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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Odyssey, by Homer
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Title: The Odyssey
Author: Homer
Translator: Samuel Butler
Release Date: April, 1999 [EBook #1727]
Last Updated: April 9, 2013
Language: English
*** 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.
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