From dc178fb0cc2f4cfb2e408f5f886819de177eac83 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: fabrizzio-dotCMS Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2024 13:33:57 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] #29480 --- .../business/api/JobProcessorScanner.java | 14 +- .../business/api/JobQueueManagerAPIImpl.java | 7 +- .../jobs/business/processor/impl/FailJob.java | 23 + .../processor/impl/LargeFileReader.java | 78 +- .../com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobParams.java | 8 +- .../rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueHelper.java | 32 +- .../rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueResource.java | 59 +- .../badrequest/MultiExceptionMapper.java | 10 + .../postman/resources/JobQueue/odyssey.txt | 10437 ++++++++++++++++ 9 files changed, 10614 insertions(+), 54 deletions(-) create mode 100644 dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/FailJob.java create mode 100644 dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/exception/mapper/badrequest/MultiExceptionMapper.java create mode 100644 dotcms-postman/src/main/resources/postman/resources/JobQueue/odyssey.txt diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobProcessorScanner.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobProcessorScanner.java index d04e0c13772b..701f2f06b6af 100644 --- a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobProcessorScanner.java +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobProcessorScanner.java @@ -13,10 +13,17 @@ import org.jboss.jandex.Index; import org.jboss.jandex.IndexReader; +/** + * Scans the classpath for classes that implement the JobProcessor interface. + * This class uses Jandex to scan the classpath for classes that implement the JobProcessor interface. + */ @ApplicationScoped public class JobProcessorScanner { - + /** + * Discovers all classes that implement the JobProcessor interface. + * @return A list of classes that implement the JobProcessor interface. + */ public List> discoverJobProcessors() { List> jobProcessors = new ArrayList<>(); try { @@ -42,6 +49,11 @@ public List> discoverJobProcessors() { return jobProcessors; } + /** + * Reads the Jandex index file. + * @return The Jandex index. + * @throws IOException If the Jandex index file cannot be read. + */ private Index getJandexIndex() throws IOException { InputStream input = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("META-INF/jandex.idx"); if (input == null) { diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobQueueManagerAPIImpl.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobQueueManagerAPIImpl.java index 09c17759905d..f3b4186b1af7 100644 --- a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobQueueManagerAPIImpl.java +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/api/JobQueueManagerAPIImpl.java @@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import com.dotcms.jobs.business.api.events.RealTimeJobMonitor; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.error.CircuitBreaker; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.error.ErrorDetail; -import com.dotcms.jobs.business.error.JobProcessorInstantiationException; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.error.JobProcessorNotFoundException; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.error.RetryStrategy; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.Job; @@ -399,7 +398,6 @@ public RetryStrategy getDefaultRetryStrategy() { */ @CloseDBIfOpened private void pollJobUpdates() { - try { final var watchedJobIds = realTimeJobMonitor.getWatchedJobIds(); if (watchedJobIds.isEmpty()) { @@ -412,9 +410,8 @@ private void pollJobUpdates() { ); realTimeJobMonitor.updateWatchers(updatedJobs); lastPollJobUpdateTime = currentPollTime; - } catch (JobQueueDataException e) { - Logger.error(this, "Error polling job updates: " + e.getMessage(), e); - throw new DotRuntimeException("Error polling job updates", e); + } catch (Exception e) { + Logger.error(this, "Error polling job updates: " + e.getMessage(), e);// } } diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/FailJob.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/FailJob.java new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..a70a4a4103b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/FailJob.java @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +package com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.impl; + +import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.Job; +import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.JobProcessor; +import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.Queue; +import com.dotmarketing.exception.DotRuntimeException; +import java.util.Map; + +@Queue("fail") +public class FailJob implements JobProcessor { + + @Override + public void process(Job job) { + + throw new DotRuntimeException( "Failed job !"); + } + + @Override + public Map getResultMetadata(Job job) { + return Map.of(); + } + +} diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/LargeFileReader.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/LargeFileReader.java index f58163baff61..85dd71495321 100644 --- a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/LargeFileReader.java +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/jobs/business/processor/impl/LargeFileReader.java @@ -4,22 +4,26 @@ import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.Job; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.Cancellable; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.JobProcessor; +import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.ProgressTracker; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.Queue; import com.dotcms.rest.api.v1.temp.DotTempFile; import com.dotcms.rest.api.v1.temp.TempFileAPI; import com.dotmarketing.business.APILocator; +import com.dotmarketing.exception.DotRuntimeException; import com.dotmarketing.util.Logger; +import io.vavr.control.Try; import java.io.BufferedReader; import java.io.FileReader; import java.util.List; import java.util.Map; import java.util.Optional; +import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable; /** * This class reads a large file and prints the content to the log. * It is here for the sole purpose of demonstrating the job queue system. */ -@Queue("FileReader") +@Queue("demo") public class LargeFileReader implements JobProcessor, Cancellable { private boolean working = true; @@ -28,7 +32,6 @@ public class LargeFileReader implements JobProcessor, Cancellable { public void process(Job job) { // Retrieve job parameters working = true; - Logger.info(this.getClass(), "Processing job: " + job.id()); Map params = job.parameters(); @@ -36,19 +39,19 @@ public void process(Job job) { if (linesParam.isEmpty()) { Logger.error(this.getClass(), "Unable to retrieve the number of lines to read. Quitting the job."); - return; + throw new DotRuntimeException("Unable to retrieve the temporary file."); } Optional tempFile = tempFile(params); if (tempFile.isEmpty()) { Logger.error(this.getClass(), "Unable to retrieve the temporary. Quitting the job."); - return; + throw new DotRuntimeException("Unable to retrieve the temporary file."); } final int nLines = linesParam.get(); final DotTempFile dotTempFile = tempFile.get(); - doReadLargeFile(dotTempFile, nLines); + doReadLargeFile(dotTempFile, nLines, job); } /** @@ -56,30 +59,63 @@ public void process(Job job) { * @param dotTempFile temporary file * @param nLines number of lines to read and print */ - private void doReadLargeFile(DotTempFile dotTempFile, int nLines) { + private void doReadLargeFile(DotTempFile dotTempFile, int nLines, final Job job) { + final Long totalCount = countLines(dotTempFile); + if (totalCount == null) { + return; + } + Logger.info(this.getClass(), "Total lines in the file: " + totalCount); + final Optional progressTracker = job.progressTracker(); try (BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(dotTempFile.file))) { - String line; - int lineCount = 0; - int totalLines = 0; - - Logger.info(this.getClass(), - "Starting to read the file: " + dotTempFile.file.getName()); - - while (working && (line = reader.readLine()) != null) { - lineCount++; - totalLines++; - // Print the line when the counter reaches nLines - if (lineCount == nLines) { - Logger.info(this.getClass(), "Line " + totalLines + ": " + line); - lineCount = 0; // Reset the counter + String line; + int lineCount = 0; + int readCount = 0; + + Logger.info(this.getClass(), + "Starting to read the file: " + dotTempFile.file.getName()); + + while (working && (line = reader.readLine()) != null) { + lineCount++; + readCount++; + + // Print the line when the counter reaches nLines + if (lineCount == nLines) { + lineCount = 0; // Reset the counter + Logger.info(this.getClass(), line); + delay(); + } + final float progressPercentage = ((float) readCount / totalCount) * 100; + progressTracker.ifPresent(tracker -> tracker.updateProgress(progressPercentage)); } + + Logger.info(this.getClass(), "Reading completed. Total lines read: " + readCount); + } catch (Exception e) { + Logger.error(this.getClass(), + "Unexpected error during processing: " + e.getMessage()); } + } - Logger.info(this.getClass(), "Reading completed. Total lines read: " + totalLines); + private @Nullable Long countLines(DotTempFile dotTempFile) { + long totalCount = 0; + try (BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(dotTempFile.file))) { + totalCount = reader.lines().count(); + if (totalCount == 0) { + Logger.info(this.getClass(), "No lines in the file: " + dotTempFile.file.getName()); + return null; + } } catch (Exception e) { Logger.error(this.getClass(), "Unexpected error during processing: " + e.getMessage()); + return null; } + return totalCount; + } + + private void delay() { + Try.of(()->{ + Thread.sleep(1000); + return null; + }).onFailure(e->Logger.error(this.getClass(), "Error during delay", e)); } /** diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobParams.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobParams.java index f4f02d00cd54..16737ceae606 100644 --- a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobParams.java +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobParams.java @@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ import org.glassfish.jersey.media.multipart.FormDataContentDisposition; import org.glassfish.jersey.media.multipart.FormDataParam; +/** + * This class represents the parameters for a job. + * This bean encapsulates the expected parameters for a job. + * that would be a file and a json object. + * The json object is expected to be a simple key value pair. + */ public class JobParams { @FormDataParam("file") @@ -44,7 +50,7 @@ public void setJsonParams(String jsonParams) { public Map getParams() throws JsonProcessingException { if (null == params) { if (null == jsonParams){ - throw new IllegalArgumentException("Job Params must be passed in json format."); + throw new IllegalArgumentException("Job Params must be passed as a json object in the params field."); } params = new ObjectMapper().readValue(jsonParams, Map.class); } diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueHelper.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueHelper.java index 3c89bebfe646..2e38020bbfa3 100644 --- a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueHelper.java +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueHelper.java @@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import com.dotcms.jobs.business.error.JobProcessorNotFoundException; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.Job; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.JobPaginatedResult; +import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.JobState; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.JobProcessor; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.processor.Queue; import com.dotcms.jobs.business.queue.error.JobQueueDataException; @@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException; import java.io.InputStream; import java.lang.reflect.Constructor; +import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter; import java.util.HashMap; import java.util.List; import java.util.Map; @@ -154,9 +156,7 @@ void cancelJob(String jobId) throws DotDataException { * @param jobId The ID of the job * @param watcher The watcher */ - void watchJob(String jobId, Consumer watcher) throws DotDataException { - //Validate the job exists - jobQueueManagerAPI.getJob(jobId); + void watchJob(String jobId, Consumer watcher) { // if it does then watch it jobQueueManagerAPI.watchJob(jobId, watcher); } @@ -237,4 +237,30 @@ private void handleUploadIfPresent(final JobParams form, Map par } } } + + /** + * Check if a job is NOT watchable + * @param job The job + * @return true if the job is watchable, false otherwise + */ + public boolean isNotWatchable(Job job){ + return JobState.PENDING != job.state() && JobState.RUNNING != job.state() + && JobState.CANCELLING != job.state(); + } + + /** + * Get the status info for a job + * @param job The job + * @return The status info + */ + public Map getJobStatusInfo(Job job) { + final DateTimeFormatter isoFormatter = DateTimeFormatter.ISO_LOCAL_DATE_TIME; + return Map.of( + "startedAt", job.startedAt().map(isoFormatter::format).orElse("N/A"), + "finishedAt", job.completedAt().map(isoFormatter::format).orElse("N/A"), + "state", job.state(), + "progress", job.progress() + ); + } + } diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueResource.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueResource.java index bbc9394097c1..36c6ac0069b4 100644 --- a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueResource.java +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/api/v1/job/JobQueueResource.java @@ -5,13 +5,14 @@ import com.dotcms.jobs.business.job.JobPaginatedResult; import com.dotcms.rest.ResponseEntityView; import com.dotcms.rest.WebResource; -import com.dotcms.rest.annotation.NoCache; +import com.dotmarketing.exception.DoesNotExistException; import com.dotmarketing.exception.DotDataException; +import com.dotmarketing.exception.DotRuntimeException; import com.dotmarketing.util.Logger; import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException; +import graphql.VisibleForTesting; import java.io.IOException; import java.util.Map; -import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit; import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest; import javax.ws.rs.BeanParam; import javax.ws.rs.Consumes; @@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ public JobQueueResource() { this(new WebResource(), CDIUtils.getBean(JobQueueHelper.class).orElseThrow(()->new IllegalStateException("JobQueueHelper Bean not found"))); } + @VisibleForTesting public JobQueueResource(WebResource webResource, JobQueueHelper helper) { this.webResource = webResource; this.helper = helper; @@ -169,41 +171,52 @@ public Response failedJobs(@Context HttpServletRequest request, @GET @Path("/{jobId}/monitor") @Produces(SseFeature.SERVER_SENT_EVENTS) - @NoCache public EventOutput monitorJob(@Context HttpServletRequest request, @PathParam("jobId") String jobId) { - final EventOutput eventOutput = new EventOutput(); + new WebResource.InitBuilder(webResource) .requiredBackendUser(true) .requiredFrontendUser(false) .requestAndResponse(request, null) .rejectWhenNoUser(true) .init(); + + Job job = null; try { + job = helper.getJob(jobId); + } catch (DotDataException | DoesNotExistException e) { + // ignore + } - helper.watchJob(jobId, job -> { - try { - OutboundEvent.Builder eventBuilder = new OutboundEvent.Builder(); - eventBuilder.name("job-update"); - eventBuilder.data(Job.class, job); - eventOutput.write(eventBuilder.build()); - } catch (IOException e) { - Logger.error(this, "Error writing SSE event", e); - } - }); + final EventOutput eventOutput = new EventOutput(); - // Keep the connection open for a reasonable time (e.g., 5 minutes) - if (!eventOutput.isClosed()) { - Thread.sleep(TimeUnit.MINUTES.toMillis(5)); - } - } catch (Exception e) { - Logger.error(this, "Error monitoring job", e); - Thread.currentThread().interrupt(); - } finally { + if (job == null || helper.isNotWatchable(job)) { try { - eventOutput.close(); + OutboundEvent event = new OutboundEvent.Builder() + .mediaType(MediaType.TEXT_HTML_TYPE) + .name("job-not-found") + .data(String.class, "404") + .build(); + eventOutput.write(event); } catch (IOException e) { Logger.error(this, "Error closing SSE connection", e); } + } else { + // Callback for watching job updates and sending them to the client + helper.watchJob(job.id(), watched -> { + if (!eventOutput.isClosed()) { + try { + OutboundEvent event = new OutboundEvent.Builder() + .mediaType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON_TYPE) + .name("job-update") + .data(Map.class, helper.getJobStatusInfo(watched)) + .build(); + eventOutput.write(event); + } catch (IOException e) { + Logger.error(this, "Error writing SSE event", e); + throw new DotRuntimeException(e); + } + } + }); } return eventOutput; } diff --git a/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/exception/mapper/badrequest/MultiExceptionMapper.java b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/exception/mapper/badrequest/MultiExceptionMapper.java new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..da2c32269f68 --- /dev/null +++ b/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/rest/exception/mapper/badrequest/MultiExceptionMapper.java @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +package com.dotcms.rest.exception.mapper.badrequest; + +import com.dotcms.rest.exception.mapper.DotBadRequestExceptionMapper; +import javax.ws.rs.ext.Provider; + +@Provider +public class IllegalStateExceptionMapper + extends DotBadRequestExceptionMapper { + +} diff --git a/dotcms-postman/src/main/resources/postman/resources/JobQueue/odyssey.txt b/dotcms-postman/src/main/resources/postman/resources/JobQueue/odyssey.