full assurance +that he, and none other, had strength to bend the bow. + +II + +Odysseus sat watching the wooers from his place at the upper end of +the hall, and his heart misgave him when he thought of the appalling +task which he had undertaken. He had acquitted himself like a hero in +many a hard-fought field, but never in all his life had he faced such +odds as these. While he thus mused, and weighed the chances in his +mind, he saw Eumaeus and Philoetius leave the hall together, and pass +out through the courtyard gate. Then a sudden thought struck him, and +muttering to himself, "I must risk it," he rose and followed the two +men. He found them talking together outside the courtyard fence, and +in order to make trial of their temper he addressed them in these +cautious terms: "Tell me truly, good friends, which side would ye +take, if by some miracle Odysseus suddenly appeared in this house? +Would ye be for the wooers or for him?" + +Eumaeus and Philoetius with one voice protested that they were ready to +hazard their lives for the rights of their master, whereupon Odysseus +hesitated no longer, but answered: "The miracle has been wrought; I am +he! After twenty years of toil and wandering Heaven hath brought me +home. I have watched ye both, and I know that ye alone among all the +thralls remain true to me. Only continue steadfast for this day, and +your reward is assured. I will build houses for ye both, close to my +own, and ye shall dwell there with your wives, as my friends and +neighbours, equals in honour with Telemachus, my son." + +The swineherd and neatherd listened with amazement, willing to +believe, but still half in doubt; but when Odysseus showed them the +scar, which they had seen many a time before, they were convinced, and +embraced their old master with tears and cries of joy. Having allowed +them some moments to indulge their feelings, Odysseus checked them +with a warning gesture. "Take heed to yourselves," he said, "or your +cries will betray us. And now mark what I shall tell you. I will go +back to the house first, and do ye two follow me one by one. To thee, +Philoetius, I give charge to make fast the gate of the courtyard, with +bolt, and with bar, and with cord. And thou, Eumaeus, when the time +comes, shalt bring the bow and place it in my hands, whether the +wooers cry out on thee or not; and when thou hast given me the bow, go +straightway and command the women to make fast the doors of their +apartments, and remain quiet by their work until I have finished what +I have to do." + +At the moment when Odysseus returned to his place in the hall, +Eurymachus was just making a last attempt to bend the bow. "Out on +it!" he cried, finding all his efforts of no avail. "It is a shame to +think how far beneath Odysseus we all are in the strength of our +hands; 'tis this that stings me, much more than the loss of the lady." + +"Thou mistakest the cause," answered Antinous. "This day is the holy +feast of the divine archer, Apollo, and doubtless he is jealous +because we try our skill in his own art on his sacred day. Let us +leave the axes where they stand, and try our fortune again to-morrow." + +The proposal was received with general applause, and forthwith the +whole company called loud for wine, and began drinking heavily to +drown their disappointment Odysseus watched the progress of the revel +with grim satisfaction, and when the flushed faces and thick talk of +the wooers showed that they were far gone in drunkenness he asked, +with an air of deep humility, to be allowed to try his hand at +stringing the bow. His request was greeted with a loud cry of contempt +and indignation from all the wooers; and Antinous especially was +highly incensed, threatening him with dire pains and penalties for his +presumption. Hereupon Penelope interposed, and rebuked Antinous for +his violence. "Why should not the stranger try his skill with the +rest?" asked she. "Thinkest thou that the poor man will win me for his +wife if he succeeds? Sure I am that he is not so foolish as to +entertain such a thought." + +"'Tis not for that," said Eurymachus, answering her. "He cannot be so +mad as that. But what a shame to all this noble company if a houseless +beggar should accomplish a feat which none of us was able to perform." + +"Talk not of shame," replied Penelope with scorn. "Are ye not covered +with shame already, by your foul deeds done in this house in the +absence of its lord? Give him the bow, I say! And if he string it, by +Apollo's grace, I will clothe him in a new cloak and doublet, and give +him a sharp javelin, to keep off dogs and men, and a two-edged sword, +and sandals for his feet, and give him safe conduct to whatsoever +place he desires to reach." + +The decisive moment was at hand, and Telemachus saw the necessity of +removing his mother from the scene of the approaching conflict. +"Mother," he said in a tone of authority, "leave these things to me; I +am master here. Evening draws on, and it is time for thee to retire." + +When Penelope had withdrawn, Eumaeus took the bow, and was about to +carry it to Odysseus, but paused half-way, in doubt and alarm, for a +perfect storm of threats and abuse assailed his ears. "Halt, thou dog! +Put down the bow! Art thou tired of thy life?" Appalled by the +menacing cries of the wooers, the swineherd stood hesitating; but +Telemachus raised his voice, and commanded him instantly to deliver +the bow to Odysseus. "I will teach thee," he said, "who is thy master; +thou shalt carry the marks of my hands to thy farm, if thou do not as +I tell thee. Would that I could as easily drive the whole of this +drunken rout from my doors!" + +"Well bragged, Sir Valiant!" cried Antinous; and all the wooers +laughed boisterously when they heard him. Seizing his opportunity +while their attention was thus diverted, Eumaeus came and placed the +bow in the hands of Odysseus; then, calling Eurycleia, he bade her +make fast the door of the women's apartments. Meanwhile Philoetius +secured the gates of the courtyard, and returning to his place sat +watching the movements of Odysseus. With anxious eye the hero +scrutinised the great weapon, turning it this way and that, to see if +it had been injured by worms or natural decay. To his great joy he +found that it was sound and untouched. Then, easily as a minstrel +fastens a new cord to a lyre, without effort he strung the bow, and +bending it made the string twang loud and clear, like the shrill voice +of the swallow. + +A hundred mocking eyes and sneering faces had been turned towards him, +as he sat fingering the bow and weighing it in his hands; but pale +grew those faces now, and blank was that gaze. To add to their terror, +at this moment a loud peal of thunder shook the house. Filled with +high courage by the happy omen, Odysseus took an arrow, and, fitting +it to the string, sent it with sure aim from the place where he sat +along the whole line of axeheads, from the first to the last. + +"Telemachus," he said, "thy guest hath not shamed thee. My hand is +firm, and mine eye is true, poor worn-out wanderer though I be. Now +let us give these fair guests their supper, and afterwards entertain +them with music and with dancing, which are the fit accompaniment of a +feast." + +Then he beckoned to his son to draw near; and Telemachus made haste, +and came and stood by his father's side, armed with sword and lance. + + + + +The Slaying of the Wooers + + +I + +Stripping off his rags, and girding them round his waist, Odysseus +took the quiver, and poured out all the arrows on the ground at his +feet. "Now guide my hand, Apollo," he cried, "and make sure mine aim, +for this time I will shoot at a mark which never man hit before." + +Therewith he bent his bow again, and pointed the arrow at Antinous, +who just at that moment was raising a full goblet of wine to his lips. +Little thought that proud and insolent man, as the wine gleamed red +before him, that he had tasted his last morsel, and drunk his last +drop. He was in the prime of his manhood, surrounded by his friends, +and in the midst of a joyous revel; who would dream of death and doom +in such an hour? Yet at that very instant he felt a sharp, sudden +pang, and fell back in his seat, pierced through the throat by the +arrow of Odysseus. The blood poured from his nostrils, he let fall the +cup, and spurning the table with his feet in his agony he overset it, +and the bread and meat were scattered on the floor. + +Then arose a wild clamour and uproar among the wooers, and starting +from their seats they sought eagerly for the weapons which were wont +to hang along the walls; but not a spear, not a shield, was to be +seen. Finding themselves thus baffled, they turned furiously on +Odysseus, shouting, "Down with the knave!" "Hew him in pieces!" "Fling +his carcass to the vultures!" As yet they had not recognised him, and +they thought that he had slain Antinous by mischance. + +They were soon undeceived. "Ye dogs!" he cried, in a terrible voice, +"long have ye made my house into a den of thieves, thinking that I had +died long ago in a distant land. Ye have devoured my living, and wooed +my wife, and mishandled my servants, having no fear of god or man +before your eyes. But now are ye all fallen into the pit which ye have +digged, and are fast bound in the bonds of death." + +Like beaten hounds, that dastardly crew cowered before the man whom +they had wronged, and every heart quaked with fear. Presently +Eurymachus stood forward, and tried to make terms for them all. "If +thou be indeed Odysseus," he said, "thou speakest justly concerning +the evil doings of the wooers. And there lies the cause of the +mischief, Antinous, struck down by thy righteous hand. He it was who +sought to slay Telemachus, that he might usurp thy place, and make +himself king in Ithaca. But now that he is gone to his own place, let +us, the rest, find favour in thy sight. And as for thy possessions +which have been wasted, we will pay thee back out of our own goods, as +much as thou shalt require." + +But there were no signs of relenting on that stern, set face. "Talk +not to me of payment," he answered, with a brow as black as night; "ye +shall pay me with your lives, every one of you. Fight, if ye will, or +die like sheep. Not one of you shall escape." + +Thus