s: sense, an almost exaggerated and certainly uncritical


s: sense, of the value of her songs of the people, of all the


s: ballads that Herder, Scott, Lonnrot, and the rest


s: collected, it was commonly said that Homer was a


s: ballad-minstrel, that the translator must imitate the


s: simplicity, and even adopt the formulae of the ballad.


s: Hence came the renderings of Maginn, the experiments of Mr.


s: Gladstone, and others. There was some excuse for the error


s: of critics who asked for a Homer in ballad rhyme. The Epic


s: poet, the poet of gods and heroes, did indeed inherit some


s: of the formulae of the earlier Volks-lied. Homer, like the


s: author of The Song of Roland, like the singers of the


s: Kalevala, uses constantly recurring epithets, and repeats,


s: word for word, certain emphatic passages, messages, and so


s: on. That custom is essential in the ballad, it is an


s: accident not the essence of the epic. The epic is a poem of


s: complete and elaborate art, but it still bears some


s: birthmarks, some signs of the early popular chant, out of


s: which it sprung, as the garden-rose springs from the wild


s: stock, When this is recognised the demand for ballad-like


s: simplicity and 'ballad-slang' ceases to exist, and then all


s: Homeric translations in the ballad manner cease to


s: represent our conception of Homer. After the belief in the


s: ballad manner follows the recognition of the romantic vein


s: in Homer, and, as a result, came Mr. Worsley's admirable


s: Odyssey. This masterly translation does all that can be


s: done for the Odyssey in the romantic style. The smoothness


s: of the verse, the wonderful closeness to the original,


s: reproduce all of Homer, in music and in meaning, that can


s: be rendered in English verse. There still, however, seems


s: an aspect Homeric poems, and a demand in connection with


s: Homer to be recognised, and to be satisfied.


s: Sainte-Beuve says, with reference probably to M. Leconte de


s: Lisle's prose version of the epics, that some people treat


s: the epics too much as if the were sagas. Now the Homeric


s: epics are sagas, but then they are the sagas of the divine


s: heroic age of Greece, and thus are told with an art which


s: is not the art of the Northern poets. The epics are stories


s: about the adventures of men living in most respects like


s: the men of our own race who dwelt in Iceland, Norway,


s: Denmark, and Sweden. The epics are, in a way, and as far as


s: manners and institutions are concerned, historical


s: documents. Whoever regards them in this way, must wish to


s: read them exactly as they have reached us, without modern


s: ornament, with nothing added or omitted. He must recognise,


s: with Mr. Matthew Arnold, that what he now wants, namely,


s: the simple truth about the matter of the poem, can only be


s: given in prose, 'for in a verse translation no original


s: work is any longer recognisable.' It is for this reason


s: that we have attempted to tell once more, in simple prose,


s: the story of Odysseus. We have tried to transfer, not all


s: the truth about the poem, but the historical truth, into


s: English. In this process Homer must lose at least half his


s: charm, his bright and equable speed, the musical current of


s: an indiscoverable source, and mirrors the temples and the


s: palaces of unforgotten gods and kings. Without this music


s: of verse, only a half truth about Homer can be told, but


s: then it is that half of the truth which, at this moment, it


s: seems most necessary to tell. This is the half of the truth


s: that the translators who use verse cannot easily tell. They


s: MUST be adding to Homer, talking with Pope about 'tracing


s: the mazy lev'ret o'er the lawn,' or with Mr. Worsley about


s: the islands that are 'stars of the blue Aegaean,' or with


s: Dr. Hawtrey about 'the earth's soft arms,' when Homer says


s: nothing at all about the 'mazy lev'ret,' or the 'stars of


s: the blue Aegaean,' or the 'soft arms' of earth. It would be


s: impertinent indeed to blame any of these translations in


s: their place. They give that which the romantic reader of


s: poetry, or the student of the age of Anne, looks for in


s: verse; and without tags of this sort, a translation of


s: Homer in verse cannot well be made to hold together.


s: There can be then, it appears, no final English translation


s: of Homer. In each there must be, in addition to what is


s: Greek and eternal, the element of what is modern, personal,


s: and fleeting. Thus we trust that there may be room for 'the


s: pale and far-off shadow of a prose translation,' of which


s: the aim is limited and humble. A prose translation cannot


s: give the movement and the fire of a successful translation


s: in verse; it only gathers, as it were, the crumbs which


s: fall from the richer table, only tells the story, without


s: the song. Yet to a prose translation is permitted, perhaps,


s: that close adherence to the archaisms of the epic, which in


s: verse become mere oddities. The double epithets, the


s: recurring epithets of Homer, if rendered into verse, delay


s: and puzzle the reader, as the Greek does not delay or


s: puzzle him. In prose he may endure them, or even care to


s: study them as the survivals of a stage of taste, which is


s: to be found in its prime in the sagas. These double and


s: recurring epithets of Homer are a softer form of the quaint


s: Northern periphrases, which make the sea the 'swan's bath,'


s: gold, the 'dragon's hoard,' men, the 'ring-givers,' and so


s: on. We do not know whether it is necessary to defend our


s: choice of a somewhat antiquated prose. Homer has no ideas


s: which cannot be expressed in words that are 'old and


s: plain,' and to words that are old and plain, and, as a


s: rule, to such terms as, being used by the Translators of


s: the Bible, are still not unfamiliar, we have tried to


s: restrict ourselves. It may be objected, that the employment


s: of language which does not come spontaneously to the lips,


s: is an affectation out of place in a version of the Odyssey.


s: To this we may answer that the Greek Epic dialect, like the


s: English of our Bible, was a thing of slow growth and


s: composite nature, that it was never a spoken language, nor,


s: except for certain poetical purposes, a written language.


s: Thus the Biblical English seems as nearly analogous to the


s: Epic Greek, as anything that our tongue has to offer.


s: The few foot-notes in this book are chiefly intended to


s: make clear some passages where there is a choice of


s: reading. The notes at the end, which we would like to have


s: written in the form of essays, and in company with more


s: complete philological and archaeological studies, are


s: chiefly meant to elucidate the life of Homer's men. We have


s: received much help from many friends, and especially from


s: has aided us with many suggestions while the book was


s: we have departed from the received view, and followed Mr.


s: Raper, who, however, has not been able to read through the


s: We have adopted La Roche's text (Homeri Odyssea, J. La


s: Roche, Leipzig, 1867), except in a few cases where we


s: The Arguments prefixed to the Books are taken, with very


s: slight alterations, from Hobbes' Translation of the


s: It is hoped that the Introduction added to the second


s: edition may illustrate the growth of those national legends


s: on which Homer worked, and may elucidate the plot of the


s: Wet owe our thanks to the Rev. E. Warre, of Eton College,


s: for certain corrections on nautical points. In particular,


s: he has convinced us that the raft of Odysseus in B. v. is a


s: raft strictly so called, and that it is not, under the


s: poet's description, elaborated into a ship, as has been


s: commonly supposed. The translation of the passage (B.


s: The Odyssey is generally supposed to be somewhat the later


s: in date of the two most ancient Greek poems which are


s: concerned with the events and consequences of the Trojan


s: war. As to the actual history of that war, it may be said


s: that nothing is known. We may conjecture that some contest


s: between peoples of more or less kindred stocks, who


s: occupied the isles and the eastern and western shores of


s: the Aegean, left a strong impression on the popular fancy.


s: Round the memories of this contest would gather many older


s: legends, myths, and stories, not peculiarly Greek or even


s: 'Aryan,' which previously floated unattached, or were


s: connected with heroes whose fame was swallowed up by that


s: of a newer generation. It would be the work of minstrels,


s: priests, and poets, as the national spirit grew conscious


s: of itself, to shape all these materials into a definite


s: body of tradition. This is the rule of development--first


s: scattered stories, then the union of these into a NATIONAL


s: legend. The growth of later national legends, which we are


s: able to trace, historically, has generally come about in


s: this fashion. To take the best known example, we are able


s: to compare the real history of Charlemagne with the old


s: epic poems on his life and exploits. In these poems we find


s: that facts are strangely exaggerated, and distorted; that


s: purely fanciful additions are made to the true records,


s: that the more striking events of earlier history are


s: crowded into the legend of Charles, that mere fairy tales,


s: current among African as well as European peoples, are


s: transmuted into false history, and that the anonymous


s: characters of fairy tales are converted into historical


s: personages. We can also watch the process by which feigned


s: genealogies were constructed, which connected the princely


s: houses of France with the imaginary heroes of the epics.


s: The conclusion is that the poetical history of Charlemagne


s: has only the faintest relations to the true history. And we


s: are justified in supposing that, quite as little of the


s: real history of events can be extracted from the tale of


s: By the time the Odyssey was composed, it is certain that a


s: poet had before him a well-arranged mass of legends and


s: traditions from which he might select his materials. The


s: author of the Iliad has an extremely full and curiously


s: consistent knowledge of the local traditions of Greece, the


s: memories which were cherished by Thebans, Pylians, people


s: assume this knowledge in the hearers of the poems, and take


s: for granted some acquaintance with other legends, as with


s: the story of the Argonautic Expedition. Now that story


s: itself is a tissue of popular tales,--still current in many


s: distant lands,--but all woven by the Greek genius into the


s: The history of the return of Odysseus as told in the


s: Odyssey, is in the same way, a tissue of old marchen.


s: These must have existed for an unknown length of time


s: before they gravitated into the cycle of the tale of Troy.


s: The extraordinary artistic skill with which legends and


s: myths, originally unconnected with each other, are woven


s: into the plot of the Odyssey, so that the marvels of savage


s: and barbaric fancy become indispensable parts of an


s: artistic whole, is one of the chief proofs of the unity of


s: authorship of that poem. We now go on to sketch the plot,


s: Odysseus was the King of Ithaca, a small and rugged island


s: on the western coast of Greece. When he was but lately


s: married to Penelope, and while his only son Telemachus was


s: still an infant, the Trojan war began. It is scarcely


s: necessary to say that the object of this war, as conceived


s: of by the poets, was to win back Helen, the wife of


s: Menelaus, from Paris, the son of Priam, King of Troy. As


s: Menelaus was the brother of Agamemnon, the Emperor, so to


s: speak, or recognised chief of the petty kingdoms of


s: 'Greece, the whole force of these kingdoms was at his


s: disposal. No prince came to the leaguer of Troy from a home


s: more remote than that of Odysseus. When Troy was taken, in


s: the tenth year of the war, his homeward voyage was the


s: The action of the Odyssey occupies but the last six weeks


s: of the ten years during which Odysseus was wandering. Two


s: nights in these six weeks are taken up, however, by his own


s: narrative of his adventures (to the Phaeacians, p. xx) in


s: the previous ten years. With this explanatory narrative we


s: must begin, before coming to the regular action of the


s: After the fall of Troy, Odysseus touched at Ismarus, the


s: city of a Thracian people, whom he attacked and plundered,


s: but by whom he was at last repulsed. The north wind then


s: carried his ships to Malea, the extreme southern point of


s: Greece. Had he doubled Malea safely, he would probably have


s: reached Ithaca in a few days, would have found Penelope


s: unvexed by wooers, and Telemachus a boy of ten years old.