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..520f34522654 --- /dev/null +++ b/dotcms-postman/src/main/resources/postman/resources/JobQueue/odyssey.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10437 @@ +Provided by The Internet Classics Archive. +See bottom for copyright. Available online at + http://classics.mit.edu//Homer/odyssey.html + +The Odyssey +By Homer + + +Translated by Samuel Butler + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BOOK I + +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, O 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. +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, +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 man-servant brought them wine and +poured it out for them. + +Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and +seats. 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 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 under the wooded mountain +Neritum. 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 wither; 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, +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 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 -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 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." + +"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- 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, +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. Telemachus's room was high up in a tower 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. 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 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. But Telemachus as he lay covered with a woollen +fleece kept thinking all night through of his intended voyage of the +counsel that Minerva had given him. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BOOK II + +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, +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, +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 grieveance 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- 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." + +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 has 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 calf 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 an 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 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 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 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, 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, that whistled over the deep blue waves 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 + +But as the sun was rising from the fair sea 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 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 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 he handed 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; 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 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, 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, 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 him, 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; 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 thus 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 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 arter 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, 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 twelvemonth, 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 forgoing 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 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 also to 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 showed +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's +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 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 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, 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 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 sweetmeats 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. 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. + +Now when the sun had set and darkness was over the land, + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BOOK IV + +They reached the low lying city of Lacedaemon them where they drove +straight to the of abode Menelaus [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, 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.] + +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 stayed 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 other servants come with him. They +took their sweating hands 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 maidservant 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 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, 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 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 of 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. + +"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 we 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 recognized 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 oam +after my home, and I was unhappy about 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. 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 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. 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- 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. + +"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; 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 be still alive, and even though Orestes +has beforehand with you in kilting 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 +he 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 meadowsweet 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. +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]. + +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 yourleave?" + +"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 die race of 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 + +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, 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 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. 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 be 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, 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 alf 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, 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 +by 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, +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 +long and killed Iasion with his thunder-bolts. 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 mage +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 at 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. 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 filed 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, 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 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 Phaecian 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 will 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 foothold. 