driven to extremity, Eurymachus drew his sword and shouting to +the others to follow his example he picked up a table to serve him as +a shield, and raising his war-cry rushed at Odysseus. In the midst of +his onset an arrow struck him in the liver, and he fell doubled-up +over a table, smiting the floor with his forehead. Then he rolled over +with a groan, and his eyes grew dim in death. + +Before Odysseus could fix another arrow to the string, Amphinomus was +upon him, with sword uplifted to slay him. Telemachus saw his father's +peril, and thrust Amphinomus in the back with his spear. The fall of +their leaders arrested the advance of the wooers, and they drew back +in a body to the lower end of the hall. Leaving the spear in the body +of the fallen man, Telemachus ran to fetch armour for himself and +Odysseus, and the two herdsmen. Quickly he brought shields and helmets +and lances for the four, and they arrayed themselves and took their +stand together on the platform. + +While these preparations were in progress, Odysseus continued +showering his arrows among the huddled troop of terrified men; and at +every shot one of the wooers fell. At last Melanthius, the goatherd, +made a desperate effort to save his party. Assisted by several of the +wooers, he climbed up the wall of the banquet-room, and made his exit +through the open timbers at the top into a narrow passage which gave +access to the inner part of the house. Presently he returned, laden +with spears and shields and helmets, which he had found in the chamber +where they had been stored away by Telemachus. + +What was the dismay of Odysseus when he saw his enemies arming +themselves with spear and shield, and brandishing long lances in their +hands! "Telemachus!" he cried, "we are betrayed! The women have sold +us to the wooers." "Alas! I have erred," answered Telemachus, "for I +left the door of the armoury open, and one of them has observed it." + +While they thus debated, Eumaeus saw the goatherd making his way out of +the hall again by the same exit. "It is the traitor Melanthius," he +whispered; "now have we need of prompt action, or we are all undone." + +Odysseus had now recovered his courage, and he issued his orders +without losing another moment. "Go thou with the neatherd," he said to +Eumaeus, "and seize that villain before he has time to return. Bind him +hand and foot, and come back with all speed to the hall" + +At the side of the hall, close to the platform where Odysseus and his +party were stationed, there was a door leading into the passage +already mentioned. Through this the two men passed, and made their way +stealthily to the armoury. There they waited on either side of the +door for Melanthius, whom they heard moving within. Before long he +came out, bearing in one hand a helmet, and in the other an old +battered shield, once the property of Laertes. Together they fell upon +him, dragged him down by the hair, and having bound him tight with a +long cord they hauled him up to a beam of the roof and left him +hanging. "Long and sweet be thy slumbers, goatherd!" said Eumaeus as he +contemplated his work, "thou hast a soft bed, such as thou lovest. +Rest there till the morning light shall call thee to make breakfast +for the wooers." + +When they returned to the hall they found that a new ally had joined +their party, in the person of Mentor, the old friend of Odysseus. No +one saw when he came thither; but there he was, and right glad they +were to see him. Very different were the feelings of the wooers when +they saw their enemies thus reinforced, and one of them, named +Agelaus, cried out upon Mentor, and threatened him, saying: "Give +place, rash man, or thou wilt bring destruction on thyself and all thy +house." + +When he heard that, Mentor was wroth, and rebuked Odysseus as slow of +hand and cold of heart. "Why standest thou idle?" he cried. "Get thee +to thy weapons, and finish the work which thou hast to do, if thou art +verily that Odysseus who wrought such havoc among the Trojans in the +nine years' war." + +With these words the supposed Mentor vanished as mysteriously as he +had appeared, and a little swallow was seen darting hither and thither +among the smoke-blackened beams of the roof. + +The wooers understood not in whose presence they had been, and, +thinking that Mentor had fled before their threats, they took courage +again, and prepared to make a fresh assault. Agelaus now took the +lead, and at his command six of them advanced and hurled their spears. +But they were all dazed with drink, and weakened by long habits of +loose indulgence, and not one of their weapons took effect. + +"Now hurl ye your spears!" shouted Odysseus, and the four lances flew, +and four wooers bit the dust. At the next discharge from the wooers +Telemachus received a slight wound on the wrist, and Eumaeus was +similarly injured on the shoulder by the spear of the brutal +Ctesippus. A moment after Ctesippus himself was struck down by the +lance of Philoetius, who mocked him as he fell saying: "There is for +the ox-foot which thou didst lately bestow on Odysseus, thou noisy +railer!" + +And so the great fight