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diff --git a/old/1727.txt b/old/1727.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..70f876a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1727.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11986 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Odyssey, by Homer + +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: The Odyssey + +Author: Homer + +Translator: Samuel Butler + + +Release Date: April, 1999 [EBook #1727] +Last Updated: April 9, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ODYSSEY *** + + + + +Produced by Jim Tinsley + + + + + + + + + +THE ODYSSEY + + + rendered into English + prose for the use of + those who cannot + read the original + + +By Samuel Butler + + + + +PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION + +This translation is intended to supplement a work entitled "The +Authoress of the Odyssey", which I published in 1897. I could not give +the whole "Odyssey" in that book without making it unwieldy, I therefore +epitomised my translation, which was already completed and which I now +publish in full. + +I shall not here argue the two main points dealt with in the work just +mentioned; I have nothing either to add to, or to withdraw from, what I +have there written. The points in question are: + +(1) that the "Odyssey" was written entirely at, and drawn entirely +from, the place now called Trapani on the West Coast of Sicily, alike +as regards the Phaeacian and the Ithaca scenes; while the voyages of +Ulysses, when once he is within easy reach of Sicily, solve themselves +into a periplus of the island, practically from Trapani back to Trapani, +via the Lipari islands, the Straits of Messina, and the island of +Pantellaria. + +(2) That the poem was entirely written by a very young woman, who lived +at the place now called Trapani, and introduced herself into her work +under the name of Nausicaa. + +The main arguments on which I base the first of these somewhat startling +contentions, have been prominently and repeatedly before the English +and Italian public ever since they appeared (without rejoinder) in the +"Athenaeum" for January 30 and February 20, 1892. Both contentions were +urged (also without rejoinder) in the Johnian "Eagle" for the Lent and +October terms of the same year. Nothing to which I should reply +has reached me from any quarter, and knowing how anxiously I have +endeavoured to learn the existence of any flaws in my argument, I begin +to feel some confidence that, did such flaws exist, I should have heard, +at any rate about some of them, before now. Without, therefore, for +a moment pretending to think that scholars generally acquiesce in my +conclusions, I shall act as thinking them little likely so to gainsay me +as that it will be incumbent upon me to reply, and shall confine myself +to translating the "Odyssey" for English readers, with such notes as +I think will be found useful. Among these I would especially call +attention to one on xxii. 465-473 which Lord Grimthorpe has kindly +allowed me to make public. + +I have repeated several of the illustrations used in "The Authoress of +the Odyssey", and have added two which I hope may bring the outer court +of Ulysses' house more vividly before the reader. I should like to +explain that the presence of a man and a dog in one illustration is +accidental, and was not observed by me till I developed the negative. In +an appendix I have also reprinted the paragraphs explanatory of the +plan of Ulysses' house, together with the plan itself. The reader is +recommended to study this plan with some attention. + +In the preface to my translation of the "Iliad" I have given my views as +to the main principles by which a translator should be guided, and need +not repeat them here, beyond pointing out that the initial liberty of +translating poetry into prose involves the continual taking of more +or less liberty throughout the translation; for much that is right in +poetry is wrong in prose, and the exigencies of readable prose are the +first things to be considered in a prose translation. That the reader, +however, may see how far I have departed from strict construe, I will +print here Messrs. Butcher and Lang's translation of the sixty lines or +so of the "Odyssey." Their translation runs: + + Tell me, Muse, of that man, so ready at need, who wandered + far and wide, after he had sacked the sacred citadel of + Troy, and many were the men whose towns he saw and whose + mind he learnt, yea, and many the woes he suffered in his + heart on the deep, striving to win his own life and the + return of his company. Nay, but even so he saved not his + company, though he desired it sore. For through the + blindness of their own hearts they perished, fools, who + devoured the oxen of Helios Hyperion: but the god took from + them their day of returning. Of these things, goddess, + daughter of Zeus, whencesoever thou hast heard thereof, + declare thou even unto us. + + Now all the rest, as many as fled from sheer destruction, + were at home, and had escaped both war and sea, but + Odysseus only, craving for his wife and for his homeward + path, the lady nymph Calypso held, that fair goddess, in her + hollow caves, longing to have him for her lord. But when + now the year had come in the courses of the seasons, + wherein the gods had ordained that he should return home to + Ithaca, not even there was he quit of labours, not even + among his own; but all the gods had pity on him save + Poseidon, who raged continually against godlike Odysseus, + till he came to his own country. Howbeit Poseidon had now + departed for the distant Ethiopians, the Ethiopians that are + sundered in twain, the uttermost of men, abiding some where + Hyperion sinks and some where he rises. There he looked to + receive his hecatomb of bulls and rams, there he made merry + sitting at the feast, but the other gods were gathered in + the halls of Olympian Zeus. Then among them the father of + men and gods began to speak, for he bethought him in his + heart of noble Aegisthus, whom the son of Agamemnon, + far-famed Orestes, slew. Thinking upon him he spake out among + the Immortals: + + 'Lo you now, how vainly mortal men do blame the gods! For of + us they say comes evil, whereas they even of themselves, + through the blindness of their own hearts, have sorrows + beyond that which is ordained. Even as of late Aegisthus, + beyond that which was ordained, took to him the wedded wife + of the son of Atreus, and killed her lord on his return, + and that with sheer doom before his eyes, since we had + warned him by the embassy of Hermes the keen-sighted, the + slayer of Argos, that he should neither kill the man, nor + woo his wife. For the son of Atreus shall be avenged at the + hand of Orestes, so soon as he shall come to man's estate + and long for his own country. So spake Hermes, yet he + prevailed not on the heart of Aegisthus, for all his good + will; but now hath he paid one price for all.' + + And the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him, saying: 'O + father, our father Cronides, throned in the highest; that + man assuredly lies in a death that is his due; so perish + likewise all who work such deeds! But my heart is rent for + wise Odysseus, the hapless one, who far from his friends + this long while suffereth affliction in a sea-girt isle, + where is the navel of the sea, a woodland isle, and + therein a goddess hath her habitation, the daughter of the + wizard Atlas, who knows the depths of every sea, and + himself upholds the tall pillars which keep earth and sky + asunder. His daughter it is that holds the hapless man in + sorrow: and ever with soft and guileful tales she is + wooing him to forgetfulness of Ithaca. But Odysseus + yearning to see if it were but the smoke leap upwards from + his own land, hath a desire to die. As for thee, thine + heart regardeth it not at all, Olympian! What! Did not + Odysseus by the ships of the Argives make thee free + offering of sacrifice in the wide Trojan land? Wherefore + wast thou then so wroth with him, O Zeus?' + +The "Odyssey" (as every one knows) abounds in passages borrowed from the +"Iliad"; I had wished to print these in a slightly different type, with +marginal references to the "Iliad," and had marked them to this end in +my MS. I found, however, that the translation would be thus hopelessly +scholasticised, and abandoned my intention. I would nevertheless urge on +those who have the management of our University presses, that they would +render a great service to students if they would publish a Greek text of +the "Odyssey" with the Iliadic passages printed in a different type, and +with marginal references. I have given the British Museum a copy of the +"Odyssey" with the Iliadic passages underlined and referred to in MS.; +I have also given an "Iliad" marked with all the Odyssean passages, and +their references; but copies of both the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" so marked +ought to be within easy reach of all students. + +Any one who at the present day discusses the questions that have arisen +round the "Iliad" since Wolf's time, without keeping it well before +his reader's mind that the "Odyssey" was demonstrably written from one +single neighbourhood, and hence (even though nothing else pointed to +this conclusion) presumably by one person only--that it was written +certainly before 750, and in all probability before 1000 B.C.--that +the writer of this very early poem was demonstrably familiar with the +"Iliad" as we now have it, borrowing as freely from those books whose +genuineness has been most impugned, as from those which are admitted to +be by Homer--any one who fails to keep these points before his readers, +is hardly dealing equitably by them. Any one on the other hand, who will +mark his "Iliad" and his "Odyssey" from the copies in the British Museum +above referred to, and who will draw the only inference that common +sense can draw from the presence of so many identical passages in both +poems, will, I believe, find no difficulty in assigning their proper +value to a large number of books here and on the Continent that at +present enjoy considerable reputations. Furthermore, and this perhaps +is an advantage better worth securing, he will find that many puzzles of +the "Odyssey" cease to puzzle him on the discovery that they arise from +over-saturation with the "Iliad." + +Other difficulties will also disappear as soon as the development of the +poem in the writer's mind is understood. I have dealt with this at some +length in pp. 251-261 of "The Authoress of the Odyssey". Briefly, the +"Odyssey" consists of two distinct poems: (1) The Return of Ulysses, +which alone the Muse is asked to sing in the opening lines of the poem. +This poem includes the Phaeacian episode, and the account of Ulysses' +adventures as told by himself in Books ix.-xii. It consists of lines +1-79 (roughly) of Book i., of line 28 of Book v., and thence without +intermission to the middle of line 187 of Book xiii., at which point the +original scheme was abandoned. + +(2) The story of Penelope and the suitors, with the episode of +Telemachus' voyage to Pylos. This poem begins with line 80 (roughly) +of Book i., is continued to the end of Book iv., and not resumed till +Ulysses wakes in the middle of line 187, Book xiii., from whence it +continues to the end of Book xxiv. + +In "The Authoress of the Odyssey", I wrote: + + the introduction of lines xi., 115-137 and of line ix., + 535, with the writing a new council of the gods at the + beginning of Book v., to take the place of the one that was + removed to Book i., 1-79, were the only things that were + done to give even a semblance of unity to the old scheme + and the new, and to conceal the fact that the Muse, after + being asked to sing of one subject, spend two-thirds of her + time in singing a very different one, with a climax for + which no-one has asked her. For roughly the Return occupies + eight Books, and Penelope and the Suitors sixteen. + +I believe this to be substantially correct. + +Lastly, to deal with a very unimportant point, I observe that the +Leipsic Teubner edition of 894 makes Books ii. and iii. end with a +comma. Stops are things of such far more recent date than the "Odyssey," +that there does not seem much use in adhering to the text in so small a +matter; still, from a spirit of mere conservatism, I have preferred +to do so. Why [Greek] at the beginnings of Books ii. and viii., and +[Greek], at the beginning of Book vii. should have initial capitals in +an edition far too careful to admit a supposition of inadvertence, when +[Greek] at the beginning of Books vi. and xiii., and [Greek] at the +beginning of Book xvii. have no initial capitals, I cannot determine. +No other Books of the "Odyssey" have initial capitals except the three +mentioned unless the first word of the Book is a proper name. + +S. BUTLER. + +July 25, 1900. + + + + +PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION + +Butler's Translation of the "Odyssey" appeared originally in 1900, and +The Authoress of the Odyssey in 1897. In the preface to the new edition +of "The Authoress", which is published simultaneously with this new +edition of the Translation, I have given some account of the genesis of +the two books. + +The size of the original page has been reduced so as to make both +books uniform with Butler's other works; and, fortunately, it has been +possible, by using a smaller type, to get the same number of words into +each page, so that the references remain good, and, with the exception +of a few minor alterations and rearrangements now to be enumerated +so far as they affect the Translation, the new editions are faithful +reprints of the original editions, with misprints and obvious errors +corrected--no attempt having been made to edit them or to bring them up +to date. + +(a) The Index has been revised. + +(b) Owing to the reduction in the size of the page it has been necessary +to shorten some of the headlines, and here advantage has been taken of +various corrections of and additions to the headlines and shoulder-notes +made by Butler in his own copies of the two books. + +(c) For the most part each of the illustrations now occupies a page, +whereas in the original editions they generally appeared two on the +page. It has been necessary to reduce the plan of the House of Ulysses. + +On page 153 of "The Authoress" Butler says: "No great poet would compare +his hero to a paunch full of blood and fat, cooking before the fire +(xx, 24-28)." This passage is not given in the abridged Story of the +"Odyssey" at the beginning of the book, but in the Translation it occurs +in these words: + +"Thus he chided with his heart, and checked it into endurance, but he +tossed about as one who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in front +of a hot fire, doing it first on one side then on the other, that he +may get it cooked as soon as possible; even so did he turn himself about +from side to side, thinking all the time how, single-handed as he +was, he should contrive to kill so large a body of men as the wicked +suitors." + +It looks as though in the interval between the publication of "The +Authoress" (1897) and of the Translation (1900) Butler had changed his +mind; for in the first case the comparison is between Ulysses and a +paunch full, etc., and in the second it is between Ulysses and a man who +turns a paunch full, etc. The second comparison is perhaps one which a +great poet might make. + +In seeing the works through the press I have had the invaluable +assistance of Mr. A. T. Bartholomew of the University Library, +Cambridge, and of Mr. Donald S. Robertson, Fellow of Trinity College, +Cambridge. To both these friends I give my most cordial thanks for the +care and skill exercised by them. Mr. Robertson has found time for the +labour of checking and correcting all the quotations from and references +to the "Iliad" and "Odyssey," and I believe that it could not have been +better performed. It was, I know, a pleasure for him; and it would have +been a pleasure also for Butler if he could have known that his work was +being shepherded by the son of his old friend, Mr. H. R. Robertson, who +more than half a century ago was a fellow-student with him at Cary's +School of Art in Streatham Street, Bloomsbury. + +HENRY FESTING JONES. + +120 MAIDA VALE, W.9. + +4th December, 1921. + + + + +THE ODYSSEY + + +Book I + +THE GODS IN COUNCIL--MINERVA'S VISIT TO ITHACA--THE CHALLENGE FROM +TELEMACHUS TO THE SUITORS. + +Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after +he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and +many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; +moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and +bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his +men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the +cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever +reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, oh daughter of +Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them. + +So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely +home except Ulysses, and he, though he was longing to return to his wife +and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got him into +a large cave and wanted to marry him. But as years went by, there came a +time when the gods settled that he should go back to Ithaca; even then, +however, when he was among his own people, his troubles were not +yet over; nevertheless all the gods had now begun to pity him except +Neptune, who still persecuted him without ceasing and would not let him +get home. + +Now Neptune had gone off to the Ethiopians, who are at the world's end, +and lie in two halves, the one looking West and the other East. {1} He +had gone there to accept a hecatomb of sheep and oxen, and was enjoying +himself at his festival; but the other gods met in the house of Olympian +Jove, and the sire of gods and men spoke first. At that moment he was +thinking of Aegisthus, who had been killed by Agamemnon's son Orestes; +so he said to the other gods: + +"See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all nothing +but their own folly. Look at Aegisthus; he must needs make love to +Agamemnon's wife unrighteously and then kill Agamemnon, though he knew +it would be the death of him; for I sent Mercury to warn him not to do +either of these things, inasmuch as Orestes would be sure to take his +revenge when he grew up and wanted to return home. Mercury told him +this in all good will but he would not listen, and now he has paid for +everything in full." + +Then Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, it served +Aegisthus right, and so it would any one else who does as he did; but +Aegisthus is neither here nor there; it is for Ulysses that my heart +bleeds, when I think of his sufferings in that lonely sea-girt island, +far away, poor man, from all his friends. It is an island covered +with forest, in the very middle of the sea, and a goddess lives there, +daughter of the magician Atlas, who looks after the bottom of the ocean, +and carries the great columns that keep heaven and earth asunder. This +daughter of Atlas has got hold of poor unhappy Ulysses, and keeps trying +by every kind of blandishment to make him forget his home, so that he +is tired of life, and thinks of nothing but how he may once more see the +smoke of his own chimneys. You, sir, take no heed of this, and yet when +Ulysses was before Troy did he not propitiate you with many a burnt +sacrifice? Why then should you keep on being so angry with him?" + +And Jove said, "My child, what are you talking about? How can I forget +Ulysses than whom there is no more capable man on earth, nor more +liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in heaven? Bear +in mind, however, that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses for having +blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus is son to +Neptune by the nymph Thoosa, daughter to the sea-king Phorcys; therefore +though he will not kill Ulysses outright, he torments him by preventing +him from getting home. Still, let us lay our heads together and see how +we can help him to return; Neptune will then be pacified, for if we are +all of a mind he can hardly stand out against us." + +And Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, if, then, the +gods now mean that Ulysses should get home, we should first send Mercury +to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up our minds and +that he is to return. In the meantime I will go to Ithaca, to put heart +into Ulysses' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to call the Achaeans +in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his mother Penelope, who +persist in eating up any number of his sheep and oxen; I will also +conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos, to see if he can hear anything about +the return of his dear father--for this will make people speak well of +him." + +So saying she bound on her glittering golden sandals, imperishable, +with which she can fly like the wind over land or sea; she grasped the +redoubtable bronze-shod spear, so stout and sturdy and strong, wherewith +she quells the ranks of heroes who have displeased her, and down she +darted from the topmost summits of Olympus, whereon forthwith she was +in Ithaca, at the gateway of Ulysses' house, disguised as a visitor, +Mentes, chief of the Taphians, and she held a bronze spear in her hand. +There she found the lordly suitors seated on hides of the oxen which +they had killed and eaten, and playing draughts in front of the house. +Men-servants and pages were bustling about to wait upon them, some +mixing wine with water in the mixing-bowls, some cleaning down the +tables with wet sponges and laying them out again, and some cutting up +great quantities of meat. + +Telemachus saw her long before any one else did. He was sitting moodily +among the suitors thinking about his brave father, and how he would send +them flying out of the house, if he were to come to his own again and +be honoured as in days gone by. Thus brooding as he sat among them, he +caught sight of Minerva and went straight to the gate, for he was vexed +that a stranger should be kept waiting for admittance. He took her right +hand in his own, and bade her give him her spear. "Welcome," said he, +"to our house, and when you have partaken of food you shall tell us what +you have come for." + +He led the way as he spoke, and Minerva followed him. When they were +within he took her spear and set it in the spear-stand against a strong +bearing-post along with the many other spears of his unhappy father, and +he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which he threw a +cloth of damask. There was a footstool also for her feet,{2} and he set +another seat near her for himself, away from the suitors, that she might +not be annoyed while eating by their noise and insolence, and that he +might ask her more freely about his father. + +A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer and +poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands, and she +drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread, and +offered them many good things of what there was in the house, the carver +fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set cups of gold by their +side, and a manservant brought them wine and poured it out for them. + +Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and seats. +{3} Forthwith men servants poured water over their hands, maids went +round with the bread-baskets, pages filled the mixing-bowls with wine +and water, and they laid their hands upon the good things that were +before them. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink they wanted +music and dancing, which are the crowning embellishments of a banquet, +so a servant brought a lyre to Phemius, whom they compelled perforce +to sing to them. As soon as he touched his lyre and began to sing +Telemachus spoke low to Minerva, with his head close to hers that no man +might hear. + +"I hope, sir," said he, "that you will not be offended with what I am +going to say. Singing comes cheap to those who do not pay for it, and +all this is done at the cost of one whose bones lie rotting in some +wilderness or grinding to powder in the surf. If these men were to see +my father come back to Ithaca they would pray for longer legs rather +than a longer purse, for money would not serve them; but he, alas, has +fallen on an ill fate, and even when people do sometimes say that he is +coming, we no longer heed them; we shall never see him again. And now, +sir, tell me and tell me true, who you are and where you come from. Tell +me of your town and parents, what manner of ship you came in, how your +crew brought you to Ithaca, and of what nation they declared themselves +to be--for you cannot have come by land. Tell me also truly, for I want +to know, are you a stranger to this house, or have you been here in my +father's time? In the old days we had many visitors for my father went +about much himself." + +And Minerva answered, "I will tell you truly and particularly all about +it. I am Mentes, son of Anchialus, and I am King of the Taphians. I have +come here with my ship and crew, on a voyage to men of a foreign tongue +being bound for Temesa {4} with a cargo of iron, and I shall bring back +copper. As for my ship, it lies over yonder off the open country away +from the town, in the harbour Rheithron {5} under the wooded mountain +Neritum. {6} Our fathers were friends before us, as old Laertes will +tell you, if you will go and ask him. They say, however, that he never +comes to town now, and lives by himself in the country, faring hardly, +with an old woman to look after him and get his dinner for him, when +he comes in tired from pottering about his vineyard. They told me your +father was at home again, and that was why I came, but it seems the gods +are still keeping him back, for he is not dead yet not on the mainland. +It is more likely he is on some sea-girt island in mid ocean, or a +prisoner among savages who are detaining him against his will. I am no +prophet, and know very little about omens, but I speak as it is borne +in upon me from heaven, and assure you that he will not be away much +longer; for he is a man of such resource that even though he were in +chains of iron he would find some means of getting home again. But tell +me, and tell me true, can Ulysses really have such a fine looking fellow +for a son? You are indeed wonderfully like him about the head and eyes, +for we were close friends before he set sail for Troy where the flower +of all the Argives went also. Since that time we have never either of us +seen the other." + +"My mother," answered Telemachus, "tells me I am son to Ulysses, but it +is a wise child that knows his own father. Would that I were son to one +who had grown old upon his own estates, for, since you ask me, there +is no more ill-starred man under heaven than he who they tell me is my +father." + +And Minerva said, "There is no fear of your race dying out yet, while +Penelope has such a fine son as you are. But tell me, and tell me true, +what is the meaning of all this feasting, and who are these people? What +is it all about? Have you some banquet, or is there a wedding in the +family--for no one seems to be bringing any provisions of his own? And +the guests--how atrociously they are behaving; what riot they make over +the whole house; it is enough to disgust any respectable person who +comes near them." + +"Sir," said Telemachus, "as regards your question, so long as my father +was here it was well with us and with the house, but the gods in their +displeasure have willed it otherwise, and have hidden him away more +closely than mortal man was ever yet hidden. I could have borne it +better even though he were dead, if he had fallen with his men before +Troy, or had died with friends around him when the days of his fighting +were done; for then the Achaeans would have built a mound over his +ashes, and I should myself have been heir to his renown; but now the +storm-winds have spirited him away we know not whither; he is gone +without leaving so much as a trace behind him, and I inherit nothing +but dismay. Nor does the matter end simply with grief for the loss of +my father; heaven has laid sorrows upon me of yet another kind; for the +chiefs from all our islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woodland island of +Zacynthus, as also all the principal men of Ithaca itself, are eating up +my house under the pretext of paying their court to my mother, who +will neither point blank say that she will not marry, {7} nor yet bring +matters to an end; so they are making havoc of my estate, and before +long will do so also with myself." + +"Is that so?" exclaimed Minerva, "then you do indeed want Ulysses home +again. Give him his helmet, shield, and a couple of lances, and if he is +the man he was when I first knew him in our house, drinking and making +merry, he would soon lay his hands about these rascally suitors, were +he to stand once more upon his own threshold. He was then coming from +Ephyra, where he had been to beg poison for his arrows from Ilus, son of +Mermerus. Ilus feared the ever-living gods and would not give him any, +but my father let him have some, for he was very fond of him. If Ulysses +is the man he then was these suitors will have a short shrift and a +sorry wedding. + +"But there! It rests with heaven to determine whether he is to return, +and take his revenge in his own house or no; I would, however, urge you +to set about trying to get rid of these suitors at once. Take my advice, +call the Achaean heroes in assembly to-morrow morning--lay your case +before them, and call heaven to bear you witness. Bid the suitors take +themselves off, each to his own place, and if your mother's mind is set +on marrying again, let her go back to her father, who will find her +a husband and provide her with all the marriage gifts that so dear a +daughter may expect. As for yourself, let me prevail upon you to take +the best ship you can get, with a crew of twenty men, and go in quest +of your father who has so long been missing. Some one may tell +you something, or (and people often hear things in this way) some +heaven-sent message may direct you. First go to Pylos and ask Nestor; +thence go on to Sparta and visit Menelaus, for he got home last of all +the Achaeans; if you hear that your father is alive and on his way home, +you can put up with the waste these suitors will make for yet another +twelve months. If on the other hand you hear of his death, come home at +once, celebrate his funeral rites with all due pomp, build a barrow +to his memory, and make your mother marry again. Then, having done all +this, think it well over in your mind how, by fair means or foul, you +may kill these suitors in your own house. You are too old to plead +infancy any longer; have you not heard how people are singing Orestes' +praises for having killed his father's murderer Aegisthus? You are a +fine, smart looking fellow; show your mettle, then, and make yourself a +name in story. Now, however, I must go back to my ship and to my crew, +who will be impatient if I keep them waiting longer; think the matter +over for yourself, and remember what I have said to you." + +"Sir," answered Telemachus, "it has been very kind of you to talk to me +in this way, as though I were your own son, and I will do all you tell +me; I know you want to be getting on with your voyage, but stay a little +longer till you have taken a bath and refreshed yourself. I will then +give you a present, and you shall go on your way rejoicing; I will give +you one of great beauty and value--a keepsake such as only dear friends +give to one another." + +Minerva answered, "Do not try to keep me, for I would be on my way at +once. As for any present you may be disposed to make me, keep it till +I come again, and I will take it home with me. You shall give me a very +good one, and I will give you one of no less value in return." + +With these words she flew away like a bird into the air, but she had +given Telemachus courage, and had made him think more than ever about +his father. He felt the change, wondered at it, and knew that the +stranger had been a god, so he went straight to where the suitors were +sitting. + +Phemius was still singing, and his hearers sat rapt in silence as he +told the sad tale of the return from Troy, and the ills Minerva had laid +upon the Achaeans. Penelope, daughter of Icarius, heard his song from +her room upstairs, and came down by the great staircase, not alone, but +attended by two of her handmaids. When she reached the suitors she stood +by one of the bearing posts that supported the roof of the cloisters {8} +with a staid maiden on either side of her. She held a veil, moreover, +before her face, and was weeping bitterly. + +"Phemius," she cried, "you know many another feat of gods and heroes, +such as poets love to celebrate. Sing the suitors some one of these, and +let them drink their wine in silence, but cease this sad tale, for it +breaks my sorrowful heart, and reminds me of my lost husband whom I +mourn ever without ceasing, and whose name was great over all Hellas and +middle Argos." {9} + +"Mother," answered Telemachus, "let the bard sing what he has a mind to; +bards do not make the ills they sing of; it is Jove, not they, who makes +them, and who sends weal or woe upon mankind according to his own good +pleasure. This fellow means no harm by singing the ill-fated return of +the Danaans, for people always applaud the latest songs most warmly. +Make up your mind to it and bear it; Ulysses is not the only man who +never came back from Troy, but many another went down as well as he. Go, +then, within the house and busy yourself with your daily duties, your +loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants; for speech is +man's matter, and mine above all others {10}--for it is I who am master +here." + +She went wondering back into the house, and laid her son's saying in +her heart. Then, going upstairs with her handmaids into her room, she +mourned her dear husband till Minerva shed sweet sleep over her eyes. +But the suitors were clamorous throughout the covered cloisters {11}, +and prayed each one that he might be her bed fellow. + +Then Telemachus spoke, "Shameless," he cried, "and insolent suitors, let +us feast at our pleasure now, and let there be no brawling, for it is a +rare thing to hear a man with such a divine voice as Phemius has; but in +the morning meet me in full assembly that I may give you formal notice +to depart, and feast at one another's houses, turn and turn about, at +your own cost. If on the other hand you choose to persist in spunging +upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon with you in full, +and when you fall in my father's house there shall be no man to avenge +you." + +The suitors bit their lips as they heard him, and marvelled at the +boldness of his speech. Then, Antinous, son of Eupeithes, said, "The +gods seem to have given you lessons in bluster and tall talking; may +Jove never grant you to be chief in Ithaca as your father was before +you." + +Telemachus answered, "Antinous, do not chide with me, but, god willing, +I will be chief too if I can. Is this the worst fate you can think of +for me? It is no bad thing to be a chief, for it brings both riches +and honour. Still, now that Ulysses is dead there are many great men in +Ithaca both old and young, and some other may take the lead among them; +nevertheless I will be chief in my own house, and will rule those whom +Ulysses has won for me." + +Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered, "It rests with heaven to +decide who shall be chief among us, but you shall be master in your +own house and over your own possessions; no one while there is a man +in Ithaca shall do you violence nor rob you. And now, my good fellow, +I want to know about this stranger. What country does he come from? +Of what family is he, and where is his estate? Has he brought you news +about the return of your father, or was he on business of his own? He +seemed a well to do man, but he hurried off so suddenly that he was gone +in a moment before we could get to know him." + +"My father is dead and gone," answered Telemachus, "and even if some +rumour reaches me I put no more faith in it now. My mother does indeed +sometimes send for a soothsayer and question him, but I give his +prophecyings no heed. As for the stranger, he was Mentes, son of +Anchialus, chief of the Taphians, an old friend of my father's." But in +his heart he knew that it had been the goddess. + +The suitors then returned to their singing and dancing until the +evening; but when night fell upon their pleasuring they went home to +bed each in his own abode. {12} Telemachus's room was high up in a tower +{13} that looked on to the outer court; hither, then, he hied, brooding +and full of thought. A good old woman, Euryclea, daughter of Ops, +the son of Pisenor, went before him with a couple of blazing torches. +Laertes had bought her with his own money when she was quite young; he +gave the worth of twenty oxen for her, and shewed as much respect to her +in his household as he did to his own wedded wife, but he did not take +her to his bed for he feared his wife's resentment. {14} She it was who +now lighted Telemachus to his room, and she loved him better than any of +the other women in the house did, for she had nursed him when he was a +baby. He opened the door of his bed room and sat down upon the bed; as +he took off his shirt {15} he gave it to the good old woman, who folded +it tidily up, and hung it for him over a peg by his bed side, after +which she went out, pulled the door to by a silver catch, and drew the +bolt home by means of the strap. {16} But Telemachus as he lay covered +with a woollen fleece kept thinking all night through of his intended +voyage and of the counsel that Minerva had given him. + + +Book II + +ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE OF ITHACA--SPEECHES OF TELEMACHUS AND OF THE +SUITORS--TELEMACHUS MAKES HIS PREPARATIONS AND STARTS FOR PYLOS WITH +MINERVA DISGUISED AS MENTOR. + +Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared Telemachus +rose and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, +girded his sword about his shoulder, and left his room looking like an +immortal god. He at once sent the criers round to call the people in +assembly, so they called them and the people gathered thereon; then, +when they were got together, he went to the place of assembly spear in +hand--not alone, for his two hounds went with him. Minerva endowed him +with a presence of such divine comeliness that all marvelled at him as +he went by, and when he took his place in his father's seat even the +oldest councillors made way for him. + +Aegyptius, a man bent double with age, and of infinite experience, was +the first to speak. His son Antiphus had gone with Ulysses to Ilius, +land of noble steeds, but the savage Cyclops had killed him when they +were all shut up in the cave, and had cooked his last dinner for him. +{17} He had three sons left, of whom two still worked on their father's +land, while the third, Eurynomus, was one of the suitors; nevertheless +their father could not get over the loss of Antiphus, and was still +weeping for him when he began his speech. + +"Men of Ithaca," he said, "hear my words. From the day Ulysses left us +there has been no meeting of our councillors until now; who then can it +be, whether old or young, that finds it so necessary to convene us? Has +he got wind of some host approaching, and does he wish to warn us, or +would he speak upon some other matter of public moment? I am sure he is +an excellent person, and I hope Jove will grant him his heart's desire." + +Telemachus took this speech as of good omen and rose at once, for he was +bursting with what he had to say. He stood in the middle of the assembly +and the good herald Pisenor brought him his staff. Then, turning to +Aegyptius, "Sir," said he, "it is I, as you will shortly learn, who have +convened you, for it is I who am the most aggrieved. I have not got wind +of any host approaching about which I would warn you, nor is there any +matter of public moment on which I would speak. My grievance is purely +personal, and turns on two great misfortunes which have fallen upon my +house. The first of these is the loss of my excellent father, who was +chief among all you here present, and was like a father to every one +of you; the second is much more serious, and ere long will be the utter +ruin of my estate. The sons of all the chief men among you are pestering +my mother to marry them against her will. They are afraid to go to +her father Icarius, asking him to choose the one he likes best, and +to provide marriage gifts for his daughter, but day by day they keep +hanging about my father's house, sacrificing our oxen, sheep, and fat +goats for their banquets, and never giving so much as a thought to the +quantity of wine they drink. No estate can stand such recklessness; we +have now no Ulysses to ward off harm from our doors, and I cannot hold +my own against them. I shall never all my days be as good a man as he +was, still I would indeed defend myself if I had power to do so, for I +cannot stand such treatment any longer; my house is being disgraced and +ruined. Have respect, therefore, to your own consciences and to public +opinion. Fear, too, the wrath of heaven, lest the gods should be +displeased and turn upon you. I pray you by Jove and Themis, who is the +beginning and the end of councils, [do not] hold back, my friends, and +leave me singlehanded {18}--unless it be that my brave father Ulysses +did some wrong to the Achaeans which you would now avenge on me, by +aiding and abetting these suitors. Moreover, if I am to be eaten out of +house and home at all, I had rather you did the eating yourselves, for +I could then take action against you to some purpose, and serve you with +notices from house to house till I got paid in full, whereas now I have +no remedy." {19} + +With this Telemachus dashed his staff to the ground and burst into +tears. Every one was very sorry for him, but they all sat still and no +one ventured to make him an angry answer, save only Antinous, who spoke +thus: + +"Telemachus, insolent braggart that you are, how dare you try to throw +the blame upon us suitors? It is your mother's fault not ours, for she +is a very artful woman. This three years past, and close on four, she +had been driving us out of our minds, by encouraging each one of us, and +sending him messages without meaning one word of what she says. And then +there was that other trick she played us. She set up a great tambour +frame in her room, and began to work on an enormous piece of fine +needlework. 'Sweet hearts,' said she, 'Ulysses is indeed dead, still +do not press me to marry again immediately, wait--for I would not have +skill in needlework perish unrecorded--till I have completed a pall for +the hero Laertes, to be in readiness against the time when death shall +take him. He is very rich, and the women of the place will talk if he is +laid out without a pall.' + +"This was what she said, and we assented; whereon we could see her +working on her great web all day long, but at night she would unpick the +stitches again by torchlight. She fooled us in this way for three years +and we never found her out, but as time wore on and she was now in her +fourth year, one of her maids who knew what she was doing told us, and +we caught her in the act of undoing her work, so she had to finish it +whether she would or no. The suitors, therefore, make you this answer, +that both you and the Achaeans may understand-'Send your mother away, +and bid her marry the man of her own and of her father's choice'; for I +do not know what will happen if she goes on plaguing us much longer with +the airs she gives herself on the score of the accomplishments Minerva +has taught her, and because she is so clever. We never yet heard of such +a woman; we know all about Tyro, Alcmena, Mycene, and the famous women +of old, but they were nothing to your mother any one of them. It was not +fair of her to treat us in that way, and as long as she continues in +the mind with which heaven has now endowed her, so long shall we go on +eating up your estate; and I do not see why she should change, for she +gets all the honour and glory, and it is you who pay for it, not she. +Understand, then, that we will not go back to our lands, neither here +nor elsewhere, till she has made her choice and married some one or +other of us." + +Telemachus answered, "Antinous, how can I drive the mother who bore me +from my father's house? My father is abroad and we do not know whether +he is alive or dead. It will be hard on me if I have to pay Icarius the +large sum which I must give him if I insist on sending his daughter back +to him. Not only will he deal rigorously with me, but heaven will also +punish me; for my mother when she leaves the house will call on the +Erinyes to avenge her; besides, it would not be a creditable thing to +do, and I will have nothing to say to it. If you choose to take offence +at this, leave the house and feast elsewhere at one another's houses at +your own cost turn and turn about. If, on the other hand, you elect to +persist in spunging upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon +with you in full, and when you fall in my father's house there shall be +no man to avenge you." + +As he spoke Jove sent two eagles from the top of the mountain, and they +flew on and on with the wind, sailing side by side in their own lordly +flight. When they were right over the middle of the assembly they +wheeled and circled about, beating the air with their wings and glaring +death into the eyes of them that were below; then, fighting fiercely and +tearing at one another, they flew off towards the right over the town. +The people wondered as they saw them, and asked each other what all this +might be; whereon Halitherses, who was the best prophet and reader of +omens among them, spoke to them plainly and in all honesty, saying: + +"Hear me, men of Ithaca, and I speak more particularly to the suitors, +for I see mischief brewing for them. Ulysses is not going to be +away much longer; indeed he is close at hand to deal out death and +destruction, not on them alone, but on many another of us who live in +Ithaca. Let us then be wise in time, and put a stop to this wickedness +before he comes. Let the suitors do so of their own accord; it will +be better for them, for I am not prophesying without due knowledge; +everything has happened to Ulysses as I foretold when the Argives set +out for Troy, and he with them. I said that after going through much +hardship and losing all his men he should come home again in the +twentieth year and that no one would know him; and now all this is +coming true." + +Eurymachus son of Polybus then said, "Go home, old man, and prophesy to +your own children, or it may be worse for them. I can read these omens +myself much better than you can; birds are always flying about in the +sunshine somewhere or other, but they seldom mean anything. Ulysses has +died in a far country, and it is a pity you are not dead along with +him, instead of prating here about omens and adding fuel to the anger of +Telemachus which is fierce enough as it is. I suppose you think he will +give you something for your family, but I tell you--and it shall surely +be--when an old man like you, who should know better, talks a young one +over till he becomes troublesome, in the first place his young friend +will only fare so much the worse--he will take nothing by it, for the +suitors will prevent this--and in the next, we will lay a heavier fine, +sir, upon yourself than you will at all like paying, for it will bear +hardly upon you. As for Telemachus, I warn him in the presence of you +all to send his mother back to her father, who will find her a husband +and provide her with all the marriage gifts so dear a daughter may +expect. Till then we shall go on harassing him with our suit; for we +fear no man, and care neither for him, with all his fine speeches, nor +for any fortune-telling of yours. You may preach as much as you please, +but we shall only hate you the more. We shall go back and continue to +eat up Telemachus's estate without paying him, till such time as his +mother leaves off tormenting us by keeping us day after day on the +tiptoe of expectation, each vying with the other in his suit for a prize +of such rare perfection. Besides we cannot go after the other women whom +we should marry in due course, but for the way in which she treats us." + +Then Telemachus said, "Eurymachus, and you other suitors, I shall say no +more, and entreat you no further, for the gods and the people of Ithaca +now know my story. Give me, then, a ship and a crew of twenty men to +take me hither and thither, and I will go to Sparta and to Pylos in +quest of my father who has so long been missing. Some one may tell +me something, or (and people often hear things in this way) some +heaven-sent message may direct me. If I can hear of him as alive and on +his way home I will put up with the waste you suitors will make for yet +another twelve months. If on the other hand I hear of his death, I will +return at once, celebrate his funeral rites with all due pomp, build a +barrow to his memory, and make my mother marry again." + +With these words he sat down, and Mentor {20} who had been a friend of +Ulysses, and had been left in charge of everything with full authority +over the servants, rose to speak. He, then, plainly and in all honesty +addressed them thus: + +"Hear me, men of Ithaca, I hope that you may never have a kind and +well-disposed ruler any more, nor one who will govern you equitably; +I hope that all your chiefs henceforward may be cruel and unjust, for +there is not one of you but has forgotten Ulysses, who ruled you as +though he were your father. I am not half so angry with the suitors, for +if they choose to do violence in the naughtiness of their hearts, and +wager their heads that Ulysses will not return, they can take the high +hand and eat up his estate, but as for you others I am shocked at +the way in which you all sit still without even trying to stop such +scandalous goings on--which you could do if you chose, for you are many +and they are few." + +Leiocritus, son of Evenor, answered him saying, "Mentor, what folly is +all this, that you should set the people to stay us? It is a hard thing +for one man to fight with many about his victuals. Even though Ulysses +himself were to set upon us while we are feasting in his house, and do +his best to oust us, his wife, who wants him back so very badly, would +have small cause for rejoicing, and his blood would be upon his own head +if he fought against such great odds. There is no sense in what you have +been saying. Now, therefore, do you people go about your business, and +let his father's old friends, Mentor and Halitherses, speed this boy on +his journey, if he goes at all--which I do not think he will, for he +is more likely to stay where he is till some one comes and tells him +something." + +On this he broke up the assembly, and every man went back to his own +abode, while the suitors returned to the house of Ulysses. + +Then Telemachus went all alone by the sea side, washed his hands in the +grey waves, and prayed to Minerva. + +"Hear me," he cried, "you god who visited me yesterday, and bade me sail +the seas in search of my father who has so long been missing. I would +obey you, but the Achaeans, and more particularly the wicked suitors, +are hindering me that I cannot do so." + +As he thus prayed, Minerva came close up to him in the likeness and with +the voice of Mentor. "Telemachus," said she, "if you are made of +the same stuff as your father you will be neither fool nor coward +henceforward, for Ulysses never broke his word nor left his work half +done. If, then, you take after him, your voyage will not be fruitless, +but unless you have the blood of Ulysses and of Penelope in your veins +I see no likelihood of your succeeding. Sons are seldom as good men as +their fathers; they are generally worse, not better; still, as you are +not going to be either fool or coward henceforward, and are not entirely +without some share of your father's wise discernment, I look with hope +upon your undertaking. But mind you never make common cause with any of +those foolish suitors, for they have neither sense nor virtue, and give +no thought to death and to the doom that will shortly fall on one and +all of them, so that they shall perish on the same day. As for your +voyage, it shall not be long delayed; your father was such an old friend +of mine that I will find you a ship, and will come with you myself. +Now, however, return home, and go about among the suitors; begin getting +provisions ready for your voyage; see everything well stowed, the wine +in jars, and the barley meal, which is the staff of life, in leathern +bags, while I go round the town and beat up volunteers at once. There +are many ships in Ithaca both old and new; I will run my eye over them +for you and will choose the best; we will get her ready and will put out +to sea without delay." + +Thus spoke Minerva daughter of Jove, and Telemachus lost no time in +doing as the goddess told him. He went moodily home, and found the +suitors flaying goats and singeing pigs in the outer court. Antinous +came up to him at once and laughed as he took his hand in his own, +saying, "Telemachus, my fine fire-eater, bear no more ill blood neither +in word nor deed, but eat and drink with us as you used to do. The +Achaeans will find you in everything--a ship and a picked crew to +boot--so that you can set sail for Pylos at once and get news of your +noble father." + +"Antinous," answered Telemachus, "I cannot eat in peace, nor take +pleasure of any kind with such men as you are. Was it not enough that +you should waste so much good property of mine while I was yet a boy? +Now that I am older and know more about it, I am also stronger, and +whether here among this people, or by going to Pylos, I will do you all +the harm I can. I shall go, and my going will not be in vain--though, +thanks to you suitors, I have neither ship nor crew of my own, and must +be passenger not captain." + +As he spoke he snatched his hand from that of Antinous. Meanwhile the +others went on getting dinner ready about the buildings, {21} jeering at +him tauntingly as they did so. + +"Telemachus," said one youngster, "means to be the death of us; I +suppose he thinks he can bring friends to help him from Pylos, or again +from Sparta, where he seems bent on going. Or will he go to Ephyra as +well, for poison to put in our wine and kill us?" + +Another said, "Perhaps if Telemachus goes on board ship, he will be like +his father and perish far from his friends. In this case we should have +plenty to do, for we could then divide up his property amongst us: as +for the house we can let his mother and the man who marries her have +that." + +This was how they talked. But Telemachus went down into the lofty and +spacious store-room where his father's treasure of gold and bronze lay +heaped up upon the floor, and where the linen and spare clothes were +kept in open chests. Here, too, there was a store of fragrant olive oil, +while casks of old, well-ripened wine, unblended and fit for a god to +drink, were ranged against the wall in case Ulysses should come home +again after all. The room was closed with well-made doors opening in the +middle; moreover the faithful old house-keeper Euryclea, daughter of +Ops the son of Pisenor, was in charge of everything both night and day. +Telemachus called her to the store-room and said: + +"Nurse, draw me off some of the best wine you have, after what you +are keeping for my father's own drinking, in case, poor man, he should +escape death, and find his way home again after all. Let me have twelve +jars, and see that they all have lids; also fill me some well-sewn +leathern bags with barley meal--about twenty measures in all. Get these +things put together at once, and say nothing about it. I will take +everything away this evening as soon as my mother has gone upstairs +for the night. I am going to Sparta and to Pylos to see if I can hear +anything about the return of my dear father." + +When Euryclea heard this she began to cry, and spoke fondly to him, +saying, "My dear child, what ever can have put such notion as that into +your head? Where in the world do you want to go to--you, who are the +one hope of the house? Your poor father is dead and gone in some foreign +country nobody knows where, and as soon as your back is turned these +wicked ones here will be scheming to get you put out of the way, and +will share all your possessions among themselves; stay where you are +among your own people, and do not go wandering and worrying your life +out on the barren ocean." + +"Fear not, nurse," answered Telemachus, "my scheme is not without +heaven's sanction; but swear that you will say nothing about all this +to my mother, till I have been away some ten or twelve days, unless she +hears of my having gone, and asks you; for I do not want her to spoil +her beauty by crying." + +The old woman swore most solemnly that she would not, and when she +had completed her oath, she began drawing off the wine into jars, and +getting the barley meal into the bags, while Telemachus went back to the +suitors. + +Then Minerva bethought her of another matter. She took his shape, and +went round the town to each one of the crew, telling them to meet at the +ship by sundown. She went also to Noemon son of Phronius, and asked him +to let her have a ship--which he was very ready to do. When the sun had +set and darkness was over all the land, she got the ship into the +water, put all the tackle on board her that ships generally carry, and +stationed her at the end of the harbour. Presently the crew came up, and +the goddess spoke encouragingly to each of them. + +Furthermore she went to the house of Ulysses, and threw the suitors into +a deep slumber. She caused their drink to fuddle them, and made them +drop their cups from their hands, so that instead of sitting over their +wine, they went back into the town to sleep, with their eyes heavy and +full of drowsiness. Then she took the form and voice of Mentor, and +called Telemachus to come outside. + +"Telemachus," said she, "the men are on board and at their oars, waiting +for you to give your orders, so make haste and let us be off." + +On this she led the way, while Telemachus followed in her steps. When +they got to the ship they found the crew waiting by the water side, and +Telemachus said, "Now my men, help me to get the stores on board; +they are all put together in the cloister, and my mother does not know +anything about it, nor any of the maid servants except one." + +With these words he led the way and the others followed after. When +they had brought the things as he told them, Telemachus went on board, +Minerva going before him and taking her seat in the stern of the vessel, +while Telemachus sat beside her. Then the men loosed the hawsers and +took their places on the benches. Minerva sent them a fair wind from +the West, {22} that whistled over the deep blue waves {23} whereon +Telemachus told them to catch hold of the ropes and hoist sail, and they +did as he told them. They set the mast in its socket in the cross plank, +raised it, and made it fast with the forestays; then they hoisted their +white sails aloft with ropes of twisted ox hide. As the sail bellied out +with the wind, the ship flew through the deep blue water, and the foam +hissed against her bows as she sped onward. Then they made all fast +throughout the ship, filled the mixing bowls to the brim, and made +drink offerings to the immortal gods that are from everlasting, but more +particularly to the grey-eyed daughter of Jove. + +Thus, then, the ship sped on her way through the watches of the night +from dark till dawn, + + +Book III + +TELEMACHUS VISITS NESTOR AT PYLOS. + +but as the sun was rising from the fair sea {24} into the firmament of +heaven to shed light on mortals and immortals, they reached Pylos the +city of Neleus. Now the people of Pylos were gathered on the sea shore +to offer sacrifice of black bulls to Neptune lord of the Earthquake. +There were nine guilds with five hundred men in each, and there were +nine bulls to each guild. As they were eating the inward meats {25} +and burning the thigh bones [on the embers] in the name of Neptune, +Telemachus and his crew arrived, furled their sails, brought their ship +to anchor, and went ashore. + +Minerva led the way and Telemachus followed her. Presently she said, +"Telemachus, you must not be in the least shy or nervous; you have taken +this voyage to try and find out where your father is buried and how he +came by his end; so go straight up to Nestor that we may see what he has +got to tell us. Beg of him to speak the truth, and he will tell no lies, +for he is an excellent person." + +"But how, Mentor," replied Telemachus, "dare I go up to Nestor, and +how am I to address him? I have never yet been used to holding long +conversations with people, and am ashamed to begin questioning one who +is so much older than myself." + +"Some things, Telemachus," answered Minerva, "will be suggested to +you by your own instinct, and heaven will prompt you further; for I am +assured that the gods have been with you from the time of your birth +until now." + +She then went quickly on, and Telemachus followed in her steps till they +reached the place where the guilds of the Pylian people were assembled. +There they found Nestor sitting with his sons, while his company round +him were busy getting dinner ready, and putting pieces of meat on to the +spits {26} while other pieces were cooking. When they saw the strangers +they crowded round them, took them by the hand and bade them take their +places. Nestor's son Pisistratus at once offered his hand to each of +them, and seated them on some soft sheepskins that were lying on the +sands near his father and his brother Thrasymedes. Then he gave them +their portions of the inward meats and poured wine for them into a +golden cup, handing it to Minerva first, and saluting her at the same +time. + +"Offer a prayer, sir," said he, "to King Neptune, for it is his feast +that you are joining; when you have duly prayed and made your drink +offering, pass the cup to your friend that he may do so also. I doubt +not that he too lifts his hands in prayer, for man cannot live without +God in the world. Still he is younger than you are, and is much of an +age with myself, so I will give you the precedence." + +As he spoke he handed her the cup. Minerva thought it very right and +proper of him to have given it to herself first; {27} she accordingly +began praying heartily to Neptune. "O thou," she cried, "that encirclest +the earth, vouchsafe to grant the prayers of thy servants that call upon +thee. More especially we pray thee send down thy grace on Nestor and +on his sons; thereafter also make the rest of the Pylian people some +handsome return for the goodly hecatomb they are offering you. Lastly, +grant Telemachus and myself a happy issue, in respect of the matter that +has brought us in our ship to Pylos." + +When she had thus made an end of praying, she handed the cup to +Telemachus and he prayed likewise. By and by, when the outer meats were +roasted and had been taken off the spits, the carvers gave every man his +portion and they all made an excellent dinner. As soon as they had had +enough to eat and drink, Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak. + +"Now," said he, "that our guests have done their dinner, it will be best +to ask them who they are. Who, then, sir strangers, are you, and from +what port have you sailed? Are you traders? or do you sail the seas as +rovers with your hand against every man, and every man's hand against +you?" + +Telemachus answered boldly, for Minerva had given him courage to ask +about his father and get himself a good name. + +"Nestor," said he, "son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean name, you ask +whence we come, and I will tell you. We come from Ithaca under Neritum, +{28} and the matter about which I would speak is of private not public +import. I seek news of my unhappy father Ulysses, who is said to have +sacked the town of Troy in company with yourself. We know what fate +befell each one of the other heroes who fought at Troy, but as regards +Ulysses heaven has hidden from us the knowledge even that he is dead +at all, for no one can certify us in what place he perished, nor say +whether he fell in battle on the mainland, or was lost at sea amid the +waves of Amphitrite. Therefore I am suppliant at your knees, if haply +you may be pleased to tell me of his melancholy end, whether you saw it +with your own eyes, or heard it from some other traveller, for he was +a man born to trouble. Do not soften things out of any pity for me, +but tell me in all plainness exactly what you saw. If my brave father +Ulysses ever did you loyal service, either by word or deed, when you +Achaeans were harassed among the Trojans, bear it in mind now as in my +favour and tell me truly all." + +"My friend," answered Nestor, "you recall a time of much sorrow to +my mind, for the brave Achaeans suffered much both at sea, while +privateering under Achilles, and when fighting before the great city +of king Priam. Our best men all of them fell there--Ajax, Achilles, +Patroclus peer of gods in counsel, and my own dear son Antilochus, a man +singularly fleet of foot and in fight valiant. But we suffered much more +than this; what mortal tongue indeed could tell the whole story? Though +you were to stay here and question me for five years, or even six, I +could not tell you all that the Achaeans suffered, and you would turn +homeward weary of my tale before it ended. Nine long years did we try +every kind of stratagem, but the hand of heaven was against us; during +all this time there was no one who could compare with your father in +subtlety--if indeed you are his son--I can hardly believe my eyes--and +you talk just like him too--no one would say that people of such +different ages could speak so much alike. He and I never had any kind +of difference from first to last neither in camp nor council, but in +singleness of heart and purpose we advised the Argives how all might be +ordered for the best. + +"When, however, we had sacked the city of Priam, and were setting sail +in our ships as heaven had dispersed us, then Jove saw fit to vex the +Argives on their homeward voyage; for they had not all been either +wise or understanding, and hence many came to a bad end through the +displeasure of Jove's daughter Minerva, who brought about a quarrel +between the two sons of Atreus. + +"The sons of Atreus called a meeting which was not as it should be, for +it was sunset and the Achaeans were heavy with wine. When they explained +why they had called the people together, it seemed that Menelaus was +for sailing homeward at once, and this displeased Agamemnon, who thought +that we should wait till we had offered hecatombs to appease the anger +of Minerva. Fool that he was, he might have known that he would not +prevail with her, for when the gods have made up their minds they do not +change them lightly. So the two stood bandying hard words, whereon the +Achaeans sprang to their feet with a cry that rent the air, and were of +two minds as to what they should do. + +"That night we rested and nursed our anger, for Jove was hatching +mischief against us. But in the morning some of us drew our ships into +the water and put our goods with our women on board, while the rest, +about half in number, stayed behind with Agamemnon. We--the other +half--embarked and sailed; and the ships went well, for heaven had +smoothed the sea. When we reached Tenedos we offered sacrifices to the +gods, for we were longing to get home; cruel Jove, however, did not yet +mean that we should do so, and raised a second quarrel in the course of +which some among us turned their ships back again, and sailed away under +Ulysses to make their peace with Agamemnon; but I, and all the ships +that were with me pressed forward, for I saw that mischief was brewing. +The son of Tydeus went on also with me, and his crews with him. Later on +Menelaus joined us at Lesbos, and found us making up our minds about our +course--for we did not know whether to go outside Chios by the island +of Psyra, keeping this to our left, or inside Chios, over against the +stormy headland of Mimas. So we asked heaven for a sign, and were shown +one to the effect that we should be soonest out of danger if we headed +our ships across the open sea to Euboea. This we therefore did, and a +fair wind sprang up which gave us a quick passage during the night to +Geraestus, {29} where we offered many sacrifices to Neptune for +having helped us so far on our way. Four days later Diomed and his men +stationed their ships in Argos, but I held on for Pylos, and the wind +never fell light from the day when heaven first made it fair for me. + +"Therefore, my dear young friend, I returned without hearing anything +about the others. I know neither who got home safely nor who were lost +but, as in duty bound, I will give you without reserve the reports that +have reached me since I have been here in my own house. They say the +Myrmidons returned home safely under Achilles' son Neoptolemus; so also +did the valiant son of Poias, Philoctetes. Idomeneus, again, lost no men +at sea, and all his followers who escaped death in the field got safe +home with him to Crete. No matter how far out of the world you live, you +will have heard of Agamemnon and the bad end he came to at the hands of +Aegisthus--and a fearful reckoning did Aegisthus presently pay. See what +a good thing it is for a man to leave a son behind him to do as Orestes +did, who killed false Aegisthus the murderer of his noble father. You +too, then--for you are a tall smart-looking fellow--show your mettle and +make yourself a name in story." + +"Nestor son of Neleus," answered Telemachus, "honour to the Achaean +name, the Achaeans applaud Orestes and his name will live through all +time for he has avenged his father nobly. Would that heaven might grant +me to do like vengeance on the insolence of the wicked suitors, who +are ill treating me and plotting my ruin; but the gods have no such +happiness in store for me and for my father, so we must bear it as best +we may." + +"My friend," said Nestor, "now that you remind me, I remember to have +heard that your mother has many suitors, who are ill disposed towards +you and are making havoc of your estate. Do you submit to this tamely, +or are public feeling and the voice of heaven against you? Who knows but +what Ulysses may come back after all, and pay these scoundrels in full, +either single-handed or with a force of Achaeans behind him? If Minerva +were to take as great a liking to you as she did to Ulysses when we were +fighting before Troy (for I never yet saw the gods so openly fond of any +one as Minerva then was of your father), if she would take as good care +of you as she did of him, these wooers would soon some of them forget +their wooing." + +Telemachus answered, "I can expect nothing of the kind; it would be far +too much to hope for. I dare not let myself think of it. Even though the +gods themselves willed it no such good fortune could befall me." + +On this Minerva said, "Telemachus, what are you talking about? Heaven +has a long arm if it is minded to save a man; and if it were me, I +should not care how much I suffered before getting home, provided I +could be safe when I was once there. I would rather this, than get home +quickly, and then be killed in my own house as Agamemnon was by the +treachery of Aegisthus and his wife. Still, death is certain, and when +a man's hour is come, not even the gods can save him, no matter how fond +they are of him." + +"Mentor," answered Telemachus, "do not let us talk about it any more. +There is no chance of my father's ever coming back; the gods have long +since counselled his destruction. There is something else, however, +about which I should like to ask Nestor, for he knows much more than any +one else does. They say he has reigned for three generations so that it +is like talking to an immortal. Tell me, therefore, Nestor, and tell +me true; how did Agamemnon come to die in that way? What was Menelaus +doing? And how came false Aegisthus to kill so far better a man than +himself? Was Menelaus away from Achaean Argos, voyaging elsewhither +among mankind, that Aegisthus took heart and killed Agamemnon?" + +"I will tell you truly," answered Nestor, "and indeed you have yourself +divined how it all happened. If Menelaus when he got back from Troy +had found Aegisthus still alive in his house, there would have been no +barrow heaped up for him, not even when he was dead, but he would have +been thrown outside the city to dogs and vultures, and not a woman would +have mourned him, for he had done a deed of great wickedness; but we +were over there, fighting hard at Troy, and Aegisthus, who was taking +his ease quietly in the heart of Argos, cajoled Agamemnon's wife +Clytemnestra with incessant flattery. + +"At first she would have nothing to do with his wicked scheme, for she +was of a good natural disposition; {30} moreover there was a bard with +her, to whom Agamemnon had given strict orders on setting out for Troy, +that he was to keep guard over his wife; but when heaven had counselled +her destruction, Aegisthus carried this bard off to a desert island and +left him there for crows and seagulls to batten upon--after which she +went willingly enough to the house of Aegisthus. Then he offered many +burnt sacrifices to the gods, and decorated many temples with tapestries +and gilding, for he had succeeded far beyond his expectations. + +"Meanwhile Menelaus and I were on our way home from Troy, on good terms +with one another. When we got to Sunium, which is the point of Athens, +Apollo with his painless shafts killed Phrontis the steersman of +Menelaus' ship (and never man knew better how to handle a vessel in +rough weather) so that he died then and there with the helm in his hand, +and Menelaus, though very anxious to press forward, had to wait in order +to bury his comrade and give him his due funeral rites. Presently, when +he too could put to sea again, and had sailed on as far as the Malean +heads, Jove counselled evil against him and made it blow hard till the +waves ran mountains high. Here he divided his fleet and took the one +half towards Crete where the Cydonians dwell round about the waters of +the river Iardanus. There is a high headland hereabouts stretching out +into the sea from a place called Gortyn, and all along this part of the +coast as far as Phaestus the sea runs high when there is a south wind +blowing, but after Phaestus the coast is more protected, for a small +headland can make a great shelter. Here this part of the fleet was +driven on to the rocks and wrecked; but the crews just managed to save +themselves. As for the other five ships, they were taken by winds and +seas to Egypt, where Menelaus gathered much gold and substance among +people of an alien speech. Meanwhile Aegisthus here at home plotted his +evil deed. For seven years after he had killed Agamemnon he ruled in +Mycene, and the people were obedient under him, but in the eighth year +Orestes came back from Athens to be his bane, and killed the murderer +of his father. Then he celebrated the funeral rites of his mother and +of false Aegisthus by a banquet to the people of Argos, and on that very +day Menelaus came home, {31} with as much treasure as his ships could +carry. + +"Take my advice then, and do not go travelling about for long so far +from home, nor leave your property with such dangerous people in your +house; they will eat up everything you have among them, and you will +have been on a fool's errand. Still, I should advise you by all means +to go and visit Menelaus, who has lately come off a voyage among such +distant peoples as no man could ever hope to get back from, when the +winds had once carried him so far out of his reckoning; even birds +cannot fly the distance in a twelve-month, so vast and terrible are the +seas that they must cross. Go to him, therefore, by sea, and take your +own men with you; or if you would rather travel by land you can have a +chariot, you can have horses, and here are my sons who can escort you to +Lacedaemon where Menelaus lives. Beg of him to speak the truth, and he +will tell you no lies, for he is an excellent person." + +As he spoke the sun set and it came on dark, whereon Minerva said, "Sir, +all that you have said is well; now, however, order the tongues of the +victims to be cut, and mix wine that we may make drink-offerings to +Neptune, and the other immortals, and then go to bed, for it is bed +time. People should go away early and not keep late hours at a religious +festival." + +Thus spoke the daughter of Jove, and they obeyed her saying. Men +servants poured water over the hands of the guests, while pages filled +the mixing-bowls with wine and water, and handed it round after giving +every man his drink offering; then they threw the tongues of the victims +into the fire, and stood up to make their drink offerings. When they +had made their offerings and had drunk each as much as he was minded, +Minerva and Telemachus were for going on board their ship, but Nestor +caught them up at once and stayed them. + +"Heaven and the immortal gods," he exclaimed, "forbid that you should +leave my house to go on board of a ship. Do you think I am so poor and +short of clothes, or that I have so few cloaks and as to be unable to +find comfortable beds both for myself and for my guests? Let me tell you +I have store both of rugs and cloaks, and shall not permit the son of +my old friend Ulysses to camp down on the deck of a ship--not while I +live--nor yet will my sons after me, but they will keep open house as I +have done." + +Then Minerva answered, "Sir, you have spoken well, and it will be much +better that Telemachus should do as you have said; he, therefore, shall +return with you and sleep at your house, but I must go back to give +orders to my crew, and keep them in good heart. I am the only older +person among them; the rest are all young men of Telemachus' own age, +who have taken this voyage out of friendship; so I must return to the +ship and sleep there. Moreover to-morrow I must go to the Cauconians +where I have a large sum of money long owing to me. As for Telemachus, +now that he is your guest, send him to Lacedaemon in a chariot, and let +one of your sons go with him. Be pleased to also provide him with your +best and fleetest horses." + +When she had thus spoken, she flew away in the form of an eagle, and all +marvelled as they beheld it. Nestor was astonished, and took Telemachus +by the hand. "My friend," said he, "I see that you are going to be a +great hero some day, since the gods wait upon you thus while you are +still so young. This can have been none other of those who dwell in +heaven than Jove's redoubtable daughter, the Trito-born, who shewed +such favour towards your brave father among the Argives. Holy queen," he +continued, "vouchsafe to send down thy grace upon myself, my good wife, +and my children. In return, I will offer you in sacrifice a broad-browed +heifer of a year old, unbroken, and never yet brought by man under the +yoke. I will gild her horns, and will offer her up to you in sacrifice." + +Thus did he pray, and Minerva heard his prayer. He then led the way to +his own house, followed by his sons and sons in law. When they had got +there and had taken their places on the benches and seats, he mixed them +a bowl of sweet wine that was eleven years old when the housekeeper took +the lid off the jar that held it. As he mixed the wine, he prayed much +and made drink offerings to Minerva, daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove. +Then, when they had made their drink offerings and had drunk each as +much as he was minded, the others went home to bed each in his own +abode; but Nestor put Telemachus to sleep in the room that was over the +gateway along with Pisistratus, who was the only unmarried son now left +him. As for himself, he slept in an inner room of the house, with the +queen his wife by his side. + +Now when the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Nestor left +his couch and took his seat on the benches of white and polished marble +that stood in front of his house. Here aforetime sat Neleus, peer of +gods in counsel, but he was now dead, and had gone to the house of +Hades; so Nestor sat in his seat sceptre in hand, as guardian of the +public weal. His sons as they left their rooms gathered round him, +Echephron, Stratius, Perseus, Aretus, and Thrasymedes; the sixth son +was Pisistratus, and when Telemachus joined them they made him sit with +them. Nestor then addressed them. + +"My sons," said he, "make haste to do as I shall bid you. I wish first +and foremost to propitiate the great goddess Minerva, who manifested +herself visibly to me during yesterday's festivities. Go, then, one or +other of you to the plain, tell the stockman to look me out a heifer, +and come on here with it at once. Another must go to Telemachus' ship, +and invite all the crew, leaving two men only in charge of the vessel. +Some one else will run and fetch Laerceus the goldsmith to gild the +horns of the heifer. The rest, stay all of you where you are; tell the +maids in the house to prepare an excellent dinner, and to fetch seats, +and logs of wood for a burnt offering. Tell them also to bring me some +clear spring water." + +On this they hurried off on their several errands. The heifer was +brought in from the plain, and Telemachus's crew came from the ship; the +goldsmith brought the anvil, hammer, and tongs, with which he worked his +gold, and Minerva herself came to accept the sacrifice. Nestor gave out +the gold, and the smith gilded the horns of the heifer that the goddess +might have pleasure in their beauty. Then Stratius and Echephron brought +her in by the horns; Aretus fetched water from the house in a ewer that +had a flower pattern on it, and in his other hand he held a basket of +barley meal; sturdy Thrasymedes stood by with a sharp axe, ready to +strike the heifer, while Perseus held a bucket. Then Nestor began with +washing his hands and sprinkling the barley meal, and he offered many +a prayer to Minerva as he threw a lock from the heifer's head upon the +fire. + +When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley meal {32} +Thrasymedes dealt his blow, and brought the heifer down with a stroke +that cut through the tendons at the base of her neck, whereon the +daughters and daughters in law of Nestor, and his venerable wife +Eurydice (she was eldest daughter to Clymenus) screamed with delight. +Then they lifted the heifer's head from off the ground, and Pisistratus +cut her throat. When she had done bleeding and was quite dead, they cut +her up. They cut out the thigh bones all in due course, wrapped them +round in two layers of fat, and set some pieces of raw meat on the top +of them; then Nestor laid them upon the wood fire and poured wine over +them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in +their hands. When the thighs were burned and they had tasted the inward +meats, they cut the rest of the meat up small, put the pieces on the +spits and toasted them over the fire. + +Meanwhile lovely Polycaste, Nestor's youngest daughter, washed +Telemachus. When she had washed him and anointed him with oil, she +brought him a fair mantle and shirt, {33} and he looked like a god as +he came from the bath and took his seat by the side of Nestor. When +the outer meats were done they drew them off the spits and sat down to +dinner where they were waited upon by some worthy henchmen, who kept +pouring them out their wine in cups of gold. As soon as they had had +enough to eat and drink Nestor said, "Sons, put Telemachus's horses to +the chariot that he may start at once." + +Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said, and yoked the fleet +horses to the chariot. The housekeeper packed them up a provision +of bread, wine, and sweet meats fit for the sons of princes. Then +Telemachus got into the chariot, while Pisistratus gathered up the reins +and took his seat beside him. He lashed the horses on and they flew +forward nothing loth into the open country, leaving the high citadel of +Pylos behind them. All that day did they travel, swaying the yoke upon +their necks till the sun went down and darkness was over all the land. +Then they reached Pherae where Diocles lived, who was son to Ortilochus +and grandson to Alpheus. Here they passed the night and Diocles +entertained them hospitably. When the child of morning, rosy-fingered +Dawn, appeared, they again yoked their horses and drove out through the +gateway under the echoing gatehouse. {34} Pisistratus lashed the horses +on and they flew forward nothing loth; presently they came to the corn +lands of the open country, and in the course of time completed their +journey, so well did their steeds take them. {35} + +Now when the sun had set and darkness was over the land, + + +Book IV + +THE VISIT TO KING MENELAUS, WHO TELLS HIS STORY--MEANWHILE THE SUITORS +IN ITHACA PLOT AGAINST TELEMACHUS. + +they reached the low lying city of Lacedaemon, where they drove straight +to the abode of Menelaus {36} [and found him in his own house, feasting +with his many clansmen in honour of the wedding of his son, and also of +his daughter, whom he was marrying to the son of that valiant warrior +Achilles. He had given his consent and promised her to him while he was +still at Troy, and now the gods were bringing the marriage about; so he +was sending her with chariots and horses to the city of the Myrmidons +over whom Achilles' son was reigning. For his only son he had found a +bride from Sparta, {37} the daughter of Alector. This son, Megapenthes, +was born to him of a bondwoman, for heaven vouchsafed Helen no more +children after she had borne Hermione, who was fair as golden Venus +herself. + +So the neighbours and kinsmen of Menelaus were feasting and making merry +in his house. There was a bard also to sing to them and play his lyre, +while two tumblers went about performing in the midst of them when the +man struck up with his tune.] {38} + +Telemachus and the son of Nestor stayed their horses at the gate, +whereon Eteoneus servant to Menelaus came out, and as soon as he saw +them ran hurrying back into the house to tell his Master. He went close +up to him and said, "Menelaus, there are some strangers come here, two +men, who look like sons of Jove. What are we to do? Shall we take their +horses out, or tell them to find friends elsewhere as they best can?" + +Menelaus was very angry and said, "Eteoneus, son of Boethous, you never +used to be a fool, but now you talk like a simpleton. Take their horses +out, of course, and show the strangers in that they may have supper; +you and I have staid often enough at other people's houses before we got +back here, where heaven grant that we may rest in peace henceforward." + +So Eteoneus bustled back and bade the other servants come with him. They +took their sweating steeds from under the yoke, made them fast to the +mangers, and gave them a feed of oats and barley mixed. Then they leaned +the chariot against the end wall of the courtyard, and led the way into +the house. Telemachus and Pisistratus were astonished when they saw it, +for its splendour was as that of the sun and moon; then, when they had +admired everything to their heart's content, they went into the bath +room and washed themselves. + +When the servants had washed them and anointed them with oil, they +brought them woollen cloaks and shirts, and the two took their seats by +the side of Menelaus. A maid-servant brought them water in a beautiful +golden ewer, and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their +hands; and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought +them bread, and offered them many good things of what there was in the +house, while the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and +set cups of gold by their side. + +Menelaus then greeted them saying, "Fall to, and welcome; when you have +done supper I shall ask who you are, for the lineage of such men as +you cannot have been lost. You must be descended from a line of +sceptre-bearing kings, for poor people do not have such sons as you +are." + +On this he handed them {39} a piece of fat roast loin, which had been +set near him as being a prime part, and they laid their hands on the +good things that were before them; as soon as they had had enough to eat +and drink, Telemachus said to the son of Nestor, with his head so close +that no one might hear, "Look, Pisistratus, man after my own heart, +see the gleam of bronze and gold--of amber, {40} ivory, and silver. +Everything is so splendid that it is like seeing the palace of Olympian +Jove. I am lost in admiration." + +Menelaus overheard him and said, "No one, my sons, can hold his own +with Jove, for his house and everything about him is immortal; but among +mortal men--well, there may be another who has as much wealth as I +have, or there may not; but at all events I have travelled much and have +undergone much hardship, for it was nearly eight years before I could +get home with my fleet. I went to Cyprus, Phoenicia and the Egyptians; +I went also to the Ethiopians, the Sidonians, and the Erembians, and to +Libya where the lambs have horns as soon as they are born, and the sheep +lamb down three times a year. Every one in that country, whether master +or man, has plenty of cheese, meat, and good milk, for the ewes yield +all the year round. But while I was travelling and getting great riches +among these people, my brother was secretly and shockingly murdered +through the perfidy of his wicked wife, so that I have no pleasure in +being lord of all this wealth. Whoever your parents may be they must +have told you about all this, and of my heavy loss in the ruin {41} of a +stately mansion fully and magnificently furnished. Would that I had only +a third of what I now have so that I had stayed at home, and all those +were living who perished on the plain of Troy, far from Argos. I often +grieve, as I sit here in my house, for one and all of them. At times +I cry aloud for sorrow, but presently I leave off again, for crying is +cold comfort and one soon tires of it. Yet grieve for these as I may, +I do so for one man more than for them all. I cannot even think of him +without loathing both food and sleep, so miserable does he make me, for +no one of all the Achaeans worked so hard or risked so much as he did. +He took nothing by it, and has left a legacy of sorrow to myself, for he +has been gone a long time, and we know not whether he is alive or +dead. His old father, his long-suffering wife Penelope, and his son +Telemachus, whom he left behind him an infant in arms, are plunged in +grief on his account." + +Thus spoke Menelaus, and the heart of Telemachus yearned as he bethought +him of his father. Tears fell from his eyes as he heard him thus +mentioned, so that he held his cloak before his face with both hands. +When Menelaus saw this he doubted whether to let him choose his own time +for speaking, or to ask him at once and find what it was all about. + +While he was thus in two minds Helen came down from her high vaulted and +perfumed room, looking as lovely as Diana herself. Adraste brought her +a seat, Alcippe a soft woollen rug while Phylo fetched her the silver +work-box which Alcandra wife of Polybus had given her. Polybus lived in +Egyptian Thebes, which is the richest city in the whole world; he gave +Menelaus two baths, both of pure silver, two tripods, and ten talents of +gold; besides all this, his wife gave Helen some beautiful presents, to +wit, a golden distaff, and a silver work box that ran on wheels, with a +gold band round the top of it. Phylo now placed this by her side, full +of fine spun yarn, and a distaff charged with violet coloured wool was +laid upon the top of it. Then Helen took her seat, put her feet upon the +footstool, and began to question her husband. {42} + +"Do we know, Menelaus," said she, "the names of these strangers who +have come to visit us? Shall I guess right or wrong?