s: The 'ruinous winds' drove Odysseus and his ships for ten


s: days, and on the tenth they touched the land of the Lotus-


s: Eaters, whose flowery food causes sweet forgetfulness.


s: Lotus-land was possibly in Western Libya, but it is more


s: probable that ten days' voyage from the southern point of


s: Greece, brought Odysseus into an unexplored region of


s: Lotus-land, therefore, being ten days' sail from Malea, was


s: well over the limit of the discovered world. From this


s: country Odysseus went on till he reached the land of the


s: lawless Cyclopes, a pastoral people of giants. Later Greece


s: feigned that the Cyclopes dwelt near Mount Etna, in Sicily.


s: Homer leaves their place of abode in the vague.  Among the


s: Cyclopes, Odysseus had the adventure on which his whole


s: fortunes hinged. He destroyed the eye of the cannibal


s: giant, Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea.


s: To avenge this act, Poseidon drove Odysseus wandering for


s: ten long years, and only suffered him to land in Ithaca,


s: 'alone, in evil case, to find troubles in his house.' This


s: is a very remarkable point in the plot. The story of the


s: crafty adventurer and the blinding of the giant, with the


s: punning device by which the hero escaped, exists in the


s: shape of a detached marchen or fairy-tale among races who


s: never heard of Homer. And when we find the story among


s: Oghuzians, Esthonians, Basques, and Celts, it seems natural


s: to suppose that these people did not break a fragment out


s: of the Odyssey, but that the author of the Odyssey took


s: possession of a legend out of the great traditional store


s: of fiction. From the wide distribution of the tale, there


s: is reason to suppose that it is older than Homer, and that


s: it was not originally told of Odysseus, but was attached to


s: his legend, as floating jests of unknown authorship are


s: attributed to eminent wits. It has been remarked with truth


s: that in this episode Odysseus acts out of character, that


s: he is foolhardy as well as cunning. Yet the author of the


s: Odyssey, so far from merely dove-tailing this story at


s: random into his narrative, has made his whole plot turn on


s: the injury to the Cyclops. Had he not foolishly exposed


s: himself and his companions, by his visit to the Cyclops,


s: Odysseus would never have been driven wandering for ten


s: weary years. The prayers of the blinded Cyclops were heard


s: From the land of the Cyclops, Odysseus and his company


s: sailed to the Isle of Aeolus, the king of the winds. This


s: place too is undefined; we only learn that, even with the


s: most favourable gale, it was ten days' sail from Ithaca. In


s: the Isle of Aeolus Odysseus abode for a month, and then


s: received from the king a bag in which all the winds were


s: bound, except that which was to waft the hero to his home.


s: This sort of bag was probably not unfamiliar to


s: superstitious Greek sailors who had dealings with witches,


s: like the modern wise women of the Lapps. The companions of


s: the hero opened the bag when Ithaca was in sight, the winds


s: rushed out, the ships were borne back to the Aeolian Isle,


s: and thence the hero was roughly dismissed by Aeolus. Seven


s: days' sail brought him to Lamos, a city of the cannibal


s: Laestrygonians. Their country, too, is in No-man's-land,


s: and nothing can be inferred from the fact that their


s: fountain was called Artacia, and that there was an Artacia


s: in Cyzicus. In Lamos a very important adventure befel


s: Odysseus. The cannibals destroyed all his fleet, save one


s: ship, with which he made his escape to the Isle of Circe.


s: Here the enchantress turned part of the crew into swine,


s: but Odysseus, by aid of the god Hermes, redeemed them, and


s: became the lover of Circe. This adventure, like the story


s: of the Cyclops, is a fairy tale of great antiquity. Dr.


s: shown that the story makes part of the collection of


s: Somadeva, a store of Indian tales, of which 1200 A.D. is


s: the approximate date. Circe appears as a Yackshini, and is


s: conquered when an adventurer seizes her flute whose magic


s: music turns men into beasts. The Indian Circe had the habit


s: of eating the animals into which she transformed men.


s: We must suppose that the affairs with the Cicones, the


s: Lotus-eaters, the Cyclops, Aeolus, and the Laestrygonians,


s: occupied most of the first year after the fall of Troy. A


s: year was then spent in the Isle of Circe, after which the


s: sailors were eager to make for home. Circe commanded them


s: to go down to Hades, to learn the homeward way from the


s: ghost of the Theban prophet Teiresias. The descent into


s: hell, for some similar purpose, is common in the epics of


s: other races, such as the Finns, and the South-Sea


s: Islanders. The narrative of Odysseus's visit to the dead


s: (book xi) is one of the most moving passages in the whole


s: From Teiresias Odysseus learned that, if he would bring his


s: companions home, he must avoid injuring the sacred cattle


s: of the Sun, which pastured in the Isle of Thrinacia.  If


s: these were harmed, he would arrive in Ithaca alone, or in


s: the words of the Cyclops's prayer, I in evil plight, with


s: loss of all his company, on board the ship of strangers, to


s: find sorrow in his house.' On returning to the Isle Aeaean,


s: Odysseus was warned by Circe of the dangers he would


s: encounter. He and his friends set forth, escaped the Sirens


s: (a sort of mermaidens), evaded the Clashing Rocks, which


s: close on ships (a fable known to the Aztecs), passed Scylla


s: (the pieuvre of antiquity) with loss of some of the


s: company, and reached Thrinacia, the Isle of the Sun. Here


s: the company of Odysseus, constrained by hunger, devoured


s: the sacred kine of the Sun, for which offence they were


s: punished by a shipwreck, when all were lost save Odysseus.


s: He floated ten days on a raft, and then reached the isle of


s: the goddess Calypso, who kept him as her lover for eight


s: The first two years after the fall of Troy are now


s: accounted for. They were occupied, as we have seen, by


s: adventures with the Cicones, the Lotus-eaters, the Cyclops,


s: Aeolus, the Laestrygonians, by a year's residence with


s: Circe, by the descent into Hades, the encounters with the


s: Sirens, and Scylla, and the fatal sojourn in the isle of


s: Thrinacia. We leave Odysseus alone, for eight years,


s: consuming his own heart, in the island paradise of Calypso.


s: In Ithaca, the hero's home, things seem to have passed


s: smoothly till about the sixth year after the fall of Troy.


s: Then the men of the younger generation, the island chiefs,


s: began to woo Penelope, and to vex her son Telemachus.


s: Laertes, the father of Odysseus, was too old to help, and


s: Penelope only gained time by her famous device of weaving


s: and unweaving the web. The wooers began to put compulsion


s: on the Queen, quartering themselves upon her, devouring her


s: substance, and insulting her by their relations with her


s: handmaids. Thus Penelope pined at home, amidst her wasting


s: possessions. Telemachus fretted in vain, and Odysseus was


s: devoured by grief and home-sickness in the isle of Calypso.


s: When he had lain there for nigh eight years, the action of


s: the Odyssey begins, and occupies about six weeks.


s: The ordained time has now arrived, when by the counsels of


s: the Gods, Odysseus is to be brought home to free his house,


s: to avenge himself on the wooers, and recover his kingdom.


s: The chief agent in his restoration is Pallas Athene; the


s: first book opens with her prayer to Zeus that Odysseus may


s: be delivered. For this purpose Hermes is to be sent to


s: Calypso to bid her release Odysseus, while Pallas Athene in


s: the shape of Mentor, a friend of Odysseus, visits


s: Telemachus in Ithaca. She bids him call an assembly of the


s: people, dismiss the wooers to their homes, and his mother


s: to her father's house, and go in quest of his own father,


s: in Pylos, the city of Nestor, and Sparta, the home of


s: Menelaus. Telemachus recognises the Goddess, and the first


s: Telemachus assembles the people, but he has not the heart


s: to carry out Athene's advice. He cannot send the wooers


s: away, nor turn his mother out of her house. He rather


s: weakly appeals to the wooers' consciences, and announces


s: his intention of going to seek his father. They answer with


s: scorn, but are warned of their fate, which is even at the


s: doors, by Halitherses. His prophecy (first made when


s: Odysseus set out for Troy) tallies with the prophecy of


s: Teiresias, and the prayer of the Cyclops. The reader will


s: observe a series of portents, prophecies, and omens, which


s: grow more numerous and admonishing as their doom draws


s: nearer to the wooers. Their hearts, however, are hardened,


s: and they mock at Telemachus, who, after an interview with


s: Athene, borrows a ship and secretly sets out for Pylos.


s: Athene accompanies him, and his friends man his galley.


s: They reach Pylos, and are kindly received by the aged


s: Nestor, who has no news about Odysseus. After sacrifice,


s: The fourth day is occupied with sacrifice, and the talk of


s: Nestor. In the evening Telemachus (leaving his ship and


s: friends at Pylos) drives his chariot into Pherae, half way


s: to Sparta; Peisistratus, the soil of Nestor, accompanies


s: Telemachus and Peisistratus arrive at Sparta, where


s: Menelaus tells how he himself came home in the eighth year


s: after the fall of Troy. He had heard from Proteus, the Old


s: Man of the Sea, that Odysseus was alive, and a captive on


s: an island of the deep. Menelaus invites Telemachus to Stay


s: with him for eleven days or twelve, which Telemachus


s: declines to do. It will later appear that he made an even


s: longer stay at Sparta, though whether he changed his mind,


s: or whether we have here an inadvertence of the poet's it is


s: hard to determine. This blemish has been used as an


s: argument against the unity of authorship, but writers of


s: On this same day (the sixth) the wooers in Ithaca learned


s: that Telemachus had really set out to I cruise after his


s: father.' They sent some of their number to lie in ambush


s: for him, in a certain strait which he was likely to pass on


s: his return to Ithaca. Penelope also heard of her son's


s: The seventh day finds us again in Olympus. Athene again


s: urges the release of Odysseus; and Hermes is sent to bid


s: Calypso let the hero go. Zeus prophecies that after twenty


s: days sailing, Odysseus will reach Scheria, and the


s: hospitable Phaeacians, a people akin to the Gods, who will


s: convey him to Ithaca. Hermes accomplishes the message to


s: These days are occupied by Odysseus in making and launching


s: a raft; on the twelfth day from the beginning of the action


s: he leaves Calypso's isle. He sails for eighteen days, and


s: on the eighteenth day of his voyage (the twenty-ninth from


s: the beginning of the action), he sees Scheria. Poseidon


s: raises a storm against him, and it is not till the


s: thirty-second day from that in which Athene visited


s: Telemachus, that he lands in Scheria, the country of the


s: Phaeacians. Here he is again in fairy land. A rough, but


s: perfectly recognisable form of the Phaeacian myth, is found


s: in an Indian collection of marchen (already referred to) of


s: the twelfth century A.D. Here the Phaeacians are the


s: Vidyidhiris, and their old enemies the Cyclopes, are the


s: Rakshashas, a sort of giants. The Indian Odysseus, who


s: seeks the city of gold, passes by the home of an Indian


s: Aeolus, Satyavrata. His later adventures are confused, and


s: the Greek version retains only the more graceful fancies of


s: Odysseus meets Nausicaa, daughter of Alcinous, the


s: Phaeacian King, and by her aid, and that of Athene, is


s: favourably received at the palace, and tells how he came


s: from Calypso's island. His name is still unknown to his


s: DAY 34 (Books vii, viii, ix, x, xi, xii).