went on, and at every cast of the spear +Odysseus and his men added another to the list of the slain. Seeing +their numbers dwindling fast, the wretched remnant of the wooers lost +heart altogether and huddled together like sheep at the end of the +hall. To complete their discomfiture a terrible voice was suddenly +heard in the air, and a gleam as from a bright shield was seen high up +among the rafters. "Tis Athene herself come to our aid!" cried +Odysseus; "advance, and make an end of them. Athene is on our side!" +Forthwith they all sprang down from the platform and charged the +wooers, of whom some dozen still remained alive. What followed was not +a battle, but a massacre. Like a drove of kine plunging frantically +over a field, tortured by the sting of the hovering gadfly--like a +flock of small birds scattered by the sudden swoop of a falcon--the +panic-stricken wooers fled hither and thither through the hall, +seeking shelter behind pillars and under tables from the blows which +rained upon them. But vain was their flight. In a very short time the +last of that guilty band was sent to his account, and the great act of +vengeance was completed. + +II + +Like a lion fresh from the slaughter stood Odysseus, leaning on his +spear, and covered with blood from head to foot. As he glared round +him to see if any of his foes were still alive, his eye fell on +Phemius, the minstrel, who was crouching in a corner near the side +door, and clinging in terror to his harp. Seeing the stern gaze of +Odysseus fixed upon him Phemius sprang forward, with a sudden impulse, +and threw himself at the conqueror's feet, "Pity me, Odysseus," he +cried, "and spare me! Thy days will be darkened by remorse if thou +slay the sweet minstrel whom gods and men revere. I am no common +school-taught bard, who sings what he has learned by rote; but in mine +own heart is a sweet fountain of melody, which shall be shed like the +dew from heaven on thy fame, and keep it green for ever. Therefore +stay thy hand, and harm me not. Telemachus, thy son, knows that it was +not of mine own will, nor for greed of gain, that I sang among the +wooers, but they compelled me by force, being so many, and all +stronger than I." + +Thus appealed to, Telemachus readily confirmed what the minstrel had +said, which was indeed the literal truth. Then he thought of the +trusty Medon, who had been kind to him when a child, and remained +loyal to the last to him and Penelope. "I trust he has not been slain +among the wooers," he said. "Medon, if thou art still alive, come +forth and fear nothing." + +When he heard that, Medon, who had been huddled in a heap behind a +chair, covered with a freshly-flayed ox-hide, flung off his covering, +and came running to Telemachus. The poor man was still half-mad with +terror. "Here I am!" he gasped, with staring eyes, "speak to thy +father, that he slay me not in his rage and his fury," + +Odysseus smiled grimly at the poor serving-man, and bade him be of +good cheer. "Live," he said, "thou and the minstrel, that ye may know, +and tell it also to others, how much better are good deeds than evil. +Now go ye forth and wait in the courtyard until I have finished what +remains to be done." So forth they went, and sat down by the altar of +Zeus, glancing fearfully about them, as if expecting every moment to +be their last. + +As soon as they were gone Odysseus walked slowly up and down the hall +to see if any of the wooers still survived. But there was no sound or +motion, save the tread of his own feet, to break the awful stillness +in that chamber of death. There they lay, stark and silent, heap upon +heap, like a great draught of fishes which have been hauled to shore +in a drag-net, and have gasped out their lives on the beach. Having +assured himself that he had not done the work negligently, he bade +Telemachus summon the nurse, Eurycleia. Telemachus obeyed, and going +to the door of the women's apartments, he smote upon it, and called +aloud to the nurse. A moment after the bolts were drawn back, and +Eurycleia entered the hall. When she saw Odysseus standing among the +heaps of slain wooers, she opened her mouth to utter a cry of triumph, +but Odysseus checked her, saying: "Hold thy peace, dame, and give not +voice to thy joy: it is an impious thing to exult over the dead. They +are the victims of heaven's righteous law, and I was but the +instrument of divine vengeance. Tell me now which of the women in the +house have dishonoured me, and which of them be blameless." + +"Behold I will tell thee all the truth," answered the nurse; "fifty +women there are in all in thy house, that card the wool and bear the +yoke of bondage. And of these twelve have been faithless, honouring +neither me nor Penelope, their mistress. But now let me go and tell +the news to thy wife, who all this time has been lying in a deep +sleep." + +"Rouse her not yet," said Odysseus, "but go quickly and send those +guilty women hither." + +While Eurycleia was gone to summon the maid-servants, Telemachus and +the two herdsmen began, by the command of Odysseus, to set the hall in +order, and wash away the traces of slaughter. Presently, with