--but I cannot help +saying what I think. Never yet have I seen either man or woman so like +somebody else (indeed when I look at him I hardly know what to think) +as this young man is like Telemachus, whom Ulysses left as a baby behind +him, when you Achaeans went to Troy with battle in your hearts, on +account of my most shameless self." + +"My dear wife," replied Menelaus, "I see the likeness just as you do. +His hands and feet are just like Ulysses; so is his hair, with the shape +of his head and the expression of his eyes. Moreover, when I was talking +about Ulysses, and saying how much he had suffered on my account, tears +fell from his eyes, and he hid his face in his mantle." + +Then Pisistratus said, "Menelaus, son of Atreus, you are right in +thinking that this young man is Telemachus, but he is very modest, and +is ashamed to come here and begin opening up discourse with one whose +conversation is so divinely interesting as your own. My father, Nestor, +sent me to escort him hither, for he wanted to know whether you could +give him any counsel or suggestion. A son has always trouble at home +when his father has gone away leaving him without supporters; and this +is how Telemachus is now placed, for his father is absent, and there is +no one among his own people to stand by him." + +"Bless my heart," replied Menelaus, "then I am receiving a visit from +the son of a very dear friend, who suffered much hardship for my sake. +I had always hoped to entertain him with most marked distinction when +heaven had granted us a safe return from beyond the seas. I should have +founded a city for him in Argos, and built him a house. I should have +made him leave Ithaca with his goods, his son, and all his people, and +should have sacked for them some one of the neighbouring cities that +are subject to me. We should thus have seen one another continually, +and nothing but death could have interrupted so close and happy an +intercourse. I suppose, however, that heaven grudged us such great good +fortune, for it has prevented the poor fellow from ever getting home at +all." + +Thus did he speak, and his words set them all a weeping. Helen wept, +Telemachus wept, and so did Menelaus, nor could Pisistratus keep his +eyes from filling, when he remembered his dear brother Antilochus whom +the son of bright Dawn had killed. Thereon he said to Menelaus, + +"Sir, my father Nestor, when we used to talk about you at home, told me +you were a person of rare and excellent understanding. If, then, it be +possible, do as I would urge you. I am not fond of crying while I am +getting my supper. Morning will come in due course, and in the forenoon +I care not how much I cry for those that are dead and gone. This is all +we can do for the poor things. We can only shave our heads for them and +wring the tears from our cheeks. I had a brother who died at Troy; he +was by no means the worst man there; you are sure to have known him--his +name was Antilochus; I never set eyes upon him myself, but they say that +he was singularly fleet of foot and in fight valiant." + +"Your discretion, my friend," answered Menelaus, "is beyond your years. +It is plain you take after your father. One can soon see when a man +is son to one whom heaven has blessed both as regards wife and +offspring--and it has blessed Nestor from first to last all his days, +giving him a green old age in his own house, with sons about him who are +both well disposed and valiant. We will put an end therefore to all this +weeping, and attend to our supper again. Let water be poured over our +hands. Telemachus and I can talk with one another fully in the morning." + +On this Asphalion, one of the servants, poured water over their hands +and they laid their hands on the good things that were before them. + +Then Jove's daughter Helen bethought her of another matter. She drugged +the wine with an herb that banishes all care, sorrow, and ill humour. +Whoever drinks wine thus drugged cannot shed a single tear all the rest +of the day, not even though his father and mother both of them drop down +dead, or he sees a brother or a son hewn in pieces before his very eyes. +This drug, of such sovereign power and virtue, had been given to Helen +by Polydamna wife of Thon, a woman of Egypt, where there grow all sorts +of herbs, some good to put into the mixing bowl and others poisonous. +Moreover, every one in the whole country is a skilled physician, for +they are of the race of Paeeon. When Helen had put this drug in the +bowl, and had told the servants to serve the wine round, she said: + +"Menelaus, son of Atreus, and you my good friends, sons of honourable +men (which is as Jove wills, for he is the giver both of good and evil, +and can do what he chooses), feast here as you will, and listen while I +tell you a tale in season. I cannot indeed name every single one of the +exploits of Ulysses, but I can say what he did when he was before Troy, +and you Achaeans were in all sorts of difficulties. He covered himself +with wounds and bruises, dressed himself all in rags, and entered the +enemy's city looking like a menial or a beggar, and quite different +from what he did when he was among his own people. In this disguise +he entered the city of Troy, and no one said anything to him. I alone +recognised him and began to question him, but he was too cunning for me. +When, however, I had washed and anointed him and had given him clothes, +and after I had sworn a solemn oath not to betray him to the Trojans +till he had got safely back to his own camp and to the ships, he told me +all that the Achaeans meant to do. He killed many Trojans and got much +information before he reached the Argive camp, for all which things the +Trojan women made lamentation, but for my own part I was glad, for my +heart was beginning to yearn after my home, and I was unhappy about +the wrong that Venus had done me in taking me over there, away from +my country, my girl, and my lawful wedded husband, who is indeed by no +means deficient either in person or understanding." + +Then Menelaus said, "All that you have been saying, my dear wife, is +true. I have travelled much, and have had much to do with heroes, but +I have never seen such another man as Ulysses. What endurance too, +and what courage he displayed within the wooden horse, wherein all the +bravest of the Argives were lying in wait to bring death and destruction +upon the Trojans. {43} At that moment you came up to us; some god +who wished well to the Trojans must have set you on to it and you had +Deiphobus with you. Three times did you go all round our hiding place +and pat it; you called our chiefs each by his own name, and mimicked +all our wives--Diomed, Ulysses, and I from our seats inside heard what +a noise you made. Diomed and I could not make up our minds whether to +spring out then and there, or to answer you from inside, but Ulysses +held us all in check, so we sat quite still, all except Anticlus, who +was beginning to answer you, when Ulysses clapped his two brawny hands +over his mouth, and kept them there. It was this that saved us all, for +he muzzled Anticlus till Minerva took you away again." + +"How sad," exclaimed Telemachus, "that all this was of no avail to save +him, nor yet his own iron courage. But now, sir, be pleased to send us +all to bed, that we may lie down and enjoy the blessed boon of sleep." + +On this Helen told the maid servants to set beds in the room that was in +the gatehouse, and to make them with good red rugs, and spread coverlets +on the top of them with woollen cloaks for the guests to wear. So +the maids went out, carrying a torch, and made the beds, to which +a man-servant presently conducted the strangers. Thus, then, did +Telemachus and Pisistratus sleep there in the forecourt, while the son +of Atreus lay in an inner room with lovely Helen by his side. + +When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Menelaus rose +and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, +girded his sword about his shoulders, and left his room looking like an +immortal god. Then, taking a seat near Telemachus he said: + +"And what, Telemachus, has led you to take this long sea voyage to +Lacedaemon? Are you on public, or private business? Tell me all about +it." + +"I have come, sir," replied Telemachus, "to see if you can tell me +anything about my father. I am being eaten out of house and home; my +fair estate is being wasted, and my house is full of miscreants who keep +killing great numbers of my sheep and oxen, on the pretence of paying +their addresses to my mother. Therefore, I am suppliant at your knees if +haply you may tell me about my father's melancholy end, whether you saw +it with your own eyes, or heard it from some other traveller; for he was +a man born to trouble. Do not soften things out of any pity for myself, +but tell me in all plainness exactly what you saw. If my brave father +Ulysses ever did you loyal service either by word or deed, when you +Achaeans were harassed by the Trojans, bear it in mind now as in my +favour and tell me truly all." + +Menelaus on hearing this was very much shocked. "So," he exclaimed, +"these cowards would usurp a brave man's bed? A hind might as well lay +her new born young in the lair of a lion, and then go off to feed in the +forest or in some grassy dell: the lion when he comes back to his lair +will make short work with the pair of them--and so will Ulysses with +these suitors. By father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, if Ulysses is still +the man that he was when he wrestled with Philomeleides in Lesbos, and +threw him so heavily that all the Achaeans cheered him--if he is still +such and were to come near these suitors, they would have a short shrift +and a sorry wedding. As regards your questions, however, I will not +prevaricate nor deceive you, but will tell you without concealment all +that the old man of the sea told me. + +"I was trying to come on here, but the gods detained me in Egypt, for +my hecatombs had not given them full satisfaction, and the gods are very +strict about having their dues. Now off Egypt, about as far as a ship +can sail in a day with a good stiff breeze behind her, there is an +island called Pharos--it has a good harbour from which vessels can +get out into open sea when they have taken in water--and here the gods +becalmed me twenty days without so much as a breath of fair wind to help +me forward. We should have run clean out of provisions and my men would +have starved, if a goddess had not taken pity upon me and saved me in +the person of Idothea, daughter to Proteus, the old man of the sea, for +she had taken a great fancy to me. + +"She came to me one day when I was by myself, as I often was, for the +men used to go with their barbed hooks, all over the island in the +hope of catching a fish or two to save them from the pangs of hunger. +'Stranger,' said she, 'it seems to me that you like starving in this +way--at any rate it does not greatly trouble you, for you stick here day +after day, without even trying to get away though your men are dying by +inches.' + +"'Let me tell you,' said I, 'whichever of the goddesses you may happen +to be, that I am not staying here of my own accord, but must have +offended the gods that live in heaven. Tell me, therefore, for the gods +know everything, which of the immortals it is that is hindering me in +this way, and tell me also how I may sail the sea so as to reach my +home.' + +"'Stranger,' replied she, 'I will make it all quite clear to you. There +is an old immortal who lives under the sea hereabouts and whose name +is Proteus. He is an Egyptian, and people say he is my father; he is +Neptune's head man and knows every inch of ground all over the bottom of +the sea. If you can snare him and hold him tight, he will tell you about +your voyage, what courses you are to take, and how you are to sail the +sea so as to reach your home. He will also tell you, if you so will, all +that has been going on at your house both good and bad, while you have +been away on your long and dangerous journey.' + +"'Can you show me,' said I, 'some stratagem by means of which I may +catch this old god without his suspecting it and finding me out? For a +god is not easily caught--not by a mortal man.' + +"'Stranger,' said she, 'I will make it all quite clear to you. About the +time when the sun shall have reached mid heaven, the old man of the sea +comes up from under the waves, heralded by the West wind that furs the +water over his head. As soon as he has come up he lies down, and goes to +sleep in a great sea cave, where the seals--Halosydne's chickens as they +call them--come up also from the grey sea, and go to sleep in shoals +all round him; and a very strong and fish-like smell do they bring with +them. {44} Early to-morrow morning I will take you to this place and +will lay you in ambush. Pick out, therefore, the three best men you have +in your fleet, and I will tell you all the tricks that the old man will +play you. + +"'First he will look over all his seals, and count them; then, when he +has seen them and tallied them on his five fingers, he will go to sleep +among them, as a shepherd among his sheep. The moment you see that he is +asleep seize him; put forth all your strength and hold him fast, for he +will do his very utmost to get away from you. He will turn himself into +every kind of creature that goes upon the earth, and will become also +both fire and water; but you must hold him fast and grip him tighter +and tighter, till he begins to talk to you and comes back to what he was +when you saw him go to sleep; then you may slacken your hold and let him +go; and you can ask him which of the gods it is that is angry with you, +and what you must do to reach your home over the seas.' + +"Having so said she dived under the waves, whereon I turned back to +the place where my ships were ranged upon the shore; and my heart was +clouded with care as I went along. When I reached my ship we got supper +ready, for night was falling, and camped down upon the beach. + +"When the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, I took the three +men on whose prowess of all kinds I could most rely, and went along by +the sea-side, praying heartily to heaven. Meanwhile the goddess fetched +me up four seal skins from the bottom of the sea, all of them just +skinned, for she meant playing a trick upon her father. Then she dug +four pits for us to lie in, and sat down to wait till we should come up. +When we were close to her, she made us lie down in the pits one after +the other, and threw a seal skin over each of us. Our ambuscade would +have been intolerable, for the stench of the fishy seals was most +distressing {45}--who would go to bed with a sea monster if he could +help it?--but here, too, the goddess helped us, and thought of something +that gave us great relief, for she put some ambrosia under each man's +nostrils, which was so fragrant that it killed the smell of the seals. +{46} + +"We waited the whole morning and made the best of it, watching the seals +come up in hundreds to bask upon the sea shore, till at noon the old man +of the sea came up too, and when he had found his fat seals he went over +them and counted them. We were among the first he counted, and he never +suspected any guile, but laid himself down to sleep as soon as he had +done counting. Then we rushed upon him with a shout and seized him; on +which he began at once with his old tricks, and changed himself first +into a lion with a great mane; then all of a sudden he became a dragon, +a leopard, a wild boar; the next moment he was running water, and then +again directly he was a tree, but we stuck to him and never lost hold, +till at last the cunning old creature became distressed, and said, +'Which of the gods was it, Son of Atreus, that hatched this plot with +you for snaring me and seizing me against my will? What do you want?' + +"'You know that yourself, old man,' I answered, 'you will gain nothing +by trying to put me off. It is because I have been kept so long in this +island, and see no sign of my being able to get away. I am losing +all heart; tell me, then, for you gods know everything, which of the +immortals it is that is hindering me, and tell me also how I may sail +the sea so as to reach my home?' + +"Then,' he said, 'if you would finish your voyage and get home quickly, +you must offer sacrifices to Jove and to the rest of the gods before +embarking; for it is decreed that you shall not get back to your +friends, and to your own house, till you have returned to the heaven-fed +stream of Egypt, and offered holy hecatombs to the immortal gods that +reign in heaven. When you have done this they will let you finish your +voyage.' + +"I was broken hearted when I heard that I must go back all that long and +terrible voyage to Egypt; {47} nevertheless, I answered, 'I will do all, +old man, that you have laid upon me; but now tell me, and tell me true, +whether all the Achaeans whom Nestor and I left behind us when we set +sail from Troy have got home safely, or whether any one of them came +to a bad end either on board his own ship or among his friends when the +days of his fighting were done.' + +"'Son of Atreus,' he answered, 'why ask me? You had better not know what +I can tell you, for your eyes will surely fill when you have heard my +story. Many of those about whom you ask are dead and gone, but many +still remain, and only two of the chief men among the Achaeans +perished during their return home. As for what happened on the field of +battle--you were there yourself. A third Achaean leader is still at sea, +alive, but hindered from returning. Ajax was wrecked, for Neptune drove +him on to the great rocks of Gyrae; nevertheless, he let him get safe +out of the water, and in spite of all Minerva's hatred he would have +escaped death, if he had not ruined himself by boasting. He said the +gods could not drown him even though they had tried to do so, and when +Neptune heard this large talk, he seized his trident in his two brawny +hands, and split the rock of Gyrae in two pieces. The base remained +where it was, but the part on which Ajax was sitting fell headlong +into the sea and carried Ajax with it; so he drank salt water and was +drowned. + +"'Your brother and his ships escaped, for Juno protected him, but when +he was just about to reach the high promontory of Malea, he was caught +by a heavy gale which carried him out to sea again sorely against his +will, and drove him to the foreland where Thyestes used to dwell, but +where Aegisthus was then living. By and by, however, it seemed as though +he was to return safely after all, for the gods backed the wind into its +old quarter and they reached home; whereon Agamemnon kissed his native +soil, and shed tears of joy at finding himself in his own country. + +"'Now there was a watchman whom Aegisthus kept always on the watch, and +to whom he had promised two talents of gold. This man had been looking +out for a whole year to make sure that Agamemnon did not give him the +slip and prepare war; when, therefore, this man saw Agamemnon go by, +he went and told Aegisthus, who at once began to lay a plot for him. He +picked twenty of his bravest warriors and placed them in ambuscade on +one side the cloister, while on the opposite side he prepared a banquet. +Then he sent his chariots and horsemen to Agamemnon, and invited him to +the feast, but he meant foul play. He got him there, all unsuspicious of +the doom that was awaiting him, and killed him when the banquet was +over as though he were butchering an ox in the shambles; not one of +Agamemnon's followers was left alive, nor yet one of Aegisthus', but +they were all killed there in the cloisters.' + +"Thus spoke Proteus, and I was broken hearted as I heard him. I sat down +upon the sands and wept; I felt as though I could no longer bear to live +nor look upon the light of the sun. Presently, when I had had my fill of +weeping and writhing upon the ground, the old man of the sea said, 'Son +of Atreus, do not waste any more time in crying so bitterly; it can +do no manner of good; find your way home as fast as ever you can, +for Aegisthus may be still alive, and even though Orestes has been +beforehand with you in killing him, you may yet come in for his +funeral.' + +"On this I took comfort in spite of all my sorrow, and said, 'I know, +then, about these two; tell me, therefore, about the third man of whom +you spoke; is he still alive, but at sea, and unable to get home? or is +he dead? Tell me, no matter how much it may grieve me.' + +"'The third man,' he answered, 'is Ulysses who dwells in Ithaca. I +can see him in an island sorrowing bitterly in the house of the nymph +Calypso, who is keeping him prisoner, and he cannot reach his home for +he has no ships nor sailors to take him over the sea. As for your own +end, Menelaus, you shall not die in Argos, but the gods will take you to +the Elysian plain, which is at the ends of the world. There fair-haired +Rhadamanthus reigns, and men lead an easier life than any where else in +the world, for in Elysium there falls not rain, nor hail, nor snow, but +Oceanus breathes ever with a West wind that sings softly from the sea, +and gives fresh life to all men. This will happen to you because you +have married Helen, and are Jove's son-in-law.' + +"As he spoke he dived under the waves, whereon I turned back to the +ships with my companions, and my heart was clouded with care as I went +along. When we reached the ships we got supper ready, for night was +falling, and camped down upon the beach. When the child of morning, +rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, we drew our ships into the water, and put +our masts and sails within them; then we went on board ourselves, took +our seats on the benches, and smote the grey sea with our oars. I +again stationed my ships in the heaven-fed stream of Egypt, and offered +hecatombs that were full and sufficient. When I had thus appeased +heaven's anger, I raised a barrow to the memory of Agamemnon that his +name might live for ever, after which I had a quick passage home, for +the gods sent me a fair wind. + +"And now for yourself--stay here some ten or twelve days longer, and I +will then speed you on your way. I will make you a noble present of a +chariot and three horses. I will also give you a beautiful chalice +that so long as you live you may think of me whenever you make a +drink-offering to the immortal gods." + +"Son of Atreus," replied Telemachus, "do not press me to stay longer; I +should be contented to remain with you for another twelve months; I find +your conversation so delightful that I should never once wish myself at +home with my parents; but my crew whom I have left at Pylos are already +impatient, and you are detaining me from them. As for any present you +may be disposed to make me, I had rather that it should be a piece of +plate. I will take no horses back with me to Ithaca, but will leave them +to adorn your own stables, for you have much flat ground in your kingdom +where lotus thrives, as also meadow-sweet and wheat and barley, and oats +with their white and spreading ears; whereas in Ithaca we have neither +open fields nor racecourses, and the country is more fit for goats than +horses, and I like it the better for that. {48} None of our islands have +much level ground, suitable for horses, and Ithaca least of all." + +Menelaus smiled and took Telemachus's hand within his own. "What you +say," said he, "shows that you come of good family. I both can, and +will, make this exchange for you, by giving you the finest and most +precious piece of plate in all my house. It is a mixing bowl by Vulcan's +own hand, of pure silver, except the rim, which is inlaid with gold. +Phaedimus, king of the Sidonians, gave it me in the course of a visit +which I paid him when I returned thither on my homeward journey. I will +make you a present of it." + +Thus did they converse [and guests kept coming to the king's house. They +brought sheep and wine, while their wives had put up bread for them to +take with them; so they were busy cooking their dinners in the courts]. +{49} + +Meanwhile the suitors were throwing discs or aiming with spears at +a mark on the levelled ground in front of Ulysses' house, and were +behaving with all their old insolence. Antinous and Eurymachus, who were +their ringleaders and much the foremost among them all, were sitting +together when Noemon son of Phronius came up and said to Antinous, + +"Have we any idea, Antinous, on what day Telemachus returns from Pylos? +He has a ship of mine, and I want it, to cross over to Elis: I have +twelve brood mares there with yearling mule foals by their side not yet +broken in, and I want to bring one of them over here and break him." + +They were astounded when they heard this, for they had made sure that +Telemachus had not gone to the city of Neleus. They thought he was +only away somewhere on the farms, and was with the sheep, or with the +swineherd; so Antinous said, "When did he go? Tell me truly, and +what young men did he take with him? Were they freemen or his own +bondsmen--for he might manage that too? Tell me also, did you let him +have the ship of your own free will because he asked you, or did he take +it without your leave?" + +"I lent it him," answered Noemon, "what else could I do when a man of +his position said he was in a difficulty, and asked me to oblige him? I +could not possibly refuse. As for those who went with him they were the +best young men we have, and I saw Mentor go on board as captain--or some +god who was exactly like him. I cannot understand it, for I saw Mentor +here myself yesterday morning, and yet he was then setting out for +Pylos." + +Noemon then went back to his father's house, but Antinous and Eurymachus +were very angry. They told the others to leave off playing, and to come +and sit down along with themselves. When they came, Antinous son of +Eupeithes spoke in anger. His heart was black with rage, and his eyes +flashed fire as he said: + +"Good heavens, this voyage of Telemachus is a very serious matter; we +had made sure that it would come to nothing, but the young fellow has +got away in spite of us, and with a picked crew too. He will be giving +us trouble presently; may Jove take him before he is full grown. Find me +a ship, therefore, with a crew of twenty men, and I will lie in wait for +him in the straits between Ithaca and Samos; he will then rue the day +that he set out to try and get news of his father." + +Thus did he speak, and the others applauded his saying; they then all of +them went inside the buildings. + +It was not long ere Penelope came to know what the suitors were +plotting; for a man servant, Medon, overheard them from outside the +outer court as they were laying their schemes within, and went to tell +his mistress. As he crossed the threshold of her room Penelope said: +"Medon, what have the suitors sent you here for? Is it to tell the maids +to leave their master's business and cook dinner for them? I wish they +may neither woo nor dine henceforward, neither here nor anywhere else, +but let this be the very last time, for the waste you all make of my +son's estate. Did not your fathers tell you when you were children, how +good Ulysses had been to them--never doing anything high-handed, nor +speaking harshly to anybody? Kings may say things sometimes, and they +may take a fancy to one man and dislike another, but Ulysses never did +an unjust thing by anybody--which shows what bad hearts you have, and +that there is no such thing as gratitude left in this world." + +Then Medon said, "I wish, Madam, that this were all; but they are +plotting something much more dreadful now--may heaven frustrate their +design. They are going to try and murder Telemachus as he is coming home +from Pylos and Lacedaemon, where he has been to get news of his father." + +Then Penelope's heart sank within her, and for a long time she was +speechless; her eyes filled with tears, and she could find no utterance. +At last, however, she said, "Why did my son leave me? What business had +he to go sailing off in ships that make long voyages over the ocean like +sea-horses? Does he want to die without leaving any one behind him to +keep up his name?" + +"I do not know," answered Medon, "whether some god set him on to it, or +whether he went on his own impulse to see if he could find out if his +father was dead, or alive and on his way home." + +Then he went downstairs again, leaving Penelope in an agony of grief. +There were plenty of seats in the house, but she had no heart for +sitting on any one of them; she could only fling herself on the floor of +her own room and cry; whereon all the maids in the house, both old +and young, gathered round her and began to cry too, till at last in a +transport of sorrow she exclaimed, + +"My dears, heaven has been pleased to try me with more affliction +than any other woman of my age and country. First I lost my brave and +lion-hearted husband, who had every good quality under heaven, and whose +name was great over all Hellas and middle Argos, and now my darling son +is at the mercy of the winds and waves, without my having heard one word +about his leaving home. You hussies, there was not one of you would so +much as think of giving me a call out of my bed, though you all of you +very well knew when he was starting. If I had known he meant taking this +voyage, he would have had to give it up, no matter how much he was bent +upon it, or leave me a corpse behind him--one or other. Now, however, +go some of you and call old Dolius, who was given me by my father on my +marriage, and who is my gardener. Bid him go at once and tell everything +to Laertes, who may be able to hit on some plan for enlisting public +sympathy on our side, as against those who are trying to exterminate his +own race and that of Ulysses." + +Then the dear old nurse Euryclea said, "You may kill me, Madam, or let +me live on in your house, whichever you please, but I will tell you the +real truth. I knew all about it, and gave him everything he wanted in +the way of bread and wine, but he made me take my solemn oath that I +would not tell you anything for some ten or twelve days, unless you +asked or happened to hear of his having gone, for he did not want you to +spoil your beauty by crying. And now, Madam, wash your face, change +your dress, and go upstairs with your maids to offer prayers to Minerva, +daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove, for she can save him even though he +be in the jaws of death. Do not trouble Laertes: he has trouble enough +already. Besides, I cannot think that the gods hate the race of the son +of Arceisius so much, but there will be a son left to come up after him, +and inherit both the house and the fair fields that lie far all round +it." + +With these words she made her mistress leave off crying, and dried the +tears from her eyes. Penelope washed her face, changed her dress, and +went upstairs with her maids. She then put some bruised barley into a +basket and began praying to Minerva. + +"Hear me," she cried, "Daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable. If +ever Ulysses while he was here burned you fat thigh bones of sheep or +heifer, bear it in mind now as in my favour, and save my darling son +from the villainy of the suitors." + +She cried aloud as she spoke, and the goddess heard her prayer; +meanwhile the suitors were clamorous throughout the covered cloister, +and one of them said: + +"The queen is preparing for her marriage with one or other of us. Little +does she dream that her son has now been doomed to die." + +This was what they said, but they did not know what was going to happen. +Then Antinous said, "Comrades, let there be no loud talking, lest some +of it get carried inside. Let us be up and do that in silence, about +which we are all of a mind." + +He then chose twenty men, and they went down to their ship and to the +sea side; they drew the vessel into the water and got her mast and sails +inside her; they bound the oars to the thole-pins with twisted thongs +of leather, all in due course, and spread the white sails aloft, while +their fine servants brought them their armour. Then they made the ship +fast a little way out, came on shore again, got their suppers, and +waited till night should fall. + +But Penelope lay in her own room upstairs unable to eat or drink, and +wondering whether her brave son would escape, or be overpowered by the +wicked suitors. Like a lioness caught in the toils with huntsmen hemming +her in on every side she thought and thought till she sank into a +slumber, and lay on her bed bereft of thought and motion. + +Then Minerva bethought her of another matter, and made a vision in +the likeness of Penelope's sister Iphthime daughter of Icarius who had +married Eumelus and lived in Pherae. She told the vision to go to the +house of Ulysses, and to make Penelope leave off crying, so it came into +her room by the hole through which the thong went for pulling the door +to, and hovered over her head saying, + +"You are asleep, Penelope: the gods who live at ease will not suffer you +to weep and be so sad. Your son has done them no wrong, so he will yet +come back to you." + +Penelope, who was sleeping sweetly at the gates of dreamland, answered, +"Sister, why have you come here? You do not come very often, but I +suppose that is because you live such a long way off. Am I, then, to +leave off crying and refrain from all the sad thoughts that torture me? +I, who have lost my brave and lion-hearted husband, who had every good +quality under heaven, and whose name was great over all Hellas and +middle Argos; and now my darling son has gone off on board of a ship--a +foolish fellow who has never been used to roughing it, nor to going +about among gatherings of men. I am even more anxious about him than +about my husband; I am all in a tremble when I think of him, lest +something should happen to him, either from the people among whom he has +gone, or by sea, for he has many enemies who are plotting against him, +and are bent on killing him before he can return home." + +Then the vision said, "Take heart, and be not so much dismayed. There is +one gone with him whom many a man would be glad enough to have stand by +his side, I mean Minerva; it is she who has compassion upon you, and who +has sent me to bear you this message." + +"Then," said Penelope, "if you are a god or have been sent here by +divine commission, tell me also about that other unhappy one--is he +still alive, or is he already dead and in the house of Hades?" + +And the vision said, "I shall not tell you for certain whether he is +alive or dead, and there is no use in idle conversation." + +Then it vanished through the thong-hole of the door and was dissipated +into thin air; but Penelope rose from her sleep refreshed and comforted, +so vivid had been her dream. + +Meantime the suitors went on board and sailed their ways over the +sea, intent on murdering Telemachus. Now there is a rocky islet called +Asteris, of no great size, in mid channel between Ithaca and Samos, and +there is a harbour on either side of it where a ship can lie. Here then +the Achaeans placed themselves in ambush. + + +Book V + +CALYPSO--ULYSSES REACHES SCHERIA ON A RAFT. + +And now, as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus--harbinger of light +alike to mortals and immortals--the gods met in council and with them, +Jove the lord of thunder, who is their king. Thereon Minerva began to +tell them of the many sufferings of Ulysses, for she pitied him away +there in the house of the nymph Calypso. + +"Father Jove," said she, "and all you other gods that live in +everlasting bliss, I hope there may never be such a thing as a kind and +well-disposed ruler any more, nor one who will govern equitably. I hope +they will be all henceforth cruel and unjust, for there is not one of +his subjects but has forgotten Ulysses, who ruled them as though he were +their father. There he is, lying in great pain in an island where dwells +the nymph Calypso, who will not let him go; and he cannot get back to +his own country, for he can find neither ships nor sailors to take him +over the sea. Furthermore, wicked people are now trying to murder his +only son Telemachus, who is coming home from Pylos and Lacedaemon, where +he has been to see if he can get news of his father." + +"What, my dear, are you talking about?" replied her father, "did you not +send him there yourself, because you thought it would help Ulysses to +get home and punish the suitors? Besides, you are perfectly able to +protect Telemachus, and to see him safely home again, while the suitors +have to come hurry-skurrying back without having killed him." + +When he had thus spoken, he said to his son Mercury, "Mercury, you are +our messenger, go therefore and tell Calypso we have decreed that poor +Ulysses is to return home. He is to be convoyed neither by gods nor men, +but after a perilous voyage of twenty days upon a raft he is to reach +fertile Scheria, {50} the land of the Phaeacians, who are near of kin to +the gods, and will honour him as though he were one of ourselves. They +will send him in a ship to his own country, and will give him more +bronze and gold and raiment than he would have brought back from Troy, +if he had had all his prize money and had got home without disaster. +This is how we have settled that he shall return to his country and his +friends." + +Thus he spoke, and Mercury, guide and guardian, slayer of Argus, did as +he was told. Forthwith he bound on his glittering golden sandals with +which he could fly like the wind over land and sea. He took the wand +with which he seals men's eyes in sleep or wakes them just as he +pleases, and flew holding it in his hand over Pieria; then he swooped +down through the firmament till he reached the level of the sea, whose +waves he skimmed like a cormorant that flies fishing every hole and +corner of the ocean, and drenching its thick plumage in the spray. He +flew and flew over many a weary wave, but when at last he got to the +island which was his journey's end, he left the sea and went on by land +till he came to the cave where the nymph Calypso lived. + +He found her at home. There was a large fire burning on the hearth, and +one could smell from far the fragrant reek of burning cedar and sandal +wood. As for herself, she was busy at her loom, shooting her golden +shuttle through the warp and singing beautifully. Round her cave there +was a thick wood of alder, poplar, and sweet smelling cypress trees, +wherein all kinds of great birds had built their nests--owls, hawks, and +chattering sea-crows that occupy their business in the waters. A vine +loaded with grapes was trained and grew luxuriantly about the mouth of +the cave; there were also four running rills of water in channels cut +pretty close together, and turned hither and thither so as to irrigate +the beds of violets and luscious herbage over which they flowed. {51} +Even a god could not help being charmed with such a lovely spot, +so Mercury stood still and looked at it; but when he had admired it +sufficiently he went inside the cave. + +Calypso knew him at once--for the gods all know each other, no matter +how far they live from one another--but Ulysses was not within; he was +on the sea-shore as usual, looking out upon the barren ocean with tears +in his eyes, groaning and breaking his heart for sorrow. Calypso +gave Mercury a seat and said: "Why have you come to see me, +Mercury--honoured, and ever welcome--for you do not visit me often? Say +what you want; I will do it for you at once if I can, and if it can be +done at all; but come inside, and let me set refreshment before you." + +As she spoke she drew a table loaded with ambrosia beside him and mixed +him some red nectar, so Mercury ate and drank till he had had enough, +and then said: + +"We are speaking god and goddess to one another, and you ask me why I +have come here, and I will tell you truly as you would have me do. Jove +sent me; it was no doing of mine; who could possibly want to come all +this way over the sea where there are no cities full of people to offer +me sacrifices or choice hecatombs? Nevertheless I had to come, for none +of us other gods can cross Jove, nor transgress his orders. He says that +you have here the most ill-starred of all those who fought nine years +before the city of King Priam and sailed home in the tenth year after +having sacked it. On their way home they sinned against Minerva, {52} +who raised both wind and waves against them, so that all his brave +companions perished, and he alone was carried hither by wind and tide. +Jove says that you are to let this man go at once, for it is decreed +that he shall not perish here, far from his own people, but shall return +to his house and country and see his friends again." + +Calypso trembled with rage when she heard this, "You gods," she +exclaimed, "ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You are always jealous +and hate seeing a goddess take a fancy to a mortal man, and live with +him in open matrimony. So when rosy-fingered Dawn made love to Orion, +you precious gods were all of you furious till Diana went and killed him +in Ortygia. So again when Ceres fell in love with Iasion, and yielded to +him in a thrice-ploughed fallow field, Jove came to hear of it before so +very long and killed Iasion with his thunderbolts. And now you are angry +with me too because I have a man here. I found the poor creature sitting +all alone astride of a keel, for Jove had struck his ship with lightning +and sunk it in mid ocean, so that all his crew were drowned, while he +himself was driven by wind and waves on to my island. I got fond of him +and cherished him, and had set my heart on making him immortal, so that +he should never grow old all his days; still I cannot cross Jove, nor +bring his counsels to nothing; therefore, if he insists upon it, let the +man go beyond the seas again; but I cannot send him anywhere myself +for I have neither ships nor men who can take him. Nevertheless I will +readily give him such advice, in all good faith, as will be likely to +bring him safely to his own country." + +"Then send him away," said Mercury, "or Jove will be angry with you and +punish you". + +On this he took his leave, and Calypso went out to look for Ulysses, for +she had heard Jove's message. She found him sitting upon the beach with +his eyes ever filled with tears, and dying of sheer home sickness; for +he had got tired of Calypso, and though he was forced to sleep with her +in the cave by night, it was she, not he, that would have it so. As for +the day time, he spent it on the rocks and on the sea shore, weeping, +crying aloud for his despair, and always looking out upon the sea. +Calypso then went close up to him said: + +"My poor fellow, you shall not stay here grieving and fretting your life +out any longer. I am going to send you away of my own free will; so go, +cut some beams of wood, and make yourself a large raft with an upper +deck that it may carry you safely over the sea. I will put bread, wine, +and water on board to save you from starving. I will also give you +clothes, and will send you a fair wind to take you home, if the gods in +heaven so will it--for they know more about these things, and can settle +them better than I can." + +Ulysses shuddered as he heard her. "Now goddess," he answered, "there is +something behind all this; you cannot be really meaning to help me home +when you bid me do such a dreadful thing as put to sea on a raft. Not +even a well found ship with a fair wind could venture on such a distant +voyage: nothing that you can say or do shall make me go on board a raft +unless you first solemnly swear that you mean me no mischief." + +Calypso smiled at this and caressed him with her hand: "You know a great +deal," said she, "but you are quite wrong here. May heaven above and +earth below be my witnesses, with the waters of the river Styx--and this +is the most solemn oath which a blessed god can take--that I mean you +no sort of harm, and am only advising you to do exactly what I should do +myself in your place. I am dealing with you quite straightforwardly; my +heart is not made of iron, and I am very sorry for you." + +When she had thus spoken she led the way rapidly before him, and Ulysses +followed in her steps; so the pair, goddess and man, went on and on till +they came to Calypso's cave, where Ulysses took the seat that Mercury +had just left. Calypso set meat and drink before him of the food that +mortals eat; but her maids brought ambrosia and nectar for herself, and +they laid their hands on the good things that were before them. When +they had satisfied themselves with meat and drink, Calypso spoke, +saying: + +"Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, so you would start home to your own +land at once? Good luck go with you, but if you could only know how much +suffering is in store for you before you get back to your own country, +you would stay where you are, keep house along with me, and let me +make you immortal, no matter how anxious you may be to see this wife +of yours, of whom you are thinking all the time day after day; yet I +flatter myself that I am no whit less tall or well-looking than she +is, for it is not to be expected that a mortal woman should compare in +beauty with an immortal." + +"Goddess," replied Ulysses, "do not be angry with me about this. I +am quite aware that my wife Penelope is nothing like so tall or so +beautiful as yourself. She is only a woman, whereas you are an immortal. +Nevertheless, I want to get home, and can think of nothing else. If some +god wrecks me when I am on the sea, I will bear it and make the best +of it. I have had infinite trouble both by land and sea already, so let +this go with the rest." + +Presently the sun set and it became dark, whereon the pair retired into +the inner part of the cave and went to bed. + +When the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Ulysses put on +his shirt and cloak, while the goddess wore a dress of a light gossamer +fabric, very fine and graceful, with a beautiful golden girdle about her +waist and a veil to cover her head. She at once set herself to think how +she could speed Ulysses on his way. So she gave him a great bronze +axe that suited his hands; it was sharpened on both sides, and had a +beautiful olive-wood handle fitted firmly on to it. She also gave him a +sharp adze, and then led the way to the far end of the island where the +largest trees grew--alder, poplar and pine, that reached the sky--very +dry and well seasoned, so as to sail light for him in the water. {53} +Then, when she had shown him where the best trees grew, Calypso went +home, leaving him to cut them, which he soon finished doing. He cut down +twenty trees in all and adzed them smooth, squaring them by rule in good +workmanlike fashion. Meanwhile Calypso came back with some augers, so +he bored holes with them and fitted the timbers together with bolts and +rivets. He made the raft as broad as a skilled shipwright makes the beam +of a large vessel, and he fixed a deck on top of the ribs, and ran a +gunwale all round it. He also made a mast with a yard arm, and a rudder +to steer with. He fenced the raft all round with wicker hurdles as a +protection against the waves, and then he threw on a quantity of wood. +By and by Calypso brought him some linen to make the sails, and he made +these too, excellently, making them fast with braces and sheets. Last of +all, with the help of levers, he drew the raft down into the water. + +In four days he had completed the whole work, and on the fifth Calypso +sent him from the island after washing him and giving him some clean +clothes. She gave him a goat skin full of black wine, and another larger +one of water; she also gave him a wallet full of provisions, and found +him in much good meat. Moreover, she made the wind fair and warm for +him, and gladly did Ulysses spread his sail before it, while he sat and +guided the raft skilfully by means of the rudder. He never closed his +eyes, but kept them fixed on the Pleiads, on late-setting Bootes, and on +the Bear--which men also call the wain, and which turns round and round +where it is, facing Orion, and alone never dipping into the stream of +Oceanus--for Calypso had told him to keep this to his left. Days seven +and ten did he sail over the sea, and on the eighteenth the dim outlines +of the mountains on the nearest part of the Phaeacian coast appeared, +rising like a shield on the horizon. + +But King Neptune, who was returning from the Ethiopians, caught sight of +Ulysses a long way off, from the mountains of the Solymi. He could see +him sailing upon the sea, and it made him very angry, so he wagged his +head and muttered to himself, saying, "Good heavens, so the gods have +been changing their minds about Ulysses while I was away in Ethiopia, +and now he is close to the land of the Phaeacians, where it is decreed +that he shall escape from the calamities that have befallen him. Still, +he shall have plenty of hardship yet before he has done with it." + +Thereon he gathered his clouds together, grasped his trident, stirred +it round in the sea, and roused the rage of every wind that blows till +earth, sea, and sky were hidden in cloud, and night sprang forth out of +the heavens. Winds from East, South, North, and West fell upon him all +at the same time, and a tremendous sea got up, so that Ulysses' heart +began to fail him. "Alas," he said to himself in his dismay, "what ever +will become of me? I am afraid Calypso was right when she said I should +have trouble by sea before I got back home. It is all coming true. How +black is Jove making heaven with his clouds, and what a sea the winds +are raising from every quarter at once. I am now safe to perish. Blest +and thrice blest were those Danaans who fell before Troy in the cause +of the sons of Atreus. Would that I had been killed on the day when the +Trojans were pressing me so sorely about the dead body of Achilles, for +then I should have had due burial and the Achaeans would have honoured +my name; but now it seems that I shall come to a most pitiable end." + +As he spoke a sea broke over him with such terrific fury that the raft +reeled again, and he was carried overboard a long way off. He let go the +helm, and the force of the hurricane was so great that it broke the mast +half way up, and both sail and yard went over into the sea. For a long +time Ulysses was under water, and it was all he could do to rise to the +surface again, for the clothes Calypso had given him weighed him down; +but at last he got his head above water and spat out the bitter brine +that was running down his face in streams. In spite of all this, +however, he did not lose sight of his raft, but swam as fast as he could +towards it, got hold of it, and climbed on board again so as to escape +drowning. The sea took the raft and tossed it about as Autumn winds +whirl thistledown round and round upon a road. It was as though the +South, North, East, and West winds were all playing battledore and +shuttlecock with it at once. + +When he was in this plight, Ino daughter of Cadmus, also called +Leucothea, saw him. She had formerly been a mere mortal, but had been +since raised to the rank of a marine goddess. Seeing in what great +distress Ulysses now was, she had compassion upon him, and, rising like +a sea-gull from the waves, took her seat upon the raft. + +"My poor good man," said she, "why is Neptune so furiously angry with +you? He is giving you a great deal of trouble, but for all his bluster +he will not kill you. You seem to be a sensible person, do then as I bid +you; strip, leave your raft to drive before the wind, and swim to the +Phaeacian coast where better luck awaits you. And here, take my veil and +put it round your chest; it is enchanted, and you can come to no harm +so long as you wear it. As soon as you touch land take it off, throw it +back as far as you can into the sea, and then go away again." With these +words she took off her veil and gave it him. Then she dived down again +like a sea-gull and vanished beneath the dark blue waters. + +But Ulysses did not know what to think. "Alas," he said to himself in +his dismay, "this is only some one or other of the gods who is luring me +to ruin by advising me to quit my raft. At any rate I will not do so at +present, for the land where she said I should be quit of all troubles +seemed to be still a good way off. I know what I will do--I am sure it +will be best--no matter what happens I will stick to the raft as long +as her timbers hold together, but when the sea breaks her up I will swim +for it; I do not see how I can do any better than this." + +While he was thus in two minds, Neptune sent a terrible great wave that +seemed to rear itself above his head till it broke right over the raft, +which then went to pieces as though it were a heap of dry chaff tossed +about by a whirlwind. Ulysses got astride of one plank and rode upon +it as if he were on horseback; he then took off the clothes Calypso +had given him, bound Ino's veil under his arms, and plunged into the +sea--meaning to swim on shore. King Neptune watched him as he did so, +and wagged his head, muttering to himself and saying, "There now, swim +up and down as you best can till you fall in with well-to-do people. +I do not think you will be able to say that I have let you off too +lightly." On this he lashed his horses and drove to Aegae where his +palace is. + +But Minerva resolved to help Ulysses, so she bound the ways of all the +winds except one, and made them lie quite still; but she roused a good +stiff breeze from the North that should lay the waters till Ulysses +reached the land of the Phaeacians where he would be safe. + +Thereon he floated about for two nights and two days in the water, with +a heavy swell on the sea and death staring him in the face; but when the +third day broke, the wind fell and there was a dead calm without so much +as a breath of air stirring. As he rose on the swell he looked eagerly +ahead, and could see land quite near. Then, as children rejoice when +their dear father begins to get better after having for a long time +borne sore affliction sent him by some angry spirit, but the gods +deliver him from evil, so was Ulysses thankful when he again saw land +and trees, and swam on with all his strength that he might once more set +foot upon dry ground. When, however, he got within earshot, he began to +hear the surf thundering up against the rocks, for the swell still broke +against them with a terrific roar. Everything was enveloped in spray; +there were no harbours where a ship might ride, nor shelter of any kind, +but only headlands, low-lying rocks, and mountain tops. + +Ulysses' heart now began to fail him, and he said despairingly to +himself, "Alas, Jove has let me see land after swimming so far that I +had given up all hope, but I can find no landing place, for the coast is +rocky and surf-beaten, the rocks are smooth and rise sheer from the sea, +with deep water close under them so that I cannot climb out for want of +foot hold. I am afraid some great wave will lift me off my legs and dash +me against the rocks as I leave the water--which would give me a +sorry landing. If, on the other hand, I swim further in search of some +shelving beach or harbour, a hurricane may carry me out to sea again +sorely against my will, or heaven may send some great monster of the +deep to attack me; for Amphitrite breeds many such, and I know that +Neptune is very angry with me." + +While he was thus in two minds a wave caught him and took him with such +force against the rocks that he would have been smashed and torn to +pieces if Minerva had not shown him what to do. He caught hold of the +rock with both hands and clung to it groaning with pain till the wave +retired, so he was saved that time; but presently the wave came on again +and carried him back with it far into the sea--tearing his hands as the +suckers of a polypus are torn when some one plucks it from its bed, and +the stones come up along with it--even so did the rocks tear the skin +from his strong hands, and then the wave drew him deep down under the +water. + +Here poor Ulysses would have certainly perished even in spite of his own +destiny, if Minerva had not helped him to keep his wits about him. He +swam seaward again, beyond reach of the surf that was beating against +the land, and at the same time he kept looking towards the shore to +see if he could find some haven, or a spit that should take the waves +aslant. By and by, as he swam on, he came to the mouth of a river, and +here he thought would be the best place, for there were no rocks, and it +afforded shelter from the wind. He felt that there was a current, so he +prayed inwardly and said: + +"Hear me, O King, whoever you may be, and save me from the anger of the +sea-god Neptune, for I approach you prayerfully. Any one who has lost +his way has at all times a claim even upon the gods, wherefore in my +distress I draw near to your stream, and cling to the knees of your +riverhood. Have mercy upon me, O king, for I declare myself your +suppliant." + +Then the god staid his stream and stilled the waves, making all calm +before him, and bringing him safely into the mouth of the river. Here +at last Ulysses' knees and strong hands failed him, for the sea had +completely broken him. His body was all swollen, and his mouth and +nostrils ran down like a river with sea-water, so that he could neither +breathe nor speak, and lay swooning from sheer exhaustion; presently, +when he had got his breath and came to himself again, he took off the +scarf that Ino had given him and threw it back into the salt {54} stream +of the river, whereon Ino received it into her hands from the wave that +bore it towards her. Then he left the river, laid himself down among the +rushes, and kissed the bounteous earth. + +"Alas," he cried to himself in his dismay, "what ever will become of me, +and how is it all to end? If I stay here upon the river bed through the +long watches of the night, I am so exhausted that the bitter cold and +damp may make an end of me--for towards sunrise there will be a keen +wind blowing from off the river. If, on the other hand, I climb the hill +side, find shelter in the woods, and sleep in some thicket, I may escape +the cold and have a good night's rest, but some savage beast may take +advantage of me and devour me." + +In the end he deemed it best to take to the woods, and he found one +upon some high ground not far from the water. There he crept beneath +two shoots of olive that grew from a single stock--the one an ungrafted +sucker, while the other had been grafted. No wind, however squally, +could break through the cover they afforded, nor could the sun's rays +pierce them, nor the rain get through them, so closely did they grow +into one another. Ulysses crept under these and began to make himself +a bed to lie on, for there was a great litter of dead leaves lying +about--enough to make a covering for two or three men even in hard +winter weather. He was glad enough to see this, so he laid himself down +and heaped the leaves all round him. Then, as one who lives alone in the +country, far from any neighbor, hides a brand as fire-seed in the +ashes to save himself from having to get a light elsewhere, even so did +Ulysses cover himself up with leaves; and Minerva shed a sweet sleep +upon his eyes, closed his eyelids, and made him lose all memories of his +sorrows. + + +Book VI + +THE MEETING BETWEEN NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES. + +So here Ulysses slept, overcome by sleep and toil; but Minerva went off +to the country and city of the Phaeacians--a people who used to live in +the fair town of Hypereia, near the lawless Cyclopes. Now the Cyclopes +were stronger than they and plundered them, so their king Nausithous +moved them thence and settled them in Scheria, far from all other +people. He surrounded the city with a wall, built houses and temples, +and divided the lands among his people; but he was dead and gone to +the house of Hades, and King Alcinous, whose counsels were inspired +of heaven, was now reigning. To his house, then, did Minerva hie in +furtherance of the return of Ulysses. + +She went straight to the beautifully decorated bedroom in which there +slept a girl who was as lovely as a goddess, Nausicaa, daughter to King +Alcinous. Two maid servants were sleeping near her, both very pretty, +one on either side of the doorway, which was closed with well made +folding doors. Minerva took the form of the famous sea captain Dymas's +daughter, who was a bosom friend of Nausicaa and just her own age; then, +coming up to the girl's bedside like a breath of wind, she hovered over +her head and said: + +"Nausicaa, what can your mother have been about, to have such a lazy +daughter? Here are your clothes all lying in disorder, yet you are going +to be married almost immediately, and should not only be well dressed +yourself, but should find good clothes for those who attend you. This is +the way to get yourself a good name, and to make your father and mother +proud of you. Suppose, then, that we make tomorrow a washing day, +and start at daybreak. I will come and help you so that you may have +everything ready as soon as possible, for all the best young men among +your own people are courting you, and you are not going to remain a +maid much longer. Ask your father, therefore, to have a waggon and mules +ready for us at daybreak, to take the rugs, robes, and girdles, and you +can ride, too, which will be much pleasanter for you than walking, for +the washing-cisterns are some way from the town." + +When she had said this Minerva went away to Olympus, which they say +is the everlasting home of the gods. Here no wind beats roughly, and +neither rain nor snow can fall; but it abides in everlasting sunshine +and in a great peacefulness of light, wherein the blessed gods are +illumined for ever and ever. This was the place to which the goddess +went when she had given instructions to the girl. + +By and by morning came and woke Nausicaa, who began wondering about +her dream; she therefore went to the other end of the house to tell her +father and mother all about it, and found them in their own room. Her +mother was sitting by the fireside spinning her purple yarn with her +maids around her, and she happened to catch her father just as he was +going out to attend a meeting of the town council, which the Phaeacian +aldermen had convened. She stopped him and said: + +"Papa dear, could you manage to let me have a good big waggon? I want to +take all our dirty clothes to the river and wash them. You are the chief +man here, so it is only right that you should have a clean shirt when +you attend meetings of the council. Moreover, you have five sons at +home, two of them married, while the other three are good looking +bachelors; you know they always like to have clean linen when they go to +a dance, and I have been thinking about all this." + +She did not say a word about her own wedding, for she did not like to, +but her father knew and said, "You shall have the mules, my love, and +whatever else you have a mind for. Be off with you, and the men shall +get you a good strong waggon with a body to it that will hold all your +clothes." + +On this he gave his orders to the servants, who got the waggon out, +harnessed the mules, and put them to, while the girl brought the clothes +down from the linen room and placed them on the waggon. Her mother +prepared her a basket of provisions with all sorts of good things, and a +goat skin full of wine; the girl now got into the waggon, and her mother +gave her also a golden cruse of oil, that she and her women might anoint +themselves. Then she took the whip and reins and lashed the mules on, +whereon they set off, and their hoofs clattered on the road. They pulled +without flagging, and carried not only Nausicaa and her wash of clothes, +but the maids also who were with her. + +When they reached the water side they went to the washing cisterns, +through which there ran at all times enough pure water to wash any +quantity of linen, no matter how dirty. Here they unharnessed the mules +and turned them out to feed on the sweet juicy herbage that grew by the +water side. They took the clothes out of the waggon, put them in the +water, and vied with one another in treading them in the pits to get the +dirt out. After they had washed them and got them quite clean, they laid +them out by the sea side, where the waves had raised a high beach of +shingle, and set about washing themselves and anointing themselves with +olive oil. Then they got their dinner by the side of the stream, and +waited for the sun to finish drying the clothes. When they had done +dinner they threw off the veils that covered their heads and began to +play at ball, while Nausicaa sang for them. As the huntress Diana goes +forth upon the mountains of Taygetus or Erymanthus to hunt wild boars or +deer, and the wood nymphs, daughters of Aegis-bearing Jove, take their +sport along with her (then is Leto proud at seeing her daughter stand a +full head taller than the others, and eclipse the loveliest amid a whole +bevy of beauties), even so did the girl outshine her handmaids. + +When it was time for them to start home, and they were folding the +clothes and putting them into the waggon, Minerva began to consider how +Ulysses should wake up and see the handsome girl who was to conduct him +to the city of the Phaeacians. The girl, therefore, threw a ball at one +of the maids, which missed her and fell into deep water. On this they +all shouted, and the noise they made woke Ulysses, who sat up in his bed +of leaves and began to wonder what it might all be. + +"Alas," said he to himself, "what kind of people have I come amongst? +Are they cruel, savage, and uncivilised, or hospitable and humane? I +seem to hear the voices of young women, and they sound like those of +the nymphs that haunt mountain tops, or springs of rivers and meadows of +green grass. At any rate I am among a race of men and women. Let me try +if I cannot manage to get a look at them." + +As he said this he crept from under his bush, and broke off a bough +covered with thick leaves to hide his nakedness. He looked like some +lion of the wilderness that stalks about exulting in his strength and +defying both wind and rain; his eyes glare as he prowls in quest of +oxen, sheep, or deer, for he is famished, and will dare break even +into a well fenced homestead, trying to get at the sheep--even such did +Ulysses seem to the young women, as he drew near to them all naked as he +was, for he was in great want. On seeing one so unkempt and so begrimed +with salt water, the others scampered off along the spits that jutted +out into the sea, but the daughter of Alcinous stood firm, for Minerva +put courage into her heart and took away all fear from her. She stood +right in front of Ulysses, and he doubted whether he should go up to +her, throw himself at her feet, and embrace her knees as a suppliant, or +stay where he was and entreat her to give him some clothes and show him +the way to the town. In the end he deemed it best to entreat her from a +distance in case the girl should take offence at his coming near enough +to clasp her knees, so he addressed her in honeyed and persuasive +language. + +"O queen," he said, "I implore your aid--but tell me, are you a goddess +or are you a mortal woman? If you are a goddess and dwell in heaven, I +can only conjecture that you are Jove's daughter Diana, for your face +and figure resemble none but hers; if on the other hand you are a mortal +and live on earth, thrice happy are your father and mother--thrice +happy, too, are your brothers and sisters; how proud and delighted +they must feel when they see so fair a scion as yourself going out to a +dance; most happy, however, of all will he be whose wedding gifts have +been the richest, and who takes you to his own home. I never yet saw any +one so beautiful, neither man nor woman, and am lost in admiration as I +behold you. I can only compare you to a young palm tree which I saw when +I was at Delos growing near the altar of Apollo--for I was there, too, +with much people after me, when I was on that journey which has been the +source of all my troubles. Never yet did such a young plant shoot out +of the ground as that was, and I admired and wondered at it exactly as I +now admire and wonder at yourself. I dare not clasp your knees, but I +am in great distress; yesterday made the twentieth day that I had been +tossing about upon the sea. The winds and waves have taken me all the +way from the Ogygian island, {55} and now fate has flung me upon this +coast that I may endure still further suffering; for I do not think that +I have yet come to the end of it, but rather that heaven has still much +evil in store for me. + +"And now, O queen, have pity upon me, for you are the first person I +have met, and I know no one else in this country. Show me the way to +your town, and let me have anything that you may have brought hither to +wrap your clothes in. May heaven grant you in all things your heart's +desire--husband, house, and a happy, peaceful home; for there is nothing +better in this world than that man and wife should be of one mind in a +house. It discomfits their enemies, makes the hearts of their friends +glad, and they themselves know more about it than any one." + +To this Nausicaa answered, "Stranger, you appear to be a sensible, +well-disposed person. There is no accounting for luck; Jove gives +prosperity to rich and poor just as he chooses, so you must take what +he has seen fit to send you, and make the best of it. Now, however, that +you have come to this our country, you shall not want for clothes nor +for anything else that a foreigner in distress may reasonably look for. +I will show you the way to the town, and will tell you the name of our +people; we are called Phaeacians, and I am daughter to Alcinous, in whom +the whole power of the state is vested." + +Then she called her maids and said, "Stay where you are, you girls. Can +you not see a man without running away from him? Do you take him for a +robber or a murderer? Neither he nor any one else can come here to do +us Phaeacians any harm, for we are dear to the gods, and live apart on a +land's end that juts into the sounding sea, and have nothing to do with +any other people. This is only some poor man who has lost his way, and +we must be kind to him, for strangers and foreigners in distress +are under Jove's protection, and will take what they can get and be +thankful; so, girls, give the poor fellow something to eat and drink, +and wash him in the stream at some place that is sheltered from the +wind." + +On this the maids left off running away and began calling one another +back. They made Ulysses sit down in the shelter as Nausicaa had told +them, and brought him a shirt and cloak. They also brought him the +little golden cruse of oil, and told him to go and wash in the stream. +But Ulysses said, "Young women, please to stand a little on one side +that I may wash the brine from my shoulders and anoint myself with oil, +for it is long enough since my skin has had a drop of oil upon it. I +cannot wash as long as you all keep standing there. I am ashamed to +strip {56} before a number of good looking young women." + +Then they stood on one side and went to tell the girl, while Ulysses +washed himself in the stream and scrubbed the brine from his back and +from his broad shoulders. When he had thoroughly washed himself, and had +got the brine out of his hair, he anointed himself with oil, and put +on the clothes which the girl had given him; Minerva then made him look +taller and stronger than before, she also made the hair grow thick on +the top of his head, and flow down in curls like hyacinth blossoms; she +glorified him about the head and shoulders as a skilful workman who has +studied art of all kinds under Vulcan and Minerva enriches a piece of +silver plate by gilding it--and his work is full of beauty. Then he went +and sat down a little way off upon the beach, looking quite young and +handsome, and the girl gazed on him with admiration; then she said to +her maids: + +"Hush, my dears, for I want to say something. I believe the gods who +live in heaven have sent this man to the Phaeacians. When I first saw +him I thought him plain, but now his appearance is like that of the gods +who dwell in heaven. I should like my future husband to be just such +another as he is, if he would only stay here and not want to go away. +However, give him something to eat and drink." + +They did as they were told, and set food before Ulysses, who ate and +drank ravenously, for it was long since he had had food of any kind. +Meanwhile, Nausicaa bethought her of another matter. She got the linen +folded and placed in the waggon, she then yoked the mules, and, as she +took her seat, she called Ulysses: + +"Stranger," said she, "rise and let us be going back to the town; I will +introduce you at the house of my excellent father, where I can tell you +that you will meet all the best people among the Phaeacians. But be sure +and do as I bid you, for you seem to be a sensible person. As long as +we are going past the fields and farm lands, follow briskly behind the +waggon along with the maids and I will lead the way myself. Presently, +however, we shall come to the town, where you will find a high wall +running all round it, and a good harbour on either side with a narrow +entrance into the city, and the ships will be drawn up by the road side, +for every one has a place where his own ship can lie. You will see the +market place with a temple of Neptune in the middle of it, and paved +with large stones bedded in the earth. Here people deal in ship's gear +of all kinds, such as cables and sails, and here, too, are the places +where oars are made, for the Phaeacians are not a nation of archers; +they know nothing about bows and arrows, but are a sea-faring folk, and +pride themselves on their masts, oars, and ships, with which they travel +far over the sea. + +"I am afraid of the gossip and scandal that may be set on foot against +me later on; for the people here are very ill-natured, and some low +fellow, if he met us, might say, 'Who is this fine-looking stranger that +is going about with Nausicaa? Where did she find him? I suppose she is +going to marry him. Perhaps he is a vagabond sailor whom she has taken +from some foreign vessel, for we have no neighbours; or some god has at +last come down from heaven in answer to her prayers, and she is going to +live with him all the rest of her life. It would be a good thing if she +would take herself off and find a husband somewhere else, for she will +not look at one of the many excellent young Phaeacians who are in love +with her.' This is the kind of disparaging remark that would be made +about me, and I could not complain, for I should myself be scandalised +at seeing any other girl do the like, and go about with men in spite +of everybody, while her father and mother were still alive, and without +having been married in the face of all the world. + +"If, therefore, you want my father to give you an escort and to help you +home, do as I bid you; you will see a beautiful grove of poplars by the +road side dedicated to Minerva; it has a well in it and a meadow all +round it. Here my father has a field of rich garden ground, about as far +from the town as a man's voice will carry. Sit down there and wait for +a while till the rest of us can get into the town and reach my father's +house. Then, when you think we must have done this, come into the town +and ask the way to the house of my father Alcinous. You will have no +difficulty in finding it; any child will point it out to you, for no one +else in the whole town has anything like such a fine house as he has. +When you have got past the gates and through the outer court, go right +across the inner court till you come to my mother. You will find her +sitting by the fire and spinning her purple wool by firelight. It is a +fine sight to see her as she leans back against one of the bearing-posts +with her maids all ranged behind her. Close to her seat stands that of +my father, on which he sits and topes like an immortal god. Never mind +him, but go up to my mother, and lay your hands upon her knees if you +would get home quickly. If you can gain her over, you may hope to see +your own country again, no matter how distant it may be." + +So saying she lashed the mules with her whip and they left the river. +The mules drew well, and their hoofs went up and down upon the road. +She was careful not to go too fast for Ulysses and the maids who were +following on foot along with the waggon, so she plied her whip with +judgement. As the sun was going down they came to the sacred grove of +Minerva, and there Ulysses sat down and prayed to the mighty daughter of +Jove. + +"Hear me," he cried, "daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, hear +me now, for you gave no heed to my prayers when Neptune was wrecking me. +Now, therefore, have pity upon me and grant that I may find friends and +be hospitably received by the Phaeacians." + +Thus did he pray, and Minerva heard his prayer, but she would not show +herself to him openly, for she was afraid of her uncle Neptune, who was +still furious in his endeavors to prevent Ulysses from getting home. + + +Book VII + +RECEPTION OF ULYSSES AT THE PALACE OF KING ALCINOUS. + +Thus, then, did Ulysses wait and pray; but the girl drove on to the +town. When she reached her father's house she drew up at the gateway, +and her brothers--comely as the gods--gathered round her, took the mules +out of the waggon, and carried the clothes into the house, while she +went to her own room, where an old servant, Eurymedusa of Apeira, lit +the fire for her. This old woman had been brought by sea from Apeira, +and had been chosen as a prize for Alcinous because he was king over the +Phaeacians, and the people obeyed him as though he were a god. {57} +She had been nurse to Nausicaa, and had now lit the fire for her, and +brought her supper for her into her own room. + +Presently Ulysses got up to go towards the town; and Minerva shed a +thick mist all round him to