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 stayed 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 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 + +So here Ulysses slept, overcome by sleep and toil; but Minerva went +off to the country and city of the Phaecians- 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 uncivilized, 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, +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 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 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 Phaecians. +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 End 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 of I for sh and find a husband +somewhere else, for she will not look at one of the many excellent +young Phaeacians who are in 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 scandalized 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' 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 Phaecians." + +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 + +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 Phaecians, and the people obeyed him as though he were +a god. 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 Phaecians +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 Phaecians 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 Phaecians. Nausithous had +two sons Rhexenor and Alcinous; 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 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 Phaecians +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 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 Phaecians 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 Phaecians making their drink-offerings to Mercury, which they +always did the last thing before going away for the night. 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." + +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." + +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 recognized 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, +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 to-morrow to the matter of your escort. You can sleep 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 + +Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Alcinous +and Ulysses both rose, and Alcinous led the way to the Phaecian 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 Phaecians 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. I will find you in everything. +I am giving will 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 outhouses, 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 gat 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 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 Phaecians 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. 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, claves, 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. 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 +Cechalian-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 Phaecians +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 be 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, 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. 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, an 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 stayed 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 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 hathed 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 Phaecians "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 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." + +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. Meanwhile +Arete brought a magnificent chest 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." + +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 if 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, 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 over ran 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, and bury our city under a high mountain. +This is what my 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 uncivilized, and +who, on the other hand, hospitable and humane. Tell us also why you +are made 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 + +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 there +guests though I live so far away from all of you. I am Ulysses son +of Laertes, reknowned 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. 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 stayed 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. +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-eater, +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 with the Lotus-eater 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 +overrun 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 colonized the island, 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; 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 uncivilized 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, Apollo 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 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 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 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! Noman 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 flung 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 have 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 a this +no-good Noman has done me.' + +"As 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. 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.'] + +"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 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 + +Thence we went on to the Aeoli island where lives Aeolus son of Hippotas, +dear to the immortal gods. It is an island that floats (as it were) +upon the sea, 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. + +"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 alf 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 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, +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, 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. +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 stayed 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 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 pigsties. 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 stayed 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 show +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 +pigsties, 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 practise 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 goings 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 make her swear solemnly +by all the blessed 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 an showed 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 she, struck me with her wand. +'There now,' she cried, 'be off to the pigsty, 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 form 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 she 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, 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 pigsty 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 hullabalooing, +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 you 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 split 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 see 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 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 + +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 stayed 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, 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 +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 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. Then go home and offer hecatombs +to an 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].' + +"'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, +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 anyhow 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.' + +"Then I tried to find some way of embracing my 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. 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, 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 Phaecians? 