loud +weeping and lamentation, the wretched women entered, and were +compelled to assist in the horrid task. The bodies of the slain were +carried out, and laid in order along the wall of the courtyard. Then +they washed and scoured the tables, and scraped the floor with spades; +and when all was ready Odysseus bade his son and the two others to +drive the women forth, and slay them with the edge of the sword. So +these three drove them into a corner of the courtyard, and Eumaeus and +Philoetius drew their swords to slay them. But Telemachus held them +back saying: "Let them die in shame, even as they have lived." So they +took a long ship's cable, which was lying in an outhouse, and +stretched it across an angle of the wall; to this they attached twelve +nooses, and left the women hanging there by the neck until they were +dead. + +A horrid death was reserved for the traitor Melanthius. Dragging him +out into the courtyard, they cut off his nose and ears, and his hands +and feet, and so left him to die. + +After that they washed themselves and went back to the hall. Then +Odysseus bade Eurycleia kindle a fire, and bring sulphur to purify the +chamber. And having thoroughly cleansed the house from the fumes of +slaughter, he sat down to wait for the coming of his wife. + + + + +Odysseus and Penelope + + +I + +Her face beaming with joy, and her feet stumbling over one another in +their haste, Eurycleia ascended to the chamber where Penelope lay +sleeping. "Awake, Penelope, awake!" she cried, standing by the +bedside; "come and see with thine own eyes the fulfilment of all thy +hopes. Odysseus has come home at last, and all the wooers lie slain by +his hand!" + +"Thou art mad, nurse," answered Penelope pettishly, turning in her bed +and rubbing her eyes; "why mockest thou me in my sorrow with thy +folly? and why hast thou disturbed me in the sweetest sleep that ever +I had since the fatal, the accursed day when my lord sailed for Troy? +But for thy years and thy faithful service I would have paid thee +unkindly for this wanton insult" + +"Heaven forbid that I should mock or insult thee, dear child!" cried +the nurse, her eyes filling with tears. "I have told thee naught but +the truth. The stranger whom we thought a beggar was Odysseus himself. +Telemachus knew this all the time, but kept it from thee by the +command of his father." + +"May the gods ever bless thee for these tidings!" said Penelope, +springing from the couch, and throwing her arms round the nurse's +neck. "But tell me truly, how did he with his single hand gain the +mastery over such a multitude?" + +"I saw not how it was done," answered Eurycleia. "I heard but the +groans of the men as they were stricken, for I was shut up with the +handmaids in the women's chamber. When it was over, he called me, and +I found him standing among the slain, like a lion by his prey. It was +a sight to gladden thy heart." + +But Penelope's first impulse of joyful surprise had passed, and a cold +fit of doubt and distrust succeeded, "It cannot be!" she murmured; +"some god has taken the likeness of my husband, and slain the wooers." +Even when Eurycleia told her how she had discovered the scar, while +washing the feet of Odysseus, she remained unshaken in her unbelief. +"The counsels of the gods," she said, "are beyond our knowing, and +they can take upon them disguises too deep for a poor woman's wit. But +come, let us go and see the slaughtered wooers, and their slayer, +whoever he be." + +II + +Odysseus was sitting bowed over the fire, which shone redly on his +face, as he leaned his head upon his hand. He was still clothed in his +beggar's rags, and strangely disfigured by the magic power of Athene; +while the red stains of slaughter, which still lay thick upon him, +served to render his disguise yet deeper. Small wonder then that +Penelope hesitated long to acknowledge him for her husband, as she sat +some way off scanning his features with timid yet attentive gaze, like +one who strives to decipher a blurred and blotted manuscript. More +than once she started up, as if about to fall upon his neck; then the +gleam which had lighted up her face died away, her arms drooped +listlessly at her side, and she remained motionless and cold. + +When this had lasted for some time, Telemachus, who was present, +rebuked his mother in angry terms, saying: "Fie upon thee, my mother! +hast thou no heart at all? Why holdest thou thus aloof from my father, +who has come back to thee after twenty years of suffering and toil? +But 'twas ever thus with thee--thou art harder than stone." + +"My child," answered Penelope, "I am sore amazed; I cannot speak, or +ask any question, or look him in the face. But if this man be indeed +my husband, he knows how to convince me, and scatter all my doubts to +the winds, for there are secrets between us whereof no one knoweth, +save only ourselves." + +Odysseus smiled at his wife's caution. "Not in vain," he thought, "is +she known to all the world as the prudent Penelope." Then, in order to +give her time, he turned to Telemachus and said: "Come not between my +wife and me, Telemachus; we shall know each other in