hide him in case any of the proud Phaeacians +who met him should be rude to him, or ask him who he was. Then, as he +was just entering the town, she came towards him in the likeness of a +little girl carrying a pitcher. She stood right in front of him, and +Ulysses said: + +"My dear, will you be so kind as to show me the house of king Alcinous? +I am an unfortunate foreigner in distress, and do not know one in your +town and country." + +Then Minerva said, "Yes, father stranger, I will show you the house you +want, for Alcinous lives quite close to my own father. I will go before +you and show the way, but say not a word as you go, and do not look +at any man, nor ask him questions; for the people here cannot abide +strangers, and do not like men who come from some other place. They are +a sea-faring folk, and sail the seas by the grace of Neptune in ships +that glide along like thought, or as a bird in the air." + +On this she led the way, and Ulysses followed in her steps; but not one +of the Phaeacians could see him as he passed through the city in the +midst of them; for the great goddess Minerva in her good will towards +him had hidden him in a thick cloud of darkness. He admired their +harbours, ships, places of assembly, and the lofty walls of the city, +which, with the palisade on top of them, were very striking, and when +they reached the king's house Minerva said: + +"This is the house, father stranger, which you would have me show you. +You will find a number of great people sitting at table, but do not be +afraid; go straight in, for the bolder a man is the more likely he is to +carry his point, even though he is a stranger. First find the queen. Her +name is Arete, and she comes of the same family as her husband Alcinous. +They both descend originally from Neptune, who was father to Nausithous +by Periboea, a woman of great beauty. Periboea was the youngest daughter +of Eurymedon, who at one time reigned over the giants, but he ruined his +ill-fated people and lost his own life to boot. + +"Neptune, however, lay with his daughter, and she had a son by him, the +great Nausithous, who reigned over the Phaeacians. Nausithous had two +sons Rhexenor and Alcinous; {58} Apollo killed the first of them while +he was still a bridegroom and without male issue; but he left a daughter +Arete, whom Alcinous married, and honours as no other woman is honoured +of all those that keep house along with their husbands. + +"Thus she both was, and still is, respected beyond measure by her +children, by Alcinous himself, and by the whole people, who look upon +her as a goddess, and greet her whenever she goes about the city, for +she is a thoroughly good woman both in head and heart, and when any +women are friends of hers, she will help their husbands also to settle +their disputes. If you can gain her good will, you may have every hope +of seeing your friends again, and getting safely back to your home and +country." + +Then Minerva left Scheria and went away over the sea. She went to +Marathon {59} and to the spacious streets of Athens, where she entered +the abode of Erechtheus; but Ulysses went on to the house of Alcinous, +and he pondered much as he paused a while before reaching the threshold +of bronze, for the splendour of the palace was like that of the sun or +moon. The walls on either side were of bronze from end to end, and the +cornice was of blue enamel. The doors were gold, and hung on pillars of +silver that rose from a floor of bronze, while the lintel was silver and +the hook of the door was of gold. + +On either side there stood gold and silver mastiffs which Vulcan, with +his consummate skill, had fashioned expressly to keep watch over the +palace of king Alcinous; so they were immortal and could never grow old. +Seats were ranged all along the wall, here and there from one end to the +other, with coverings of fine woven work which the women of the house +had made. Here the chief persons of the Phaeacians used to sit and eat +and drink, for there was abundance at all seasons; and there were golden +figures of young men with lighted torches in their hands, raised on +pedestals, to give light by night to those who were at table. There are +{60} fifty maid servants in the house, some of whom are always grinding +rich yellow grain at the mill, while others work at the loom, or sit and +spin, and their shuttles go backwards and forwards like the fluttering +of aspen leaves, while the linen is so closely woven that it will turn +oil. As the Phaeacians are the best sailors in the world, so their women +excel all others in weaving, for Minerva has taught them all manner of +useful arts, and they are very intelligent. + +Outside the gate of the outer court there is a large garden of +about four acres with a wall all round it. It is full of beautiful +trees--pears, pomegranates, and the most delicious apples. There are +luscious figs also, and olives in full growth. The fruits never rot nor +fail all the year round, neither winter nor summer, for the air is so +soft that a new crop ripens before the old has dropped. Pear grows on +pear, apple on apple, and fig on fig, and so also with the grapes, for +there is an excellent vineyard: on the level ground of a part of this, +the grapes are being made into raisins; in another part they are being +gathered; some are being trodden in the wine tubs, others further on +have shed their blossom and are beginning to show fruit, others again +are just changing colour. In the furthest part of the ground there are +beautifully arranged beds of flowers that are in bloom all the year +round. Two streams go through it, the one turned in ducts throughout the +whole garden, while the other is carried under the ground of the outer +court to the house itself, and the town's people draw water from it. +Such, then, were the splendours with which the gods had endowed the +house of king Alcinous. + +So here Ulysses stood for a while and looked about him, but when he +had looked long enough he crossed the threshold and went within the +precincts of the house. There he found all the chief people among the +Phaeacians making their drink offerings to Mercury, which they always +did the last thing before going away for the night. {61} He went +straight through the court, still hidden by the cloak of darkness +in which Minerva had enveloped him, till he reached Arete and King +Alcinous; then he laid his hands upon the knees of the queen, and at +that moment the miraculous darkness fell away from him and he became +visible. Every one was speechless with surprise at seeing a man there, +but Ulysses began at once with his petition. + +"Queen Arete," he exclaimed, "daughter of great Rhexenor, in my distress +I humbly pray you, as also your husband and these your guests (whom may +heaven prosper with long life and happiness, and may they leave their +possessions to their children, and all the honours conferred upon them +by the state) to help me home to my own country as soon as possible; for +I have been long in trouble and away from my friends." + +Then he sat down on the hearth among the ashes and they all held their +peace, till presently the old hero Echeneus, who was an excellent +speaker and an elder among the Phaeacians, plainly and in all honesty +addressed them thus: + +"Alcinous," said he, "it is not creditable to you that a stranger should +be seen sitting among the ashes of your hearth; every one is waiting to +hear what you are about to say; tell him, then, to rise and take a seat +on a stool inlaid with silver, and bid your servants mix some wine and +water that we may make a drink offering to Jove the lord of thunder, +who takes all well disposed suppliants under his protection; and let +the housekeeper give him some supper, of whatever there may be in the +house." + +When Alcinous heard this he took Ulysses by the hand, raised him from +the hearth, and bade him take the seat of Laodamas, who had been sitting +beside him, and was his favourite son. A maid servant then brought him +water in a beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for +him to wash his hands, and she drew a clean table beside him; an upper +servant brought him bread and offered him many good things of what there +was in the house, and Ulysses ate and drank. Then Alcinous said to one +of the servants, "Pontonous, mix a cup of wine and hand it round that +we may make drink-offerings to Jove the lord of thunder, who is the +protector of all well-disposed suppliants." + +Pontonous then mixed wine and water, and handed it round after giving +every man his drink-offering. When they had made their offerings, and +had drunk each as much as he was minded, Alcinous said: + +"Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, hear my words. You +have had your supper, so now go home to bed. To-morrow morning I shall +invite a still larger number of aldermen, and will give a sacrificial +banquet in honour of our guest; we can then discuss the question of his +escort, and consider how we may at once send him back rejoicing to his +own country without trouble or inconvenience to himself, no matter how +distant it may be. We must see that he comes to no harm while on his +homeward journey, but when he is once at home he will have to take +the luck he was born with for better or worse like other people. It is +possible, however, that the stranger is one of the immortals who +has come down from heaven to visit us; but in this case the gods +are departing from their usual practice, for hitherto they have made +themselves perfectly clear to us when we have been offering them +hecatombs. They come and sit at our feasts just like one of our selves, +and if any solitary wayfarer happens to stumble upon some one or other +of them, they affect no concealment, for we are as near of kin to the +gods as the Cyclopes and the savage giants are." {62} + +Then Ulysses said: "Pray, Alcinous, do not take any such notion into +your head. I have nothing of the immortal about me, neither in body +nor mind, and most resemble those among you who are the most afflicted. +Indeed, were I to tell you all that heaven has seen fit to lay upon me, +you would say that I was still worse off than they are. Nevertheless, +let me sup in spite of sorrow, for an empty stomach is a very +importunate thing, and thrusts itself on a man's notice no matter how +dire is his distress. I am in great trouble, yet it insists that I shall +eat and drink, bids me lay aside all memory of my sorrows and dwell only +on the due replenishing of itself. As for yourselves, do as you propose, +and at break of day set about helping me to get home. I shall be content +to die if I may first once more behold my property, my bondsmen, and all +the greatness of my house." {63} + +Thus did he speak. Every one approved his saying, and agreed that he +should have his escort inasmuch as he had spoken reasonably. Then when +they had made their drink offerings, and had drunk each as much as he +was minded they went home to bed every man in his own abode, leaving +Ulysses in the cloister with Arete and Alcinous while the servants were +taking the things away after supper. Arete was the first to speak, +for she recognised the shirt, cloak, and good clothes that Ulysses +was wearing, as the work of herself and of her maids; so she said, +"Stranger, before we go any further, there is a question I should like +to ask you. Who, and whence are you, and who gave you those clothes? Did +you not say you had come here from beyond the sea?" + +And Ulysses answered, "It would be a long story Madam, were I to relate +in full the tale of my misfortunes, for the hand of heaven has been laid +heavy upon me; but as regards your question, there is an island far away +in the sea which is called 'the Ogygian.' Here dwells the cunning and +powerful goddess Calypso, daughter of Atlas. She lives by herself far +from all neighbours human or divine. Fortune, however, brought me to +her hearth all desolate and alone, for Jove struck my ship with his +thunderbolts, and broke it up in mid-ocean. My brave comrades were +drowned every man of them, but I stuck to the keel and was carried +hither and thither for the space of nine days, till at last during the +darkness of the tenth night the gods brought me to the Ogygian island +where the great goddess Calypso lives. She took me in and treated me +with the utmost kindness; indeed she wanted to make me immortal that I +might never grow old, but she could not persuade me to let her do so. + +"I stayed with Calypso seven years straight on end, and watered the good +clothes she gave me with my tears during the whole time; but at last +when the eighth year came round she bade me depart of her own free will, +either because Jove had told her she must, or because she had changed +her mind. She sent me from her island on a raft, which she provisioned +with abundance of bread and wine. Moreover she gave me good stout +clothing, and sent me a wind that blew both warm and fair. Days seven +and ten did I sail over the sea, and on the eighteenth I caught sight of +the first outlines of the mountains upon your coast--and glad indeed was +I to set eyes upon them. Nevertheless there was still much trouble in +store for me, for at this point Neptune would let me go no further, and +raised a great storm against me; the sea was so terribly high that I +could no longer keep to my raft, which went to pieces under the fury of +the gale, and I had to swim for it, till wind and current brought me to +your shores. + +"There I tried to land, but could not, for it was a bad place and the +waves dashed me against the rocks, so I again took to the sea and swam +on till I came to a river that seemed the most likely landing place, for +there were no rocks and it was sheltered from the wind. Here, then, I +got out of the water and gathered my senses together again. Night was +coming on, so I left the river, and went into a thicket, where I covered +myself all over with leaves, and presently heaven sent me off into a +very deep sleep. Sick and sorry as I was I slept among the leaves all +night, and through the next day till afternoon, when I woke as the sun +was westering, and saw your daughter's maid servants playing upon the +beach, and your daughter among them looking like a goddess. I besought +her aid, and she proved to be of an excellent disposition, much more so +than could be expected from so young a person--for young people are apt +to be thoughtless. She gave me plenty of bread and wine, and when she +had had me washed in the river she also gave me the clothes in which you +see me. Now, therefore, though it has pained me to do so, I have told +you the whole truth." + +Then Alcinous said, "Stranger, it was very wrong of my daughter not to +bring you on at once to my house along with the maids, seeing that she +was the first person whose aid you asked." + +"Pray do not scold her," replied Ulysses; "she is not to blame. She did +tell me to follow along with the maids, but I was ashamed and afraid, +for I thought you might perhaps be displeased if you saw me. Every human +being is sometimes a little suspicious and irritable." + +"Stranger," replied Alcinous, "I am not the kind of man to get angry +about nothing; it is always better to be reasonable; but by Father Jove, +Minerva, and Apollo, now that I see what kind of person you are, and how +much you think as I do, I wish you would stay here, marry my daughter, +and become my son-in-law. If you will stay I will give you a house and +an estate, but no one (heaven forbid) shall keep you here against your +own wish, and that you may be sure of this I will attend tomorrow to the +matter of your escort. You can sleep {64} during the whole voyage if you +like, and the men shall sail you over smooth waters either to your own +home, or wherever you please, even though it be a long way further +off than Euboea, which those of my people who saw it when they took +yellow-haired Rhadamanthus to see Tityus the son of Gaia, tell me is the +furthest of any place--and yet they did the whole voyage in a single day +without distressing themselves, and came back again afterwards. You +will thus see how much my ships excel all others, and what magnificent +oarsmen my sailors are." + +Then was Ulysses glad and prayed aloud saying, "Father Jove, grant that +Alcinous may do all as he has said, for so he will win an imperishable +name among mankind, and at the same time I shall return to my country." + +Thus did they converse. Then Arete told her maids to set a bed in the +room that was in the gatehouse, and make it with good red rugs, and to +spread coverlets on the top of them with woollen cloaks for Ulysses to +wear. The maids thereon went out with torches in their hands, and when +they had made the bed they came up to Ulysses and said, "Rise, sir +stranger, and come with us for your bed is ready," and glad indeed was +he to go to his rest. + +So Ulysses slept in a bed placed in a room over the echoing gateway; but +Alcinous lay in the inner part of the house, with the queen his wife by +his side. + + +Book VIII + +BANQUET IN THE HOUSE OF ALCINOUS--THE GAMES. + +Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Alcinous +and Ulysses both rose, and Alcinous led the way to the Phaeacian place +of assembly, which was near the ships. When they got there they sat down +side by side on a seat of polished stone, while Minerva took the form +of one of Alcinous' servants, and went round the town in order to help +Ulysses to get home. She went up to the citizens, man by man, and said, +"Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, come to the assembly +all of you and listen to the stranger who has just come off a long +voyage to the house of King Alcinous; he looks like an immortal god." + +With these words she made them all want to come, and they flocked to the +assembly till seats and standing room were alike crowded. Every one was +struck with the appearance of Ulysses, for Minerva had beautified him +about the head and shoulders, making him look taller and stouter than he +really was, that he might impress the Phaeacians favourably as being a +very remarkable man, and might come off well in the many trials of skill +to which they would challenge him. Then, when they were got together, +Alcinous spoke: + +"Hear me," said he, "aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, +that I may speak even as I am minded. This stranger, whoever he may be, +has found his way to my house from somewhere or other either East or +West. He wants an escort and wishes to have the matter settled. Let +us then get one ready for him, as we have done for others before him; +indeed, no one who ever yet came to my house has been able to complain +of me for not speeding on his way soon enough. Let us draw a ship into +the sea--one that has never yet made a voyage--and man her with two and +fifty of our smartest young sailors. Then when you have made fast +your oars each by his own seat, leave the ship and come to my house to +prepare a feast. {65} I will find you in everything. I am giving these +instructions to the young men who will form the crew, for as regards +you aldermen and town councillors, you will join me in entertaining +our guest in the cloisters. I can take no excuses, and we will have +Demodocus to sing to us; for there is no bard like him whatever he may +choose to sing about." + +Alcinous then led the way, and the others followed after, while a +servant went to fetch Demodocus. The fifty-two picked oarsmen went to +the sea shore as they had been told, and when they got there they drew +the ship into the water, got her mast and sails inside her, bound +the oars to the thole-pins with twisted thongs of leather, all in due +course, and spread the white sails aloft. They moored the vessel a +little way out from land, and then came on shore and went to the house +of King Alcinous. The out houses, {66} yards, and all the precincts were +filled with crowds of men in great multitudes both old and young; and +Alcinous killed them a dozen sheep, eight full grown pigs, and two oxen. +These they skinned and dressed so as to provide a magnificent banquet. + +A servant presently led in the famous bard Demodocus, whom the muse had +dearly loved, but to whom she had given both good and evil, for though +she had endowed him with a divine gift of song, she had robbed him of +his eyesight. Pontonous set a seat for him among the guests, leaning it +up against a bearing-post. He hung the lyre for him on a peg over his +head, and showed him where he was to feel for it with his hands. He also +set a fair table with a basket of victuals by his side, and a cup of +wine from which he might drink whenever he was so disposed. + +The company then laid their hands upon the good things that were before +them, but as soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, the muse +inspired Demodocus to sing the feats of heroes, and more especially +a matter that was then in the mouths of all men, to wit, the quarrel +between Ulysses and Achilles, and the fierce words that they heaped on +one another as they sat together at a banquet. But Agamemnon was glad +when he heard his chieftains quarrelling with one another, for Apollo +had foretold him this at Pytho when he crossed the stone floor to +consult the oracle. Here was the beginning of the evil that by the will +of Jove fell both upon Danaans and Trojans. + +Thus sang the bard, but Ulysses drew his purple mantle over his head and +covered his face, for he was ashamed to let the Phaeacians see that he +was weeping. When the bard left off singing he wiped the tears from his +eyes, uncovered his face, and, taking his cup, made a drink-offering to +the gods; but when the Phaeacians pressed Demodocus to sing further, for +they delighted in his lays, then Ulysses again drew his mantle over his +head and wept bitterly. No one noticed his distress except Alcinous, who +was sitting near him, and heard the heavy sighs that he was heaving. So +he at once said, "Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, we +have had enough now, both of the feast, and of the minstrelsy that is +its due accompaniment; let us proceed therefore to the athletic sports, +so that our guest on his return home may be able to tell his friends +how much we surpass all other nations as boxers, wrestlers, jumpers, and +runners." + +With these words he led the way, and the others followed after. A +servant hung Demodocus's lyre on its peg for him, led him out of the +cloister, and set him on the same way as that along which all the chief +men of the Phaeacians were going to see the sports; a crowd of several +thousands of people followed them, and there were many excellent +competitors for all the prizes. Acroneos, Ocyalus, Elatreus, Nauteus, +Prymneus, Anchialus, Eretmeus, Ponteus, Proreus, Thoon, Anabesineus, and +Amphialus son of Polyneus son of Tecton. There was also Euryalus son of +Naubolus, who was like Mars himself, and was the best looking man +among the Phaeacians except Laodamas. Three sons of Alcinous, Laodamas, +Halios, and Clytoneus, competed also. + +The foot races came first. The course was set out for them from the +starting post, and they raised a dust upon the plain as they all flew +forward at the same moment. Clytoneus came in first by a long way; he +left every one else behind him by the length of the furrow that a couple +of mules can plough in a fallow field. {67} They then turned to the +painful art of wrestling, and here Euryalus proved to be the best man. +Amphialus excelled all the others in jumping, while at throwing the disc +there was no one who could approach Elatreus. Alcinous's son Laodamas +was the best boxer, and he it was who presently said, when they had all +been diverted with the games, "Let us ask the stranger whether he excels +in any of these sports; he seems very powerfully built; his thighs, +calves, hands, and neck are of prodigious strength, nor is he at all +old, but he has suffered much lately, and there is nothing like the sea +for making havoc with a man, no matter how strong he is." + +"You are quite right, Laodamas," replied Euryalus, "go up to your guest +and speak to him about it yourself." + +When Laodamas heard this he made his way into the middle of the crowd +and said to Ulysses, "I hope, Sir, that you will enter yourself for some +one or other of our competitions if you are skilled in any of them--and +you must have gone in for many a one before now. There is nothing that +does any one so much credit all his life long as the showing himself a +proper man with his hands and feet. Have a try therefore at something, +and banish all sorrow from your mind. Your return home will not be long +delayed, for the ship is already drawn into the water, and the crew is +found." + +Ulysses answered, "Laodamas, why do you taunt me in this way? my mind is +set rather on cares than contests; I have been through infinite trouble, +and am come among you now as a suppliant, praying your king and people +to further me on my return home." + +Then Euryalus reviled him outright and said, "I gather, then, that you +are unskilled in any of the many sports that men generally delight in. I +suppose you are one of those grasping traders that go about in ships +as captains or merchants, and who think of nothing but of their outward +freights and homeward cargoes. There does not seem to be much of the +athlete about you." + +"For shame, Sir," answered Ulysses, fiercely, "you are an insolent +fellow--so true is it that the gods do not grace all men alike in +speech, person, and understanding. One man may be of weak presence, but +heaven has adorned this with such a good conversation that he charms +every one who sees him; his honeyed moderation carries his hearers with +him so that he is leader in all assemblies of his fellows, and wherever +he goes he is looked up to. Another may be as handsome as a god, but his +good looks are not crowned with discretion. This is your case. No god +could make a finer looking fellow than you are, but you are a fool. Your +ill-judged remarks have made me exceedingly angry, and you are quite +mistaken, for I excel in a great many athletic exercises; indeed, so +long as I had youth and strength, I was among the first athletes of the +age. Now, however, I am worn out by labour and sorrow, for I have gone +through much both on the field of battle and by the waves of the weary +sea; still, in spite of all this I will compete, for your taunts have +stung me to the quick." + +So he hurried up without even taking his cloak off, and seized a disc, +larger, more massive and much heavier than those used by the Phaeacians +when disc-throwing among themselves. {68} Then, swinging it back, he +threw it from his brawny hand, and it made a humming sound in the air as +he did so. The Phaeacians quailed beneath the rushing of its flight as +it sped gracefully from his hand, and flew beyond any mark that had been +made yet. Minerva, in the form of a man, came and marked the place where +it had fallen. "A blind man, Sir," said she, "could easily tell your +mark by groping for it--it is so far ahead of any other. You may make +your mind easy about this contest, for no Phaeacian can come near to +such a throw as yours." + +Ulysses was glad when he found he had a friend among the lookers-on, +so he began to speak more pleasantly. "Young men," said he, "come up to +that throw if you can, and I will throw another disc as heavy or even +heavier. If anyone wants to have a bout with me let him come on, for I +am exceedingly angry; I will box, wrestle, or run, I do not care what it +is, with any man of you all except Laodamas, but not with him because I +am his guest, and one cannot compete with one's own personal friend. +At least I do not think it a prudent or a sensible thing for a guest +to challenge his host's family at any game, especially when he is in a +foreign country. He will cut the ground from under his own feet if he +does; but I make no exception as regards any one else, for I want to +have the matter out and know which is the best man. I am a good hand +at every kind of athletic sport known among mankind. I am an excellent +archer. In battle I am always the first to bring a man down with my +arrow, no matter how many more are taking aim at him alongside of me. +Philoctetes was the only man who could shoot better than I could when we +Achaeans were before Troy and in practice. I far excel every one else +in the whole world, of those who still eat bread upon the face of the +earth, but I should not like to shoot against the mighty dead, such as +Hercules, or Eurytus the Oechalian--men who could shoot against the gods +themselves. This in fact was how Eurytus came prematurely by his end, +for Apollo was angry with him and killed him because he challenged him +as an archer. I can throw a dart farther than any one else can shoot an +arrow. Running is the only point in respect of which I am afraid some of +the Phaeacians might beat me, for I have been brought down very low at +sea; my provisions ran short, and therefore I am still weak." + +They all held their peace except King Alcinous, who began, "Sir, we have +had much pleasure in hearing all that you have told us, from which I +understand that you are willing to show your prowess, as having been +displeased with some insolent remarks that have been made to you by one +of our athletes, and which could never have been uttered by any one who +knows how to talk with propriety. I hope you will apprehend my meaning, +and will explain to any one of your chief men who may be dining with +yourself and your family when you get home, that we have an hereditary +aptitude for accomplishments of all kinds. We are not particularly +remarkable for our boxing, nor yet as wrestlers, but we are singularly +fleet of foot and are excellent sailors. We are extremely fond of good +dinners, music, and dancing; we also like frequent changes of linen, +warm baths, and good beds, so now, please, some of you who are the best +dancers set about dancing, that our guest on his return home may be able +to tell his friends how much we surpass all other nations as sailors, +runners, dancers, and minstrels. Demodocus has left his lyre at my +house, so run some one or other of you and fetch it for him." + +On this a servant hurried off to bring the lyre from the king's house, +and the nine men who had been chosen as stewards stood forward. It was +their business to manage everything connected with the sports, so +they made the ground smooth and marked a wide space for the dancers. +Presently the servant came back with Demodocus's lyre, and he took his +place in the midst of them, whereon the best young dancers in the town +began to foot and trip it so nimbly that Ulysses was delighted with the +merry twinkling of their feet. + +Meanwhile the bard began to sing the loves of Mars and Venus, and how +they first began their intrigue in the house of Vulcan. Mars made Venus +many presents, and defiled King Vulcan's marriage bed, so the sun, who +saw what they were about, told Vulcan. Vulcan was very angry when he +heard such dreadful news, so he went to his smithy brooding mischief, +got his great anvil into its place, and began to forge some chains which +none could either unloose or break, so that they might stay there in +that place. {69} When he had finished his snare he went into his bedroom +and festooned the bed-posts all over with chains like cobwebs; he also +let many hang down from the great beam of the ceiling. Not even a god +could see them so fine and subtle were they. As soon as he had spread +the chains all over the bed, he made as though he were setting out for +the fair state of Lemnos, which of all places in the world was the one +he was most fond of. But Mars kept no blind look out, and as soon as he +saw him start, hurried off to his house, burning with love for Venus. + +Now Venus was just come in from a visit to her father Jove, and was +about sitting down when Mars came inside the house, and said as he took +her hand in his own, "Let us go to the couch of Vulcan: he is not at +home, but is gone off to Lemnos among the Sintians, whose speech is +barbarous." + +She was nothing loth, so they went to the couch to take their rest, +whereon they were caught in the toils which cunning Vulcan had spread +for them, and could neither get up nor stir hand or foot, but found too +late that they were in a trap. Then Vulcan came up to them, for he had +turned back before reaching Lemnos, when his scout the sun told him what +was going on. He was in a furious passion, and stood in the vestibule +making a dreadful noise as he shouted to all the gods. + +"Father Jove," he cried, "and all you other blessed gods who live for +ever, come here and see the ridiculous and disgraceful sight that I will +show you. Jove's daughter Venus is always dishonouring me because I am +lame. She is in love with Mars, who is handsome and clean built, whereas +I am a cripple--but my parents are to blame for that, not I; they ought +never to have begotten me. Come and see the pair together asleep on +my bed. It makes me furious to look at them. They are very fond of one +another, but I do not think they will lie there longer than they can +help, nor do I think that they will sleep much; there, however, they +shall stay till her father has repaid me the sum I gave him for his +baggage of a daughter, who is fair but not honest." + +On this the gods gathered to the house of Vulcan. Earth-encircling +Neptune came, and Mercury the bringer of luck, and King Apollo, but the +goddesses staid at home all of them for shame. Then the givers of all +good things stood in the doorway, and the blessed gods roared with +inextinguishable laughter, as they saw how cunning Vulcan had been, +whereon one would turn towards his neighbour saying: + +"Ill deeds do not prosper, and the weak confound the strong. See how +limping Vulcan, lame as he is, has caught Mars who is the fleetest god +in heaven; and now Mars will be cast in heavy damages." + +Thus did they converse, but King Apollo said to Mercury, "Messenger +Mercury, giver of good things, you would not care how strong the chains +were, would you, if you could sleep with Venus?" + +"King Apollo," answered Mercury, "I only wish I might get the chance, +though there were three times as many chains--and you might look on, all +of you, gods and goddesses, but I would sleep with her if I could." + +The immortal gods burst out laughing as they heard him, but Neptune took +it all seriously, and kept on imploring Vulcan to set Mars free again. +"Let him go," he cried, "and I will undertake, as you require, that +he shall pay you all the damages that are held reasonable among the +immortal gods." + +"Do not," replied Vulcan, "ask me to do this; a bad man's bond is bad +security; what remedy could I enforce against you if Mars should go away +and leave his debts behind him along with his chains?" + +"Vulcan," said Neptune, "if Mars goes away without paying his damages, +I will pay you myself." So Vulcan answered, "In this case I cannot and +must not refuse you." + +Thereon he loosed the bonds that bound them, and as soon as they were +free they scampered off, Mars to Thrace and laughter-loving Venus to +Cyprus and to Paphos, where is her grove and her altar fragrant with +burnt offerings. Here the Graces bathed her, and anointed her with oil +of ambrosia such as the immortal gods make use of, and they clothed her +in raiment of the most enchanting beauty. + +Thus sang the bard, and both Ulysses and the seafaring Phaeacians were +charmed as they heard him. + +Then Alcinous told Laodamas and Halius to dance alone, for there was no +one to compete with them. So they took a red ball which Polybus had made +for them, and one of them bent himself backwards and threw it up towards +the clouds, while the other jumped from off the ground and caught it +with ease before it came down again. When they had done throwing the +ball straight up into the air they began to dance, and at the same time +kept on throwing it backwards and forwards to one another, while all +the young men in the ring applauded and made a great stamping with their +feet. Then Ulysses said: + +"King Alcinous, you said your people were the nimblest dancers in the +world, and indeed they have proved themselves to be so. I was astonished +as I saw them." + +The king was delighted at this, and exclaimed to the Phaeacians, +"Aldermen and town councillors, our guest seems to be a person of +singular judgement; let us give him such proof of our hospitality as +he may reasonably expect. There are twelve chief men among you, and +counting myself there are thirteen; contribute, each of you, a clean +cloak, a shirt, and a talent of fine gold; let us give him all this in +a lump down at once, so that when he gets his supper he may do so with a +light heart. As for Euryalus he will have to make a formal apology and a +present too, for he has been rude." + +Thus did he speak. The others all of them applauded his saying, and +sent their servants to fetch the presents. Then Euryalus said, "King +Alcinous, I will give the stranger all the satisfaction you require. He +shall have my sword, which is of bronze, all but the hilt, which is of +silver. I will also give him the scabbard of newly sawn ivory into which +it fits. It will be worth a great deal to him." + +As he spoke he placed the sword in the hands of Ulysses and said, "Good +luck to you, father stranger; if anything has been said amiss may the +winds blow it away with them, and may heaven grant you a safe return, +for I understand you have been long away from home, and have gone +through much hardship." + +To which Ulysses answered, "Good luck to you too my friend, and may the +gods grant you every happiness. I hope you will not miss the sword you +have given me along with your apology." + +With these words he girded the sword about his shoulders and towards +sundown the presents began to make their appearance, as the servants of +the donors kept bringing them to the house of King Alcinous; here his +sons received them, and placed them under their mother's charge. Then +Alcinous led the way to the house and bade his guests take their seats. + +"Wife," said he, turning to Queen Arete, "Go, fetch the best chest we +have, and put a clean cloak and shirt in it. Also, set a copper on the +fire and heat some water; our guest will take a warm bath; see also to +the careful packing of the presents that the noble Phaeacians have made +him; he will thus better enjoy both his supper and the singing that +will follow. I shall myself give him this golden goblet--which is of +exquisite workmanship--that he may be reminded of me for the rest of his +life whenever he makes a drink offering to Jove, or to any of the gods." +{70} + +Then Arete told her maids to set a large tripod upon the fire as fast as +they could, whereon they set a tripod full of bath water on to a clear +fire; they threw on sticks to make it blaze, and the water became hot +as the flame played about the belly of the tripod. {71} Meanwhile Arete +brought a magnificent chest from her own room, and inside it she packed +all the beautiful presents of gold and raiment which the Phaeacians had +brought. Lastly she added a cloak and a good shirt from Alcinous, and +said to Ulysses: + +"See to the lid yourself, and have the whole bound round at once, for +fear any one should rob you by the way when you are asleep in your +ship." {72} + +When Ulysses heard this he put the lid on the chest and made it fast +with a bond that Circe had taught him. He had done so before an upper +servant told him to come to the bath and wash himself. He was very glad +of a warm bath, for he had had no one to wait upon him ever since he +left the house of Calypso, who as long as he remained with her had taken +as good care of him as though he had been a god. When the servants had +done washing and anointing him with oil, and had given him a clean cloak +and shirt, he left the bath room and joined the guests who were sitting +over their wine. Lovely Nausicaa stood by one of the bearing-posts +supporting the roof of the cloister, and admired him as she saw him +pass. "Farewell stranger," said she, "do not forget me when you are safe +at home again, for it is to me first that you owe a ransom for having +saved your life." + +And Ulysses said, "Nausicaa, daughter of great Alcinous, may Jove the +mighty husband of Juno, grant that I may reach my home; so shall I bless +you as my guardian angel all my days, for it was you who saved me." + +When he had said this, he seated himself beside Alcinous. Supper was +then served, and the wine was mixed for drinking. A servant led in the +favourite bard Demodocus, and set him in the midst of the company, near +one of the bearing-posts supporting the cloister, that he might lean +against it. Then Ulysses cut off a piece of roast pork with plenty of +fat (for there was abundance left on the joint) and said to a servant, +"Take this piece of pork over to Demodocus and tell him to eat it; for +all the pain his lays may cause me I will salute him none the less; +bards are honoured and respected throughout the world, for the muse +teaches them their songs and loves them." + +The servant carried the pork in his fingers over to Demodocus, who took +it and was very much pleased. They then laid their hands on the good +things that were before them, and as soon as they had had to eat and +drink, Ulysses said to Demodocus, "Demodocus, there is no one in the +world whom I admire more than I do you. You must have studied under the +Muse, Jove's daughter, and under Apollo, so accurately do you sing the +return of the Achaeans with all their sufferings and adventures. If you +were not there yourself, you must have heard it all from some one who +was. Now, however, change your song and tell us of the wooden horse +which Epeus made with the assistance of Minerva, and which Ulysses got +by stratagem into the fort of Troy after freighting it with the men who +afterwards sacked the city. If you will sing this tale aright I will +tell all the world how magnificently heaven has endowed you." + +The bard inspired of heaven took up the story at the point where some of +the Argives set fire to their tents and sailed away while others, hidden +within the horse, {73} were waiting with Ulysses in the Trojan place +of assembly. For the Trojans themselves had drawn the horse into their +fortress, and it stood there while they sat in council round it, and +were in three minds as to what they should do. Some were for breaking it +up then and there; others would have it dragged to the top of the rock +on which the fortress stood, and then thrown down the precipice; while +yet others were for letting it remain as an offering and propitiation +for the gods. And this was how they settled it in the end, for the city +was doomed when it took in that horse, within which were all the bravest +of the Argives waiting to bring death and destruction on the Trojans. +Anon he sang how the sons of the Achaeans issued from the horse, and +sacked the town, breaking out from their ambuscade. He sang how they +overran the city hither and thither and ravaged it, and how Ulysses went +raging like Mars along with Menelaus to the house of Deiphobus. It was +there that the fight raged most furiously, nevertheless by Minerva's +help he was victorious. + +All this he told, but Ulysses was overcome as he heard him, and his +cheeks were wet with tears. He wept as a woman weeps when she throws +herself on the body of her husband who has fallen before his own city +and people, fighting bravely in defence of his home and children. She +screams aloud and flings her arms about him as he lies gasping for +breath and dying, but her enemies beat her from behind about the back +and shoulders, and carry her off into slavery, to a life of labour and +sorrow, and the beauty fades from her cheeks--even so piteously did +Ulysses weep, but none of those present perceived his tears except +Alcinous, who was sitting near him, and could hear the sobs and sighs +that he was heaving. The king, therefore, at once rose and said: + +"Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, let Demodocus cease +his song, for there are those present who do not seem to like it. From +the moment that we had done supper and Demodocus began to sing, our +guest has been all the time groaning and lamenting. He is evidently +in great trouble, so let the bard leave off, that we may all enjoy +ourselves, hosts and guest alike. This will be much more as it should +be, for all these festivities, with the escort and the presents that we +are making with so much good will are wholly in his honour, and any +one with even a moderate amount of right feeling knows that he ought to +treat a guest and a suppliant as though he were his own brother. + +"Therefore, Sir, do you on your part affect no more concealment nor +reserve in the matter about which I shall ask you; it will be more +polite in you to give me a plain answer; tell me the name by which your +father and mother over yonder used to call you, and by which you were +known among your neighbours and fellow-citizens. There is no one, +neither rich nor poor, who is absolutely without any name whatever, for +people's fathers and mothers give them names as soon as they are born. +Tell me also your country, nation, and city, that our ships may shape +their purpose accordingly and take you there. For the Phaeacians have +no pilots; their vessels have no rudders as those of other nations have, +but the ships themselves understand what it is that we are thinking +about and want; they know all the cities and countries in the whole +world, and can traverse the sea just as well even when it is covered +with mist and cloud, so that there is no danger of being wrecked or +coming to any harm. Still I do remember hearing my father say that +Neptune was angry with us for being too easy-going in the matter of +giving people escorts. He said that one of these days he should wreck a +ship of ours as it was returning from having escorted some one, {74} and +bury our city under a high mountain. This is what my father used to say, +but whether the god will carry out his threat or no is a matter which he +will decide for himself. + +"And now, tell me and tell me true. Where have you been wandering, and +in what countries have you travelled? Tell us of the peoples themselves, +and of their cities--who were hostile, savage and uncivilised, and who, +on the other hand, hospitable and humane. Tell us also why you are made +so unhappy on hearing about the return of the Argive Danaans from Troy. +The gods arranged all this, and sent them their misfortunes in order +that future generations might have something to sing about. Did you +lose some brave kinsman of your wife's when you were before Troy? a +son-in-law or father-in-law--which are the nearest relations a man has +outside his own flesh and blood? or was it some brave and kindly-natured +comrade--for a good friend is as dear to a man as his own brother?" + + +Book IX + +ULYSSES DECLARES HIMSELF AND BEGINS HIS STORY---THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, +AND CYCLOPES. + + +And Ulysses answered, "King Alcinous, it is a good thing to hear a bard +with such a divine voice as this man has. There is nothing better or +more delightful than when a whole people make merry together, with the +guests sitting orderly to listen, while the table is loaded with bread +and meats, and the cup-bearer draws wine and fills his cup for every +man. This is indeed as fair a sight as a man can see. Now, however, +since you are inclined to ask the story of my sorrows, and rekindle my +own sad memories in respect of them, I do not know how to begin, nor yet +how to continue and conclude my tale, for the hand of heaven has been +laid heavily upon me. + +"Firstly, then, I will tell you my name that you too may know it, and +one day, if I outlive this time of sorrow, may become my guests though I +live so far away from all of you. I am Ulysses son of Laertes, renowned +among mankind for all manner of subtlety, so that my fame ascends to +heaven. I live in Ithaca, where there is a high mountain called Neritum, +covered with forests; and not far from it there is a group of islands +very near to one another--Dulichium, Same, and the wooded island of +Zacynthus. It lies squat on the horizon, all highest up in the sea +towards the sunset, while the others lie away from it towards dawn. {75} +It is a rugged island, but it breeds brave men, and my eyes know none +that they better love to look upon. The goddess Calypso kept me with her +in her cave, and wanted me to marry her, as did also the cunning Aeaean +goddess Circe; but they could neither of them persuade me, for there +is nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents, and +however splendid a home he may have in a foreign country, if it be far +from father or mother, he does not care about it. Now, however, I will +tell you of the many hazardous adventures which by Jove's will I met +with on my return from Troy. + +"When I had set sail thence the wind took me first to Ismarus, which is +the city of the Cicons. There I sacked the town and put the people to +the sword. We took their wives and also much booty, which we divided +equitably amongst us, so that none might have reason to complain. I +then said that we had better make off at once, but my men very foolishly +would not obey me, so they staid there drinking much wine and killing +great numbers of sheep and oxen on the sea shore. Meanwhile the Cicons +cried out for help to other Cicons who lived inland. These were more in +number, and stronger, and they were more skilled in the art of war, +for they could fight, either from chariots or on foot as the occasion +served; in the morning, therefore, they came as thick as leaves and +bloom in summer, and the hand of heaven was against us, so that we were +hard pressed. They set the battle in array near the ships, and the hosts +aimed their bronze-shod spears at one another. {76} So long as the day +waxed and it was still morning, we held our own against them, though +they were more in number than we; but as the sun went down, towards the +time when men loose their oxen, the Cicons got the better of us, and we +lost half a dozen men from every ship we had; so we got away with those +that were left. + +"Thence we sailed onward with sorrow in our hearts, but glad to have +escaped death though we had lost our comrades, nor did we leave till we +had thrice invoked each one of the poor fellows who had perished by the +hands of the Cicons. Then Jove raised the North wind against us till it +blew a hurricane, so that land and sky were hidden in thick clouds, and +night sprang forth out of the heavens. We let the ships run before the +gale, but the force of the wind tore our sails to tatters, so we took +them down for fear of shipwreck, and rowed our hardest towards the land. +There we lay two days and two nights suffering much alike from toil and +distress of mind, but on the morning of the third day we again raised +our masts, set sail, and took our places, letting the wind and steersmen +direct our ship. I should have got home at that time unharmed had not +the North wind and the currents been against me as I was doubling Cape +Malea, and set me off my course hard by the island of Cythera. + +"I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of nine days upon the +sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who +live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take +in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near +the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to +see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had +a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the +Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, +which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about +home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to +them, but were for staying and munching lotus {77} with the Lotus-eaters +without thinking further of their return; nevertheless, though they wept +bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under the +benches. Then I told the rest to go on board at once, lest any of them +should taste of the lotus and leave off wanting to get home, so they +took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars. + +"We sailed hence, always in much distress, till we came to the land of +the lawless and inhuman Cyclopes. Now the Cyclopes neither plant nor +plough, but trust in providence, and live on such wheat, barley, and +grapes as grow wild without any kind of tillage, and their wild grapes +yield them wine as the sun and the rain may grow them. They have no +laws nor assemblies of the people, but live in caves on the tops of +high mountains; each is lord and master in his family, and they take no +account of their neighbours. + +"Now off their harbour there lies a wooded and fertile island not quite +close to the land of the Cyclopes, but still not far. It is over-run +with wild goats, that breed there in great numbers and are never +disturbed by foot of man; for sportsmen--who as a rule will suffer so +much hardship in forest or among mountain precipices--do not go there, +nor yet again is it ever ploughed or fed down, but it lies a wilderness +untilled and unsown from year to year, and has no living thing upon it +but only goats. For the Cyclopes have no ships, nor yet shipwrights who +could make ships for them; they cannot therefore go from city to city, +or sail over the sea to one another's country as people who have ships +can do; if they had had these they would have colonised the island, {78} +for it is a very good one, and would yield everything in due season. +There are meadows that in some places come right down to the sea +shore, well watered and full of luscious grass; grapes would do there +excellently; there is level land for ploughing, and it would always +yield heavily at harvest time, for the soil is deep. There is a good +harbour where no cables are wanted, nor yet anchors, nor need a ship be +moored, but all one has to do is to beach one's vessel and stay there +till the wind becomes fair for putting out to sea again. At the head of +the harbour there is a spring of clear water coming out of a cave, and +there are poplars growing all round it. + +"Here we entered, but so dark was the night that some god must have +brought us in, for there was nothing whatever to be seen. A thick mist +hung all round our ships; {79} the moon was hidden behind a mass of +clouds so that no one could have seen the island if he had looked for +it, nor were there any breakers to tell us we were close in shore before +we found ourselves upon the land itself; when, however, we had beached +the ships, we took down the sails, went ashore and camped upon the beach +till daybreak. + +"When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, we admired +the island and wandered all over it, while the nymphs Jove's daughters +roused the wild goats that we might get some meat for our dinner. On +this we fetched our spears and bows and arrows from the ships, and +dividing ourselves into three bands began to shoot the goats. Heaven +sent us excellent sport; I had twelve ships with me, and each ship got +nine goats, while my own ship had ten; thus through the livelong day to +the going down of the sun we ate and drank our fill, and we had plenty +of wine left, for each one of us had taken many jars full when we sacked +the city of the Cicons, and this had not yet run out. While we were +feasting we kept turning our eyes towards the land of the Cyclopes, +which was hard by, and saw the smoke of their stubble fires. We could +almost fancy we heard their voices and the bleating of their sheep and +goats, but when the sun went down and it came on dark, we camped down +upon the beach, and next morning I called a council. + +"'Stay here, my brave fellows,' said I, 'all the rest of you, while I go +with my ship and exploit these people myself: I want to see if they are +uncivilised savages, or a hospitable and humane race.' + +"I went on board, bidding my men to do so also and loose the hawsers; so +they took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars. When we +got to the land, which was not far, there, on the face of a cliff near +the sea, we saw a great cave overhung with laurels. It was a station for +a great many sheep and goats, and outside there was a large yard, with +a high wall round it made of stones built into the ground and of trees +both pine and oak. This was the abode of a huge monster who was then +away from home shepherding his flocks. He would have nothing to do with +other people, but led the life of an outlaw. He was a horrid creature, +not like a human being at all, but resembling rather some crag that +stands out boldly against the sky on the top of a high mountain. + +"I told my men to draw the ship ashore, and stay where they were, all +but the twelve best among them, who were to go along with myself. I also +took a goatskin of sweet black wine which had been given me by Maron, +son of Euanthes, who was priest of Apollo the patron god of Ismarus, and +lived within the wooded precincts of the temple. When we were sacking +the city we respected him, and spared his life, as also his wife and +child; so he made me some presents of great value--seven talents of fine +gold, and a bowl of silver, with twelve jars of sweet wine, unblended, +and of the most exquisite flavour. Not a man nor maid in the house knew +about it, but only himself, his wife, and one housekeeper: when he drank +it he mixed twenty parts of water to one of wine, and yet the fragrance +from the mixing-bowl was so exquisite that it was impossible to refrain +from drinking. I filled a large skin with this wine, and took a wallet +full of provisions with me, for my mind misgave me that I might have to +deal with some savage who would be of great strength, and would respect +neither right nor law. + +"We soon reached his cave, but he was out shepherding, so we went inside +and took stock of all that we could see. His cheese-racks were loaded +with cheeses, and he had more lambs and kids than his pens could hold. +They were kept in separate flocks; first there were the hoggets, then +the oldest of the younger lambs and lastly the very young ones {80} all +kept apart from one another; as for his dairy, all the vessels, bowls, +and milk pails into which he milked, were swimming with whey. When they +saw all this, my men begged me to let them first steal some cheeses, and +make off with them to the ship; they would then return, drive down the +lambs and kids, put them on board and sail away with them. It would have +been indeed better if we had done so but I would not listen to them, for +I wanted to see the owner himself, in the hope that he might give me +a present. When, however, we saw him my poor men found him ill to deal +with. + +"We lit a fire, offered some of the cheeses in sacrifice, ate others +of them, and then sat waiting till the Cyclops should come in with his +sheep. When he came, he brought in with him a huge load of dry firewood +to light the fire for his supper, and this he flung with such a noise on +to the floor of his cave that we hid ourselves for fear at the far end +of the cavern. Meanwhile he drove all the ewes inside, as well as the +she-goats that he was going to milk, leaving the males, both rams and +he-goats, outside in the yards. Then he rolled a huge stone to the mouth +of the cave--so huge that two and twenty strong four-wheeled waggons +would not be enough to draw it from its place against the doorway. When +he had so done he sat down and milked his ewes and goats, all in due +course, and then let each of them have her own young. He curdled half +the milk and set it aside in wicker strainers, but the other half he +poured into bowls that he might drink it for his supper. When he had got +through with all his work, he lit the fire, and then caught sight of us, +whereon he said: + +"'Strangers, who are you? Where do sail from? Are you traders, or do +you sail the sea as rovers, with your hands against every man, and every +man's hand against you?' + +"We were frightened out of our senses by his loud voice and monstrous +form, but I managed to say, 'We are Achaeans on our way home from Troy, +but by the will of Jove, and stress of weather, we have been driven far +out of our course. We are the people of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, who +has won infinite renown throughout the whole world, by sacking so great +a city and killing so many people. We therefore humbly pray you to show +us some hospitality, and otherwise make us such presents as visitors may +reasonably expect. May your excellency fear the wrath of heaven, for we +are your suppliants, and Jove takes all respectable travellers under his +protection, for he is the avenger of all suppliants and foreigners in +distress.' + +"To this he gave me but a pitiless answer, 'Stranger,' said he, 'you are +a fool, or else you know nothing of this country. Talk to me, indeed, +about fearing the gods or shunning their anger? We Cyclopes do not care +about Jove or any of your blessed gods, for we are ever so much stronger +than they. I shall not spare either yourself or your companions out of +any regard for Jove, unless I am in the humour for doing so. And now +tell me where you made your ship fast when you came on shore. Was it +round the point, or is she lying straight off the land?' + +"He said this to draw me out, but I was too cunning to be caught in that +way, so I answered with a lie; 'Neptune,' said I, 'sent my ship on to +the rocks at the far end of your country, and wrecked it. We were driven +on to them from the open sea, but I and those who are with me escaped +the jaws of death.' + +"The cruel wretch vouchsafed me not one word of answer, but with a +sudden clutch he gripped up two of my men at once and dashed them down +upon the ground as though they had been puppies. Their brains were shed +upon the ground, and the earth was wet with their blood. Then he tore +them limb from limb and supped upon them. He gobbled them up like a lion +in the wilderness, flesh, bones, marrow, and entrails, without leaving +anything uneaten. As for us, we wept and lifted up our hands to heaven +on seeing such a horrid sight, for we did not know what else to do; but +when the Cyclops had filled his huge paunch, and had washed down his +meal of human flesh with a drink of neat milk, he stretched himself +full length upon the ground among his sheep, and went to sleep. I was at +first inclined to seize my sword, draw it, and drive it into his vitals, +but I reflected that if I did we should all certainly be lost, for we +should never be able to shift the stone which the monster had put in +front of the door. So we stayed sobbing and sighing where we were till +morning came. + +"When the child of morning, rosy-fingered dawn, appeared, he again lit +his fire, milked his goats and ewes, all quite rightly, and then let +each have her own young one; as soon as he had got through with all his +work, he clutched up two more of my men, and began eating them for his +morning's meal. Presently, with the utmost ease, he rolled the stone +away from the door and drove out his sheep, but he at once put it back +again--as easily as though he were merely clapping the lid on to a +quiver full of arrows. As soon as he had done so he shouted, and cried +'Shoo, shoo,' after his sheep to drive them on to the mountain; so I was +left to scheme some way of taking my revenge and covering myself with +glory. + +"In the end I deemed it would be the best plan to do as follows: The +Cyclops had a great club which was lying near one of the sheep pens; +it was of green olive wood, and he had cut it intending to use it for +a staff as soon as it should be dry. It was so huge that we could +only compare it to the mast of a twenty-oared merchant vessel of large +burden, and able to venture out into open sea. I went up to this club +and cut off about six feet of it; I then gave this piece to the men and +told them to fine it evenly off at one end, which they proceeded to do, +and lastly I brought it to a point myself, charring the end in the fire +to make it harder. When I had done this I hid it under dung, which was +lying about all over the cave, and told the men to cast lots which of +them should venture along with myself to lift it and bore it into the +monster's eye while he was asleep. The lot fell upon the very four whom +I should have chosen, and I myself made five. In the evening the wretch +came back from shepherding, and drove his flocks into the cave--this +time driving them all inside, and not leaving any in the yards; I +suppose some fancy must have taken him, or a god must have prompted him +to do so. As soon as he had put the stone back to its place against the +door, he sat down, milked his ewes and his goats all quite rightly, and +then let each have her own young one; when he had got through with all +this work, he gripped up two more of my men, and made his supper off +them. So I went up to him with an ivy-wood bowl of black wine in my +hands: + +"'Look here, Cyclops,' said I, you have been eating a great deal of +man's flesh, so take this and drink some wine, that you may see what +kind of liquor we had on board my ship. I was bringing it to you as a +drink-offering, in the hope that you would take compassion upon me and +further me on my way home, whereas all you do is to go on ramping and +raving most intolerably. You ought to be ashamed of yourself; how can +you expect people to come see you any more if you treat them in this +way?' + +"He then took the cup and drank. He was so delighted with the taste of +the wine that he begged me for another bowl full. 'Be so kind,' he said, +'as to give me some more, and tell me your name at once. I want to make +you a present that you will be glad to have. We have wine even in this +country, for our soil grows grapes and the sun ripens them, but this +drinks like Nectar and Ambrosia all in one.' + +"I then gave him some more; three times did I fill the bowl for him, and +three times did he drain it without thought or heed; then, when I saw +that the wine had got into his head, I said to him as plausibly as +I could: 'Cyclops, you ask my name and I will tell it you; give me, +therefore, the present you promised me; my name is Noman; this is what +my father and mother and my friends have always called me.' + +"But the cruel wretch said, 'Then I will eat all Noman's comrades before +Noman himself, and will keep Noman for the last. This is the present +that I will make him.' + +"As he spoke he reeled, and fell sprawling face upwards on the ground. +His great neck hung heavily backwards and a deep sleep took hold upon +him. Presently he turned sick, and threw up both wine and the gobbets of +human flesh on which he had been gorging, for he was very drunk. Then I +thrust the beam of wood far into the embers to heat it, and encouraged +my men lest any of them should turn faint-hearted. When the wood, green +though it was, was about to blaze, I drew it out of the fire glowing +with heat, and my men gathered round me, for heaven had filled their +hearts with courage. We drove the sharp end of the beam into the +monster's eye, and bearing upon it with all my weight I kept turning it +round and round as though I were boring a hole in a ship's plank with an +auger, which two men with a wheel and strap can keep on turning as long +as they choose. Even thus did we bore the red hot beam into his eye, +till the boiling blood bubbled all over it as we worked it round and +round, so that the steam from the burning eyeball scalded his eyelids +and eyebrows, and the roots of the eye sputtered in the fire. As a +blacksmith plunges an axe or hatchet into cold water to temper it--for +it is this that gives strength to the iron--and it makes a great hiss as +he does so, even thus did the Cyclops' eye hiss round the beam of olive +wood, and his hideous yells made the cave ring again. We ran away in a +fright, but he plucked the beam all besmirched with gore from his eye, +and hurled it from him in a frenzy of rage and pain, shouting as he did +so to the other Cyclopes who lived on the bleak headlands near him; +so they gathered from all quarters round his cave when they heard him +crying, and asked what was the matter with him. + +"'What ails you, Polyphemus,' said they, 'that you make such a noise, +breaking the stillness of the night, and preventing us from being able +to sleep? Surely no man is carrying off your sheep? Surely no man is +trying to kill you either by fraud or by force?' + +"But Polyphemus shouted to them from inside the cave, 'Noman is killing +me by fraud; no man is killing me by force.' + +"'Then,' said they, 'if no man is attacking you, you must be ill; when +Jove makes people ill, there is no help for it, and you had better pray +to your father Neptune.' + +"Then they went away, and I laughed inwardly at the success of my clever +stratagem, but the Cyclops, groaning and in an agony of pain, felt about +with his hands till he found the stone and took it from the door; then +he sat in the doorway and stretched his hands in front of it to catch +anyone going out with the sheep, for he thought I might be foolish +enough to attempt this. + +"As for myself I kept on puzzling to think how I could best save my own +life and those of my companions; I schemed and schemed, as one who knows +that his life depends upon it, for the danger was very great. In the +end I deemed that this plan would be the best; the male sheep were well +grown, and carried a heavy black fleece, so I bound them noiselessly in +threes together, with some of the withies on which the wicked monster +used to sleep. There was to be a man under the middle sheep, and the two +on either side were to cover him, so that there were three sheep to each +man. As for myself there was a ram finer than any of the others, so I +caught hold of him by the back, esconced myself in the thick wool under +his belly, and hung on patiently to his fleece, face upwards, keeping a +firm hold on it all the time. + +"Thus, then, did we wait in great fear of mind till morning came, but +when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, the male sheep +hurried out to feed, while the ewes remained bleating about the pens +waiting to be milked, for their udders were full to bursting; but their +master in spite of all his pain felt the backs of all the sheep as they +stood upright, without being sharp enough to find out that the men were +underneath their bellies. As the ram was going out, last of all, heavy +with its fleece and with the weight of my crafty self, Polyphemus laid +hold of it and said: + +"'My good ram, what is it that makes you the last to leave my cave this +morning? You are not wont to let the ewes go before you, but lead the +mob with a run whether to flowery mead or bubbling fountain, and are the +first to come home again at night; but now you lag last of all. Is it +because you know your master has lost his eye, and are sorry because +that wicked Noman and his horrid crew has got him down in his drink and +blinded him? But I will have his life yet. If you could understand and +talk, you would tell me where the wretch is hiding, and I would dash his +brains upon the ground till they flew all over the cave. I should thus +have some satisfaction for the harm this no-good Noman has done me.' + +"As he spoke he drove the ram outside, but when we were a little way +out from the cave and yards, I first got from under the ram's belly, +and then freed my comrades; as for the sheep, which were very fat, by +constantly heading them in the right direction we managed to drive them +down to the ship. The crew rejoiced greatly at seeing those of us who +had escaped death, but wept for the others whom the Cyclops had killed. +However, I made signs to them by nodding and frowning that they were to +hush their crying, and told them to get all the sheep on board at once +and put out to sea; so they went aboard, took their places, and smote +the grey sea with their oars. Then, when I had got as far out as my +voice would reach, I began to jeer at the Cyclops. + +"'Cyclops,' said I, 'you should have taken better measure of your man +before eating up his comrades in your cave. You wretch, eat up your +visitors in your own house? You might have known that your sin would +find you out, and now Jove and the other gods have punished you.' + +"He got more and more furious as he heard me, so he tore the top from +off a high mountain, and flung it just in front of my ship so that +it was within a little of hitting the end of the rudder. {81} The sea +quaked as the rock fell into it, and the wash of the wave it raised +carried us back towards the mainland, and forced us towards the shore. +But I snatched up a long pole and kept the ship off, making signs to my +men by nodding my head, that they must row for their lives, whereon they +laid out with a will. When we had got twice as far as we were before, I +was for jeering at the Cyclops again, but the men begged and prayed of +me to hold my tongue. + +"'Do not,' they exclaimed, 'be mad enough to provoke this savage +creature further; he has thrown one rock at us already which drove us +back again to the mainland, and we made sure it had been the death +of us; if he had then heard any further sound of voices he would have +pounded our heads and our ship's timbers into a jelly with the rugged +rocks he would have heaved at us, for he can throw them a long way.' + +"But I would not listen to them, and shouted out to him in my rage, +'Cyclops, if any one asks you who it was that put your eye out and +spoiled your beauty, say it was the valiant warrior Ulysses, son of +Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.' + +"On this he groaned, and cried out, 'Alas, alas, then the old prophecy +about me is coming true. There was a prophet here, at one time, a man +both brave and of great stature, Telemus son of Eurymus, who was an +excellent seer, and did all the prophesying for the Cyclopes till he +grew old; he told me that all this would happen to me some day, and said +I should lose my sight by the hand of Ulysses. I have been all along +expecting some one of imposing presence and superhuman strength, whereas +he turns out to be a little insignificant weakling, who has managed to +blind my eye by taking advantage of me in my drink; come here, then, +Ulysses, that I may make you presents to show my hospitality, and urge +Neptune to help you forward on your journey--for Neptune and I are +father and son. He, if he so will, shall heal me, which no one else +neither god nor man can do.' + +"Then I said, 'I wish I could be as sure of killing you outright and +sending you down to the house of Hades, as I am that it will take more +than Neptune to cure that eye of yours.' + +"On this he lifted up his hands to the firmament of heaven and prayed, +saying, 'Hear me, great Neptune; if I am indeed your own true begotten +son, grant that Ulysses may never reach his home alive; or if he must +get back to his friends at last, let him do so late and in sore plight +after losing all his men [let him reach his home in another man's ship +and find trouble in his house.'] {82} + +"Thus did he pray, and Neptune heard his prayer. Then he picked up +a rock much larger than the first, swung it aloft and hurled it with +prodigious force. It fell just short of the ship, but was within a +little of hitting the end of the rudder. The sea quaked as the rock fell +into it, and the wash of the wave it raised drove us onwards on our way +towards the shore of the island. + +"When at last we got to the island where we had left the rest of our +ships, we found our comrades lamenting us, and anxiously awaiting our +return. We ran our vessel upon the sands and got out of her on to the +sea shore; we also landed the Cyclops' sheep, and divided them equitably +amongst us so that none might have reason to complain. As for the ram, +my companions agreed that I should have it as an extra share; so I +sacrificed it on the sea shore, and burned its thigh bones to Jove, who +is the lord of all. But he heeded not my sacrifice, and only thought how +he might destroy both my ships and my comrades. + +"Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun we feasted +our fill on meat and drink, but when the sun went down and it came on +dark, we camped upon the beach. When the child of morning rosy-fingered +Dawn appeared, I bade my men on board and loose the hawsers. Then they +took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars; so we sailed +on with sorrow in our hearts, but glad to have escaped death though we +had lost our comrades. + + +Book X + +AEOLUS, THE LAESTRYGONES, CIRCE. + +"Thence we went on to the Aeolian island where lives Aeolus son of +Hippotas, dear to the immortal gods. It is an island that floats (as +it were) upon the sea, {83} iron bound with a wall that girds it. Now, +Aeolus has six daughters and six lusty sons, so he made the sons marry +the daughters, and they all live with their dear father and mother, +feasting and enjoying every conceivable kind of luxury. All day long the +atmosphere of the house is loaded with the savour of roasting meats till +it groans again, yard and all; but by night they sleep on their well +made bedsteads, each with his own wife between the blankets. These were +the people among whom we had now come. + +"Aeolus entertained me for a whole month asking me questions all the +time about Troy, the Argive fleet, and the return of the Achaeans. I +told him exactly how everything had happened, and when I said I must go, +and asked him to further me on my way, he made no sort of difficulty, +but set about doing so at once. Moreover, he flayed me a prime ox-hide +to hold the ways of the roaring winds, which he shut up in the hide as +in a sack--for Jove had made him captain over the winds, and he could +stir or still each one of them according to his own pleasure. He put +the sack in the ship and bound the mouth so tightly with a silver thread +that not even a breath of a side-wind could blow from any quarter. The +West wind which was fair for us did he alone let blow as it chose; but +it all came to nothing, for we were lost through our own folly. + +"Nine days and nine nights did we sail, and on the tenth day our native +land showed on the horizon. We got so close in that we could see the +stubble fires burning, and I, being then dead beat, fell into a light +sleep, for I had never let the rudder out of my own hands, that we might +get home the faster. On this the men fell to talking among themselves, +and said I was bringing back gold and silver in the sack that Aeolus +had given me. 'Bless my heart,' would one turn to his neighbour, saying, +'how this man gets honoured and makes friends to whatever city or +country he may go. See what fine prizes he is taking home from Troy, +while we, who have travelled just as far as he has, come back with hands +as empty as we set out with--and now Aeolus has given him ever so much +more. Quick--let us see what it all is, and how much gold and silver +there is in the sack he gave him.' + +"Thus they talked and evil counsels prevailed. They loosed the sack, +whereupon the wind flew howling forth and raised a storm that carried us +weeping out to sea and away from our own country. Then I awoke, and knew +not whether to throw myself into the sea or to live on and make the best +of it; but I bore it, covered myself up, and lay down in the ship, while +the men lamented bitterly as the fierce winds bore our fleet back to the +Aeolian island. + +"When we reached it we went ashore to take in water, and dined hard by +the ships. Immediately after dinner I took a herald and one of my men +and went straight to the house of Aeolus, where I found him feasting +with his wife and family; so we sat down as suppliants on the threshold. +They were astounded when they saw us and said, 'Ulysses, what brings you +here? What god has been ill-treating you? We took great pains to further +you on your way home to Ithaca, or wherever it was that you wanted to go +to.' + +"Thus did they speak, but I answered sorrowfully, 'My men have undone +me; they, and cruel sleep, have ruined me. My friends, mend me this +mischief, for you can if you will.' + +"I spoke as movingly as I could, but they said nothing, till their +father answered, 'Vilest of mankind, get you gone at once out of the +island; him whom heaven hates will I in no wise help. Be off, for you +come here as one abhorred of heaven.' And with these words he sent me +sorrowing from his door. + +"Thence we sailed sadly on till the men were worn out with long and +fruitless rowing, for there was no longer any wind to help them. Six +days, night and day did we toil, and on the seventh day we reached the +rocky stronghold of Lamus--Telepylus, the city of the Laestrygonians, +where the shepherd who is driving in his sheep and goats [to be milked] +salutes him who is driving out his flock [to feed] and this last answers +the salute. In that country a man who could do without sleep might earn +double wages, one as a herdsman of cattle, and another as a shepherd, +for they work much the same by night as they do by day. {84} + +"When we reached the harbour we found it land-locked under steep cliffs, +with a narrow entrance between two headlands. My captains took all their +ships inside, and made them fast close to one another, for there was +never so much as a breath of wind inside, but it was always dead calm. I +kept my own ship outside, and moored it to a rock at the very end of the +point; then I climbed a high rock to reconnoitre, but could see no sign +neither of man nor cattle, only some smoke rising from the ground. So I +sent two of my company with an attendant to find out what sort of people +the inhabitants were. + +"The men when they got on shore followed a level road by which the +people draw their firewood from the mountains into the town, till +presently they met a young woman who had come outside to fetch water, +and who was daughter to a Laestrygonian named Antiphates. She was going +to the fountain Artacia from which the people bring in their water, and +when my men had come close up to her, they asked her who the king of +that country might be, and over what kind of people he ruled; so she +directed them to her father's house, but when they got there they found +his wife to be a giantess as huge as a mountain, and they were horrified +at the sight of her. + +"She at once called her husband Antiphates from the place of assembly, +and forthwith he set about killing my men. He snatched up one of them, +and began to make his dinner off him then and there, whereon the other +two ran back to the ships as fast as ever they could. But Antiphates +raised a hue-and-cry after them, and thousands of sturdy Laestrygonians +sprang up from every quarter--ogres, not men. They threw vast rocks at +us from the cliffs as though they had been mere stones, and I heard +the horrid sound of the ships crunching up against one another, and the +death cries of my men, as the Laestrygonians speared them like fishes +and took them home to eat them. While they were thus killing my men +within the harbour I drew my sword, cut the cable of my own ship, and +told my men to row with all their might if they too would not fare like +the rest; so they laid out for their lives, and we were thankful enough +when we got into open water out of reach of the rocks they hurled at us. +As for the others there was not one of them left. + +"Thence we sailed sadly on, glad to have escaped death, though we had +lost our comrades, and came to the Aeaean island, where Circe lives--a +great and cunning goddess who is own sister to the magician Aeetes--for +they are both children of the sun by Perse, who is daughter to Oceanus. +We brought our ship into a safe harbour without a word, for some god +guided us thither, and having landed we lay there for two days and two +nights, worn out in body and mind. When the morning of the third day +came I took my spear and my sword, and went away from the ship to +reconnoitre, and see if I could discover signs of human handiwork, +or hear the sound of voices. Climbing to the top of a high look-out I +espied the smoke of Circe's house rising upwards amid a dense forest of +trees, and when I saw this I doubted whether, having seen the smoke, I +would not go on at once and find out more, but in the end I deemed it +best to go back to the ship, give the men their dinners, and send some +of them instead of going myself. + +"When I had nearly got back to the ship some god took pity upon my +solitude, and sent a fine antlered stag right into the middle of my +path. He was coming down his pasture in the forest to drink of the +river, for the heat of the sun drove him, and as he passed I struck +him in the middle of the back; the bronze point of the spear went clean +through him, and he lay groaning in the dust until the life went out of +him. Then I set my foot upon him, drew my spear from the wound, and laid +it down; I also gathered rough grass and rushes and twisted them into a +fathom or so of good stout rope, with which I bound the four feet of +the noble creature together; having so done I hung him round my neck and +walked back to the ship leaning upon my spear, for the stag was much too +big for me to be able to carry him on my shoulder, steadying him with +one hand. As I threw him down in front of the ship, I called the men +and spoke cheeringly man by man to each of them. 