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 he 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 practised +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 to-morrow 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 tome, 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 mainland 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, 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 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, +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 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 me 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 talking to him, 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 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 + +"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 sunrise 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, 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 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 rocks lie lower, but they are so close together +that there is not more than a bowshot between them. [A large fig tree +in full leaf 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 stayed 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, 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 crosspiece; 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 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, 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 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 Is 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 wit's 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 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 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. 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 Rods? 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 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 reacfied the rock of Scylla, and the whirlpool. She was then sucking +down the salt sea water, 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 juryman 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, bard 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.] + +"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 + +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, 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 Phaecians, 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, and may you whom I leave behind me give satisfaction +to your wives and children; 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 maid servants +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. + +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 curveted 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. 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 distance a fine overarching +cavern sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads. 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, +She had so much way upon her that she ran half her own length on to +the shore; 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 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 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 Phaecian 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 Phaecians 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 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. 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 Phaecians to king Neptune, standing +round his altar; and at the same time 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 recognizing him 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 uncivilized or hospitable and humane? Where shall +I put all this treasure, and which way shall I go? I wish I had stayed +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 will 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 bid 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 and with one of my followers by the +road side, and speared him as he was coming into town from the country. +my 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. 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 into 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. 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;] 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 Phaecians 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 your encouraging messages 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 would 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 +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." + +"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 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 and fair to see, +with a free ran 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 lie had built twelve sties near one another for the sows to +lie in. There were fifty pigs wallowing in each sty, all of them breeding +sows; but the boars slept outside and were much fewer in number, for +the suitors kept on eating them, and die 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 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 kin Agamemnon." + +As he spoke he bound his girdle round him and went to the sties 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 +on 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 free-booters 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 mainland, 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 goatherds. 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 whereever 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 you 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 kil 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 +precepice, 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 sties, 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 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 bought 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 brush-wood 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 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 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 + +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 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 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." + +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. 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, 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. +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 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 Erinyes 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 pass sage to Pheae and thence on to Elis, where the Epeans +rule. Telemachus then headed her for the flying islands, 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 ways 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 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 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 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 two 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, where the land begins to turn round and look in another direction. +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 meantime Telemachus and +his crew were nearing land, so they loosed the sails, took down the +mast, and rowed the ship into the harbour. 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." + +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, 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 + +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 urn +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 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 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. 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 emnity 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 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 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 that her son +had given 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 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 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 his 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 ready; 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 recognize 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 new 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 + +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 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 awa 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 manage 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, 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. 