due season. I +have another charge for thee, and do thou mark heedfully what I shall +say. We have slain the noblest in the land, not one, but many, who +leave a host of friends to take up their cause: how then shall we +escape the blood feud? We had best look to it warily and well." + +"Father," answered Telemachus, "thou hast the name of wise, beyond all +living men. Be it thine, therefore, to declare thy counsel, and I will +follow it, to the utmost stretch of my power." + +"Thus, then, shalt thou do," said Odysseus: "let all the household put +on clean raiment, and bid the minstrel take his harp and make sweet +music for the festal dance. Then foot it merrily, everyone, that all +they who pass by the house may think that ye are keeping the marriage +feast. In this wise the rumour of the wooers' death shall not reach +the town until we have had time to collect our men and prepare for our +defence." + +Telemachus went forthwith to carry out his father's orders. The whole +household, men and women, arrayed themselves in festal attire, and +soon the hall echoed to the throbbing notes of the lyre, and the loud +patter of the dancers' feet. And those who heard it from without said +to one another: "So the long wooing of our queen has come to an end at +last! Fickle woman, that could not endure unto the end, and keep faith +with the husband of her youth!" + +III + +After giving his orders to Telemachus, Odysseus had retired to refresh +himself with the bath, and put on fresh raiment, while Penelope +remained seated in her former place. After an interval of some length +he re-entered the hall, and sat down face to face with his wife. But +what miracle was this? The haggard, timeworn beggar was gone, and in +his place sat her husband, as she had known him in the days of old, +with the added dignity which he had gained by twenty years of +strenuous life. But the frost which had lain upon her spirit during +her long period of weary waiting was not easily to be broken, and +still she doubted. After a long silence Odysseus spoke, and now for +the first time his tones had a ring of reproach: "Still not a word for +thy husband, who has come back to thee after twenty years? Surely the +very demon of unbelief possesses thee!" Even then Penelope made no +answer, for she was waiting to put the final test, and at length +Odysseus gave her the opportunity. "Go, Eurycleia," he said, "and +prepare a bed for me; I will leave this iron-hearted wife and go to my +rest." + +"Ay, do so," said Penelope, "take the bed from the chamber which he +built with his own hands, and lay it in another room, that he may +slumber there." This she said to prove him, for the bed and the +chamber had a secret history, known only to herself and her husband +and the faithful nurse. + +Odysseus rose bravely to the test: whether divining his wife's purpose +or not, he exclaimed, with an air of surprise and indignation: "Lady, +what meanest thou by this order? Who hath moved my bed from its place? +He must be of more than mortal skill who could remove it, for it was +fashioned in wondrous wise, and with my own hands I wrought it, to be +a sign and a secret between thee and me. And this was the manner of +the work. Within the courtyard there grew an olive-tree, a fair tree +and a large, with a world of green leaves, and a stem like a stout +pillar. Round this I built the walls of the chamber with close-fitting +stones, and roofed it over, and hung the door on its hinges. Then I +went to work on the tree, lopping off the boughs, and smoothing the +trunk with the adze, so as to fashion it into a bedpost, and beginning +from this I made the frame of a bed, and decorated it with gold and +silver and ivory, and over the frame I stretched broad bands of +ox-hide, stained with bright purple. This I tell thee as a sign by +which thou mayest know me." + +The last shadow was now removed, and before Odysseus had well ended +what he was saying Penelope sprang towards him, threw her arms round +his neck, and covered his face with kisses. "Be not angry with me, my +dear lord," she murmured tenderly, "because I held back so long, and +gave thee not loving welcome, as I do now. Thou art very wise, and +knowest the dangers which beset a lonely woman who is over hasty to +believe when a stranger comes and calls himself her husband. Many +there be that lie in wait to lay snares for a weak and loving heart. +But now I know thee for mine own dear love, and now is the winter of +my widowhood made glorious summer, since I have seen thy face again." + +So they sat locked in each other's arms, that valiant, long-suffering +man, and his faithful wife, two brave and patient souls, parted so +long, and tried so hard, but now united once more in wedded love and +bliss. The hours went by unheeded, and day would have overtaken them +in that trance of delight, had not Athene marked them with pity from +her heavenly seat, and stayed the steeds of the morning in the east, +and prolonged the reign of night, that the joy of that first meeting +might not be broken until they had tasted all its honey to the lees. + + + + +Conclusion + + +I + +Early next day Odysseus rose and