s: The Phaeacians and Odysseus display their skill in sports.


s: Nausicaa bids Odysseus farewell. Odysseus recounts to


s: Alcinous, and Arete, the Queen, those adventures in the two


s: years between the fall of Troy and his captivity in the


s: island of Calypso, which we have already described (pp.


s: Odysseus is conveyed to Ithaca, in the evening, on one of


s: He wakens in Ithaca, which he does not at first recognise


s: He learns from Athene, for the first time, that the wooers


s: beset his house. She disguises him as an old man, and bids


s: him go to the hut of the swineherd Eumaeus, who is loyal to


s: his absent lord. Athene then goes to Lacedaemon, to bring


s: back Telemachus, who has now resided there for a month.


s: Odysseus won the heart of Eumaeus, who of course did not


s: recognise him, and slept in the swineherd's hut, while


s: Athene was waking Telemachus, in Lacedaemon, and bidding


s: Is spent by Odysseus in the swineherd's hut. Telemachus


s: Telemachus reaches Pylos, but does not visit Nestor. To


s: save time he goes at once on board ship, taking with him an


s: unfortunate outlaw, Theoclymenus, a second-sighted man, or


s: the family of Melampus, in which the gift of prophecy was


s: hereditary. The ship passed the Elian coast at night, and


s: evaded the ambush of the wooers. Meanwhile Odysseus was


s: sitting up almost till dawn, listening to the history of


s: Telemachus reaches the Isle of Ithaca, sends his ship to


s: the city, but himself, by advice of Athene, makes for the


s: hut of Eumaeus, where he meets, but naturally does not


s: recognise, his disguised father. He sends Eumaeus to


s: Penelope with news of his arrival, and then Athene reveals


s: Odysseus to Telemachus. The two plot the death of the


s: wooers. Odysseus bids Telemachus remove, on a favourable


s: opportunity, the arms which were disposed as trophies on


s: the walls of the hall at home. (There is a slight


s: discrepancy between the words of this advice and the manner


s: in which it is afterwards executed.) During this interview,


s: the ship of Telemachus, the wooers who had been in ambush,


s: and Eumaeus, all reached the town of Ithaca. In the evening


s: Eumaeus returned to his hut, where Athene had again


s: The story is now hastening to its close, and many events


s: are crowded into the fortieth day. Telemachus goes from the


s: swineherd's hut to the city, and calls his guest,


s: Theoclymenus, to the palace. The second-sighted man


s: prophesies of the near revenge of Odysseus. In the


s: afternoon, Odysseus (still disguised) and Eumaeus reach the


s: city, the dog Argos recognises the hero, and dies. Odysseus


s: goes begging through his own hall, and is struck by


s: Antinous, the proudest of the wooers. Late in the day


s: Eumaeus goes home, and Odysseus fights with the braggart


s: beggar Irus. Still later, Penelope appears among the


s: wooers, and receives presents from them. When the wooers


s: have withdrawn, Odysseus and Telemachus remove the weapons


s: from the hall to the armoury. Afterwards Odysseus has an


s: interview with Penelope (who does not recognise him), but


s: he is recognised by his old nurse Eurycleia. Penelope


s: mentions her purpose to wed the man who on the following


s: day, the feast of the Archer-god Apollo, shall draw the bow


s: of Odysseus, and send an arrow through the holes in twelve


s: axe-blades, set up in a row. Thus the poet shows that


s: Odysseus has arrived in Ithaca not a day too soon. Odysseus


s: by the ominous prayer uttered by a weary woman grinding at


s: the mill. The swineherd and the disloyal Melanthius arrive


s: at the palace. The wooers defer the plot to kill


s: Telemachus, as the day is holy to Apollo. Odysseus is led


s: up from his seat near the door to a place beside Telemachus


s: at the chief's table. The wooers mock Telemachus, and the


s: second-sighted Theoclymenus sees the ominous shroud of


s: death covering their bodies, and the walls dripping with


s: blood. He leaves the doomed company. In the trial of the


s: bow, none of the wooers can draw it; meanwhile Odysseus has


s: declared himself to the neatherd and the swineherd. The


s: former bars and fastens the outer gates of the court, the


s: latter bids Eurycleia bar the doors of the womens' chambers


s: which lead out of the hall. Odysseus now gets the bow into


s: his hands, strings it, sends the arrow through the


s: axe-blades, and then leaping on the threshold of stone,


s: deals his shafts among the wooers. Telemachus, the


s: neatherd, and Eumaeus, aiding him, he slaughters all the


s: crew, despite the treachery of Melanthius. The paramours of


s: the wooers are hanged, and Odysseus, after some delay, is


s: This day is occupied with the recognition of Odysseus by


s: his aged father Laertes, and with the futile attempt of the


s: kinsfolk of the wooers to avenge them on Odysseus. Athene


s: reconciles the feud, and the toils of Odysseus are


s: The reader has now before him a chronologically arranged


s: sketch of the action of the Odyssey. It is, perhaps,


s: apparent, even from this bare outline, that the composition


s: is elaborate and artistic, that the threads of the plot are


s: skilfully separated and combined. The germ of the whole


s: epic is probably the popular tale, known all over the


s: world, of the warrior who, on his return from a long


s: expedition, has great difficulty in making his prudent wife


s: recognise him. The incident occurs as a detached story in


s: China, and in most European countries it is told of a


s: crusader. 'We may suppose it to be older than the legend of


s: Troy, and to have gravitated into the cycle of that legend.


s: The years of the hero's absence are then filled up with


s: adventures (the Cyclops, Circe, the Phaeacians, the Sirens,


s: the descent into hell) which exist as scattered tales, or


s: are woven into the more elaborate epics of Gaels, Aztecs,


s: Scandinavians, and Eskimo. The whole is surrounded with the


s: atmosphere of the kingly age of Greece, and the result is


s: the Odyssey, with that unity of plot and variety of


s: character which must have been given by one masterly


s: constructive genius. The date at which the poet of the


s: Odyssey lived may be approximately determined by his


s: consistent descriptions of a peculiar and definite


s: condition of society, which had ceased to exist in the


s: ninth century B.C., and of a stage of art in which


s: Phoenician and Assyrian influences predominated. (Die Kunst


s: bei Homer. Brunn.) As to the mode of composition, it would


s: not be difficult to show that at least the a priori Wolfian


s: arguments against the early use of writing for literary


s: purposes have no longer the cogency which they were once


s: thought to possess. But this is matter for a separate


s: In a Council of the Gods, Poseidon absent, Pallas procureth


s: an order for the restitution of Odysseus; and appearing to


s: his son Telemachus, in human shape, adviseth him to


s: complain of the Wooers before the Council of the people,


s: and then go to Pylos and Sparta to inquire about his


s: Tell me, Muse, of that man, so ready at need, who wandered


s: far and wide, after he had sacked the sacred citadel of


s: Troy, and many were the men whose towns he saw and whose


s: mind he learnt, yea, and many the woes he suffered in his


s: heart upon the deep, striving to win his own life and the


s: return of his company.  Nay, but even so he saved not his


s: company, though he desired it sore. For through the


s: blindness of their own hearts they perished, fools, who


s: devoured the oxen of Helios Hyperion: but the god took from


s: them their day of returning. Of these things, goddess,


s: daughter of Zeus, whencesoever thou hast heard thereof,


s: Now all the rest, as many as fled from sheer destruction,


s: were at home, and had escaped both war and sea, but


s: Odysseus only, craving for his wife and for his homeward


s: path, the lady nymph Calypso held, that fair goddess, in


s: her hollow caves, longing to have him for her lord. But


s: when now the year had come in the courses of the seasons,


s: wherein the gods had ordained that he should return home to


s: Ithaca, not even there was he quit of labours, not even


s: among his own; but all the gods had pity on him save


s: Poseidon, who raged continually against godlike Odysseus,


s: till he came to his own country. Howbeit Poseidon had now


s: departed for the distant Ethiopians, the Ethiopians that


s: are sundered in twain, the uttermost of men, abiding some


s: where Hyperion sinks and some where he rises.  There he


s: looked to receive his hecatomb of bulls and rams, there he


s: made merry sitting at the feast, but the other gods were


s: gathered in the halls of Olympian Zeus. Then among them the


s: father of gods and men began to speak, for he bethought him


s: in his heart of noble Aegisthus, whom the son of Agamemnon,


s: far-famed Orestes, slew. Thinking upon him he spake out


s: 'Lo you now, how vainly mortal men do blame the gods! For


s: of us they say comes evil, whereas they even of themselves,


s: through the blindness of their own hearts, have sorrows


s: beyond that which is ordained. Even as of late Aegisthus,


s: beyond that which was ordained, took to him the wedded wife


s: of the son of Atreus, and killed her lord on his return,


s: and that with sheer doom before his eyes, since we had


s: warned him by the embassy of Hermes the keen-sighted, the


s: slayer of Argos, that he should neither kill the man, nor


s: woo his wife. For the son of Atreus shall be avenged at the


s: hand of Orestes, so soon as he shall come to man's estate


s: and long for his own country. So spake Hermes, yet he


s: prevailed not on the heart of Aegisthus, for all his good


s: will; but now hath he paid one price for all.'


s: And the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him, saying: 'O


s: father, our father Cronides, throned in the highest; that


s: man assuredly lies in a death that is his due; so perish


s: likewise all who work such deeds! But my heart is rent for


s: wise Odysseus, that hapless one, who far from his friends


s: this long while suffereth affliction in a seagirt isle,


s: where is the navel of the sea, a woodland isle, and therein


s: a goddess hath her habitation, the daughter of the wizard


s: Atlas, who knows the depths of every sea, and himself


s: upholds the tall pillars which keep earth and sky asunder.