'Look here my friends,' +said I, 'we are not going to die so much before our time after all, and +at any rate we will not starve so long as we have got something to eat +and drink on board.' On this they uncovered their heads upon the sea +shore and admired the stag, for he was indeed a splendid fellow. Then, +when they had feasted their eyes upon him sufficiently, they washed +their hands and began to cook him for dinner. + +"Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun we stayed +there eating and drinking our fill, but when the sun went down and it +came on dark, we camped upon the sea shore. When the child of morning, +rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, I called a council and said, 'My friends, +we are in very great difficulties; listen therefore to me. We have no +idea where the sun either sets or rises, {85} so that we do not even +know East from West. I see no way out of it; nevertheless, we must try +and find one. We are certainly on an island, for I went as high as +I could this morning, and saw the sea reaching all round it to the +horizon; it lies low, but towards the middle I saw smoke rising from out +of a thick forest of trees.' + +"Their hearts sank as they heard me, for they remembered how they had +been treated by the Laestrygonian Antiphates, and by the savage ogre +Polyphemus. They wept bitterly in their dismay, but there was nothing to +be got by crying, so I divided them into two companies and set a captain +over each; I gave one company to Eurylochus, while I took command of +the other myself. Then we cast lots in a helmet, and the lot fell upon +Eurylochus; so he set out with his twenty-two men, and they wept, as +also did we who were left behind. + +"When they reached Circe's house they found it built of cut stones, on +a site that could be seen from far, in the middle of the forest. +There were wild mountain wolves and lions prowling all round it--poor +bewitched creatures whom she had tamed by her enchantments and drugged +into subjection. They did not attack my men, but wagged their great +tails, fawned upon them, and rubbed their noses lovingly against them. +{86} As hounds crowd round their master when they see him coming from +dinner--for they know he will bring them something--even so did these +wolves and lions with their great claws fawn upon my men, but the men +were terribly frightened at seeing such strange creatures. Presently +they reached the gates of the goddess's house, and as they stood there +they could hear Circe within, singing most beautifully as she worked at +her loom, making a web so fine, so soft, and of such dazzling colours +as no one but a goddess could weave. On this Polites, whom I valued and +trusted more than any other of my men, said, 'There is some one inside +working at a loom and singing most beautifully; the whole place resounds +with it, let us call her and see whether she is woman or goddess.' + +"They called her and she came down, unfastened the door, and bade them +enter. They, thinking no evil, followed her, all except Eurylochus, who +suspected mischief and staid outside. When she had got them into her +house, she set them upon benches and seats and mixed them a mess with +cheese, honey, meal, and Pramnian wine, but she drugged it with wicked +poisons to make them forget their homes, and when they had drunk she +turned them into pigs by a stroke of her wand, and shut them up in her +pig-styes. They were like pigs--head, hair, and all, and they grunted +just as pigs do; but their senses were the same as before, and they +remembered everything. + +"Thus then were they shut up squealing, and Circe threw them some acorns +and beech masts such as pigs eat, but Eurylochus hurried back to tell me +about the sad fate of our comrades. He was so overcome with dismay +that though he tried to speak he could find no words to do so; his eyes +filled with tears and he could only sob and sigh, till at last we forced +his story out of him, and he told us what had happened to the others. + +"'We went,' said he, 'as you told us, through the forest, and in the +middle of it there was a fine house built with cut stones in a place +that could be seen from far. There we found a woman, or else she was a +goddess, working at her loom and singing sweetly; so the men shouted to +her and called her, whereon she at once came down, opened the door, and +invited us in. The others did not suspect any mischief so they followed +her into the house, but I staid where I was, for I thought there might +be some treachery. From that moment I saw them no more, for not one of +them ever came out, though I sat a long time watching for them.' + +"Then I took my sword of bronze and slung it over my shoulders; I also +took my bow, and told Eurylochus to come back with me and shew me the +way. But he laid hold of me with both his hands and spoke piteously, +saying, 'Sir, do not force me to go with you, but let me stay here, for +I know you will not bring one of them back with you, nor even return +alive yourself; let us rather see if we cannot escape at any rate with +the few that are left us, for we may still save our lives.' + +"'Stay where you are, then,' answered I, 'eating and drinking at the +ship, but I must go, for I am most urgently bound to do so.' + +"With this I left the ship and went up inland. When I got through the +charmed grove, and was near the great house of the enchantress Circe, +I met Mercury with his golden wand, disguised as a young man in the +hey-day of his youth and beauty with the down just coming upon his +face. He came up to me and took my hand within his own, saying, 'My poor +unhappy man, whither are you going over this mountain top, alone and +without knowing the way? Your men are shut up in Circe's pigstyes, like +so many wild boars in their lairs. You surely do not fancy that you can +set them free? I can tell you that you will never get back and will have +to stay there with the rest of them. But never mind, I will protect +you and get you out of your difficulty. Take this herb, which is one +of great virtue, and keep it about you when you go to Circe's house, it +will be a talisman to you against every kind of mischief. + +"'And I will tell you of all the wicked witchcraft that Circe will try +to practice upon you. She will mix a mess for you to drink, and she will +drug the meal with which she makes it, but she will not be able to charm +you, for the virtue of the herb that I shall give you will prevent her +spells from working. I will tell you all about it. When Circe strikes +you with her wand, draw your sword and spring upon her as though you +were going to kill her. She will then be frightened, and will desire you +to go to bed with her; on this you must not point blank refuse her, for +you want her to set your companions free, and to take good care also of +yourself, but you must make her swear solemnly by all the blessed gods +that she will plot no further mischief against you, or else when she has +got you naked she will unman you and make you fit for nothing.' + +"As he spoke he pulled the herb out of the ground and shewed me what it +was like. The root was black, while the flower was as white as milk; the +gods call it Moly, and mortal men cannot uproot it, but the gods can do +whatever they like. + +"Then Mercury went back to high Olympus passing over the wooded island; +but I fared onward to the house of Circe, and my heart was clouded with +care as I walked along. When I got to the gates I stood there and called +the goddess, and as soon as she heard me she came down, opened the door, +and asked me to come in; so I followed her--much troubled in my mind. +She set me on a richly decorated seat inlaid with silver, there was a +footstool also under my feet, and she mixed a mess in a golden goblet +for me to drink; but she drugged it, for she meant me mischief. When she +had given it me, and I had drunk it without its charming me, she struck +me with her wand. 'There now,' she cried, 'be off to the pigstye, and +make your lair with the rest of them.' + +"But I rushed at her with my sword drawn as though I would kill her, +whereon she fell with a loud scream, clasped my knees, and spoke +piteously, saying, 'Who and whence are you? from what place and people +have you come? How can it be that my drugs have no power to charm you? +Never yet was any man able to stand so much as a taste of the herb I +gave you; you must be spell-proof; surely you can be none other than the +bold hero Ulysses, who Mercury always said would come here some day with +his ship while on his way home from Troy; so be it then; sheathe your +sword and let us go to bed, that we may make friends and learn to trust +each other.' + +"And I answered, 'Circe, how can you expect me to be friendly with you +when you have just been turning all my men into pigs? And now that you +have got me here myself, you mean me mischief when you ask me to go to +bed with you, and will unman me and make me fit for nothing. I shall +certainly not consent to go to bed with you unless you will first take +your solemn oath to plot no further harm against me.' + +"So she swore at once as I had told her, and when she had completed her +oath then I went to bed with her. + +"Meanwhile her four servants, who are her housemaids, set about their +work. They are the children of the groves and fountains, and of the +holy waters that run down into the sea. One of them spread a fair purple +cloth over a seat, and laid a carpet underneath it. Another brought +tables of silver up to the seats, and set them with baskets of gold. A +third mixed some sweet wine with water in a silver bowl and put golden +cups upon the tables, while the fourth brought in water and set it to +boil in a large cauldron over a good fire which she had lighted. When +the water in the cauldron was boiling, {87} she poured cold into it +till it was just as I liked it, and then she set me in a bath and began +washing me from the cauldron about the head and shoulders, to take the +tire and stiffness out of my limbs. As soon as she had done washing me +and anointing me with oil, she arrayed me in a good cloak and shirt +and led me to a richly decorated seat inlaid with silver; there was a +footstool also under my feet. A maid servant then brought me water in a +beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for me to wash +my hands, and she drew a clean table beside me; an upper servant brought +me bread and offered me many things of what there was in the house, and +then Circe bade me eat, but I would not, and sat without heeding what +was before me, still moody and suspicious. + +"When Circe saw me sitting there without eating, and in great grief, she +came to me and said, 'Ulysses, why do you sit like that as though you +were dumb, gnawing at your own heart, and refusing both meat and drink? +Is it that you are still suspicious? You ought not to be, for I have +already sworn solemnly that I will not hurt you.' + +"And I said, 'Circe, no man with any sense of what is right can think of +either eating or drinking in your house until you have set his friends +free and let him see them. If you want me to eat and drink, you must +free my men and bring them to me that I may see them with my own eyes.' + +"When I had said this she went straight through the court with her wand +in her hand and opened the pigstye doors. My men came out like so many +prime hogs and stood looking at her, but she went about among them and +anointed each with a second drug, whereon the bristles that the bad drug +had given them fell off, and they became men again, younger than they +were before, and much taller and better looking. They knew me at once, +seized me each of them by the hand, and wept for joy till the whole +house was filled with the sound of their halloa-ballooing, and Circe +herself was so sorry for them that she came up to me and said, 'Ulysses, +noble son of Laertes, go back at once to the sea where you have left +your ship, and first draw it on to the land. Then, hide all your ship's +gear and property in some cave, and come back here with your men.' + +"I agreed to this, so I went back to the sea shore, and found the men at +the ship weeping and wailing most piteously. When they saw me the silly +blubbering fellows began frisking round me as calves break out and +gambol round their mothers, when they see them coming home to be milked +after they have been feeding all day, and the homestead resounds with +their lowing. They seemed as glad to see me as though they had got back +to their own rugged Ithaca, where they had been born and bred. 'Sir,' +said the affectionate creatures, 'we are as glad to see you back as +though we had got safe home to Ithaca; but tell us all about the fate of +our comrades.' + +"I spoke comfortingly to them and said, 'We must draw our ship on to the +land, and hide the ship's gear with all our property in some cave; then +come with me all of you as fast as you can to Circe's house, where +you will find your comrades eating and drinking in the midst of great +abundance.' + +"On this the men would have come with me at once, but Eurylochus tried +to hold them back and said, 'Alas, poor wretches that we are, what will +become of us? Rush not on your ruin by going to the house of Circe, who +will turn us all into pigs or wolves or lions, and we shall have to +keep guard over her house. Remember how the Cyclops treated us when our +comrades went inside his cave, and Ulysses with them. It was all through +his sheer folly that those men lost their lives.' + +"When I heard him I was in two minds whether or no to draw the keen +blade that hung by my sturdy thigh and cut his head off in spite of +his being a near relation of my own; but the men interceded for him +and said, 'Sir, if it may so be, let this fellow stay here and mind the +ship, but take the rest of us with you to Circe's house.' + +"On this we all went inland, and Eurylochus was not left behind after +all, but came on too, for he was frightened by the severe reprimand that +I had given him. + +"Meanwhile Circe had been seeing that the men who had been left behind +were washed and anointed with olive oil; she had also given them woollen +cloaks and shirts, and when we came we found them all comfortably at +dinner in her house. As soon as the men saw each other face to face +and knew one another, they wept for joy and cried aloud till the whole +palace rang again. Thereon Circe came up to me and said, 'Ulysses, noble +son of Laertes, tell your men to leave off crying; I know how much you +have all of you suffered at sea, and how ill you have fared among cruel +savages on the mainland, but that is over now, so stay here, and eat and +drink till you are once more as strong and hearty as you were when you +left Ithaca; for at present you are weakened both in body and mind; you +keep all the time thinking of the hardships you have suffered during +your travels, so that you have no more cheerfulness left in you.' + +"Thus did she speak and we assented. We stayed with Circe for a whole +twelvemonth feasting upon an untold quantity both of meat and wine. But +when the year had passed in the waning of moons and the long days had +come round, my men called me apart and said, 'Sir, it is time you began +to think about going home, if so be you are to be spared to see your +house and native country at all.' + +"Thus did they speak and I assented. Thereon through the livelong day to +the going down of the sun we feasted our fill on meat and wine, but when +the sun went down and it came on dark the men laid themselves down to +sleep in the covered cloisters. I, however, after I had got into bed +with Circe, besought her by her knees, and the goddess listened to what +I had got to say. 'Circe,' said I, 'please to keep the promise you made +me about furthering me on my homeward voyage. I want to get back and so +do my men, they are always pestering me with their complaints as soon as +ever your back is turned.' + +"And the goddess answered, 'Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, you shall +none of you stay here any longer if you do not want to, but there +is another journey which you have got to take before you can sail +homewards. You must go to the house of Hades and of dread Proserpine to +consult the ghost of the blind Theban prophet Teiresias, whose reason is +still unshaken. To him alone has Proserpine left his understanding even +in death, but the other ghosts flit about aimlessly.' + +"I was dismayed when I heard this. I sat up in bed and wept, and would +gladly have lived no longer to see the light of the sun, but presently +when I was tired of weeping and tossing myself about, I said, 'And who +shall guide me upon this voyage--for the house of Hades is a port that +no ship can reach.' + +"'You will want no guide,' she answered; 'raise your mast, set your +white sails, sit quite still, and the North Wind will blow you there +of itself. When your ship has traversed the waters of Oceanus, you will +reach the fertile shore of Proserpine's country with its groves of tall +poplars and willows that shed their fruit untimely; here beach your +ship upon the shore of Oceanus, and go straight on to the dark abode of +Hades. You will find it near the place where the rivers Pyriphlegethon +and Cocytus (which is a branch of the river Styx) flow into Acheron, and +you will see a rock near it, just where the two roaring rivers run into +one another. + +"'When you have reached this spot, as I now tell you, dig a trench +a cubit or so in length, breadth, and depth, and pour into it as a +drink-offering to all the dead, first, honey mixed with milk, then wine, +and in the third place water--sprinkling white barley meal over the +whole. Moreover you must offer many prayers to the poor feeble ghosts, +and promise them that when you get back to Ithaca you will sacrifice a +barren heifer to them, the best you have, and will load the pyre with +good things. More particularly you must promise that Teiresias shall +have a black sheep all to himself, the finest in all your flocks. + +"'When you shall have thus besought the ghosts with your prayers, offer +them a ram and a black ewe, bending their heads towards Erebus; but +yourself turn away from them as though you would make towards the river. +On this, many dead men's ghosts will come to you, and you must tell your +men to skin the two sheep that you have just killed, and offer them as a +burnt sacrifice with prayers to Hades and to Proserpine. Then draw your +sword and sit there, so as to prevent any other poor ghost from +coming near the spilt blood before Teiresias shall have answered your +questions. The seer will presently come to you, and will tell you about +your voyage--what stages you are to make, and how you are to sail the +sea so as to reach your home.' + +"It was day-break by the time she had done speaking, so she dressed +me in my shirt and cloak. As for herself she threw a beautiful light +gossamer fabric over her shoulders, fastening it with a golden girdle +round her waist, and she covered her head with a mantle. Then I went +about among the men everywhere all over the house, and spoke kindly to +each of them man by man: 'You must not lie sleeping here any longer,' +said I to them, 'we must be going, for Circe has told me all about it.' +And on this they did as I bade them. + +"Even so, however, I did not get them away without misadventure. We had +with us a certain youth named Elpenor, not very remarkable for sense or +courage, who had got drunk and was lying on the house-top away from the +rest of the men, to sleep off his liquor in the cool. When he heard the +noise of the men bustling about, he jumped up on a sudden and forgot +all about coming down by the main staircase, so he tumbled right off the +roof and broke his neck, and his soul went down to the house of Hades. + +"When I had got the men together I said to them, 'You think you are +about to start home again, but Circe has explained to me that instead of +this, we have got to go to the house of Hades and Proserpine to consult +the ghost of the Theban prophet Teiresias.' + +"The men were broken-hearted as they heard me, and threw themselves +on the ground groaning and tearing their hair, but they did not mend +matters by crying. When we reached the sea shore, weeping and lamenting +our fate, Circe brought the ram and the ewe, and we made them fast hard +by the ship. She passed through the midst of us without our knowing it, +for who can see the comings and goings of a god, if the god does not +wish to be seen? + + +Book XI + +THE VISIT TO THE DEAD. {88} + +"Then, when we had got down to the sea shore we drew our ship into the +water and got her mast and sails into her; we also put the sheep on +board and took our places, weeping and in great distress of mind. Circe, +that great and cunning goddess, sent us a fair wind that blew dead aft +and staid steadily with us keeping our sails all the time well filled; +so we did whatever wanted doing to the ship's gear and let her go as the +wind and helmsman headed her. All day long her sails were full as she +held her course over the sea, but when the sun went down and darkness +was over all the earth, we got into the deep waters of the river +Oceanus, where lie the land and city of the Cimmerians who live +enshrouded in mist and darkness which the rays of the sun never pierce +neither at his rising nor as he goes down again out of the heavens, but +the poor wretches live in one long melancholy night. When we got there +we beached the ship, took the sheep out of her, and went along by the +waters of Oceanus till we came to the place of which Circe had told us. + +"Here Perimedes and Eurylochus held the victims, while I drew my sword +and dug the trench a cubit each way. I made a drink-offering to all the +dead, first with honey and milk, then with wine, and thirdly with water, +and I sprinkled white barley meal over the whole, praying earnestly to +the poor feckless ghosts, and promising them that when I got back to +Ithaca I would sacrifice a barren heifer for them, the best I had, and +would load the pyre with good things. I also particularly promised +that Teiresias should have a black sheep to himself, the best in all my +flocks. When I had prayed sufficiently to the dead, I cut the throats of +the two sheep and let the blood run into the trench, whereon the ghosts +came trooping up from Erebus--brides, {89} young bachelors, old men worn +out with toil, maids who had been crossed in love, and brave men who had +been killed in battle, with their armour still smirched with blood; they +came from every quarter and flitted round the trench with a strange kind +of screaming sound that made me turn pale with fear. When I saw them +coming I told the men to be quick and flay the carcasses of the two dead +sheep and make burnt offerings of them, and at the same time to repeat +prayers to Hades and to Proserpine; but I sat where I was with my sword +drawn and would not let the poor feckless ghosts come near the blood +till Teiresias should have answered my questions. + +"The first ghost that came was that of my comrade Elpenor, for he had +not yet been laid beneath the earth. We had left his body unwaked and +unburied in Circe's house, for we had had too much else to do. I was +very sorry for him, and cried when I saw him: 'Elpenor,' said I, 'how +did you come down here into this gloom and darkness? You have got here +on foot quicker than I have with my ship.' + +"'Sir,' he answered with a groan, 'it was all bad luck, and my own +unspeakable drunkenness. I was lying asleep on the top of Circe's house, +and never thought of coming down again by the great staircase but fell +right off the roof and broke my neck, so my soul came down to the house +of Hades. And now I beseech you by all those whom you have left behind +you, though they are not here, by your wife, by the father who brought +you up when you were a child, and by Telemachus who is the one hope of +your house, do what I shall now ask you. I know that when you leave this +limbo you will again hold your ship for the Aeaean island. Do not +go thence leaving me unwaked and unburied behind you, or I may bring +heaven's anger upon you; but burn me with whatever armour I have, build +a barrow for me on the sea shore, that may tell people in days to come +what a poor unlucky fellow I was, and plant over my grave the oar I used +to row with when I was yet alive and with my messmates.' And I said, 'My +poor fellow, I will do all that you have asked of me.' + +"Thus, then, did we sit and hold sad talk with one another, I on the one +side of the trench with my sword held over the blood, and the ghost +of my comrade saying all this to me from the other side. Then came the +ghost of my dead mother Anticlea, daughter to Autolycus. I had left her +alive when I set out for Troy and was moved to tears when I saw her, but +even so, for all my sorrow I would not let her come near the blood till +I had asked my questions of Teiresias. + +"Then came also the ghost of Theban Teiresias, with his golden sceptre +in his hand. He knew me and said, 'Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, why, +poor man, have you left the light of day and come down to visit the dead +in this sad place? Stand back from the trench and withdraw your sword +that I may drink of the blood and answer your questions truly.' + +"So I drew back, and sheathed my sword, whereon when he had drank of the +blood he began with his prophecy. + +"'You want to know,' said he, 'about your return home, but heaven will +make this hard for you. I do not think that you will escape the eye +of Neptune, who still nurses his bitter grudge against you for having +blinded his son. Still, after much suffering you may get home if you +can restrain yourself and your companions when your ship reaches the +Thrinacian island, where you will find the sheep and cattle belonging to +the sun, who sees and gives ear to everything. If you leave these flocks +unharmed and think of nothing but of getting home, you may yet after +much hardship reach Ithaca; but if you harm them, then I forewarn you of +the destruction both of your ship and of your men. Even though you may +yourself escape, you will return in bad plight after losing all your +men, [in another man's ship, and you will find trouble in your house, +which will be overrun by high-handed people, who are devouring your +substance under the pretext of paying court and making presents to your +wife. + +"'When you get home you will take your revenge on these suitors; and +after you have killed them by force or fraud in your own house, you must +take a well made oar and carry it on and on, till you come to a country +where the people have never heard of the sea and do not even mix salt +with their food, nor do they know anything about ships, and oars that +are as the wings of a ship. I will give you this certain token which +cannot escape your notice. A wayfarer will meet you and will say it must +be a winnowing shovel that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you +must fix the oar in the ground and sacrifice a ram, a bull, and a boar +to Neptune. {90} Then go home and offer hecatombs to all the gods in +heaven one after the other. As for yourself, death shall come to you +from the sea, and your life shall ebb away very gently when you are full +of years and peace of mind, and your people shall bless you. All that I +have said will come true].' {91} + +"'This,' I answered, 'must be as it may please heaven, but tell me and +tell me and tell me true, I see my poor mother's ghost close by us; she +is sitting by the blood without saying a word, and though I am her own +son she does not remember me and speak to me; tell me, Sir, how I can +make her know me.' + +"'That,' said he, 'I can soon do. Any ghost that you let taste of the +blood will talk with you like a reasonable being, but if you do not let +them have any blood they will go away again.' + +"On this the ghost of Teiresias went back to the house of Hades, for his +prophecyings had now been spoken, but I sat still where I was until my +mother came up and tasted the blood. Then she knew me at once and spoke +fondly to me, saying, 'My son, how did you come down to this abode of +darkness while you are still alive? It is a hard thing for the living to +see these places, for between us and them there are great and terrible +waters, and there is Oceanus, which no man can cross on foot, but he +must have a good ship to take him. Are you all this time trying to find +your way home from Troy, and have you never yet got back to Ithaca nor +seen your wife in your own house?' + +"'Mother,' said I, 'I was forced to come here to consult the ghost of +the Theban prophet Teiresias. I have never yet been near the Achaean +land nor set foot on my native country, and I have had nothing but one +long series of misfortunes from the very first day that I set out with +Agamemnon for Ilius, the land of noble steeds, to fight the Trojans. But +tell me, and tell me true, in what way did you die? Did you have a long +illness, or did heaven vouchsafe you a gentle easy passage to eternity? +Tell me also about my father, and the son whom I left behind me, is my +property still in their hands, or has some one else got hold of it, who +thinks that I shall not return to claim it? Tell me again what my wife +intends doing, and in what mind she is; does she live with my son and +guard my estate securely, or has she made the best match she could and +married again?' + +"My mother answered, 'Your wife still remains in your house, but she is +in great distress of mind and spends her whole time in tears both night +and day. No one as yet has got possession of your fine property, and +Telemachus still holds your lands undisturbed. He has to entertain +largely, as of course he must, considering his position as a magistrate, +{92} and how every one invites him; your father remains at his old place +in the country and never goes near the town. He has no comfortable bed +nor bedding; in the winter he sleeps on the floor in front of the fire +with the men and goes about all in rags, but in summer, when the warm +weather comes on again, he lies out in the vineyard on a bed of vine +leaves thrown any how upon the ground. He grieves continually about your +never having come home, and suffers more and more as he grows older. As +for my own end it was in this wise: heaven did not take me swiftly and +painlessly in my own house, nor was I attacked by any illness such as +those that generally wear people out and kill them, but my longing to +know what you were doing and the force of my affection for you--this it +was that was the death of me.' {93} + +"Then I tried to find some way of embracing my poor mother's ghost. +Thrice I sprang towards her and tried to clasp her in my arms, but each +time she flitted from my embrace as it were a dream or phantom, and +being touched to the quick I said to her, 'Mother, why do you not stay +still when I would embrace you? If we could throw our arms around one +another we might find sad comfort in the sharing of our sorrows even in +the house of Hades; does Proserpine want to lay a still further load of +grief upon me by mocking me with a phantom only?' + +"'My son,' she answered, 'most ill-fated of all mankind, it is not +Proserpine that is beguiling you, but all people are like this when they +are dead. The sinews no longer hold the flesh and bones together; these +perish in the fierceness of consuming fire as soon as life has left the +body, and the soul flits away as though it were a dream. Now, however, +go back to the light of day as soon as you can, and note all these +things that you may tell them to your wife hereafter.' + +"Thus did we converse, and anon Proserpine sent up the ghosts of the +wives and daughters of all the most famous men. They gathered in crowds +about the blood, and I considered how I might question them severally. +In the end I deemed that it would be best to draw the keen blade that +hung by my sturdy thigh, and keep them from all drinking the blood at +once. So they came up one after the other, and each one as I questioned +her told me her race and lineage. + +"The first I saw was Tyro. She was daughter of Salmoneus and wife of +Cretheus the son of Aeolus. {94} She fell in love with the river Enipeus +who is much the most beautiful river in the whole world. Once when she +was taking a walk by his side as usual, Neptune, disguised as her lover, +lay with her at the mouth of the river, and a huge blue wave arched +itself like a mountain over them to hide both woman and god, whereon he +loosed her virgin girdle and laid her in a deep slumber. When the god +had accomplished the deed of love, he took her hand in his own and +said, 'Tyro, rejoice in all good will; the embraces of the gods are not +fruitless, and you will have fine twins about this time twelve months. +Take great care of them. I am Neptune, so now go home, but hold your +tongue and do not tell any one.' + +"Then he dived under the sea, and she in due course bore Pelias and +Neleus, who both of them served Jove with all their might. Pelias was +a great breeder of sheep and lived in Iolcus, but the other lived in +Pylos. The rest of her children were by Cretheus, namely, Aeson, Pheres, +and Amythaon, who was a mighty warrior and charioteer. + +"Next to her I saw Antiope, daughter to Asopus, who could boast of +having slept in the arms of even Jove himself, and who bore him two sons +Amphion and Zethus. These founded Thebes with its seven gates, and built +a wall all round it; for strong though they were they could not hold +Thebes till they had walled it. + +"Then I saw Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, who also bore to Jove +indomitable Hercules; and Megara who was daughter to great King Creon, +and married the redoubtable son of Amphitryon. + +"I also saw fair Epicaste mother of king Oedipodes whose awful lot it +was to marry her own son without suspecting it. He married her after +having killed his father, but the gods proclaimed the whole story to the +world; whereon he remained king of Thebes, in great grief for the spite +the gods had borne him; but Epicaste went to the house of the mighty +jailor Hades, having hanged herself for grief, and the avenging spirits +haunted him as for an outraged mother--to his ruing bitterly thereafter. + +"Then I saw Chloris, whom Neleus married for her beauty, having given +priceless presents for her. She was youngest daughter to Amphion son of +Iasus and king of Minyan Orchomenus, and was Queen in Pylos. She bore +Nestor, Chromius, and Periclymenus, and she also bore that marvellously +lovely woman Pero, who was wooed by all the country round; but Neleus +would only give her to him who should raid the cattle of Iphicles from +the grazing grounds of Phylace, and this was a hard task. The only man +who would undertake to raid them was a certain excellent seer, {95} but +the will of heaven was against him, for the rangers of the cattle caught +him and put him in prison; nevertheless when a full year had passed and +the same season came round again, Iphicles set him at liberty, after +he had expounded all the oracles of heaven. Thus, then, was the will of +Jove accomplished. + +"And I saw Leda the wife of Tyndarus, who bore him two famous sons, +Castor breaker of horses, and Pollux the mighty boxer. Both these heroes +are lying under the earth, though they are still alive, for by a special +dispensation of Jove, they die and come to life again, each one of them +every other day throughout all time, and they have the rank of gods. + +"After her I saw Iphimedeia wife of Aloeus who boasted the embrace +of Neptune. She bore two sons Otus and Ephialtes, but both were short +lived. They were the finest children that were ever born in this world, +and the best looking, Orion only excepted; for at nine years old they +were nine fathoms high, and measured nine cubits round the chest. They +threatened to make war with the gods in Olympus, and tried to set Mount +Ossa on the top of Mount Olympus, and Mount Pelion on the top of Ossa, +that they might scale heaven itself, and they would have done it too if +they had been grown up, but Apollo, son of Leto, killed both of them, +before they had got so much as a sign of hair upon their cheeks or chin. + +"Then I saw Phaedra, and Procris, and fair Ariadne daughter of the +magician Minos, whom Theseus was carrying off from Crete to Athens, but +he did not enjoy her, for before he could do so Diana killed her in the +island of Dia on account of what Bacchus had said against her. + +"I also saw Maera and Clymene and hateful Eriphyle, who sold her own +husband for gold. But it would take me all night if I were to name every +single one of the wives and daughters of heroes whom I saw, and it is +time for me to go to bed, either on board ship with my crew, or here. As +for my escort, heaven and yourselves will see to it." + +Here he ended, and the guests sat all of them enthralled and speechless +throughout the covered cloister. Then Arete said to them:-- + +"What do you think of this man, O Phaeacians? Is he not tall and good +looking, and is he not clever? True, he is my own guest, but all of you +share in the distinction. Do not be in a hurry to send him away, nor +niggardly in the presents you make to one who is in such great need, for +heaven has blessed all of you with great abundance." + +Then spoke the aged hero Echeneus who was one of the oldest men among +them, "My friends," said he, "what our august queen has just said to us +is both reasonable and to the purpose, therefore be persuaded by it; +but the decision whether in word or deed rests ultimately with King +Alcinous." + +"The thing shall be done," exclaimed Alcinous, "as surely as I still +live and reign over the Phaeacians. Our guest is indeed very anxious to +get home, still we must persuade him to remain with us until to-morrow, +by which time I shall be able to get together the whole sum that I mean +to give him. As regards his escort it will be a matter for you all, and +mine above all others as the chief person among you." + +And Ulysses answered, "King Alcinous, if you were to bid me to stay here +for a whole twelve months, and then speed me on my way, loaded with your +noble gifts, I should obey you gladly and it would redound greatly to +my advantage, for I should return fuller-handed to my own people, and +should thus be more respected and beloved by all who see me when I get +back to Ithaca." + +"Ulysses," replied Alcinous, "not one of us who sees you has any idea +that you are a charlatan or a swindler. I know there are many people +going about who tell such plausible stories that it is very hard to see +through them, but there is a style about your language which assures me +of your good disposition. Moreover you have told the story of your own +misfortunes, and those of the Argives, as though you were a practiced +bard; but tell me, and tell me true, whether you saw any of the mighty +heroes who went to Troy at the same time with yourself, and perished +there. The evenings are still at their longest, and it is not yet bed +time--go on, therefore, with your divine story, for I could stay here +listening till tomorrow morning, so long as you will continue to tell us +of your adventures." + +"Alcinous," answered Ulysses, "there is a time for making speeches, and +a time for going to bed; nevertheless, since you so desire, I will not +refrain from telling you the still sadder tale of those of my comrades +who did not fall fighting with the Trojans, but perished on their +return, through the treachery of a wicked woman. + +"When Proserpine had dismissed the female ghosts in all directions, +the ghost of Agamemnon son of Atreus came sadly up to me, surrounded by +those who had perished with him in the house of Aegisthus. As soon as he +had tasted the blood, he knew me, and weeping bitterly stretched out his +arms towards me to embrace me; but he had no strength nor substance any +more, and I too wept and pitied him as I beheld him. 'How did you come +by your death,' said I, 'King Agamemnon? Did Neptune raise his winds and +waves against you when you were at sea, or did your enemies make an end +of you on the main land when you were cattle-lifting or sheep-stealing, +or while they were fighting in defence of their wives and city?' + +"'Ulysses,' he answered, 'noble son of Laertes, I was not lost at sea +in any storm of Neptune's raising, nor did my foes despatch me upon the +mainland, but Aegisthus and my wicked wife were the death of me between +them. He asked me to his house, feasted me, and then butchered me most +miserably as though I were a fat beast in a slaughter house, while all +around me my comrades were slain like sheep or pigs for the wedding +breakfast, or picnic, or gorgeous banquet of some great nobleman. You +must have seen numbers of men killed either in a general engagement, or +in single combat, but you never saw anything so truly pitiable as the +way in which we fell in that cloister, with the mixing bowl and the +loaded tables lying all about, and the ground reeking with our blood. I +heard Priam's daughter Cassandra scream as Clytemnestra killed her close +beside me. I lay dying upon the earth with the sword in my body, and +raised my hands to kill the slut of a murderess, but she slipped away +from me; she would not even close my lips nor my eyes when I was dying, +for there is nothing in this world so cruel and so shameless as a woman +when she has fallen into such guilt as hers was. Fancy murdering her own +husband! I thought I was going to be welcomed home by my children and my +servants, but her abominable crime has brought disgrace on herself and +all women who shall come after--even on the good ones.' + +"And I said, 'In truth Jove has hated the house of Atreus from first to +last in the matter of their women's counsels. See how many of us fell +for Helen's sake, and now it seems that Clytemnestra hatched mischief +against you too during your absence.' + +"'Be sure, therefore,' continued Agamemnon, 'and not be too friendly +even with your own wife. Do not tell her all that you know perfectly +well yourself. Tell her a part only, and keep your own counsel about the +rest. Not that your wife, Ulysses, is likely to murder you, for Penelope +is a very admirable woman, and has an excellent nature. We left her a +young bride with an infant at her breast when we set out for Troy. This +child no doubt is now grown up happily to man's estate, {96} and he and +his father will have a joyful meeting and embrace one another as it is +right they should do, whereas my wicked wife did not even allow me +the happiness of looking upon my son, but killed me ere I could do so. +Furthermore I say--and lay my saying to your heart--do not tell people +when you are bringing your ship to Ithaca, but steal a march upon them, +for after all this there is no trusting women. But now tell me, and +tell me true, can you give me any news of my son Orestes? Is he in +Orchomenus, or at Pylos, or is he at Sparta with Menelaus--for I presume +that he is still living.' + +"And I said, 'Agamemnon, why do you ask me? I do not know whether your +son is alive or dead, and it is not right to talk when one does not +know.' + +"As we two sat weeping and talking thus sadly with one another the ghost +of Achilles came up to us with Patroclus, Antilochus, and Ajax who was +the finest and goodliest man of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus. +The fleet descendant of Aeacus knew me and spoke piteously, saying, +'Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, what deed of daring will you undertake +next, that you venture down to the house of Hades among us silly dead, +who are but the ghosts of them that can labour no more?' + +"And I said, 'Achilles, son of Peleus, foremost champion of the +Achaeans, I came to consult Teiresias, and see if he could advise me +about my return home to Ithaca, for I have never yet been able to get +near the Achaean land, nor to set foot in my own country, but have been +in trouble all the time. As for you, Achilles, no one was ever yet so +fortunate as you have been, nor ever will be, for you were adored by all +us Argives as long as you were alive, and now that you are here you are +a great prince among the dead. Do not, therefore, take it so much to +heart even if you are dead.' + +"'Say not a word,' he answered, 'in death's favour; I would rather be +a paid servant in a poor man's house and be above ground than king of +kings among the dead. But give me news about my son; is he gone to the +wars and will he be a great soldier, or is this not so? Tell me also if +you have heard anything about my father Peleus--does he still rule among +the Myrmidons, or do they show him no respect throughout Hellas and +Phthia now that he is old and his limbs fail him? Could I but stand by +his side, in the light of day, with the same strength that I had when I +killed the bravest of our foes upon the plain of Troy--could I but be +as I then was and go even for a short time to my father's house, any one +who tried to do him violence or supersede him would soon rue it.' + +"'I have heard nothing,' I answered, 'of Peleus, but I can tell you all +about your son Neoptolemus, for I took him in my own ship from Scyros +with the Achaeans. In our councils of war before Troy he was always +first to speak, and his judgement was unerring. Nestor and I were the +only two who could surpass him; and when it came to fighting on the +plain of Troy, he would never remain with the body of his men, but would +dash on far in front, foremost of them all in valour. Many a man did +he kill in battle--I cannot name every single one of those whom he slew +while fighting on the side of the Argives, but will only say how +he killed that valiant hero Eurypylus son of Telephus, who was the +handsomest man I ever saw except Memnon; many others also of the +Ceteians fell around him by reason of a woman's bribes. Moreover, when +all the bravest of the Argives went inside the horse that Epeus had +made, and it was left to me to settle when we should either open the +door of our ambuscade, or close it, though all the other leaders and +chief men among the Danaans were drying their eyes and quaking in every +limb, I never once saw him turn pale nor wipe a tear from his cheek; +he was all the time urging me to break out from the horse--grasping +the handle of his sword and his bronze-shod spear, and breathing fury +against the foe. Yet when we had sacked the city of Priam he got his +handsome share of the prize money and went on board (such is the fortune +of war) without a wound upon him, neither from a thrown spear nor in +close combat, for the rage of Mars is a matter of great chance.' + +"When I had told him this, the ghost of Achilles strode off across a +meadow full of asphodel, exulting over what I had said concerning the +prowess of his son. + +"The ghosts of other dead men stood near me and told me each his own +melancholy tale; but that of Ajax son of Telamon alone held aloof--still +angry with me for having won the cause in our dispute about the armour +of Achilles. Thetis had offered it as a prize, but the Trojan prisoners +and Minerva were the judges. Would that I had never gained the day in +such a contest, for it cost the life of Ajax, who was foremost of all +the Danaans after the son of Peleus, alike in stature and prowess. + +"When I saw him I tried to pacify him and said, 'Ajax, will you not +forget and forgive even in death, but must the judgement about that +hateful armour still rankle with you? It cost us Argives dear enough to +lose such a tower of strength as you were to us. We mourned you as much +as we mourned Achilles son of Peleus himself, nor can the blame be laid +on anything but on the spite which Jove bore against the Danaans, for it +was this that made him counsel your destruction--come hither, therefore, +bring your proud spirit into subjection, and hear what I can tell you.' + +"He would not answer, but turned away to Erebus and to the other ghosts; +nevertheless, I should have made him talk to me in spite of his being +so angry, or I should have gone on talking to him, {97} only that there +were still others among the dead whom I desired to see. + +"Then I saw Minos son of Jove with his golden sceptre in his hand +sitting in judgement on the dead, and the ghosts were gathered sitting +and standing round him in the spacious house of Hades, to learn his +sentences upon them. + +"After him I saw huge Orion in a meadow full of asphodel driving the +ghosts of the wild beasts that he had killed upon the mountains, and he +had a great bronze club in his hand, unbreakable for ever and ever. + +"And I saw Tityus son of Gaia stretched upon the plain and covering some +nine acres of ground. Two vultures on either side of him were digging +their beaks into his liver, and he kept on trying to beat them off with +his hands, but could not; for he had violated Jove's mistress Leto as +she was going through Panopeus on her way to Pytho. + +"I saw also the dreadful fate of Tantalus, who stood in a lake that +reached his chin; he was dying to quench his thirst, but could never +reach the water, for whenever the poor creature stooped to drink, it +dried up and vanished, so that there was nothing but dry ground--parched +by the spite of heaven. There were tall trees, moreover, that shed their +fruit over his head--pears, pomegranates, apples, sweet figs and juicy +olives, but whenever the poor creature stretched out his hand to take +some, the wind tossed the branches back again to the clouds. + +"And I saw Sisyphus at his endless task raising his prodigious stone +with both his hands. With hands and feet he tried to roll it up to the +top of the hill, but always, just before he could roll it over on to the +other side, its weight would be too much for him, and the pitiless stone +{98} would come thundering down again on to the plain. Then he would +begin trying to push it up hill again, and the sweat ran off him and the +steam rose after him. + +"After him I saw mighty Hercules, but it was his phantom only, for he is +feasting ever with the immortal gods, and has lovely Hebe to wife, who +is daughter of Jove and Juno. The ghosts were screaming round him like +scared birds flying all whithers. He looked black as night with his bare +bow in his hands and his arrow on the string, glaring around as though +ever on the point of taking aim. About his breast there was a wondrous +golden belt adorned in the most marvellous fashion with bears, wild +boars, and lions with gleaming eyes; there was also war, battle, and +death. The man who made that belt, do what he might, would never be able +to make another like it. Hercules knew me at once when he saw me, and +spoke piteously, saying, 'My poor Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, are +you too leading the same sorry kind of life that I did when I was above +ground? I was son of Jove, but I went through an infinity of suffering, +for I became bondsman to one who was far beneath me--a low fellow +who set me all manner of labours. He once sent me here to fetch the +hell-hound--for he did not think he could find anything harder for me +than this, but I got the hound out of Hades and brought him to him, for +Mercury and Minerva helped me.' + +"On this Hercules went down again into the house of Hades, but I stayed +where I was in case some other of the mighty dead should come to me. +And I should have seen still other of them that are gone before, whom +I would fain have seen--Theseus and Pirithous--glorious children of the +gods, but so many thousands of ghosts came round me and uttered such +appalling cries, that I was panic stricken lest Proserpine should send +up from the house of Hades the head of that awful monster Gorgon. On +this I hastened back to my ship and ordered my men to go on board at +once and loose the hawsers; so they embarked and took their places, +whereon the ship went down the stream of the river Oceanus. We had to +row at first, but presently a fair wind sprang up. + + +Book XII + +THE SIRENS, SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS, THE CATTLE OF THE SUN. + +"After we were clear of the river Oceanus, and had got out into the open +sea, we went on till we reached the Aeaean island where there is dawn +and sun-rise as in other places. We then drew our ship on to the sands +and got out of her on to the shore, where we went to sleep and waited +till day should break. + +"Then, when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, I sent +some men to Circe's house to fetch the body of Elpenor. We cut firewood +from a wood where the headland jutted out into the sea, and after we had +wept over him and lamented him we performed his funeral rites. When his +body and armour had been burned to ashes, we raised a cairn, set a stone +over it, and at the top of the cairn we fixed the oar that he had been +used to row with. + +"While we were doing all this, Circe, who knew that we had got back from +the house of Hades, dressed herself and came to us as fast as she could; +and her maid servants came with her bringing us bread, meat, and wine. +Then she stood in the midst of us and said, 'You have done a bold thing +in going down alive to the house of Hades, and you will have died twice, +to other people's once; now, then, stay here for the rest of the +day, feast your fill, and go on with your voyage at daybreak tomorrow +morning. In the meantime I will tell Ulysses about your course, and +will explain everything to him so as to prevent your suffering from +misadventure either by land or sea.' + +"We agreed to do as she had said, and feasted through the livelong day +to the going down of the sun, but when the sun had set and it came on +dark, the men laid themselves down to sleep by the stern cables of the +ship. Then Circe took me by the hand and bade me be seated away from +the others, while she reclined by my side and asked me all about our +adventures. + +"'So far so good,' said she, when I had ended my story, 'and now pay +attention to what I am about to tell you--heaven itself, indeed, will +recall it to your recollection. First you will come to the Sirens who +enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close +and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never +welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to +death with the sweetness of their song. There is a great heap of dead +men's bones lying all around, with the flesh still rotting off them. +Therefore pass these Sirens by, and stop your men's ears with wax that +none of them may hear; but if you like you can listen yourself, for you +may get the men to bind you as you stand upright on a cross piece half +way up the mast, {99} and they must lash the rope's ends to the mast +itself, that you may have the pleasure of listening. If you beg and pray +the men to unloose you, then they must bind you faster. + +"'When your crew have taken you past these Sirens, I cannot give you +coherent directions {100} as to which of two courses you are to take; I +will lay the two alternatives before you, and you must consider them for +yourself. On the one hand there are some overhanging rocks against which +the deep blue waves of Amphitrite beat with terrific fury; the blessed +gods call these rocks the Wanderers. Here not even a bird may pass, no, +not even the timid doves that bring ambrosia to Father Jove, but the +sheer rock always carries off one of them, and Father Jove has to send +another to make up their number; no ship that ever yet came to these +rocks has got away again, but the waves and whirlwinds of fire are +freighted with wreckage and with the bodies of dead men. The only vessel +that ever sailed and got through, was the famous Argo on her way from +the house of Aetes, and she too would have gone against these great +rocks, only that Juno piloted her past them for the love she bore to +Jason. + +"'Of these two rocks the one reaches heaven and its peak is lost in a +dark cloud. This never leaves it, so that the top is never clear not +even in summer and early autumn. No man though he had twenty hands and +twenty feet could get a foothold on it and climb it, for it runs sheer +up, as smooth as though it had been polished. In the middle of it there +is a large cavern, looking West and turned towards Erebus; you must +take your ship this way, but the cave is so high up that not even the +stoutest archer could send an arrow into it. Inside it Scylla sits and +yelps with a voice that you might take to be that of a young hound, but +in truth she is a dreadful monster and no one--not even a god--could +face her without being terror-struck. She has twelve mis-shapen feet, +and six necks of the most prodigious length; and at the end of each neck +she has a frightful head with three rows of teeth in each, all set very +close together, so that they would crunch any one to death in a moment, +and she sits deep within her shady cell thrusting out her heads and +peering all round the rock, fishing for dolphins or dogfish or +any larger monster that she can catch, of the thousands with which +Amphitrite teems. No ship ever yet got past her without losing some men, +for she shoots out all her heads at once, and carries off a man in each +mouth. + +"'You will find the other rock lie lower, but they are so close together +that there is not more than a bow-shot between them. [A large fig +tree in full leaf {101} grows upon it], and under it lies the sucking +whirlpool of Charybdis. Three times in the day does she vomit forth her +waters, and three times she sucks them down again; see that you be not +there when she is sucking, for if you are, Neptune himself could not +save you; you must hug the Scylla side and drive ship by as fast as you +can, for you had better lose six men than your whole crew.' + +"'Is there no way,' said I, 'of escaping Charybdis, and at the same time +keeping Scylla off when she is trying to harm my men?' + +"'You dare devil,' replied the goddess, 'you are always wanting to fight +somebody or something; you will not let yourself be beaten even by the +immortals. For Scylla is not mortal; moreover she is savage, extreme, +rude, cruel and invincible. There is no help for it; your best chance +will be to get by her as fast as ever you can, for if you dawdle about +her rock while you are putting on your armour, she may catch you with +a second cast of her six heads, and snap up another half dozen of your +men; so drive your ship past her at full speed, and roar out lustily to +Crataiis who is Scylla's dam, bad luck to her; she will then stop her +from making a second raid upon you.' + +"'You will now come to the Thrinacian island, and here you will see +many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep belonging to the sun-god--seven +herds of cattle and seven flocks of sheep, with fifty head in each +flock. They do not breed, nor do they become fewer in number, and they +are tended by the goddesses Phaethusa and Lampetie, who are children of +the sun-god Hyperion by Neaera. Their mother when she had borne them and +had done suckling them sent them to the Thrinacian island, which was +a long way off, to live there and look after their father's flocks and +herds. If you leave these flocks unharmed, and think of nothing but +getting home, you may yet after much hardship reach Ithaca; but if you +harm them, then I forewarn you of the destruction both of your ship +and of your comrades; and even though you may yourself escape, you will +return late, in bad plight, after losing all your men.' + +"Here she ended, and dawn enthroned in gold began to show in heaven, +whereon she returned inland. I then went on board and told my men to +loose the ship from her moorings; so they at once got into her, took +their places, and began to smite the grey sea with their oars. Presently +the great and cunning goddess Circe befriended us with a fair wind +that blew dead aft, and staid steadily with us, keeping our sails well +filled, so we did whatever wanted doing to the ship's gear, and let her +go as wind and helmsman headed her. + +"Then, being much troubled in mind, I said to my men, 'My friends, it +is not right that one or two of us alone should know the prophecies that +Circe has made me, I will therefore tell you about them, so that whether +we live or die we may do so with our eyes open. First she said we were +to keep clear of the Sirens, who sit and sing most beautifully in a +field of flowers; but she said I might hear them myself so long as no +one else did. Therefore, take me and bind me to the crosspiece half +way up the mast; bind me as I stand upright, with a bond so fast that I +cannot possibly break away, and lash the rope's ends to the mast itself. +If I beg and pray you to set me free, then bind me more tightly still.' + +"I had hardly finished telling everything to the men before we +reached the island of the two Sirens, {102} for the wind had been very +favourable. Then all of a sudden it fell dead calm; there was not a +breath of wind nor a ripple upon the water, so the men furled the sails +and stowed them; then taking to their oars they whitened the water with +the foam they raised in rowing. Meanwhile I look a large wheel of wax +and cut it up small with my sword. Then I kneaded the wax in my strong +hands till it became soft, which it soon did between the kneading and +the rays of the sun-god son of Hyperion. Then I stopped the ears of all +my men, and they bound me hands and feet to the mast as I stood upright +on the cross piece; but they went on rowing themselves. When we had got +within earshot of the land, and the ship was going at a good rate, the +Sirens saw that we were getting in shore and began with their singing. + +"'Come here,' they sang, 'renowned Ulysses, honour to the Achaean name, +and listen to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying +to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song--and he who listens will +go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that +the gods laid upon the Argives and Trojans before Troy, and can tell you +everything that is going to happen over the whole world.' + +"They sang these words most musically, and as I longed to hear them +further I made signs by frowning to my men that they should set me free; +but they quickened their stroke, and Eurylochus and Perimedes bound me +with still stronger bonds till we had got out of hearing of the Sirens' +voices. Then my men took the wax from their ears and unbound me. + +"Immediately after we had got past the island I saw a great wave from +which spray was rising, and I heard a loud roaring sound. The men were +so frightened that they loosed hold of their oars, for the whole sea +resounded with the rushing of the waters, {103} but the ship stayed +where it was, for the men had left off rowing. I went round, therefore, +and exhorted them man by man not to lose heart. + +"'My friends,' said I, 'this is not the first time that we have been +in danger, and we are in nothing like so bad a case as when the Cyclops +shut us up in his cave; nevertheless, my courage and wise counsel +saved us then, and we shall live to look back on all this as well. Now, +therefore, let us all do as I say, trust in Jove and row on with might +and main. As for you, coxswain, these are your orders; attend to them, +for the ship is in your hands; turn her head away from these steaming +rapids and hug the rock, or she will give you the slip and be over +yonder before you know where you are, and you will be the death of us.' + +"So they did as I told them; but I said nothing about the awful monster +Scylla, for I knew the men would not go on rowing if I did, but would +huddle together in the hold. In one thing only did I disobey Circe's +strict instructions--I put on my armour. Then seizing two strong spears +I took my stand on the ship's bows, for it was there that I expected +first to see the monster of the rock, who was to do my men so much harm; +but I could not make her out anywhere, though I strained my eyes with +looking the gloomy rock all over and over. + +"Then we entered the Straits in great fear of mind, for on the one hand +was Scylla, and on the other dread Charybdis kept sucking up the salt +water. As she vomited it up, it was like the water in a cauldron when it +is boiling over upon a great fire, and the spray reached the top of the +rocks on either side. When she began to suck again, we could see the +water all inside whirling round and round, and it made a deafening sound +as it broke against the rocks. We could see the bottom of the whirlpool +all black with sand and mud, and the men were at their wits ends for +fear. While we were taken up with this, and were expecting each moment +to be our last, Scylla pounced down suddenly upon us and snatched up my +six best men. I was looking at once after both ship and men, and in a +moment I saw their hands and feet ever so high above me, struggling in +the air as Scylla was carrying them off, and I heard them call out my +name in one last despairing cry. As a fisherman, seated, spear in hand, +upon some jutting rock {104} throws bait into the water to deceive the +poor little fishes, and spears them with the ox's horn with which his +spear is shod, throwing them gasping on to the land as he catches them +one by one--even so did Scylla land these panting creatures on her +rock and munch them up at the mouth of her den, while they screamed and +stretched out their hands to me in their mortal agony. This was the most +sickening sight that I saw throughout all my voyages. + +"When we had passed the [Wandering] rocks, with Scylla and terrible +Charybdis, we reached the noble island of the sun-god, where were the +goodly cattle and sheep belonging to the sun Hyperion. While still at +sea in my ship I could bear the cattle lowing as they came home to the +yards, and the sheep bleating. Then I remembered what the blind Theban +prophet Teiresias had told me, and how carefully Aeaean Circe had warned +me to shun the island of the blessed sun-god. So being much troubled I +said to the men, 'My men, I know you are hard pressed, but listen while +I tell you the prophecy that Teiresias made me, and how carefully Aeaean +Circe warned me to shun the island of the blessed sun-god, for it +was here, she said, that our worst danger would lie. Head the ship, +therefore, away from the island.' + +"The men were in despair at this, and Eurylochus at once gave me an +insolent answer. 'Ulysses,' said he, 'you are cruel; you are very strong +yourself and never get worn out; you seem to be made of iron, and now, +though your men are exhausted with toil and want of sleep, you will not +let them land and cook themselves a good supper upon this island, but +bid them put out to sea and go faring fruitlessly on through the watches +of the flying night. It is by night that the winds blow hardest and do +so much damage; how can we escape should one of those sudden squalls +spring up from South West or West, which so often wreck a vessel when +our lords the gods are unpropitious? Now, therefore, let us obey the +behests of night and prepare our supper here hard by the ship; to-morrow +morning we will go on board again and put out to sea.' + +"Thus spoke Eurylochus, and the men approved his words. I saw that +heaven meant us a mischief and said, 'You force me to yield, for you are +many against one, but at any rate each one of you must take his solemn +oath that if he meet with a herd of cattle or a large flock of sheep, +he will not be so mad as to kill a single head of either, but will be +satisfied with the food that Circe has given us.' + +"They all swore as I bade them, and when they had completed their oath +we made the ship fast in a harbour that was near a stream of fresh +water, and the men went ashore and cooked their suppers. As soon as they +had had enough to eat and drink, they began talking about their poor +comrades whom Scylla had snatched up and eaten; this set them weeping +and they went on crying till they fell off into a sound sleep. + +"In the third watch of the night when the stars had shifted their +places, Jove raised a great gale of wind that flew a hurricane so that +land and sea were covered with thick clouds, and night sprang forth out +of the heavens. When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, +we brought the ship to land and drew her into a cave wherein the +sea-nymphs hold their courts and dances, and I called the men together +in council. + +"'My friends,' said I, 'we have meat and drink in the ship, let us mind, +therefore, and not touch the cattle, or we shall suffer for it; for +these cattle and sheep belong to the mighty sun, who sees and gives ear +to everything.' And again they promised that they would obey. + +"For a whole month the wind blew steadily from the South, and there was +no other wind, but only South and East. {105} As long as corn and wine +held out the men did not touch the cattle when they were hungry; when, +however, they had eaten all there was in the ship, they were forced +to go further afield, with hook and line, catching birds, and taking +whatever they could lay their hands on; for they were starving. One day, +therefore, I went up inland that I might pray heaven to show me some +means of getting away. When I had gone far enough to be clear of all +my men, and had found a place that was well sheltered from the wind, +I washed my hands and prayed to all the gods in Olympus till by and by +they sent me off into a sweet sleep. + +"Meanwhile Eurylochus had been giving evil counsel to the men, 'Listen +to me,' said he, 'my poor comrades. All deaths are bad enough but there +is none so bad as famine. Why should not we drive in the best of these +cows and offer them in sacrifice to the immortal gods? If we ever get +back to Ithaca, we can build a fine temple to the sun-god and enrich it +with every kind of ornament; if, however, he is determined to sink our +ship out of revenge for these homed cattle, and the other gods are of +the same mind, I for one would rather drink salt water once for all and +have done with it, than be starved to death by inches in such a desert +island as this is.' + +"Thus spoke Eurylochus, and the men approved his words. Now the cattle, +so fair and goodly, were feeding not far from the ship; the men, +therefore, drove in the best of them, and they all stood round them +saying their prayers, and using young oak-shoots instead of barley-meal, +for there was no barley left. When they had done praying they killed the +cows and dressed their carcasses; they cut out the thigh bones, wrapped +them round in two layers of fat, and set some pieces of raw meat on top +of them. They had no wine with which to make drink-offerings over the +sacrifice while it was cooking, so they kept pouring on a little water +from time to time while the inward meats were being grilled; then, when +the thigh bones were burned and they had tasted the inward meats, they +cut the rest up small and put the pieces upon the spits. + +"By this time my deep sleep had left me, and I turned back to the ship +and to the sea shore. As I drew near I began to smell hot roast meat, so +I groaned out a prayer to the immortal gods. 'Father Jove,' I exclaimed, +'and all you other gods who live in everlasting bliss, you have done me +a cruel mischief by the sleep into which you have sent me; see what fine +work these men of mine have been making in my absence.' + +"Meanwhile Lampetie went straight off to the sun and told him we had +been killing his cows, whereon he flew into a great rage, and said +to the immortals, 'Father Jove, and all you other gods who live in +everlasting bliss, I must have vengeance on the crew of Ulysses' ship: +they have had the insolence to kill my cows, which were the one thing I +loved to look upon, whether I was going up heaven or down again. If they +do not square accounts with me about my cows, I will go down to Hades +and shine there among the dead.' + +"'Sun,' said Jove, 'go on shining upon us gods and upon mankind over the +fruitful earth. I will shiver their ship into little pieces with a bolt +of white lightning as soon as they get out to sea.' + +"I was told all this by Calypso, who said she had heard it from the +mouth of Mercury. + +"As soon as I got down to my ship and to the sea shore I rebuked each +one of the men separately, but we could see no way out of it, for the +cows were dead already. And indeed the gods began at once to show signs +and wonders among us, for the hides of the cattle crawled about, and +the joints upon the spits began to low like cows, and the meat, whether +cooked or raw, kept on making a noise just as cows do. + +"For six days my men kept driving in the best cows and feasting upon +them, but when Jove the son of Saturn had added a seventh day, the fury +of the gale abated; we therefore went on board, raised our masts, spread +sail, and put out to sea. As soon as we were well away from the island, +and could see nothing but sky and sea, the son of Saturn raised a black +cloud over our ship, and the sea grew dark beneath it. We did not get on +much further, for in another moment we were caught by a terrific squall +from the West that snapped the forestays of the mast so that it fell +aft, while all the ship's gear tumbled about at the bottom of the +vessel. The mast fell upon the head of the helmsman in the ship's +stern, so that the bones of his head were crushed to pieces, and he fell +overboard as though he were diving, with no more life left in him. + +"Then Jove let fly with his thunderbolts, and the ship went round and +round, and was filled with fire and brimstone as the lightning struck +it. The men all fell into the sea; they were carried about in the water +round the ship, looking like so many sea-gulls, but the god presently +deprived them of all chance of getting home again. + +"I stuck to the ship till the sea knocked her sides from her keel (which +drifted about by itself) and struck the mast out of her in the direction +of the keel; but there was a backstay of stout ox-thong still hanging +about it, and with this I lashed the mast and keel together, and getting +astride of them was carried wherever the winds chose to take me. + +"[The gale from the West had now spent its force, and the wind got into +the South again, which frightened me lest I should be taken back to the +terrible whirlpool of Charybdis. This indeed was what actually happened, +for I was borne along by the waves all night, and by sunrise had reached +the rock of Scylla, and the whirlpool. She was then sucking down the +salt sea water, {106} but I was carried aloft toward the fig tree, which +I caught hold of and clung on to like a bat. I could not plant my feet +anywhere so as to stand securely, for the roots were a long way off and +the boughs that overshadowed the whole pool were too high, too vast, and +too far apart for me to reach them; so I hung patiently on, waiting till +the pool should discharge my mast and raft again--and a very long while +it seemed. A jury-man is not more glad to get home to supper, after +having been long detained in court by troublesome cases, than I was to +see my raft beginning to work its way out of the whirlpool again. At +last I let go with my hands and feet, and fell heavily into the sea, +hard by my raft on to which I then got, and began to row with my hands. +As for Scylla, the father of gods and men would not let her get further +sight of me--otherwise I should have certainly been lost.] {107} + +"Hence I was carried along for nine days till on the tenth night the +gods stranded me on the Ogygian island, where dwells the great and +powerful goddess Calypso. She took me in and was kind to me, but I need +say no more about this, for I told you and your noble wife all about it +yesterday, and I hate saying the same thing over and over again." + + +Book XIII + +ULYSSES LEAVES SCHERIA AND RETURNS TO ITHACA. + +Thus did he speak, and they all held their peace throughout the covered +cloister, enthralled by the charm of his story, till presently Alcinous +began to speak. + +"Ulysses," said he, "now that you have reached my house I doubt not you +will get home without further misadventure no matter how much you have +suffered in the past. To you others, however, who come here night after +night to drink my choicest wine and listen to my bard, I would insist +as follows. Our guest has already packed up the clothes, wrought gold, +{108} and other valuables which you have brought for his acceptance; +let us now, therefore, present him further, each one of us, with a large +tripod and a cauldron. We will recoup ourselves by the levy of a general +rate; for private individuals cannot be expected to bear the burden of +such a handsome present." + +Every one approved of this, and then they went home to bed each in his +own abode. When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared they +hurried down to the ship and brought their cauldrons with them. Alcinous +went on board and saw everything so securely stowed under the ship's +benches that nothing could break adrift and injure the rowers. Then they +went to the house of Alcinous to get dinner, and he sacrificed a bull +for them in honour of Jove who is the lord of all. They set the steaks +to grill and made an excellent dinner, after which the inspired bard, +Demodocus, who was a favourite with every one, sang to them; but Ulysses +kept on turning his eyes towards the sun, as though to hasten his +setting, for he was longing to be on his way. As one who has been all +day ploughing a fallow field with a couple of oxen keeps thinking about +his supper and is glad when night comes that he may go and get it, for +it is all his legs can do to carry him, even so did Ulysses rejoice when +the sun went down, and he at once said to the Phaeacians, addressing +himself more particularly to King Alcinous: + +"Sir, and all of you, farewell. Make your drink-offerings and send me on +my way rejoicing, for you have fulfilled my heart's desire by giving me +an escort, and making me presents, which heaven grant that I may turn +to good account; may I find my admirable wife living in peace among +friends, {109} and may you whom I leave behind me give satisfaction +to your wives and children; {110} may heaven vouchsafe you every good +grace, and may no evil thing come among your people." + +Thus did he speak. His hearers all of them approved his saying and +agreed that he should have his escort inasmuch as he had spoken +reasonably. Alcinous therefore said to his servant, "Pontonous, mix +some wine and hand it round to everybody, that we may offer a prayer to +father Jove, and speed our guest upon his way." + +Pontonous mixed the wine and handed it to every one in turn; the others +each from his own seat made a drink-offering to the blessed gods that +live in heaven, but Ulysses rose and placed the double cup in the hands +of queen Arete. + +"Farewell, queen," said he, "henceforward and for ever, till age and +death, the common lot of mankind, lay their hands upon you. I now take +my leave; be happy in this house with your children, your people, and +with king Alcinous." + +As he spoke he crossed the threshold, and Alcinous sent a man to conduct +him to his ship and to the sea shore. Arete also sent some maidservants +with him--one with a clean shirt and cloak, another to carry his strong +box, and a third with corn and wine. When they got to the water side +the crew took these things and put them on board, with all the meat and +drink; but for Ulysses they spread a rug and a linen sheet on deck that +he might sleep soundly in the stern of the ship. Then he too went on +board and lay down without a word, but the crew took every man his place +and loosed the hawser from the pierced stone to which it had been bound. +Thereon, when they began rowing out to sea, Ulysses fell into a deep, +sweet, and almost deathlike slumber. {111} + +The ship bounded forward on her way as a four in hand chariot flies over +the course when the horses feel the whip. Her prow curvetted as it were +the neck of a stallion, and a great wave of dark blue water seethed in +her wake. She held steadily on her course, and even a falcon, swiftest +of all birds, could not have kept pace with her. Thus, then, she cut her +way through the water, carrying one who was as cunning as the gods, but +who was now sleeping peacefully, forgetful of all that he had suffered +both on the field of battle and by the waves of the weary sea. + +When the bright star that heralds the approach of dawn began to show, +the ship drew near to land. {112} Now there is in Ithaca a haven of the +old merman Phorcys, which lies between two points that break the line +of the sea and shut the harbour in. These shelter it from the storms of +wind and sea that rage outside, so that, when once within it, a ship may +lie without being even moored. At the head of this harbour there is a +large olive tree, and at no great distance a fine overarching cavern +sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads. {113} There are mixing bowls +within it and wine-jars of stone, and the bees hive there. Moreover, +there are great looms of stone on which the nymphs weave their robes of +sea purple--very curious to see--and at all times there is water within +it. It has two entrances, one facing North by which mortals can go +down into the cave, while the other comes from the South and is more +mysterious; mortals cannot possibly get in by it, it is the way taken by +the gods. + +Into this harbour, then, they took their ship, for they knew the place. +{114} She had so much way upon her that she ran half her own length on +to the shore; {115} when, however, they had landed, the first thing they +did was to lift Ulysses with his rug and linen sheet out of the ship, +and lay him down upon the sand still fast asleep. Then they took out the +presents which Minerva had persuaded the Phaeacians to give him when he +was setting out on his voyage homewards. They put these all together by +the root of the olive tree, away from the road, for fear some passer by +{116} might come and steal them before Ulysses awoke; and then they made +the best of their way home again. + +But Neptune did not forget the threats with which he had already +threatened Ulysses, so he took counsel with Jove. "Father Jove," said +he, "I shall no longer be held in any sort of respect among you gods, if +mortals like the Phaeacians, who are my own flesh and blood, show such +small regard for me. I said I would let Ulysses get home when he had +suffered sufficiently. I did not say that he should never get home at +all, for I knew you had already nodded your head about it, and promised +that he should do so; but now they have brought him in a ship fast +asleep and have landed him in Ithaca after loading him with more +magnificent presents of bronze, gold, and raiment than he would ever +have brought back from Troy, if he had had his share of the spoil and +got home without misadventure." + +And Jove answered, "What, O Lord of the Earthquake, are you talking +about? The gods are by no means wanting in respect for you. It would +be monstrous were they to insult one so old and honoured as you are. As +regards mortals, however, if any of them is indulging in insolence and +treating you disrespectfully, it will always rest with yourself to deal +with him as you may think proper, so do just as you please." + +"I should have done so at once," replied Neptune, "if I were not anxious +to avoid anything that might displease you; now, therefore, I should +like to wreck the Phaeacian ship as it is returning from its escort. +This will stop them from escorting people in future; and I should also +like to bury their city under a huge mountain." + +"My good friend," answered Jove, "I should recommend you at the very +moment when the people from the city are watching the ship on her way, +to turn it into a rock near the land and looking like a ship. This +will astonish everybody, and you can then bury their city under the +mountain." + +When earth-encircling Neptune heard this he went to Scheria where the +Phaeacians live, and stayed there till the ship, which was making rapid +way, had got close in. Then he went up to it, turned it into stone, and +drove it down with the flat of his hand so as to root it in the ground. +After this he went away. + +The Phaeacians then began talking among themselves, and one would turn +towards his neighbour, saying, "Bless my heart, who is it that can have +rooted the ship in the sea just as she was getting into port? We could +see the whole of her only a moment ago." + +This was how they talked, but they knew nothing about it; and Alcinous +said, "I remember now the old prophecy of my father. He said that +Neptune would be angry with us for taking every one so safely over the +sea, and would one day wreck a Phaeacian ship as it was returning from +an escort, and bury our city under a high mountain. This was what my old +father used to say, and now it is all coming true. {117} Now therefore +let us all do as I say; in the first place we must leave off giving +people escorts when they come here, and in the next let us sacrifice +twelve picked bulls to Neptune that he may have mercy upon us, and not +bury our city under the high mountain." When the people heard this they +were afraid and got ready the bulls. + +Thus did the chiefs and rulers of the Phaeacians pray to king Neptune, +standing round his altar; and at the same time {118} Ulysses woke up +once more upon his own soil. He had been so long away that he did not +know it again; moreover, Jove's daughter Minerva had made it a foggy +day, so that people might not know of his having come, and that she +might tell him everything without either his