donned his armour, and having charged +Penelope to keep close in her chamber, and admit no one into the +house, he set forth to visit Laertes on his farm, attended by +Telemachus and the two faithful herdsmen, all armed to the teeth. +Arrived at the farmhouse he left his companions there, bidding them +prepare the morning meal, and went out alone to find his father. +Passing through the courtyard gate, he entered a large plot of ground, +planted by Laertes as a garden and orchard; and there he found the old +man, who was digging about the roots of a young tree. With strange +emotions Odysseus noted every detail of his dress and figure--the +soiled and tattered coat, the gaiters of clouted leather, the old +gauntlets on his hands, and the goatskin cap. He who had once been the +wealthiest prince in Ithaca had now the appearance of an ancient +serving-man, broken down with years and toil. + +But in the midst of his sorrow a freakish whim came into the head of +Odysseus, characteristic of his subtle and tortuous nature. +Approaching his father, who was still stooping over his work, he said +to him in a disguised voice: "Old man, I perceive that thou art well +skilled in the gardener's art: never saw I a garden better tended--not +a tree, not a shrub, but bears witness to thy fostering care. And be +not wroth with me if I say that is a wonder to see the keeper of so +fair a garden himself so squalid and unkempt. Surely he whom thou +servest must be an ungrateful master. Tell me his name, if thou wilt, +and answer me truly if this be indeed the land of Ithaca to which I am +come, as I heard from a man whom I met by the way. He seemed a +churlish fellow, and would not stay to answer my questions; for I was +fain to ask him concerning a friend whom I once entertained in my +house, a native of Ithaca, as he told me, and a son of one Laertes. +Many days he dwelt with me, eating and drinking of the best, and I +sent him away laden with rich gifts, gold and silver, and costly +raiment." + +"Friend," answered Laertes, shedding tears, "to Ithaca indeed art thou +come, but he of whom thou askest is no longer here. In vain were thy +gifts bestowed, for he who would have repaid thee richly for all thy +kindness hath perished long ago, and his bones lie bleaching on the +bare earth, or at the bottom of the sea. Tell me, how long is it since +thou didst receive him, and who art thou, and where is thy home?" + +"I am a man of Alybas," replied Odysseus, "the son of Apheidas the son +of Polypemon, and Eperitus is my name; and it is now five years since +Odysseus departed from my home. Fair omens attended him on his +starting, and we parted in high hopes that we should meet again in his +own land." + +At these words of Odysseus the poor old man was overwhelmed with +sorrow, and he heaped dust upon his grey head, groaning in bitterness +of spirit. Odysseus was moved with pity at the sight of his distress, +and thinking that he had now tried him enough, he revealed himself, +pointing as proofs to the scar above his knee, and to certain trees +which Laertes had allowed him to call his own when he walked with him, +hand-in-hand, as a little child, through the garden. + +The sudden shock of joyful recognition was too much for the old man, +and he fell fainting into his son's arms. When he was somewhat +recovered they went back together towards the house, and on the way +Odysseus spoke of the slaying of the wooers, and of the danger which +threatened him from the vengeance of their friends. + +II + +Meanwhile the news of the wooers' violent death had spread like +wildfire through the island, and their kinsmen went with loud clamour +to the house of Odysseus to carry away the dead bodies. When this was +done they gathered together at the place of assembly to devise some +plan of vengeance; and Eupeithes, the father of Antinous, made violent +outcry against Odysseus for his great act of savage justice. + +While they were debating, Medon and Phemius appeared on the scene, and +described the manner in which the wooers had met their end. "The hand +of Heaven," said Medon, "was made manifest in the deed. I myself saw +Athene leading the onset, and your sons were laid low like ripe +sheaves before the sickle." This report chilled their courage not a +little; and Halitherses, seeing the effect produced, exerted all his +eloquence to put an end to the blood feud. Nevertheless more than half +of those present persisted in their purpose, and donning their armour +went forth from the town to meet the party of Odysseus. + +The encounter took place in front of the farmhouse, where Odysseus and +the others had just taken their morning meal. Laertes, who seemed to +have recovered all the vigour of his youth, led the attack, and by a +well-aimed cast of his lance struck down Eupeithes, the leader of the +opposing party. This success was followed up by a vigorous charge, in +the midst of which a supernatural voice was heard in the air, striking +terror into the assailants of Odysseus, who turned and fled in wild +panic towards the town. They were hotly pursued, and not a man would +have been left alive had not Zeus himself interposed