s: His daughter it is that holds the hapless man in sorrow:


s: and ever with soft and guileful tales she is wooing him to


s: forgetfulness of Ithaca. But Odysseus yearning to see if it


s: were but the smoke leap upwards from his own land, hath a


s: desire to die. As for thee, thine heart regardeth it not at


s: all, Olympian! What! did not Odysseus by the ships of the


s: Argives make thee free offering of sacrifice in the wide


s: Trojan land? Wherefore wast thou then so wroth with him, O


s: And Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her, and said, 'My


s: child, what word hath escaped the door of thy lips? Yea,


s: how should I forget divine Odysseus, who in understanding


s: is beyond mortals and beyond all men hath done sacrifice to


s: the deathless gods, who keep the wide heaven? Nay, but it


s: is Poseidon, the girdler of the earth, that hath been wroth


s: continually with quenchless anger for the Cyclops' sake


s: whom he blinded of his eye, even godlike Polyphemus whose


s: power is mightiest amongst all the Cyclopes. His mother was


s: the nymph Thoosa, daughter of Phorcys, lord of the


s: unharvested sea, and in the hollow caves she lay with


s: Poseidon. From that day forth Poseidon the earth-shaker


s: doth not indeed slay Odysseus, but driveth him wandering


s: from his own country. But come, let us here one and all


s: take good counsel as touching his returning, that he may be


s: got home; so shall Poseidon let go his displeasure, for he


s: will in no wise be able to strive alone against all, in


s: Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him, and said:


s: 'O father, our father Cronides, throned in the highest, if


s: indeed this thing is now well pleasing to the blessed gods,


s: that wise Odysseus should return to his own home, let us


s: then speed Hermes the Messenger, the slayer of Argos, to


s: the island of Ogygia. There with all speed let him declare


s: to the lady of the braided tresses our unerring counsel,


s: even the return of the patient Odysseus, that so he may


s: come to his home. But as for me I will go to Ithaca that I


s: may rouse his son yet the more, planting might in his


s: heart, to call an assembly of the long-haired Achaeans and


s: speak out to all the wooers who slaughter continually the


s: sheep of his thronging flocks, and his kine with trailing


s: feet and shambling gait. And I will guide him to Sparta and


s: to sandy Pylos to seek tidings of his dear father's return,


s: if peradventure he may hear thereof and that so he may be


s: She spake and bound beneath her feet her lovely golden


s: sandals that wax not old, and bare her alike over the wet


s: sea and over the limitless land, swift as the breath of the


s: wind. And she seized her doughty spear, shod with sharp


s: bronze, weighty and huge and strong, wherewith she quells


s: the ranks of heroes with whomsoever she is wroth, the


s: daughter of the mighty sire. Then from the heights of


s: Olympus she came glancing down, and she stood in the land


s: of Ithaca, at the entry of the gate of Odysseus, on the


s: threshold of the courtyard, holding in her hand the spear


s: of bronze, in the semblance of a stranger, Mentes the


s: captain of the Taphians. And there she found the lordly


s: wooers: now they were taking their pleasure at draughts in


s: front of the doors, sitting on hides of oxen, which


s: themselves had slain. And of the henchmen and the ready


s: squires, some were mixing for them wine and water in bowls,


s: and some again were washing the tables with porous sponges


s: and were setting them forth, and others were carving flesh


s: And godlike Telemachus was far the first to descry her, for


s: he was sitting with a heavy heart among the wooers dreaming


s: on his good father, if haply he might come somewhence, and


s: make a scattering of the wooers there throughout the


s: palace, and himself get honour and bear rule among his own


s: possessions. Thinking thereupon, as he sat among wooers, he


s: saw Athene--and he went straight to the outer porch, for he


s: thought it blame in his heart that a stranger should stand


s: long at the gates: and halting nigh her he clasped her


s: right hand and took from her the spear of bronze, and


s: uttered his voice and spake unto her winged words:


s: 'Hail, stranger, with us thou shalt be kindly entreated,


s: and thereafter, when thou hast tasted meat, thou shalt tell


s: Therewith he led the way, and Pallas Athene followed. And


s: when they were now within the lofty house, he set her spear


s: that he bore against a tall pillar, within the polished


s: spear-stand, where stood many spears besides, even those of


s: Odysseus of the hardy heart; and he led the goddess and


s: seated her on a goodly carven chair, and spread a linen


s: cloth thereunder, and beneath was a footstool for the feet.


s: For himself he placed an inlaid seat hard by, apart from


s: the company of the wooers, lest the stranger should be


s: disquieted by the noise and should have a loathing for the


s: meal, being come among overweening men, and also that he


s: might ask him about his father that was gone from his home.


s: Then a handmaid bare water for the washing of hands in a


s: goodly golden ewer, and poured it forth over a silver basin


s: to wash withal, and drew to their side a polished table.


s: And a grave dame bare wheaten bread and set it by them, and


s: laid on the board many dainties, giving freely of such


s: things as she had by her. And a carver lifted and placed by


s: them platters of divers kinds of flesh, and nigh them he


s: set golden bowls, and a henchman walked to and fro pouring


s: Then in came the lordly wooers; and they sat them down in


s: rows on chairs, and on high seats, and henchmen poured


s: water on their hands, and maidservants piled wheaten bread


s: by them in baskets, and pages crowned the bowls with drink;


s: and they stretched forth their hands upon the good cheer


s: spread before them. Now when the wooers had put from them


s: the desire of meat and drink, they minded them of other


s: things, even of the song and dance: for these are the crown


s: of the feast. And a henchman placed a beauteous lyre in the


s: hands of Phemius, who was minstrel to the wooers despite


s: his will. Yea and as he touched the lyre he lifted up his


s: {* Or, according to the ordinary interpretation of [Greek]:


s: So he touched the chords in prelude to his sweet singing.}


s: But Telemachus spake unto grey-eyed Athene, holding his


s: head close to her that those others might not hear: 'Dear


s: stranger, wilt thou of a truth be wroth at the word that I


s: shall say? Yonder men verily care for such things as these,


s: the lyre and song, lightly, as they that devour the


s: livelihood of another without atonement, of that man whose


s: white bones, it may be, lie wasting in the rain upon the


s: mainland, or the billow rolls them in the brine. Were but


s: these men to see him returned to Ithaca, they all would


s: pray rather for greater speed of foot than for gain of gold


s: and raiment. But now he hath perished, even so, an evil


s: doom, and for us is no comfort, no, not though any of


s: earthly men should say that he will come again. Gone is the


s: day of his returning! But come declare me this, and tell me


s: all plainly: Who art thou of the sons of men, and whence?


s: Where is thy city, where are they that begat thee? Say, on


s: what manner of ship didst thou come, and how did sailors


s: bring thee to Ithaca, and who did they avow themselves to


s: be, for in nowise do I deem that thou camest hither by


s: land.  And herein tell me true, that I may know for a


s: surety whether thou art a newcomer, or whether thou art a


s: guest of the house, seeing that many were the strangers


s: that came to our home, for that HE too had voyaged much


s: Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him: 'Yea now,


s: I will plainly tell thee all. I avow me to be Mentes, son


s: of wise Anchialus, and I bear rule among the Taphians,


s: lovers of the oar. And now am I come to shore, as thou


s: seest, with ship and crew, sailing over the wine-dark sea,


s: unto men of strange speech, even to Temesa, {*} in quest of


s: copper, and my cargo is shining iron. And there my ship is


s: lying toward the upland, away from the city, in the harbour


s: of Rheithron beneath wooded Neion: and we declare ourselves


s: to be friends one of the other, and of houses friendly,


s: from of old. Nay, if thou wouldest be assured, go ask the


s: old man, the hero Laertes, who they say no more comes to


s: the city, but far away toward the upland suffers


s: affliction, with an ancient woman for his handmaid, who


s: sets by him meat and drink, whensoever weariness takes hold


s: of his limbs, as he creeps along the knoll of his vineyard


s: plot.  And now am I come; for verily they said that HE, thy


s: father, was among his people; but lo, the gods withhold him


s: from his way. For goodly Odysseus hath not yet perished on


s: the earth; but still, methinks, he lives and is kept on the


s: wide deep in a seagirt isle, and hard men constrain him,


s: wild folk that hold him, it may be, sore against his will.


s: But now of a truth will I utter my word of prophecy, as the


s: Immortals bring it into my heart and as I deem it will be


s: accomplished, though no soothsayer am I, nor skilled in the


s: signs of birds. Henceforth indeed for no long while shall


s: he be far from his own dear country, not though bonds of


s: iron bind him; he will advise him of a way to return, for


s: he is a man of many devices. But come, declare me this, and


s: tell me all plainly, whether indeed, so tall as thou art,


s: thou art sprung from the loins of Odysseus. Thy head surely


s: and they beauteous eyes are wondrous like to his, since


s: full many a time have we held converse together ere he


s: embarked for Troy, whither the others, aye the bravest of


s: the Argives, went in hollow ships. From that day forth


s: neither have I seen Odysseus, nor he me.'


s: {* Tamasia, in the mountainous centre of Cyprus.}


s: Then wise Telemachus answered her, and said: 'Yea, sir, now


s: will I plainly tell thee all. My mother verily saith that I


s: am his; for myself I know not, for never man yet knew of


s: himself his own descent. O that I had been the son of some


s: blessed man, whom old age overtook among his own


s: possessions! But now of him that is the most hapless of


s: mortal men, his son they say that I am, since thou dost


s: Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, spake unto him, and


s: said: 'Surely no nameless lineage have the gods ordained


s: for thee in days to come, since Penelope bore thee so


s: goodly a man. But come, declare me this, and tell it all


s: plainly. What feast, nay, what rout is this? What hast thou


s: to do therewith? Is it a clan drinking, or a wedding feast,


s: for here we have no banquet where each man brings his


s: share? In such wise, flown with insolence, do they seem to


s: me to revel wantonly through the house: and well might any


s: man be wroth to see so many deeds of shame, whatso wise man


s: Then wise Telemachus answered her, and said: 'Sir,


s: forasmuch as thou questionest me of these things and


s: inquirest thereof, our house was once like to have been


s: rich and honourable, while yet that man was among his


s: people. But now the gods willed it otherwise, in evil


s: purpose, who have made him pass utterly out of sight as no


s: man ever before.  Truly I would not even for his death make


s: so great sorrow, had he fallen among his fellows in the


s: land of the Trojans, or in the arms of his friends when he


s: had wound up the clew of war. Then would the whole Achaean


s: host have builded him a barrow, and even for his son would


s: he have won great glory in the after days. But now the


s: spirits of the storm have swept him away inglorious. He is


s: gone, lost to sight and hearsay, but for me hath he left


s: anguish and lamentation; nor henceforth is it for him alone


s: that I mourn and weep, since the gods have wrought for me


s: other sore distress. For all the noblest that are princes


s: in the isles, in Dulichium and Same and wooded Zacynthus,


s: and as many as lord it in rocky Ithaca, all these woo my


s: mother and waste my house. But as for her she neither


s: refuseth the hated bridal, nor hath the heart to make an


s: end: so they devour and minish my house, and ere long will


s: Then in heavy displeasure spake unto him Pallas Athene:


s: 'God help thee! thou art surely sore in need of Odysseus


s: that is afar, to stretch forth his hands upon the shameless


s: wooers.  If he could but come now and stand at the entering


s: in of the gate, with helmet and shield and lances twain, as


s: mighty a man as when first I marked him in our house


s: drinking and making merry what time he came up out of


s: Ephyra from Ilus son of Mermerus! For even thither had


s: Odysseus gone on his swift ship to seek a deadly drug, that


s: he might have wherewithal to smear his bronze-shod arrows:


s: but Ilus would in nowise give it to him, for he had in awe


s: the everliving gods. But my father gave it him, for he bare


s: him wondrous love. O that Odysseus might in such strength


s: consort with the wooers: so should they all have swift fate


s: and bitter wedlock! Howbeit these things surely lie on the


s: knees of the gods, whether he shall return or not, and take


s: vengeance in his halls. But I charge thee to take counsel


s: how thou mayest thrust forth the wooers from the hall. Come


s: now, mark and take heed unto my words. On the morrow call


s: the Achaean lords to the assembly, and declare thy saying


s: to all, and take the gods to witness. As for the wooers bid


s: them scatter them each one to his own, and for thy mother,


s: if her heart is moved to marriage, let her go back to the


s: hall of that mighty man her father, and her kinsfolk will


s: furnish a wedding feast, and array the gifts of wooing


s: exceeding many, all that should go back with a daughter


s: dearly beloved. And to thyself I will give a word of wise


s: counsel, if perchance thou wilt hearken. Fit out a ship,


s: the best thou hast, with twenty oarsmen, and go to inquire


s: concerning thy father that is long afar, if perchance any


s: man shall tell thee aught, or if thou mayest hear the voice


s: from Zeus, which chiefly brings tidings to men. Get thee


s: first to Pylos and inquire of goodly Nestor, and from


s: thence to Sparta to Menelaus of the fair hair, for he came


s: home the last of the mail-coated Achaeans. If thou shalt


s: hear news of the life and the returning of thy father, then


s: verily thou mayest endure the wasting for yet a year. But


s: if thou shalt hear that he is dead and gone, return then to


s: thine own dear country and pile his mound, and over it pay


s: burial rites, full many as is due, and give thy mother to a


s: husband. But when thou hast done this and made an end,


s: thereafter take counsel in thy mind and heart, how thou


s: mayest slay the wooers in thy halls, whether by guile or


s: openly; for thou shouldest not carry childish thoughts,


s: being no longer of years thereto. Or hast thou not heard


s: what renown the goodly Orestes gat him among all men in


s: that he slew the slayer of his father, guileful Aegisthus,


s: who killed his famous sire? And thou, too, my friend, for I


s: see that thou art very comely and tall, be valiant, that


s: even men unborn may praise thee. But I will now go down to


s: the swift ship and to my men, who methinks chafe much at


s: tarrying for me; and do thou thyself take heed and give ear


s: Then wise Telemachus answered her, saying: 'Sir, verily


s: thou speakest these things out of a friendly heart, as a


s: father to his son, and never will I forget them. But now I


s: pray thee abide here, though eager to be gone, to the end


s: that after thou hast bathed and had all thy heart's desire,


s: thou mayest wend to the ship joyful in spirit, with a


s: costly gift and very goodly, to be an heirloom of my


s: giving, such as dear friends give to friends.'


s: Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him: 'Hold me


s: now no longer, that am eager for the way. But whatsoever


s: gift thine heart shall bid thee give me, when I am on my


s: way back let it be mine to carry home: bear from thy stores


s: a gift right goodly, and it shall bring thee the worth


s: So spake she and departed, the grey-eyed Athene, and like


s: an eagle of the sea she flew away, but in his spirit she


s: planted might and courage, and put him in mind of his


s: father yet more than heretofore. And he marked the thing


s: and was amazed, for he deemed that it was a god; and anon


s: he went among the wooers, a godlike man.


s: Now the renowned minstrel was singing to the wooers, and


s: they sat listening in silence; and his song was of the


s: pitiful return of the Achaeans, that Pallas Athene laid on


s: them as they came forth from Troy. And from her upper


s: chamber the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, caught the


s: glorious strain, and she went down the high stairs from her


s: chamber, not alone, for two of her handmaids bare her


s: company. Now when the fair lady had come unto the wooers,


s: she stood by the pillar of the well-builded roof holding up


s: her glistening tire before her face; and a faithful maiden


s: stood on either side her. Then she fell a weeping, and


s: 'Phemius, since thou knowest many other charms for mortals,


s: deeds of men and gods, which bards rehearse, some one of


s: these do thou sing as thou sittest by them, and let them


s: drink their wine in silence; but cease from this pitiful


s: strain, that ever wastes my heart within my breast, since


s: to me above all women hath come a sorrow comfortless. So


s: dear a head do I long for in constant memory, namely, that


s: man whose fame is noised abroad from Hellas to mid Argos.'


s: Then wise Telemachus answered her, and said: 'O my mother,


s: why then dost thou grudge the sweet minstrel to gladden us


s: as his spirit moves him? It is not minstrels who are in


s: fault, but Zeus, methinks, is in fault, who gives to men,


s: that live by bread, to each one as he will. As for him it


s: is no blame if he sings the ill-faring of the Danaans; for


s: men always prize that song the most, which rings newest in


s: their ears. But let thy heart and mind endure to listen,


s: for not Odysseus only lost in Troy the day of his


s: returning, but many another likewise perished. Howbeit go


s: to thy chamber and mind thine own housewiferies, the loom


s: and distaff, and bid thy handmaids ply their tasks. But


s: speech shall be for men, for all, but for me in chief; for


s: Then in amaze she went back to her chamber, for she laid up


s: the wise saying of her son in her heart. She ascended to


s: her upper chamber with the women her handmaids, and then


s: was bewailing Odysseus, her dear lord, till grey-eyed


s: Athene cast sweet sleep upon her eyelids.


s: Now the wooers clamoured throughout the shadowy halls, and


s: each one uttered a prayer to be her bedfellow. And wise


s: 'Wooers of my mother, men despiteful out of measure, let us


s: feast now and make merry and let there be no brawling; for,


s: lo, it is a good thing to list to a minstrel such as him,


s: like to the gods in voice. But in the morning let us all go


s: to the assembly and sit us down, that I may declare my


s: saying outright, to wit that ye leave these halls: and busy


s: yourselves with other feasts, eating your own substance,


s: going in turn from house to house. But if ye deem this a


s: likelier and a better thing, that one man's goods should


s: perish without atonement, then waste ye as ye will; and I


s: will call upon the everlasting gods, if haply Zeus may


s: grant that acts of recompense be made: so should ye


s: hereafter perish within the halls without atonement.'


s: So spake he, and all that heard him bit their lips and


s: marvelled at Telemachus, in that he spake boldly.


s: Then Antinous, son of Eupeithes, answered him: 'Telemachus,


s: in very truth the gods themselves instruct thee to be proud


s: of speech and boldly to harangue. Never may Cronion make


s: thee king in seagirt Ithaca, which thing is of inheritance


s: Then wise Telemachus answered him, and said: 'Antinous,


s: wilt thou indeed be wroth at the word that I shall say?


s: Yea, at the hand of Zeus would I be fain to take even this


s: thing upon me. Sayest thou that this is the worst hap that


s: can befal a man? Nay, verily, it is no ill thing to be a


s: king: the house of such an one quickly waxeth rich and


s: himself is held in greater honour. Howsoever there are many


s: other kings of the Achaeans in seagirt Ithaca, kings young


s: and old; someone of them shall surely have this kingship


s: since goodly Odysseus is dead. But as for me, I will be


s: lord of our own house and thralls, that goodly Odysseus gat


s: Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered him, saying:


s: 'Telemachus, on the knees of the gods it surely lies, what


s: man is to be king over the Achaeans in seagirt Ithaca. But


s: mayest thou keep thine own possessions and be lord in thine


s: own house! Never may that man come, who shall wrest from


s: thee thy substance violently in thine own despite while


s: Ithaca yet stands. But I would ask thee, friend, concerning


s: the stranger--whence he is, and of what land he avows him


s: to be? Where are his kin and his native fields? Doth he


s: bear some tidings of thy father on his road, or cometh he


s: thus to speed some matter of his own? In such wise did he


s: start up, and lo, he was gone, nor tarried he that we


s: should know him;--and yet he seemed no mean man to look


s: {* The [Greek] explains the expression of surprise at the


s: Then wise Telemachus answered him, and said: 'Eurymachus,


s: surely the day of my father's returning hath gone by.


s: Therefore no more do I put faith in tidings, whencesoever


s: they may come, neither have I regard unto any divination,


s: whereof my mother may inquire at the lips of a diviner,


s: when she hath bidden him to the hall. But as for that man,


s: he is a friend of my house from Taphos, and he avows him to


s: be Mentes, son of wise Anchialus, and he hath lordship


s: So spake Telemachus, but in his heart he knew the deathless


s: goddess. Now the wooers turned them to the dance and the


s: delightsome song, and made merry, and waited till evening


s: should come on. And as they made merry, dusk evening came


s: upon them. Then they went each one to his own house to lie


s: But Telemachus, where his chamber was builded high up in


s: the fair court, in a place with wide prospect, thither


s: betook him to his bed, pondering many thoughts in his mind;


s: and with him went trusty Eurycleia, and bare for him


s: torches burning. She was the daughter of Ops, son of


s: Peisenor, and Laertes bought her on a time with his wealth,


s: while as yet she was in her first youth, and gave for her


s: the worth of twenty oxen. And he honoured her even as he


s: honoured his dear wife in the halls, but he never lay with


s: her, for he shunned the wrath of his lady. She went with


s: Telemachus and bare for him the burning torches: and of all


s: the women of the household she loved him most, and she had


s: nursed him when a little one. Then he opened the doors of


s: the well-builded chamber and sat him on the bed and took


s: off his soft doublet, and put it in the wise old woman's


s: hands. So she folded the doublet and smoothed it, and hung


s: it on a pin by the jointed bedstead, and went forth on her


s: way from the room, and pulled to the door with the silver


s: handle, and drew home the bar with the thong. There, all


s: night through, wrapped in a fleece of wool, he meditated in


s: his heart upon the journey that Athene had showed him.


s: Telemachus complains in vain, and borrowing a ship, goes


s: secretly to Pylos by night. And how he was there received.


s: Now so soon as early Dawn shone forth, the rosy-fingered,


s: the dear son of Odysseus gat him up from his bed, and put


s: on his raiment and cast his sharp sword about his shoulder,


s: and beneath his smooth feet he bound his goodly sandals,


s: and stept forth from his chamber in presence like a god.


s: And straightway he bade the clear-voiced heralds to call


s: the long-haired Achaeans to the assembly. And the heralds


s: called the gathering, and the Achaeans were assembled


s: quickly. Now when they were gathered and come together, he


s: went on his way to the assembly holding in his hand a spear


s: of bronze,--not alone he went, for two swift hounds bare


s: him company. Then Athene shed on him a wondrous grace, and


s: all the people marvelled at him as he came. And he sat him


s: in his father's seat and the elders gave place to him.


s: with age, and skilled in things past number. Now for this


s: reason he spake that his dear son, the warrior Antiphus,


s: had gone in the hollow ships to Ilios of the goodly steeds;


s: but the savage Cyclops slew him in his hollow cave, and


s: had, and one consorted with the wooers, namely Eurynomus,


s: but two continued in their father's fields; yet even so


s: forgat he not that son, still mourning and sorrowing. So


s: weeping for his sake he made harangue and spake among them:


s: 'Hearken now to me, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I


s: shall say. Never hath our assembly or session been since


s: the day that goodly Odysseus departed in the hollow ships.