wife or his fellow citizens +and friends recognising him {119} until he had taken his revenge upon +the wicked suitors. Everything, therefore, seemed quite different to +him--the long straight tracks, the harbours, the precipices, and the +goodly trees, appeared all changed as he started up and looked upon his +native land. So he smote his thighs with the flat of his hands and cried +aloud despairingly. + +"Alas," he exclaimed, "among what manner of people am I fallen? Are they +savage and uncivilised or hospitable and humane? Where shall I put all +this treasure, and which way shall I go? I wish I had staid over there +with the Phaeacians; or I could have gone to some other great chief who +would have been good to me and given me an escort. As it is I do not +know where to put my treasure, and I cannot leave it here for fear +somebody else should get hold of it. In good truth the chiefs and rulers +of the Phaeacians have not been dealing fairly by me, and have left me +in the wrong country; they said they would take me back to Ithaca and +they have not done so: may Jove the protector of suppliants chastise +them, for he watches over everybody and punishes those who do wrong. +Still, I suppose I must count my goods and see if the crew have gone off +with any of them." + +He counted his goodly coppers and cauldrons, his gold and all his +clothes, but there was nothing missing; still he kept grieving about not +being in his own country, and wandered up and down by the shore of +the sounding sea bewailing his hard fate. Then Minerva came up to him +disguised as a young shepherd of delicate and princely mien, with a good +cloak folded double about her shoulders; she had sandals on her comely +feet and held a javelin in her hand. Ulysses was glad when he saw her, +and went straight up to her. + +"My friend," said he, "you are the first person whom I have met with in +this country; I salute you, therefore, and beg you to be well disposed +towards me. Protect these my goods, and myself too, for I embrace your +knees and pray to you as though you were a god. Tell me, then, and tell +me truly, what land and country is this? Who are its inhabitants? Am I +on an island, or is this the sea board of some continent?" + +Minerva answered, "Stranger, you must be very simple, or must have come +from somewhere a long way off, not to know what country this is. It is +a very celebrated place, and everybody knows it East and West. It is +rugged and not a good driving country, but it is by no means a bad +island for what there is of it. It grows any quantity of corn and also +wine, for it is watered both by rain and dew; it breeds cattle also +and goats; all kinds of timber grow here, and there are watering places +where the water never runs dry; so, sir, the name of Ithaca is known +even as far as Troy, which I understand to be a long way off from this +Achaean country." + +Ulysses was glad at finding himself, as Minerva told him, in his own +country, and he began to answer, but he did not speak the truth, and +made up a lying story in the instinctive wiliness of his heart. + +"I heard of Ithaca," said he, "when I was in Crete beyond the seas, and +now it seems I have reached it with all these treasures. I have left +as much more behind me for my children, but am flying because I killed +Orsilochus son of Idomeneus, the fleetest runner in Crete. I killed him +because he wanted to rob me of the spoils I had got from Troy with so +much trouble and danger both on the field of battle and by the waves of +the weary sea; he said I had not served his father loyally at Troy as +vassal, but had set myself up as an independent ruler, so I lay in wait +for him with one of my followers by the road side, and speared him as +he was coming into town from the country. It was a very dark night and +nobody saw us; it was not known, therefore, that I had killed him, but +as soon as I had done so I went to a ship and besought the owners, who +were Phoenicians, to take me on board and set me in Pylos or in Elis +where the Epeans rule, giving them as much spoil as satisfied them. They +meant no guile, but the wind drove them off their course, and we sailed +on till we came hither by night. It was all we could do to get inside +the harbour, and none of us said a word about supper though we wanted it +badly, but we all went on shore and lay down just as we were. I was very +tired and fell asleep directly, so they took my goods out of the ship, +and placed them beside me where I was lying upon the sand. Then they +sailed away to Sidonia, and I was left here in great distress of mind." + +Such was his story, but Minerva smiled and caressed him with her hand. +Then she took the form of a woman, fair, stately, and wise, "He must be +indeed a shifty lying fellow," said she, "who could surpass you in all +manner of craft even though you had a god for your antagonist. Dare +devil that you are, full of guile, unwearying in deceit, can you not +drop your tricks and your instinctive falsehood, even now that you are +in your own country again? We will say no more, however, about this, for +we can both of us deceive upon occasion--you are the most accomplished +counsellor and orator among all mankind, while I for diplomacy and +subtlety have no equal among the gods. Did you not know Jove's daughter +Minerva--me, who have been ever with you, who kept watch over you in +all your troubles, and who made the Phaeacians take so great a liking +to you? And now, again, I am come here to talk things over with you, and +help you to hide the treasure I made the Phaeacians give you; I want to +tell you about the troubles that await you in your own house; you have +got to face them, but tell no one, neither man nor woman, that you have +come home again. Bear everything, and put up with every man's insolence, +without a word." + +And Ulysses answered, "A man, goddess, may know a great deal, but you +are so constantly changing your appearance that when he meets you it +is a hard matter for him to know whether it is you or not. This much, +however, I know exceedingly well; you were very kind to me as long as we +Achaeans were fighting before Troy, but from the day on which we went on +board ship after having sacked the city of Priam, and heaven dispersed +us--from that day, Minerva, I saw no more of you, and cannot ever +remember your coming to my ship to help me in a difficulty; I had to +wander on sick and sorry till the gods delivered me from evil and I +reached the city of the Phaeacians, where you encouraged me and took me +into the town. {120} And now, I beseech you in your father's name, tell +me the truth, for I do not believe I am really back in Ithaca. I am in +some other country and you are mocking me and deceiving me in all you +have been saying. Tell me then truly, have I really got back to my own +country?" + +"You are always taking something of that sort in your head," replied +Minerva, "and that is why I cannot desert you in your afflictions; you +are so plausible, shrewd and shifty. Any one but yourself on returning +from so long a voyage would at once have gone home to see his wife and +children, but you do not seem to care about asking after them or hearing +any news about them till you have exploited your wife, who remains at +home vainly grieving for you, and having no peace night or day for the +tears she sheds on your behalf. As for my not coming near you, I was +never uneasy about you, for I was certain you would get back safely +though you would lose all your men, and I did not wish to quarrel with +my uncle Neptune, who never forgave you for having blinded his son. +{121} I will now, however, point out to you the lie of the land, and +you will then perhaps believe me. This is the haven of the old merman +Phorcys, and here is the olive tree that grows at the head of it; [near +it is the cave sacred to the Naiads;] {122} here too is the overarching +cavern in which you have offered many an acceptable hecatomb to the +nymphs, and this is the wooded mountain Neritum." + +As she spoke the goddess dispersed the mist and the land appeared. Then +Ulysses rejoiced at finding himself again in his own land, and kissed +the bounteous soil; he lifted up his hands and prayed to the nymphs, +saying, "Naiad nymphs, daughters of Jove, I made sure that I was never +again to see you, now therefore I greet you with all loving salutations, +and I will bring you offerings as in the old days, if Jove's redoubtable +daughter will grant me life, and bring my son to manhood." + +"Take heart, and do not trouble yourself about that," rejoined Minerva, +"let us rather set about stowing your things at once in the cave, where +they will be quite safe. Let us see how we can best manage it all." + +Therewith she went down into the cave to look for the safest hiding +places, while Ulysses brought up all the treasure of gold, bronze, and +good clothing which the Phaeacians had given him. They stowed everything +carefully away, and Minerva set a stone against the door of the cave. +Then the two sat down by the root of the great olive, and consulted how +to compass the destruction of the wicked suitors. + +"Ulysses," said Minerva, "noble son of Laertes, think how you can lay +hands on these disreputable people who have been lording it in your +house these three years, courting your wife and making wedding presents +to her, while she does nothing but lament your absence, giving hope and +sending encouraging messages {123} to every one of them, but meaning the +very opposite of all she says." + +And Ulysses answered, "In good truth, goddess, it seems I should have +come to much the same bad end in my own house as Agamemnon did, if you +had not given me such timely information. Advise me how I shall best +avenge myself. Stand by my side and put your courage into my heart as on +the day when we loosed Troy's fair diadem from her brow. Help me now as +you did then, and I will fight three hundred men, if you, goddess, will +be with me." + +"Trust me for that," said she, "I will not lose sight of you when once +we set about it, and I imagine that some of those who are devouring your +substance will then bespatter the pavement with their blood and brains. +I will begin by disguising you so that no human being shall know you; I +will cover your body with wrinkles; you shall lose all your yellow +hair; I will clothe you in a garment that shall fill all who see it with +loathing; I will blear your fine eyes for you, and make you an unseemly +object in the sight of the suitors, of your wife, and of the son whom +you left behind you. Then go at once to the swineherd who is in charge +of your pigs; he has been always well affected towards you, and is +devoted to Penelope and your son; you will find him feeding his pigs +near the rock that is called Raven {124} by the fountain Arethusa, where +they are fattening on beechmast and spring water after their manner. +Stay with him and find out how things are going, while I proceed to +Sparta and see your son, who is with Menelaus at Lacedaemon, where he +has gone to try and find out whether you are still alive." {125} + +"But why," said Ulysses, "did you not tell him, for you knew all about +it? Did you want him too to go sailing about amid all kinds of hardship +while others are eating up his estate?" + +Minerva answered, "Never mind about him, I sent him that he might be +well spoken of for having gone. He is in no sort of difficulty, but +is staying quite comfortably with Menelaus, and is surrounded with +abundance of every kind. The suitors have put out to sea and are lying +in wait for him, for they mean to kill him before he can get home. I do +not much think they will succeed, but rather that some of those who are +now eating up your estate will first find a grave themselves." + +As she spoke Minerva touched him with her wand and covered him with +wrinkles, took away all his yellow hair, and withered the flesh over his +whole body; she bleared his eyes, which were naturally very fine ones; +she changed his clothes and threw an old rag of a wrap about him, and a +tunic, tattered, filthy, and begrimed with smoke; she also gave him an +undressed deer skin as an outer garment, and furnished him with a staff +and a wallet all in holes, with a twisted thong for him to sling it over +his shoulder. + +When the pair had thus laid their plans they parted, and the goddess +went straight to Lacedaemon to fetch Telemachus. + + +Book XIV + +ULYSSES IN THE HUT WITH EUMAEUS. + +Ulysses now left the haven, and took the rough track up through the +wooded country and over the crest of the mountain till he reached the +place where Minerva had said that he would find the swineherd, who was +the most thrifty servant he had. He found him sitting in front of his +hut, which was by the yards that he had built on a site which could be +seen from far. He had made them spacious {126} and fair to see, with +a free run for the pigs all round them; he had built them during his +master's absence, of stones which he had gathered out of the ground, +without saying anything to Penelope or Laertes, and he had fenced them +on top with thorn bushes. Outside the yard he had run a strong fence of +oaken posts, split, and set pretty close together, while inside he had +built twelve styes near one another for the sows to lie in. There were +fifty pigs wallowing in each stye, all of them breeding sows; but the +boars slept outside and were much fewer in number, for the suitors +kept on eating them, and the swineherd had to send them the best he +had continually. There were three hundred and sixty boar pigs, and the +herdsman's four hounds, which were as fierce as wolves, slept always +with them. The swineherd was at that moment cutting out a pair of +sandals {127} from a good stout ox hide. Three of his men were out +herding the pigs in one place or another, and he had sent the fourth to +town with a boar that he had been forced to send the suitors that they +might sacrifice it and have their fill of meat. + +When the hounds saw Ulysses they set up a furious barking and flew at +him, but Ulysses was cunning enough to sit down and loose his hold of +the stick that he had in his hand: still, he would have been torn by +them in his own homestead had not the swineherd dropped his ox hide, +rushed full speed through the gate of the yard and driven the dogs off +by shouting and throwing stones at them. Then he said to Ulysses, "Old +man, the dogs were likely to have made short work of you, and then you +would have got me into trouble. The gods have given me quite enough +worries without that, for I have lost the best of masters, and am in +continual grief on his account. I have to attend swine for other people +to eat, while he, if he yet lives to see the light of day, is starving +in some distant land. But come inside, and when you have had your fill +of bread and wine, tell me where you come from, and all about your +misfortunes." + +On this the swineherd led the way into the hut and bade him sit down. +He strewed a good thick bed of rushes upon the floor, and on the top of +this he threw the shaggy chamois skin--a great thick one--on which he +used to sleep by night. Ulysses was pleased at being made thus welcome, +and said "May Jove, sir, and the rest of the gods grant you your heart's +desire in return for the kind way in which you have received me." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "Stranger, though a still +poorer man should come here, it would not be right for me to insult him, +for all strangers and beggars are from Jove. You must take what you +can get and be thankful, for servants live in fear when they have young +lords for their masters; and this is my misfortune now, for heaven has +hindered the return of him who would have been always good to me and +given me something of my own--a house, a piece of land, a good looking +wife, and all else that a liberal master allows a servant who has worked +hard for him, and whose labour the gods have prospered as they have mine +in the situation which I hold. If my master had grown old here he would +have done great things by me, but he is gone, and I wish that Helen's +whole race were utterly destroyed, for she has been the death of many a +good man. It was this matter that took my master to Ilius, the land of +noble steeds, to fight the Trojans in the cause of king Agamemnon." + +As he spoke he bound his girdle round him and went to the styes where +the young sucking pigs were penned. He picked out two which he brought +back with him and sacrificed. He singed them, cut them up, and spitted +them; when the meat was cooked he brought it all in and set it before +Ulysses, hot and still on the spit, whereon Ulysses sprinkled it over +with white barley meal. The swineherd then mixed wine in a bowl of +ivy-wood, and taking a seat opposite Ulysses told him to begin. + +"Fall to, stranger," said he, "on a dish of servant's pork. The fat pigs +have to go to the suitors, who eat them up without shame or scruple; but +the blessed gods love not such shameful doings, and respect those who do +what is lawful and right. Even the fierce freebooters who go raiding on +other people's land, and Jove gives them their spoil--even they, +when they have filled their ships and got home again live +conscience-stricken, and look fearfully for judgement; but some god +seems to have told these people that Ulysses is dead and gone; they +will not, therefore, go back to their own homes and make their offers of +marriage in the usual way, but waste his estate by force, without fear +or stint. Not a day or night comes out of heaven, but they sacrifice not +one victim nor two only, and they take the run of his wine, for he was +exceedingly rich. No other great man either in Ithaca or on the mainland +is as rich as he was; he had as much as twenty men put together. I will +tell you what he had. There are twelve herds of cattle upon the main +land, and as many flocks of sheep, there are also twelve droves of pigs, +while his own men and hired strangers feed him twelve widely spreading +herds of goats. Here in Ithaca he runs even large flocks of goats on +the far end of the island, and they are in the charge of excellent goat +herds. Each one of these sends the suitors the best goat in the flock +every day. As for myself, I am in charge of the pigs that you see here, +and I have to keep picking out the best I have and sending it to them." + +This was his story, but Ulysses went on eating and drinking ravenously +without a word, brooding his revenge. When he had eaten enough and was +satisfied, the swineherd took the bowl from which he usually drank, +filled it with wine, and gave it to Ulysses, who was pleased, and said +as he took it in his hands, "My friend, who was this master of yours +that bought you and paid for you, so rich and so powerful as you tell +me? You say he perished in the cause of King Agamemnon; tell me who he +was, in case I may have met with such a person. Jove and the other gods +know, but I may be able to give you news of him, for I have travelled +much." + +Eumaeus answered, "Old man, no traveller who comes here with news will +get Ulysses' wife and son to believe his story. Nevertheless, tramps in +want of a lodging keep coming with their mouths full of lies, and not a +word of truth; every one who finds his way to Ithaca goes to my mistress +and tells her falsehoods, whereon she takes them in, makes much of them, +and asks them all manner of questions, crying all the time as women will +when they have lost their husbands. And you too, old man, for a shirt +and a cloak would doubtless make up a very pretty story. But the wolves +and birds of prey have long since torn Ulysses to pieces, or the fishes +of the sea have eaten him, and his bones are lying buried deep in sand +upon some foreign shore; he is dead and gone, and a bad business it is +for all his friends--for me especially; go where I may I shall never +find so good a master, not even if I were to go home to my mother and +father where I was bred and born. I do not so much care, however, about +my parents now, though I should dearly like to see them again in my own +country; it is the loss of Ulysses that grieves me most; I cannot speak +of him without reverence though he is here no longer, for he was very +fond of me, and took such care of me that wherever he may be I shall +always honour his memory." + +"My friend," replied Ulysses, "you are very positive, and very hard of +belief about your master's coming home again, nevertheless I will not +merely say, but will swear, that he is coming. Do not give me anything +for my news till he has actually come, you may then give me a shirt and +cloak of good wear if you will. I am in great want, but I will not take +anything at all till then, for I hate a man, even as I hate hell fire, +who lets his poverty tempt him into lying. I swear by king Jove, by the +rites of hospitality, and by that hearth of Ulysses to which I have now +come, that all will surely happen as I have said it will. Ulysses +will return in this self same year; with the end of this moon and the +beginning of the next he will be here to do vengeance on all those who +are ill treating his wife and son." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "Old man, you will neither +get paid for bringing good news, nor will Ulysses ever come home; drink +your wine in peace, and let us talk about something else. Do not keep on +reminding me of all this; it always pains me when any one speaks about +my honoured master. As for your oath we will let it alone, but I only +wish he may come, as do Penelope, his old father Laertes, and his son +Telemachus. I am terribly unhappy too about this same boy of his; he was +running up fast into manhood, and bade fare to be no worse man, face +and figure, than his father, but some one, either god or man, has been +unsettling his mind, so he has gone off to Pylos to try and get news of +his father, and the suitors are lying in wait for him as he is coming +home, in the hope of leaving the house of Arceisius without a name in +Ithaca. But let us say no more about him, and leave him to be taken, or +else to escape if the son of Saturn holds his hand over him to protect +him. And now, old man, tell me your own story; tell me also, for I want +to know, who you are and where you come from. Tell me of your town +and parents, what manner of ship you came in, how crew brought you to +Ithaca, and from what country they professed to come--for you cannot +have come by land." + +And Ulysses answered, "I will tell you all about it. If there were meat +and wine enough, and we could stay here in the hut with nothing to do +but to eat and drink while the others go to their work, I could easily +talk on for a whole twelve months without ever finishing the story of +the sorrows with which it has pleased heaven to visit me. + +"I am by birth a Cretan; my father was a well to do man, who had many +sons born in marriage, whereas I was the son of a slave whom he had +purchased for a concubine; nevertheless, my father Castor son of Hylax +(whose lineage I claim, and who was held in the highest honour among the +Cretans for his wealth, prosperity, and the valour of his sons) put me +on the same level with my brothers who had been born in wedlock. When, +however, death took him to the house of Hades, his sons divided his +estate and cast lots for their shares, but to me they gave a holding +and little else; nevertheless, my valour enabled me to marry into a rich +family, for I was not given to bragging, or shirking on the field of +battle. It is all over now; still, if you look at the straw you can see +what the ear was, for I have had trouble enough and to spare. Mars and +Minerva made me doughty in war; when I had picked my men to surprise the +enemy with an ambuscade I never gave death so much as a thought, but was +the first to leap forward and spear all whom I could overtake. Such was +I in battle, but I did not care about farm work, nor the frugal home +life of those who would bring up children. My delight was in ships, +fighting, javelins, and arrows--things that most men shudder to think +of; but one man likes one thing and another another, and this was what +I was most naturally inclined to. Before the Achaeans went to Troy, +nine times was I in command of men and ships on foreign service, and I +amassed much wealth. I had my pick of the spoil in the first instance, +and much more was allotted to me later on. + +"My house grew apace and I became a great man among the Cretans, +but when Jove counselled that terrible expedition, in which so many +perished, the people required me and Idomeneus to lead their ships to +Troy, and there was no way out of it, for they insisted on our doing +so. There we fought for nine whole years, but in the tenth we sacked the +city of Priam and sailed home again as heaven dispersed us. Then it was +that Jove devised evil against me. I spent but one month happily with my +children, wife, and property, and then I conceived the idea of making a +descent on Egypt, so I fitted out a fine fleet and manned it. I had nine +ships, and the people flocked to fill them. For six days I and my men +made feast, and I found them many victims both for sacrifice to the gods +and for themselves, but on the seventh day we went on board and set sail +from Crete with a fair North wind behind us though we were going down a +river. Nothing went ill with any of our ships, and we had no sickness +on board, but sat where we were and let the ships go as the wind and +steersmen took them. On the fifth day we reached the river Aegyptus; +there I stationed my ships in the river, bidding my men stay by them and +keep guard over them while I sent out scouts to reconnoitre from every +point of vantage. + +"But the men disobeyed my orders, took to their own devices, and ravaged +the land of the Egyptians, killing the men, and taking their wives and +children captive. The alarm was soon carried to the city, and when they +heard the war cry, the people came out at daybreak till the plain was +filled with horsemen and foot soldiers and with the gleam of armour. +Then Jove spread panic among my men, and they would no longer face the +enemy, for they found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many +of us, and took the rest alive to do forced labour for them. Jove, +however, put it in my mind to do thus--and I wish I had died then and +there in Egypt instead, for there was much sorrow in store for me--I +took off my helmet and shield and dropped my spear from my hand; then +I went straight up to the king's chariot, clasped his knees and kissed +them, whereon he spared my life, bade me get into his chariot, and took +me weeping to his own home. Many made at me with their ashen spears and +tried to kill me in their fury, but the king protected me, for he feared +the wrath of Jove the protector of strangers, who punishes those who do +evil. + +"I stayed there for seven years and got together much money among the +Egyptians, for they all gave me something; but when it was now going on +for eight years there came a certain Phoenician, a cunning rascal, who +had already committed all sorts of villainy, and this man talked me over +into going with him to Phoenicia, where his house and his possessions +lay. I stayed there for a whole twelve months, but at the end of that +time when months and days had gone by till the same season had come +round again, he set me on board a ship bound for Libya, on a pretence +that I was to take a cargo along with him to that place, but really that +he might sell me as a slave and take the money I fetched. I suspected +his intention, but went on board with him, for I could not help it. + +"The ship ran before a fresh North wind till we had reached the sea +that lies between Crete and Libya; there, however, Jove counselled their +destruction, for as soon as we were well out from Crete and could see +nothing but sea and sky, he raised a black cloud over our ship and the +sea grew dark beneath it. Then Jove let fly with his thunderbolts and +the ship went round and round and was filled with fire and brimstone +as the lightning struck it. The men fell all into the sea; they +were carried about in the water round the ship looking like so many +sea-gulls, but the god presently deprived them of all chance of getting +home again. I was all dismayed. Jove, however, sent the ship's mast +within my reach, which saved my life, for I clung to it, and drifted +before the fury of the gale. Nine days did I drift but in the darkness +of the tenth night a great wave bore me on to the Thesprotian coast. +There Pheidon king of the Thesprotians entertained me hospitably without +charging me anything at all--for his son found me when I was nearly dead +with cold and fatigue, whereon he raised me by the hand, took me to his +father's house and gave me clothes to wear. + +"There it was that I heard news of Ulysses, for the king told me he +had entertained him, and shown him much hospitality while he was on his +homeward journey. He showed me also the treasure of gold, and wrought +iron that Ulysses had got together. There was enough to keep his family +for ten generations, so much had he left in the house of king Pheidon. +But the king said Ulysses had gone to Dodona that he might learn Jove's +mind from the god's high oak tree, and know whether after so long an +absence he should return to Ithaca openly, or in secret. Moreover the +king swore in my presence, making drink-offerings in his own house as +he did so, that the ship was by the water side, and the crew found, +that should take him to his own country. He sent me off however before +Ulysses returned, for there happened to be a Thesprotian ship sailing +for the wheat-growing island of Dulichium, and he told those in charge +of her to be sure and take me safely to King Acastus. + +"These men hatched a plot against me that would have reduced me to the +very extreme of misery, for when the ship had got some way out from land +they resolved on selling me as a slave. They stripped me of the shirt +and cloak that I was wearing, and gave me instead the tattered old +clouts in which you now see me; then, towards nightfall, they reached +the tilled lands of Ithaca, and there they bound me with a strong rope +fast in the ship, while they went on shore to get supper by the sea +side. But the gods soon undid my bonds for me, and having drawn my rags +over my head I slid down the rudder into the sea, where I struck out and +swam till I was well clear of them, and came ashore near a thick wood +in which I lay concealed. They were very angry at my having escaped and +went searching about for me, till at last they thought it was no further +use and went back to their ship. The gods, having hidden me thus easily, +then took me to a good man's door--for it seems that I am not to die yet +awhile." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "Poor unhappy stranger, I +have found the story of your misfortunes extremely interesting, but that +part about Ulysses is not right; and you will never get me to believe +it. Why should a man like you go about telling lies in this way? I know +all about the return of my master. The gods one and all of them detest +him, or they would have taken him before Troy, or let him die with +friends around him when the days of his fighting were done; for then the +Achaeans would have built a mound over his ashes and his son would have +been heir to his renown, but now the storm winds have spirited him away +we know not whither. + +"As for me I live out of the way here with the pigs, and never go to the +town unless when Penelope sends for me on the arrival of some news +about Ulysses. Then they all sit round and ask questions, both those who +grieve over the king's absence, and those who rejoice at it because they +can eat up his property without paying for it. For my own part I have +never cared about asking anyone else since the time when I was taken in +by an Aetolian, who had killed a man and come a long way till at last +he reached my station, and I was very kind to him. He said he had seen +Ulysses with Idomeneus among the Cretans, refitting his ships which had +been damaged in a gale. He said Ulysses would return in the following +summer or autumn with his men, and that he would bring back much wealth. +And now you, you unfortunate old man, since fate has brought you to my +door, do not try to flatter me in this way with vain hopes. It is not +for any such reason that I shall treat you kindly, but only out of +respect for Jove the god of hospitality, as fearing him and pitying +you." + +Ulysses answered, "I see that you are of an unbelieving mind; I have +given you my oath, and yet you will not credit me; let us then make a +bargain, and call all the gods in heaven to witness it. If your master +comes home, give me a cloak and shirt of good wear, and send me to +Dulichium where I want to go; but if he does not come as I say he will, +set your men on to me, and tell them to throw me from yonder precipice, +as a warning to tramps not to go about the country telling lies." + +"And a pretty figure I should cut then," replied Eumaeus, "both now and +hereafter, if I were to kill you after receiving you into my hut and +showing you hospitality. I should have to say my prayers in good earnest +if I did; but it is just supper time and I hope my men will come in +directly, that we may cook something savoury for supper." + +Thus did they converse, and presently the swineherds came up with +the pigs, which were then shut up for the night in their styes, and a +tremendous squealing they made as they were being driven into them. But +Eumaeus called to his men and said, "Bring in the best pig you have, +that I may sacrifice him for this stranger, and we will take toll of him +ourselves. We have had trouble enough this long time feeding pigs, while +others reap the fruit of our labour." + +On this he began chopping firewood, while the others brought in a fine +fat five year old boar pig, and set it at the altar. Eumaeus did not +forget the gods, for he was a man of good principles, so the first thing +he did was to cut bristles from the pig's face and throw them into the +fire, praying to all the gods as he did so that Ulysses might return +home again. Then he clubbed the pig with a billet of oak which he had +kept back when he was chopping the firewood, and stunned it, while the +others slaughtered and singed it. Then they cut it up, and Eumaeus began +by putting raw pieces from each joint on to some of the fat; these he +sprinkled with barley meal, and laid upon the embers; they cut the rest +of the meat up small, put the pieces upon the spits and roasted them +till they were done; when they had taken them off the spits they +threw them on to the dresser in a heap. The swineherd, who was a most +equitable man, then stood up to give every one his share. He made seven +portions; one of these he set apart for Mercury the son of Maia and the +nymphs, praying to them as he did so; the others he dealt out to the men +man by man. He gave Ulysses some slices cut lengthways down the loin +as a mark of especial honour, and Ulysses was much pleased. "I hope, +Eumaeus," said he, "that Jove will be as well disposed towards you as I +am, for the respect you are showing to an outcast like myself." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "Eat, my good fellow, and +enjoy your supper, such as it is. God grants this, and withholds that, +just as he thinks right, for he can do whatever he chooses." + +As he spoke he cut off the first piece and offered it as a burnt +sacrifice to the immortal gods; then he made them a drink-offering, +put the cup in the hands of Ulysses, and sat down to his own portion. +Mesaulius brought them their bread; the swineherd had brought this man +on his own account from among the Taphians during his master's absence, +and had paid for him with his own money without saying anything either +to his mistress or Laertes. They then laid their hands upon the good +things that were before them, and when they had had enough to eat and +drink, Mesaulius took away what was left of the bread, and they all went +to bed after having made a hearty supper. + +Now the night came on stormy and very dark, for there was no moon. It +poured without ceasing, and the wind blew strong from the West, which is +a wet quarter, so Ulysses thought he would see whether Eumaeus, in the +excellent care he took of him, would take off his own cloak and give +it him, or make one of his men give him one. "Listen to me," said he, +"Eumaeus and the rest of you; when I have said a prayer I will tell you +something. It is the wine that makes me talk in this way; wine will make +even a wise man fall to singing; it will make him chuckle and dance +and say many a word that he had better leave unspoken; still, as I have +begun, I will go on. Would that I were still young and strong as when we +got up an ambuscade before Troy. Menelaus and Ulysses were the leaders, +but I was in command also, for the other two would have it so. When we +had come up to the wall of the city we crouched down beneath our armour +and lay there under cover of the reeds and thick brushwood that grew +about the swamp. It came on to freeze with a North wind blowing; the +snow fell small and fine like hoar frost, and our shields were coated +thick with rime. The others had all got cloaks and shirts, and slept +comfortably enough with their shields about their shoulders, but I had +carelessly left my cloak behind me, not thinking that I should be too +cold, and had gone off in nothing but my shirt and shield. When the +night was two-thirds through and the stars had shifted their places, I +nudged Ulysses who was close to me with my elbow, and he at once gave me +his ear. + +"'Ulysses,' said I, 'this cold will be the death of me, for I have no +cloak; some god fooled me into setting off with nothing on but my shirt, +and I do not know what to do.' + +"Ulysses, who was as crafty as he was valiant, hit upon the following +plan: + +"'Keep still,' said he in a low voice, 'or the others will hear you.' +Then he raised his head on his elbow. + +"'My friends,' said he, 'I have had a dream from heaven in my sleep. We +are a long way from the ships; I wish some one would go down and tell +Agamemnon to send us up more men at once.' + +"On this Thoas son of Andraemon threw off his cloak and set out running +to the ships, whereon I took the cloak and lay in it comfortably enough +till morning. Would that I were still young and strong as I was in those +days, for then some one of you swineherds would give me a cloak both out +of good will and for the respect due to a brave soldier; but now people +look down upon me because my clothes are shabby." + +And Eumaeus answered, "Old man, you have told us an excellent story, +and have said nothing so far but what is quite satisfactory; for the +present, therefore, you shall want neither clothing nor anything else +that a stranger in distress may reasonably expect, but to-morrow morning +you have to shake your own old rags about your body again, for we have +not many spare cloaks nor shirts up here, but every man has only one. +When Ulysses' son comes home again he will give you both cloak and +shirt, and send you wherever you may want to go." + +With this he got up and made a bed for Ulysses by throwing some +goatskins and sheepskins on the ground in front of the fire. Here +Ulysses lay down, and Eumaeus covered him over with a great heavy cloak +that he kept for a change in case of extraordinarily bad weather. + +Thus did Ulysses sleep, and the young men slept beside him. But the +swineherd did not like sleeping away from his pigs, so he got ready +to go outside, and Ulysses was glad to see that he looked after his +property during his master's absence. First he slung his sword over his +brawny shoulders and put on a thick cloak to keep out the wind. He also +took the skin of a large and well fed goat, and a javelin in case of +attack from men or dogs. Thus equipped he went to his rest where the +pigs were camping under an overhanging rock that gave them shelter from +the North wind. + + +Book XV + +MINERVA SUMMONS TELEMACHUS FROM LACEDAEMON--HE MEETS WITH THEOCLYMENUS +AT PYLOS AND BRINGS HIM TO ITHACA--ON LANDING HE GOES TO THE HUT OF +EUMAEUS. + +But Minerva went to the fair city of Lacedaemon to tell Ulysses' son +that he was to return at once. She found him and Pisistratus sleeping +in the forecourt of Menelaus's house; Pisistratus was fast asleep, +but Telemachus could get no rest all night for thinking of his unhappy +father, so Minerva went close up to him and said: + +"Telemachus, you should not remain so far away from home any longer, nor +leave your property with such dangerous people in your house; they +will eat up everything you have among them, and you will have been on a +fool's errand. Ask Menelaus to send you home at once if you wish to +find your excellent mother still there when you get back. Her father and +brothers are already urging her to marry Eurymachus, who has given her +more than any of the others, and has been greatly increasing his wedding +presents. I hope nothing valuable may have been taken from the house in +spite of you, but you know what women are--they always want to do the +best they can for the man who marries them, and never give another +thought to the children of their first husband, nor to their father +either when he is dead and done with. Go home, therefore, and put +everything in charge of the most respectable woman servant that you +have, until it shall please heaven to send you a wife of your own. Let +me tell you also of another matter which you had better attend to. The +chief men among the suitors are lying in wait for you in the Strait +{128} between Ithaca and Samos, and they mean to kill you before you +can reach home. I do not much think they will succeed; it is more likely +that some of those who are now eating up your property will find a grave +themselves. Sail night and day, and keep your ship well away from the +islands; the god who watches over you and protects you will send you a +fair wind. As soon as you get to Ithaca send your ship and men on to the +town, but yourself go straight to the swineherd who has charge of your +pigs; he is well disposed towards you, stay with him, therefore, for the +night, and then send him to Penelope to tell her that you have got back +safe from Pylos." + +Then she went back to Olympus; but Telemachus stirred Pisistratus with +his heel to rouse him, and said, "Wake up Pisistratus, and yoke the +horses to the chariot, for we must set off home." {129} + +But Pisistratus said, "No matter what hurry we are in we cannot drive +in the dark. It will be morning soon; wait till Menelaus has brought his +presents and put them in the chariot for us; and let him say good bye to +us in the usual way. So long as he lives a guest should never forget a +host who has shown him kindness." + +As he spoke day began to break, and Menelaus, who had already risen, +leaving Helen in bed, came towards them. When Telemachus saw him he +put on his shirt as fast as he could, threw a great cloak over his +shoulders, and went out to meet him. "Menelaus," said he, "let me go +back now to my own country, for I want to get home." + +And Menelaus answered, "Telemachus, if you insist on going I will not +detain you. I do not like to see a host either too fond of his guest or +too rude to him. Moderation is best in all things, and not letting a +man go when he wants to do so is as bad as telling him to go if he would +like to stay. One should treat a guest well as long as he is in the +house and speed him when he wants to leave it. Wait, then, till I +can get your beautiful presents into your chariot, and till you have +yourself seen them. I will tell the women to prepare a sufficient dinner +for you of what there may be in the house; it will be at once more +proper and cheaper for you to get your dinner before setting out on +such a long journey. If, moreover, you have a fancy for making a tour +in Hellas or in the Peloponnese, I will yoke my horses, and will conduct +you myself through all our principal cities. No one will send us away +empty handed; every one will give us something--a bronze tripod, a +couple of mules, or a gold cup." + +"Menelaus," replied Telemachus, "I want to go home at once, for when +I came away I left my property without protection, and fear that +while looking for my father I shall come to ruin myself, or find that +something valuable has been stolen during my absence." + +When Menelaus heard this he immediately told his wife and servants to +prepare a sufficient dinner from what there might be in the house. At +this moment Eteoneus joined him, for he lived close by and had just got +up; so Menelaus told him to light the fire and cook some meat, which he +at once did. Then Menelaus went down into his fragrant store room, {130} +not alone, but Helen went too, with Megapenthes. When he reached the +place where the treasures of his house were kept, he selected a double +cup, and told his son Megapenthes to bring also a silver mixing bowl. +Meanwhile Helen went to the chest where she kept the lovely dresses +which she had made with her own hands, and took out one that was largest +and most beautifully enriched with embroidery; it glittered like a star, +and lay at the very bottom of the chest. {131} Then they all came back +through the house again till they got to Telemachus, and Menelaus said, +"Telemachus, may Jove, the mighty husband of Juno, bring you safely home +according to your desire. I will now present you with the finest and +most precious piece of plate in all my house. It is a mixing bowl of +pure silver, except the rim, which is inlaid with gold, and it is the +work of Vulcan. Phaedimus king of the Sidonians made me a present of it +in the course of a visit that I paid him while I was on my return home. +I should like to give it to you." + +With these words he placed the double cup in the hands of Telemachus, +while Megapenthes brought the beautiful mixing bowl and set it before +him. Hard by stood lovely Helen with the robe ready in her hand. + +"I too, my son," said she, "have something for you as a keepsake from +the hand of Helen; it is for your bride to wear upon her wedding day. +Till then, get your dear mother to keep it for you; thus may you go back +rejoicing to your own country and to your home." + +So saying she gave the robe over to him and he received it gladly. Then +Pisistratus put the presents into the chariot, and admired them all as +he did so. Presently Menelaus took Telemachus and Pisistratus into the +house, and they both of them sat down to table. A maid servant brought +them water in a beautiful golden ewer, and poured it into a silver basin +for them to wash their hands, and she drew a clean table beside them; +an upper servant brought them bread and offered them many good things of +what there was in the house. Eteoneus carved the meat and gave them each +their portions, while Megapenthes poured out the wine. Then they laid +their hands upon the good things that were before them, but as soon as +they had had enough to eat and drink Telemachus and Pisistratus yoked +the horses, and took their places in the chariot. They drove out through +the inner gateway and under the echoing gatehouse of the outer court, +and Menelaus came after them with a golden goblet of wine in his right +hand that they might make a drink-offering before they set out. He stood +in front of the horses and pledged them, saying, "Farewell to both of +you; see that you tell Nestor how I have treated you, for he was as +kind to me as any father could be while we Achaeans were fighting before +Troy." + +"We will be sure, sir," answered Telemachus, "to tell him everything as +soon as we see him. I wish I were as certain of finding Ulysses returned +when I get back to Ithaca, that I might tell him of the very great +kindness you have shown me and of the many beautiful presents I am +taking with me." + +As he was thus speaking a bird flew on his right hand--an eagle with a +great white goose in its talons which it had carried off from the farm +yard--and all the men and women were running after it and shouting. It +came quite close up to them and flew away on their right hands in front +of the horses. When they saw it they were glad, and their hearts took +comfort within them, whereon Pisistratus said, "Tell me, Menelaus, has +heaven sent this omen for us or for you?" + +Menelaus was thinking what would be the most proper answer for him to +make, but Helen was too quick for him and said, "I will read this matter +as heaven has put it in my heart, and as I doubt not that it will come +to pass. The eagle came from the mountain where it was bred and has +its nest, and in like manner Ulysses, after having travelled far and +suffered much, will return to take his revenge--if indeed he is not back +already and hatching mischief for the suitors." + +"May Jove so grant it," replied Telemachus, "if it should prove to be +so, I will make vows to you as though you were a god, even when I am at +home." + +As he spoke he lashed his horses and they started off at full speed +through the town towards the open country. They swayed the yoke upon +their necks and travelled the whole day long till the sun set and +darkness was over all the land. Then they reached Pherae, where Diocles +lived who was son of Ortilochus, the son of Alpheus. There they passed +the night and were treated hospitably. When the child of morning, +rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, they again yoked their horses and their +places in the chariot. They drove out through the inner gateway and +under the echoing gatehouse of the outer court. Then Pisistratus lashed +his horses on and they flew forward nothing loath; ere long they came to +Pylos, and then Telemachus said: + +"Pisistratus, I hope you will promise to do what I am going to ask you. +You know our fathers were old friends before us; moreover, we are both +of an age, and this journey has brought us together still more closely; +do not, therefore, take me past my ship, but leave me there, for if I go +to your father's house he will try to keep me in the warmth of his good +will towards me, and I must go home at once." + +Pisistratus thought how he should do as he was asked, and in the end he +deemed it best to turn his horses towards the ship, and put Menelaus's +beautiful presents of gold and raiment in the stern of the vessel. Then +he said, "Go on board at once and tell your men to do so also before +I can reach home to tell my father. I know how obstinate he is, and am +sure he will not let you go; he will come down here to fetch you, and he +will not go back without you. But he will be very angry." + +With this he drove his goodly steeds back to the city of the Pylians and +soon reached his home, but Telemachus called the men together and gave +his orders. "Now, my men," said he, "get everything in order on board +the ship, and let us set out home." + +Thus did he speak, and they went on board even as he had said. But as +Telemachus was thus busied, praying also and sacrificing to Minerva +in the ship's stern, there came to him a man from a distant country, +a seer, who was flying from Argos because he had killed a man. He was +descended from Melampus, who used to live in Pylos, the land of sheep; +he was rich and owned a great house, but he was driven into exile by the +great and powerful king Neleus. Neleus seized his goods and held them +for a whole year, during which he was a close prisoner in the house +of king Phylacus, and in much distress of mind both on account of the +daughter of Neleus and because he was haunted by a great sorrow that +dread Erinys had laid upon him. In the end, however, he escaped with his +life, drove the cattle from Phylace to Pylos, avenged the wrong that had +been done him, and gave the daughter of Neleus to his brother. Then he +left the country and went to Argos, where it was ordained that he should +reign over much people. There he married, established himself, and had +two famous sons Antiphates and Mantius. Antiphates became father of +Oicleus, and Oicleus of Amphiaraus, who was dearly loved both by Jove +and by Apollo, but he did not live to old age, for he was killed +in Thebes by reason of a woman's gifts. His sons were Alcmaeon +and Amphilochus. Mantius, the other son of Melampus, was father to +Polypheides and Cleitus. Aurora, throned in gold, carried off Cleitus +for his beauty's sake, that he might dwell among the immortals, but +Apollo made Polypheides the greatest seer in the whole world now that +Amphiaraus was dead. He quarrelled with his father and went to live in +Hyperesia, where he remained and prophesied for all men. + +His son, Theoclymenus, it was who now came up to Telemachus as he was +making drink-offerings and praying in his ship. "Friend," said he, +"now that I find you sacrificing in this place, I beseech you by your +sacrifices themselves, and by the god to whom you make them, I pray you +also by your own head and by those of your followers tell me the truth +and nothing but the truth. Who and whence are you? Tell me also of your +town and parents." + +Telemachus said, "I will answer you quite truly. I am from Ithaca, and +my father is Ulysses, as surely as that he ever lived. But he has come +to some miserable end. Therefore I have taken this ship and got my crew +together to see if I can hear any news of him, for he has been away a +long time." + +"I too," answered Theoclymenus, "am an exile, for I have killed a man +of my own race. He has many brothers and kinsmen in Argos, and they +have great power among the Argives. I am flying to escape death at their +hands, and am thus doomed to be a wanderer on the face of the earth. I +am your suppliant; take me, therefore, on board your ship that they may +not kill me, for I know they are in pursuit." + +"I will not refuse you," replied Telemachus, "if you wish to join us. +Come, therefore, and in Ithaca we will treat you hospitably according to +what we have." + +On this he received Theoclymenus' spear and laid it down on the deck of +the ship. He went on board and sat in the stern, bidding Theoclymenus +sit beside him; then the men let go the hawsers. Telemachus told them to +catch hold of the ropes, and they made all haste to do so. They set the +mast in its socket in the cross plank, raised it and made it fast with +the forestays, and they hoisted their white sails with sheets of twisted +ox hide. Minerva sent them a fair wind that blew fresh and strong to +take the ship on her course as fast as possible. Thus then they passed +by Crouni and Chalcis. + +Presently the sun set and darkness was over all the land. The vessel +made a quick passage to Pheae and thence on to Elis, where the Epeans +rule. Telemachus then headed her for the flying islands, {132} wondering +within himself whether he should escape death or should be taken +prisoner. + +Meanwhile Ulysses and the swineherd were eating their supper in the hut, +and the men supped with them. As soon as they had had to eat and drink, +Ulysses began trying to prove the swineherd and see whether he would +continue to treat him kindly, and ask him to stay on at the station or +pack him off to the city; so he said: + +"Eumaeus, and all of you, to-morrow I want to go away and begin begging +about the town, so as to be no more trouble to you or to your men. Give +me your advice therefore, and let me have a good guide to go with me +and show me the way. I will go the round of the city begging as I needs +must, to see if any one will give me a drink and a piece of bread. I +should like also to go to the house of Ulysses and bring news of her +husband to Queen Penelope. I could then go about among the suitors and +see if out of all their abundance they will give me a dinner. I should +soon make them an excellent servant in all sorts of ways. Listen and +believe when I tell you that by the blessing of Mercury who gives grace +and good name to the works of all men, there is no one living who would +make a more handy servant than I should--to put fresh wood on the fire, +chop fuel, carve, cook, pour out wine, and do all those services that +poor men have to do for their betters." + +The swineherd was very much disturbed when he heard this. "Heaven help +me," he exclaimed, "what ever can have put such a notion as that into +your head? If you go near the suitors you will be undone to a certainty, +for their pride and insolence reach the very heavens. They would never +think of taking a man like you for a servant. Their servants are all +young men, well dressed, wearing good cloaks and shirts, with well +looking faces and their hair always tidy, the tables are kept quite +clean and are loaded with bread, meat, and wine. Stay where you are, +then; you are not in anybody's way; I do not mind your being here, no +more do any of the others, and when Telemachus comes home he will give +you a shirt and cloak and will send you wherever you want to go." + +Ulysses answered, "I hope you may be as dear to the gods as you are to +me, for having saved me from going about and getting into trouble; there +is nothing worse than being always on the tramp; still, when men have +once got low down in the world they will go through a great deal on +behalf of their miserable bellies. Since, however, you press me to stay +here and await the return of Telemachus, tell me about Ulysses' mother, +and his father whom he left on the threshold of old age when he set +out for Troy. Are they still living or are they already dead and in the +house of Hades?" + +"I will tell you all about them," replied Eumaeus, "Laertes is still +living and prays heaven to let him depart peacefully in his own house, +for he is terribly distressed about the absence of his son, and also +about the death of his wife, which grieved him greatly and aged him more +than anything else did. She came to an unhappy end {133} through sorrow +for her son: may no friend or neighbour who has dealt kindly by me come +to such an end as she did. As long as she was still living, though she +was always grieving, I used to like seeing her and asking her how she +did, for she brought me up along with her daughter Ctimene, the youngest +of her children; we were boy and girl together, and she made little +difference between us. When, however, we both grew up, they sent Ctimene +to Same and received a splendid dowry for her. As for me, my mistress +gave me a good shirt and cloak with a pair of sandals for my feet, and +sent me off into the country, but she was just as fond of me as ever. +This is all over now. Still it has pleased heaven to prosper my work in +the situation which I now hold. I have enough to eat and drink, and can +find something for any respectable stranger who comes here; but there +is no getting a kind word or deed out of my mistress, for the house has +fallen into the hands of wicked people. Servants want sometimes to see +their mistress and have a talk with her; they like to have something +to eat and drink at the house, and something too to take back with them +into the country. This is what will keep servants in a good humour." + +Ulysses answered, "Then you must have been a very little fellow, +Eumaeus, when you were taken so far away from your home and parents. +Tell me, and tell me true, was the city in which your father and mother +lived sacked and pillaged, or did some enemies carry you off when you +were alone tending sheep or cattle, ship you off here, and sell you for +whatever your master gave them?" + +"Stranger," replied Eumaeus, "as regards your question: sit still, make +yourself comfortable, drink your wine, and listen to me. The nights +are now at their longest; there is plenty of time both for sleeping and +sitting up talking together; you ought not to go to bed till bed time, +too much sleep is as bad as too little; if any one of the others wishes +to go to bed let him leave us and do so; he can then take my master's +pigs out when he has done breakfast in the morning. We too will sit here +eating and drinking in the hut, and telling one another stories about +our misfortunes; for when a man has suffered much, and been buffeted +about in the world, he takes pleasure in recalling the memory of sorrows +that have long gone by. As regards your question, then, my tale is as +follows: + +"You may have heard of an island called Syra that lies over above +Ortygia, {134} where the land begins to turn round and look in another +direction. {135} It is not very thickly peopled, but the soil is good, +with much pasture fit for cattle and sheep, and it abounds with wine +and wheat. Dearth never comes there, nor are the people plagued by any +sickness, but when they grow old Apollo comes with Diana and kills them +with his painless shafts. It contains two communities, and the whole +country is divided between these two. My father Ctesius son of Ormenus, +a man comparable to the gods, reigned over both. + +"Now to this place there came some cunning traders from Phoenicia (for +the Phoenicians are great mariners) in a ship which they had freighted +with gewgaws of all kinds. There happened to be a Phoenician woman in +my father's house, very tall and comely, and an excellent servant; these +scoundrels got hold of her one day when she was washing near their ship, +seduced her, and cajoled her in ways that no woman can resist, no matter +how good she may be by nature. The man who had seduced her asked her who +she was and where she came from, and on this she told him her father's +name. 'I come from Sidon,' said she, 'and am daughter to Arybas, a +man rolling in wealth. One day as I was coming into the town from the +country, some Taphian pirates seized me and took me here over the sea, +where they sold me to the man who owns this house, and he gave them +their price for me.' + +"The man who had seduced her then said, 'Would you like to come along +with us to see the house of your parents and your parents themselves? +They are both alive and are said to be well off.' + +"'I will do so gladly,' answered she, 'if you men will first swear me a +solemn oath that you will do me no harm by the way.' + +"They all swore as she told them, and when they had completed their oath +the woman said, 'Hush; and if any of your men meets me in the street or +at the well, do not let him speak to me, for fear some one should go and +tell my master, in which case he would suspect something. He would put +me in prison, and would have all of you murdered; keep your own counsel +therefore; buy your merchandise as fast as you can, and send me word +when you have done loading. I will bring as much gold as I can lay my +hands on, and there is something else also that I can do towards paying +my fare. I am nurse to the son of the good man of the house, a funny +little fellow just able to run about. I will carry him off in your ship, +and you will get a great deal of money for him if you take him and sell +him in foreign parts.' + +"On this she went back to the house. The Phoenicians stayed a whole +year till they had loaded their ship with much precious merchandise, +and then, when they had got freight enough, they sent to tell the +woman. Their messenger, a very cunning fellow, came to my father's house +bringing a necklace of gold with amber beads strung among it; and +while my mother and the servants had it in their hands admiring it and +bargaining about it, he made a sign quietly to the woman and then went +back to the ship, whereon she took me by the hand and led me out of the +house. In the fore part of the house she saw the tables set with +the cups of guests who had been feasting with my father, as being in +attendance on him; these were now all gone to a meeting of the public +assembly, so she snatched up three cups and carried them off in the +bosom of her dress, while I followed her, for I knew no better. The sun +was now set, and darkness was over all the land, so we hurried on as +fast as we could till we reached the harbour, where the Phoenician ship +was lying. When they had got on board they sailed their ways over the +sea, taking us with them, and Jove sent then a fair wind; six days did +we sail both night and day, but on the seventh day Diana struck the +woman and she fell heavily down into the ship's hold as though she were +a sea gull alighting on the water; so they threw her overboard to the +seals and fishes, and I was left all sorrowful and alone. Presently the +winds and waves took the ship to Ithaca, where Laertes gave sundry of +his chattels for me, and thus it was that ever I came to set eyes upon +this country." + +Ulysses answered, "Eumaeus, I have heard the story of your misfortunes +with the most lively interest and pity, but Jove has given you good as +well as evil, for in spite of everything you have a good master, who +sees that you always have enough to eat and drink; and you lead a good +life, whereas I am still going about begging my way from city to city." + +Thus did they converse, and they had only a very little time left for +sleep, for it was soon daybreak. In the mean time Telemachus and his +crew were nearing land, so they loosed the sails, took down the mast, +and rowed the ship into the harbour. {136} They cast out their mooring +stones and made fast the hawsers; they then got out upon the sea shore, +mixed their wine, and got dinner ready. As soon as they had had enough +to eat and drink Telemachus said, "Take the ship on to the town, but +leave me here, for I want to look after the herdsmen on one of my farms. +In the evening, when I have seen all I want, I will come down to the +city, and to-morrow morning in return for your trouble I will give you +all a good dinner with meat and wine." {137} + +Then Theoclymenus said, "And what, my dear young friend, is to become of +me? To whose house, among all your chief men, am I to repair? or shall I +go straight to your own house and to your mother?" + +"At any other time," replied Telemachus, "I should have bidden you go to +my own house, for you would find no want of hospitality; at the present +moment, however, you would not be comfortable there, for I shall be +away, and my mother will not see you; she does not often show herself +even to the suitors, but sits at her loom weaving in an upper chamber, +out of their way; but I can tell you a man whose house you can go +to--I mean Eurymachus the son of Polybus, who is held in the highest +estimation by every one in Ithaca. He is much the best man and the most +persistent wooer, of all those who are paying court to my mother and +trying to take Ulysses' place. Jove, however, in heaven alone knows +whether or no they will come to a bad end before the marriage takes +place." + +As he was speaking a bird flew by upon his right hand--a hawk, Apollo's +messenger. It held a dove in its talons, and the feathers, as it tore +them off, {138} fell to the ground midway between Telemachus and the +ship. On this Theoclymenus called him apart and caught him by the hand. +"Telemachus," said he, "that bird did not fly on your right hand without +having been sent there by some god. As soon as I saw it I knew it was an +omen; it means that you will remain powerful and that there will be no +house in Ithaca more royal than your own." + +"I wish it may prove so," answered Telemachus. "If it does, I will show +you so much good will and give you so many presents that all who meet +you will congratulate you." + +Then he said to his friend Piraeus, "Piraeus, son of Clytius, you have +throughout shown yourself the most willing to serve me of all those who +have accompanied me to Pylos; I wish you would take this stranger to +your own house and entertain him hospitably till I can come for him." + +And Piraeus answered, "Telemachus, you may stay away as long as you +please, but I will look after him for you, and he shall find no lack of +hospitality." + +As he spoke he went on board, and bade the others do so also and loose +the hawsers, so they took their places in the ship. But Telemachus +bound on his sandals, and took a long and doughty spear with a head +of sharpened bronze from the deck of the ship. Then they loosed the +hawsers, thrust the ship off from land, and made on towards the city +as they had been told to do, while Telemachus strode on as fast as he +could, till he reached the homestead where his countless herds of +swine were feeding, and where dwelt the excellent swineherd, who was so +devoted a servant to his master. + + +Book XVI + +ULYSSES REVEALS HIMSELF TO TELEMACHUS. + +Meanwhile Ulysses and the swineherd had lit a fire in the hut and were +were getting breakfast ready at daybreak, for they had sent the men out +with the pigs. When Telemachus came up, the dogs did not bark but fawned +upon him, so Ulysses, hearing the sound of feet and noticing that the +dogs did not bark, said to Eumaeus: + +"Eumaeus, I hear footsteps; I suppose one of your men or some one of +your acquaintance is coming here, for the dogs are fawning upon him and +not barking." + +The words were hardly out of his mouth before his son stood at the door. +Eumaeus sprang to his feet, and the bowls in which he was mixing wine +fell from his hands, as he made towards his master. He kissed his head +and both his beautiful eyes, and wept for joy. A father could not be +more delighted at the return of an only son, the child of his old age, +after ten years' absence in a foreign country and after having gone +through much hardship. He embraced him, kissed him all over as though he +had come back from the dead, and spoke fondly to him saying: + +"So you are come, Telemachus, light of my eyes that you are. When I +heard you had gone to Pylos I made sure I was never going to see you any +more. Come in, my dear child, and sit down, that I may have a good look +at you now you are home again; it is not very often you come into +the country to see us herdsmen; you stick pretty close to the town +generally. I suppose you think it better to keep an eye on what the +suitors are doing." + +"So be it, old friend," answered Telemachus, "but I am come now because +I want to see you, and to learn whether my mother is still at her +old home or whether some one else has married her, so that the bed of +Ulysses is without bedding and covered with cobwebs." + +"She is still at the house," replied Eumaeus, "grieving and breaking her +heart, and doing nothing but weep, both night and day continually." + +As he spoke he took Telemachus' spear, whereon he crossed the stone +threshold and came inside. Ulysses rose from his seat to give him place +as he entered, but Telemachus checked him; "Sit down, stranger," said +he, "I can easily find another seat, and there is one here who will lay +it for me." + +Ulysses went back to his own place, and Eumaeus strewed some green +brushwood on the floor and threw a sheepskin on top of it for Telemachus +to sit upon. Then the swineherd brought them platters of cold meat, the +remains from what they had eaten the day before, and he filled the bread +baskets with bread as fast as he could. He mixed wine also in bowls of +ivy-wood, and took his seat facing Ulysses. Then they laid their hands +on the good things that were before them, and as soon as they had had +enough to eat and drink Telemachus said to Eumaeus, "Old friend, where +does this stranger come from? How did his crew bring him to Ithaca, and +who were they?--for assuredly he did not come here by land." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "My son, I will tell you +the real truth. He says he is a Cretan, and that he has been a great +traveller. At this moment he is running away from a Thesprotian ship, +and has taken refuge at my station, so I will put him into your hands. +Do whatever you like with him, only remember that he is your suppliant." + +"I am very much distressed," said Telemachus, "by what you have just +told me. How can I take this stranger into my house? I am as yet young, +and am not strong enough to hold my own if any man attacks me. My mother +cannot make up her mind whether to stay where she is and look after the +house out of respect for public opinion and the memory of her husband, +or whether the time is now come for her to take the best man of those +who are wooing her, and the one who will make her the most advantageous +offer; still, as the stranger has come to your station I will find him +a cloak and shirt of good wear, with a sword and sandals, and will send +him wherever he wants to go. Or if you like you can keep him here at the +station, and I will send him clothes and food that he may be no burden +on you and on your men; but I will not have him go near the suitors, +for they are very insolent, and are sure to ill treat him in a way that +would greatly grieve me; no matter how valiant a man may be he can do +nothing against numbers, for they will be too strong for him." + +Then Ulysses said, "Sir, it is right that I should say something myself. +I am much shocked about what you have said about the insolent way in +which the suitors are behaving in despite of such a man as you are. Tell +me, do you submit to such treatment tamely, or has some god set your +people against you? May you not complain of your brothers--for it is to +these that a man may look for support, however great his quarrel may be? +I wish I were as young as you are and in my present mind; if I were son +to Ulysses, or, indeed, Ulysses himself, I would rather some one came +and cut my head off, but I would go to the house and be the bane of +every one of these men. {139} If they were too many for me--I being +single-handed--I would rather die fighting in my own house than see such +disgraceful sights day after day, strangers grossly maltreated, and men +dragging the women servants about the house in an unseemly way, wine +drawn recklessly, and bread wasted all to no purpose for an end that +shall never be accomplished." + +And Telemachus answered, "I will tell you truly everything. There is no +enmity between me and my people, nor can I complain of brothers, to whom +a man may look for support however great his quarrel may be. Jove has +made us a race of only sons. Laertes was the only son of Arceisius, and +Ulysses only son of Laertes. I am myself the only son of Ulysses who +left me behind him when he went away, so that I have never been of any +use to him. Hence it comes that my house is in the hands of numberless +marauders; for the chiefs from all the neighbouring islands, Dulichium, +Same, Zacynthus, as also all the principal men of Ithaca itself, are +eating up my house under the pretext of paying court to my mother, who +will neither say point blank that she will not marry, nor yet bring +matters to an end, so they are making havoc of my estate, and before +long will do so with myself into the bargain. The issue, however, +rests with heaven. But do you, old friend Eumaeus, go at once and tell +Penelope that I am safe and have returned from Pylos. Tell it to herself +alone, and then come back here without letting any one else know, for +there are many who are plotting mischief against me." + +"I understand and heed you," replied Eumaeus; "you need instruct me no +further, only as I am going that way say whether I had not better let +poor Laertes know that you are returned. He used to superintend the work +on his farm in spite of his bitter sorrow about Ulysses, and he would +eat and drink at will along with his servants; but they tell me that +from the day on which you set out for Pylos he has neither eaten nor +drunk as he ought to do, nor does he look after his farm, but sits +weeping and wasting the flesh from off his bones." + +"More's the pity," answered Telemachus, "I am sorry for him, but we must +leave him to himself just now. If people could have everything their own +way, the first thing I should choose would be the return of my father; +but go, and give your message; then make haste back again, and do not +turn out of your way to tell Laertes. Tell my mother to send one of her +women secretly with the news at once, and let him hear it from her." + +Thus did he urge the swineherd; Eumaeus, therefore, took his sandals, +bound them to his feet, and started for the town. Minerva watched +him well off the station, and then came up to it in the form of a +woman--fair, stately, and wise. She stood against the side of the entry, +and revealed herself to Ulysses, but Telemachus could not see her, and +knew not that she was there, for the gods do not let themselves be seen +by everybody. Ulysses saw her, and so did the dogs, for they did not +bark, but went scared and whining off to the other side of the yards. +She nodded her head and motioned to Ulysses with her eyebrows; whereon +he left the hut and stood before her outside the main wall of the yards. +Then she said to him: + +"Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, it is now time for you to tell your +son: do not keep him in the dark any longer, but lay your plans for the +destruction of the suitors, and then make for the town. I will not be +long in joining you, for I too am eager for the fray." + +As she spoke she touched him with her golden wand. First she threw +a fair clean shirt and cloak about his shoulders; then she made him +younger and of more imposing presence; she gave him back his colour, +filled out his cheeks, and let his beard become dark again. Then she +went away and Ulysses came back inside the hut. His son was astounded +when he saw him, and turned his eyes away for fear he might be looking +upon a god. + +"Stranger," said he, "how suddenly you have changed from what you were +a moment or two ago. You are dressed differently and your colour is not +the same. Are you some one or other of the gods that live in heaven? If +so, be propitious to me till I can make you due sacrifice and offerings +of wrought gold. Have mercy upon me." + +And Ulysses said, "I am no god, why should you take me for one? I am +your father, on whose account you grieve and suffer so much at the hands +of lawless men." + +As he spoke he kissed his son, and a tear fell from his cheek on to the +ground, for he had restrained all tears till now. But Telemachus could +not yet believe that it was his father, and said: + +"You are not my father, but some god is flattering me with vain hopes +that I may grieve the more hereafter; no mortal man could of himself +contrive to do as you have been doing, and make yourself old and young +at a moment's notice, unless a god were with him. A second ago you +were old and all in rags, and now you are like some god come down from +heaven." + +Ulysses answered, "Telemachus, you ought not to be so immeasurably +astonished at my being really here. There is no other Ulysses who will +come hereafter. Such as I am, it is I, who after long wandering and much +hardship have got home in the twentieth year to my own country. What you +wonder at is the work of the redoubtable goddess Minerva, who does with +me whatever she will, for she can do what she pleases. At one moment she +makes me like a beggar, and the next I am a young man with good clothes +on my back; it is an easy matter for the gods who live in heaven to make +any man look either rich or poor." + +As he spoke he sat down, and Telemachus threw his arms about his father +and wept. They were both so much moved that they cried aloud like eagles +or vultures with crooked talons that have been robbed of their half +fledged young by peasants. Thus piteously did they weep, and the sun +would have gone down upon their mourning if Telemachus had not suddenly +said, "In what ship, my dear father, did your crew bring you to Ithaca? +Of what nation did they declare themselves to be--for you cannot have +come by land?" + +"I will tell you the truth, my son," replied Ulysses. "It was the +Phaeacians who brought me here. They are great sailors, and are in the +habit of giving escorts to any one who reaches their coasts. They took +me over the sea while I was fast asleep, and landed me in Ithaca, after +giving me many presents in bronze, gold, and raiment. These things by +heaven's mercy are lying concealed in a cave, and I am now come here on +the suggestion of Minerva that we may consult about killing our enemies. +First, therefore, give me a list of the suitors, with their number, that +I may learn who, and how many, they are. I can then turn the matter +over in my mind, and see whether we two can fight the whole body of them +ourselves, or whether we must find others to help us." + +To this Telemachus answered, "Father, I have always heard of your renown +both in the field and in council, but the task you talk of is a very +great one: I am awed at the mere thought of it; two men cannot stand +against many and brave ones. There are not ten suitors only, nor twice +ten, but ten many times over; you shall learn their number at once. +There are fifty-two chosen youths from Dulichium, and they have six +servants; from Same there are twenty-four; twenty young Achaeans from +Zacynthus, and twelve from Ithaca itself, all of them well born. They +have with them a servant Medon, a bard, and two men who can carve at +table. If we face such numbers as this, you may have bitter cause to rue +your coming, and your revenge. See whether you cannot think of some one +who would be willing to come and help us." + +"Listen to me," replied Ulysses, "and think whether Minerva and her +father Jove may seem sufficient, or whether I am to try and find some +one else as well." + +"Those whom you have named," answered Telemachus, "are a couple of good +allies, for though they dwell high up among the clouds they have power +over both gods and men." + +"These two," continued Ulysses, "will not keep long out of the fray, +when the suitors and we join fight in my house. Now, therefore, return +home early to-morrow morning, and go about among the suitors as +before. Later on the swineherd will bring me to the city disguised as a +miserable old beggar. If you see them ill treating me, steel your heart +against my sufferings; even though they drag me feet foremost out of +the house, or throw things at me, look on and do nothing beyond gently +trying to make them behave more reasonably; but they will not listen to +you, for the day of their reckoning is at hand. Furthermore I say, and +lay my saying to your heart; when Minerva shall put it in my mind, I +will nod my head to you, and on seeing me do this you must collect all +the armour that is in the house and hide it in the strong store room. +Make some excuse when the suitors ask you why you are removing it; say +that you have taken it to be out of the way of the smoke, inasmuch as it +is no longer what it was when Ulysses went away, but has become soiled +and begrimed with soot. Add to this more particularly that you are +afraid Jove may set them on to quarrel over their wine, and that they +may do each other some harm which may disgrace both banquet and wooing, +for the sight of arms sometimes tempts people to use them. But leave +a sword and a spear apiece for yourself and me, and a couple of oxhide +shields so that we can snatch them up at any moment; Jove and Minerva +will then soon quiet these people. There is also another matter; if you +are indeed my son and my blood runs in your veins, let no one know that +Ulysses is within the house--neither Laertes, nor yet the swineherd, nor +any of the servants, nor even Penelope herself. Let you and me exploit +the women alone, and let us also make trial of some other of the men +servants, to see who is on our side and whose hand is against us." + +"Father," replied Telemachus, "you will come to know me by and by, and +when you do you will find that I can keep your counsel. I do not think, +however, the plan you propose will turn out well for either of us. Think +it over. It will take us a long time to go the round of the farms and +exploit the men, and all the time the suitors will be wasting your +estate with impunity and without compunction. Prove the women by all +means, to see who are disloyal and who guiltless, but I am not in favour +of going round and trying the men. We can attend to that later on, if +you really have some sign from Jove that he will support you." + +Thus did they converse, and meanwhile the ship which had brought +Telemachus and his crew from Pylos had reached the town of Ithaca. When +they had come inside the harbour they drew the ship on to the land; +their servants came and took their armour from them, and they left all +the presents at the house of Clytius. Then they sent a servant to tell +Penelope that Telemachus had gone into the country, but had sent the +ship to the town to prevent her from being alarmed and made unhappy. +This servant and Eumaeus happened to meet when they were both on the +same errand of going to tell Penelope. When they reached the House, the +servant stood up and said to the queen in the presence of the waiting +women, "Your son, Madam, is now returned from Pylos"; but Eumaeus went +close up to Penelope, and said privately all that her son had bidden +him tell her. When he had given his message he left the house with its +outbuildings and went back to his pigs again. + +The suitors were surprised and angry at what had happened, so they +went outside the great wall that ran round the outer court, and held +a council near the main entrance. Eurymachus, son of Polybus, was the +first to speak. + +"My friends," said he, "this voyage of Telemachus's is a very serious +matter; we had made sure that it would come to nothing. Now, however, +let us draw a ship into the water, and get a crew together to send after +the others and tell them to come back as fast as they can." + +He had hardly done speaking when Amphinomus turned in his place and +saw the ship