to stay the +slaughter. By his command Athene acted as mediator between Odysseus +and the kinsmen of the wooers, and an oath of amnesty was taken on +both sides, confirmed with solemn prayer and sacrifice. + + + + +PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES + + +[Transcriber's note: The orignial list contains characters that are +not found in normal ASCII, indicating the long or short stress to be +put on the vowels. These are rendered below by the characters in +[square brackets], thus: A ")" indicates a short vowel, and a "=" +indicates a long. So "hay" would be rendered as "h[=a]" and "aha" +would be "[)a]h[)a]" and so on.] + +Achilles ([)a]kil'ez) +AEetes ([=e]-[=e]'-tez) +AEgaean ([=e]g[=e]'an) +AEgisthus ([=e]gis'thus) +AEgyptus ([=e]gyp'tus) +AEolus ([=e]'[)o]lus) +AEthon ([=e]'thon) +Agamemnon ([)a]g[)a]m[)e]m'non) +Agelaus ([)a]g[)e]l[=a]'us) +Ajax ([=a]'jax) +Alcinous (als[)i]n'-[)o]-us) +Alcmene (alkm[=e]'n[=e]) +Alybas ([=a]l'[)i]bas) +Amphinomus (amph[)i]n'[)o]mus) +Anticleia (ant[)i]kl[=i]'a) +Antilochus (ant[)i]l'[)o]chus) +Antiphates (ant[)i]ph'[)a]t[=e]z) +Antinous (ant[)i]n'[)o]us) +Antiphus (an't[)i]fus) +Apheidas ([)a]f[=i]'das) +Aphrodite ([)a]fr[)o]d[=i]'t[=e]) +Arcady (ar'c[)a]d[)i]) +Arete ([=a]r[=e]'t[=e]) +Arethusa ([)a]r[)e]thy[=u]'s[)a]) +Arnaeus (arn[=e]'us) +Artemis (ar't[)e]mis) +Arybas ([)a]'ribas) +Athene ([)a]th[=e]'n[=e]) +Atreus ([=a]'tr[=u]s) +Aurora ([=o]r[=o]'r[)a]) + +Booetes (b[)o][=o]'t[=e]z) + +Calypso (k[)a]l[)i]p's[=o]) +Cassandra (cassan'dr[)a]) +Charybdis (k[)a]rib'dis) +Cimmerians (simm[)e]'r[)i]ans) +Circe (s[)i]r's[=e]) +Clytaemnestra (cl[=i]t[=e]mn[)e]s'tr[)a]) +Cnosus (kn[=o]'s[)u]s) +Ctesippus (kt[)e]'s[)i]pus) +Ctesius (kt[=e]'s[)i]us) +Cyclopes (s[=i]kl[=o]'p[=e]z) +Cyclops (s[=i]'klops) + +Deiphobus (d[=e][)i]f'[)o]bus) +Delos (d[)e]'los) +Demeter (d[=e]m[=e]'t[=e]r) +Demodocus (d[=e]m[)o]'d[)o]cus) +Deucalion (d[=u]ka'l[)i]on) +Diomede (d[)i]'[)o]meed) +Dodona (d[=o]-d[=o]'n[)a]) +Dolius (d[)o]l'[)i]us) +Dulichium (dy[=u]l[)i]'-k[)i]um) + +Eidothea ([=i]d[=o]'th[)i]-[)e][)a]) +Elis ([=e]'lis) +Elpenor ([)e]lp[=e]'n[=o]r) +Eperitus ([)e]p[=e]'r[)i]tus) +Ephialtes ([)e]f[)i]al't[=e]z) +Ephyra ([)e]f'[)i]r[)a]) +Eriphyle ([)e]r[)i]f[=i]'l[=e]) +Euboea (y[=u]b[=e]'a) +Eumaeus (y[=u]m[=e]'us) +Eupeithes (y[=u]p[=i]'th[=e]z) +Eurymachus (y[=u]r[)i]'m[)a]kus) +Eurynomus (y[=u]r[)i]'n[)o]mus) +Eurycleia (y[=u]r[=i]cl[=i]'[)a]) +Euryalus (y[=u]r[=i]'[)a]lus) +Eurylochus (y[=u]r[)i]l'[)o]kus) +Eurydamas (y[=u]r[)i]d'[)a]mas) +Eurytus (y[=u]'r[)i]tus) + +Hades (h[=a]'d[=e]z) +Halitherses (h[)a]l[)i]ther's[=e]z) +Helios (h[)e]'l[)i]os) +Hephaestus (h[=e]f[=e]s'tus) +Hera (h[=e]'r[)a]) +Hercules (her'c[)u]l[=e]z) +Hermes (her'm[=e]z) + +Iasion ([=i][)a]'s[)i]on) +Icarius ([=i]k[)a]'r[)i]us) +Idomeneus ([=i]d[=o]m'[)e]ny[=u]s) +Ino ([=i]'n[)o]) +Iphimedeia (if[)i]m[)e]d[=i]'[)a]) +Iphitus (if'[)i]tus) +Iphthime (ifth[=i]'m[=e]) +Irus ([=i]'rus) +Ithaca ([)i]th'[)a]c[)a]) + +Lacedaemon (l[)a]s[)e]d[=e]'mon) +Laertes (l[=a][)e]r't[=e]z) +Laestrygonia (l[=e]str[)i]g[)o]'n[)i][)a]) +Leda (l[=e]'d[)a]) +Leiodes (l[=i][=o]'d[=e]z) +Lesbos (l[)e]z'bos) +Leto (l[=e]'t[=o]) + +Malea (m[)a]l'[)e][)a]) +Medon (med'on) +Melampus (m[)e]lam'pus) +Melanthius (m[)e]lan'th[)i]us) +Melantho (m[)e]lan'th[=o]) +Menelaus (m[)e]n[)e]l[=a]'us) +Mentes (men'tez) +Mentor (men't[=o]r) +Messene (mess[=e]'n[=e]) +Minos (m[=i]'nos) +Mycenae (m[=i]s[=e]'n[=e]) + +Nausicaa (naus[)i]k'[)a]-[)a]) +Neleus (n[=e]'ly[=u]s) +Neoptolemus (neopt[)o]l'[)e]mus) +Neritus (n[=e]'r[)i]tus) +Nestor (n[)e]s't[=o]r) + +Oceanus (os[=e]'anus) +Odysseus (odis'y[=u]s) +Orestes ([)o]r[)e]s't[=e]z) +Orion ([=o]r[=i]'on) +Ormenius (orm[)e]n'[)i]us) +Orsilochus (ors[)i]l'[)o]kus) +Ortygia (ort[)i]'g[)i][)a]) +Otus ([)o]'tus) + +Patroclus (p[)a]tr[)o]'clus) +Peiraeus (p[=i]r[=e]'us) +Peleus (p[=e]'ly[=u]s) +Pelides (p[)e]l[=i]'d[=e]z) +Pelion (p[=e]'l[)i]on) +Penelope (p[=e]n[)e]l'[)o]p[=e]) +Persephone (pers[)e]f'[)o]n[=e]) +Pharos (f[=a]'ros) +Phaeacia (f[=e][=a]'si[)a]) +Phemius (f[=e]'m[)i]us) +Pherae (f[=e]'r[=e]) +Philoctetes (f[)i]lokt[=e]'t[=e]z) +Philoetius (f[)i]l[=e]'t[)i]us) +Pisistratus (p[=i]sis'tr[)a]tus) +Pleiades (pl[=i]'ad[=e]z) +Polycaste (p[)o]l[)i]cas't[=e]) +Polydamna (p[)o]l[)i]dam'na) +Polypemon (p[)o]l[)i]p[=e]'mon) +Polyphemus (p[)o]l[)i]f[=e]'mus) +Poseidon (p[)o]s[=i]'don) +Proteus (pr[=o]'ty[=u]s) +Pylos (p[=i]'los) + +Same (s[=a]'m[=e]) +Scylla (sil'l[)a]) +Scyros (sk[=i]'ros) +Sirens (s[=i]'rens) +Sisyphus (s[)i]'s[)i]fus) +Sunium (sy[=u]'n[)i]um) + +Tantalus (tan't[)a]lus) +Teiresias (t[=i]r[)e]'s[)i]as) +Telamon (t[)e]l'[)a]mon) +Telemachus (t[=e]l[=e]'m[)a]kus) +Tenedos (t[)e]n'[)e]dos) +Theoclymenus (th[)e][)o]cly'm[)e]nus) +Thesprotia (th[)e]spr[=o]'t[=i][)a]) +Thon (th[=o]n) +Tityos (t[)i]t'[)i]os) +Tyndareus (tin'd[)a]ry[=u]s) + +Zacynthus (z[)a]kin'thus) +Zeus (zy[=u]s) + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY*** + + +******* This file should be named 13725.txt or 13725.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/7/2/13725 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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