s: And now who was minded thus to assemble us? On what man


s: hath such sore need come, of the young men or of the elder


s: born? Hath he heard some tidings of the host now returning,


s: which he might plainly declare to us, for that he first


s: learned thereof, or doth he show forth and tell some other


s: matter of the common weal? Methinks he is a true man--good


s: luck be with him! Zeus vouchsafe him some good thing in his


s: So spake he, and the dear son of Odysseus was glad at the


s: omen of the word; nor sat he now much longer, but he burned


s: to speak, and he stood in mid assembly; and the herald


s: Peisenor, skilled in sage counsels, placed the staff in his


s: hands. Then he spake, accosting the old man first:


s: 'Old man, he is not far off, and soon shalt thou know it


s: for thyself, he who called the folk together, even I: for


s: sorrow hath come to me in chief. Neither have I heard any


s: tidings of the host now returning, which I may plainly


s: declare to you, for that I first learned thereof; neither


s: do I show forth or tell any other matter of the common


s: weal, but mine own need, for that evil hath befallen my


s: house, a double woe. First, I have lost my noble sire, who


s: sometime was king among you here, and was gentle as a


s: father; and now is there an evil yet greater far, which


s: surely shall soon make grievous havoc of my whole house and


s: ruin all my livelihood. My mother did certain wooers beset


s: sore against her will, even the sons of those men that here


s: are the noblest. They are too craven to go to the house of


s: her father Icarius, that he may himself set the bride-price


s: for his daughter, and bestow her on whom he will, even on


s: him who finds favour in his sight. But they resorting to


s: our house day by day sacrifice oxen and sheep and fat


s: goats, and keep revel, and drink the dark wine recklessly,


s: and lo, our great wealth is wasted, for there is no man now


s: alive such as Odysseus was, to keep ruin from the house. As


s: for me I am nowise strong like him to ward mine own; verily


s: to the end of my days {*} shall I be a weakling and all


s: unskilled in prowess. Truly I would defend me if but


s: strength were mine; for deeds past sufferance have now been


s: wrought, and now my house is wasted utterly beyond pretence


s: of right. Resent it in your own hearts, and have regard to


s: your neighbours who dwell around, and tremble ye at the


s: anger of the gods, lest haply they turn upon you in wrath


s: at your evil deeds. {Or, lest they bring your evil deeds in


s: wrath on your own heads.} I pray you by Olympian Zeus and


s: by Themis, who looseth and gathereth the meetings of men,


s: let be, my friends, and leave me alone to waste in bitter


s: grief;-- unless it so be that my father, the good Odysseus,


s: out of evil heart wrought harm to the goodly-greaved


s: Achaeans, in quittance whereof ye now work me harm out of


s: evil hearts, and spur on these men. Better for me that ye


s: yourselves should eat up my treasures and my flocks. Were


s: YE so to devour them, ere long would some recompense be


s: made, for we would urge our plea throughout the town,


s: begging back our substance, until all should be restored.


s: But now without remedy are the pains that ye lay up in my


s: {* Cf. B. xxi. 131. For the use of the 1st pers. pl. like


s: So spake he in wrath, and dashed the staff to the ground,


s: and brake forth in tears; and pity fell on all the people.


s: Then all the others held their peace, and none had the


s: heart to answer Telemachus with hard words, but Antinous


s: 'Telemachus, proud of speech and unrestrained in fury, what


s: is this thou hast said to put us to shame, and wouldest


s: fasten on us reproach? Behold the fault is not in the


s: Achaean wooers, but in thine own mother, for she is the


s: craftiest of women. For it is now the third year, and the


s: fourth is fast going by, since she began to deceive the


s: minds of the Achaeans in their breasts. She gives hope to


s: all, and makes promises to every man, and sends them


s: messages, but her mind is set on other things. And she hath


s: devised in her heart this wile besides; she set up in her


s: halls a mighty web, fine of woof and very wide, whereat she


s: would weave, and anon she spake among us:


s: '"Ye princely youths, my wooers, now that the goodly


s: Odysseus is dead, do ye abide patiently, how eager soever


s: to speed on this marriage of mine, till I finish the robe.


s: I would not that the threads perish to no avail, even this


s: shroud for the hero Laertes, against the day when the


s: ruinous doom shall bring him low, of death that lays men at


s: their length. So shall none of the Achaean women in the


s: land count it blame in me, as well might be, were he to lie


s: without a winding-sheet, a man that had gotten great


s: 'So spake she, and our high hearts consented thereto. So


s: then in the day time she would weave the mighty web, and in


s: the night unravel the same, when she had let place the


s: torches by her. Thus for the space of three years she hid


s: the thing by craft and beguiled the minds of the Achaeans;


s: but when the fourth year arrived and the seasons came


s: round, then at the last one of her women who knew all


s: declared it, and we found her unravelling the splendid web.


s: Thus she finished it perforce and sore against her will.


s: But as for thee, the wooers make thee answer thus, that


s: thou mayest know it in thine own heart, thou and all the


s: Achaeans! Send away thy mother, and bid her be married to


s: whomsoever her father commands, and whoso is well pleasing


s: unto her. But if she will continue for long to vex the sons


s: of the Achaeans, pondering in her heart those things that


s: Athene hath given her beyond women, knowledge of all fair


s: handiwork, yea, and cunning wit, and wiles--so be it! Such


s: wiles as hers we have never yet heard that any even of the


s: women of old did know, of those that aforetime were


s: fair-tressed Achaean ladies, Tyro, and Alcmene, and Mycene


s: with the bright crown. Not one of these in the imaginations


s: of their hearts was like unto Penelope, yet herein at least


s: her imagining was not good. For in despite of her the


s: wooers will devour thy living and thy substance, so long as


s: she is steadfast in such purpose as the gods now put within


s: her breast: great renown for herself she winneth, but for


s: thee regret for thy much livelihood. But we will neither go


s: to our own lands, nor otherwhere, till she marry that man


s: Then wise Telemachus answered him, saying: 'Antinous, I may


s: in no wise thrust forth from the house, against her will,


s: the woman that bare me, that reared me: while as for my


s: father he is abroad on the earth, whether he be alive or


s: dead. Moreover it is hard for me to make heavy restitution


s: to Icarius, as needs I must, if of mine own will I send my


s: mother away. For I shall have evil at his hand, at the hand


s: of her father, and some god will give me more besides, for


s: my mother will call down the dire Avengers as she departs


s: from the house, and I shall have blame of men; surely then


s: I will never speak this word. Nay, if your own heart, even


s: yours, is indignant, quit ye my halls, and busy yourselves


s: with other feasts, eating your own substance, and going in


s: turn from house to house. But if ye deem this a likelier


s: and a better thing, that one man's goods should perish


s: without atonement, then waste ye as ye will: and I will


s: call upon the everlasting gods, if haply Zeus may grant


s: that acts of recompense be made: so should ye hereafter


s: So spake Telemachus, and in answer to his prayer did Zeus,


s: of the far borne voice, send forth two eagles in flight,


s: from on high, from the mountain-crest. Awhile they flew as


s: fleet as the blasts of the wind, side by side, with


s: straining of their pinions. But when they had now reached


s: the mid assembly, the place of many voices, there they


s: wheeled about and flapped their strong wings, and looked


s: down upon the heads of all, and destruction was in their


s: gaze. Then tore they with their talons each the other's


s: cheeks and neck on every side, and so sped to the right


s: across the dwellings and the city of the people. And the


s: men marvelled at the birds when they had sight of them, and


s: pondered in their hearts the things that should come to


s: pass. Yea and the old man, the lord Halitherses son of


s: Mastor spake among them, for he excelled his peers in


s: knowledge of birds, and in uttering words of fate. With


s: good will he made harangue and spake among them:


s: 'Hearken to me now, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I


s: shall say: and mainly to the wooers do I show forth and


s: tell these things, seeing that a mighty woe is rolling upon


s: them. For Odysseus shall not long be away from his friends,


s: nay, even now, it may be, he is near, and sowing the seeds


s: of death and fate for these men, every one; and he will be


s: a bane to many another likewise of us who dwell in


s: clear-seen Ithaca. But long ere that falls out let us


s: advise us how we may make an end of their mischief; yea,


s: let them of their own selves make an end, for this is the


s: better way for them, as will soon be seen. For I prophesy


s: not as one unproved, but with sure knowledge; verily, I


s: say, that for him all things now are come to pass, even as


s: I told him, what time the Argives embarked for Ilios, and


s: with them went the wise Odysseus. I said that after sore


s: affliction, with the loss of all his company, unknown to


s: all, in the twentieth year he should come home. And behold,


s: And Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered him, saying: 'Go


s: now, old man, get thee home and prophesy to thine own


s: children, lest haply they suffer harm hereafter: but herein


s: am I a far better prophet than thou. Howbeit there be many


s: birds that fly to and fro under the sun's rays, but all are


s: not birds of fate. Now as for Odysseus, he hath perished


s: far away, as would that thou too with him hadst been cut


s: off: so wouldst thou not have babbled thus much prophecy,


s: nor wouldst thou hound on Telemachus that is already


s: angered, expecting a gift for thy house, if perchance he


s: may vouchsafe thee aught. But now will I speak out, and my


s: word shall surely be accomplished. If thou that knowest


s: much lore from of old, shalt beguile with words a younger


s: man, and rouse him to indignation, first it shall be a


s: great grief to him:--and yet he can count on no aid from


s: these who hear him;--while upon thee, old man, we will lay


s: a fine, that thou mayest pay it and chafe at heart, and


s: sore pain shall be thine. And I myself will give a word of


s: counsel to Telemachus in presence of you all. Let him


s: command his mother to return to her father's house; and her


s: kinsfolk will furnish a wedding feast, and array the gifts


s: of wooing, exceeding many, all that should go back with a


s: daughter dearly beloved. For ere that, I trow, we sons of


s: the Achaeans will not cease from our rough wooing, since,


s: come what may, we fear not any man, no, not Telemachus,


s: full of words though he be, nor soothsaying do we heed,


s: whereof thou, old man, pratest idly, and art hated yet the


s: more. His substance too shall be woefully devoured, nor


s: shall recompense ever be made, so long as she shall put off


s: the Achaeans in the matter of her marriage; while we in


s: expectation, from day to day, vie one with another for the


s: prize of her perfection, nor go we after other women whom


s: it were meet that we should each one wed.'