inside the harbour, with the crew lowering her sails, and +putting by their oars; so he laughed, and said to the others, "We need +not send them any message, for they are here. Some god must have told +them, or else they saw the ship go by, and could not overtake her." + +On this they rose and went to the water side. The crew then drew the +ship on shore; their servants took their armour from them, and they went +up in a body to the place of assembly, but they would not let any one +old or young sit along with them, and Antinous, son of Eupeithes, spoke +first. + +"Good heavens," said he, "see how the gods have saved this man from +destruction. We kept a succession of scouts upon the headlands all day +long, and when the sun was down we never went on shore to sleep, but +waited in the ship all night till morning in the hope of capturing and +killing him; but some god has conveyed him home in spite of us. Let +us consider how we can make an end of him. He must not escape us; our +affair is never likely to come off while he is alive, for he is very +shrewd, and public feeling is by no means all on our side. We must make +haste before he can call the Achaeans in assembly; he will lose no time +in doing so, for he will be furious with us, and will tell all the world +how we plotted to kill him, but failed to take him. The people will not +like this when they come to know of it; we must see that they do us no +hurt, nor drive us from our own country into exile. Let us try and +lay hold of him either on his farm away from the town, or on the road +hither. Then we can divide up his property amongst us, and let his +mother and the man who marries her have the house. If this does not +please you, and you wish Telemachus to live on and hold his father's +property, then we must not gather here and eat up his goods in this way, +but must make our offers to Penelope each from his own house, and she +can marry the man who will give the most for her, and whose lot it is to +win her." + +They all held their peace until Amphinomus rose to speak. He was the son +of Nisus, who was son to king Aretias, and he was foremost among all the +suitors from the wheat-growing and well grassed island of Dulichium; his +conversation, moreover, was more agreeable to Penelope than that of any +of the other suitors, for he was a man of good natural disposition. "My +friends," said he, speaking to them plainly and in all honestly, "I am +not in favour of killing Telemachus. It is a heinous thing to kill one +who is of noble blood. Let us first take counsel of the gods, and if the +oracles of Jove advise it, I will both help to kill him myself, and will +urge everyone else to do so; but if they dissuade us, I would have you +hold your hands." + +Thus did he speak, and his words pleased them well, so they rose +forthwith and went to the house of Ulysses, where they took their +accustomed seats. + +Then Penelope resolved that she would show herself to the suitors. She +knew of the plot against Telemachus, for the servant Medon had overheard +their counsels and had told her; she went down therefore to the court +attended by her maidens, and when she reached the suitors she stood by +one of the bearing-posts supporting the roof of the cloister holding a +veil before her face, and rebuked Antinous saying: + +"Antinous, insolent and wicked schemer, they say you are the best +speaker and counsellor of any man your own age in Ithaca, but you are +nothing of the kind. Madman, why should you try to compass the death +of Telemachus, and take no heed of suppliants, whose witness is Jove +himself? It is not right for you to plot thus against one another. +Do you not remember how your father fled to this house in fear of the +people, who were enraged against him for having gone with some Taphian +pirates and plundered the Thesprotians who were at peace with us? They +wanted to tear him in pieces and eat up everything he had, but Ulysses +stayed their hands although they were infuriated, and now you devour his +property without paying for it, and break my heart by wooing his wife +and trying to kill his son. Leave off doing so, and stop the others +also." + +To this Eurymachus son of Polybus answered, "Take heart, Queen Penelope +daughter of Icarius, and do not trouble yourself about these matters. +The man is not yet born, nor never will be, who shall lay hands upon +your son Telemachus, while I yet live to look upon the face of the +earth. I say--and it shall surely be--that my spear shall be reddened +with his blood; for many a time has Ulysses taken me on his knees, +held wine up to my lips to drink, and put pieces of meat into my hands. +Therefore Telemachus is much the dearest friend I have, and has nothing +to fear from the hands of us suitors. Of course, if death comes to him +from the gods, he cannot escape it." He said this to quiet her, but in +reality he was plotting against Telemachus. + +Then Penelope went upstairs again and mourned her husband till Minerva +shed sleep over her eyes. In the evening Eumaeus got back to Ulysses +and his son, who had just sacrificed a young pig of a year old and were +helping one another to get supper ready; Minerva therefore came up to +Ulysses, turned him into an old man with a stroke of her wand, and +clad him in his old clothes again, for fear that the swineherd might +recognise him and not keep the secret, but go and tell Penelope. + +Telemachus was the first to speak. "So you have got back, Eumaeus," said +he. "What is the news of the town? Have the suitors returned, or are +they still waiting over yonder, to take me on my way home?" + +"I did not think of asking about that," replied Eumaeus, "when I was in +the town. I thought I would give my message and come back as soon as I +could. I met a man sent by those who had gone with you to Pylos, and he +was the first to tell the news to your mother, but I can say what I saw +with my own eyes; I had just got on to the crest of the hill of Mercury +above the town when I saw a ship coming into harbour with a number of +men in her. They had many shields and spears, and I thought it was the +suitors, but I cannot be sure." + +On hearing this Telemachus smiled to his father, but so that Eumaeus +could not see him. + +Then, when they had finished their work and the meal was ready, they ate +it, and every man had his full share so that all were satisfied. As +soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, they laid down to rest and +enjoyed the boon of sleep. + + +Book XVII + +TELEMACHUS AND HIS MOTHER MEET--ULYSSES AND EUMAEUS COME DOWN TO THE +TOWN, AND ULYSSES IS INSULTED BY MELANTHIUS--HE IS RECOGNISED BY THE +DOG ARGOS--HE IS INSULTED AND PRESENTLY STRUCK BY ANTINOUS WITH A +STOOL--PENELOPE DESIRES THAT HE SHALL BE SENT TO HER. + +When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Telemachus +bound on his sandals and took a strong spear that suited his hands, for +he wanted to go into the city. "Old friend," said he to the swineherd, +"I will now go to the town and show myself to my mother, for she will +never leave off grieving till she has seen me. As for this unfortunate +stranger, take him to the town and let him beg there of any one who will +give him a drink and a piece of bread. I have trouble enough of my own, +and cannot be burdened with other people. If this makes him angry so +much the worse for him, but I like to say what I mean." + +Then Ulysses said, "Sir, I do not want to stay here; a beggar can always +do better in town than country, for any one who likes can give him +something. I am too old to care about remaining here at the beck and +call of a master. Therefore let this man do as you have just told him, +and take me to the town as soon as I have had a warm by the fire, and +the day has got a little heat in it. My clothes are wretchedly thin, and +this frosty morning I shall be perished with cold, for you say the city +is some way off." + +On this Telemachus strode off through the yards, brooding his revenge +upon the suitors. When he reached home he stood his spear against a +bearing-post of the cloister, crossed the stone floor of the cloister +itself, and went inside. + +Nurse Euryclea saw him long before any one else did. She was putting the +fleeces on to the seats, and she burst out crying as she ran up to him; +all the other maids came up too, and covered his head and shoulders with +their kisses. Penelope came out of her room looking like Diana or Venus, +and wept as she flung her arms about her son. She kissed his forehead +and both his beautiful eyes, "Light of my eyes," she cried as she spoke +fondly to him, "so you are come home again; I made sure I was never +going to see you any more. To think of your having gone off to Pylos +without saying anything about it or obtaining my consent. But come, tell +me what you saw." + +"Do not scold me, mother," answered Telemachus, "nor vex me, seeing what +a narrow escape I have had, but wash your face, change your dress, go +upstairs with your maids, and promise full and sufficient hecatombs to +all the gods if Jove will only grant us our revenge upon the suitors. I +must now go to the place of assembly to invite a stranger who has come +back with me from Pylos. I sent him on with my crew, and told Piraeus to +take him home and look after him till I could come for him myself." + +She heeded her son's words, washed her face, changed her dress, and +vowed full and sufficient hecatombs to all the gods if they would only +vouchsafe her revenge upon the suitors. + +Telemachus went through, and out of, the cloisters spear in hand--not +alone, for his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed him with a +presence of such divine comeliness that all marvelled at him as he went +by, and the suitors gathered round him with fair words in their mouths +and malice in their hearts; but he avoided them, and went to sit with +Mentor, Antiphus, and Halitherses, old friends of his father's house, +and they made him tell them all that had happened to him. Then Piraeus +came up with Theoclymenus, whom he had escorted through the town to the +place of assembly, whereon Telemachus at once joined them. Piraeus was +first to speak: "Telemachus," said he, "I wish you would send some of +your women to my house to take away the presents Menelaus gave you." + +"We do not know, Piraeus," answered Telemachus, "what may happen. If +the suitors kill me in my own house and divide my property among them, +I would rather you had the presents than that any of those people should +get hold of them. If on the other hand I managed to kill them, I shall +be much obliged if you will kindly bring me my presents." + +With these words he took Theoclymenus to his own house. When they got +there they laid their cloaks on the benches and seats, went into the +baths, and washed themselves. When the maids had washed and anointed +them, and had given them cloaks and shirts, they took their seats at +table. A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden +ewer, and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands; +and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them +bread and offered them many good things of what there was in the +house. Opposite them sat Penelope, reclining on a couch by one of the +bearing-posts of the cloister, and spinning. Then they laid their hands +on the good things that were before them, and as soon as they had had +enough to eat and drink Penelope said: + +"Telemachus, I shall go upstairs and lie down on that sad couch, which I +have not ceased to water with my tears, from the day Ulysses set out for +Troy with the sons of Atreus. You failed, however, to make it clear to +me before the suitors came back to the house, whether or no you had been +able to hear anything about the return of your father." + +"I will tell you then truth," replied her son. "We went to Pylos and saw +Nestor, who took me to his house and treated me as hospitably as though +I were a son of his own who had just returned after a long absence; so +also did his sons; but he said he had not heard a word from any +human being about Ulysses, whether he was alive or dead. He sent me, +therefore, with a chariot and horses to Menelaus. There I saw Helen, for +whose sake so many, both Argives and Trojans, were in heaven's wisdom +doomed to suffer. Menelaus asked me what it was that had brought me to +Lacedaemon, and I told him the whole truth, whereon he said, 'So, then, +these cowards would usurp a brave man's bed? A hind might as well lay +her new-born young in the lair of a lion, and then go off to feed in the +forest or in some grassy dell. The lion, when he comes back to his lair, +will make short work with the pair of them, and so will Ulysses with +these suitors. By father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, if Ulysses is still +the man that he was when he wrestled with Philomeleides in Lesbos, and +threw him so heavily that all the Greeks cheered him--if he is still +such, and were to come near these suitors, they would have a short +shrift and a sorry wedding. As regards your question, however, I will +not prevaricate nor deceive you, but what the old man of the sea told +me, so much will I tell you in full. He said he could see Ulysses on +an island sorrowing bitterly in the house of the nymph Calypso, who was +keeping him prisoner, and he could not reach his home, for he had no +ships nor sailors to take him over the sea.' This was what Menelaus told +me, and when I had heard his story I came away; the gods then gave me a +fair wind and soon brought me safe home again." + +With these words he moved the heart of Penelope. Then Theoclymenus said +to her: + +"Madam, wife of Ulysses, Telemachus does not understand these things; +listen therefore to me, for I can divine them surely, and will hide +nothing from you. May Jove the king of heaven be my witness, and the +rites of hospitality, with that hearth of Ulysses to which I now come, +that Ulysses himself is even now in Ithaca, and, either going about the +country or staying in one place, is enquiring into all these evil deeds +and preparing a day of reckoning for the suitors. I saw an omen when I +was on the ship which meant this, and I told Telemachus about it." + +"May it be even so," answered Penelope; "if your words come true, you +shall have such gifts and such good will from me that all who see you +shall congratulate you." + +Thus did they converse. Meanwhile the suitors were throwing discs, or +aiming with spears at a mark on the levelled ground in front of the +house, and behaving with all their old insolence. But when it was now +time for dinner, and the flock of sheep and goats had come into the town +from all the country round, {140} with their shepherds as usual, then +Medon, who was their favourite servant, and who waited upon them at +table, said, "Now then, my young masters, you have had enough sport, so +come inside that we may get dinner ready. Dinner is not a bad thing, at +dinner time." + +They left their sports as he told them, and when they were within the +house, they laid their cloaks on the benches and seats inside, and then +sacrificed some sheep, goats, pigs, and a heifer, all of them fat and +well grown. {141} Thus they made ready for their meal. In the meantime +Ulysses and the swineherd were about starting for the town, and the +swineherd said, "Stranger, I suppose you still want to go to town +to-day, as my master said you were to do; for my own part I should have +liked you to stay here as a station hand, but I must do as my master +tells me, or he will scold me later on, and a scolding from one's master +is a very serious thing. Let us then be off, for it is now broad day; it +will be night again directly and then you will find it colder." {142} + +"I know, and understand you," replied Ulysses; "you need say no more. +Let us be going, but if you have a stick ready cut, let me have it to +walk with, for you say the road is a very rough one." + +As he spoke he threw his shabby old tattered wallet over his shoulders, +by the cord from which it hung, and Eumaeus gave him a stick to his +liking. The two then started, leaving the station in charge of the dogs +and herdsmen who remained behind; the swineherd led the way and his +master followed after, looking like some broken down old tramp as he +leaned upon his staff, and his clothes were all in rags. When they had +got over the rough steep ground and were nearing the city, they reached +the fountain from which the citizens drew their water. This had +been made by Ithacus, Neritus, and Polyctor. There was a grove of +water-loving poplars planted in a circle all round it, and the clear +cold water came down to it from a rock high up, {143} while above the +fountain there was an altar to the nymphs, at which all wayfarers used +to sacrifice. Here Melanthius son of Dolius overtook them as he was +driving down some goats, the best in his flock, for the suitors' dinner, +and there were two shepherds with him. When he saw Eumaeus and Ulysses +he reviled them with outrageous and unseemly language, which made +Ulysses very angry. + +"There you go," cried he, "and a precious pair you are. See how heaven +brings birds of the same feather to one another. Where, pray, master +swineherd, are you taking this poor miserable object? It would make any +one sick to see such a creature at table. A fellow like this never won a +prize for anything in his life, but will go about rubbing his shoulders +against every man's door post, and begging, not for swords and cauldrons +{144} like a man, but only for a few scraps not worth begging for. If +you would give him to me for a hand on my station, he might do to clean +out the folds, or bring a bit of sweet feed to the kids, and he could +fatten his thighs as much as he pleased on whey; but he has taken to bad +ways and will not go about any kind of work; he will do nothing but +beg victuals all the town over, to feed his insatiable belly. I say, +therefore--and it shall surely be--if he goes near Ulysses' house he +will get his head broken by the stools they will fling at him, till they +turn him out." + +On this, as he passed, he gave Ulysses a kick on the hip out of pure +wantonness, but Ulysses stood firm, and did not budge from the path. For +a moment he doubted whether or no to fly at Melanthius and kill him +with his staff, or fling him to the ground and beat his brains out; +he resolved, however, to endure it and keep himself in check, but the +swineherd looked straight at Melanthius and rebuked him, lifting up his +hands and praying to heaven as he did so. + +"Fountain nymphs," he cried, "children of Jove, if ever Ulysses burned +you thigh bones covered with fat whether of lambs or kids, grant my +prayer that heaven may send him home. He would soon put an end to +the swaggering threats with which such men as you go about insulting +people--gadding all over the town while your flocks are going to ruin +through bad shepherding." + +Then Melanthius the goatherd answered, "You ill conditioned cur, what +are you talking about? Some day or other I will put you on board ship +and take you to a foreign country, where I can sell you and pocket the +money you will fetch. I wish I were as sure that Apollo would strike +Telemachus dead this very day, or that the suitors would kill him, as I +am that Ulysses will never come home again." + +With this he left them to come on at their leisure, while he went +quickly forward and soon reached the house of his master. When he +got there he went in and took his seat among the suitors opposite +Eurymachus, who liked him better than any of the others. The servants +brought him a portion of meat, and an upper woman servant set bread +before him that he might eat. Presently Ulysses and the swineherd came +up to the house and stood by it, amid a sound of music, for Phemius was +just beginning to sing to the suitors. Then Ulysses took hold of the +swineherd's hand, and said: + +"Eumaeus, this house of Ulysses is a very fine place. No matter how far +you go, you will find few like it. One building keeps following on after +another. The outer court has a wall with battlements all round it; the +doors are double folding, and of good workmanship; it would be a hard +matter to take it by force of arms. I perceive, too, that there are many +people banqueting within it, for there is a smell of roast meat, and +I hear a sound of music, which the gods have made to go along with +feasting." + +Then Eumaeus said, "You have perceived aright, as indeed you generally +do; but let us think what will be our best course. Will you go inside +first and join the suitors, leaving me here behind you, or will you wait +here and let me go in first? But do not wait long, or some one may see +you loitering about outside, and throw something at you. Consider this +matter I pray you." + +And Ulysses answered, "I understand and heed. Go in first and leave +me here where I am. I am quite used to being beaten and having things +thrown at me. I have been so much buffeted about in war and by sea that +I am case-hardened, and this too may go with the rest. But a man cannot +hide away the cravings of a hungry belly; this is an enemy which gives +much trouble to all men; it is because of this that ships are fitted out +to sail the seas, and to make war upon other people." + +As they were thus talking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his +head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos, whom Ulysses had bred +before setting out for Troy, but he had never had any work out of him. +In the old days he used to be taken out by the young men when they went +hunting wild goats, or deer, or hares, but now that his master was gone +he was lying neglected on the heaps of mule and cow dung that lay in +front of the stable doors till the men should come and draw it away +to manure the great close; and he was full of fleas. As soon as he saw +Ulysses standing there, he dropped his ears and wagged his tail, but he +could not get close up to his master. When Ulysses saw the dog on the +other side of the yard, he dashed a tear from his eyes without Eumaeus +seeing it, and said: + +"Eumaeus, what a noble hound that is over yonder on the manure heap: his +build is splendid; is he as fine a fellow as he looks, or is he only one +of those dogs that come begging about a table, and are kept merely for +show?" + +"This hound," answered Eumaeus, "belonged to him who has died in a far +country. If he were what he was when Ulysses left for Troy, he would +soon show you what he could do. There was not a wild beast in the forest +that could get away from him when he was once on its tracks. But now he +has fallen on evil times, for his master is dead and gone, and the women +take no care of him. Servants never do their work when their master's +hand is no longer over them, for Jove takes half the goodness out of a +man when he makes a slave of him." + +As he spoke he went inside the buildings to the cloister where the +suitors were, but Argos died as soon as he had recognised his master. + +Telemachus saw Eumaeus long before any one else did, and beckoned him +to come and sit beside him; so he looked about and saw a seat lying +near where the carver sat serving out their portions to the suitors; he +picked it up, brought it to Telemachus's table, and sat down opposite +him. Then the servant brought him his portion, and gave him bread from +the bread-basket. + +Immediately afterwards Ulysses came inside, looking like a poor +miserable old beggar, leaning on his staff and with his clothes all in +rags. He sat down upon the threshold of ash-wood just inside the doors +leading from the outer to the inner court, and against a bearing-post of +cypress-wood which the carpenter had skilfully planed, and had made to +join truly with rule and line. Telemachus took a whole loaf from the +bread-basket, with as much meat as he could hold in his two hands, and +said to Eumaeus, "Take this to the stranger, and tell him to go +the round of the suitors, and beg from them; a beggar must not be +shamefaced." + +So Eumaeus went up to him and said, "Stranger, Telemachus sends you +this, and says you are to go the round of the suitors begging, for +beggars must not be shamefaced." + +Ulysses answered, "May King Jove grant all happiness to Telemachus, and +fulfil the desire of his heart." + +Then with both hands he took what Telemachus had sent him, and laid it +on the dirty old wallet at his feet. He went on eating it while the +bard was singing, and had just finished his dinner as he left off. +The suitors applauded the bard, whereon Minerva went up to Ulysses and +prompted him to beg pieces of bread from each one of the suitors, that +he might see what kind of people they were, and tell the good from the +bad; but come what might she was not going to save a single one of them. +Ulysses, therefore, went on his round, going from left to right, and +stretched out his hands to beg as though he were a real beggar. Some of +them pitied him, and were curious about him, asking one another who +he was and where he came from; whereon the goatherd Melanthius said, +"Suitors of my noble mistress, I can tell you something about him, for I +have seen him before. The swineherd brought him here, but I know nothing +about the man himself, nor where he comes from." + +On this Antinous began to abuse the swineherd. "You precious idiot," he +cried, "what have you brought this man to town for? Have we not tramps +and beggars enough already to pester us as we sit at meat? Do you think +it a small thing that such people gather here to waste your master's +property--and must you needs bring this man as well?" + +And Eumaeus answered, "Antinous, your birth is good but your words evil. +It was no doing of mine that he came here. Who is likely to invite a +stranger from a foreign country, unless it be one of those who can do +public service as a seer, a healer of hurts, a carpenter, or a bard who +can charm us with his singing? Such men are welcome all the world over, +but no one is likely to ask a beggar who will only worry him. You are +always harder on Ulysses' servants than any of the other suitors +are, and above all on me, but I do not care so long as Telemachus and +Penelope are alive and here." + +But Telemachus said, "Hush, do not answer him; Antinous has the +bitterest tongue of all the suitors, and he makes the others worse." + +Then turning to Antinous he said, "Antinous, you take as much care of +my interests as though I were your son. Why should you want to see this +stranger turned out of the house? Heaven forbid; take something and give +it him yourself; I do not grudge it; I bid you take it. Never mind my +mother, nor any of the other servants in the house; but I know you will +not do what I say, for you are more fond of eating things yourself than +of giving them to other people." + +"What do you mean, Telemachus," replied Antinous, "by this swaggering +talk? If all the suitors were to give him as much as I will, he would +not come here again for another three months." + +As he spoke he drew the stool on which he rested his dainty feet from +under the table, and made as though he would throw it at Ulysses, but +the other suitors all gave him something, and filled his wallet with +bread and meat; he was about, therefore, to go back to the threshold and +eat what the suitors had given him, but he first went up to Antinous and +said: + +"Sir, give me something; you are not, surely, the poorest man here; you +seem to be a chief, foremost among them all; therefore you should be the +better giver, and I will tell far and wide of your bounty. I too was a +rich man once, and had a fine house of my own; in those days I gave to +many a tramp such as I now am, no matter who he might be nor what he +wanted. I had any number of servants, and all the other things which +people have who live well and are accounted wealthy, but it pleased Jove +to take all away from me. He sent me with a band of roving robbers to +Egypt; it was a long voyage and I was undone by it. I stationed my ships +in the river Aegyptus, and bade my men stay by them and keep guard +over them, while I sent out scouts to reconnoitre from every point of +vantage. + +"But the men disobeyed my orders, took to their own devices, and ravaged +the land of the Egyptians, killing the men, and taking their wives and +children captives. The alarm was soon carried to the city, and when they +heard the war-cry, the people came out at daybreak till the plain was +filled with soldiers horse and foot, and with the gleam of armour. Then +Jove spread panic among my men, and they would no longer face the enemy, +for they found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many of us, +and took the rest alive to do forced labour for them; as for myself, +they gave me to a friend who met them, to take to Cyprus, Dmetor by +name, son of Iasus, who was a great man in Cyprus. Thence I am come +hither in a state of great misery." + +Then Antinous said, "What god can have sent such a pestilence to plague +us during our dinner? Get out, into the open part of the court, {145} +or I will give you Egypt and Cyprus over again for your insolence and +importunity; you have begged of all the others, and they have given you +lavishly, for they have abundance round them, and it is easy to be free +with other people's property when there is plenty of it." + +On this Ulysses began to move off, and said, "Your looks, my fine sir, +are better than your breeding; if you were in your own house you would +not spare a poor man so much as a pinch of salt, for though you are in +another man's, and surrounded with abundance, you cannot find it in you +to give him even a piece of bread." + +This made Antinous very angry, and he scowled at him saying, "You shall +pay for this before you get clear of the court." With these words he +threw a footstool at him, and hit him on the right shoulder blade near +the top of his back. Ulysses stood firm as a rock and the blow did not +even stagger him, but he shook his head in silence as he brooded on his +revenge. Then he went back to the threshold and sat down there, laying +his well filled wallet at his feet. + +"Listen to me," he cried, "you suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may +speak even as I am minded. A man knows neither ache nor pain if he gets +hit while fighting for his money, or for his sheep or his cattle; and +even so Antinous has hit me while in the service of my miserable belly, +which is always getting people into trouble. Still, if the poor have +gods and avenging deities at all, I pray them that Antinous may come to +a bad end before his marriage." + +"Sit where you are, and eat your victuals in silence, or be off +elsewhere," shouted Antinous. "If you say more I will have you dragged +hand and foot through the courts, and the servants shall flay you +alive." + +The other suitors were much displeased at this, and one of the young men +said, "Antinous, you did ill in striking that poor wretch of a tramp: it +will be worse for you if he should turn out to be some god--and we know +the gods go about disguised in all sorts of ways as people from foreign +countries, and travel about the world to see who do amiss and who +righteously." {146} + +Thus said the suitors, but Antinous paid them no heed. Meanwhile +Telemachus was furious about the blow that had been given to his father, +and though no tear fell from him, he shook his head in silence and +brooded on his revenge. + +Now when Penelope heard that the beggar had been struck in the +banqueting-cloister, she said before her maids, "Would that Apollo would +so strike you, Antinous," and her waiting woman Eurynome answered, "If +our prayers were answered not one of the suitors would ever again see +the sun rise." Then Penelope said, "Nurse, {147} I hate every single one +of them, for they mean nothing but mischief, but I hate Antinous like +the darkness of death itself. A poor unfortunate tramp has come begging +about the house for sheer want. Every one else has given him +something to put in his wallet, but Antinous has hit him on the right +shoulder-blade with a footstool." + +Thus did she talk with her maids as she sat in her own room, and in +the meantime Ulysses was getting his dinner. Then she called for the +swineherd and said, "Eumaeus, go and tell the stranger to come here, I +want to see him and ask him some questions. He seems to have travelled +much, and he may have seen or heard something of my unhappy husband." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "If these Achaeans, Madam, +would only keep quiet, you would be charmed with the history of his +adventures. I had him three days and three nights with me in my hut, +which was the first place he reached after running away from his ship, +and he has not yet completed the story of his misfortunes. If he had +been the most heaven-taught minstrel in the whole world, on whose lips +all hearers hang entranced, I could not have been more charmed as I +sat in my hut and listened to him. He says there is an old friendship +between his house and that of Ulysses, and that he comes from Crete +where the descendants of Minos live, after having been driven hither and +thither by every kind of misfortune; he also declares that he has heard +of Ulysses as being alive and near at hand among the Thesprotians, and +that he is bringing great wealth home with him." + +"Call him here, then," said Penelope, "that I too may hear his story. +As for the suitors, let them take their pleasure indoors or out as they +will, for they have nothing to fret about. Their corn and wine remain +unwasted in their houses with none but servants to consume them, while +they keep hanging about our house day after day sacrificing our oxen, +sheep, and fat goats for their banquets, and never giving so much as +a thought to the quantity of wine they drink. No estate can stand such +recklessness, for we have now no Ulysses to protect us. If he were to +come again, he and his son would soon have their revenge." + +As she spoke Telemachus sneezed so loudly that the whole house resounded +with it. Penelope laughed when she heard this, and said to Eumaeus, "Go +and call the stranger; did you not hear how my son sneezed just as I +was speaking? This can only mean that all the suitors are going to be +killed, and that not one of them shall escape. Furthermore I say, and +lay my saying to your heart: if I am satisfied that the stranger is +speaking the truth I shall give him a shirt and cloak of good wear." + +When Eumaeus heard this he went straight to Ulysses and said, "Father +stranger, my mistress Penelope, mother of Telemachus, has sent for you; +she is in great grief, but she wishes to hear anything you can tell her +about her husband, and if she is satisfied that you are speaking the +truth, she will give you a shirt and cloak, which are the very things +that you are most in want of. As for bread, you can get enough of that +to fill your belly, by begging about the town, and letting those give +that will." + +"I will tell Penelope," answered Ulysses, "nothing but what is strictly +true. I know all about her husband, and have been partner with him +in affliction, but I am afraid of passing through this crowd of cruel +suitors, for their pride and insolence reach heaven. Just now, moreover, +as I was going about the house without doing any harm, a man gave me +a blow that hurt me very much, but neither Telemachus nor any one else +defended me. Tell Penelope, therefore, to be patient and wait till +sundown. Let her give me a seat close up to the fire, for my clothes are +worn very thin--you know they are, for you have seen them ever since I +first asked you to help me--she can then ask me about the return of her +husband." + +The swineherd went back when he heard this, and Penelope said as she saw +him cross the threshold, "Why do you not bring him here, Eumaeus? Is he +afraid that some one will ill-treat him, or is he shy of coming inside +the house at all? Beggars should not be shamefaced." + +To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaeus, "The stranger is quite +reasonable. He is avoiding the suitors, and is only doing what any one +else would do. He asks you to wait till sundown, and it will be much +better, madam, that you should have him all to yourself, when you can +hear him and talk to him as you will." + +"The man is no fool," answered Penelope, "it would very likely be as +he says, for there are no such abominable people in the whole world as +these men are." + +When she had done speaking Eumaeus went back to the suitors, for he had +explained everything. Then he went up to Telemachus and said in his ear +so that none could overhear him, "My dear sir, I will now go back to the +pigs, to see after your property and my own business. You will look to +what is going on here, but above all be careful to keep out of danger, +for there are many who bear you ill will. May Jove bring them to a bad +end before they do us a mischief." + +"Very well," replied Telemachus, "go home when you have had your dinner, +and in the morning come here with the victims we are to sacrifice for +the day. Leave the rest to heaven and me." + +On this Eumaeus took his seat again, and when he had finished his dinner +he left the courts and the cloister with the men at table, and went +back to his pigs. As for the suitors, they presently began to amuse +themselves with singing and dancing, for it was now getting on towards +evening. + + +Book XVIII + +THE FIGHT WITH IRUS--ULYSSES WARNS AMPHINOMUS--PENELOPE GETS PRESENTS +FROM THE SUITORS--THE BRAZIERS--ULYSSES REBUKES EURYMACHUS. + +Now there came a certain common tramp who used to go begging all over +the city of Ithaca, and was notorious as an incorrigible glutton and +drunkard. This man had no strength nor stay in him, but he was a great +hulking fellow to look at; his real name, the one his mother gave him, +was Arnaeus, but the young men of the place called him Irus, {148} +because he used to run errands for any one who would send him. As soon +as he came he began to insult Ulysses, and to try and drive him out of +his own house. + +"Be off, old man," he cried, "from the doorway, or you shall be dragged +out neck and heels. Do you not see that they are all giving me the wink, +and wanting me to turn you out by force, only I do not like to do so? +Get up then, and go of yourself, or we shall come to blows." + +Ulysses frowned on him and said, "My friend, I do you no manner of harm; +people give you a great deal, but I am not jealous. There is room enough +in this doorway for the pair of us, and you need not grudge me things +that are not yours to give. You seem to be just such another tramp as +myself, but perhaps the gods will give us better luck by and by. Do not, +however, talk too much about fighting or you will incense me, and old +though I am, I shall cover your mouth and chest with blood. I shall +have more peace tomorrow if I do, for you will not come to the house of +Ulysses any more." + +Irus was very angry and answered, "You filthy glutton, you run on +trippingly like an old fish-fag. I have a good mind to lay both hands +about you, and knock your teeth out of your head like so many boar's +tusks. Get ready, therefore, and let these people here stand by and +look on. You will never be able to fight one who is so much younger than +yourself." + +Thus roundly did they rate one another on the smooth pavement in front +of the doorway, {149} and when Antinous saw what was going on he laughed +heartily and said to the others, "This is the finest sport that you +ever saw; heaven never yet sent anything like it into this house. The +stranger and Irus have quarreled and are going to fight, let us set them +on to do so at once." + +The suitors all came up laughing, and gathered round the two ragged +tramps. "Listen to me," said Antinous, "there are some goats' paunches +down at the fire, which we have filled with blood and fat, and set aside +for supper; he who is victorious and proves himself to be the better +man shall have his pick of the lot; he shall be free of our table and we +will not allow any other beggar about the house at all." + +The others all agreed, but Ulysses, to throw them off the scent, said, +"Sirs, an old man like myself, worn out with suffering, cannot hold his +own against a young one; but my irrepressible belly urges me on, though +I know it can only end in my getting a drubbing. You must swear, however +that none of you will give me a foul blow to favour Irus and secure him +the victory." + +They swore as he told them, and when they had completed their oath +Telemachus put in a word and said, "Stranger, if you have a mind to +settle with this fellow, you need not be afraid of any one here. Whoever +strikes you will have to fight more than one. I am host, and the other +chiefs, Antinous and Eurymachus, both of them men of understanding, are +of the same mind as I am." + +Every one assented, and Ulysses girded his old rags about his loins, +thus baring his stalwart thighs, his broad chest and shoulders, and his +mighty arms; but Minerva came up to him and made his limbs even stronger +still. The suitors were beyond measure astonished, and one would turn +towards his neighbour saying, "The stranger has brought such a thigh out +of his old rags that there will soon be nothing left of Irus." + +Irus began to be very uneasy as he heard them, but the servants girded +him by force, and brought him [into the open part of the court] in such +a fright that his limbs were all of a tremble. Antinous scolded him and +said, "You swaggering bully, you ought never to have been born at all if +you are afraid of such an old broken down creature as this tramp is. +I say, therefore--and it shall surely be--if he beats you and proves +himself the better man, I shall pack you off on board ship to the +mainland and send you to king Echetus, who kills every one that comes +near him. He will cut off your nose and ears, and draw out your entrails +for the dogs to eat." + +This frightened Irus still more, but they brought him into the middle +of the court, and the two men raised their hands to fight. Then Ulysses +considered whether he should let drive so hard at him as to make an end +of him then and there, or whether he should give him a lighter blow that +should only knock him down; in the end he deemed it best to give the +lighter blow for fear the Achaeans should begin to suspect who he was. +Then they began to fight, and Irus hit Ulysses on the right shoulder; +but Ulysses gave Irus a blow on the neck under the ear that broke in the +bones of his skull, and the blood came gushing out of his mouth; he fell +groaning in the dust, gnashing his teeth and kicking on the ground, but +the suitors threw up their hands and nearly died of laughter, as Ulysses +caught hold of him by the foot and dragged him into the outer court as +far as the gate-house. There he propped him up against the wall and put +his staff in his hands. "Sit here," said he, "and keep the dogs and pigs +off; you are a pitiful creature, and if you try to make yourself king of +the beggars any more you shall fare still worse." + +Then he threw his dirty old wallet, all tattered and torn over his +shoulder with the cord by which it hung, and went back to sit down upon +the threshold; but the suitors went within the cloisters, laughing and +saluting him, "May Jove, and all the other gods," said they, "grant +you whatever you want for having put an end to the importunity of this +insatiable tramp. We will take him over to the mainland presently, to +king Echetus, who kills every one that comes near him." + +Ulysses hailed this as of good omen, and Antinous set a great goat's +paunch before him filled with blood and fat. Amphinomus took two loaves +out of the bread-basket and brought them to him, pledging him as he +did so in a golden goblet of wine. "Good luck to you," he said, "father +stranger, you are very badly off at present, but I hope you will have +better times by and by." + +To this Ulysses answered, "Amphinomus, you seem to be a man of good +understanding, as indeed you may well be, seeing whose son you are. I +have heard your father well spoken of; he is Nisus of Dulichium, a man +both brave and wealthy. They tell me you are his son, and you appear to +be a considerable person; listen, therefore, and take heed to what I am +saying. Man is the vainest of all creatures that have their being upon +earth. As long as heaven vouchsafes him health and strength, he thinks +that he shall come to no harm hereafter, and even when the blessed gods +bring sorrow upon him, he bears it as he needs must, and makes the best +of it; for God almighty gives men their daily minds day by day. I know +all about it, for I was a rich man once, and did much wrong in the +stubbornness of my pride, and in the confidence that my father and my +brothers would support me; therefore let a man fear God in all things +always, and take the good that heaven may see fit to send him without +vain glory. Consider the infamy of what these suitors are doing; see how +they are wasting the estate, and doing dishonour to the wife, of one who +is certain to return some day, and that, too, not long hence. Nay, he +will be here soon; may heaven send you home quietly first that you may +not meet with him in the day of his coming, for once he is here the +suitors and he will not part bloodlessly." + +With these words he made a drink-offering, and when he had drunk he put +the gold cup again into the hands of Amphinomus, who walked away serious +and bowing his head, for he foreboded evil. But even so he did not +escape destruction, for Minerva had doomed him to fall by the hand of +Telemachus. So he took his seat again at the place from which he had +come. + +Then Minerva put it into the mind of Penelope to show herself to the +suitors, that she might make them still more enamoured of her, and win +still further honour from her son and husband. So she feigned a mocking +laugh and said, "Eurynome, I have changed my mind, and have a fancy to +show myself to the suitors although I detest them. I should like also to +give my son a hint that he had better not have anything more to do with +them. They speak fairly enough but they mean mischief." + +"My dear child," answered Eurynome, "all that you have said is true, +go and tell your son about it, but first wash yourself and anoint your +face. Do not go about with your cheeks all covered with tears; it is not +right that you should grieve so incessantly; for Telemachus, whom you +always prayed that you might live to see with a beard, is already grown +up." + +"I know, Eurynome," replied Penelope, "that you mean well, but do not +try and persuade me to wash and to anoint myself, for heaven robbed +me of all my beauty on the day my husband sailed; nevertheless, tell +Autonoe and Hippodamia that I want them. They must be with me when I +am in the cloister; I am not going among the men alone; it would not be +proper for me to do so." + +On this the old woman {150} went out of the room to bid the maids go to +their mistress. In the meantime Minerva bethought her of another matter, +and sent Penelope off into a sweet slumber; so she lay down on her couch +and her limbs became heavy with sleep. Then the goddess shed grace and +beauty over her that all the Achaeans might admire her. She washed +her face with the ambrosial loveliness that Venus wears when she goes +dancing with the Graces; she made her taller and of a more commanding +figure, while as for her complexion it was whiter than sawn ivory. When +Minerva had done all this she went away, whereon the maids came in from +the women's room and woke Penelope with the sound of their talking. + +"What an exquisitely delicious sleep I have been having," said she, as +she passed her hands over her face, "in spite of all my misery. I wish +Diana would let me die so sweetly now at this very moment, that I +might no longer waste in despair for the loss of my dear husband, who +possessed every kind of good quality and was the most distinguished man +among the Achaeans." + +With these words she came down from her upper room, not alone but +attended by two of her maidens, and when she reached the suitors she +stood by one of the bearing-posts supporting the roof of the cloister, +holding a veil before her face, and with a staid maid servant on either +side of her. As they beheld her the suitors were so overpowered and +became so desperately enamoured of her, that each one prayed he might +win her for his own bed fellow. + +"Telemachus," said she, addressing her son, "I fear you are no longer so +discreet and well conducted as you used to be. When you were younger you +had a greater sense of propriety; now, however, that you are grown up, +though a stranger to look at you would take you for the son of a well to +do father as far as size and good looks go, your conduct is by no means +what it should be. What is all this disturbance that has been going on, +and how came you to allow a stranger to be so disgracefully ill-treated? +What would have happened if he had suffered serious injury while a +suppliant in our house? Surely this would have been very discreditable +to you." + +"I am not surprised, my dear mother, at your displeasure," replied +Telemachus, "I understand all about it and know when things are not +as they should be, which I could not do when I was younger; I cannot, +however, behave with perfect propriety at all times. First one and then +another of these wicked people here keeps driving me out of my mind, +and I have no one to stand by me. After all, however, this fight between +Irus and the stranger did not turn out as the suitors meant it to do, +for the stranger got the best of it. I wish Father Jove, Minerva, and +Apollo would break the neck of every one of these wooers of yours, some +inside the house and some out; and I wish they might all be as limp as +Irus is over yonder in the gate of the outer court. See how he nods +his head like a drunken man; he has had such a thrashing that he cannot +stand on his feet nor get back to his home, wherever that may be, for he +has no strength left in him." + +Thus did they converse. Eurymachus then came up and said, "Queen +Penelope, daughter of Icarius, if all the Achaeans in Iasian Argos could +see you at this moment, you would have still more suitors in your house +by tomorrow morning, for you are the most admirable woman in the whole +world both as regards personal beauty and strength of understanding." + +To this Penelope replied, "Eurymachus, heaven robbed me of all my beauty +whether of face or figure when the Argives set sail for Troy and my dear +husband with them. If he were to return and look after my affairs, I +should both be more respected and show a better presence to the world. +As it is, I am oppressed with care, and with the afflictions which +heaven has seen fit to heap upon me. My husband foresaw it all, and when +he was leaving home he took my right wrist in his hand--'Wife,' he said, +'we shall not all of us come safe home from Troy, for the Trojans fight +well both with bow and spear. They are excellent also at fighting from +chariots, and nothing decides the issue of a fight sooner than this. I +know not, therefore, whether heaven will send me back to you, or whether +I may not fall over there at Troy. In the meantime do you look after +things here. Take care of my father and mother as at present, and even +more so during my absence, but when you see our son growing a beard, +then marry whom you will, and leave this your present home.' This is +what he said and now it is all coming true. A night will come when I +shall have to yield myself to a marriage which I detest, for Jove has +taken from me all hope of happiness. This further grief, moreover, cuts +me to the very heart. You suitors are not wooing me after the custom of +my country. When men are courting a woman who they think will be a good +wife to them and who is of noble birth, and when they are each trying +to win her for himself, they usually bring oxen and sheep to feast the +friends of the lady, and they make her magnificent presents, instead of +eating up other people's property without paying for it." + +This was what she said, and Ulysses was glad when he heard her trying +to get presents out of the suitors, and flattering them with fair words +which he knew she did not mean. + +Then Antinous said, "Queen Penelope, daughter of Icarius, take as many +presents as you please from any one who will give them to you; it is not +well to refuse a present; but we will not go about our business nor stir +from where we are, till you have married the best man among us whoever +he may be." + +The others applauded what Antinous had said, and each one sent his +servant to bring his present. Antinous's man returned with a large and +lovely dress most exquisitely embroidered. It had twelve beautifully +made brooch pins of pure gold with which to fasten it. Eurymachus +immediately brought her a magnificent chain of gold and amber beads that +gleamed like sunlight. Eurydamas's two men returned with some +earrings fashioned into three brilliant pendants which glistened most +beautifully; while king Pisander son of Polyctor gave her a necklace +of the rarest workmanship, and every one else brought her a beautiful +present of some kind. + +Then the queen went back to her room upstairs, and her maids brought the +presents after her. Meanwhile the suitors took to singing and dancing, +and stayed till evening came. They danced and sang till it grew dark; +they then brought in three braziers {151} to give light, and piled them +up with chopped firewood very old and dry, and they lit torches from +them, which the maids held up turn and turn about. Then Ulysses said: + +"Maids, servants of Ulysses who has so long been absent, go to the queen +inside the house; sit with her and amuse her, or spin, and pick wool. +I will hold the light for all these people. They may stay till morning, +but shall not beat me, for I can stand a great deal." + +The maids looked at one another and laughed, while pretty Melantho began +to gibe at him contemptuously. She was daughter to Dolius, but had been +brought up by Penelope, who used to give her toys to play with, and +looked after her when she was a child; but in spite of all this she +showed no consideration for the sorrows of her mistress, and used to +misconduct herself with Eurymachus, with whom she was in love. + +"Poor wretch," said she, "are you gone clean out of your mind? Go and +sleep in some smithy, or place of public gossips, instead of chattering +here. Are you not ashamed of opening your mouth before your betters--so +many of them too? Has the wine been getting into your head, or do you +always babble in this way? You seem to have lost your wits because you +beat the tramp Irus; take care that a better man than he does not come +and cudgel you about the head till he pack you bleeding out of the +house." + +"Vixen," replied Ulysses, scowling at her, "I will go and tell +Telemachus what you have been saying, and he will have you torn limb +from limb." + +With these words he scared the women, and they went off into the body +of the house. They trembled all over, for they thought he would do as he +said. But Ulysses took his stand near the burning braziers, holding up +torches and looking at the people--brooding the while on things that +should surely come to pass. + +But Minerva would not let the suitors for one moment cease their +insolence, for she wanted Ulysses to become even more bitter against +them; she therefore set Eurymachus son of Polybus on to gibe at him, +which made the others laugh. "Listen to me," said he, "you suitors of +Queen Penelope, that I may speak even as I am minded. It is not for +nothing that this man has come to the house of Ulysses; I believe the +light has not been coming from the torches, but from his own head--for +his hair is all gone, every bit of it." + +Then turning to Ulysses he said, "Stranger, will you work as a servant, +if I send you to the wolds and see that you are well paid? Can you build +a stone fence, or plant trees? I will have you fed all the year round, +and will find you in shoes and clothing. Will you go, then? Not you; for +you have got into bad ways, and do not want to work; you had rather fill +your belly by going round the country begging." + +"Eurymachus," answered Ulysses, "if you and I were to work one against +the other in early summer when the days are at their longest--give me a +good scythe, and take another yourself, and let us see which will last +the longer or mow the stronger, from dawn till dark when the mowing +grass is about. Or if you will plough against me, let us each take a +yoke of tawny oxen, well-mated and of great strength and endurance: +turn me into a four acre field, and see whether you or I can drive the +straighter furrow. If, again, war were to break out this day, give me +a shield, a couple of spears and a helmet fitting well upon my +temples--you would find me foremost in the fray, and would cease your +gibes about my belly. You are insolent and cruel, and think yourself +a great man because you live in a little world, and that a bad one. If +Ulysses comes to his own again, the doors of his house are wide, but you +will find them narrow when you try to fly through them." + +Eurymachus was furious at all this. He scowled at him and cried, "You +wretch, I will soon pay you out for daring to say such things to me, and +in public too. Has the wine been getting into your head or do you always +babble in this way? You seem to have lost your wits because you beat the +tramp Irus." With this he caught hold of a footstool, but Ulysses sought +protection at the knees of Amphinomus of Dulichium, for he was afraid. +The stool hit the cupbearer on his right hand and knocked him down: the +man fell with a cry flat on his back, and his wine-jug fell ringing to +the ground. The suitors in the covered cloister were now in an uproar, +and one would turn towards his neighbour, saying, "I wish the stranger +had gone somewhere else, bad luck to him, for all the trouble he gives +us. We cannot permit such disturbance about a beggar; if such ill +counsels are to prevail we shall have no more pleasure at our banquet." + +On this Telemachus came forward and said, "Sirs, are you mad? Can you +not carry your meat and your liquor decently? Some evil spirit has +possessed you. I do not wish to drive any of you away, but you have had +your suppers, and the sooner you all go home to bed the better." + +The suitors bit their lips and marvelled at the boldness of his speech; +but Amphinomus the son of Nisus, who was son to Aretias, said, "Do not +let us take offence; it is reasonable, so let us make no answer. Neither +let us do violence to the stranger nor to any of Ulysses' servants. Let +the cupbearer go round with the drink-offerings, that we may make them +and go home to our rest. As for the stranger, let us leave Telemachus to +deal with him, for it is to his house that he has come." + +Thus did he speak, and his saying pleased them well, so Mulius of +Dulichium, servant to Amphinomus, mixed them a bowl of wine and water +and handed it round to each of them man by man, whereon they made their +drink-offerings to the blessed gods: Then, when they had made their +drink-offerings and had drunk each one as he was minded, they took their +several ways each of them to his own abode. + + +Book XIX + +TELEMACHUS AND ULYSSES REMOVE THE ARMOUR--ULYSSES INTERVIEWS +PENELOPE--EURYCLEA WASHES HIS FEET AND RECOGNISES THE SCAR ON HIS +LEG--PENELOPE TELLS HER DREAM TO ULYSSES. + +Ulysses was left in the cloister, pondering on the means whereby with +Minerva's help he might be able to kill the suitors. Presently he said +to Telemachus, "Telemachus, we must get the armour together and take +it down inside. Make some excuse when the suitors ask you why you have +removed it. Say that you have taken it to be out of the way of the +smoke, inasmuch as it is no longer what it was when Ulysses went +away, but has become soiled and begrimed with soot. Add to this more +particularly that you are afraid Jove may set them on to quarrel over +their wine, and that they may do each other some harm which may disgrace +both banquet and wooing, for the sight of arms sometimes tempts people +to use them." + +Telemachus approved of what his father had said, so he called nurse +Euryclea and said, "Nurse, shut the women up in their room, while I take +the armour that my father left behind him down into the store room. No +one looks after it now my father is gone, and it has got all smirched +with soot during my own boyhood. I want to take it down where the smoke +cannot reach it." + +"I wish, child," answered Euryclea, "that you would take the management +of the house into your own hands altogether, and look after all the +property yourself. But who is to go with you and light you to the +store-room? The maids would have done so, but you would not let them." + +"The stranger," said Telemachus, "shall show me a light; when people eat +my bread they must earn it, no matter where they come from." + +Euryclea did as she was told, and bolted the women inside their room. +Then Ulysses and his son made all haste to take the helmets, shields, +and spears inside; and Minerva went before them with a gold lamp in her +hand that shed a soft and brilliant radiance, whereon Telemachus said, +"Father, my eyes behold a great marvel: the walls, with the rafters, +crossbeams, and the supports on which they rest are all aglow as with +a flaming fire. Surely there is some god here who has come down from +heaven." + +"Hush," answered Ulysses, "hold your peace and ask no questions, for +this is the manner of the gods. Get you to your bed, and leave me here +to talk with your mother and the maids. Your mother in her grief will +ask me all sorts of questions." + +On this Telemachus went by torch-light to the other side of the inner +court, to the room in which he always slept. There he lay in his bed +till morning, while Ulysses was left in the cloister pondering on the +means whereby with Minerva's help he might be able to kill the suitors. + +Then Penelope came down from her room looking like Venus or Diana, and +they set her a seat inlaid with scrolls of silver and ivory near the +fire in her accustomed place. It had been made by Icmalius and had a +footstool all in one piece with the seat itself; and it was covered with +a thick fleece: on this she now sat, and the maids came from the women's +room to join her. They set about removing the tables at which the wicked +suitors had been dining, and took away the bread that was left, with +the cups from which they had drunk. They emptied the embers out of the +braziers, and heaped much wood upon them to give both light and heat; +but Melantho began to rail at Ulysses a second time and said, "Stranger, +do you mean to plague us by hanging about the house all night and spying +upon the women? Be off, you wretch, outside, and eat your supper there, +or you shall be driven out with a firebrand." + +Ulysses scowled at her and answered, "My good woman, why should you be +so angry with me? Is it because I am not clean, and my clothes are all +in rags, and because I am obliged to go begging about after the manner +of tramps and beggars generally? I too was a rich man once, and had a +fine house of my own; in those days I gave to many a tramp such as I now +am, no matter who he might be nor what he wanted. I had any number of +servants, and all the other things which people have who live well and +are accounted wealthy, but it pleased Jove to take all away from me; +therefore, woman, beware lest you too come to lose that pride and place +in which you now wanton above your fellows; have a care lest you get +out of favour with your mistress, and lest Ulysses should come home, for +there is still a chance that he may do so. Moreover, though he be dead +as you think he is, yet by Apollo's will he has left a son behind him, +Telemachus, who will note anything done amiss by the maids in the house, +for he is now no longer in his boyhood." + +Penelope heard what he was saying and scolded the maid, "Impudent +baggage," said she, "I see how abominably you are behaving, and you +shall smart for it. You knew perfectly well, for I told you myself, that +I was going to see the stranger and ask him about my husband, for whose +sake I am in such continual sorrow." + +Then she said to her head waiting woman Eurynome, "Bring a seat with a +fleece upon it, for the stranger to sit upon while he tells his story, +and listens to what I have to say. I wish to ask him some questions." + +Eurynome brought the seat at once and set a fleece upon it, and as soon +as Ulysses had sat down Penelope began by saying, "Stranger, I shall +first ask you who and whence are you? Tell me of your town and parents." + +"Madam," answered Ulysses, "who on the face of the whole earth can dare +to chide with you? Your fame reaches the firmament of heaven itself; you +are like some blameless king, who upholds righteousness, as the monarch +over a great and valiant nation: the earth yields its wheat and barley, +the trees are loaded with fruit, the ewes bring forth lambs, and the sea +abounds with fish by reason of his virtues, and his people do good deeds +under him. Nevertheless, as I sit here in your house, ask me some other +question and do not seek to know my race and family, or you will recall +memories that will yet more increase my sorrow. I am full of heaviness, +but I ought not to sit weeping and wailing in another person's house, +nor is it well to be thus grieving continually. I shall have one of the +servants or even yourself complaining of me, and saying that my eyes +swim with tears because I am heavy with wine." + +Then Penelope answered, "Stranger, heaven robbed me of all beauty, +whether of face or figure, when the Argives set sail for Troy and my +dear husband with them. If he were to return and look after my affairs +I should be both more respected and should show a better presence to +the world. As it is, I am oppressed with care, and with the afflictions +which heaven has seen fit to heap upon me. The chiefs from all our +islands--Dulichium, Same, and Zacynthus, as also from Ithaca itself, +are wooing me against my will and are wasting my estate. I can therefore +show no attention to strangers, nor suppliants, nor to people who say +that they are skilled artisans, but am all the time broken-hearted +about Ulysses. They want me to marry again at once, and I have to invent +stratagems in order to deceive them. In the first place heaven put it in +my mind to set up a great tambour-frame in my room, and to begin +working upon an enormous piece of fine needlework. Then I said to them, +'Sweethearts, Ulysses is indeed dead, still, do not press me to marry +again immediately; wait--for I would not have my skill in needlework +perish unrecorded--till I have finished making a pall for the hero +Laertes, to be ready against the time when death shall take him. He +is very rich, and the women of the place will talk if he is laid out +without a pall.' This was what I said, and they assented; whereon I +used to keep working at my great web all day long, but at night I would +unpick the stitches again by torch light. I fooled them in this way for +three years without their finding it out, but as time wore on and I was +now in my fourth year, in the waning of moons, and many days had been +accomplished, those good for nothing hussies my maids betrayed me to the +suitors, who broke in upon me and caught me; they were very angry with +me, so I was forced to finish my work whether I would or no. And now +I do not see how I can find any further shift for getting out of this +marriage. My parents are putting great pressure upon me, and my son +chafes at the ravages the suitors are making upon his estate, for he is +now old enough to understand all about it and is perfectly able to look +after his own affairs, for heaven has blessed him with an excellent +disposition. Still, notwithstanding all this, tell me who you are and +where you come from--for you must have had father and mother of some +sort; you cannot be the son of an oak or of a rock." + +Then Ulysses answered, "Madam, wife of Ulysses, since you persist in +asking me about my family, I will answer, no matter what it costs me: +people must expect to be pained when they have been exiles as long as +I have, and suffered as much among as many peoples. Nevertheless, as +regards your question I will tell you all you ask. There is a fair and +fruitful island in mid-ocean called Crete; it is thickly peopled and +there are ninety cities in it: the people speak many different languages +which overlap one another, for there are Achaeans, brave Eteocretans, +Dorians of three-fold race, and noble Pelasgi. There is a great +town there, Cnossus, where Minos reigned who every nine years had a +conference with Jove himself. {152} Minos was father to Deucalion, whose +son I am, for Deucalion had two sons Idomeneus and myself. Idomeneus +sailed for Troy, and I, who am the younger, am called Aethon; my +brother, however, was at once the older and the more valiant of the two; +hence it was in Crete that I saw Ulysses and showed him hospitality, for +the winds took him there as he was on his way to Troy, carrying him out +of his course from cape Malea and leaving him in Amnisus off the cave of +Ilithuia, where the harbours are difficult to enter and he could hardly +find shelter from the winds that were then raging. As soon as he got +there he went into the town and asked for Idomeneus, claiming to be his +old and valued friend, but Idomeneus had already set sail for Troy some +ten or twelve days earlier, so I took him to my own house and showed him +every kind of hospitality, for I had abundance of everything. Moreover, +I fed the men who were with him with barley meal from the public store, +and got subscriptions of wine and oxen for them to sacrifice to their +heart's content. They stayed with me twelve days, for there was a gale +blowing from the North so strong that one could hardly keep one's feet +on land. I suppose some unfriendly god had raised it for them, but on +the thirteenth day the wind dropped, and they got away." + +Many a plausible tale did Ulysses further tell her, and Penelope wept +as she listened, for her heart was melted. As the snow wastes upon the +mountain tops when the winds from South East and West have breathed upon +it and thawed it till the rivers run bank full with water, even so did +her cheeks overflow with tears for the husband who was all the time +sitting by her side. Ulysses felt for her and was sorry for her, but he +kept his eyes as hard as horn or iron without letting them so much +as quiver, so cunningly did he restrain his tears. Then, when she had +relieved herself by weeping, she turned to him again and said: "Now, +stranger, I shall put you to the test and see whether or no you really +did entertain my husband and his men, as you say you did. Tell me, then, +how he was dressed, what kind of a man he was to look at, and so also +with his companions." + +"Madam," answered Ulysses, "it is such a long time ago that I can hardly +say. Twenty years are come and gone since he left my home, and went +elsewhither; but I will tell you as well as I can recollect. Ulysses +wore a mantle of purple wool, double lined, and it was fastened by a +gold brooch with two catches for the pin. On the face of this there was +a device that shewed a dog holding a spotted fawn between his fore paws, +and watching it as it lay panting upon the ground. Every one marvelled +at the way in which these things had been done in gold, the dog +looking at the fawn, and strangling it, while the fawn was struggling +convulsively to escape. {153} As for the shirt that he wore next his +skin, it was so soft that it fitted him like the skin of an onion, and +glistened in the sunlight to the admiration of all the women who beheld +it. Furthermore I say, and lay my saying to your heart, that I do not +know whether Ulysses wore these clothes when he left home, or whether +one of his companions had given them to him while he was on his voyage; +or possibly some one at whose house he was staying made him a present +of them, for he was a man of many friends and had few equals among the +Achaeans. I myself gave him a sword of bronze and a beautiful purple +mantle, double lined, with a shirt that went down to his feet, and I +sent him on board his ship with every mark of honour. He had a servant +with him, a little older than himself, and I can tell you what he was +like; his shoulders were hunched, {154} he was dark, and he had thick +curly hair. His name was Eurybates, and Ulysses treated him with greater +familiarity than he did any of the others, as being the most like-minded +with himself." + +Penelope was moved still more deeply as she heard the indisputable +proofs that Ulysses laid before her; and when she had again found relief +in tears she said to him, "Stranger, I was already disposed to pity you, +but henceforth you shall be honoured and made welcome in my house. It +was I who gave Ulysses the clothes you speak of. I took them out of +the store room and folded them up myself, and I gave him also the gold +brooch to wear as an ornament. Alas! I shall never welcome him home +again. It was by an ill fate that he ever set out for that detested city +whose very name I cannot bring myself even to mention." + +Then Ulysses answered, "Madam, wife of Ulysses, do not disfigure +yourself further by grieving thus bitterly for your loss, though I can +hardly blame you for doing so. A woman who has loved her husband and +borne him children, would naturally be grieved at losing him, even +though he were a worse man than Ulysses, who they say was like a god. +Still, cease your tears and listen to what I can tell you. I will hide +nothing from you, and can say with perfect truth that I have lately +heard of Ulysses as being alive and on his way home; he is among the +Thesprotians, and is bringing back much valuable treasure that he has +begged from one and another of them; but his ship and all his crew +were lost as they were leaving the Thrinacian island, for Jove and +the sun-god were angry with him because his men had slaughtered the +sun-god's cattle, and they were all drowned to a man. But Ulysses +stuck to the keel of the ship and was drifted on to the land of the +Phaeacians, who are near of kin to the immortals, and who treated him +as though he had been a god, giving him many presents, and wishing to +escort him home safe and sound. In fact Ulysses would have been here +long ago, had he not thought better to go from land to land gathering +wealth; for there is no man living who is so wily as he is; there is no +one can compare with him. Pheidon king of the Thesprotians told me all +this, and he swore to me--making drink-offerings in his house as he did +so--that the ship was by the water side and the crew found who would +take Ulysses to his own country. He sent me off first, for there +happened to be a Thesprotian ship sailing for the wheat-growing +island of Dulichium, but he showed me all the treasure Ulysses had got +together, and he had enough lying in the house of king Pheidon to keep +his family for ten generations; but the king said Ulysses had gone to +Dodona that he might learn Jove's mind from the high oak tree, and know +whether after so long an absence he should return to Ithaca openly or in +secret. So you may know he is safe and will be here shortly; he is close +at hand and cannot remain away from home much longer; nevertheless I +will confirm my words with an oath, and call Jove who is the first and +mightiest of all gods to witness, as also that hearth of Ulysses to +which I have now come, that all I have spoken shall surely come to pass. +Ulysses will return in this self same year; with the end of this moon +and the beginning of the next he will be here." + +"May it be even so," answered Penelope; "if your words come true you +shall have such gifts and such good will from me that all who see you +shall congratulate you; but I know very well how it will be. Ulysses +will not return, neither will you get your escort hence, for so surely +as that Ulysses ever was, there are now no longer any such masters in +the house as he was, to receive honourable strangers or to further them +on their way home. And now, you maids, wash his feet for him, and make +him a bed on a couch with rugs and blankets, that he may be warm and +quiet till morning. Then, at day break wash him and anoint him again, +that he may sit in the cloister and take his meals with Telemachus. It +shall be the worse for any one of these hateful people who is uncivil to +him; like it or not, he shall have no more to do in this house. For how, +sir, shall you be able to learn whether or no I am superior to others of +my sex both in goodness of heart and understanding, if I let you dine in +my cloisters squalid and ill clad? Men live but for a little season; if +they are hard, and deal hardly, people wish them ill so long as they are +alive, and speak contemptuously of them when they are dead, but he that +is righteous and deals righteously, the people tell of his praise among +all lands, and many shall call him blessed." + +Ulysses answered, "Madam, I have foresworn rugs and blankets from the +day that I left the snowy ranges of Crete to go on shipboard. I will +lie as I have lain on many a sleepless night hitherto. Night after night +have I passed in any rough sleeping place, and waited for morning. Nor, +again, do I like having my feet washed; I shall not let any of the young +hussies about your house touch my feet; but, if you have any old and +respectable woman who has gone through as much trouble as I have, I will +allow her to wash them." + +To this Penelope said, "My dear sir, of all the guests who ever yet +came to my house there never was one who spoke in all things with such +admirable propriety as you do. There happens to be in the house a most +respectable old woman--the same who received my poor dear husband in +her arms the night he was born, and nursed him in infancy. She is +very feeble now, but she shall wash your feet." "Come here," said she, +"Euryclea, and wash your master's age-mate; I suppose Ulysses' hands and +feet are very much the same now as his are, for trouble ages all of us +dreadfully fast." + +On these words the old woman covered her face with her hands; she began +to weep and made lamentation saying, "My dear child, I cannot think +whatever I am to do with you. I am certain no one was ever more +god-fearing than yourself, and yet Jove hates you. No one in the whole +world ever burned him more thigh bones, nor gave him finer hecatombs +when you prayed you might come to a green old age yourself and see your +son grow up to take after you: yet see how he has prevented you alone +from ever getting back to your own home. I have no doubt the women in +some foreign palace which Ulysses has got to are gibing at him as all +these sluts here have been gibing at you. I do not wonder at your +not choosing to let them wash you after the manner in which they have +insulted you; I will wash your feet myself gladly enough, as Penelope +has said that I am to do so; I will wash them both for Penelope's +sake and for your own, for you have raised the most lively feelings of +compassion in my mind; and let me say this moreover, which pray attend +to; we have had all kinds of strangers in distress come here before now, +but I make bold to say that no one ever yet came who was so like Ulysses +in figure, voice, and feet as you are." + +"Those who have seen us both," answered Ulysses, "have always said we +were wonderfully like each other, and now you have noticed it too." + +Then the old woman took the cauldron in which she was going to wash his +feet, and poured plenty of cold water into it, adding hot till the bath +was warm enough. Ulysses sat by the fire, but ere long he turned away +from the light, for it occurred to him that when the old woman had hold +of his leg she would recognise a certain scar which it bore, whereon the +whole truth would come out. And indeed as soon as she began washing her +master, she at once knew the scar as one that had been given him by +a wild boar when he was hunting on Mt. Parnassus with his excellent +grandfather Autolycus--who was the most accomplished thief and perjurer +in the whole world--and with the sons of Autolycus. Mercury himself had +endowed him with this gift, for he used to burn the thigh bones of goats +and kids to him, so he took pleasure in his companionship. It happened +once that Autolycus had gone to Ithaca and had found the child of his +daughter just born. As soon as he had done supper Euryclea set the +infant upon his knees and said, "Autolycus, you must find a name for +your grandson; you greatly wished that you might have one." + +"Son-in-law and daughter," replied Autolycus, "call the child thus: I +am highly displeased with a large number of people in one place and +another, both men and women; so name the child 'Ulysses,' or the child +of anger. When he grows up and comes to visit his mother's family on Mt. +Parnassus, where my possessions lie, I will make him a present and will +send him on his way rejoicing." + +Ulysses, therefore, went to Parnassus to get the presents from +Autolycus, who with his sons shook hands with him and gave him welcome. +His grandmother Amphithea threw her arms about him, and kissed his head, +and both his beautiful eyes, while Autolycus desired his sons to get +dinner ready, and they did as he told them. They brought in a five year +old bull, flayed it, made it ready and divided it into joints; these +they then cut carefully up into smaller pieces and spitted them; they +roasted them sufficiently and served the portions round. Thus through +the livelong day to the going down of the sun they feasted, and every +man had his full share so that all were satisfied; but when the sun set +and it came on dark, they went to bed and enjoyed the boon of sleep. + +When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, the sons of +Autolycus went out with their hounds hunting, and Ulysses went too. +They climbed the wooded slopes of Parnassus and soon reached its breezy +upland valleys; but as the sun was beginning to beat upon the fields, +fresh-risen from the slow still currents of Oceanus, they came to a +mountain dell. The dogs were in front searching for the tracks of the +beast they were chasing, and after them came the sons of Autolycus, +among whom was Ulysses, close behind the dogs, and he had a long +spear in his hand. Here was the lair of a huge boar among some thick +brushwood, so dense that the wind and rain could not get through it, nor +could the sun's rays pierce it, and the ground underneath lay thick +with fallen leaves. The boar heard the noise of the men's feet, and the +hounds baying on every side as the huntsmen came up to him, so he rushed +from his lair, raised the bristles on his neck, and stood at bay with +fire flashing from his eyes. Ulysses was the first to raise his spear +and try to drive it into the brute, but the boar was too quick for him, +and charged him sideways, ripping him above the knee with a gash that +tore deep though it did not reach the bone. As for the boar, Ulysses hit +him on the right shoulder, and the point of the spear went right through +him, so that he fell groaning in the dust until the life went out of +him. The sons of Autolycus busied themselves with the carcass of the +boar, and bound Ulysses' wound; then, after saying a spell to stop the +bleeding, they went home as fast as they could. But when Autolycus and +his sons had thoroughly healed Ulysses, they made him some splendid +presents, and sent him back to Ithaca with much mutual good will. When +he got back, his father and mother were rejoiced to see him, and asked +him all about it, and how he had hurt himself to get the scar; so he +told them how the boar had ripped him when he was out hunting with +Autolycus and his sons on Mt. Parnassus. + +As soon as Euryclea had got the scarred limb in her hands and had well +hold of it, she recognised it and dropped the foot at once. The leg fell +into the bath, which rang out and was overturned, so that all the water +was spilt on the ground; Euryclea's eyes between her joy and her grief +filled with tears, and she could not speak, but she caught Ulysses +by the beard and said, "My dear child, I am sure you must be Ulysses +himself, only I did not know you till I had actually touched and handled +you." + +As she spoke she looked towards Penelope, as though wanting to tell her +that her dear husband was in the house, but Penelope was unable to +look in that direction and observe what was going on, for Minerva had +diverted her attention; so Ulysses caught Euryclea by the throat with +his right hand and with his left drew her close to him, and said, +"Nurse, do you wish to be the ruin of me, you who nursed me at your own +breast, now that after twenty years of wandering I am at last come to +my own home again? Since it has been borne in upon you by heaven to +recognise me, hold your tongue, and do not say a word about it to any +one else in the house, for if you do I tell you--and it shall surely +be--that if heaven grants me to take the lives of these suitors, I will +not spare you, though you are my own nurse, when I am killing the other +women." + +"My child," answered Euryclea, "what are you talking about? You know +very well that nothing can either bend or break me. I will hold my +tongue like a stone or a piece of iron; furthermore let me say, and lay +my saying to your heart, when heaven has delivered the suitors into your +hand, I will give you a list of the women in the house who have been +ill-behaved, and of those who are guiltless." + +And Ulysses answered, "Nurse, you ought not to speak in that way; I am +well able to form my own opinion about one and all of them; hold your +tongue and leave everything to heaven." + +As he said this Euryclea left the cloister to fetch some more water, for +the first had been all spilt; and when she had washed him and anointed +him with oil, Ulysses drew his seat nearer to the fire to warm himself, +and hid the scar under his rags. Then Penelope began talking to him and +said: + +"Stranger, I should like to speak with you briefly about another matter. +It is indeed nearly bed time--for those, at least, who can sleep in +spite of sorrow. As for myself, heaven has given me a life of such +unmeasurable woe, that even by day when I am attending to my duties and +looking after the servants, I am still weeping and lamenting during the +whole time; then, when night comes, and we all of us go to bed, I lie +awake thinking, and my heart becomes a prey to the most incessant and +cruel tortures. As the dun nightingale, daughter of Pandareus, sings in +the early spring from her seat in shadiest covert hid, and with many +a plaintive trill pours out the tale how by mishap she killed her own +child Itylus, son of king Zethus, even so does my mind toss and turn in +its uncertainty whether I ought to stay with my son here, and safeguard +my substance, my bondsmen, and the greatness of my house, out of regard +to public opinion and the memory of my late husband, or whether it is +not now time for me to go with the best of these suitors who are wooing +me and making me such magnificent presents. As long as my son was still +young, and unable to understand, he would not hear of my leaving my +husband's house, but now that he is full grown he begs and prays me to +do so, being incensed at the way in which the suitors are eating up his +property. Listen, then, to a dream that I have had and interpret it for +me if you can. I have twenty geese about the house that eat mash out +of a trough, {155} and of which I am exceedingly fond. I dreamed that a +great eagle came swooping down from a mountain, and dug his curved beak +into the neck of each of them till he had killed them all. Presently +he soared off into the sky, and left them lying dead about the yard; +whereon I wept in my dream till all my maids gathered round me, so +piteously was I grieving because the eagle had killed my geese. Then he +came back again, and perching on a projecting rafter spoke to me with +human voice, and told me to leave off crying. 