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." + +"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, 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 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 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, 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 recognized 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 skillfully 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 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 bade ships in the river Aegyptus, and bade my +men stay by them and keep guard over them, while 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, 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." + +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, 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 + +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, +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 to-morrow 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, 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 vainglory. 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 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 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 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 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 to give light, and +piled them up with chopped firewood very 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 aver, 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 fast 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, +ind 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 hide, 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 + +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 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 generall? 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 brokenhearted +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 nine 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. 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 xaging. 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 for her, +but he kept his eyes as hard as 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 showed 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. 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, 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 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 Phaecians, +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 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 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 recognize 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 Mount +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, 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 Mount 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 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 Mount Parnassus. + +As soon as Euryclea had got the scarred limb in her hands and had +well hold of it, she recognized 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 recognize me, hold your tongue, and do not say a word about +it 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 comes 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, 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 room 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 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 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 overflowing 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 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 the 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 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 re such 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." + +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 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 +of 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 breadbaskets, 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; 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 hearts' 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 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 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 fly 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 sat 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 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 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 + +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; 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 Wade straight +by line. Then he stamped the earth tight round them, and everyone +was surprised when they saw him set 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. 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, 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 Mount 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 a 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. To-day 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 to-morrow- +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 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 whereever 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- 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 + +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. 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: om yi 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, have forced my women servants to lie with you, +and have wooed my wife while I was still living. You have feared neither +Cod 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, and he +grasped two redoubtable bronze-shod spears. + +Now there was a trap door on the wall, while at one end of the pavement +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 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, 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. "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 Alcinous +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 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, 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 the ground between the mixing-bowl 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 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." + +"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 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. +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 maid servants 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. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BOOK XXIII + +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, 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 [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 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 recognize him, 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." + +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 maid servant, 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 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, and stay there with your women. See +nobody and ask no questions." + +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 + +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 +Aeisthus; 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 recognized 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, 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 un-cared 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 +recognize 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 required your presents +amply when you left him- as would have been only right considering +what you have 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 Mount 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. 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 friend, 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 mote pleasure +in life, but had rather die at once. Let us be up, then, and after +them, before they can cross over to the mainland." + +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 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 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's 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. + +THE END + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Copyright statement: +The Internet Classics Archive by Daniel C. Stevenson, Web Atomics. +World Wide Web presentation is copyright (C) 1994-2000, Daniel +C. Stevenson, Web Atomics. +All rights reserved under international and pan-American copyright +conventions, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part +in any form. Direct permission requests to classics@classics.mit.edu. +Translation of "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus" by Augustus is +copyright (C) Thomas Bushnell, BSG. \ No newline at end of file