s: Then wise Telemachus answered him saying: 'Eurymachus, and


s: ye others, that are lordly wooers, I entreat you no more


s: concerning this nor speak thereof, for the gods have


s: knowledge of it now and all the Achaeans. But come, give me


s: a swift ship and twenty men, who shall accomplish for me my


s: voyage to and fro. For I will go to Sparta and to sandy


s: Pylos to inquire concerning the return of my father that is


s: long afar, if perchance any man shall tell me aught, or if


s: I may hear the voice from Zeus, that chiefly brings tidings


s: to men. If I shall hear news of the life and the returning


s: of my father, then verily I may endure the wasting for yet


s: a year; but if I shall hear that he is dead and gone, let


s: me then return to my own dear country, and pile his mound,


s: and over it pay burial rites full many as is due, and I


s: So with that word he sat him down; then in the midst uprose


s: Mentor, the companion of noble Odysseus. He it was to whom


s: Odysseus, as he departed in the fleet, had given the charge


s: over all his house, that it should obey the old man, and


s: that he should keep all things safe. With good will he now


s: 'Hearken to me now, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I


s: shall say. Henceforth let not any sceptred king be kind and


s: gentle with all his heart, nor minded to do righteously,


s: but let him alway be a hard man and work unrighteousness:


s: for behold, there is none that remembereth divine Odysseus


s: of the people whose lord he was, and was gentle as a


s: father. Howsoever, it is not that I grudge the lordly


s: wooers their deeds of violence in the evil devices of their


s: heart. For at the hazard of their own heads they violently


s: devour the household of Odysseus, and say of him that he


s: will come no more again. But I am indeed wroth with the


s: rest of the people, to see how ye all sit thus speechless,


s: and do not cry shame upon the wooers, and put them down, ye


s: And Leocritus, son of Euenor, answered him, saying: 'Mentor


s: infatuate, with thy wandering wits, what word hast thou


s: spoken, that callest upon them to put us down? Nay, it is a


s: hard thing to fight about a feast, and that with men who


s: are even more in number than you. Though Odysseus of Ithaca


s: himself should come and were eager of heart to drive forth


s: from the hall the lordly wooers that feast throughout his


s: house, yet should his wife have no joy of his coming,


s: though she yearns for him;--but even there should he meet


s: foul doom, if he fought with those that outnumbered him; so


s: thou hast not spoken aright. But as for the people, come


s: now, scatter yourselves each one to his own lands, but


s: Mentor and Halitherses will speed this man's voyage, for


s: they are friends of his house from of old. Yet after all,


s: methinks, that long time he will abide and seek tidings in


s: Ithaca, and never accomplish this voyage.'


s: Thus he spake, and in haste they broke up the assembly. So


s: they were scattered each one to his own dwelling, while the


s: wooers departed to the house of divine Odysseus.


s: Then Telemachus, going far apart to the shore of the sea,


s: laved his hands in the grey sea water, and prayed unto


s: Athene, saying: 'Hear me, thou who yesterday didst come in


s: thy godhead to our house, and badest me go in a ship across


s: the misty seas, to seek tidings of the return of my father


s: that is long gone: but all this my purpose do the Achaeans


s: delay, and mainly the wooers in the naughtiness of their


s: So spake he in prayer, and Athene drew nigh him in the


s: likeness of Mentor, in fashion and in voice, and she spake


s: 'Telemachus, even hereafter thou shalt not be craven or


s: witless, if indeed thou hast a drop of thy father's blood


s: and a portion of his spirit; such an one was he to fulfil


s: both word and work. Nor, if this be so, shall thy voyage be


s: vain or unfulfilled. But if thou art not the very seed of


s: him and of Penelope, then have I no hope that thou wilt


s: accomplish thy desire. For few children, truly, are like


s: their father; lo, the more part are worse, yet a few are


s: better than the sire. But since thou shalt not even


s: hereafter be craven or witless, nor hath the wisdom of


s: Odysseus failed thee quite, so is there good hope of thine


s: accomplishing this work. Wherefore now take no heed of the


s: counsel or the purpose of the senseless wooers, for they


s: are in no way wise or just: neither know they aught of


s: death and of black fate, which already is close upon them,


s: that they are all to perish in one day. But the voyage on


s: which thy heart is set shall not long be lacking to


s: thee--so faithful a friend of thy father am I, who will


s: furnish thee a swift ship and myself be thy companion. But


s: go thou to the house, and consort with the wooers, and make


s: ready corn, and bestow all in vessels, the wine in jars and


s: barley-flour, the marrow of men, in well-sewn skins; and I


s: will lightly gather in the township a crew that offer


s: themselves willingly. There are many ships, new and old, in


s: seagirt Ithaca; of these I will choose out the best for


s: thee, and we will quickly rig her and launch her on the


s: So spake Athene, daughter of Zeus, and Telemachus made no


s: long tarrying, when he had heard the voice of the goddess.


s: He went on his way towards the house, heavy at heart, and


s: there he found the noble wooers in the halls, flaying goats


s: and singeing swine in the court. And Antinous laughed out


s: and went straight to Telemachus, and clasped his hand and


s: 'Telemachus, proud of speech and unrestrained in fury, let


s: no evil word any more be in thy heart, nor evil work, but


s: let me see thee eat and drink as of old. And the Achaeans


s: will make thee ready all things without fail, a ship and


s: chosen oarsmen, that thou mayest come the quicker to fair


s: Pylos, to seek tidings of thy noble father.'


s: Then wise Telemachus answered him, saying, 'Antinous, in no


s: wise in your proud company can I sup in peace, and make


s: merry with a quiet mind. Is it a little thing, ye wooers,


s: that in time past ye wasted many good things of my getting,


s: while as yet I was a child? But now that I am a man grown,


s: and learn the story from the lips of others, and my spirit


s: waxeth within me, I will seek to let loose upon you evil


s: fates, as I may, going either to Pylos for help, or abiding


s: here in this township. Yea, I will go, nor vain shall the


s: voyage be whereof I speak; a passenger on another's ship go


s: I, for I am not to have a ship nor oarsmen of mine own; so


s: in your wisdom ye have thought it for the better.'


s: He spake and snatched his hand from out the hand of


s: Antinous, lightly, and all the while the wooers were busy


s: feasting through the house; and they mocked him and sharply


s: taunted him, and thus would some proud youth speak:


s: 'In very truth Telemachus planneth our destruction. He will


s: bring a rescue either from sandy Pylos, or even it may be


s: from Sparta, so terribly is he set on slaying us. Or else


s: he will go to Ephyra, a fruitful land, to fetch a poisonous


s: drug that he may cast it into the bowl and make an end of


s: And again another proud youth would say: 'Who knows but


s: that he himself if he goes hence on the hollow ship, may


s: perish wandering far from his friends, even as Odysseus? So


s: should we have yet more ado, for then must we divide among


s: us all his substance, and moreover give the house to his


s: mother to possess it, and to him whosoever should wed her.'


s: So spake they; but he stepped down into the vaulted


s: treasure-chamber of his father, a spacious room, where gold


s: and bronze lay piled, and raiment in coffers, and fragrant


s: olive oil in plenty. And there stood casks of sweet wine


s: and old, full of the unmixed drink divine, all orderly


s: ranged by the wall, ready if ever Odysseus should come


s: home, albeit after travail and much pain. And the


s: close-fitted doors, the folding doors, were shut, and night


s: and day there abode within a dame in charge, who guarded


s: all in the fulness of her wisdom, Eurycleia, daughter of


s: Ops son of Peisenor. Telemachus now called her into the


s: 'Mother, come draw off for me sweet wine in jars, the


s: choicest next to that thou keepest mindful ever of that


s: ill-fated one, Odysseus, of the seed of Zeus, if perchance


s: he may come I know not whence, having avoided death and the


s: fates. So fill twelve jars, and close each with his lid,


s: and pour me barley-meal into well-sewn skins, and let there


s: be twenty measures of the grain of bruised barley-meal. Let


s: none know this but thyself! As for these things let them


s: all be got together; for in the evening I will take them


s: with me, at the time that my mother hath gone to her upper


s: chamber and turned her thoughts to sleep. Lo, to Sparta I


s: go and to sandy Pylos to seek tidings of my dear father's


s: So spake he, and the good nurse Eurycleia wailed aloud, and


s: making lament spake to him winged words: 'Ah, wherefore,


s: dear child, hath such a thought arisen in thine heart? How


s: shouldst thou fare over wide lands, thou that art an only


s: child and well-beloved? As for him he hath perished,


s: Odysseus of the seed of Zeus, far from his own country in


s: the land of strangers. And yonder men, so soon as thou art


s: gone, will devise mischief against thee thereafter, that


s: thou mayest perish by guile, and they will share among them


s: all this wealth of thine. Nay, abide here, settled on thine


s: own lands: thou hast no need upon the deep unharvested to


s: Then wise Telemachus answered her, saying: 'Take heart,


s: nurse, for lo, this my purpose came not but of a god. But


s: swear to tell no word thereof to my dear mother, till at


s: least it shall be the eleventh or twelfth day from hence,


s: or till she miss me of herself, and hear of my departure,


s: that so she may not mar her fair face with her tears.'


s: Thus he spake, and the old woman sware a great oath by the


s: gods not to reveal it. But when she had sworn and done that


s: oath, straightway she drew off the wine for him in jars,


s: and poured barley-meal into well-sewn skins, and Telemachus


s: departed to the house and consorted with the wooers.


s: Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, turned to other


s: thoughts. In the likeness of Telemachus she went all


s: through the city, and stood by each one of the men and


s: spake her saying, and bade them gather at even by the swift


s: ship. Furthermore, she craved a swift ship of Noemon,


s: famous son of Phronius, and right gladly he promised it.


s: Now the sun sank and all the ways were darkened. Then at


s: length she let drag the swift ship to the sea and stored


s: within it all such tackling as decked ships carry. And she


s: moored it at the far end of the harbour and the good


s: company was gathered together, and the goddess cheered on


s: thoughts. She went on her way to the house of divine


s: Odysseus; and there she shed sweet sleep upon the wooers


s: and made them distraught in their drinking, and cast the


s: cups from their hands. And they arose up to go to rest


s: throughout the city, nor sat they yet a long while, for


s: slumber was falling on their eyelids. Now grey eyed Athene


s: spake unto Telemachus, and called him from out the


s: fair-lying halls, taking the likeness of Mentor, both in


s: 'Telemachus, thy goodly-greaved companions are sitting


s: already at their oars, it is thy despatch they are


s: awaiting. Nay then, let us go, that we delay them not long


s: Therewith Pallas Athene led the way quickly, and he


s: followed hard in the steps of the goddess. Now when they


s: had come down to the ship and to the sea, they found the


s: long-haired youths of the company on the shore; and the


s: mighty prince Telemachus spake among them:


s: 'Come hither, friends, let us carry the corn on board, for


s: all is now together in the room, and my mother knows nought


s: thereof, nor any of the maidens of the house: one woman


s: Thus he spake and led the way, and they went with him. So


s: they brought all and stowed it in the decked ship,


s: according to the word of the dear son of Odysseus. Then


s: Telemachus climbed the ship, and Athene went before him,


s: and behold, she sat her down in the stern, and near her sat


s: Telemachus. And the men loosed the hawsers and climbed on


s: board themselves and sat down upon the benches. And


s: grey-eyed Athene sent them a favourable gale, a fresh West


s: And Telemachus called unto his company and bade them lay


s: hands on the tackling, and they hearkened to his call. So


s: they raised the mast of pine tree and set it in the hole of


s: the cross plank, and made it fast with forestays, and


s: hauled up the white sails with twisted ropes of oxhide. And


s: the wind filled the belly of the sail, and the dark wave


s: seethed loudly round the stem of the running ship, and she


s: fleeted over the wave, accomplishing her path. Then they


s: made all fast in the swift black ship, and set mixing bowls


s: brimmed with wine, and poured drink offering to the


s: deathless gods that are from everlasting, and in chief to


s: the grey eyed daughter of Zeus. So all night long and


s: through the dawn the ship cleft her way.