'Be of good courage,' he +said, 'daughter of Icarius; this is no dream, but a vision of good omen +that shall surely come to pass. The geese are the suitors, and I am no +longer an eagle, but your own husband, who am come back to you, and who +will bring these suitors to a disgraceful end.' On this I woke, and when +I looked out I saw my geese at the trough eating their mash as usual." + +"This dream, Madam," replied Ulysses, "can admit but of one +interpretation, for had not Ulysses himself told you how it shall be +fulfilled? The death of the suitors is portended, and not one single one +of them will escape." + +And Penelope answered, "Stranger, dreams are very curious and +unaccountable things, and they do not by any means invariably come true. +There are two gates through which these unsubstantial fancies proceed; +the one is of horn, and the other ivory. Those that come through +the gate of ivory are fatuous, but those from the gate of horn mean +something to those that see them. I do not think, however, that my own +dream came through the gate of horn, though I and my son should be most +thankful if it proves to have done so. Furthermore I say--and lay my +saying to your heart--the coming dawn will usher in the ill-omened day +that is to sever me from the house of Ulysses, for I am about to hold a +tournament of axes. My husband used to set up twelve axes in the court, +one in front of the other, like the stays upon which a ship is built; +he would then go back from them and shoot an arrow through the whole +twelve. I shall make the suitors try to do the same thing, and whichever +of them can string the bow most easily, and send his arrow through all +the twelve axes, him will I follow, and quit this house of my lawful +husband, so goodly and so abounding in wealth. But even so, I doubt not +that I shall remember it in my dreams." + +Then Ulysses answered, "Madam, wife of Ulysses, you need not defer your +tournament, for Ulysses will return ere ever they can string the bow, +handle it how they will, and send their arrows through the iron." + +To this Penelope said, "As long, sir, as you will sit here and talk +to me, I can have no desire to go to bed. Still, people cannot do +permanently without sleep, and heaven has appointed us dwellers on earth +a time for all things. I will therefore go upstairs and recline upon +that couch which I have never ceased to flood with my tears from the day +Ulysses set out for the city with a hateful name." + +She then went upstairs to her own room, not alone, but attended by her +maidens, and when there, she lamented her dear husband till Minerva shed +sweet sleep over her eyelids. + + +Book XX + +ULYSSES CANNOT SLEEP--PENELOPE'S PRAYER TO DIANA--THE TWO SIGNS FROM +HEAVEN--EUMAEUS AND PHILOETIUS ARRIVE--THE SUITORS DINE--CTESIPPUS +THROWS AN OX'S FOOT AT ULYSSES--THEOCLYMENUS FORETELLS DISASTER AND +LEAVES THE HOUSE. + +Ulysses slept in the cloister upon an undressed bullock's hide, on the +top of which he threw several skins of the sheep the suitors had eaten, +and Eurynome {156} threw a cloak over him after he had laid himself +down. There, then, Ulysses lay wakefully brooding upon the way in which +he should kill the suitors; and by and by, the women who had been in the +habit of misconducting themselves with them, left the house giggling and +laughing with one another. This made Ulysses very angry, and he doubted +whether to get up and kill every single one of them then and there, or +to let them sleep one more and last time with the suitors. His heart +growled within him, and as a bitch with puppies growls and shows her +teeth when she sees a stranger, so did his heart growl with anger at +the evil deeds that were being done: but he beat his breast and said, +"Heart, be still, you had worse than this to bear on the day when the +terrible Cyclops ate your brave companions; yet you bore it in silence +till your cunning got you safe out of the cave, though you made sure of +being killed." + +Thus he chided with his heart, and checked it into endurance, but he +tossed about as one who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in front +of a hot fire, doing it first on one side and then on the other, that he +may get it cooked as soon as possible, even so did he turn himself about +from side to side, thinking all the time how, single handed as he was, +he should contrive to kill so large a body of men as the wicked suitors. +But by and by Minerva came down from heaven in the likeness of a woman, +and hovered over his head saying, "My poor unhappy man, why do you lie +awake in this way? This is your house: your wife is safe inside it, and +so is your son who is just such a young man as any father may be proud +of." + +"Goddess," answered Ulysses, "all that you have said is true, but I am +in some doubt as to how I shall be able to kill these wicked suitors +single handed, seeing what a number of them there always are. And there +is this further difficulty, which is still more considerable. Supposing +that with Jove's and your assistance I succeed in killing them, I must +ask you to consider where I am to escape to from their avengers when it +is all over." + +"For shame," replied Minerva, "why, any one else would trust a worse +ally than myself, even though that ally were only a mortal and less wise +than I am. Am I not a goddess, and have I not protected you throughout +in all your troubles? I tell you plainly that even though there were +fifty bands of men surrounding us and eager to kill us, you should take +all their sheep and cattle, and drive them away with you. But go to +sleep; it is a very bad thing to lie awake all night, and you shall be +out of your troubles before long." + +As she spoke she shed sleep over his eyes, and then went back to +Olympus. + +While Ulysses was thus yielding himself to a very deep slumber that +eased the burden of his sorrows, his admirable wife awoke, and sitting +up in her bed began to cry. When she had relieved herself by weeping she +prayed to Diana saying, "Great Goddess Diana, daughter of Jove, drive an +arrow into my heart and slay me; or let some whirlwind snatch me up and +bear me through paths of darkness till it drop me into the mouths +of over-flowing Oceanus, as it did the daughters of Pandareus. The +daughters of Pandareus lost their father and mother, for the gods killed +them, so they were left orphans. But Venus took care of them, and fed +them on cheese, honey, and sweet wine. Juno taught them to excel all +women in beauty of form and understanding; Diana gave them an imposing +presence, and Minerva endowed them with every kind of accomplishment; +but one day when Venus had gone up to Olympus to see Jove about getting +them married (for well does he know both what shall happen and what +not happen to every one) the storm winds came and spirited them away to +become handmaids to the dread Erinyes. Even so I wish that the gods who +live in heaven would hide me from mortal sight, or that fair Diana might +strike me, for I would fain go even beneath the sad earth if I might +do so still looking towards Ulysses only, and without having to yield +myself to a worse man than he was. Besides, no matter how much people +may grieve by day, they can put up with it so long as they can sleep at +night, for when the eyes are closed in slumber people forget good and +ill alike; whereas my misery haunts me even in my dreams. This very +night methought there was one lying by my side who was like Ulysses as +he was when he went away with his host, and I rejoiced, for I believed +that it was no dream, but the very truth itself." + +On this the day broke, but Ulysses heard the sound of her weeping, and +it puzzled him, for it seemed as though she already knew him and was by +his side. Then he gathered up the cloak and the fleeces on which he had +lain, and set them on a seat in the cloister, but he took the bullock's +hide out into the open. He lifted up his hands to heaven, and prayed, +saying "Father Jove, since you have seen fit to bring me over land and +sea to my own home after all the afflictions you have laid upon me, give +me a sign out of the mouth of some one or other of those who are now +waking within the house, and let me have another sign of some kind from +outside." + +Thus did he pray. Jove heard his prayer and forthwith thundered high +up among the clouds from the splendour of Olympus, and Ulysses was glad +when he heard it. At the same time within the house, a miller-woman from +hard by in the mill room lifted up her voice and gave him another sign. +There were twelve miller-women whose business it was to grind wheat and +barley which are the staff of life. The others had ground their task and +had gone to take their rest, but this one had not yet finished, for +she was not so strong as they were, and when she heard the thunder she +stopped grinding and gave the sign to her master. "Father Jove," said +she, "you, who rule over heaven and earth, you have thundered from a +clear sky without so much as a cloud in it, and this means something for +somebody; grant the prayer, then, of me your poor servant who calls +upon you, and let this be the very last day that the suitors dine in the +house of Ulysses. They have worn me out with labour of grinding meal for +them, and I hope they may never have another dinner anywhere at all." + +Ulysses was glad when he heard the omens conveyed to him by the woman's +speech, and by the thunder, for he knew they meant that he should avenge +himself on the suitors. + +Then the other maids in the house rose and lit the fire on the hearth; +Telemachus also rose and put on his clothes. He girded his sword about +his shoulder, bound his sandals on to his comely feet, and took a +doughty spear with a point of sharpened bronze; then he went to the +threshold of the cloister and said to Euryclea, "Nurse, did you make the +stranger comfortable both as regards bed and board, or did you let him +shift for himself?--for my mother, good woman though she is, has a +way of paying great attention to second-rate people, and of neglecting +others who are in reality much better men." + +"Do not find fault child," said Euryclea, "when there is no one to find +fault with. The stranger sat and drank his wine as long as he liked: +your mother did ask him if he would take any more bread and he said he +would not. When he wanted to go to bed she told the servants to make one +for him, but he said he was such a wretched outcast that he would not +sleep on a bed and under blankets; he insisted on having an undressed +bullock's hide and some sheepskins put for him in the cloister and I +threw a cloak over him myself." {157} + +Then Telemachus went out of the court to the place where the Achaeans +were meeting in assembly; he had his spear in his hand, and he was not +alone, for his two dogs went with him. But Euryclea called the maids and +said, "Come, wake up; set about sweeping the cloisters and sprinkling +them with water to lay the dust; put the covers on the seats; wipe down +the tables, some of you, with a wet sponge; clean out the mixing-jugs +and the cups, and go for water from the fountain at once; the suitors +will be here directly; they will be here early, for it is a feast day." + +Thus did she speak, and they did even as she had said: twenty of them +went to the fountain for water, and the others set themselves busily to +work about the house. The men who were in attendance on the suitors also +came up and began chopping firewood. By and by the women returned from +the fountain, and the swineherd came after them with the three best pigs +he could pick out. These he let feed about the premises, and then he +said good-humouredly to Ulysses, "Stranger, are the suitors treating you +any better now, or are they as insolent as ever?" + +"May heaven," answered Ulysses, "requite to them the wickedness with +which they deal high-handedly in another man's house without any sense +of shame." + +Thus did they converse; meanwhile Melanthius the goatherd came up, for +he too was bringing in his best goats for the suitors' dinner; and he +had two shepherds with him. They tied the goats up under the gatehouse, +and then Melanthius began gibing at Ulysses. "Are you still here, +stranger," said he, "to pester people by begging about the house? Why +can you not go elsewhere? You and I shall not come to an understanding +before we have given each other a taste of our fists. You beg without +any sense of decency: are there not feasts elsewhere among the Achaeans, +as well as here?" + +Ulysses made no answer, but bowed his head and brooded. Then a third +man, Philoetius, joined them, who was bringing in a barren heifer and +some goats. These were brought over by the boatmen who are there to take +people over when any one comes to them. So Philoetius made his heifer +and his goats secure under the gatehouse, and then went up to the +swineherd. "Who, Swineherd," said he, "is this stranger that is lately +come here? Is he one of your men? What is his family? Where does he come +from? Poor fellow, he looks as if he had been some great man, but the +gods give sorrow to whom they will--even to kings if it so pleases +them." + +As he spoke he went up to Ulysses and saluted him with his right hand; +"Good day to you, father stranger," said he, "you seem to be very poorly +off now, but I hope you will have better times by and by. Father Jove, +of all gods you are the most malicious. We are your own children, yet +you show us no mercy in all our misery and afflictions. A sweat came +over me when I saw this man, and my eyes filled with tears, for he +reminds me of Ulysses, who I fear is going about in just such rags as +this man's are, if indeed he is still among the living. If he is already +dead and in the house of Hades, then, alas! for my good master, who made +me his stockman when I was quite young among the Cephallenians, and now +his cattle are countless; no one could have done better with them than I +have, for they have bred like ears of corn; nevertheless I have to keep +bringing them in for others to eat, who take no heed to his son though +he is in the house, and fear not the wrath of heaven, but are already +eager to divide Ulysses' property among them because he has been away so +long. I have often thought--only it would not be right while his son +is living--of going off with the cattle to some foreign country; bad as +this would be, it is still harder to stay here and be ill-treated about +other people's herds. My position is intolerable, and I should long +since have run away and put myself under the protection of some other +chief, only that I believe my poor master will yet return, and send all +these suitors flying out of the house." + +"Stockman," answered Ulysses, "you seem to be a very well-disposed +person, and I can see that you are a man of sense. Therefore I will tell +you, and will confirm my words with an oath. By Jove, the chief of all +gods, and by that hearth of Ulysses to which I am now come, Ulysses +shall return before you leave this place, and if you are so minded you +shall see him killing the suitors who are now masters here." + +"If Jove were to bring this to pass," replied the stockman, "you should +see how I would do my very utmost to help him." + +And in like manner Eumaeus prayed that Ulysses might return home. + +Thus did they converse. Meanwhile the suitors were hatching a plot to +murder Telemachus: but a bird flew near them on their left hand--an +eagle with a dove in its talons. On this Amphinomus said, "My friends, +this plot of ours to murder Telemachus will not succeed; let us go to +dinner instead." + +The others assented, so they went inside and laid their cloaks on the +benches and seats. They sacrificed the sheep, goats, pigs, and the +heifer, and when the inward meats were cooked they served them round. +They mixed the wine in the mixing-bowls, and the swineherd gave every +man his cup, while Philoetius handed round the bread in the bread +baskets, and Melanthius poured them out their wine. Then they laid their +hands upon the good things that were before them. + +Telemachus purposely made Ulysses sit in the part of the cloister that +was paved with stone; {158} he gave him a shabby looking seat at a +little table to himself, and had his portion of the inward meats brought +to him, with his wine in a gold cup. "Sit there," said he, "and drink +your wine among the great people. I will put a stop to the gibes and +blows of the suitors, for this is no public house, but belongs to +Ulysses, and has passed from him to me. Therefore, suitors, keep your +hands and your tongues to yourselves, or there will be mischief." + +The suitors bit their lips, and marvelled at the boldness of his speech; +then Antinous said, "We do not like such language but we will put up +with it, for Telemachus is threatening us in good earnest. If Jove had +let us we should have put a stop to his brave talk ere now." + +Thus spoke Antinous, but Telemachus heeded him not. Meanwhile the +heralds were bringing the holy hecatomb through the city, and the +Achaeans gathered under the shady grove of Apollo. + +Then they roasted the outer meat, drew it off the spits, gave every man +his portion, and feasted to their heart's content; those who waited +at table gave Ulysses exactly the same portion as the others had, for +Telemachus had told them to do so. + +But Minerva would not let the suitors for one moment drop their +insolence, for she wanted Ulysses to become still more bitter against +them. Now there happened to be among them a ribald fellow, whose name +was Ctesippus, and who came from Same. This man, confident in his +great wealth, was paying court to the wife of Ulysses, and said to the +suitors, "Hear what I have to say. The stranger has already had as +large a portion as any one else; this is well, for it is not right nor +reasonable to ill-treat any guest of Telemachus who comes here. I +will, however, make him a present on my own account, that he may have +something to give to the bath-woman, or to some other of Ulysses' +servants." + +As he spoke he picked up a heifer's foot from the meat-basket in which +it lay, and threw it at Ulysses, but Ulysses turned his head a little +aside, and avoided it, smiling grimly Sardinian fashion {159} as he did +so, and it hit the wall, not him. On this Telemachus spoke fiercely to +Ctesippus, "It is a good thing for you," said he, "that the stranger +turned his head so that you missed him. If you had hit him I should have +run you through with my spear, and your father would have had to see +about getting you buried rather than married in this house. So let me +have no more unseemly behaviour from any of you, for I am grown up +now to the knowledge of good and evil and understand what is going on, +instead of being the child that I have been heretofore. I have long seen +you killing my sheep and making free with my corn and wine: I have put +up with this, for one man is no match for many, but do me no further +violence. Still, if you wish to kill me, kill me; I would far rather die +than see such disgraceful scenes day after day--guests insulted, and men +dragging the women servants about the house in an unseemly way." + +They all held their peace till at last Agelaus son of Damastor said, "No +one should take offence at what has just been said, nor gainsay it, for +it is quite reasonable. Leave off, therefore, ill-treating the stranger, +or any one else of the servants who are about the house; I would say, +however, a friendly word to Telemachus and his mother, which I trust may +commend itself to both. 'As long,' I would say, 'as you had ground for +hoping that Ulysses would one day come home, no one could complain of +your waiting and suffering {160} the suitors to be in your house. It +would have been better that he should have returned, but it is now +sufficiently clear that he will never do so; therefore talk all this +quietly over with your mother, and tell her to marry the best man, +and the one who makes her the most advantageous offer. Thus you will +yourself be able to manage your own inheritance, and to eat and drink +in peace, while your mother will look after some other man's house, not +yours.'" + +To this Telemachus answered, "By Jove, Agelaus, and by the sorrows of my +unhappy father, who has either perished far from Ithaca, or is wandering +in some distant land, I throw no obstacles in the way of my mother's +marriage; on the contrary I urge her to choose whomsoever she will, and +I will give her numberless gifts into the bargain, but I dare not insist +point blank that she shall leave the house against her own wishes. +Heaven forbid that I should do this." + +Minerva now made the suitors fall to laughing immoderately, and set +their wits wandering; but they were laughing with a forced laughter. +Their meat became smeared with blood; their eyes filled with tears, +and their hearts were heavy with forebodings. Theoclymenus saw this +and said, "Unhappy men, what is it that ails you? There is a shroud +of darkness drawn over you from head to foot, your cheeks are wet with +tears; the air is alive with wailing voices; the walls and roof-beams +drip blood; the gate of the cloisters and the court beyond them are full +of ghosts trooping down into the night of hell; the sun is blotted out +of heaven, and a blighting gloom is over all the land." + +Thus did he speak, and they all of them laughed heartily. Eurymachus +then said, "This stranger who has lately come here has lost his senses. +Servants, turn him out into the streets, since he finds it so dark +here." + +But Theoclymenus said, "Eurymachus, you need not send any one with me. +I have eyes, ears, and a pair of feet of my own, to say nothing of an +understanding mind. I will take these out of the house with me, for +I see mischief overhanging you, from which not one of you men who are +insulting people and plotting ill deeds in the house of Ulysses will be +able to escape." + +He left the house as he spoke, and went back to Piraeus who gave him +welcome, but the suitors kept looking at one another and provoking +Telemachus by laughing at the strangers. One insolent fellow said to +him, "Telemachus, you are not happy in your guests; first you have this +importunate tramp, who comes begging bread and wine and has no skill +for work or for hard fighting, but is perfectly useless, and now here is +another fellow who is setting himself up as a prophet. Let me persuade +you, for it will be much better to put them on board ship and send them +off to the Sicels to sell for what they will bring." + +Telemachus gave him no heed, but sate silently watching his father, +expecting every moment that he would begin his attack upon the suitors. + +Meanwhile the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, had had a rich seat +placed for her facing the court and cloisters, so that she could hear +what every one was saying. The dinner indeed had been prepared amid much +merriment; it had been both good and abundant, for they had sacrificed +many victims; but the supper was yet to come, and nothing can be +conceived more gruesome than the meal which a goddess and a brave man +were soon to lay before them--for they had brought their doom upon +themselves. + + +Book XXI + +THE TRIAL OF THE AXES, DURING WHICH ULYSSES REVEALS HIMSELF TO EUMAEUS +AND PHILOETIUS + +Minerva now put it in Penelope's mind to make the suitors try their +skill with the bow and with the iron axes, in contest among themselves, +as a means of bringing about their destruction. She went upstairs and +got the store-room key, which was made of bronze and had a handle of +ivory; she then went with her maidens into the store-room at the end of +the house, where her husband's treasures of gold, bronze, and wrought +iron were kept, and where was also his bow, and the quiver full of +deadly arrows that had been given him by a friend whom he had met in +Lacedaemon--Iphitus the son of Eurytus. The two fell in with one another +in Messene at the house of Ortilochus, where Ulysses was staying in +order to recover a debt that was owing from the whole people; for the +Messenians had carried off three hundred sheep from Ithaca, and had +sailed away with them and with their shepherds. In quest of these +Ulysses took a long journey while still quite young, for his father and +the other chieftains sent him on a mission to recover them. Iphitus had +gone there also to try and get back twelve brood mares that he had lost, +and the mule foals that were running with them. These mares were the +death of him in the end, for when he went to the house of Jove's son, +mighty Hercules, who performed such prodigies of valour, Hercules to his +shame killed him, though he was his guest, for he feared not heaven's +vengeance, nor yet respected his own table which he had set before +Iphitus, but killed him in spite of everything, and kept the mares +himself. It was when claiming these that Iphitus met Ulysses, and gave +him the bow which mighty Eurytus had been used to carry, and which on +his death had been left by him to his son. Ulysses gave him in return +a sword and a spear, and this was the beginning of a fast friendship, +although they never visited at one another's houses, for Jove's son +Hercules killed Iphitus ere they could do so. This bow, then, given him +by Iphitus, had not been taken with him by Ulysses when he sailed for +Troy; he had used it so long as he had been at home, but had left it +behind as having been a keepsake from a valued friend. + +Penelope presently reached the oak threshold of the store-room; the +carpenter had planed this duly, and had drawn a line on it so as to get +it quite straight; he had then set the door posts into it and hung the +doors. She loosed the strap from the handle of the door, put in the key, +and drove it straight home to shoot back the bolts that held the doors; +{161} these flew open with a noise like a bull bellowing in a meadow, +and Penelope stepped upon the raised platform, where the chests stood in +which the fair linen and clothes were laid by along with fragrant herbs: +reaching thence, she took down the bow with its bow case from the peg +on which it hung. She sat down with it on her knees, weeping bitterly as +she took the bow out of its case, and when her tears had relieved her, +she went to the cloister where the suitors were, carrying the bow and +the quiver, with the many deadly arrows that were inside it. Along +with her came her maidens, bearing a chest that contained much iron +and bronze which her husband had won as prizes. When she reached the +suitors, she stood by one of the bearing-posts supporting the roof of +the cloister, holding a veil before her face, and with a maid on either +side of her. Then she said: + +"Listen to me you suitors, who persist in abusing the hospitality of +this house because its owner has been long absent, and without other +pretext than that you want to marry me; this, then, being the prize that +you are contending for, I will bring out the mighty bow of Ulysses, and +whomsoever of you shall string it most easily and send his arrow through +each one of twelve axes, him will I follow and quit this house of my +lawful husband, so goodly, and so abounding in wealth. But even so I +doubt not that I shall remember it in my dreams." + +As she spoke, she told Eumaeus to set the bow and the pieces of iron +before the suitors, and Eumaeus wept as he took them to do as she had +bidden him. Hard by, the stockman wept also when he saw his master's +bow, but Antinous scolded them. "You country louts," said he, "silly +simpletons; why should you add to the sorrows of your mistress by crying +in this way? She has enough to grieve her in the loss of her husband; +sit still, therefore, and eat your dinners in silence, or go outside if +you want to cry, and leave the bow behind you. We suitors shall have to +contend for it with might and main, for we shall find it no light matter +to string such a bow as this is. There is not a man of us all who is +such another as Ulysses; for I have seen him and remember him, though I +was then only a child." + +This was what he said, but all the time he was expecting to be able to +string the bow and shoot through the iron, whereas in fact he was to +be the first that should taste of the arrows from the hands of Ulysses, +whom he was dishonouring in his own house--egging the others on to do so +also. + +Then Telemachus spoke. "Great heavens!" he exclaimed, "Jove must have +robbed me of my senses. Here is my dear and excellent mother saying she +will quit this house and marry again, yet I am laughing and enjoying +myself as though there were nothing happening. But, suitors, as the +contest has been agreed upon, let it go forward. It is for a woman whose +peer is not to be found in Pylos, Argos, or Mycene, nor yet in Ithaca +nor on the mainland. You know this as well as I do; what need have I to +speak in praise of my mother? Come on, then, make no excuses for delay, +but let us see whether you can string the bow or no. I too will make +trial of it, for if I can string it and shoot through the iron, I shall +not suffer my mother to quit this house with a stranger, not if I can +win the prizes which my father won before me." + +As he spoke he sprang from his seat, threw his crimson cloak from him, +and took his sword from his shoulder. First he set the axes in a row, in +a long groove which he had dug for them, and had made straight by line. +{162} Then he stamped the earth tight round them, and everyone was +surprised when they saw him set them up so orderly, though he had never +seen anything of the kind before. This done, he went on to the pavement +to make trial of the bow; thrice did he tug at it, trying with all his +might to draw the string, and thrice he had to leave off, though he had +hoped to string the bow and shoot through the iron. He was trying for +the fourth time, and would have strung it had not Ulysses made a sign to +check him in spite of all his eagerness. So he said: + +"Alas! I shall either be always feeble and of no prowess, or I am too +young, and have not yet reached my full strength so as to be able +to hold my own if any one attacks me. You others, therefore, who are +stronger than I, make trial of the bow and get this contest settled." + +On this he put the bow down, letting it lean against the door [that led +into the house] with the arrow standing against the top of the bow. Then +he sat down on the seat from which he had risen, and Antinous said: + +"Come on each of you in his turn, going towards the right from the place +at which the cupbearer begins when he is handing round the wine." + +The rest agreed, and Leiodes son of Oenops was the first to rise. He +was sacrificial priest to the suitors, and sat in the corner near the +mixing-bowl. {163} He was the only man who hated their evil deeds and +was indignant with the others. He was now the first to take the bow and +arrow, so he went on to the pavement to make his trial, but he could not +string the bow, for his hands were weak and unused to hard work, they +therefore soon grew tired, and he said to the suitors, "My friends, I +cannot string it; let another have it, this bow shall take the life and +soul out of many a chief among us, for it is better to die than to live +after having missed the prize that we have so long striven for, and +which has brought us so long together. Some one of us is even now hoping +and praying that he may marry Penelope, but when he has seen this bow +and tried it, let him woo and make bridal offerings to some other woman, +and let Penelope marry whoever makes her the best offer and whose lot it +is to win her." + +On this he put the bow down, letting it lean against the door, {164} +with the arrow standing against the tip of the bow. Then he took his +seat again on the seat from which he had risen; and Antinous rebuked him +saying: + +"Leiodes, what are you talking about? Your words are monstrous and +intolerable; it makes me angry to listen to you. Shall, then, this bow +take the life of many a chief among us, merely because you cannot bend +it yourself? True, you were not born to be an archer, but there are +others who will soon string it." + +Then he said to Melanthius the goatherd, "Look sharp, light a fire in +the court, and set a seat hard by with a sheep skin on it; bring us also +a large ball of lard, from what they have in the house. Let us warm the +bow and grease it--we will then make trial of it again, and bring the +contest to an end." + +Melanthius lit the fire, and set a seat covered with sheep skins beside +it. He also brought a great ball of lard from what they had in the +house, and the suitors warmed the bow and again made trial of it, but +they were none of them nearly strong enough to string it. Nevertheless +there still remained Antinous and Eurymachus, who were the ringleaders +among the suitors and much the foremost among them all. + +Then the swineherd and the stockman left the cloisters together, and +Ulysses followed them. When they had got outside the gates and the outer +yard, Ulysses said to them quietly: + +"Stockman, and you swineherd, I have something in my mind which I am in +doubt whether to say or no; but I think I will say it. What manner of +men would you be to stand by Ulysses, if some god should bring him back +here all of a sudden? Say which you are disposed to do--to side with the +suitors, or with Ulysses?" + +"Father Jove," answered the stockman, "would indeed that you might so +ordain it. If some god were but to bring Ulysses back, you should see +with what might and main I would fight for him." + +In like words Eumaeus prayed to all the gods that Ulysses might return; +when, therefore, he saw for certain what mind they were of, Ulysses +said, "It is I, Ulysses, who am here. I have suffered much, but at last, +in the twentieth year, I am come back to my own country. I find that you +two alone of all my servants are glad that I should do so, for I +have not heard any of the others praying for my return. To you two, +therefore, will I unfold the truth as it shall be. If heaven shall +deliver the suitors into my hands, I will find wives for both of you, +will give you house and holding close to my own, and you shall be to me +as though you were brothers and friends of Telemachus. I will now give +you convincing proofs that you may know me and be assured. See, here is +the scar from the boar's tooth that ripped me when I was out hunting on +Mt. Parnassus with the sons of Autolycus." + +As he spoke he drew his rags aside from the great scar, and when they +had examined it thoroughly, they both of them wept about Ulysses, threw +their arms round him, and kissed his head and shoulders, while Ulysses +kissed their hands and faces in return. The sun would have gone down +upon their mourning if Ulysses had not checked them and said: + +"Cease your weeping, lest some one should come outside and see us, and +tell those who are within. When you go in, do so separately, not both +together; I will go first, and do you follow afterwards; let this +moreover be the token between us; the suitors will all of them try to +prevent me from getting hold of the bow and quiver; do you, therefore, +Eumaeus, place it in my hands when you are carrying it about, and +tell the women to close the doors of their apartment. If they hear any +groaning or uproar as of men fighting about the house, they must not +come out; they must keep quiet, and stay where they are at their work. +And I charge you, Philoetius, to make fast the doors of the outer court, +and to bind them securely at once." + +When he had thus spoken, he went back to the house and took the seat +that he had left. Presently, his two servants followed him inside. + +At this moment the bow was in the hands of Eurymachus, who was warming +it by the fire, but even so he could not string it, and he was greatly +grieved. He heaved a deep sigh and said, "I grieve for myself and for us +all; I grieve that I shall have to forgo the marriage, but I do not care +nearly so much about this, for there are plenty of other women in Ithaca +and elsewhere; what I feel most is the fact of our being so inferior to +Ulysses in strength that we cannot string his bow. This will disgrace us +in the eyes of those who are yet unborn." + +"It shall not be so, Eurymachus," said Antinous, "and you know it +yourself. Today is the feast of Apollo throughout all the land; who can +string a bow on such a day as this? Put it on one side--as for the axes +they can stay where they are, for no one is likely to come to the house +and take them away: let the cupbearer go round with his cups, that we +may make our drink-offerings and drop this matter of the bow; we will +tell Melanthius to bring us in some goats tomorrow--the best he has; we +can then offer thigh bones to Apollo the mighty archer, and again make +trial of the bow, so as to bring the contest to an end." + +The rest approved his words, and thereon men servants poured water over +the hands of the guests, while pages filled the mixing-bowls with wine +and water and handed it round after giving every man his drink-offering. +Then, when they had made their offerings and had drunk each as much as +he desired, Ulysses craftily said:-- + +"Suitors of the illustrious queen, listen that I may speak even as I am +minded. I appeal more especially to Eurymachus, and to Antinous who +has just spoken with so much reason. Cease shooting for the present and +leave the matter to the gods, but in the morning let heaven give victory +to whom it will. For the moment, however, give me the bow that I may +prove the power of my hands among you all, and see whether I still have +as much strength as I used to have, or whether travel and neglect have +made an end of it." + +This made them all very angry, for they feared he might string the bow, +Antinous therefore rebuked him fiercely saying, "Wretched creature, you +have not so much as a grain of sense in your whole body; you ought +to think yourself lucky in being allowed to dine unharmed among your +betters, without having any smaller portion served you than we others +have had, and in being allowed to hear our conversation. No other beggar +or stranger has been allowed to hear what we say among ourselves; the +wine must have been doing you a mischief, as it does with all those who +drink immoderately. It was wine that inflamed the Centaur Eurytion when +he was staying with Peirithous among the Lapithae. When the wine had +got into his head, he went mad and did ill deeds about the house of +Peirithous; this angered the heroes who were there assembled, so they +rushed at him and cut off his ears and nostrils; then they dragged him +through the doorway out of the house, so he went away crazed, and bore +the burden of his crime, bereft of understanding. Henceforth, therefore, +there was war between mankind and the centaurs, but he brought it upon +himself through his own drunkenness. In like manner I can tell you that +it will go hardly with you if you string the bow: you will find no mercy +from any one here, for we shall at once ship you off to king Echetus, +who kills every one that comes near him: you will never get away alive, +so drink and keep quiet without getting into a quarrel with men younger +than yourself." + +Penelope then spoke to him. "Antinous," said she, "it is not right that +you should ill-treat any guest of Telemachus who comes to this house. +If the stranger should prove strong enough to string the mighty bow of +Ulysses, can you suppose that he would take me home with him and make me +his wife? Even the man himself can have no such idea in his mind: +none of you need let that disturb his feasting; it would be out of all +reason." + +"Queen Penelope," answered Eurymachus, "we do not suppose that this man +will take you away with him; it is impossible; but we are afraid lest +some of the baser sort, men or women among the Achaeans, should go +gossiping about and say, 'These suitors are a feeble folk; they are +paying court to the wife of a brave man whose bow not one of them was +able to string, and yet a beggarly tramp who came to the house strung it +at once and sent an arrow through the iron.' This is what will be said, +and it will be a scandal against us." + +"Eurymachus," Penelope answered, "people who persist in eating up the +estate of a great chieftain and dishonouring his house must not expect +others to think well of them. Why then should you mind if men talk as +you think they will? This stranger is strong and well-built, he says +moreover that he is of noble birth. Give him the bow, and let us see +whether he can string it or no. I say--and it shall surely be--that if +Apollo vouchsafes him the glory of stringing it, I will give him a cloak +and shirt of good wear, with a javelin to keep off dogs and robbers, +and a sharp sword. I will also give him sandals, and will see him sent +safely wherever he wants to go." + +Then Telemachus said, "Mother, I am the only man either in Ithaca or in +the islands that are over against Elis who has the right to let any +one have the bow or to refuse it. No one shall force me one way or the +other, not even though I choose to make the stranger a present of the +bow outright, and let him take it away with him. Go, then, within the +house and busy yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, +and the ordering of your servants. This bow is a man's matter, and mine +above all others, for it is I who am master here." + +She went wondering back into the house, and laid her son's saying in her +heart. Then going upstairs with her handmaids into her room, she mourned +her dear husband till Minerva sent sweet sleep over her eyelids. + +The swineherd now took up the bow and was for taking it to Ulysses, but +the suitors clamoured at him from all parts of the cloisters, and one of +them said, "You idiot, where are you taking the bow to? Are you out of +your wits? If Apollo and the other gods will grant our prayer, your own +boarhounds shall get you into some quiet little place, and worry you to +death." + +Eumaeus was frightened at the outcry they all raised, so he put the bow +down then and there, but Telemachus shouted out at him from the other +side of the cloisters, and threatened him saying, "Father Eumaeus, +bring the bow on in spite of them, or young as I am I will pelt you with +stones back to the country, for I am the better man of the two. I wish +I was as much stronger than all the other suitors in the house as I am +than you, I would soon send some of them off sick and sorry, for they +mean mischief." + +Thus did he speak, and they all of them laughed heartily, which put them +in a better humour with Telemachus; so Eumaeus brought the bow on and +placed it in the hands of Ulysses. When he had done this, he called +Euryclea apart and said to her, "Euryclea, Telemachus says you are to +close the doors of the women's apartments. If they hear any groaning or +uproar as of men fighting about the house, they are not to come out, but +are to keep quiet and stay where they are at their work." + +Euryclea did as she was told and closed the doors of the women's +apartments. + +Meanwhile Philoetius slipped quietly out and made fast the gates of +the outer court. There was a ship's cable of byblus fibre lying in the +gatehouse, so he made the gates fast with it and then came in again, +resuming the seat that he had left, and keeping an eye on Ulysses, who +had now got the bow in his hands, and was turning it every way about, +and proving it all over to see whether the worms had been eating into +its two horns during his absence. Then would one turn towards his +neighbour saying, "This is some tricky old bow-fancier; either he has +got one like it at home, or he wants to make one, in such workmanlike +style does the old vagabond handle it." + +Another said, "I hope he may be no more successful in other things than +he is likely to be in stringing this bow." + +But Ulysses, when he had taken it up and examined it all over, strung it +as easily as a skilled bard strings a new peg of his lyre and makes +the twisted gut fast at both ends. Then he took it in his right hand +to prove the string, and it sang sweetly under his touch like the +twittering of a swallow. The suitors were dismayed, and turned colour +as they heard it; at that moment, moreover, Jove thundered loudly as a +sign, and the heart of Ulysses rejoiced as he heard the omen that the +son of scheming Saturn had sent him. + +He took an arrow that was lying upon the table {165}--for those +which the Achaeans were so shortly about to taste were all inside the +quiver--he laid it on the centre-piece of the bow, and drew the notch of +the arrow and the string toward him, still seated on his seat. When +he had taken aim he let fly, and his arrow pierced every one of the +handle-holes of the axes from the first onwards till it had gone right +through them, and into the outer courtyard. Then he said to Telemachus: + +"Your guest has not disgraced you, Telemachus. I did not miss what I +aimed at, and I was not long in stringing my bow. I am still strong, and +not as the suitors twit me with being. Now, however, it is time for +the Achaeans to prepare supper while there is still daylight, and +then otherwise to disport themselves with song and dance which are the +crowning ornaments of a banquet." + +As he spoke he made a sign with his eyebrows, and Telemachus girded on +his sword, grasped his spear, and stood armed beside his father's seat. + + +Book XXII + +THE KILLING OF THE SUITORS--THE MAIDS WHO HAVE MISCONDUCTED THEMSELVES +ARE MADE TO CLEANSE THE CLOISTERS AND ARE THEN HANGED. + +Then Ulysses tore off his rags, and sprang on to the broad pavement +with his bow and his quiver full of arrows. He shed the arrows on to the +ground at his feet and said, "The mighty contest is at an end. I will +now see whether Apollo will vouchsafe it to me to hit another mark which +no man has yet hit." + +On this he aimed a deadly arrow at Antinous, who was about to take up a +two-handled gold cup to drink his wine and already had it in his hands. +He had no thought of death--who amongst all the revellers would think +that one man, however brave, would stand alone among so many and kill +him? The arrow struck Antinous in the throat, and the point went clean +through his neck, so that he fell over and the cup dropped from his +hand, while a thick stream of blood gushed from his nostrils. He kicked +the table from him and upset the things on it, so that the bread and +roasted meats were all soiled as they fell over on to the ground. {166} +The suitors were in an uproar when they saw that a man had been hit; +they sprang in dismay one and all of them from their seats and looked +everywhere towards the walls, but there was neither shield nor spear, +and they rebuked Ulysses very angrily. "Stranger," said they, "you shall +pay for shooting people in this way: you shall see no other contest; +you are a doomed man; he whom you have slain was the foremost youth in +Ithaca, and the vultures shall devour you for having killed him." + +Thus they spoke, for they thought that he had killed Antinous by +mistake, and did not perceive that death was hanging over the head of +every one of them. But Ulysses glared at them and said: + +"Dogs, did you think that I should not come back from Troy? You have +wasted my substance, {167} have forced my women servants to lie with +you, and have wooed my wife while I was still living. You have feared +neither God nor man, and now you shall die." + +They turned pale with fear as he spoke, and every man looked round about +to see whither he might fly for safety, but Eurymachus alone spoke. + +"If you are Ulysses," said he, "then what you have said is just. We have +done much wrong on your lands and in your house. But Antinous who was +the head and front of the offending lies low already. It was all his +doing. It was not that he wanted to marry Penelope; he did not so much +care about that; what he wanted was something quite different, and Jove +has not vouchsafed it to him; he wanted to kill your son and to be chief +man in Ithaca. Now, therefore, that he has met the death which was his +due, spare the lives of your people. We will make everything good among +ourselves, and pay you in full for all that we have eaten and drunk. +Each one of us shall pay you a fine worth twenty oxen, and we will keep +on giving you gold and bronze till your heart is softened. Until we have +done this no one can complain of your being enraged against us." + +Ulysses again glared at him and said, "Though you should give me all +that you have in the world both now and all that you ever shall have, +I will not stay my hand till I have paid all of you in full. You must +fight, or fly for your lives; and fly, not a man of you shall." + +Their hearts sank as they heard him, but Eurymachus again spoke saying: + +"My friends, this man will give us no quarter. He will stand where he +is and shoot us down till he has killed every man among us. Let us then +show fight; draw your swords, and hold up the tables to shield you +from his arrows. Let us have at him with a rush, to drive him from the +pavement and doorway: we can then get through into the town, and raise +such an alarm as shall soon stay his shooting." + +As he spoke he drew his keen blade of bronze, sharpened on both sides, +and with a loud cry sprang towards Ulysses, but Ulysses instantly shot +an arrow into his breast that caught him by the nipple and fixed itself +in his liver. He dropped his sword and fell doubled up over his table. +The cup and all the meats went over on to the ground as he smote the +earth with his forehead in the agonies of death, and he kicked the stool +with his feet until his eyes were closed in darkness. + +Then Amphinomus drew his sword and made straight at Ulysses to try and +get him away from the door; but Telemachus was too quick for him, and +struck him from behind; the spear caught him between the shoulders and +went right through his chest, so that he fell heavily to the ground and +struck the earth with his forehead. Then Telemachus sprang away from +him, leaving his spear still in the body, for he feared that if he +stayed to draw it out, some one of the Achaeans might come up and hack +at him with his sword, or knock him down, so he set off at a run, and +immediately was at his father's side. Then he said: + +"Father, let me bring you a shield, two spears, and a brass helmet for +your temples. I will arm myself as well, and will bring other armour for +the swineherd and the stockman, for we had better be armed." + +"Run and fetch them," answered Ulysses, "while my arrows hold out, or +when I am alone they may get me away from the door." + +Telemachus did as his father said, and went off to the store room where +the armour was kept. He chose four shields, eight spears, and four brass +helmets with horse-hair plumes. He brought them with all speed to his +father, and armed himself first, while the stockman and the swineherd +also put on their armour, and took their places near Ulysses. Meanwhile +Ulysses, as long as his arrows lasted, had been shooting the suitors one +by one, and they fell thick on one another: when his arrows gave out, he +set the bow to stand against the end wall of the house by the door post, +and hung a shield four hides thick about his shoulders; on his comely +head he set his helmet, well wrought with a crest of horse-hair that +nodded menacingly above it, {168} and he grasped two redoubtable +bronze-shod spears. + +Now there was a trap door {169} on the wall, while at one end of the +pavement {170} there was an exit leading to a narrow passage, and this +exit was closed by a well-made door. Ulysses told Philoetius to stand by +this door and guard it, for only one person could attack it at a time. +But Agelaus shouted out, "Cannot some one go up to the trap door and +tell the people what is going on? Help would come at once, and we should +soon make an end of this man and his shooting." + +"This may not be, Agelaus," answered Melanthius, "the mouth of the +narrow passage is dangerously near the entrance to the outer court. One +brave man could prevent any number from getting in. But I know what I +will do, I will bring you arms from the store-room, for I am sure it is +there that Ulysses and his son have put them." + +On this the goatherd Melanthius went by back passages to the store-room +of Ulysses' house. There he chose twelve shields, with as many helmets +and spears, and brought them back as fast as he could to give them to +the suitors. Ulysses' heart began to fail him when he saw the suitors +{171} putting on their armour and brandishing their spears. He saw the +greatness of the danger, and said to Telemachus, "Some one of the women +inside is helping the suitors against us, or it may be Melanthius." + +Telemachus answered, "The fault, father, is mine, and mine only; I left +the store room door open, and they have kept a sharper look out than +I have. Go, Eumaeus, put the door to, and see whether it is one of the +women who is doing this, or whether, as I suspect, it is Melanthius the +son of Dolius." + +Thus did they converse. Meanwhile Melanthius was again going to the +store room to fetch more armour, but the swineherd saw him and said to +Ulysses who was beside him, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, it is that +scoundrel Melanthius, just as we suspected, who is going to the store +room. Say, shall I kill him, if I can get the better of him, or shall +I bring him here that you may take your own revenge for all the many +wrongs that he has done in your house?" + +Ulysses answered, "Telemachus and I will hold these suitors in check, no +matter what they do; go back both of you and bind Melanthius' hands and +feet behind him. Throw him into the store room and make the door fast +behind you; then fasten a noose about his body, and string him close up +to the rafters from a high bearing-post, {172} that he may linger on in +an agony." + +Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said; they went to the +store room, which they entered before Melanthius saw them, for he was +busy searching for arms in the innermost part of the room, so the +two took their stand on either side of the door and waited. By and by +Melanthius came out with a helmet in one hand, and an old dry-rotted +shield in the other, which had been borne by Laertes when he was young, +but which had been long since thrown aside, and the straps had become +unsewn; on this the two seized him, dragged him back by the hair, and +threw him struggling to the ground. They bent his hands and feet well +behind his back, and bound them tight with a painful bond as Ulysses had +told them; then they fastened a noose about his body and strung him up +from a high pillar till he was close up to the rafters, and over him did +you then vaunt, O swineherd Eumaeus saying, "Melanthius, you will pass +the night on a soft bed as you deserve. You will know very well when +morning comes from the streams of Oceanus, and it is time for you to be +driving in your goats for the suitors to feast on." + +There, then, they left him in very cruel bondage, and having put on +their armour they closed the door behind them and went back to take +their places by the side of Ulysses; whereon the four men stood in the +cloister, fierce and full of fury; nevertheless, those who were in the +body of the court were still both brave and many. Then Jove's daughter +Minerva came up to them, having assumed the voice and form of Mentor. +Ulysses was glad when he saw her and said, "Mentor, lend me your help, +and forget not your old comrade, nor the many good turns he has done +you. Besides, you are my age-mate." + +But all the time he felt sure it was Minerva, and the suitors from the +other side raised an uproar when they saw her. Agelaus was the first to +reproach her. "Mentor," he cried, "do not let Ulysses beguile you into +siding with him and fighting the suitors. This is what we will do: when +we have killed these people, father and son, we will kill you too. You +shall pay for it with your head, and when we have killed you, we will +take all you have, in doors or out, and bring it into hotch-pot with +Ulysses' property; we will not let your sons live in your house, nor +your daughters, nor shall your widow continue to live in the city of +Ithaca." + +This made Minerva still more furious, so she scolded Ulysses very +angrily. {173} "Ulysses," said she, "your strength and prowess are no +longer what they were when you fought for nine long years among the +Trojans about the noble lady Helen. You killed many a man in those days, +and it was through your stratagem that Priam's city was taken. How comes +it that you are so lamentably less valiant now that you are on your own +ground, face to face with the suitors in your own house? Come on, my +good fellow, stand by my side and see how Mentor, son of Alcimus shall +fight your foes and requite your kindnesses conferred upon him." + +But she would not give him full victory as yet, for she wished still +further to prove his own prowess and that of his brave son, so she flew +up to one of the rafters in the roof of the cloister and sat upon it in +the form of a swallow. + +Meanwhile Agelaus son of Damastor, Eurynomus, Amphimedon, Demoptolemus, +Pisander, and Polybus son of Polyctor bore the brunt of the fight upon +the suitors' side; of all those who were still fighting for their lives +they were by far the most valiant, for the others had already fallen +under the arrows of Ulysses. Agelaus shouted to them and said, "My +friends, he will soon have to leave off, for Mentor has gone away after +having done nothing for him but brag. They are standing at the doors +unsupported. Do not aim at him all at once, but six of you throw your +spears first, and see if you cannot cover yourselves with glory by +killing him. When he has fallen we need not be uneasy about the others." + +They threw their spears as he bade them, but Minerva made them all of +no effect. One hit the door post; another went against the door; the +pointed shaft of another struck the wall; and as soon as they had +avoided all the spears of the suitors Ulysses said to his own men, "My +friends, I should say we too had better let drive into the middle of +them, or they will crown all the harm they have done us by killing us +outright." + +They therefore aimed straight in front of them and threw their spears. +Ulysses killed Demoptolemus, Telemachus Euryades, Eumaeus Elatus, while +the stockman killed Pisander. These all bit the dust, and as the others +drew back into a corner Ulysses and his men rushed forward and regained +their spears by drawing them from the bodies of the dead. + +The suitors now aimed a second time, but again Minerva made their +weapons for the most part without effect. One hit a bearing-post of +the cloister; another went against the door; while the pointed shaft of +another struck the wall. Still, Amphimedon just took a piece of the +top skin from off Telemachus's wrist, and Ctesippus managed to graze +Eumaeus's shoulder above his shield; but the spear went on and fell +to the ground. Then Ulysses and his men let drive into the crowd of +suitors. Ulysses hit Eurydamas, Telemachus Amphimedon, and Eumaeus +Polybus. After this the stockman hit Ctesippus in the breast, and +taunted him saying, "Foul-mouthed son of Polytherses, do not be so +foolish as to talk wickedly another time, but let heaven direct your +speech, for the gods are far stronger than men. I make you a present of +this advice to repay you for the foot which you gave Ulysses when he was +begging about in his own house." + +Thus spoke the stockman, and Ulysses struck the son of Damastor with a +spear in close fight, while Telemachus hit Leocritus son of Evenor in +the belly, and the dart went clean through him, so that he fell forward +full on his face upon the ground. Then Minerva from her seat on the +rafter held up her deadly aegis, and the hearts of the suitors quailed. +They fled to the other end of the court like a herd of cattle maddened +by the gadfly in early summer when the days are at their longest. As +eagle-beaked, crook-taloned vultures from the mountains swoop down on +the smaller birds that cower in flocks upon the ground, and kill +them, for they cannot either fight or fly, and lookers on enjoy the +sport--even so did Ulysses and his men fall upon the suitors and smite +them on every side. They made a horrible groaning as their brains were +being battered in, and the ground seethed with their blood. + +Leiodes then caught the knees of Ulysses and said, "Ulysses I beseech +you have mercy upon me and spare me. I never wronged any of the women in +your house either in word or deed, and I tried to stop the others. I +saw them, but they would not listen, and now they are paying for their +folly. I was their sacrificing priest; if you kill me, I shall die +without having done anything to deserve it, and shall have got no thanks +for all the good that I did." + +Ulysses looked sternly at him and answered, "If you were their +sacrificing priest, you must have prayed many a time that it might be +long before I got home again, and that you might marry my wife and have +children by her. Therefore you shall die." + +With these words he picked up the sword that Agelaus had dropped when +he was being killed, and which was lying upon the ground. Then he struck +Leiodes on the back of his neck, so that his head fell rolling in the +dust while he was yet speaking. + +The minstrel Phemius son of Terpes--he who had been forced by the +suitors to sing to them--now tried to save his life. He was standing +near towards the trap door, {174} and held his lyre in his hand. He did +not know whether to fly out of the cloister and sit down by the altar of +Jove that was in the outer court, and on which both Laertes and Ulysses +had offered up the thigh bones of many an ox, or whether to go straight +up to Ulysses and embrace his knees, but in the end he deemed it best +to embrace Ulysses' knees. So he laid his lyre on the ground between the +mixing bowl {175} and the silver-studded seat; then going up to Ulysses +he caught hold of his knees and said, "Ulysses, I beseech you have mercy +on me and spare me. You will be sorry for it afterwards if you kill a +bard who can sing both for gods and men as I can. I make all my lays +myself, and heaven visits me with every kind of inspiration. I would +sing to you as though you were a god, do not therefore be in such a +hurry to cut my head off. Your own son Telemachus will tell you that I +did not want to frequent your house and sing to the suitors after their +meals, but they were too many and too strong for me, so they made me." + +Telemachus heard him, and at once went up to his father. "Hold!" he +cried, "the man is guiltless, do him no hurt; and we will spare Medon +too, who was always good to me when I was a boy, unless Philoetius or +Eumaeus has already killed him, or he has fallen in your way when you +were raging about the court." + +Medon caught these words of Telemachus, for he was crouching under a +seat beneath which he had hidden by covering himself up with a freshly +flayed heifer's hide, so he threw off the hide, went up to Telemachus, +and laid hold of his knees. + +"Here I am, my dear sir," said he, "stay your hand therefore, and tell +your father, or he will kill me in his rage against the suitors for +having wasted his substance and been so foolishly disrespectful to +yourself." + +Ulysses smiled at him and answered, "Fear not; Telemachus has saved your +life, that you may know in future, and tell other people, how greatly +better good deeds prosper than evil ones. Go, therefore, outside +the cloisters into the outer court, and be out of the way of the +slaughter--you and the bard--while I finish my work here inside." + +The pair went into the outer court as fast as they could, and sat down +by Jove's great altar, looking fearfully round, and still expecting that +they would be killed. Then Ulysses searched the whole court carefully +over, to see if anyone had managed to hide himself and was still living, +but he found them all lying in the dust and weltering in their blood. +They were like fishes which fishermen have netted out of the sea, and +thrown upon the beach to lie gasping for water till the heat of the sun +makes an end of them. Even so were the suitors lying all huddled up one +against the other. + +Then Ulysses said to Telemachus, "Call nurse Euryclea; I have something +to say to her." + +Telemachus went and knocked at the door of the women's room. "Make +haste," said he, "you old woman who have been set over all the other +women in the house. Come outside; my father wishes to speak to you." + +When Euryclea heard this she unfastened the door of the women's room +and came out, following Telemachus. She found Ulysses among the +corpses bespattered with blood and filth like a lion that has just been +devouring an ox, and his breast and both his cheeks are all bloody, so +that he is a fearful sight; even so was Ulysses besmirched from head +to foot with gore. When she saw all the corpses and such a quantity of +blood, she was beginning to cry out for joy, for she saw that a great +deed had been done; but Ulysses checked her, "Old woman," said he, +"rejoice in silence; restrain yourself, and do not make any noise about +it; it is an unholy thing to vaunt over dead men. Heaven's doom and +their own evil deeds have brought these men to destruction, for they +respected no man in the whole world, neither rich nor poor, who came +near them, and they have come to a bad end as a punishment for their +wickedness and folly. Now, however, tell me which of the women in the +house have misconducted themselves, and who are innocent." {176} + +"I will tell you the truth, my son," answered Euryclea. "There are fifty +women in the house whom we teach to do things, such as carding wool, +and all kinds of household work. Of these, twelve in all {177} have +misbehaved, and have been wanting in respect to me, and also to +Penelope. They showed no disrespect to Telemachus, for he has only +lately grown and his mother never permitted him to give orders to the +female servants; but let me go upstairs and tell your wife all that has +happened, for some god has been sending her to sleep." + +"Do not wake her yet," answered Ulysses, "but tell the women who have +misconducted themselves to come to me." + +Euryclea left the cloister to tell the women, and make them come to +Ulysses; in the meantime he called Telemachus, the stockman, and the +swineherd. "Begin," said he, "to remove the dead, and make the women +help you. Then, get sponges and clean water to swill down the tables and +seats. When you have thoroughly cleansed the whole cloisters, take the +women into the space between the domed room and the wall of the outer +court, and run them through with your swords till they are quite dead, +and have forgotten all about love and the way in which they used to lie +in secret with the suitors." + +On this the women came down in a body, weeping and wailing bitterly. +First they carried the dead bodies out, and propped them up against one +another in the gatehouse. Ulysses ordered them about and made them do +their work quickly, so they had to carry the bodies out. When they had +done this, they cleaned all the tables and seats with sponges and water, +while Telemachus and the two others shovelled up the blood and dirt from +the ground, and the women carried it all away and put it out of doors. +Then when they had made the whole place quite clean and orderly, they +took the women out and hemmed them in the narrow space between the wall +of the domed room and that of the yard, so that they could not get away: +and Telemachus said to the other two, "I shall not let these women die +a clean death, for they were insolent to me and my mother, and used to +sleep with the suitors." + +So saying he made a ship's cable fast to one of the bearing-posts that +supported the roof of the domed room, and secured it all around the +building, at a good height, lest any of the women's feet should touch +the ground; and as thrushes or doves beat against a net that has been +set for them in a thicket just as they were getting to their nest, and a +terrible fate awaits them, even so did the women have to put their heads +in nooses one after the other and die most miserably. {178} Their feet +moved convulsively for a while, but not for very long. + +As for Melanthius, they took him through the cloister into the inner +court. There they cut off his nose and his ears; they drew out his +vitals and gave them to the dogs raw, and then in their fury they cut +off his hands and his feet. + +When they had done this they washed their hands and feet and went back +into the house, for all was now over; and Ulysses said to the dear old +nurse Euryclea, "Bring me sulphur, which cleanses all pollution, and +fetch fire also that I may burn it, and purify the cloisters. Go, +moreover, and tell Penelope to come here with her attendants, and also +all the maidservants that are in the house." + +"All that you have said is true," answered Euryclea, "but let me bring +you some clean clothes--a shirt and cloak. Do not keep these rags on +your back any longer. It is not right." + +"First light me a fire," replied Ulysses. + +She brought the fire and sulphur, as he had bidden her, and Ulysses +thoroughly purified the cloisters and both the inner and outer courts. +Then she went inside to call the women and tell them what had happened; +whereon they came from their apartment with torches in their hands, and +pressed round Ulysses to embrace him, kissing his head and shoulders and +taking hold of his hands. It made him feel as if he should like to weep, +for he remembered every one of them. {179} + + +Book XXIII + +PENELOPE EVENTUALLY RECOGNISES HER HUSBAND--EARLY IN THE MORNING +ULYSSES, TELEMACHUS, EUMAEUS, AND PHILOETIUS LEAVE THE TOWN. + +Euryclea now went upstairs laughing to tell her mistress that her dear +husband had come home. Her aged knees became young again and her feet +were nimble for joy as she went up to her mistress and bent over her +head to speak to her. "Wake up Penelope, my dear child," she exclaimed, +"and see with your own eyes something that you have been wanting this +long time past. Ulysses has at last indeed come home again, and has +killed the suitors who were giving so much trouble in his house, eating +up his estate and ill treating his son." + +"My good nurse," answered Penelope, "you must be mad. The gods sometimes +send some very sensible people out of their minds, and make foolish +people become sensible. This is what they must have been doing to you; +for you always used to be a reasonable person. Why should you thus mock +me when I have trouble enough already--talking such nonsense, and waking +me up out of a sweet sleep that had taken possession of my eyes and +closed them? I have never slept so soundly from the day my poor husband +went to that city with the ill-omened name. Go back again into the +women's room; if it had been any one else who had woke me up to bring me +such absurd news I should have sent her away with a severe scolding. As +it is your age shall protect you." + +"My dear child," answered Euryclea, "I am not mocking you. It is quite +true as I tell you that Ulysses is come home again. He was the stranger +whom they all kept on treating so badly in the cloister. Telemachus knew +all the time that he was come back, but kept his father's secret that he +might have his revenge on all these wicked people." + +Then Penelope sprang up from her couch, threw her arms round Euryclea, +and wept for joy. "But my dear nurse," said she, "explain this to me; +if he has really come home as you say, how did he manage to overcome the +wicked suitors single handed, seeing what a number of them there always +were?" + +"I was not there," answered Euryclea, "and do not know; I only heard +them groaning while they were being killed. We sat crouching and huddled +up in a corner of the women's room with the doors closed, till your +son came to fetch me because his father sent him. Then I found Ulysses +standing over the corpses that were lying on the ground all round him, +one on top of the other. You would have enjoyed it if you could have +seen him standing there all bespattered with blood and filth, and +looking just like a lion. But the corpses are now all piled up in the +gatehouse that is in the outer court, and Ulysses has lit a great fire +to purify the house with sulphur. He has sent me to call you, so come +with me that you may both be happy together after all; for now at last +the desire of your heart has been fulfilled; your husband is come home +to find both wife and son alive and well, and to take his revenge in his +own house on the suitors who behaved so badly to him." + +"My dear nurse," said Penelope, "do not exult too confidently over all +this. You know how delighted every one would be to see Ulysses come +home--more particularly myself, and the son who has been born to both +of us; but what you tell me cannot be really true. It is some god who is +angry with the suitors for their great wickedness, and has made an end +of them; for they respected no man in the whole world, neither rich nor +poor, who came near them, and they have come to a bad end in consequence +of their iniquity; Ulysses is dead far away from the Achaean land; he +will never return home again." + +Then nurse Euryclea said, "My child, what are you talking about? but you +were all hard of belief and have made up your mind that your husband is +never coming, although he is in the house and by his own fire side +at this very moment. Besides I can give you another proof; when I was +washing him I perceived the scar which the wild boar gave him, and I +wanted to tell you about it, but in his wisdom he would not let me, and +clapped his hands over my mouth; so come with me and I will make this +bargain with you--if I am deceiving you, you may have me killed by the +most cruel death you can think of." + +"My dear nurse," said Penelope, "however wise you may be you can hardly +fathom the counsels of the gods. Nevertheless, we will go in search of +my son, that I may see the corpses of the suitors, and the man who has +killed them." + +On this she came down from her upper room, and while doing so she +considered whether she should keep at a distance from her husband and +question him, or whether she should at once go up to him and embrace +him. When, however, she had crossed the stone floor of the cloister, she +sat down opposite Ulysses by the fire, against the wall at right angles +{180} [to that by which she had entered], while Ulysses sat near one of +the bearing-posts, looking upon the ground, and waiting to see what his +brave wife would say to him when she saw him. For a long time she sat +silent and as one lost in amazement. At one moment she looked him full +in the face, but then again directly, she was misled by his shabby +clothes and failed to recognise him, {181} till Telemachus began to +reproach her and said: + +"Mother--but you are so hard that I cannot call you by such a name--why +do you keep away from my father in this way? Why do you not sit by his +side and begin talking to him and asking him questions? No other woman +could bear to keep away from her husband when he had come back to her +after twenty years of absence, and after having gone through so much; +but your heart always was as hard as a stone." + +Penelope answered, "My son, I am so lost in astonishment that I can find +no words in which either to ask questions or to answer them. I cannot +even look him straight in the face. Still, if he really is Ulysses +come back to his own home again, we shall get to understand one another +better by and by, for there are tokens with which we two are alone +acquainted, and which are hidden from all others." + +Ulysses smiled at this, and said to Telemachus, "Let your mother put me +to any proof she likes; she will make up her mind about it presently. +She rejects me for the moment and believes me to be somebody else, +because I am covered with dirt and have such bad clothes on; let us, +however, consider what we had better do next. When one man has killed +another--even though he was not one who would leave many friends to take +up his quarrel--the man who has killed him must still say good bye to +his friends and fly the country; whereas we have been killing the stay +of a whole town, and all the picked youth of Ithaca. I would have you +consider this matter." + +"Look to it yourself, father," answered Telemachus, "for they say you +are the wisest counsellor in the world, and that there is no other +mortal man who can compare with you. We will follow you with right good +will, nor shall you find us fail you in so far as our strength holds +out." + +"I will say what I think will be best," answered Ulysses. "First wash +and put your shirts on; tell the maids also to go to their own room and +dress; Phemius shall then strike up a dance tune on his lyre, so that if +people outside hear, or any of the neighbours, or some one going along +the street happens to notice it, they may think there is a wedding in +the house, and no rumours about the death of the suitors will get about +in the town, before we can escape to the woods upon my own land. Once +there, we will settle which of the courses heaven vouchsafes us shall +seem wisest." + +Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. First they washed +and put their shirts on, while the women got ready. Then Phemius took +his lyre and set them all longing for sweet song and stately dance. The +house re-echoed with the sound of men and women dancing, and the people +outside said, "I suppose the queen has been getting married at last. +She ought to be ashamed of herself for not continuing to protect her +husband's property until he comes home." {182} + +This was what they said, but they did not know what it was that had been +happening. The upper servant Eurynome washed and anointed Ulysses in his +own house and gave him a shirt and cloak, while Minerva made him look +taller and stronger than before; she also made the hair grow thick on +the top of his head, and flow down in curls like hyacinth blossoms; she +glorified him about the head and shoulders just as a skilful workman who +has studied art of all kinds under Vulcan or Minerva--and his work is +full of beauty--enriches a piece of silver plate by gilding it. He came +from the bath looking like one of the immortals, and sat down opposite +his wife on the seat he had left. "My dear," said he, "heaven has +endowed you with a heart more unyielding than woman ever yet had. No +other woman could bear to keep away from her husband when he had come +back to her after twenty years of absence, and after having gone through +so much. But come, nurse, get a bed ready for me; I will sleep alone, +for this woman has a heart as hard as iron." + +"My dear," answered Penelope, "I have no wish to set myself up, nor to +depreciate you; but I am not struck by your appearance, for I very well +remember what kind of a man you were when you set sail from Ithaca. +Nevertheless, Euryclea, take his bed outside the bed chamber that he +himself built. Bring the bed outside this room, and put bedding upon it +with fleeces, good coverlets, and blankets." + +She said this to try him, but Ulysses was very angry and said, "Wife, +I am much displeased at what you have just been saying. Who has been +taking my bed from the place in which I left it? He must have found it a +hard task, no matter how skilled a workman he was, unless some god came +and helped him to shift it. There is no man living, however strong and +in his prime, who could move it from its place, for it is a marvellous +curiosity which I made with my very own hands. There was a young olive +growing within the precincts of the house, in full vigour, and about as +thick as a bearing-post. I built my room round this with strong walls +of stone and a roof to cover them, and I made the doors strong and +well-fitting. Then I cut off the top boughs of the olive tree and left +the stump standing. This I dressed roughly from the root upwards and +then worked with carpenter's tools well and skilfully, straightening +my work by drawing a line on the wood, and making it into a bed-prop. +I then bored a hole down the middle, and made it the centre-post of my +bed, at which I worked till I had finished it, inlaying it with gold and +silver; after this I stretched a hide of crimson leather from one side +of it to the other. So you see I know all about it, and I desire to +learn whether it is still there, or whether any one has been removing it +by cutting down the olive tree at its roots." + +When she heard the sure proofs Ulysses now gave her, she fairly broke +down. She flew weeping to his side, flung her arms about his neck, and +kissed him. "Do not be angry with me Ulysses," she cried, "you, who are +the wisest of mankind. We have suffered, both of us. Heaven has denied +us the happiness of spending our youth, and of growing old, together; do +not then be aggrieved or take it amiss that I did not embrace you thus +as soon as I saw you. I have been shuddering all the time through fear +that someone might come here and deceive me with a lying story; for +there are many very wicked people going about. Jove's daughter Helen +would never have yielded herself to a man from a foreign country, if she +had known that the sons of Achaeans would come after her and bring her +back. Heaven put it in her heart to do wrong, and she gave no thought +to that sin, which has been the source of all our sorrows. Now, however, +that you have convinced me by showing that you know all about our +bed (which no human being has ever seen but you and I and a single +maidservant, the daughter of Actor, who was given me by my father on my +marriage, and who keeps the doors of our room) hard of belief though I +have been I can mistrust no longer." + +Then Ulysses in his turn melted, and wept as he clasped his dear and +faithful wife to his bosom. As the sight of land is welcome to men who +are swimming towards the shore, when Neptune has wrecked their ship with +the fury of his winds and waves; a few alone reach the land, and these, +covered with brine, are thankful when they find themselves on firm +ground and out of danger--even so was her husband welcome to her as she +looked upon him, and she could not tear her two fair arms from about +his neck. Indeed they would have gone on indulging their sorrow till +rosy-fingered morn appeared, had not Minerva determined otherwise, and +held night back in the far west, while she would not suffer Dawn to +leave Oceanus, nor to yoke the two steeds Lampus and Phaethon that bear +her onward to break the day upon mankind. + +At last, however, Ulysses said, "Wife, we have not yet reached the end +of our troubles. I have an unknown amount of toil still to undergo. It +is long and difficult, but I must go through with it, for thus the shade +of Teiresias prophesied concerning me, on the day when I went down into +Hades to ask about my return and that of my companions. But now let us +go to bed, that we may lie down and enjoy the blessed boon of sleep." + +"You shall go to bed as soon as you please," replied Penelope, "now that +the gods have sent you home to your own good house and to your country. +But as heaven has put it in your mind to speak of it, tell me about the +task that lies before you. I shall have to hear about it later, so it is +better that I should be told at once." + +"My dear," answered Ulysses, "why should you press me to tell you? +Still, I will not conceal it from you, though you will not like it. I do +not like it myself, for Teiresias bade me travel far and wide, carrying +an oar, till I came to a country where the people have never heard of +the sea, and do not even mix salt with their food. They know nothing +about ships, nor oars that are as the wings of a ship. He gave me this +certain token which I will not hide from you. He said that a wayfarer +should meet me and ask me whether it was a winnowing shovel that I had +on my shoulder. On this, I was to fix my oar in the ground and sacrifice +a ram, a bull, and a boar to Neptune; after which I was to go home and +offer hecatombs to all the gods in heaven, one after the other. As for +myself, he said that death should come to me from the sea, and that my +life should ebb away very gently when I was full of years and peace of +mind, and my people should bless me. All this, he said, should surely +come to pass." + +And Penelope said, "If the gods are going to vouchsafe you a happier +time in your old age, you may hope then to have some respite from +misfortune." + +Thus did they converse. Meanwhile Eurynome and the nurse took torches +and made the bed ready with soft coverlets; as soon as they had laid +them, the nurse went back into the house to go to her rest, leaving the +bed chamber woman Eurynome {183} to show Ulysses and Penelope to bed by +torch light. When she had conducted them to their room she went +back, and they then came joyfully to the rites of their own old bed. +Telemachus, Philoetius, and the swineherd now left off dancing, and made +the women leave off also. They then laid themselves down to sleep in the +cloisters. + +When Ulysses and Penelope had had their fill of love they fell talking +with one another. She told him how much she had had to bear in seeing +the house filled with a crowd of wicked suitors who had killed so many +sheep and oxen on her account, and had drunk so many casks of wine. +Ulysses in his turn told her what he had suffered, and how much trouble +he had himself given to other people. He told her everything, and she +was so delighted to listen that she never went to sleep till he had +ended his whole story. + +He began with his victory over the Cicons, and how he thence reached the +fertile land of the Lotus-eaters. He told her all about the Cyclops +and how he had punished him for having so ruthlessly eaten his brave +comrades; how he then went on to Aeolus, who received him hospitably and +furthered him on his way, but even so he was not to reach home, for to +his great grief a hurricane carried him out to sea again; how he went on +to the Laestrygonian city Telepylos, where the people destroyed all his +ships with their crews, save himself and his own ship only. Then he told +of cunning Circe and her craft, and how he sailed to the chill house of +Hades, to consult the ghost of the Theban prophet Teiresias, and how he +saw his old comrades in arms, and his mother who bore him and brought +him up when he was a child; how he then heard the wondrous singing of +the Sirens, and went on to the wandering rocks and terrible Charybdis +and to Scylla, whom no man had ever yet passed in safety; how his men +then ate the cattle of the sun-god, and how Jove therefore struck the +ship with his thunderbolts, so that all his men perished together, +himself alone being left alive; how at last he reached the Ogygian +island and the nymph Calypso, who kept him there in a cave, and fed +him, and wanted him to marry her, in which case she intended making him +immortal so that he should never grow old, but she could not persuade +him to let her do so; and how after much suffering he had found his way +to the Phaeacians, who had treated him as though he had been a god, and +sent him back in a ship to his own country after having given him gold, +bronze, and raiment in great abundance. This was the last thing about +which he told her, for here a deep sleep took hold upon him and eased +the burden of his sorrows. + +Then Minerva bethought her of another matter. When she deemed that +Ulysses had had both of his wife and of repose, she bade gold-enthroned +Dawn rise out of Oceanus that she might shed light upon mankind. On +this, Ulysses rose from his comfortable bed and said to Penelope, +"Wife, we have both of us had our full share of troubles, you, here, in +lamenting my absence, and I in being prevented from getting home though +I was longing all the time to do so. Now, however, that we have at last +come together, take care of the property that is in the house. As for +the sheep and goats which the wicked suitors have eaten, I will take +many myself by force from other people, and will compel the Achaeans to +make good the rest till they shall have filled all my yards. I am now +going to the wooded lands out in the country to see my father who has +so long been grieved on my account, and to yourself I will give these +instructions, though you have little need of them. At sunrise it will +at once get abroad that I have been killing the suitors; go upstairs, +therefore, {184} and stay there with your women. See nobody and ask no +questions." {185} + +As he spoke he girded on his armour. Then he roused Telemachus, +Philoetius, and Eumaeus, and told them all to put on their armour also. +This they did, and armed themselves. When they had done so, they +opened the gates and sallied forth, Ulysses leading the way. It was now +daylight, but Minerva nevertheless concealed them in darkness and led +them quickly out of the town. + + +Book XXIV + +THE GHOSTS OF THE SUITORS IN HADES--ULYSSES AND HIS MEN GO TO THE HOUSE +OF LAERTES--THE PEOPLE OF ITHACA COME OUT TO ATTACK ULYSSES, BUT MINERVA +CONCLUDES A PEACE. + +Then Mercury of Cyllene summoned the ghosts of the suitors, and in his +hand he held the fair golden wand with which he seals men's eyes in +sleep or wakes them just as he pleases; with this he roused the ghosts +and led them, while they followed whining and gibbering behind him. As +bats fly squealing in the hollow of some great cave, when one of them +has fallen out of the cluster in which they hang, even so did the ghosts +whine and squeal as Mercury the healer of sorrow led them down into the +dark abode of death. When they had passed the waters of Oceanus and the +rock Leucas, they came to the gates of the sun and the land of dreams, +whereon they reached the meadow of asphodel where dwell the souls and +shadows of them that can labour no more. + +Here they found the ghost of Achilles son of Peleus, with those of +Patroclus, Antilochus, and Ajax, who was the finest and handsomest man +of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus himself. + +They gathered round the ghost of the son of Peleus, and the ghost of +Agamemnon joined them, sorrowing bitterly. Round him were gathered also +the ghosts of those who had perished with him in the house of Aegisthus; +and the ghost of Achilles spoke first. + +"Son of Atreus," it said, "we used to say that Jove had loved you better +from first to last than any other hero, for you were captain over many +and brave men, when we were all fighting together before Troy; yet the +hand of death, which no mortal can escape, was laid upon you all too +early. Better for you had you fallen at Troy in the hey-day of your +renown, for the Achaeans would have built a mound over your ashes, and +your son would have been heir to your good name, whereas it has now been +your lot to come to a most miserable end." + +"Happy son of Peleus," answered the ghost of Agamemnon, "for having +died at Troy far from Argos, while the bravest of the Trojans and the +Achaeans fell round you fighting for your body. There you lay in the +whirling clouds of dust, all huge and hugely, heedless now of your +chivalry. We fought the whole of the livelong day, nor should we ever +have left off if Jove had not sent a hurricane to stay us. Then, when we +had borne you to the ships out of the fray, we laid you on your bed and +cleansed your fair skin with warm water and with ointments. The Danaans +tore their hair and wept bitterly round about you. Your mother, when she +heard, came with her immortal nymphs from out of the sea, and the sound +of a great wailing went forth over the waters so that the Achaeans +quaked for fear. They would have fled panic-stricken to their ships had +not wise old Nestor whose counsel was ever truest checked them saying, +'Hold, Argives, fly not sons of the Achaeans, this is his mother coming +from the sea with her immortal nymphs to view the body of her son.' + +"Thus he spoke, and the Achaeans feared no more. The daughters of the +old man of the sea stood round you weeping bitterly, and clothed you +in immortal raiment. The nine muses also came and lifted up their sweet +voices in lament--calling and answering one another; there was not an +Argive but wept for pity of the dirge they chaunted. Days and nights +seven and ten we mourned you, mortals and immortals, but on the +eighteenth day we gave you to the flames, and many a fat sheep with many +an ox did we slay in sacrifice around you. You were burnt in raiment of +the gods, with rich resins and with honey, while heroes, horse and foot, +clashed their armour round the pile as you were burning, with the tramp +as of a great multitude. But when the flames of heaven had done +their work, we gathered your white bones at daybreak and laid them in +ointments and in pure wine. Your mother brought us a golden vase to hold +them--gift of Bacchus, and work of Vulcan himself; in this we mingled +your bleached bones with those of Patroclus who had gone before you, and +separate we enclosed also those of Antilochus, who had been closer to +you than any other of your comrades now that Patroclus was no more. + +"Over these the host of the Argives built a noble tomb, on a point +jutting out over the open Hellespont, that it might be seen from far +out upon the sea by those now living and by them that shall be born +hereafter. Your mother begged prizes from the gods, and offered them +to be contended for by the noblest of the Achaeans. You must have +been present at the funeral of many a hero, when the young men gird +themselves and make ready to contend for prizes on the death of some +great chieftain, but you never saw such prizes as silver-footed Thetis +offered in your honour; for the gods loved you well. Thus even in death +your fame, Achilles, has not been lost, and your name lives evermore +among all mankind. But as for me, what solace had I when the days of my +fighting were done? For Jove willed my destruction on my return, by the +hands of Aegisthus and those of my wicked wife." + +Thus did they converse, and presently Mercury came up to them with the +ghosts of the suitors who had been killed by Ulysses. The ghosts of +Agamemnon and Achilles were astonished at seeing them, and went up +to them at once. The ghost of Agamemnon recognised Amphimedon son of +Melaneus, who lived in Ithaca and had been his host, so it began to talk +to him. + +"Amphimedon," it said, "what has happened to all you fine young men--all +of an age too--that you are come down here under the ground? One could +pick no finer body of men from any city. Did Neptune raise his winds and +waves against you when you were at sea, or did your enemies make an end +of you on the mainland when you were cattle-lifting or sheep-stealing, +or while fighting in defence of their wives and city? Answer my +question, for I have been your guest. Do you not remember how I came to +your house with Menelaus, to persuade Ulysses to join us with his ships +against Troy? It was a whole month ere we could resume our voyage, for +we had hard work to persuade Ulysses to come with us." + +And the ghost of Amphimedon answered, "Agamemnon, son of Atreus, king of +men, I remember everything that you have said, and will tell you fully +and accurately about the way in which our end was brought about. Ulysses +had been long gone, and we were courting his wife, who did not say point +blank that she would not marry, nor yet bring matters to an end, for she +meant to compass our destruction: this, then, was the trick she played +us. She set up a great tambour frame in her room and began to work on an +enormous piece of fine needlework. 