s: Nestor entertains Telemachus at Pylos and tells him how the


s: Greeks departed from Troy; and sends him for further


s: Now the sun arose and left the lovely mere, speeding to the


s: brazen heaven, to give light to the immortals and to mortal


s: men on the earth, the graingiver, and they reached Pylos,


s: the stablished castle of Neleus. There the people were


s: doing sacrifice on the sea shore, slaying black bulls


s: without spot to the dark-haired god, the shaker of the


s: earth. Nine companies there were, and five hundred men sat


s: in each, and in every company they held nine bulls ready to


s: hand. Just as they had tasted the inner parts, and were


s: burning the slices of the thighs on the altar to the god,


s: the others were bearing straight to land, and brailed up


s: the sails of the gallant ship, and moored her, and


s: themselves came forth. And Telemachus too stept forth from


s: the ship, and Athene led the way. And the goddess,


s: grey-eyed Athene, spake first to him, saying:


s: 'Telemachus, thou needst not now be abashed, no, not one


s: whit. For to this very end didst thou sail over the deep,


s: that thou mightest hear tidings of thy father, even where


s: the earth closed over him, and what manner of death he met.


s: But come now, go straight to Nestor, tamer of horses: let


s: us learn what counsel he hath in the secret of his heart.


s: And beseech him thyself that he may give unerring answer;


s: and he will not lie to thee, for he is very wise.'


s: The wise Telemachus answered, saying: 'Mentor, and how


s: shall I go, how shall I greet him, I, who am untried in


s: words of wisdom? Moreover a young man may well be abashed


s: Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, spake to him again:


s: 'Telemachus, thou shalt bethink thee of somewhat in thine


s: own breast, and somewhat the god will give thee to say. For


s: thou, methinks, of all men wert not born and bred without


s: So spake Pallas Athene and led the way quickly; and he


s: followed hard in the steps of the goddess. And they came to


s: the gathering and the session of the men of Pylos. There


s: was Nestor seated with his sons, and round him his company


s: making ready the feast, and roasting some of the flesh and


s: spitting other. Now when they saw the strangers, they went


s: all together, and clasped their hands in welcome, and would


s: have them sit down. First Peisistratus, son of Nestor, drew


s: nigh, and took the hands of each, and made them to sit down


s: at the feast on soft fleeces upon the sea sand, beside his


s: brother Thrasymedes and his father. And he gave them messes


s: of the inner meat, and poured wine into a golden cup, and


s: pledging her, he spake unto Pallas Athene, daughter of


s: 'Pray now, my guest, to the lord Poseidon, even as it is


s: his feast whereon ye have chanced in coming hither. And


s: when thou hast made drink offering and prayed, as is due,


s: give thy friend also the cup of honeyed wine to make


s: offering thereof, inasmuch as he too, methinks, prayeth to


s: the deathless gods, for all men stand in need of the gods.


s: Howbeit he is younger and mine own equal in years,


s: therefore to thee first will I give the golden chalice.'


s: Therewith he placed in her hand the cup of sweet wine. And


s: Athene rejoiced in the wisdom and judgment of the man, in


s: that he had given to her first the chalice of gold. And


s: straightway she prayed, and that instantly, to the lord


s: 'Hear me, Poseidon, girdler of the earth, and grudge not


s: the fulfilment of this labour in answer to our prayer. To


s: Nestor first and to his sons vouchsafe renown, and


s: thereafter grant to all the people of Pylos a gracious


s: recompense for this splendid hecatomb. Grant moreover that


s: Telemachus and I may return, when we have accomplished that


s: for which we came hither with our swift black ship.'


s: Now as she prayed on this wise, herself the while was


s: fulfilling the prayer. And she gave Telemachus the fair


s: two-handled cup; and in like manner prayed the dear son of


s: Odysseus. Then, when the others had roasted the outer parts


s: and drawn them off the spits, they divided the messes and


s: shared the glorious feast. But when they had put from them


s: the desire of meat and drink, Nestor of Gerenia, lord of


s: 'Now is the better time to enquire and ask of the strangers


s: who they are, now that they have had their delight of food.


s: Strangers, who are ye? Whence sail ye over the wet ways? On


s: some trading enterprise, or at adventure do ye rove, even


s: as sea-robbers, over the brine, for they wander at hazard


s: of their own lives bringing bale to alien men?'


s: Then wise Telemachus answered him and spake with courage,


s: for Athene herself had put boldness in his heart, that he


s: might ask about his father who was afar, and that he might


s: 'Nestor, son of Neleus, great glory of the Achaeans, thou


s: askest whence we are, and I will surely tell thee all. We


s: have come forth out of Ithaca that is below Neion; and this


s: our quest whereof I speak is a matter of mine own, and not


s: of the common weal. I follow after the far-spread rumour of


s: my father, if haply I may hear thereof, even of the goodly


s: steadfast Odysseus, who upon a time, men say, fought by thy


s: side and sacked the city of the Trojans. For of all the


s: others, as many as warred with the Trojans, we hear


s: tidings, and where each one fell by a pitiful death; but


s: even the death of this man Cronion hath left untold. For


s: none can surely declare the place where he hath perished,


s: whether he was smitten by foemen on the mainland, or lost


s: upon the deep among the waves of Amphitrite. So now am I


s: come hither to thy knees, if perchance thou art willing to


s: tell me of his pitiful death, as one that saw it with thine


s: own eyes, or heard the story from some other wanderer,--


s: for his mother bare him to exceeding sorrow. And speak me


s: no soft words in ruth or pity, but tell me plainly what


s: sight thou didst get of him. Ah! I pray thee, if ever at


s: all my father, noble Odysseus, made promise to thee of word


s: or work, and fulfilled the same in the land of the Trojans,


s: where ye Achaeans suffered affliction; these things, I pray


s: Then Nestor of Gerenia, lord of chariots, answered him: 'My


s: friend, since thou hast brought sorrow back to mind,


s: behold, this is the story of the woe which we endured in


s: that land, we sons of the Achaeans, unrestrained in fury,


s: and of all that we bore in wanderings after spoil, sailing


s: with our ships over the misty deep, wheresoever Achilles


s: led; and of all our war round the mighty burg of king


s: Priam. Yea and there the best of us were slain. There lies


s: valiant Aias, and there Achilles, and there Patroclus, the


s: peer of the gods in counsel, and there my own dear son,


s: strong and noble, Antilochus, that excelled in speed of


s: foot and in the fight. And many other ills we suffered


s: beside these; who of mortal men could tell the tale? Nay


s: none, though thou wert to abide here for five years, ay and


s: for six, and ask of all the ills which the goodly Achaeans


s: then endured. Ere all was told thou wouldst be weary and


s: turn to thine own country. For nine whole years we were


s: busy about them, devising their ruin with all manner of


s: craft; and scarce did Cronion bring it to pass. There never


s: a man durst match with him in wisdom, for goodly Odysseus


s: very far outdid the rest in all manner of craft, Odysseus


s: thy father, if indeed thou art his son,--amazement comes


s: upon me as I look at thee; for verily thy speech is like


s: unto his; none would say that a younger man would speak so


s: like an elder. Now look you, all the while that myself and


s: goodly Odysseus were there, we never spake diversely either


s: in the assembly or in the council, but always were of one


s: mind, and advised the Argives with understanding and sound


s: counsel, how all might be for the very best. But after we


s: had sacked the steep city of Priam, and had departed in our


s: ships, and a god had scattered the Achaeans, even then did


s: Zeus devise in his heart a pitiful returning for the


s: Argives, for in no wise were they all discreet or just.


s: Wherefore many of them met with an ill faring by reason of


s: the deadly wrath of the grey-eyed goddess, the daughter of


s: the mighty sire, who set debate between the two sons of


s: Atreus. And they twain called to the gathering of the host


s: all the Achaeans, recklessly and out of order, against the


s: going down of the sun; and lo, the sons of the Achaeans


s: came heavy with wine. And the Atreidae spake out and told


s: the reason wherefore they had assembled the host. Then


s: verily Menelaus charged all the Achaeans to bethink them of


s: returning over the broad back of the sea, but in no sort


s: did he please Agamemnon, whose desire was to keep back the


s: host and to offer holy hecatombs, that so he might appease


s: that dread wrath of Athene. Fool! for he knew not this,


s: that she was never to be won; for the mind of the


s: everlasting gods is not lightly turned to repentance. So


s: these twain stood bandying hard words; but the


s: goodly-greaved Achaeans sprang up with a wondrous din, and


s: twofold counsels found favour among them. So that one night


s: we rested, thinking hard things against each other, for


s: Zeus was fashioning for us a ruinous doom. But in the


s: morning, we of the one part drew our ships to the fair salt


s: sea, and put aboard our wealth, and the low-girdled Trojan


s: women. Now one half the people abode steadfastly there with


s: Agamemnon, son of Atreus, shepherd of the host; and half of


s: us embarked and drave to sea and swiftly the ships sailed,


s: for a god made smooth the sea with the depths thereof. And


s: when we came to Tenedos, we did sacrifice to the gods,


s: being eager for the homeward way; but Zeus did not yet


s: purpose our returning, nay, hard was he, that roused once


s: more an evil strife among us. Then some turned back their


s: curved ships, and went their way, even the company of


s: Odysseus, the wise and manifold in counsel, once again


s: showing a favour to Agamemnon, son of Atreus. But I fled on


s: with the squadron that followed me, for I knew how now the


s: god imagined mischief. And the warlike son of Tydeus fled


s: and roused his men thereto. And late in our track came


s: considering about the long voyage, whether we should go


s: sea-ward of craggy Chios, by the isle of Psyria, keeping


s: the isle upon our left, or inside Chios past windy Mimas.


s: So we asked the god to show us a sign, and a sign he


s: declared to us, and bade us cleave a path across the middle


s: sea to Euboea, that we might flee the swiftest way from


s: sorrow. And a shrill wind arose and blew, and the ships ran


s: most fleetly over the teeming ways, and in the night they


s: touched at Geraestus. So there we sacrificed many thighs of


s: bulls to Poseidon, for joy that we had measured out so


s: great a stretch of sea. It was the fourth day when the


s: company of Diomede son of Tydeus, tamer of horses, moored


s: their gallant ships at Argos; but I held on for Pylos, and


s: the breeze was never quenched from the hour that the god


s: sent it forth to blow. Even so I came, dear child, without


s: tidings, nor know I aught of those others, which of the


s: Achaeans were saved and which were lost. But all that I


s: hear tell of as I sit in our halls, thou shalt learn as it