'Sweethearts,' said she, 'Ulysses +is indeed dead, still, do not press me to marry again immediately; +wait--for I would not have my skill in needlework perish +unrecorded--till I have completed a pall for the hero Laertes, against +the time when death shall take him. He is very rich, and the women of +the place will talk if he is laid out without a pall.' This is what she +said, and we assented; whereupon we could see her working upon her great +web all day long, but at night she would unpick the stitches again +by torchlight. She fooled us in this way for three years without our +finding it out, but as time wore on and she was now in her fourth year, +in the waning of moons and many days had been accomplished, one of her +maids who knew what she was doing told us, and we caught her in the act +of undoing her work, so she had to finish it whether she would or no; +and when she showed us the robe she had made, after she had had it +washed, {186} its splendour was as that of the sun or moon. + +"Then some malicious god conveyed Ulysses to the upland farm where his +swineherd lives. Thither presently came also his son, returning from +a voyage to Pylos, and the two came to the town when they had hatched +their plot for our destruction. Telemachus came first, and then after +him, accompanied by the swineherd, came Ulysses, clad in rags and +leaning on a staff as though he were some miserable old beggar. He came +so unexpectedly that none of us knew him, not even the older ones among +us, and we reviled him and threw things at him. He endured both being +struck and insulted without a word, though he was in his own house; but +when the will of Aegis-bearing Jove inspired him, he and Telemachus +took the armour and hid it in an inner chamber, bolting the doors behind +them. Then he cunningly made his wife offer his bow and a quantity +of iron to be contended for by us ill-fated suitors; and this was the +beginning of our end, for not one of us could string the bow--nor nearly +do so. When it was about to reach the hands of Ulysses, we all of us +shouted out that it should not be given him, no matter what he might +say, but Telemachus insisted on his having it. When he had got it in his +hands he strung it with ease and sent his arrow through the iron. Then +he stood on the floor of the cloister and poured his arrows on the +ground, glaring fiercely about him. First he killed Antinous, and then, +aiming straight before him, he let fly his deadly darts and they fell +thick on one another. It was plain that some one of the gods was +helping them, for they fell upon us with might and main throughout the +cloisters, and there was a hideous sound of groaning as our brains +were being battered in, and the ground seethed with our blood. This, +Agamemnon, is how we came by our end, and our bodies are lying still +uncared for in the house of Ulysses, for our friends at home do not +yet know what has happened, so that they cannot lay us out and wash +the black blood from our wounds, making moan over us according to the +offices due to the departed." + +"Happy Ulysses, son of Laertes," replied the ghost of Agamemnon, "you +are indeed blessed in the possession of a wife endowed with such rare +excellence of understanding, and so faithful to her wedded lord as +Penelope the daughter of Icarius. The fame, therefore, of her virtue +shall never die, and the immortals shall compose a song that shall be +welcome to all mankind in honour of the constancy of Penelope. How far +otherwise was the wickedness of the daughter of Tyndareus who killed her +lawful husband; her song shall be hateful among men, for she has brought +disgrace on all womankind even on the good ones." + +Thus did they converse in the house of Hades deep down within the bowels +of the earth. Meanwhile Ulysses and the others passed out of the town +and soon reached the fair and well-tilled farm of Laertes, which he +had reclaimed with infinite labour. Here was his house, with a lean-to +running all round it, where the slaves who worked for him slept and sat +and ate, while inside the house there was an old Sicel woman, who looked +after him in this his country-farm. When Ulysses got there, he said to +his son and to the other two: + +"Go to the house, and kill the best pig that you can find for dinner. +Meanwhile I want to see whether my father will know me, or fail to +recognise me after so long an absence." + +He then took off his armour and gave it to Eumaeus and Philoetius, who +went straight on to the house, while he turned off into the vineyard to +make trial of his father. As he went down into the great orchard, he did +not see Dolius, nor any of his sons nor of the other bondsmen, for they +were all gathering thorns to make a fence for the vineyard, at the place +where the old man had told them; he therefore found his father alone, +hoeing a vine. He had on a dirty old shirt, patched and very shabby; +his legs were bound round with thongs of oxhide to save him from the +brambles, and he also wore sleeves of leather; he had a goat skin cap on +his head, and was looking very woe-begone. When Ulysses saw him so worn, +so old and full of sorrow, he stood still under a tall pear tree and +began to weep. He doubted whether to embrace him, kiss him, and tell him +all about his having come home, or whether he should first question him +and see what he would say. In the end he deemed it best to be crafty +with him, so in this mind he went up to his father, who was bending down +and digging about a plant. + +"I see, sir," said Ulysses, "that you are an excellent gardener--what +pains you take with it, to be sure. There is not a single plant, not a +fig tree, vine, olive, pear, nor flower bed, but bears the trace of your +attention. I trust, however, that you will not be offended if I say +that you take better care of your garden than of yourself. You are old, +unsavoury, and very meanly clad. It cannot be because you are idle that +your master takes such poor care of you, indeed your face and figure +have nothing of the slave about them, and proclaim you of noble birth. +I should have said that you were one of those who should wash well, eat +well, and lie soft at night as old men have a right to do; but tell me, +and tell me true, whose bondman are you, and in whose garden are you +working? Tell me also about another matter. Is this place that I have +come to really Ithaca? I met a man just now who said so, but he was a +dull fellow, and had not the patience to hear my story out when I was +asking him about an old friend of mine, whether he was still living, or +was already dead and in the house of Hades. Believe me when I tell you +that this man came to my house once when I was in my own country and +never yet did any stranger come to me whom I liked better. He said that +his family came from Ithaca and that his father was Laertes, son of +Arceisius. I received him hospitably, making him welcome to all the +abundance of my house, and when he went away I gave him all customary +presents. I gave him seven talents of fine gold, and a cup of solid +silver with flowers chased upon it. I gave him twelve light cloaks, +and as many pieces of tapestry; I also gave him twelve cloaks of single +fold, twelve rugs, twelve fair mantles, and an equal number of shirts. +To all this I added four good looking women skilled in all useful arts, +and I let him take his choice." + +His father shed tears and answered, "Sir, you have indeed come to the +country that you have named, but it is fallen into the hands of wicked +people. All this wealth of presents has been given to no purpose. If +you could have found your friend here alive in Ithaca, he would have +entertained you hospitably and would have requited your presents amply +when you left him--as would have been only right considering what you +had already given him. But tell me, and tell me true, how many years is +it since you entertained this guest--my unhappy son, as ever was? Alas! +He has perished far from his own country; the fishes of the sea have +eaten him, or he has fallen a prey to the birds and wild beasts of some +continent. Neither his mother, nor I his father, who were his parents, +could throw our arms about him and wrap him in his shroud, nor could +his excellent and richly dowered wife Penelope bewail her husband as was +natural upon his death bed, and close his eyes according to the offices +due to the departed. But now, tell me truly for I want to know. Who +and whence are you--tell me of your town and parents? Where is the +ship lying that has brought you and your men to Ithaca? Or were you a +passenger on some other man's ship, and those who brought you here have +gone on their way and left you?" + +"I will tell you everything," answered Ulysses, "quite truly. I come +from Alybas, where I have a fine house. I am son of king Apheidas, who +is the son of Polypemon. My own name is Eperitus; heaven drove me off my +course as I was leaving Sicania, and I have been carried here against +my will. As for my ship it is lying over yonder, off the open country +outside the town, and this is the fifth year since Ulysses left my +country. Poor fellow, yet the omens were good for him when he left me. +The birds all flew on our right hands, and both he and I rejoiced to +see them as we parted, for we had every hope that we should have another +friendly meeting and exchange presents." + +A dark cloud of sorrow fell upon Laertes as he listened. He filled both +hands with the dust from off the ground and poured it over his grey +head, groaning heavily as he did so. The heart of Ulysses was touched, +and his nostrils quivered as he looked upon his father; then he sprang +towards him, flung his arms about him and kissed him, saying, "I am he, +father, about whom you are asking--I have returned after having been +away for twenty years. But cease your sighing and lamentation--we have +no time to lose, for I should tell you that I have been killing the +suitors in my house, to punish them for their insolence and crimes." + +"If you really are my son Ulysses," replied Laertes, "and have come back +again, you must give me such manifest proof of your identity as shall +convince me." + +"First observe this scar," answered Ulysses, "which I got from a boar's +tusk when I was hunting on Mt. Parnassus. You and my mother had sent me +to Autolycus, my mother's father, to receive the presents which when he +was over here he had promised to give me. Furthermore I will point out +to you the trees in the vineyard which you gave me, and I asked you all +about them as I followed you round the garden. We went over them all, +and you told me their names and what they all were. You gave me thirteen +pear trees, ten apple trees, and forty fig trees; you also said you +would give me fifty rows of vines; there was corn planted between each +row, and they yield grapes of every kind when the heat of heaven has +been laid heavy upon them." + +Laertes' strength failed him when he heard the convincing proofs which +his son had given him. He threw his arms about him, and Ulysses had to +support him, or he would have gone off into a swoon; but as soon as he +came to, and was beginning to recover his senses, he said, "O father +Jove, then you gods are still in Olympus after all, if the suitors have +really been punished for their insolence and folly. Nevertheless, I +am much afraid that I shall have all the townspeople of Ithaca up here +directly, and they will be sending messengers everywhere throughout the +cities of the Cephallenians." + +Ulysses answered, "Take heart and do not trouble yourself about that, +but let us go into the house hard by your garden. I have already told +Telemachus, Philoetius, and Eumaeus to go on there and get dinner ready +as soon as possible." + +Thus conversing the two made their way towards the house. When they got +there they found Telemachus with the stockman and the swineherd cutting +up meat and mixing wine with water. Then the old Sicel woman took +Laertes inside and washed him and anointed him with oil. She put him on +a good cloak, and Minerva came up to him and gave him a more imposing +presence, making him taller and stouter than before. When he came back +his son was surprised to see him looking so like an immortal, and said +to him, "My dear father, some one of the gods has been making you much +taller and better-looking." + +Laertes answered, "Would, by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, that +I were the man I was when I ruled among the Cephallenians, and took +Nericum, that strong fortress on the foreland. If I were still what I +then was and had been in our house yesterday with my armour on, I should +have been able to stand by you and help you against the suitors. I +should have killed a great many of them, and you would have rejoiced to +see it." + +Thus did they converse; but the others, when they had finished their +work and the feast was ready, left off working, and took each his proper +place on the benches and seats. Then they began eating; by and by old +Dolius and his sons left their work and came up, for their mother, the +Sicel woman who looked after Laertes now that he was growing old, had +been to fetch them. When they saw Ulysses and were certain it was he, +they stood there lost in astonishment; but Ulysses scolded them good +naturedly and said, "Sit down to your dinner, old man, and never mind +about your surprise; we have been wanting to begin for some time and +have been waiting for you." + +Then Dolius put out both his hands and went up to Ulysses. "Sir," said +he, seizing his master's hand and kissing it at the wrist, "we have long +been wishing you home: and now heaven has restored you to us after we +had given up hoping. All hail, therefore, and may the gods prosper you. +{187} But tell me, does Penelope already know of your return, or shall +we send some one to tell her?" + +"Old man," answered Ulysses, "she knows already, so you need not trouble +about that." On this he took his seat, and the sons of Dolius gathered +round Ulysses to give him greeting and embrace him one after the other; +then they took their seats in due order near Dolius their father. + +While they were thus busy getting their dinner ready, Rumour went round +the town, and noised abroad the terrible fate that had befallen the +suitors; as soon, therefore, as the people heard of it they gathered +from every quarter, groaning and hooting before the house of Ulysses. +They took the dead away, buried every man his own, and put the bodies +of those who came from elsewhere on board the fishing vessels, for the +fishermen to take each of them to his own place. They then met angrily +in the place of assembly, and when they were got together Eupeithes +rose to speak. He was overwhelmed with grief for the death of his son +Antinous, who had been the first man killed by Ulysses, so he said, +weeping bitterly, "My friends, this man has done the Achaeans great +wrong. He took many of our best men away with him in his fleet, and he +has lost both ships and men; now, moreover, on his return he has been +killing all the foremost men among the Cephallenians. Let us be up and +doing before he can get away to Pylos or to Elis where the Epeans rule, +or we shall be ashamed of ourselves for ever afterwards. It will be an +everlasting disgrace to us if we do not avenge the murder of our sons +and brothers. For my own part I should have no more pleasure in life, +but had rather die at once. Let us be up, then, and after them, before +they can cross over to the main land." + +He wept as he spoke and every one pitied him. But Medon and the bard +Phemius had now woke up, and came to them from the house of Ulysses. +Every one was astonished at seeing them, but they stood in the middle of +the assembly, and Medon said, "Hear me, men of Ithaca. Ulysses did not +do these things against the will of heaven. I myself saw an immortal god +take the form of Mentor and stand beside him. This god appeared, now in +front of him encouraging him, and now going furiously about the court +and attacking the suitors whereon they fell thick on one another." + +On this pale fear laid hold of them, and old Halitherses, son of Mastor, +rose to speak, for he was the only man among them who knew both past and +future; so he spoke to them plainly and in all honesty, saying, + +"Men of Ithaca, it is all your own fault that things have turned out as +they have; you would not listen to me, nor yet to Mentor, when we +bade you check the folly of your sons who were doing much wrong in the +wantonness of their hearts--wasting the substance and dishonouring the +wife of a chieftain who they thought would not return. Now, however, let +it be as I say, and do as I tell you. Do not go out against Ulysses, or +you may find that you have been drawing down evil on your own heads." + +This was what he said, and more than half raised a loud shout, and at +once left the assembly. But the rest stayed where they were, for the +speech of Halitherses displeased them, and they sided with Eupeithes; +they therefore hurried off for their armour, and when they had armed +themselves, they met together in front of the city, and Eupeithes led +them on in their folly. He thought he was going to avenge the murder +of his son, whereas in truth he was never to return, but was himself to +perish in his attempt. + +Then Minerva said to Jove, "Father, son of Saturn, king of kings, answer +me this question--What do you propose to do? Will you set them fighting +still further, or will you make peace between them?" + +And Jove answered, "My child, why should you ask me? Was it not by your +own arrangement that Ulysses came home and took his revenge upon the +suitors? Do whatever you like, but I will tell you what I think will +be most reasonable arrangement. Now that Ulysses is revenged, let them +swear to a solemn covenant, in virtue of which he shall continue to +rule, while we cause the others to forgive and forget the massacre of +their sons and brothers. Let them then all become friends as heretofore, +and let peace and plenty reign." + +This was what Minerva was already eager to bring about, so down she +darted from off the topmost summits of Olympus. + +Now when Laertes and the others had done dinner, Ulysses began by +saying, "Some of you go out and see if they are not getting close up +to us." So one of Dolius's sons went as he was bid. Standing on the +threshold he could see them all quite near, and said to Ulysses, "Here +they are, let us put on our armour at once." + +They put on their armour as fast as they could--that is to say Ulysses, +his three men, and the six sons of Dolius. Laertes also and Dolius did +the same--warriors by necessity in spite of their grey hair. When they +had all put on their armour, they opened the gate and sallied forth, +Ulysses leading the way. + +Then Jove's daughter Minerva came up to them, having assumed the form +and voice of Mentor. Ulysses was glad when he saw her, and said to +his son Telemachus, "Telemachus, now that you are about to fight in an +engagement, which will show every man's mettle, be sure not to disgrace +your ancestors, who were eminent for their strength and courage all the +world over." + +"You say truly, my dear father," answered Telemachus, "and you shall +see, if you will, that I am in no mind to disgrace your family." + +Laertes was delighted when he heard this. "Good heavens," he exclaimed, +"what a day I am enjoying: I do indeed rejoice at it. My son and +grandson are vying with one another in the matter of valour." + +On this Minerva came close up to him and said, "Son of Arceisius---best +friend I have in the world--pray to the blue-eyed damsel, and to Jove +her father; then poise your spear and hurl it." + +As she spoke she infused fresh vigour into him, and when he had prayed +to her he poised his spear and hurled it. He hit Eupeithes' helmet, and +the spear went right through it, for the helmet stayed it not, and +his armour rang rattling round him as he fell heavily to the ground. +Meantime Ulysses and his son fell upon the front line of the foe and +smote them with their swords and spears; indeed, they would have killed +every one of them, and prevented them from ever getting home again, +only Minerva raised her voice aloud, and made every one pause. "Men of +Ithaca," she cried, "cease this dreadful war, and settle the matter at +once without further bloodshed." + +On this pale fear seized every one; they were so frightened that their +arms dropped from their hands and fell upon the ground at the sound of +the goddess' voice, and they fled back to the city for their lives. But +Ulysses gave a great cry, and gathering himself together swooped down +like a soaring eagle. Then the son of Saturn sent a thunderbolt of fire +that fell just in front of Minerva, so she said to Ulysses, "Ulysses, +noble son of Laertes, stop this warful strife, or Jove will be angry +with you." + +Thus spoke Minerva, and Ulysses obeyed her gladly. Then Minerva assumed +the form and voice of Mentor, and presently made a covenant of peace +between the two contending parties. + + + + FOOTNOTES + +{1} Black races are evidently known to the writer as stretching all +across Africa, one half looking West on to the Atlantic, and the other +East on to the Indian Ocean. + +{2} The original use of the footstool was probably less to rest the feet +than to keep them (especially when bare) from a floor which was often +wet and dirty. + +{3} The [Greek] or seat, is occasionally called "high," as being higher +than the [Greek] or low footstool. It was probably no higher than an +ordinary chair is now, and seems to have had no back. + +{4} Temesa was on the West Coast of the toe of Italy, in what is now the +gulf of Sta Eufemia. It was famous in remote times for its copper mines, +which, however, were worked out when Strabo wrote. + +{5} i.e. "with a current in it"--see illustrations and map near the end +of bks. v. and vi. respectively. + +{6} Reading [Greek] for [Greek], cf. "Od." iii. 81 where the same +mistake is made, and xiii. 351 where the mountain is called Neritum, the +same place being intended both here and in book xiii. + +{7} It is never plausibly explained why Penelope cannot do this, and +from bk. ii. it is clear that she kept on deliberately encouraging the +suitors, though we are asked to believe that she was only fooling them. + +{8} See note on "Od." i. 365. + +{9} Middle Argos means the Peleponnese which, however, is never so +called in the "Iliad". I presume "middle" means "middle between the two +Greek-speaking countries of Asia Minor and Sicily, with South Italy"; +for that parts of Sicily and also large parts, though not the whole of +South Italy, were inhabited by Greek-speaking races centuries before the +Dorian colonisations can hardly be doubted. The Sicians, and also the +Sicels, both of them probably spoke Greek. + +{10} cf. "Il." vi. 490-495. In the "Iliad" it is "war," not "speech," +that is a man's matter. It argues a certain hardness, or at any rate +dislike of the "Iliad" on the part of the writer of the "Odyssey," +that she should have adopted Hector's farewell to Andromache here, as +elsewhere in the poem, for a scene of such inferior pathos. + +{11} [Greek] The whole open court with the covered cloister running +round it was called [Greek], or [Greek], but the covered part was +distinguished by being called "shady" or "shadow-giving". It was in this +part that the tables for the suitors were laid. The Fountain Court at +Hampton Court may serve as an illustration (save as regards the use of +arches instead of wooden supports and rafters) and the arrangement +is still common in Sicily. The usual translation "shadowy" or "dusky" +halls, gives a false idea of the scene. + +{12} The reader will note the extreme care which the writer takes to +make it clear that none of the suitors were allowed to sleep in Ulysses' +house. + +{13} See Appendix; g, in plan of Ulysses' house. + +{14} I imagine this passage to be a rejoinder to "Il." xxiii. 702-705 in +which a tripod is valued at twelve oxen, and a good useful maid of +all work at only four. The scrupulous regard of Laertes for his wife's +feelings is of a piece with the extreme jealousy for the honour of +woman, which is manifest throughout the "Odyssey". + +{15} [Greek] "The [Greek], or tunica, was a shirt or shift, and served +as the chief under garment of the Greeks and Romans, whether men +or women." Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, under +"Tunica". + +{16} Doors fastened to all intents and purposes as here described may be +seen in the older houses at Trapani. There is a slot on the outer side +of the door by means of which a person who has left the room can shoot +the bolt. My bedroom at the Albergo Centrale was fastened in this way. + +{17} [Greek] So we vulgarly say "had cooked his goose," or "had settled +his hash." Aegyptus cannot of course know of the fate Antiphus had met +with, for there had as yet been no news of or from Ulysses. + +{18} "Il." xxii. 416. [Greek] The authoress has bungled by borrowing +these words verbatim from the "Iliad", without prefixing the necessary +"do not," which I have supplied. + +{19} i.e. you have money, and could pay when I got judgment, whereas the +suitors are men of straw. + +{20} cf. "Il." ii. 76. [Greek]. The Odyssean passage runs [Greek]. Is +it possible not to suspect that the name Mentor was coined upon that of +Nestor? + +{21} i.e. in the outer court, and in the uncovered part of the inner +house. + +{22} This would be fair from Sicily, which was doing duty for Ithaca in +the mind of the writer, but a North wind would have been preferable for +a voyage from the real Ithaca to Pylos. + +{23} [Greek] The wind does not whistle over waves. It only whistles +through rigging or some other obstacle that cuts it. + +{24} cf. "Il." v.20. [Greek] The Odyssean line is [Greek]. There can +be no doubt that the Odyssean line was suggested by the Iliadic, but +nothing can explain why Idaeus jumping from his chariot should suggest +to the writer of the "Odyssey" the sun jumping from the sea. The +probability is that she never gave the matter a thought, but took the +line in question as an effect of saturation with the "Iliad," and of +unconscious cerebration. The "Odyssey" contains many such examples. + +{25} The heart, liver, lights, kidneys, etc. were taken out from the +inside and eaten first as being more readily cooked; the [Greek], or +bone meat, was cooking while the [Greek] or inward parts were being +eaten. I imagine that the thigh bones made a kind of gridiron, while at +the same time the marrow inside them got cooked. + +{26} i.e. skewers, either single, double, or even five pronged. The meat +would be pierced with the skewer, and laid over the ashes to grill--the +two ends of the skewer being supported in whatever way convenient. Meat +so cooking may be seen in any eating house in Smyrna, or any Eastern +town. When I rode across the Troad from the Dardanelles to Hissarlik and +Mount Ida, I noticed that my dragoman and his men did all our outdoor +cooking exactly in the Odyssean and Iliadic fashion. + +{27} cf. "Il." xvii. 567. [Greek] The Odyssean lines are--[Greek] + +{28} Reading [Greek] for [Greek], cf. "Od." i.186. + +{29} The geography of the Aegean as above described is correct, but is +probably taken from the lost poem, the Nosti, the existence of which is +referred to "Od." i.326,327 and 350, etc. A glance at the map will show +that heaven advised its supplicants quite correctly. + +{30} The writer--ever jealous for the honour of women--extenuates +Clytemnestra's guilt as far as possible, and explains it as due to her +having been left unprotected, and fallen into the hands of a wicked man. + +{31} The Greek is [Greek] cf. "Iliad" ii. 408 [Greek] Surely the [Greek] +of the Odyssean passage was due to the [Greek] of the "Iliad." No other +reason suggests itself for the making Menelaus return on the very day of +the feast given by Orestes. The fact that in the "Iliad" Menelaus came +to a banquet without waiting for an invitation, determines the writer +of the "Odyssey" to make him come to a banquet, also uninvited, but +as circumstances did not permit of his having been invited, his coming +uninvited is shown to have been due to chance. I do not think the +authoress thought all this out, but attribute the strangeness of the +coincidence to unconscious cerebration and saturation. + +{32} cf. "Il." i.458, ii. 421. The writer here interrupts an Iliadic +passage (to which she returns immediately) for the double purpose of +dwelling upon the slaughter of the heifer, and of letting Nestor's wife +and daughter enjoy it also. A male writer, if he was borrowing from the +"Iliad," would have stuck to his borrowing. + +{33} cf. "Il." xxiv. 587,588 where the lines refer to the washing the +dead body of Hector. + +{34} See illustration on opposite page. The yard is typical of many that +may be seen in Sicily. The existing ground-plan is probably unmodified +from Odyssean, and indeed long pre-Odyssean times, but the earlier +buildings would have no arches, and would, one would suppose, be mainly +timber. The Odyssean [Greek] were the sheds that ran round the yard +as the arches do now. The [Greek] was the one through which the main +entrance passed, and which was hence "noisy," or reverberating. It had +an upper story in which visitors were often lodged. + +{35} This journey is an impossible one. Telemachus and Pisistratus would +have been obliged to drive over the Taygetus range, over which there has +never yet been a road for wheeled vehicles. It is plain therefore that +the audience for whom the "Odyssey" was written was one that would be +unlikely to know anything about the topography of the Peloponnese, so +that the writer might take what liberties she chose. + +{36} The lines which I have enclosed in brackets are evidently an +afterthought--added probably by the writer herself--for they evince +the same instinctively greater interest in anything that may concern a +woman, which is so noticeable throughout the poem. There is no further +sign of any special festivities nor of any other guests than Telemachus +and Pisistratus, until lines 621-624 (ordinarily enclosed in brackets) +are abruptly introduced, probably with a view of trying to carry off the +introduction of the lines now in question. + +The addition was, I imagine, suggested by a desire to excuse and explain +the non-appearance of Hermione in bk. xv., as also of both Hermione and +Megapenthes in the rest of bk. iv. Megapenthes in bk. xv. seems to be +still a bachelor: the presumption therefore is that bk. xv. was written +before the story of his marriage here given. I take it he is only +married here because his sister is being married. She having been +properly attended to, Megapenthes might as well be married at the same +time. Hermione could not now be less than thirty. + +I have dealt with this passage somewhat more fully in my "Authoress of +the Odyssey", p.136-138. See also p. 256 of the same book. + +{37} Sparta and Lacedaemon are here treated as two different places, +though in other parts of the poem it is clear that the writer +understands them as one. The catalogue in the "Iliad," which the writer +is here presumably following, makes the same mistake ("Il." ii. 581,582) + +{38} These last three lines are identical with "Il." vxiii. 604-606. + +{39} From the Greek [Greek] it is plain that Menelaus took up the piece +of meat with his fingers. + +{40} Amber is never mentioned in the "Iliad." Sicily, where I suppose +the "Odyssey" to have been written, has always been, and still is, one +of the principal amber producing countries. It was probably the only one +known in the Odyssean age. See "The Authoress of the Odyssey", p260. + +{41} This no doubt refers to the story told in the last poem of the +Cypria about Paris and Helen robbing Menelaus of the greater part of his +treasures, when they sailed together for Troy. + +{42} It is inconceivable that Helen should enter thus, in the middle of +supper, intending to work with her distaff, if great festivities were +going on. Telemachus and Pisistratus are evidently dining en famille. + +{43} In the Italian insurrection of 1848, eight young men who were being +hotly pursued by the Austrian police hid themselves inside Donatello's +colossal wooden horse in the Salone at Padua, and remained there for +a week being fed by their confederates. In 1898 the last survivor was +carried round Padua in triumph. + +{44} The Greek is [Greek]. Is it unfair to argue that the writer is a +person of somewhat delicate sensibility, to whom a strong smell of fish +is distasteful? + +{45} The Greek is [Greek]. I believe this to be a hit at the writer's +own countrymen who were of Phocaean descent, and the next following line +to be a rejoinder to complaints made against her in bk. vi. 273-288, to +the effect that she gave herself airs and would marry none of her own +people. For that the writer of the "Odyssey" was the person who has +been introduced into the poem under the name of Nausicaa, I cannot bring +myself to question. I may remind English readers that [Greek] (i.e. +phoca) means "seal." Seals almost always appear on Phocaean coins. + +{46} Surely here again we are in the hands of a writer of delicate +sensibility. It is not as though the seals were stale; they had only +just been killed. The writer, however is obviously laughing at her own +countrymen, and insulting them as openly as she dares. + +{47} We were told above (lines 357,357) that it was only one day's sail. + +{48} I give the usual translation, but I do not believe the Greek will +warrant it. The Greek reads [Greek]. + +This is usually held to mean that Ithaca is an island fit for breeding +goats, and on that account more delectable to the speaker than it would +have been if it were fit for breeding horses. I find little authority +for such a translation; the most equitable translation of the text as it +stands is, "Ithaca is an island fit for breeding goats, and delectable +rather than fit for breeding horses; for not one of the islands is good +driving ground, nor well meadowed." Surely the writer does not mean that +a pleasant or delectable island would not be fit for breeding horses? +The most equitable translation, therefore, of the present text being +thus halt and impotent, we may suspect corruption, and I hazard the +following emendation, though I have not adopted it in my translation, as +fearing that it would be deemed too fanciful. I would read:--[Greek]. + +As far as scanning goes the [Greek] is not necessary; [Greek] iv. 72, +[Greek] iv. 233, to go no further afield than earlier lines of the same +book, give sufficient authority for [Greek], but the [Greek] would not +be redundant; it would emphasise the surprise of the contrast, and I +should prefer to have it, though it is not very important either way. +This reading of course should be translated "Ithaca is an island fit for +breeding goats, and (by your leave) itself a horseman rather than +fit for breeding horses--for not one of the islands is good and well +meadowed ground." + +This would be sure to baffle the Alexandrian editors. "How," they would +ask themselves, "could an island be a horseman?" and they would cast +about for an emendation. A visit to the top of Mt. Eryx might perhaps +make the meaning intelligible, and suggest my proposed restoration of +the text to the reader as readily as it did to myself. + +I have elsewhere stated my conviction that the writer of the "Odyssey" +was familiar with the old Sican city at the top of Mt. Eryx, and that +the Aegadean islands which are so striking when seen thence did duty +with her for the Ionian islands--Marettimo, the highest and most +westerly of the group, standing for Ithaca. When seen from the top of +Mt. Eryx Marettimo shows as it should do according to "Od." ix. 25,26, +"on the horizon, all highest up in the sea towards the West," while +the other islands lie "some way off it to the East." As we descend +to Trapani, Marettimo appears to sink on to the top of the island of +Levanzo, behind which it disappears. My friend, the late Signor E. +Biaggini, pointed to it once as it was just standing on the top of +Levanzo, and said to me "Come cavalca bene" ("How well it rides"), and +this immediately suggested my emendation to me. Later on I found in +the hymn to the Pythian Apollo (which abounds with tags taken from the +"Odyssey") a line ending [Greek] which strengthened my suspicion that +this was the original ending of the second of the two lines above under +consideration. + +{49} See note on line 3 of this book. The reader will observe that +the writer has been unable to keep the women out of an interpolation +consisting only of four lines. + +{50} Scheria means a piece of land jutting out into the sea. In my +"Authoress of the Odyssey" I thought "Jutland" would be a suitable +translation, but it has been pointed out to me that "Jutland" only means +the land of the Jutes. + +{51} Irrigation as here described is common in gardens near Trapani. The +water that supplies the ducts is drawn from wells by a mule who turns a +wheel with buckets on it. + +{52} There is not a word here about the cattle of the sun-god. + +{53} The writer evidently thought that green, growing wood might also be +well seasoned. + +{54} The reader will note that the river was flowing with salt water +i.e. that it was tidal. + +{55} Then the Ogygian island was not so far off, but that Nausicaa might +be assumed to know where it was. + +{56} Greek [Greek] + +{57} I suspect a family joke, or sly allusion to some thing of which +we know nothing, in this story of Eurymedusa's having been brought from +Apeira. The Greek word "apeiros" means "inexperienced," "ignorant." Is +it possible that Eurymedusa was notoriously incompetent? + +{58} Polyphemus was also son to Neptune, see "Od." ix. 412,529. he was +therefore half brother to Nausithous, half uncle to King Alcinous, and +half great uncle to Nausicaa. + +{59} It would seem as though the writer thought that Marathon was close +to Athens. + +{60} Here the writer, knowing that she is drawing (with embellishments) +from things actually existing, becomes impatient of past tenses and +slides into the present. + +{61} This is hidden malice, implying that the Phaeacian magnates were +no better than they should be. The final drink-offering should have been +made to Jove or Neptune, not to the god of thievishness and rascality +of all kinds. In line 164 we do indeed find Echeneus proposing that +a drink-offering should be made to Jove, but Mercury is evidently, +according to our authoress, the god who was most likely to be of use to +them. + +{62} The fact of Alcinous knowing anything about the Cyclopes suggests +that in the writer's mind Scheria and the country of the Cyclopes were +not very far from one another. I take the Cyclopes and the giants to be +one and the same people. + +{63} "My property, etc." The authoress is here adopting an Iliadic line +(xix. 333), and this must account for the absence of all reference +to Penelope. If she had happened to remember "Il." v.213, she would +doubtless have appropriated it by preference, for that line reads "my +country, my wife, and all the greatness of my house." + +{64} The at first inexplicable sleep of Ulysses (bk. xiii. 79, etc.) +is here, as also in viii. 445, being obviously prepared. The writer +evidently attached the utmost importance to it. Those who know that the +harbour which did duty with the writer of the "Odyssey" for the one in +which Ulysses landed in Ithaca, was only about 2 miles from the place +in which Ulysses is now talking with Alcinous, will understand why the +sleep was so necessary. + +{65} There were two classes--the lower who were found in provisions +which they had to cook for themselves in the yards and outer precincts, +where they would also eat--and the upper who would eat in the cloisters +of the inner court, and have their cooking done for them. + +{66} Translation very dubious. I suppose the [Greek] here to be the +covered sheds that ran round the outer courtyard. See illustrations at +the end of bk. iii. + +{67} The writer apparently deems that the words "as compared with what +oxen can plough in the same time" go without saying. Not so the writer +of the "Iliad" from which the Odyssean passage is probably taken. He +explains that mules can plough quicker than oxen ("Il." x.351-353) + +{68} It was very fortunate that such a disc happened to be there, seeing +that none like it were in common use. + +{69} "Il." xiii. 37. Here, as so often elsewhere in the "Odyssey," the +appropriation of an Iliadic line which is not quite appropriate puzzles +the reader. The "they" is not the chains, nor yet Mars and Venus. It is +an overflow from the Iliadic passage in which Neptune hobbles his horses +in bonds "which none could either unloose or break so that they might +stay there in that place." If the line would have scanned without the +addition of the words "so that they might stay there in that place," +they would have been omitted in the "Odyssey." + +{70} The reader will note that Alcinous never goes beyond saying that +he is going to give the goblet; he never gives it. Elsewhere in both +"Iliad" and "Odyssey" the offer of a present is immediately followed by +the statement that it was given and received gladly--Alcinous actually +does give a chest and a cloak and shirt--probably also some of the corn +and wine for the long two-mile voyage was provided by him--but it is +quite plain that he gave no talent and no cup. + +{71} "Il." xviii, 344-349. These lines in the "Iliad" tell of the +preparation for washing the body of Patroclus, and I am not pleased that +the writer of the "Odyssey" should have adopted them here. + +{72} see note {64} + +{73} see note {43} + +{74} The reader will find this threat fulfilled in bk. xiii + +{75} If the other islands lay some distance away from Ithaca (which +the word [Greek] suggests), what becomes of the [Greek] or gut between +Ithaca and Samos which we hear of in Bks. iv. and xv.? I suspect that +the authoress in her mind makes Telemachus come back from Pylos to the +Lilybaean promontory and thence to Trapani through the strait between +the Isola Grande and the mainland--the island of Asteria being the one +on which Motya afterwards stood. + +{76} "Il." xviii. 533-534. The sudden lapse into the third person here +for a couple of lines is due to the fact that the two Iliadic lines +taken are in the third person. + +{77} cf. "Il." ii. 776. The words in both "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are +[Greek]. In the "Iliad" they are used of the horses of Achilles' +followers as they stood idle, "champing lotus." + +{78} I take all this passage about the Cyclopes having no ships to +be sarcastic--meaning, "You people of Drepanum have no excuse for not +colonising the island of Favognana, which you could easily do, for you +have plenty of ships, and the island is a very good one." For that +the island so fully described here is the Aegadean or "goat" island of +Favognana, and that the Cyclopes are the old Sican inhabitants of Mt. +Eryx should not be doubted. + +{79} For the reasons why it was necessary that the night should be so +exceptionally dark see "The Authoress of the Odyssey" pp. 188-189. + +{80} None but such lambs as would suck if they were with their mothers +would be left in the yard. The older lambs should have been out feeding. +The authoress has got it all wrong, but it does not matter. See "The +Authoress of the Odyssey" p.148. + +{81} This line is enclosed in brackets in the received text, and is +omitted (with note) by Messrs. Butcher & Lang. But lines enclosed in +brackets are almost always genuine; all that brackets mean is that the +bracketed passage puzzled some early editor, who nevertheless found +it too well established in the text to venture on omitting it. In the +present case the line bracketed is the very last which a full-grown male +editor would be likely to interpolate. It is safer to infer that the +writer, a young woman, not knowing or caring at which end of the ship +the rudder should be, determined to make sure by placing it at both +ends, which we shall find she presently does by repeating it (line 340) +at the stern of the ship. As for the two rocks thrown, the first I take +to be the Asinelli, see map facing p.80. The second I see as the two +contiguous islands of the Formiche, which are treated as one, see map +facing p.108. The Asinelli is an island shaped like a boat, and pointing +to the island of Favognana. I think the authoress's compatriots, who +probably did not like her much better that she did them, jeered at the +absurdity of Ulysses' conduct, and saw the Asinelli or "donkeys," not as +the rock thrown by Polyphemus, but as the boat itself containing Ulysses +and his men. + +{82} This line exists in the text here but not in the corresponding +passage xii. 141. I am inclined to think it is interpolated (probably +by the poetess herself) from the first of lines xi. 115-137, which I can +hardly doubt were added by the writer when the scheme of the work was +enlarged and altered. See "The Authoress of the Odyssey" pp. 254-255. + +{83} "Floating" ([Greek]) is not to be taken literally. The island +itself, as apart from its inhabitants, was quite normal. There is no +indication of its moving during the month that Ulysses stayed with +Aeolus, and on his return from his unfortunate voyage, he seems to +have found it in the same place. The [Greek] in fact should no more be +pressed than [Greek] as applied to islands, "Odyssey" xv. 299--where +they are called "flying" because the ship would fly past them. So also +the "Wanderers," as explained by Buttmann; see note on "Odyssey" xii. +57. + +{84} Literally "for the ways of the night and of the day are near." I +have seen what Mr. Andrew Lang says ("Homer and the Epic," p.236, and +"Longman's Magazine" for January, 1898, p.277) about the "amber route" +and the "Sacred Way" in this connection; but until he gives his grounds +for holding that the Mediterranean peoples in the Odyssean age used to +go far North for their amber instead of getting it in Sicily, where it +is still found in considerable quantities, I do not know what weight I +ought to attach to his opinion. I have been unable to find grounds +for asserting that B.C. 1000 there was any commerce between the +Mediterranean and the "Far North," but I shall be very ready to learn +if Mr. Lang will enlighten me. See "The Authoress of the Odyssey" pp. +185-186. + +{85} One would have thought that when the sun was driving the stag down +to the water, Ulysses might have observed its whereabouts. + +{86} See Hobbes of Malmesbury's translation. + +{87} "Il." vxiii. 349. Again the writer draws from the washing the body +of Patroclus--which offends. + +{88} This visit is wholly without topographical significance. + +{89} Brides presented themselves instinctively to the imagination of the +writer, as the phase of humanity which she found most interesting. + +{90} Ulysses was, in fact, to become a missionary and preach Neptune to +people who knew not his name. I was fortunate enough to meet in Sicily +a woman carrying one of these winnowing shovels; it was not much shorter +than an oar, and I was able at once to see what the writer of the +"Odyssey" intended. + +{91} I suppose the lines I have enclosed in brackets to have been added +by the author when she enlarged her original scheme by the addition of +books i.-iv. and xiii. (from line 187)-xxiv. The reader will observe +that in the corresponding passage (xii. 137-141) the prophecy ends with +"after losing all your comrades," and that there is no allusion to the +suitors. For fuller explanation see "The Authoress of the Odyssey" pp. +254-255. + +{92} The reader will remember that we are in the first year of Ulysses' +wanderings, Telemachus therefore was only eleven years old. The same +anachronism is made later on in this book. See "The Authoress of the +Odyssey" pp. 132-133. + +{93} Tradition says that she had hanged herself. Cf. "Odyssey" xv. 355, +etc. + +{94} Not to be confounded with Aeolus king of the winds. + +{95} Melampus, vide book xv. 223, etc. + +{96} I have already said in a note on bk. xi. 186 that at this point of +Ulysses' voyage Telemachus could only be between eleven and twelve years +old. + +{97} Is the writer a man or a woman? + +{98} Cf. "Il." iv. 521, [Greek]. The Odyssean line reads, [Greek]. The +famous dactylism, therefore, of the Odyssean line was probably suggested +by that of the Ileadic rather than by a desire to accommodate sound to +sense. At any rate the double coincidence of a dactylic line, and an +ending [Greek], seems conclusive as to the familiarity of the writer of +the "Odyssey" with the Iliadic line. + +{99} Off the coast of Sicily and South Italy, in the month of May, I +have seen men fastened half way up a boat's mast with their feet resting +on a crosspiece, just large enough to support them. From this point +of vantage they spear sword-fish. When I saw men thus employed I could +hardly doubt that the writer of the "Odyssey" had seen others like them, +and had them in her mind when describing the binding of Ulysses. I have +therefore with some diffidence ventured to depart from the received +translation of [Greek] (cf. Alcaeus frag. 18, where, however, it is +very hard to say what [Greek] means). In Sophocles' Lexicon I find a +reference to Chrysostom (l, 242, A. Ed. Benedictine Paris 1834-1839) +for the word [Greek], which is probably the same as [Greek], but I have +looked for the passage in vain. + +{100} The writer is at fault here and tries to put it off on Circe. When +Ulysses comes to take the route prescribed by Circe, he ought to pass +either the Wanderers or some other difficulty of which we are not told, +but he does not do so. The Planctae, or Wanderers, merge into Scylla and +Charybdis, and the alternative between them and something untold +merges into the alternative whether Ulysses had better choose Scylla or +Charybdis. Yet from line 260, it seems we are to consider the Wanderers +as having been passed by Ulysses; this appears even more plainly from +xxiii. 327, in which Ulysses expressly mentions the Wandering rocks as +having been between the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis. The writer, +however, is evidently unaware that she does not quite understand her own +story; her difficulty was perhaps due to the fact that though Trapanese +sailors had given her a fair idea as to where all her other localities +really were, no one in those days more than in our own could localise +the Planctae, which in fact, as Buttmann has argued, were derived not +from any particular spot, but from sailors' tales about the difficulties +of navigating the group of the Aeolian islands as a whole (see note on +"Od." x. 3). Still the matter of the poor doves caught her fancy, so she +would not forgo them. The whirlwinds of fire and the smoke that hangs on +Scylla suggests allusion to Stromboli and perhaps even Etna. Scylla is +on the Italian side, and therefore may be said to look West. It is about +8 miles thence to the Sicilian coast, so Ulysses may be perfectly well +told that after passing Scylla he will come to the Thrinacian island or +Sicily. Charybdis is transposed to a site some few miles to the north of +its actual position. + +{101} I suppose this line to have been intercalated by the author when +lines 426-446 were added. + +{102} For the reasons which enable us to identify the island of the two +Sirens with the Lipari island now Salinas--the ancient Didyme, or "twin" +island--see The Authoress of the Odyssey, pp. 195, 196. The two +Sirens doubtless were, as their name suggests, the whistling gusts, or +avalanches of air that at times descend without a moment's warning from +the two lofty mountains of Salinas--as also from all high points in the +neighbourhood. + +{103} See Admiral Smyth on the currents in the Straits of Messina, +quoted in "The Authoress of the Odyssey," p. 197. + +{104} In the islands of Favognana and Marettimo off Trapani I have seen +men fish exactly as here described. They chew bread into a paste and +throw it into the sea to attract the fish, which they then spear. No +line is used. + +{105} The writer evidently regards Ulysses as on a coast that looked +East at no great distance south of the Straits of Messina somewhere, +say, near Tauromenium, now Taormina. + +{106} Surely there must be a line missing here to tell us that the keel +and mast were carried down into Charybdis. Besides, the aorist [Greek] +in its present surrounding is perplexing. I have translated it as though +it were an imperfect; I see Messrs. Butcher and Lang translate it as +a pluperfect, but surely Charybdis was in the act of sucking down the +water when Ulysses arrived. + +{107} I suppose the passage within brackets to have been an afterthought +but to have been written by the same hand as the rest of the poem. I +suppose xii. 103 to have been also added by the writer when she decided +on sending Ulysses back to Charybdis. The simile suggests the hand of +the wife or daughter of a magistrate who had often seen her father come +in cross and tired. + +{108} Gr. [Greek]. This puts coined money out of the question, but +nevertheless implies that the gold had been worked into ornaments of +some kind. + +{109} I suppose Teiresias' prophecy of bk. xi. 114-120 had made no +impression on Ulysses. More probably the prophecy was an afterthought, +intercalated, as I have already said, by the authoress when she changed +her scheme. + +{110} A male writer would have made Ulysses say, not "may you give +satisfaction to your wives," but "may your wives give satisfaction to +you." + +{111} See note {64}. + +{112} The land was in reality the shallow inlet, now the salt works of +S. Cusumano--the neighbourhood of Trapani and Mt. Eryx being made to do +double duty, both as Scheria and Ithaca. Hence the necessity for making +Ulysses set out after dark, fall instantly into a profound sleep, and +wake up on a morning so foggy that he could not see anything till the +interviews between Neptune and Jove and between Ulysses and Minerva +should have given the audience time to accept the situation. See +illustrations and map near the end of bks. v. and vi. respectively. + +{113} This cave, which is identifiable with singular completeness, is +now called the "grotta del toro," probably a corruption of "tesoro," for +it is held to contain a treasure. See The Authoress of the Odyssey, pp. +167-170. + +{114} Probably they would. + +{115} Then it had a shallow shelving bottom. + +{116} Doubtless the road would pass the harbour in Odyssean times as it +passes the salt works now; indeed, if there is to be a road at all there +is no other level ground which it could take. See map above referred to. + +{117} The rock at the end of the Northern harbour of Trapani, to which +I suppose the writer of the "Odyssey" to be here referring, still bears +the name Malconsiglio--"the rock of evil counsel." There is a legend +that it was a ship of Turkish pirates who were intending to attack +Trapani, but the "Madonna di Trapani" crushed them under this rock just +as they were coming into port. My friend Cavaliere Giannitrapani of +Trapani told me that his father used to tell him when he was a boy that +if he would drop exactly three drops of oil on to the water near the +rock, he would see the ship still at the bottom. The legend is evidently +a Christianised version of the Odyssean story, while the name supplies +the additional detail that the disaster happened in consequence of an +evil counsel. + +{118} It would seem then that the ship had got all the way back from +Ithaca in about a quarter of an hour. + +{119} And may we not add "and also to prevent his recognising that he +was only in the place where he had met Nausicaa two days earlier." + +{120} All this is to excuse the entire absence of Minerva from books +ix.-xii., which I suppose had been written already, before the authoress +had determined on making Minerva so prominent a character. + +{121} We have met with this somewhat lame attempt to cover the writer's +change of scheme at the end of bk. vi. + +{122} I take the following from The Authoress of the Odyssey, p. 167. +"It is clear from the text that there were two [caves] not one, but some +one has enclosed in brackets the two lines in which the second cave is +mentioned, I presume because he found himself puzzled by having a second +cave sprung upon him when up to this point he had only been told of one. + +"I venture to think that if he had known the ground he would not have +been puzzled, for there are two caves, distant about 80 or 100 yards +from one another." The cave in which Ulysses hid his treasure is, as I +have already said, identifiable with singular completeness. The other +cave presents no special features, neither in the poem nor in nature. + +{123} There is no attempt to disguise the fact that Penelope had long +given encouragement to the suitors. The only defence set up is that she +did not really mean to encourage them. Would it not have been wiser to +have tried a little discouragement? + +{124} See map near the end of bk. vi. Ruccazzu dei corvi of course means +"the rock of the ravens." Both name and ravens still exist. + +{125} See The Authoress of the Odyssey, pp. 140, 141. The real reason +for sending Telemachus to Pylos and Lacedaemon was that the authoress +might get Helen of Troy into her poem. He was sent at the only point in +the story at which he could be sent, so he must have gone then or not at +all. + +{126} The site I assign to Eumaeus's hut, close to the Ruccazzu dei +Corvi, is about 2,000 feet above the sea, and commands an extensive +view. + +{127} Sandals such as Eumaeus was making are still worn in the Abruzzi +and elsewhere. An oblong piece of leather forms the sole: holes are cut +at the four corners, and through these holes leathern straps are passed, +which are bound round the foot and cross-gartered up the calf. + +{128} See note {75} + +{129} Telemachus like many another good young man seems to expect every +one to fetch and carry for him. + +{130} "Il." vi. 288. The store room was fragrant because it was made of +cedar wood. See "Il." xxiv. 192. + +{131} cf. "Il." vi. 289 and 293-296. The dress was kept at the bottom +of the chest as one that would only be wanted on the greatest occasions; +but surely the marriage of Hermione and of Megapenthes (bk, iv. ad +init.) might have induced Helen to wear it on the preceding evening, +in which case it could hardly have got back. We find no hint here of +Megapenthes' recent marriage. + +{132} See note {83}. + +{133} cf. "Od." xi. 196, etc. + +{134} The names Syra and Ortygia, on which island a great part of the +Doric Syracuse was originally built, suggest that even in Odyssean times +there was a prehistoric Syracuse, the existence of which was known to +the writer of the poem. + +{135} Literally "where are the turnings of the sun." Assuming, as we may +safely do, that the Syra and Ortygia of the "Odyssey" refer to Syracuse, +it is the fact that not far to the South of these places the land turns +sharply round, so that mariners following the coast would find the +sun upon the other side of their ship to that on which they'd had it +hitherto. + +Mr. A. S. Griffith has kindly called my attention to Herod iv. 42, +where, speaking of the circumnavigation of Africa by Phoenician mariners +under Necos, he writes: + +"On their return they declared--I for my part do not believe them, but +perhaps others may--that in sailing round Libya [i.e. Africa] they had +the sun upon their right hand. In this way was the extent of Libya first +discovered. + +"I take it that Eumaeus was made to have come from Syracuse because +the writer thought she rather ought to have made something happen at +Syracuse during her account of the voyages of Ulysses. She could +not, however, break his long drift from Charybdis to the island of +Pantellaria; she therefore resolved to make it up to Syracuse in another +way." + +{135} Modern excavations establish the existence of two and only two +pre-Dorian communities at Syracuse; they were, so Dr. Orsi informed me, +at Plemmirio and Cozzo Pantano. See The Authoress of the Odyssey, pp. +211-213. + +{136} This harbour is again evidently the harbour in which Ulysses had +landed, i.e. the harbour that is now the salt works of S. Cusumano. + +{137} This never can have been anything but very niggardly pay for some +eight or nine days' service. I suppose the crew were to consider the +pleasure of having had a trip to Pylos as a set off. There is no trace +of the dinner as having been actually given, either on the following or +any other morning. + +{138} No hawk can tear its prey while it is on the wing. + +{139} The text is here apparently corrupt, and will not make sense as it +stands. I follow Messrs. Butcher and Lang in omitting line 101. + +{140} i.e. to be milked, as in South Italian and Sicilian towns at the +present day. + +{141} The butchering and making ready the carcases took place partly in +the outer yard and partly in the open part of the inner court. + +{142} These words cannot mean that it would be afternoon soon after they +were spoken. Ulysses and Eumaeus reached the town which was "some way +off" (xvii. 25) in time for the suitor's early meal (xvii. 170 and 176) +say at ten or eleven o' clock. The context of the rest of the book shows +this. Eumaeus and Ulysses, therefore, cannot have started later than +eight or nine, and Eumaeus's words must be taken as an exaggeration for +the purpose of making Ulysses bestir himself. + +{143} I imagine the fountain to have been somewhere about where the +church of the Madonna di Trapani now stands, and to have been fed with +water from what is now called the Fontana Diffali on Mt. Eryx. + +{144} From this and other passages in the "Odyssey" it appears that +we are in an age anterior to the use of coined money--an age when +cauldrons, tripods, swords, cattle, chattels of all kinds, measures +of corn, wine, or oil, etc. etc., not to say pieces of gold, silver, +bronze, or even iron, wrought more or less, but unstamped, were the +nearest approach to a currency that had as yet been reached. + +{145} Gr. is [Greek] + +{146} I correct these proofs abroad and am not within reach of Hesiod, +but surely this passage suggests acquaintance with the Works and Ways, +though it by no means compels it. + +{147} It would seem as though Eurynome and Euryclea were the same +person. See note {156} + +{148} It is plain, therefore, that Iris was commonly accepted as the +messenger of the gods, though our authoress will never permit her to +fetch or carry for any one. + +{149} i.e. the doorway leading from the inner to the outer court. + +{150} Surely in this scene, again, Eurynome is in reality Euryclea. See +note {156} + +{151} These, I imagine, must have been in the open part of the inner +courtyard, where the maids also stood, and threw the light of their +torches into the covered cloister that ran all round it. The smoke would +otherwise have been intolerable. + +{152} Translation very uncertain; vide Liddell and Scott, under [Greek] + +{153} See photo on opposite page. + +{154} cf. "Il." ii. 184, and 217, 218. An additional and well-marked +feature being wanted to convince Penelope, the writer has taken the +hunched shoulders of Thersites (who is mentioned immediately after +Eurybates in the "Iliad") and put them on to Eurybates' back. + +{155} This is how geese are now fed in Sicily, at any rate in summer, +when the grass is all burnt up. I have never seen them grazing. + +{156} Lower down (line 143) Euryclea says it was herself that had thrown +the cloak over Ulysses--for the plural should not be taken as implying +more than one person. The writer is evidently still fluctuating between +Euryclea and Eurynome as the name for the old nurse. She probably +originally meant to call her Euryclea, but finding it not immediately +easy to make Euryclea scan in xvii. 495, she hastily called her +Eurynome, intending either to alter this name later or to change the +earlier Euryclea's into Eurynome. She then drifted in to Eurynome +as convenience further directed, still nevertheless hankering after +Euryclea, till at last she found that the path of least resistance +would lie in the direction of making Eurynome and Euryclea two persons. +Therefore in xxiii. 289-292 both Eurynome and "the nurse" (who can be +none other than Euryclea) come on together. I do not say that this is +feminine, but it is not unfeminine. + +{157} See note {156} + +{158} This, I take it, was immediately in front of the main entrance of +the inner courtyard into the body of the house. + +{159} This is the only allusion to Sardinia in either "Iliad" or +"Odyssey." + +{160} The normal translation of the Greek word would be "holding back," +"curbing," "restraining," but I cannot think that the writer meant +this--she must have been using the word in its other sense of "having," +"holding," "keeping," "maintaining." + +{161} I have vainly tried to realise the construction of the fastening +here described. + +{162} See plan of Ulysses' house in the appendix. It is evident that the +open part of the court had no flooring but the natural soil. + +{163} See plan of Ulysses' house, and note {175}. + +{164} i.e. the door that led into the body of the house. + +{165} This was, no doubt, the little table that was set for Ulysses, +"Od." xx. 259. + +Surely the difficulty of this passage has been overrated. I suppose +the iron part of the axe to have been wedged into the handle, or bound +securely to it--the handle being half buried in the ground. The axe +would be placed edgeways towards the archer, and he would have to shoot +his arrow through the hole into which the handle was fitted when the axe +was in use. Twelve axes were placed in a row all at the same height, +all exactly in front of one another, all edgeways to Ulysses whose arrow +passed through all the holes from the first onward. I cannot see how the +Greek can bear any other interpretation, the words being, [Greek] + +"He did not miss a single hole from the first onwards." [Greek] +according to Liddell and Scott being "the hole for the handle of an +axe, etc.," while [Greek] ("Od." v. 236) is, according to the same +authorities, the handle itself. The feat is absurdly impossible, but our +authoress sometimes has a soul above impossibilities. + +{166} The reader will note how the spoiling of good food distresses the +writer even in such a supreme moment as this. + +{167} Here we have it again. Waste of substance comes first. + +{168} cf. "Il." iii. 337 and three other places. It is strange that +the author of the "Iliad" should find a little horse-hair so alarming. +Possibly enough she was merely borrowing a common form line from some +earlier poet--or poetess--for this is a woman's line rather than a +man's. + +{169} Or perhaps simply "window." See plan in the appendix. + +{170} i.e. the pavement on which Ulysses was standing. + +{171} The interpretation of lines 126-143 is most dubious, and at best +we are in a region of melodrama: cf., however, i.425, etc. from which it +appears that there was a tower in the outer court, and that Telemachus +used to sleep in it. The [Greek] I take to be a door, or trap door, +leading on to the roof above Telemachus's bed room, which we are told +was in a place that could be seen from all round--or it might be simply +a window in Telemachus's room looking out into the street. From the +top of the tower the outer world was to be told what was going on, but +people could not get in by the [Greek]: they would have to come in by +the main entrance, and Melanthius explains that the mouth of the narrow +passage (which was in the lands of Ulysses and his friends) commanded +the only entrance by which help could come, so that there would be +nothing gained by raising an alarm. As for the [Greek] of line 143, +no commentator ancient or modern has been able to say what was +intended--but whatever they were, Melanthius could never carry twelve +shields, twelve helmets, and twelve spears. Moreover, where he could +go the others could go also. If a dozen suitors had followed Melanthius +into the house they could have attacked Ulysses in the rear, in which +case, unless Minerva had intervened promptly, the "Odyssey" would have +had a different ending. But throughout the scene we are in a region of +extravagance rather than of true fiction--it cannot be taken seriously +by any but the very serious, until we come to the episode of Phemius and +Medon, where the writer begins to be at home again. + +{172} I presume it was intended that there should be a hook driven into +the bearing-post. + +{173} What for? + +{174} Gr: [Greek]. This is not [Greek]. + +{175} From lines 333 and 341 of this book, and lines 145 and 146 of bk. +xxi we can locate the approach to the [Greek] with some certainty. + +{176} But in xix. 500-502 Ulysses scolded Euryclea for offering +information on this very point, and declared himself quite able to +settle it for himself. + +{177} There were a hundred and eight Suitors. + +{178} Lord Grimthorpe, whose understanding does not lend itself to easy +imposition, has been good enough to write to me about my conviction that +the "Odyssey" was written by a woman, and to send me remarks upon the +gross absurdity of the incident here recorded. It is plain that all +the authoress cared about was that the women should be hanged: as for +attempting to realise, or to make her readers realise, how the hanging +was done, this was of no consequence. The reader must take her word for +it and ask no questions. Lord Grimthorpe wrote: + +"I had better send you my ideas about Nausicaa's hanging of the +maids (not 'maidens,' of whom Froude wrote so well in his 'Science of +History') before I forget it all. Luckily for me Liddell & Scott have +specially translated most of the doubtful words, referring to this very +place. + +"A ship's cable. I don't know how big a ship she meant, but it must have +been a very small one indeed if its 'cable' could be used to tie tightly +round a woman's neck, and still more round a dozen of them 'in a row,' +besides being strong enough to hold them and pull them all up. + +"A dozen average women would need the weight and strength of more than +a dozen strong heavy men even over the best pulley hung to the roof +over them; and the idea of pulling them up by a rope hung anyhow round a +pillar [Greek] is absurdly impossible; and how a dozen of them could be +hung dangling round one post is a problem which a senior wrangler would +be puzzled to answer... She had better have let Telemachus use his sword +as he had intended till she changed his mind for him." + +{179} Then they had all been in Ulysses' service over twenty years; +perhaps the twelve guilty ones had been engaged more recently. + +{180} Translation very doubtful--cf. "It." xxiv. 598. + +{181} But why could she not at once ask to see the scar, of which +Euryclea had told her, or why could not Ulysses have shown it to her? + +{182} The people of Ithaca seem to have been as fond of carping as the +Phaeacians were in vi. 273, etc. + +{183} See note {156}. Ulysses's bed room does not appear to have been +upstairs, nor yet quite within the house. Is it possible that it was +"the domed room" round the outside of which the erring maids were, for +aught we have heard to the contrary, still hanging? + +{184} Ulysses bedroom in the mind of the writer is here too apparently +down stairs. + +{185} Penelope having been now sufficiently whitewashed, disappears from +the poem. + +{186} So practised a washerwoman as our authoress doubtless knew that by +this time the web must have become such a wreck that it would have gone +to pieces in the wash. + +A lady points out to me, just as these sheets are leaving my hands, that +no really good needlewoman--no one, indeed, whose work or character was +worth consideration--could have endured, no matter for what reason, the +unpicking of her day's work, day after day for between three and four +years. + +{187} We must suppose Dolius not yet to know that his son Melanthius +had been tortured, mutilated, and left to die by Ulysses' orders on the +preceding day, and that his daughter Melantho had been hanged. Dolius +was probably exceptionally simple-minded, and his name was ironical. +So on Mt. Eryx I was shown a man who was always called Sonza Malizia or +"Guileless"--he being held exceptionally cunning. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Odyssey, by Homer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ODYSSEY *** + +***** This file should be named 1727.txt or 1727.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/2/1727/ + +Produced by Jim Tinsley + +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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